It is hot and humid again today. The temperature is 30 degrees C. in the morning. Way too hot for us. I am sorry for complaining about the blue skies and sunshine when some of you read my woes about our long Winter and Spring with low temps and lots of rain (even some snow that stayed around). Is there any pleasing me?

Well, a real blessing for us is to have this nifty American Sun Oven that harnesses the power of the Sun (immense power on a sunny day) for FREE! (Well, after you've paid for the oven-- you'd have to do the Math for that). Keeps your kitchen cool. Keeps the rest of the house cooler. Good for the environment. Excellent when you are off the grid on a fishing trip or on a research assignment or just like using your backyard for something besides the garden and the selfies with the flowers. And the food cooks just right, there is NO burning-- you might experience a little food dryness when you are getting used to the process of deciding how much liquid to include, but no charring, and stickiness that you experience in oven cooking... that's worth something when you don't have to scrub up a storm on your pots! Learn more about the family-size Sun Oven and the company that makes it HERE.

SOOO.

Set up your Sun Oven and position it to catch those rays. It will be ready to cook your meal when it hits 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, go and put your recipes together:

INGREDIENTS

for the Soy Curl Chickn

1 cup of Butler's Soy Curls  see: https://butlerfoods.com/soycurls.html

Hot water to cover (for re-hydrating)

A medium size bowl with the following mix:

1/4 cup dill pickle juice (liquid from a jar of organic dill pickles) or approximately the same amount of fresh-squeezed lime or lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of Liquid Smoke (optional)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning 

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

OR: Use 3 1/2 teaspoons of your fave chicken-roasting seasoning

**Rehydrate the soy curls by pouring over hot water and allowing about 15 minutes. Then pour off the excess water and press out any extra in a colander (with your hand or somewhat lightly with a round-end potato masher)

** Mix the soy curls in the seasoning formula and when well coated, put in one of your dark granite pans.

**Pour a cup of quinoa in the other pan, and add enough water to cover -- maybe 1 3/4 cups)

Put the pots together and put on a lid. Put them in the oven if it has reached 300 degrees.

 I got my stacking black granite enamelware pots in a bundle with my Sun Oven. They aren't expensive and they are very effective in cooking in a Sun Oven-- the dark color absorbs the heat, and they are light and thin, good qualities in cookware when the Sun is your energy source and you have to hike up and down steps, etc. carrying them. (I can't see them listed in Amazon currently, but I did see them in a local store, so they are around. Besides, perhaps you might want to buy them in the same bundle that I did, in which case, go HERE.

So, just sit back in the cool house and read that book or watch that TV show or float in that boat or lie on that beach-- your Sun-crockpot is doing its magic!

I served with a small salad on which we used the same Tzatziki dressing (yum) that I made for another meal. You can find the recipe for it HERE.