I was anxious to try out the oven. I unboxed it set it up outside. Temps were running in the 70's with a slight wind. I set it on a portable table and aligned it with the sun. Since the sun is not as hot as summer temps, I wondered if I could preheat it to the 350 degree temperature I needed. After about an hour, it reached the proper temp and I was able to cool and clean the oven as the instructions say. I allowed the oven to reheat to temp and then made the muffins.
I had a boxed cranberry orange muffin mix on hand and just used that. I made the mix according to the directions, except it said it would fill 11 spots and I filled all 12 muffin spots.
My concern was that the muffins might not brown as in a regular oven. As you can see from the photo on the left, the muffins achieved a very nice golden color. I allowed them to cook for about 2 hours. I went to check on them periodically, and only moved the oven once to track the sun.
DH (dear hubby) and I were both concerned about the muffins being dry. We were pleasantly surprised with the moist consistency and taste. I am anxious to try some other experiments with it in the future.
In case of emergency, the oven can also be used to pasteurize water to make it safe to drink. All this just from the abundance of sun we enjoy here.
