On 7/13/23, the Coalition’s Energy Action Team hosted a webinar featuring local author Lorraine Anderson. Her virtual presentation, titled “Cool Summer Cooking with the Sun”, gave attendees a chance to learn about another way to beat the summer heat.
Watch the webinar HERE.
People seeing solar cooking for the first time are curious and intrigued. When they understand that what they’re watching is bread or lasagna or brownies being cooked directly with the energy of sunshine (no rooftop solar panels required), they think how handy this would be for emergencies or camping.
But Corvallis author and eco-editor Lorraine Anderson is on a mission to show that just about anyone in the United States can cook delicious meals outdoors all summer long in a solar cooker they make or buy.
Anderson has been offering solar cooking demonstrations this summer throughout our community and beyond. The Sustainability Coalition’s Energy Action Team is pleased to sponsor Thursday’s webinar to introduce Lorraine and solar cooking to folks who haven’t yet had an opportunity to experience one of her demonstrations.
“I’ve been using my sun oven as a slow cooker since 1999,” says Coalition Facilitator Annette Mills. “I’ve used it to cook beans, grains, beets, and a few other foods that take a long time on my stove top. I’m really looking forward to learning from Lorraine how to expand the use of my sun oven.”
In addition to being a cool and easy way to beat the summer heat, cooking with sunshine is yet one more way that individuals can help put the brakes on the climate crisis. As Anderson says, “I love that it’s one small step ordinary people can take to reduce their use of fossil fuels.”
Her new book Slow Cook Solar: Sun-Baked Summer Meals Good for People and Planet, is the second book that Lorraine Anderson has authored on solar cooking. Corvallis residents may also be familiar with her many other works as an editor, including Wild in the Willamette: Exploring the Mid-Valley’s Parks, Trails, and Natural Areas.
Lorraine’s webinar featured just one of many energy-saving and cost-saving opportunities offered through the Coalition’s “Shift Together” campaign. For details on how you can increase the comfort of your home and help our community become livable and healthy, see our Shift Together web pages.