Posted by Danielle Downs on Mar.02, 2009

©iStockPhoto.com - Michal Galazka

Cooking with kids is always fun. It teaches them independence and appreciation for resources as they learn about where it comes from and how it’s made. Teaching children about healthy food that’s eco-friendly is important at an early age to establish proper eating habits. Have you taught them eco-friendly cooking methods? The sun is our source of life and energy. Time to get cooking, solar style.

Solar food is nothing new. Raisins and dried fruit are no new technology. Sun dried tomatoes are surprisingly affordable when made at home with your own back yard rays. Here are some famous and infamous solar foods and everything you need to get eco-cooking.

Solar Beverage
Sun tea, which is sometimes considered a dangerous beverage in our age of germ-phobia, is the simplest of solar foods. Drop a few bags of fairly-traded leaves into a big glass jug of water, tighten the top, and sit that out in the yard for the day. By about 3 o’clock, you’ve got one hot bottle. It’s best to brew the tea in plain water (distilled is preferable) to prevent bacterial growth. If you chose to sweeten the tea, add pure cane sugar after brewing and refrigerate. Honey is a good sweetener choice for older children and has mild antibiotic properties that can keep germs at bay. The novelty of prep method makes this delicious. Recommended teas include fairly trade earl grey, organic herbal sweet orange and spice, or any blend of dried organic edible flowers.

Solar Snacks
Raisins on the vine are super fun and easy. Wash the bunch of grapes well, and sit them in the hot sun to dry. Sun dried fruit works best in hot direct light all day long. Placing them in a hot car on the dashboard with the windows up works really well too. If you are concerned about fruit flies, the car method works great. These raisins take about 2 days depending on conditions. They will stay attached to the vine, making an extra fun snack for the kids.

Sun dried tomatoes require a few extra steps. Romas work best. Slice them into rounds and place on a raised screen. Season with salt and basil (optional). Cover with cheese cloth to protect from dust and insects then place in hot direct sunlight. Tomatoes can take up to a week depending on the humidity and the ripeness of the tomatoes. Store them in the fridge at night and place them back in the sunlight during the day.

Solar Oven

This can be built out of a cardboard box, aluminum foil, newspaper, glue, and plastic wrap.  Solar cookers are simple. Essentially, you make a set of foil-lined nesting boxes that are insulated with newspaper. You make a lid for the oven boxes with plastic wrap and prop a reflector of foil above it. A wine box sized box and a shoe box are perfect.

Step 1: Create nesting boxes
Cut the wine box in half. Leave the bottom as-is. Line the shoe box with foil. No gaps! Place the foil lined shoe box in the center of the wine box. Fill in with crumpled newspaper to insulate.

Step 2: Solar lid
With the top half of the wine box, make a lid. Cut a window the size of the shoe box out of the lid on 3 sides. Cover the window with plastic wrap. Glue down with non-toxic school glue. Wrap the window flap in foil. This is your reflector.

Step 3: Get Cookin’
Place the solar lid on the nested-boxes oven. Open the reflector and prop it open with a scrap piece of cardboard and tape. While the oven pre-heats, prep the food.

Biscuits and English muffin pizzas and individual pineapple upside down cakes baked in tuna cans are all very doable in a solar oven. Do NOT use duct tape on the boxes as it could melt and off-gas into your food. If you measure your foil right, fold and crease your edges together, and use care, you shouldn’t need adhesive. A little homemade glue or school glue should do the trick for the lid.

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Posted under Eco-Friendly Ideas.