Solar Cook'in Again: Hocks with Beans and Rice

Cooking solar is so different from any traditional method.  You really have to practice it with different recipes   and learn.  The point is to know how to use it before you are forced to use it and make critical mistakes.  I'll share any problems or issues I have with these recipes with the help of my wife who is a Chef.

When we begin harvesting the garden, my wife will be blogging on how she is utilizing everything and I'll be sharing canning and other preservation.

On to the Hocks with Beans and Rice.  Put a couple of Hocks in the granite pot followed by two cups of rice and .3 lb Navy Beans, .3 lb Lentil, .3 Split Pea.  I did NOT soak the beans overnight.  That may come back to bite me but it's part of the experiment.

 I covered it with a mix of spices to include:  Tomato bouillon, salt, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, tiny bit of cayenne, and 2 bay leaves.  I covered with water to about an inch above the contents.

The solar oven has been preheating but it's been partly cloudy day to that may play into the cooking time as well.  I've stirred it occasionally as I've adjusted the aim of the oven.  It's sat around 250 most of the day.

Here's after I stirred it one of the times.

The clouds had a little effect, but it finally cleared up and the oven is a consistent 325 degree's.  I had to add more liquid as the rice and beans soaked it up.

It's finished.  Some lessons learned:

1. Too much rice and beans.  1 cup rice and .25 pound beans (not soaked).
2. Cooked beans with meat for 2 hours (or more depending on how hot the oven is) making sure water is always present.
3. Add in rice, stir, and cook till rice is tender.

I guess the big lesson learned to anything you make is to add ingredients based on how long they traditionally take to cook so it all comes together at once.

Overall though, great taste.