I'm excited to report that we started the earthbag house. I ordered bags but they didn't come in before we left. It worked out fine, though, since there was and still is much prep work to do before we start filling and laying down bags. I will post photos of the progress on the foundation/trench soon.
We had Thanksgiving turkey cooked in this solar oven that David and I built a couple of days before. We used scrap plywood that we had leftover from another project, a 30" x 30" piece of scratched plexiglass that David picked up at McCoy's for the bargain price of $3, cardboard, heavy duty foil, and black spray paint. The turkey was tender and juicy, and completely done all the way through. I had an oven thermometer that I left at The Home Place when we were testing the temperature in the old oven in the RV, so we used it to test the solar oven temperature. It averaged 225 degrees F. That's an 8-quart cast iron Dutch Oven inside the solar oven.
I also made flour-less/grain-free peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies. I sweetened them with molasses which made them dark brown. They were good!
My Dave:
9 comments:
Awesome! How large was the turkey and how long did you cook it?
Looking forward to seeing your progress on your earthbag house. What size are you going with and who are you getting your bags from?
Hey Ginger,
So excited you got to spend extra time out there. Kudos on the solar oven. I've been fancing the idea of making one just havent yet.
I'm also excited that you are soon to be starting your earth bag house. Its so awesome to spend time out at the future homesteads. ~ Jen
Hi, Desert Rose. The turkey was about 11 pounds. Woot! I put the turkey in at 9am. We worked all day and then took it out at about 5pm. We had some clouds that day, too, so I was encouraged that this could be a reliable source of cooking most of the time. David, our three dogs and I enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner.
About the bags: $36 for 50 bags including shipping (seller: trademarksuppliesinc, $399 for 1000), but they can be found cheaper in bulk from other suppliers if you have time to wait for a return phone call or email after requesting a bid. We are building 16' interior diameter. I wanted to start with a small amount of bags so I could do some tests, but we decided to do the foundation and go for it. The remaining bags will be on order soon. Our goal is to finish the shell before it gets too hot again.
Thanks for commenting!
Hi, Jen! (I LOVE your avatar photo!)
It is nice to be out there. Thank you for coming over! Now get to work on that solar oven.
Glad that you had the chance to spend 8 days there, and get so much done. Sounds like you got a good plan and things will come together, but, as you know, it will be hard work but enjoyable.
I just ordered my bags also...can't wait to get started.
Gwen
Brilliant - well done. I haven't tried a turkey in the solar oven yet - good to know it works.
Biscuits in the solar oven are brilliant, aren't they!? Can also tell you that the parmesan bread is a winner recipe!!!!
Just a word of caution - ideally, the entire inside walls of the oven should be foiled (reflective), and the internal base should be black - to absorb as much heat / light as possible. That should increase your oven temperature. Please be careful - to prevent samonella / botulism 225oF is the absolute minimum temperature for cooking poultry / meat.
Dani
Glad the turkey was a success. Dani makes excellent points about cooking temps for poultry/meats and the need for the entire inner suface to be either foil/black for best performance.
Here's an interesting link for tamped/adobe floors. There is a lot of rock on my property, but I will probably put an earthen floor in the house and use the rock for the patio.
http://www.dancingrabbit.org/newsletter/Newsletter0701-floors.php
Dani, you're right about the temperature. It's hard to tell in the oven, but the sides are lined with aluminum. I made a typo on the temp: 275 instead of 225, but still worth caution. I'm glad to hear the parm bread is a winner. I can't wait to make it!
Desert Rose, that's an interesting article about the tamped adobe floors. I have lots of rock on standby for the floor, but rock can be cold. I've been looking into the tamped floor. Thanks for the link!
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