Green Fuzzy Panda 13 – Caramel Squares

 

Caramel squares

Uses Solar cooker only

185g flour 1 tin Caramel Treat

125g margarine 200g dark chocolate

60g castor sugar

Cream the margarine and mix in the sugar and flour. Press the mixture into a rectangular greased tin and place in a solar cooker in the sun before 10am. After about two hours break the chocolate into pieces and place in a glass or plastic bowl. Retrieve the shortbread base and place the chocolate in the solar cooker. Spread the caramel treat over the shortbread. When the chocolate has melted, pour it over the caramel and allow to cool. Before it has completely hardened, score the chocolate into squares to make cutting easier.

Fuzzy Green Panda 12 – Chicken salad

 

Chicken Salad

Uses a microwave

350g skinless boneless chicken fillets

¼ to ½ English cucumber, sliced and halved

1 pineapple cut into pieces

1 ripe avocado pear cut into pieces

2 large tomatoes cubed

Half a small lettuce washed and shredded

2 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (or low fat mayonnaise and low fat yoghurt mixed)

Prick the chicken well (through the packaging if appropriate) and microwave for 5 mins at 900W.

Allow to cool. Cut into cubes and toss with the other ingredients. Serve with baby potatoes.

Green Fuzzy Panda 11

 

Holiday Chicken

(using a solar cooker and an optional backup source of heat)

This recipe is based on a potjie recipe by the Van Rooyens of Garsfontein. (1) The lemon peel adds zest to the dish. The recipe serves 4-6 people and can be served with a fresh salad and homemade bread. A flat cast iron pot or other black pot can be used.

Sauce

500ml low fat natural yoghurt

250ml dry white wine

10ml dried thyme

10ml grated lemon peel

1 packet cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup powder.

Salt to taste

4 -6 deboned skinless chicken fillets

1 large onion, chopped

2 green peppers, chopped

1 small packet button mushrooms sliced in half

½ cup rice

200-300g sliced carrots

2 baby potatoes per person, cut in half

100g dried apricots

200g frozen casserole vegetables or green beans

Whisk the sauce ingredients together. Brown onions , chicken and green pepper in a little oil in a cast iron pot on electric stove or gas stove or Bioheat stove(optional). Add the rest of the ingredients. Pour the sauce over the top and replace the lid.

Place the pot in a solar cooker in the sun before 10am and leave until the potatoes are soft (3-5 hours depending on the weather). Can be placed in the sun before work and retrieved after. The solar cooker must then face north in that case. Serve with fresh bread and a green salad.

1. “Potjiekos” by Marlene Hammann published by Human and Rousseau pg 15

Green Fuzzy Panda 10

 

Granny’s Chicken

(uses a solar cooker only)

This recipe is a family favourite and is adapted from a recipe given to me by my mother-in-law. It is a simple no fuss recipe cooked in one pot. It serves 3-5 people.

1 skinned deboned chicken fillet per person

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup chutney

2 cups water

1 pkt Brown Onion soup

40g rice per person

1 – 2 cups frozen casserole vegetables.

Place the chicken fillets at the bottom of a cast iron pot or black pot of suitable size. Mix the next four ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix all together. Replace the lid and put the pot in a solar cooker facing the sun or facing north if you are going to be out all day. Serve with green peas and tomato wedges. Cooks in about 3 hours depending on the weather.

Green Fuzzy Panda 9

 

Budget Mince

(using a solar cooker and an optional backup source of heat)

This mince can be made in bulk and frozen in smaller portions for later use. The quantities given make for 16 people and can be divided according to your family size. You can add or subtract ingredients according to your family’s preferences.

2 onions, chopped.

500g lean beef mince.

¾ cup orange lentils, soaked overnight.

1 cup soya mince

1 cup water

4 carrots (grated) or courgettes or other vegetables of your choice

1 pkt beef and vegetable soup

2 beef stock cubes dissolved in 2 cups boiling water.

Salt and any other herbs and spices to taste.

Brown the onions and mince in a little olive oil in a cast iron pot or a large black pot (optional). Soak the soya mince in 1 cup water for 5 minutes. Drain the lentils. Add all the ingredients and stir well. Place the pot in a solar cooker facing the sun or facing north for at least three hours although it will do no harm if kept in the sun all day. If the mince is a bit watery, thicken with Bisto or corn flour. Divide the mince into containers according to the size of your family and freeze for later use.

Green Fuzzy Panda 8: The biogel stove

 

The Biogel stove

Biogel stoves became very popular during the period of load shedding in South Africa. The fuel is an ethanol gel which is a renewable energy source ie it is not a fossil fuel. Most biogel stoves are very simple, having a reservoir for the fuel, an adjustable vent and a stable base for a pot to rest on. The most popular are double plate stoves which means one can cook two separate foods at once. At the time of writing the stoves and the gel were available at Pick and Pay stores.

Advantages of a Biogel stove

The stove has a wide flat base and can’t be knocked over.

Because the fuel is a gel, not a liquid, it can’t spill.

The vent controls the amount of air getting to the fuel so the stove can be adjusted for low, medium or high cooking.

There is no unpleasant smell, just a clean alcohol smell.

The stove is portable and easy to carry.

Disadvantages of a Biogel stove

Once the food is cooked, if all the biogel has not been used up, it can’t keep in the stove as it dries up. It is necessary therefore to know exactly how long you want the flame to last for and use the appropriate amount of gel (see table below)

Biogel fuel at present is more expensive than paraffin and so is more often used as a back up for electricity cuts in urban areas than as a normal method of cooking in poorer or rural areas where the increased safety would cut down the number of fire related accidents.

Table showing amount of Biogel to use for various times of cooking (measuring cups were used to measure gel)

Volume of Gel                                          Time of burning on high (minutes)

100ml	27
200ml	54
300ml	81
400ml	108
500ml	135

Green Fuzzy Panda 7: The Solar Cooker

 

Solar cooker

The solar cooker I use is a Sunstove, available from Margaret Bennett . e mail at sunstove@iafrica.com.

This method of cooking is the only one which is totally free. It is extremely easy. Place the food in a black pot, place in the solar cooker which is facing the sun or facing north if you are going to leave it for a long time.

The Sunstove comes with a pot and an instruction booklet, including recipes. It is ideal for one pot cooking, stews, vegetables, rice, pap, mince dishes. It is not suitable for dishes requiring rapid boiling, eg pasta, frying or baking (except meringues)

A black pot is preferable, but not essential. The sunstove cooks even if there is only 30 minutes of sun per hour. Food needs to be put in the sun before 10am as that is the best time for cooking. It is also possible to place the food in the sun before work and leave the sunstove facing north. It will be ready by 2pm but still warm by 4pm. It might just need a bit of reheating later in the day.

Advantage of a solar cooker

1. Free energy
2. It is light and so portable and can be moved to where the sun is, or taken camping etc.
3. It is almost impossible to burn food.

Disadvantages of a solar cooker

1. The cooker only works when there is enough sunlight, therefore not at night and not in the rain. It cannot be used as the only source of cooking. It can only be an additional source of cooking and will always require a back-up. However, when it can be used it saves electricity or wood or other fuel.
2. Food left unattended for long periods can be stolen. (Of course if there are grannies in the community they can sit near all the solar cookers and guard the food and cookers)

General Guidelines

1. The sunstove is designed for a family of 4. It can take more than one pot but if cooking for a larger number of people it will be necessary to use more cookers.
2. For cooking fresh vegetables it is not necessary to add water. Food will cook in its own juice.
3. Food must be placed in the sun before 10am in the morning for best results.
4. (From Sunstove 2000 Booklet)(2)

a) You will need twice the normal cooking time or a bit longer

b) Stews and casseroles use less water.”

g) food will cook quicker in 2 smaller pots than one big one. Don’t leave a lot of airspace above your food.”

1. The pots will get extremely hot and the use of a pot holder or oven gloves is necessary for removing the pot from the solar cooker.

Temperatures reached by the Sun stove

Dec 29 2009                                    

Partly cloudy, Max 26°C                         

Time           Temp °C                                                                           

9.00	40
9.30	50
10.10	90
10.55	120
11.20	120
12.00	120

These were my two extremes. When there was 50% cloud cover the stove reached a maximum of 95°C, 25% cloud cover it reached a maximum of 110°C. Cooking with more than 50% cloud was not very successful and another source had to be used to complete the cooking.

Green Fuzzy Panda 6: the open fire

 

This is the most traditional method of cooking and uses wood or charcoal to cook. In rural areas wood is collected for the fire. In more affluent areas open fire cooking is more a recreational pastime as in the braai and special charcoal briquettes or bundles of firewood are bought for the fire.

Advantages of an open fire

1. In general the fuel source, wood or charcoal is a renewable source.

2. The fire gives warmth and is an area where fellowship is shared.

3. The heat is instantaneous and cooking can be fast.

4. If freely available wood is collected the energy is free.

Disadvantages of an open fire

1. Although the fuel is renewable, very often the people involved do not plant more trees but continue to ravage wooded areas.

2. An open fire can get out of control and cause death, damage and devastation.

3. Often things are burned that emit dangerous fumes eg painted wood, plastic.

4. It is very easy to burn food.

5. Usually causes pollution to the atmosphere although taken overall compared to electricity generation, the amount of pollution might not be that significant.

Green Fuzzy Panda 5. Make your own hot box

 

You will need: A square box or container at least 5 cm larger than your pot on all sides, 2-3 metres fabric, newspaper, small pieces of polystyrene as used in packing.

Method: Take the following measurements: diameter of pot = a, height of pot = b, Height of box = c , side of box = d.

Cut out 2 squares of newspaper, one with sides of a, one with sides of d. Fold them both diagonally in quarters and cut out one quarter of each.

On a large sheet of newspaper cut out the following pattern.   Add 1,5 cm all around for seams.   Using the newspaper pattern, cut 4 identical pieces from the fabric.

Sew all 4 pieces together, right sides together , leaving one diagonal open. Turn right side out. Half fill the cushion with the polystyrene and then close up the opening. Arrange the cushion in the box with the base (d) downwards. Form the narrow top part into a nest inside the cushion. It should be just big enough for your largest pot. Make another cushion for the lid out of two square pieces of material the length of the base of the box. Fill with the polystyrene. Alternatively you could use a pillow as the lid.

Green Fuzzy Panda 4

 

The Hot Box
In days gone by farmers’ wives knew that if you heated up porridge to boiling point for five minutes before bed, it would continue cooking if the pot was placed in a box and completely surrounded by hay. The next morning there would be a
warm breakfast. They called it a Hay Box. This is the basis of the Hot Box, also sometimes known as the Wonder Box. It relies on the principle of insulation. Food heated through for five or ten minutes and then well insulated, will continue
to cook as the heat is kept in.
At the simplest, place the pot on a dish cloth on the middle of a blanket. Fold the blanket around and over the pot and put it in a corner out of the way. The Wonder Box consisted of a specially shaped cushion inside a box and was  marketed by various charities. Any good insulation can be used in a Hot Box, even balls of crumpled up newspaper.

How to use a Hot Box for cooking.
Use the smallest pot that will take the amount of food you are cooking. The fuller the pot , the more efficient the cooking. Any source of heating can be used:- open fire, biogel stove, gas, paraffin or electricity. Heat the food and
enough water in the pot with the lid on and allow to boil for 5 or 10 minutes. Switch off the heat and place the pot upright in the box so that it is surrounded by the insulation or cushion. Leave for the appropriate amount of time (at least one and a half hours but it will continue to stay hot for up to 10 hours).

Recipes

Rice
Boil 2 cups of water and 1tsp salt and a stock cube. Add one cup of rice and allow to boil for another 5 minutes with the lid on but allowing a small gap for steam to escape. Place in Hot Box for an hour and a half.

Mielie meal
Use the quantities of meal and water you would normally use for the consistency you require. Boil for 5 minutes and then keep in the Hot Box for at least an hour or until required.

Chicken and Lentil soup
Add 4 cups of water to a chicken carcass, 1 tsp salt, 1 chicken stock cube, 1 cup lentils, a chopped onion, chopped or grated carrot or any vegetables of your choice. Boil for ten minutes then place in Hot Box for at least 2 hours. Can start
it before work and come back for supper. Remove the bones, scraping off any chicken still adhering to them. Liquidise if you prefer a smoother soup.

Foods that can be cooked in a Hot Box
The Hot Box is ideal for foods that cook slowly. It is excellent for rice, stews, one pot meals, dried legumes, vegetables,
mealie meal, soups. It works well at keeping most things hot and is ideal for transporting a hot dish for eating with friends. It is not suitable for foods that need brisk boiling like pasta.

Green Fuzzy Panda 3

Simple ways to save power.

· We are all aware of the fact that the pot or pan is not hot enough as soon as we switch the hot plate on. It takes a little while for the plate and pot to heat up. In the same way, it takes a little while for them to cool down so if we switch off the power about 5 minutes before the food is cooked, it will still continue cooking in the hot pot on the hot plate.

· Use the kettle sparingly. A kettle is rated at about 2 kilowatts. Boil only enough water for your needs. If you are making one cup of coffee, boil one cup of water. This reduces the amount of time the appliance is working. Another option is to use a thermos flask or pump pot. Boil a full kettle and then pour any unused boiling water into the pump pot. For the next two hours you can use the water for making coffee or if you need it really boiling for tea, pour it back into the kettle and it will take much less energy to heat it up the last couple of degrees.

· Use the microwave instead of the hot plate as often as possible. Most food cooks faster in a microwave.

· Other options are a pressure cooker (which cooks faster because the high pressure enables the temperature to get much higher) an electric frying pan or steamer, where different foods can cook at the same time by stacking up on top of one another.

· On an electric stove top, use pots and pans with flat bottoms to maximize surface area and use a hot plate the same size as the pot.

· If you have to use the oven, make sure the seals fit properly to reduce heat loss. Test by closing a piece of paper between the door and the oven. If the paper slips out, you could be losing a lot of heat. Replace the seal to avoid wasting energy and money.

· Cook more than one dish in the oven at a time or one pot dishes on a stove top.

· Consider cooking in bulk and freezing, using the microwave to heat the dish.

· Thaw food overnight in the fridge rather than in the microwave.

· Keep the lid on when possible to reduce heat loss

· Dishes requiring browning in an oven eg macaroni and cheese use a lot of electricity just to get the cheese topping browned. Five minutes under a TV grill will give the same result with far less energy consumption.

Macaroni Cheese browned under a TV grill

• It costs almost the same to buy a roast chicken from most supermarkets as a fresh one. You save not only the electricity that you would use to cook it, but also the human energy you would use.
• Use insulation. We are so used to the concept of warming up food quickly in a microwave that we no longer try to keep it hot. Any insulating material wrapped around a pot or dish will help keep it hotter for longer. Examples are – newspaper, corrugated cardboard, blankets, packaging materials. The Wonderbox is an example of how food can not only be kept warm but continue to cook without the use of any electricity at all.

Green Fuzzy Panda 2. How much energy does it use?

 

Using electricity efficiently in cooking.

The kilowatt (1000 watts) is a measure of power or energy used by electrical appliances and is usually printed on the apparatus. A small hot plate would have a rating of about 1,5kw while a large one would be closer to 2kw. We pay for electricity by the kilowatt.hour which is how much energy an appliance of 1kw will use in an hour. We can’t change the watts of our appliances, but we can change the amount of time we use them for. The following ratings have been supplied by City Power

Appliance		Rating (kw)
Stove	Small hot plate on high	1,5
	Small hot plate on low	0,35
	Large hot plate on high	2,0
	Large hot plate on low	0,5
	Oven (approximately 200° C)	2,0
Electric frying pan		1,5
Microwave		0,7 -0,9
Sandwich toaster		0,7
TV grill		1,8

It might appear from the table above that it is easy to save electricity by using hot plates on low rather than high. This would only be true if the food cooked in the same amount of time. For example if you use a hot plate of 2kw on high for 30 minutes or one on low at 0,5kw for 2 hours, you use the same amount of electricity – 1kwh. To be efficient you need to be able to optimise time as well as power.

Green Fuzzy Panda

In the next couple of blogs I am going to be looking at energy efficient cooking.

Introduction

We are all aware of the energy crisis and of the fact that electricity is going to become more and more expensive. Responsible people have already exchanged their incandescent light bulbs for the energy saving equivalent. They have turned down their geyser and insulated it with a geyser blanket. They switch off unused appliances and lights. Gas heaters have become more popular.

Energy does not only apply to electricity. Fossil fuels when burned provide heat energy. This is how we generate our electricity by burning large amounts of fossil fuels and then converting the heat energy produced to electrical energy. In the process of conversion, a lot of the energy is lost. For heating and cooking many people go the direct route and burn something to use the energy produced. People without access to electricity have only this option and they will burn wood, coal, paraffin, gas to cook food and heat their homes. Wherever there are open fires there is the danger of houses burning down, people being burnt and toxic fumes being given off. However, with proper care this can be a fairly efficient way of utilising energy, especially if the fuel is renewable eg wood, charcoal, biofuels.

Then there is human energy. In our modern hectic world, we try to conserve our energy – to do things quickly and efficiently. Cooking is no exception. We will be looking at ways to use energy efficiently in our cooking.