Passive Cooking Methods and Recipes

[lessisbest]

I'm a faithful solar oven user (I have three of them - Tulsi Hybrid, Sun Oven, and "Hot Pot" solar cooker), as well as a couple other passive cooking methods including a Tiger Thermal Cooker, "cooking" in Thermos bottles, and my homemade Wonder Ovens (http://prepared-housewives.com/alternative-cooking-wonder-oven-2/). I was wondering if there are any other kindred spirits using these cooking methods? Any recipes or web sites you'd like to share?

Potatoes were ridiculously cheap during St. Patrick's week, so I purchased more than I needed and cooked them in my Thermal Cooker and made mashed freezer potatoes with them. Using the Tiger Thermal Cooker, I bring the potatoes to a quick boil and boil for 5-minutes. Then I sit the inner pot into the thermal pot, close the lids and let sit for 35-minutes, until potatoes are cooked through. I can use the same method using a large pot and my Wonder Oven.

Tomorrow I'll cook chicken thighs seasoned with either Tuscan Sunset (Penzeys Spices), Herbes de Provence (The Spice House), or you can use a package of dry Italian salad dressing mix sprinkled over the chicken, and cook them in my solar "Hot Pot", and serve it on a bed of black rice (pre-cooked and waiting in the freezer). I'll also add some sweet potatoes to the chicken. It's a very forgiving recipe. You'll find lots of solar recipes on-line.

[Zoe Girl]

i just checked out the thermal cookers, very interesting. i may be interested in getting a small one. i tried oatmeal in the tiny crockpot i have and it didn't work well. Got too mushy. However the thermal cooker may be an idea?

So i have not used them but maybe i will look for one. it seems the thermal cooker the best for leaving all day.

[lessisbest]

Zoe-

You can get started on a small scale (perfect for a small household) by using a quality thermos bottle and try some of the recipes at this link: http://www.thermoscooking.com/ The Tiger Thermal Cooker I have is best used for large amounts of food. Thermal Cookers are popular all over the world, except in the U.S. I started with "cooking" in Stanley Thermos Bottles and then had the opportunity to up-grade to a Thermal Cooker. It's about saving energy.

There are also more traditional ways to save energy, such as using a rice cooker. According to tests using 22 methods for cooking rice, the electric rice cooker requires lowest energy input - about 2-3 times less than the other methods tested. To save even more energy cooking rice (between 7-18%), presoak rice for 30-minutes. A pressure cooker also cooks rice quickly, but uses more energy than a rice cooker.

[Tussiemussies]

We have been looking at rice cookers, but haven't found exactly what we wanted yet....

[lessisbest]

We have been looking at rice cookers, but haven't found exactly what we wanted yet....

Check your local library for the book The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. There is a lot of information about rice cookers that might help you out.