They can easily be made and you'll find lots of how-tos if you search it. Everything from a simple pizza box to any number of other models and sizes. You'll also find lots of recipes on-line. I bought my solar ovens. I'm a gadget person (LOL)! Be sure to check prices, they vary greatly for the same types and models. For anyone in the U.S. who watched the Ed Begley, Jr. show on HGTV "Living With Ed", he used one of the models I use - a Global Sun Oven. This one is tall enough inside to bake a loaf of bread. It has a self-leveling swinging shelf so you can pretty-well get cakes level. The other is a hybrid - the Tulsi-Hybrid Solar Cooking Oven. This one has an electric back-up as a safety feature. If the temperature falls to an unsafe cooking temperature, it will use electricity (if it's plugged in and set to come on) to bring the temperature back up to a safe level. You can also use this model without the sun using electric power. So it's versatile. It's similar in size to a small hardcase suitcase. You'll find many people on the missionary field use these solar ovens because you can pack everything you need in them for easy transport. I'd recommend the book, "Cooking with the Sun" by Beth Halacy and Dan Halacy, which includes building instructions as well as recipes. -Nearly anything you can cook/bake in a conventional oven you can make in a Solar Oven. They can reach temperatures between 350-400°F. Exceptions - avoid recipes like pies with a bottom crust - they tend to get soggy and pasta can be tricky. -The oven needs to be preheated (approx. 30 minutes) before adding food. -They work best between 9:00 a.m. and 4 p.m. -Your traditional oven is bottom heated. The solar oven is heated from the top and the sides. -Slow-Cooker recipes work well in a solar oven. -You need to use dark, thin, cookware. Dark enamelware works great! Forget thick crockery or cast iron. You can also use glass canning jars. Just paint the outside of the jars black with heat-resistant paint designed to be used to repaint gas grills. You can heat water in the quart jars as well as cook in them. -Foods that are easy to cook 1-2 hours: eggs, rice, fruit, (above ground) vegetables, fish, chicken -Medium cooking times 3-4 hours: potatoes and other root vegetables, some beans, lentils, most meat, bread -Hardest to cook, 5-8 hours: large roast, soup and stew, most dried beans -You need to move the oven to follow the sun, shifting the oven every 30-minutes to 1-hour. An oven thermometer is used to check the temperature. You can adjust the temperature several ways, including placing the oven off axis. -I have a pair of Kevlar oven gloves ("OVE" Glove) that I use instead of hot pads for working in the solar ovens. With the gloves you have all your fingers and thumbs to use. Hot pads or mits can be cumbersome. -Wear a visor and/or sunglasses when working with the solar oven to protect your eyes from glare. -Release the built-up steam occasionally while cooking. -You can cook eggs in their shell WITHOUT water in about 30 minutes. -Solar ovens can be used to pasteurize water (on a sunny day - 4 litres water in approx. 4 hours. -I have my ovens on a metal shop cart on wheels and move them from the garage to the patio and cook on the top of the cart. I use a heat resistant tray (or jellyroll sheet) for transporting hot foods from the oven to the house. -You need to plan carefully. You need to cook while the sun is high and hot. If it's hazy, even if it's sunny and no clouds, you may not be able to reach high temperatures. When they burn the wheat fields around here I can't use the solar oven because of the haze in the atmosphere. Thankfully, that's only for a week or so. There's probably lots more I'm not covering... -Grainlady

Agave nectar does NOT raise blood glucose - it's a 10-11 on the glycemic index of foods, and in my NON-professional opinion, would be one of the best choices for a sweetener (used in moderation) and would be the one I would use in similar circumstance for myself. I use 1/2-3/4 the amount of the sugar called for in a recipe when substituting agave nectar. I may or may not adjust the hydration, it depends on the recipe/food. An easy way to use it is to find recipes that call for honey and substitute agave nectar for honey. I previously posted this quote: Patrick Quillin, Ph.D., R.D., wrote in "Beating Cancer with Nutrition" (Nutrition Times Press, 1994). "Elevating blood glucose in a cancer patient is like throwing gasoline on a smoldering fire," Dr. Quillin warned, so eating foods that promote balanced blood sugar is advisable for individuals who have cancer... So, ANY food that elevates blood glucose is a problem, not just "sugar". Whole wheat flour will raise blood glucose nearly as much and as quickly as white flour and sugar. I'd use low-carb coconut flour instead. (See link below.) Many recipes in "Cooking with Coconut Flour" use honey (I substitute agave nectar), and some have stevia as a suggested alternative. In general, I'd watch EVERY carbohydrate in the diet (stick to low-carb foods), watch the amount of total carbohydrates in a meal/food, and how each food affects the blood glucose. As others suggested in earlier posts, you need to understand the Glycemic Index of foods - this will tell you which foods raise blood glucose. Any food that raises blood glucose would also "feed" cancer cells. I'd pick foods from the lower half of the Glycemic index, and avoid "sugar" entirely. Even turbinado and sucanat. I'd suggest the book, "Get the Sugar Out" by Ann Louise Gittleman. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Coconut Flour Recipes

The pulp will still be just damp enough to pack together, kinda' like clay, but still crumble under pressure. You shouldn't see any visible moisture if pressed. What is left? Fat, protein, fiber, and much of the nutrition. I like to dry nut pulp at a fairly low heat - 125-degrees F and under. It dries fairly quickly and works in nearly any recipe that calls for almond flour. I dry it on the fruit roll-up sheets. I usually make it finer after it's completely dry by placing it in a mini food processor (if necessary - not all recipes require fine almond flour, but most do). You could also place it in a bag and roll it with a rolling pin into a finer flour just by rolling the clumpy mixture. You can also use raw pulp and make a number of things like "cereal", crackers, snack foods, and a whole lot of other interesting things. Many will be dehydrated at a fairly low temperature - especially if you follow RAW food recipes - and raw foods recipes are a great resource. Some of the recipes I've gleaned, and you can find these and more on-line: -Almond Pulp Freezer Fudge -Almond Pulp Crackers -Raw Almond Pulp Cookies -Almond Pulp Crunch -Homemade Almond Butter (but you need a high-speed blender like a Vitamix) -Almond Pulp Breakfast Power Bread -Cinnamon Peanut Butter Almond Pulp Crackers The link below is a great place to find recipes using almond flour. Honeyville Grain Almond Flour is superior to homemade, but homemade is soooooooo much cheaper. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Elanas Pantry

Congrats, Carol, on the great results. Have you cut into it? How are the crumb and crust? How does it taste? I too benefit greatly from Grainlady's posts. Lots and lots of whys to go with my hows. :)