Solar oven part 3 - my baby

I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could cook in the winter time, with the sun so low in the sky. I considered wooden solar ovens. I considered buying a solar oven online, but my goals had always been to do this with as little expense as possible. And up to this point, I had succeeded. I read online (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cooker) and spent a lot of time thinking about it. My birthday was approaching and I was asked what I wanted. I sent off a link of a solar oven I had eyed, but didn't put much stock into getting as it cost a good chunk of change. 

To my surprised, I did get it. 

This solar oven came from The Solar Oven Society. Included in the kit was the oven itself, 2 pots with lids, the reflector (not shown) the thermometer and a device to tell you when water is potable (should you need to treat your water). It also worked year around, simply by turning it over and lying it on its back. This allowed it to get more direct sunlight from the lower angles of winter-time sun.

(As as aside, these ovens are made from recycled plastic as they state here: "The plastic portions of the Sport are produced from post-consumer PET or recycled pop bottles using a special process developed exclusively for the Solar Oven Society. It takes 68 20-ounce recycled pop bottles to make one oven. The Sport is one of the first products, and the largest injection molded part, made from post-consumer PET.") 

As long as the weather wasn't cloudy and the temperature wasn't below 40 degrees, I could cook. And I did. I have used this oven between 1 and 3 times a week since then. I've baked bread in it, cooked steak, made chili, stew, 'baked' potato, and many other things. I am slowly working on gathering recipes that I can and will share as I go. 

Now, please don't be discouraged. I plan on using all 3 ovens to try and show what you can cook with them. And I still plan on trying to put together an oven that is inexpensive and usable year around. My goals are still to cook using as frugal a method as possible- while still making good food.