Conserving in the Kitchen with The Big Green Cookbook

Give me a big pile of organic vegetables and I'll start scheming up a healthy meal for my family.  Will it be sauteed, steamed or grilled?  Will there be meat or noodles or rice?  Once I come up with a plan I'll start chopping and cooking with abandon, thinking that I am doing the planet a favor by cooking homemade food from sustainably produced ingredients.   

But after taking a look at the Big Green Cookbook by Jackie Newgent, I realize that there is a little bit more to 'being green' in the kitchen than I had understood. Turns out that cooking and food storage is a substantial source of greenhouse gasses in the environment....we use a heck of a lot of resources in the kitchen without really giving it much thought.  The book shows you how to reduce your carbon footprint in the kitchen through a variety of resource-saving tips and tricks.  Here are a few concepts that stood out for me:

• Hypercooking - Take advantage of residual heat by turning off the heat before food is fully cooked.  It's the home cook's version of hypermiling!
• Lid-cooking - Put on the lid and turn off the heat to finish off a saute or even to cook pasta.
• Micro-roasting - An hour in the oven or 10 minutes in the microwave - guess which one's better for the environment?  Great for dense vegetables like squash, potatoes or beets.
• Green grilling - Turn off the grill and let the residual heat finish off the meal.

The cool thing about the Big Green Cookbook is that it helped me rethink the way I cook.  I never used to think twice about turning the oven on to heat up a few dinner rolls.  Now I'm much more likely to heat them in the toaster instead.  Veggies and meat are cut into smaller pieces so they'll cook faster.  I even reuse cooking water for more than one thing...like steaming and boiling and eventually for dish washing.  

Oh, and besides all the smart planet-pleasing tips there are over 200 recipes in the book - it is a cookbook after all. :)  I tried the Zucchini Panini, which uses the green grilling technique, but I made with yellow squash instead of zucchini. It's like an open-faced sandwich using zucchini as the bread, drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette, topped with tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella cheese.  Mmmmmm....super yum!

Comments

[Andrea Idika]

This sounds like a great addition for my recipe book library. I've never really thought about the effect just cooking a meal could have on the environment either. That panini sounds great!!

[Jollibee web site]

I like cooking food using produced ingredients too.I never thought that cooking and food storage is a substantial source of greenhouse gasses in the environment.Thanks for the info!After this,I wanna view that Big Green Cookbook..

seth

[Catherine]

I love the tips you featured and can't wait to explore this resource more! At Mission: Clean Kids we always need great ideas for keeping our families healthy.

[Carol]

Hard boiled eggs turn out great (no green ring around the yolk) if you boil for one or two minutes, cover & turn off the heat. Let sit for 20 - 25 minutes, and they're done!

[Jennie]

That sounds like a fab cookbook. I will have to check it out. Thank you.

[Jennie]

Sounds like a great cookbook, I will have to check it out. Thank you.

[Lisa]

Sounds awesome. I do the hypercooking. :)

Are there meat recipes in it??