By Angela Perry


Because climate change is a real problem, an increasing number of people are looking for ways to use clean energy that will have a less devastating effect on the environment. The energy that comes from the sun is not only clean but it's free too. One way to utilize this energy that comes courtesy of Mother Nature is to cook your food in a Solar Oven.

While there are some very sophisticated models on the market, a homemade solar cooker is basic and can easily be constructed from materials that you have recycled. Among the many benefits of cooking in this way is that you will spend less on electricity and gas every month. The cooker is portable too and great for camping trips, since it doesn't require building a fire and since you can use it to boil and purify water and make it potable.

The materials you will need include recyclables such as a cardboard box and newspapers. You will also require kitchen staples like aluminum foil and clear plastic wrap. Some construction paper is necessary too and to assemble everything, you should have a box cutter or a pair of scissors, glue or tape and something stick-like and roughly a foot long, such as a wooden spoon or a ruler.

The first step is to cut the top of the cardboard box to make a flap. Draw a straight line at least an inch from the edge, on three sides along the top. Cut along this line and lift the flap.

Next, you need to apply aluminum foil on the inside of the flap. Smooth it out as much as possible and secure it with glue or tape. The reason for the aluminum foil is to have something that will reflect rays from the sun so that they enter the box.

Black is good at absorbing heat, so use the black construction paper for lining the bottom of your cardboard box. You also need to insulate the oven to keep the heat inside. For this, you can roll up sheets of newspaper and place them all along the sides.

The oven will be most effective from around eleven in the morning until three in the afternoon, when the sun is overhead. Place the cardboard box in a spot that receives lots of sunlight and then put the food inside, on a plate, in a pie tin or in a pot. Now place a double layer of clear plastic over the opening where you cut out the flap and tape it securely to the box. The plastic will allow heat to go in but will trap it inside, forming an oven. Finally, use your foot-long stick to hold up the lid at an angle which reflects the rays into your box.

It will take some time for the oven to heat up enough to cook your food, so it isn't the best option for making a quick snack. However, you can reheat leftovers in it or cook almost anything you like, including eggs, nachos, grilled cheese sandwiches, baked potatoes, rice, vegetables, soups or stews and even cookies. While your food is cooking, you may have to adjust the angle of the flap to ensure that it keeps reflecting the rays from the sun into the box.




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