Zucchini salad

There is a lot of Zucchini and arrugula coming out of my mom's My Farms garden right now. Raw zucchini has a nice flavor and garden fresh zucchini is nutty and fresh tasting. The corn and carrots are from Calderon at the Belmont Farmers Market. The cheese, olive oil and balsamic are from Sonoma from the San Mateo Farmers Market. The walnuts are from Babagelata at the Belmont Farmers Market.

Place one corn in the summer position for one hour.
Cut the kernels off the cob then scrape the cob with the back of the knife.
Add to salad bowl.

With a salad shooter or cut fine
Handful walnuts
Third of a large zucchini
Half inch of sharp cheese like cheddar
One carrot

Chop one handful of arrugula (or mixed salad herbal mix) into one inch segments.

Toss with three tablespoon olive oil, two and half tablespoons white wine vinegar, half tablespoon balsamic, salt, and pepper to taste. Let sit for ten minutes for the zucchini to absorb the flavors.

Fenugreek greens rice pilaf with corn and peppers

We get a mix of kale, mustard, beet, chard, carrots with their green tops, radish, and Italian braising greens from My Farms SF. Hold the bottom of the stem and pull with two fingers, nails inward, to remove the leaf from the stem. Chop the greens up in 1/2 or 1/4 inch strips after the tougher stems have been removed. Kale, turnip, radish, and carrots have tough steps.
Corn, poblano peppers, onions and garlic were available at the organic Calderon Market table at the Belmont Farmers Market.

Layer in the oval or medium round pot
About ten cups thin chopped greens.
Chop the not so thick stems small and add.
One large corn, kernels removed.
Two hot chillies chopped small.
Two tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves.
Two cloves garlic sliced thin.
Half inch ginger chopped small.
Two tablespoons cooking oil.
Two green peppers like ancho or poblano chopped into half inch pieces.
Salt to taste.

In the small 5" round pot
three quarter cup brown rice
two cups water

Cook for two hours in the summer position
Mix and serve.

Variations- Cook without the rice since the corn is form of grain. Vary with string beans.

Summer corn and cherry tomato salad with eggplant or avocado

Adapted from a recipe in this month's Sunset Magazine to conform with local ingredients at the Belmont Farmer's Market and what I have in the garden. Because of the stronger flavor of lemon and wine vinegar this recipe could be used on corn available all summer.

Calderon Market had sweet corn for .50c each. They are now going as far as Martinez. The Asian vendors had gorgeous eggplants. Most vendors had fabulous sweet cherry tomatoes.

Three heads corn husked and rinsed. Place in the 7" round pot with lid and cook in the solar oven for one hour in the summer position.

Let cool then remove kernels by running a knife blade down the sides. Then scrape the back of the knife down the husk to remove any leftovers from the kernels.

Cut one small eggplant in half inch cubes and salt in a colander. Rinse after a half hour, and bake in the solar over for one hour without the lid on the pot. With the Solar Sport both steps can be combined. Skip this step if using avocado.

Cut half a basket cherry tomatoes in half.
Chop half a small red onion small.
If not using eggplant core one avocado in small pieces.
Julian a handful basil and parsley as available.
Combine in a serving bowl.

For the dressing
Juice of 1/4 lemon
equal part wine vinegar
two parts olive oil if using avocado. Three parts for eggplant.
Salt to taste.
Chile cayenne pepper to taste.

Whisk and toss in the serving bowl.
Why solar cook?

Garlic Shitake with corn and tofu.

Adapted from Vegetarian by Linda Fraser, a set of recipes easily ported to a solar oven.

1 lb shitake from J&M.
Twist the mushroom stalk at the base to remove.

Mix together-
Chop the clear portion of the stalks.
Trim the kernels of the cob. Cut them off with the knife then use the back of the blade on scrape the cob and remove the part of the kernel that still remained. Brentwood corn made its first summer appearance this Sunday at the Belmont Market.
Chop two cloves garlic fine.
Chopped three spring onions.
Two tablespoons sesame oil.
One small block tofu cut into small cubes. I like Mori-nu organic tofu in a box available at Safeway and Wholefoods.
Salt and black pepper to taste.

Mix well and spoon into the caps. Place in the 5” oval roaster and cook for 90 minutes in the summer position.

Remove and drizzle sesame oil (two more tablespoons) and two tablespoons of soy sauce over the stuffed caps before serving.

Cooking in a solar oven exposes you to sun for brief periods of time which can be good. Since the solar sport is used without the reflector most of the year it doesn't have the intense concentrated reflections that the other ovens do which require sun shades.