Spending time ‘under canvas’ is a popular holiday option in the UK, especially during long, hot summer days and I was fortunate to experience a cracking week of sunshine out on the Welsh coast, camping at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean
We pitched up at a simple campsite, next to stunning wild beaches and miles from any villages or shops – a real ‘off grid’ place with no power available. This was a great opportunity to set up a brace of SLiCK SM70 Solar Cookers to see how they fitted in.
Our group consisted of 4 mums, 8 kids and a dog – someone was always hungry. The volume of the SLiCK SM70 isn’t huge, so two were used and this was better suited to our group size. I could also carry one down to the beach for hot food on the go – they’re portable, compact and can easily compete with small throw-away barbecues, without the smoke or disposal issues.
The SM70s were cooking from sunrise onwards, kicking out hot snacks and finger food, sizzling bacon, eggs, croquettes, rolled up flat breads – that kind of thing. This stuff was popular with kids who would disappear everything, with plenty of tomato ketchup. Hot potato chips worked well, sautéed in olive oil. Under the clear, sunny skies there was a quick turnaround. After the first food was ready the tubes stayed very hot and they would cook the next load much faster.
Hot food on the beach is also a treat – the sea water wasn’t too cold, at around 17C, but it wasn’t Copacabana. I’d load up the cook-tube, go swimming and return to the smell of hot, sizzling snacks, just in time!
The SLiCK SM70 is eye-catching and shiny – it attracted attention (‘is that for a TV?’). I spoke to many interested people, who couldn’t believe it possible. They needed a heat/smell/taste demo, to get it straight. In the future we might see more solar cookers like the SLiCK SM70 at campsite’s and beaches, their reflectors blooming like flowers on a sunny day, leaving no waste behind
Back at the campsite the two SM70s were easy to locate out of harms way, with so much space they could nestle into any quiet corner under the sun, alerting you when cooking with the smell of the food. I discovered that it’s important to move food around once, while cooking, like in a conventional oven roast. If it gets too hot, open the tray slightly for a while. It was also a good excuse to sit and hang out, lazy cooking, no flames, smoke – pretending to do something useful. I was on holiday after all!
We also used a Zoom Versa Rocket Stove, burning sticks and charcoal efficiently, and this was used anytime but mainly for evening meals. A SLiCK CooKit – Solar Panel Cooker was also used for heating up kettles of water for dishwashing. Once again I’m taking home a full Camping Gas Bottle, barely used since our fuel was free and renewable.
This was a camping trip to remember: sun, sand and solar cooking. Looking forward to the next!
Stewart MacLachlan
The SLiCK Team
