Saving Energy In The Kitchen
By Lillian & Dave Brummet, Fri Dec 9th
Saving Energy in the Kitchen (312 words) The kitchen, with all its appliances, gadgets and heat, is areal hotspot for potential energy saving. As the oven uses themost energy and creates a vast amount of heat while cookingfoods, it is a good place to start. For instance, when baking cookies use two trays. While one isin the oven baking, the other one is prepped with raw cookies –ready to replace the tray in the oven with no wasted heat andsome time saved. When we bake bread we also fill the oven withfoil wrapped potatoes. The potatoes can be stored in the fridgewithout the foil and used throughout the week in a myriad ofrecipes, or as a side dish. This method can be applied to a menuplan in that if you are baking one dish, try to include a sidedish that is baked as well.
By turning off the oven a minute or two before the dish is done,the residual heat will finish the cooking. When done with theoven, open the door to allow any
leftover heat to warm the home. Pasta water can be left out until it has completelycooled – so that the heat and moisture are released back intothe air. Before pulling the plug, consider leaving hot dishwater(and bath water) until it cools. Why pay to heat up your sewerpipes? When vegetables, consider steaming instead ofboiling. When steamed, more nutrients are retained in the food,and because it requires less water to heat - there is lessenergy used. In summer, consider on the barbecue to help keep thehouse cool. Most barbecues now include side burners that makeoutdoor all that much easier. All these methods arerelatively easy to adopt and when added up, the savings inenergy and time really do make a difference.
About the author:-- Written by Dave and Lillian Brummet based on the concept oftheir book, Trash Talk. The book offers useful solutions for theindividual to reduce waste and better manage resources. A guidefor anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment.(http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit) |
