Are we living our dreams?

[wyoDreamer]

Have you thought of building a wood-fired earth oven for baking outside?
I am planning to build a Bread Oven for baking during the summer months.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Sorry, somehow I lost 1/2 of my post.

I think that the solar oven will work well for you. I looked at them also, but not practical for me. At my latitude, I would need to be continually repositioning the fins to keep a high enough temp for proper cooking.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I have played with solar before, but only homemade jobs, out of cardboard, we painted black and topped with clear plastic. It got hot, but by time should have started cooking, the wind took it.
Hoping for a more ideal cooking arrangement. The light weight is a bit discouraging, but hoping the pots weigh it down....and the food. Well, it should come in very soon.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Back when I was in college, the University would put on earth-day activities for the local high school kids. The engineering department set up a bunch of solar/wind and geothermal displays, one of which was a solar hot-dog cooker. A simple cardboard box lined with aluminum foil and covered with glass. The hot-dogs were skewered and then the skewers inserted into the box and punched through the cardboard on each side. The skewer extended outside so the hot-dog could be rotated without removing the glass cover. It was amazing how fast the dogs cooked up.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I have several sunny spots, although I mostly tried to create a canopy to shade most of the yard, so I'm looking forward to getting it in.
Well, my family wouldn't believe it, but I bought some store bought chicken. After discovering that my eggs are actually cheaper than store bought eggs, I went check out chicken prices and discovered they were .98/Lb, so I bought 4 of them. I got to work on them yesterday afternoon. I have a bag of the wings, because if I'm frying or BBQing, thats what I want. I used all the meat pieces to bake and had a chicken dinner with mash potatoes, gravy and mushrooms and sweet peas. I put the backs and innards in a soup pot to make my meat for whatever (chicken salads mostly) and broth and after supper, I added all the bones from the meat pieces, so I had chicken only for whatever I needed.
Today I made chicken and sausage gumbo and picked all the undesirable pieces out of the stock. We have eaten and I think I have about 15 more servings, so thinking about canning them (never canned gumbo before though). I picked out all the bones and cartilage I could find and I'm canning 2 quarts of meat and 5 quarts of broth. I was going to freeze the meat for chicken salads, but I know what will happen. I will forget I have it. It will get freezer burnt. It will add to the clutter in the freezer and eventually I will not even know what it is.
So I have 7 quart size cold packed chicken deals, in the pressure cooker, slowly getting warm, so I can put the lid to not bust my jars.
DS added netflix on my computer from his account. All I have watched so far are about doomsday preppers.

 

[Britesea]

The gumbo should be fine to can as long as you didn't have any rice in it. If there is rice, you would do better to freeze it because the rice can cause problems with heat transfer- making the chance of botulism greater.

The doomsday preppers are mostly a joke- it seems like the producers deliberately picked out people that would make preppers look like loonies; but I did learn a few good ideas from them. They were fun to watch anyway.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Well, I don't exactly think we will necessarily have a solar flare or a massive land shift....I'm kinda with them on political or economical collapse, but don't pretend to know exactly how it will go down, but some of them are far out. Still, some of them had some ideas that I haven't thought of either.

 

[Britesea]

I agree that economic collapse is likely (in fact I think it's already dead- the corpse is still twitching though, so it's not obvious yet)
What gets me is that they are willing to go on national television and show their preps (I remember one even showed where they had a "secret stash" behind a hidden door). They might not have their names published, but it does usually say what town they are in, and their neighbors will know who they are... somehow doesn't seem like the smartest thing to do...

 

[rhoda_bruce]

You right. I don't know if this aired prime time or what. I just watched it on netflix Maybe they hoping its just us watching and we will be taking notes, so they can eventually buddy up with us. Just a thought.
Well, I had to order a new gate wheel from Northern because the little tire they gave me at the building supply place is only good if you live in a nice, restricted subdivision, with perfectly leveled concrete in your driveway and no loose pebbles at all. So I'm getting a gate wheel with suspension, which is on sale. Took DH's name off the account......thats how long since I have ordered. Looking forward to having that fixed. Then I will be one of those Preppers. Lol.
Well, I'm canning that gumbo cuz its not going in the freezer and adding to the clutter. Amen.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

My solar oven came in. Its called a Sunflair. The size of the box was discouraging, but I was able to fit most everything neatly in a tote bag, which comes with it, except for the thermometer and 3 pots, 2 of which are collapsible and fit neatly into the little black, metal pot. I think the pot is about 3 quarts, maybe 4 and the collapsible pots are about a quart each....all black, of course.
It was afternoon, by time I got it, so I haven't tried it yet. But I will be planning an easy menu for tomorrow.
I tried picking up the generator a bit to slide some 2X4s under, so we can begin to get that thing off the slab and where it really belongs. Discovered some wasps have a nest under it. Glad to find out this way than when we have a group of men picking it up, to put in place. So I used leverage to put some studs under it and DS began torturing them....the wasps. I"m out of proper poisons, but I will see what I can do to eliminate them, before moving day. Have to wait for slab to dry up a few days, before putting some of my original house blocks and a grating to hold up the generator. Really want that thing where it belongs because thats probably what is holding up the greenhouse the most.
I went play in my garden yesterday and most likely, I'm about to do it again. It was late afternoon and I found the asparagus bed. That made me happy. DH thinks I need to mulch the bed and thats why last years sprouts were so small and stringy. Well, I can handle that because several low branches of cypress and cedar are blocking my view into the yard, plus one particular tree is in the way of my fig tree, so it can lose some bottom branches.
I have lost track of how many muscovy ducklings I have in the brooder. Hoping someone shows up wanting a few, but they will provide me with lots of meat later on, if not. I"m going to have to kill them all....drake and duck alike. I have 8 ducks already and one drake. I do have 2 to slaughter, but a man is coming over Saturday for one of them. I have 2 ducks setting on eggs and one that would be, if I'd let her, but I keep throwing her off the nest.
Well, time to go out and play. YeeHaa!!!!