Make A Plan Monday: Cooking in Winter without Electricity

How was your winter?  Any spring in sight yet?

What do you do when the power goes out and its cold outside?  How do you cook?  I've mentioned before different methods of cooking/baking foods without electricity.  Today I am sharing some more about using the Sun Oven on a cold wintery day--to show it does work to cook/bake even in cold temperatures.

In order to use the Sun Oven there does need to be sun, and little or no wind; but other than that even when it is below freezing outside, it still works!  Simply angle the Sun Oven towards the sun, using the leg.  During the summer there is little to no need for that leg in the back, but during the fall, winter and spring it will cook/bake better/faster if the leg is used to tilt the Sun Oven to an angle that helps direct the rays into the oven.  Then like always, rotate the oven every 15-30 minutes to keep the shadows even.  I've noticed that in the winter I need to rotate it more often than in the summer--usually closer to 15 to 20 minutes instead of upwards 30 minutes--to keep the shadows close to equal on both sides.  It takes about 30 minutes to get between 250 and 300 degrees inside the Sun Oven.   Once it is preheated, it is ready to bake and cook--yeah!

The above picture was taken on a wintery day when the electric was working fine.  But, when the power went out with an ice storm we had around here, having this solar oven allowed us to be able to still bake food because thankfully we had sun after the storm went through.  If we hadn't had sun, and only clouds, well then we would have simply had to just use another method of cooking/baking.

Now is a good time to start saving for big items like a Sun Oven that often come on sale during the summer.  Other great items to have on hand for power-outages in winter/cold weather:  blankets, battery/crank/solar powered radio, flashlights & batteries, warm clothing, board games/books to read, powerless/alternative cooking/baking methods & fuel for them, cash (when power out ATM/card swipers don't work), car charger for phones/etc. or other small device charger if wanted/needed, and definitely a plan!!!  A plan of not only what to have available, but what to do during a power-outage, and where to go if necessary.