Return of the Sun Oven fun!

Now that the weather is warmer and the sun is once again trailing across my back yard, I broke out the sun oven. I've been able to use for two days before it started raining for the next 3. The first day was very sunny and the second was on and off cloudy.

On the partly cloudy day, the temperature in the oven would rise quickly when it was sunny and would cool to about 200 degrees when it got cloudy. I was able to get water boiling hot and cook diced potatoes, carrots and hard boil some eggs. I could have roasted them dry like last year, but I actually prefer the texture of them boiled in water. They came out very nicely, in fact. I also sauteed some onions and garlic in butter and tried to make a frittata, but it was too late in the day to finish. I had to finish the frittata in the toaster oven. Still came out wonderfully! The boiled items took all day to cook since there was no consistent amount of sun.

On the sunny day, the temperature easily broke 300 degrees. I was able to quickly reheat some leftover pasta for lunch, and defrost and heat up some frozen cabbage soup for dinner. For the cabbage soup, I tried something a little different. I aimed the oven for the afternoon sun and didn't readjust after that. I left the oven out until 7PM to see if the soup was still hot. As it turned out, the soup was still warm, but not hot. I had read online that you can leave the sun oven aimed towards the midday sun in the morning before work, go to work, come home and dinner would still be warm and ready. My guess is that you'd have to make it home earlier than 7PM and your dinner would be warm, but not piping hot. Maybe the oven would keep the temperature longer if the weather was hotter. That day, the temperatures were mostly in the 40s. Also, the temperature may have dipped in the afternoon due to condensation building up on the inside the oven glass.

The problem with condensation is that it prevents the sunlight from reaching the cooking chamber and lowers the temperature. Apparently, others have also encountered this problem and I found a post online that offers 3 different solutions. I have yet to try them out, but I plan to the next time we have a sunny day.

Actually happy to be cooking again

Since I got pregnant, I admit that I've been lazy. Either that or I've been too tired to do anything. Seriously, the fatigue was pretty rough. I'd find it almost impossible to stay awake at times. Now that I've been feeling better, I've been more active around the house, taking walks with my hubby on nice sunny weekends and cooking again.

Honestly, I didn't think I would get out of the rut of not cooking, but I've been enjoying it. Last night, I made a fantastic creamed spinach recipe I found online. I spread it over toast and topped with tender scrambled eggs. The recipe is posted here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/07/creamed-spinach-recipe_n_4911268.html

Originally, I just cooked the spinach in milk or cream, but the above recipe is soooooo much better! In the past, I also liked added mustard to the creamed spinach before putting it on the bread, but this time, I wanted to try it without the mustard. Maybe I'll add it next time.

Been on hiatus

I've been on hiatus due to repeated miscarriages and now I'm pregnant again, but this time, it seems to be sticking around! I'm currently nearing the end of my fourth month. The previous 3 were torturous, with constant fatigue and constant nausea. Needless to say, I had no appetite and lost a few pounds. I am happy to say that I am much more comfortable now and am simply thankful to be able to enjoy eating again. :-)

It's strange to me that I still feel like it's early on in my pregnancy, but already a linea nigra just appeared on my belly and I am already wearing maternity clothes. Speaking of maternity clothes, I'm so glad I made the switch. I was wearing a belly band before that, but have now found that maternity clothes are much more comfortable. I haven't gained back the pounds I lost and yet my belly keeps sticking out more and more.

So now, I'm researching cord blood banking, doulas and birthing classes. I am also thinking about enrolling in a cloth diaper service and starting to think about what things the baby will need. My mother has collected some hand-me-downs from friends who've given birth before me and I hope to be able to use some of that.