New Year’s resolutions tend to focus on reductions of waistlines, chaos and clutter. But that nasty carbon footprint of yours could use a little work too.
Why not hack away at it in the coming year?
If you’re still scratching your head over just what a big fat carbon footprint looks like, go to www.climatecrisis.net, click on “Take Action” and read about all the ways you’re contributing to global warming.
Or simply google “carbon footprint” and scroll down through the pages and pages of information on this one topic.
Then turn off your computer walk to a window and marvel at the beauty around us. Now would be a good time to ask yourself if you’re able to make even a few adjustments this coming year to sustain this treasure.
By now you know that little efforts are huge when accomplished by many. Which is why I keep chipping away at our cooking habits.
With each upgrade in your behavior — using fewer paper towels or boiling only the exact amount of water you need for tea — your grandchildren will have a better chance of growing up in a more hopeful world.
Now, I’m not going to use this last column of 2007 to harp. Harping doesn’t work anyway. However, I’m also not going to let any of us off the hook.
Even though, with such an overwhelmingly big picture to consider, it’s tempting to deny stewardship of our streams and creatures. Let’s at least take a stand in our own kitchens. Then go from there.
Can you grow a little of the food you eat? Or at least buy more of it from local growers?
When a friend of mine moved to my town of Corvallis, Ore., from Utah last summer the first thing she did was turn her backyard into one big gardening plot.
She’s determined to “Eat from the source” in the coming year. Of course, when she relayed this goal to her son his response was: “But, Mom, you moved to the Willamette Valley. Isn’t that sort of like cheating?”
And it’s true. All of us up here in the Pacific Northwest live in paradise. Barb’s had a ball frequenting the farmers markets, lunching with visiting friends at a nearby organic restaurant, Gathering Together Farm in Philomath, enjoying the local wines and getting to know her way around our local food cooperative.
If she really wants to get serious, there are numerous environmentally conscious organizations breaking trail for her. The Ten Rivers Food Web, for example, is an excellent support source for learning how to become a “locavore.” Their web site (www.tenriversfoodweb.org) is thought provoking and hopeful.
And if you have a local food cooperative, they always seem to be leading the way in supporting “local first.” Their bulletin boards are usually great sources for keeping informed on local food-related environmental activities.
Meanwhile, if you just cook with greater care about how you fit into the big picture, you have instantly become a part of the solution.
To help you along, I’m providing some of my most basic and simple ways to create a greener kitchen:
Recycle. Most communities make it so easy these days, there’s simply no excuse not to put your week’s worth of used glass, paper, cardboard and aluminum items out on your curb for pick up. And it’s about to get even easier, with the arrival of recycling roll-carts in January.
Use cloth instead of paper towels for cleanup (but immediately toss them in the wash after wiping up any bacteria-laden mess, such as raw meat juices).
Don’t put blazing hot things in the refrigerator; let them cool down on the counter for 15 minutes so your fridge doesn’t have to work so hard.
When putting perishables away, position them all next to the fridge first so you only have to open its door once, rather than flapping it back and forth multiple times and pumping out all its chilled air.
When boiling water for tea, don’t fill the kettle with more water than you need.
When cooking pasta, put a lid on the pot so it will come to a boil faster and use less energy.
Use the correct size burner, and remember that a higher setting will waste more heat than one that is just sufficient to get the job done in a reasonable time.
Get a two-slot toaster if you don’t need a four-slot version; get a toaster oven if you often bake little things.
Don’t run small loads of dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
Grow some of your own food.
Buy directly from local farmers either by seeking them out at their farm stands, or by shopping at our Farmers’ Markets or by shopping at stores that sell locally grown foods.
Buy food items in glass containers rather than plastic.
Pay attention to how many of the foods you purchase are overpackaged, then check out the bulk-foods section of your market to see if a similar product will suffice.
Support supermarkets with serious recycling programs and well-stocked bulk food departments.
For brown-bag lunches, avoid using containers and packaging that can’t be reused.
Keep your kitchen equipment environmentally sound (the fridge runs more efficiently when you’ve taken the time to vacuum its heat exchanger and kept adequate ventilation around it).
And while we’re on the subject of greening up your kitchen…
Give serious thought to eating organic produce. Start learning more about sustainable agriculture and integrated pest management, and if you like what you’re reading and hearing, support those stores and growers leaning in this direction.
Compost your kitchen garbage. Sure, it’s a hassle — all those extra steps out to the yard each evening add up — but if you can minimize the use of your garbage disposal, you’ll be limiting the stuff that goes to the water treatment plant, which reduces the burden on the overall system, including those glorious lakes and rivers you’re so fond of rafting on each spring. Plus, you’ll have produced a fabulous soil amendment for your garden.
Consider the philosophies of the Chefs Collaborative, which is a network of chefs, restaurateurs and other culinary professionals promoting sustainable cuisine through education and the support of farmers.
To learn more about their goals, go to www.chefscollaborative.org. One of their stated principles is the belief that “Good food begins with unpolluted air, land and water, environmentally sustainable farming and fishing, and humane animal husbandry.”
The Chefs Collaborative promotes the philosophy of using locally grown foods, particularly in-season local produce, but also regional specialties from the sea, rivers, and ranches.
You’ll discover that your frequent visits to a farmers market has a more immediate payoff than your other environmentally sound practices.
After all, when you bite into a locally grown cucumber — or peach, or melon, or carrot — you’re reminded of how much flavor food can have when it’s grown nearby and isn’t suffering from jet lag.
Since I didn’t want to end the year without sharing at least one more recipe, I thought it would be appropriate to include one from one of my favorite local chefs and cookbook authors, Cory Schreiber, chef and owner of Wildwood restaurant in Portland, Ore.
This is one he obtained from James Beard’s maternal grandmother, Elizabeth, known to all as Grammie Hamblet.
And so, just in time for crab season, I offer…
1cup finely chopped celery
1large green pepper, finely chopped
1cup finely sliced green onions
1/2cup chopped parsley
2pounds crab meat, rinsed and picked through
2-1/2cups coarsely crushed cracker crumbs, plus more to sprinkle
1teaspoon salt
1-1/2teaspoons dry mustard
Dash Tobasco
1/2cup heavy cream
1cup melted butter, plus more
Chop celery; it must be cut finer than fine. Add the good-sized green pepper cut exceedingly fine, green onions, parsley, crab meat, cracker crumbs, salt, dry mustard, Tabasco, cream and melted butter. Toss the ingredients lightly and spoon them into a buttered baking dish.
Top with additional crushed cracker crumbs and brush them with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crumbs are delicately browned. Serve the dish at once.
Serves 8 as an appetizer or lunch entree.
Recipe from “Wildwood — Cooking From The Source in the Pacific Northwest” by Cory Schreiber
Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by e-mail at janrd@proaxis.com.
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