I had my solar oven and all the ingredients for cornbread at my house a week or so (except butter which becomes quite messy without a frig and is available at the boutique on the corner), and everyday was overcast for most of the day; very different from the glaring sun during dry season. As I was running test earlier this year, the knowledge of the coming rainy season did not sink in well enough for me to realize that could mean no sun for cooking. The waiting spoiled my anticipation to finally use this thing that has been the cause of many a skeptic. When I did finally get a break in the clouds a little after noon, little gave me pause to just winging it. My eagerness probably made things more difficult, but foresight was not important as I tried to mix everything in the low cake pan without making an unnecessary mess.

I got a decent hour of sun, before the clouds and the setting sun brought my mind to accept the inevitable. I let the whole apparatus sit as I left to grab some grilled peanuts from the lady sitting down the street; partly to soothe my disappointment and partly because I was hungry from watching the cornbread cook. As I sat and cracked open peanuts for my sister and I to eat that evening, my mind began wondering what to do with this partially cooked batter and if I could cook it over the charcoal stove. Everyone had been out of the house during this escapade, so when my host mom came home and asked if I wanted to try the stove, it was all the encouragement I needed. The resulting "baking" came with several uncertain stares as neither of us knew what to expect. A 9"x13" pan and a 8" hole do not lend to even cooking, but I removed the glass pan from my solar oven and covered the pan with the wooden box to attempt some convection. After the center of the cake inflated into half a soccer ball, I started shifting the pan around to even out the heat, but air inside was never able to reach exceptional temperatures.

My two little sisters were excited and eager to "help". Of course, cake means sugar and that sounds better than rice. It was a cheerful time sitting there with my two biggest fans as the cornbread slowly cooked. The cornbread was not fully cooked on top, but I wanted to finish occupying the kitchen in order for mom to make diner. It was not a success, but it was eatable: dad liked it, but mom thought it was too sweet. It was just a trial run and, if nothing else, it encouraged mom to continue pursuing to learn to cook baked goods at home. I also saw that although a solar oven will work, an easier and more robust solution may be a purposely designed box to trap hot air over a oven. The large charcoal stove is a semi-standardized cooking device here and might better simulate an actual oven.