Recipe courtesy of Caroline Wilson, Owner of Paca De Paja B&B in Tucson

This delectable date nut bread is cooked in a solar oven using Arizona’s natural heat and sunlight. If it’s hot enough to bake cookies on your car dash and fry an egg on the sidewalk, how hard could it be to master solar cooking? Pick up a solar oven for as low as $70.00 and put the summer heat to good use!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 lbs. dates, pitted and chopped, divided

1 cup boiling water

4 Tbsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 cups pecans, slightly chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together using a hand mixer.

2. From your chopped dates, separate 2 1/4 cups and place into a separate bowl.

3. Add approximately 1 cup boiling water to the bowl of dates and stir vigorously, making a paste. You can also use a hand mixer.

4. Add the date paste, vanilla and eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.

5. Slowly add the flour, baking soda and salt to the mixture, being careful not to over-mix the batter.

6. Add the rest of the chopped dates and pecans to the batter and stir to combine.

7. Bake in six miniature baking pans, three at a time, at 350 degrees for about one hour.

TIP: Solar cooking takes a bit longer than a conventional oven. It takes about 20-25 minutes for the solar oven to reach 350 degrees.

For more recipes, visit greenlivingaz.com/recipes