Midtown Solar Pate and Kielbasa-Kohlrabi Stew

It was such a glorious morning on May 12th, the day before Mother's Day, that I decided to set up the solar oven at 8:15 a.m. Using the telescoping leg on the back of the oven raised the floor enough to get some wonderful direct sunlight and, by 8:45a.m., the temperature had risen to 225F. There would be samples, today!  Using a blend of both my Solar Indian Rice recipe and the previous Chicken Liver raviolis, the samples were such a hit that even small children would bring friends over for samples! Now, that's an endorsement.

You can't see it in this photo but, just behind the solar oven is my Wonder Pot Cooker with some Kielbasa Stew cooking for my evening meal. Using a two-quart cast-iron Dutch oven, it is filled to within an inch of the top and was bubbling for about five minutes before being placed into the cooker. Again, another meal that wasn't removed until almost seven hours had passed, and it was still hot enough to eat without zapping in the microwave. I am really loving this cooker! 

The stew is from my first garden harvest from this year's garden. Kohlrabi is ka full-feed plant and I used the leaves, stems, and globes, before adding garlic chives and some farmer's market fillers. Kohlrabi gets tender but won't lose its shape as fast as other dense vegetables, so it does create body in a stew. And, it was nice knowing my dinner would be done and I could just relax, once I got home. Just needed some crunchy French bread to sop up the juices.

This is my design for the cooker and I've added loops to run cording through to draw the top edges closer before adding the top. It also helps stabilize the whole thing during transport. Because it was outside, I also did cross ties to prevent anyone from accidentally removing the top and letting all the heat out.

That's all there is to using a Wonder Box Cooker.

Solar Kielbasa-Kohlrabi Stew
1/2 lb. Polish Kielbasa, 1/4-inch slices, quartered'
4 medium kohlrabi globes, diced
Kohlrabi leaves and stems, diced
1/4 small cabbage head, chopped
1 medium carrot, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk garlic chives, chopped
2 medium red potatoes, pared and diced
1 cup butter peas
2 T lard/olive oil
10 oz chicken stock
6 oz water (or enough to cover)
1 T soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 crushed stevia leaves

Preheat solar oven to 225F     2-quart stock pot with cover

1. Over medium heat, saute onions and garlic chives in lard/olive oil; add kielbasa and cook until it just begins to brown; add balance of chopped vegetables; stir to blend thoroughly.

2. Add chicken stock, water, and rest of ingredients; bring to boil. Stir to blend thoroughly.

3. Cover and bake in solar oven for approximately 2.5 hours. Serve with a crusty bread.

Wonder Box Cooking: Allow mixture to simmer for at least five minutes; then, transfer to cooker and cover. Do not remove cover for at least 3.5 hours.

The stew cooks in the solar oven in 2.5 hours; but, time is very limited at the Market and the cooker has become a great addition to my booth. Thank you, TexAzLady at Adventures in Solar Cooking!