michelle kaufmann designs

The longer, warmer days of summer are a perfect reminder of why we love this planet so much. There are a million ways to celebrate this lovely season and most of them involve being outside, enjoying the terrific weather. One outdoor activity that we love is cooking and our absolute favorite tool for outdoor cooking is the solar oven. Solar ovens are just about the most eco-friendly form of cooking there is. There are so many variations of solar ovens out there - everything from do-it-yourself pizza box solar ovens to store bought versions like the Global Sun Oven sitting on the roof deck of the Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. But one of the smartest and greenest solar ovens we’ve come across is the Tulsi-Hybrid.

Not just a solar oven, this cooker is thermostatically controlled and comes with a backup electric system. When the sun is shinning then the Tulsi-Hybrid will perform like a regular solar oven and cook away on sun power alone. But if the sun slips behind a patch of clouds for a bit and the temperature in your oven begins to drop then the electric power will switch on. It will then continue to cycle itself off and on as the sun continues to slip in and out from behind the clouds. This keeps the temperature in your solar oven constant and helps to ensure the safety of your food. Plus, the efficient electric system uses 75% less energy than standard indoor ovens. The oven is big enough to cook four different dishes at once, yet compact enough to fit in the trunk of a car and be easily transportable. It may lack the homemade flair of a pizza box, but this hybrid solar oven is still one of our favorites and a super smart, super green way to prepare a delicious meal in the beauty of the great outdoors.