Kielbasa Potato Stew on Bed of Swiss Chard - Solar Cooked

Maybe, it's the taste combination of sweet and sour, or the bed of Swiss Chard holding your portion -- or, perhaps, the crunchiness of garden-fresh cucumbers on the side -- but, there wasn't the first sense of this being too heavy a meal for a summer day.  There's a taste of Germany in the dressing and a strong desire to lick the plate; so, go slow!

This was my first attempt to use cast-iron in the solar oven and it worked like a charm. I filled it with hot water, first, while chopping the vegetables. All ingredients were zapped in the microwave oven, first, to get them hot before layering in the pot, and the liquid with spices was brought to just under boiling before being pouring over everything. I'm a firm believer in using what you have to make solar cooking easier and using my solar oven as a part of my cooking arsenal not as an adversary!

Kielbasa Potato Stew on Bed of Chard

12 ozs red potatoes, chopped
1 lb Polish Kielbasa, cubed
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup water
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 T quick-cooking tapioca
3/4 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper
4-5 medium Chard leaves per person
1 T water

Preheat solar oven to 225F       Covered Dutch Oven

1. As you chop each of the first four ingredients, place them in an oven-proof bowl (I use a tempered pyrex measuring cup) and zap them in the microwave for approximately 60 seconds on HIGH.  Then, layer them, in order given, in Dutch oven.

2. Mix rest of ingredients together in an oven-proof bowl and bring to just under a boil in microwave, approximately 2.5 minutes on HIGH. Pour over ingredients in Dutch Oven. 

3. Cover and bake in solar oven for approximately 2.5 - 3 hours.

4. Place Chard in saucepan and add 1 T water, cook over med-high heat until softened but not cooked enough to lose shape. Arrange drained Chard leaves on serving plate, place Kielbasa-Potato stew on Chard, serve with a side of garden-fresh sliced tomato or cucumber.

Accept well-deserved praise.