Sun's energy bakes scones and much more

Whole grains, nuts and dried fruits are among the nutritious ingredients in Solar Scones.

(Sarah Conard/For the P-D)

By Pat Eby / STLtoday.com
SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
07/30/2008

Name: Tom Bratkowski

Occupation: Professor of biology and environmental science, Maryville University

Family: Wife, Gloria; three sons, Tad, Matthew and Mark

Neighborhood: Old North St. Louis

A boy and his bugs: "From primary school on, I've always been interested in insects. I got my undergraduate degree in etymology from University of Missouri in Columbia, and then my master's. I went for my Ph.D. in Madison, Wis. That's where Gloria and I met, then married.

"We moved to Ithaca, N.Y., for my post-doctoral work in neurobiology and behavior at Cornell — again, working with insects.

"Gloria got a full-time job first, with St. Louis Public Schools. So we moved to St. Louis."

Tom Bratkowski bakes everything from scones to a turkey breast in his solar oven. Photo by Sarah Conard.

Home and heritage: "Moving to St. Louis was coming home for me. My parents were second-generation Polish immigrants. Our family has always lived in Old North St. Louis, near Sts. Cyril and Methodius Polish National Church. …

"When the North-South distributor highway plan threatened to tear our neighborhood apart in 1979, we fought back. We organized community meetings, rallied, and stopped the highway. I'm most proud of that effort.

"Afterwards, in 1981, we helped start the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group. We need to refocus our population. We perpetuate urban sprawl when we don't restore our urban centers."

Eating well: "My goal has been to make recipes heathier. I like to substitute olive oil and peanut oil for saturated fats, to reduce sugar and salt. I find ways to add fiber, like putting oatmeal in brownies. My sons never noticed they were eating fiber."

Focusing the sun: "I built my first solar oven about five years ago from a Styrofoam cooler, a bit of wood, and a reflective piece of metal tacked to a hinged lid. It didn't get very hot, but did work. Four years ago, I saw a demonstration of the Sun Oven at the Earthways House Energy Fair. For a little over $200, I bought a tabletop Sun Oven (www.sunoven.com).

"The highly polished parabolic reflectors really concentrate the heat in the cooking box. We cook brats, hot dogs, scones, banana bread and corn bread — anything that can cook at a low temperature. We've even cooked a turkey breast. Of course, you need a sunny day. Cooking times are best from 10 a.m. to about 2 p.m. After 5 p.m. there's just not enough sun."

A charitable focus: "I use the oven with my students, coupling the demonstration with a visit from Sister Mary Pat Reeves, a member of the Sacred Heart religious. Her mission is to get solar ovens to people living in Africa and Haiti.

"Solar ovens don't require an energy grid or a pipeline. There's a firewood crisis in Africa. Instead of defoliating the environment and burning wood to make charcoal, which is inefficient, solar ovens can provide alternatives for people to cook their meals."

Saving ways: "I don't know if it's force of habit or lack of necessity that makes us wasteful of our resources. Everyone — children, adults, seniors — can play a role in energy conservation. Gloria and I find ways to reduce our carbon footprint. Recycling — composting kitchen waste, dropping paper, plastic and glass at recycling centers. Turning our thermostats up in summer and down in winter. Using compact fluorescents in every fixture. We drive a Prius."