#190 - IT BURNS! IT BURNS!

Using Hot Pasta Water to Kill Weeds

Imagine, if you will, a quiet suburban street. An eco-dork housewife is busily preparing a homecooked meal of spaghetti with red sauce. As she drains the pasta, she laments the fact that she is pouring perfectly good hot water down the sink.

In another dimension, in a house just like the first, another 'green' woman is wondering what sort of eco-friendly solution she could find that would eliminate those pesky driveway weeds that keep popping up between the cracks.

Coincidence? Perhaps. Or perhaps there's more to this story.

Perhaps both these ladies have access to a fifth dimension called - the interwebbies. Where they both discover that...

BOILING WATER KILLS WEEDS!

So when you see me out in my driveway pouring my dinner on dandelions, you'll know what I'm doing. Now if you wouldn't mind explaining it to the neighbors so they don't think they're in a bad episode of the Twilight Zone, I'd appreciate it.

Savings:

Give or take 1 gallon of hot water per week.

Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

Most of my changes can't really be seen by others, so this does take me a little out of my comfort zone. But since they're going to be seeing me growing a veggie garden in the flower beds and herbs in the window boxes this summer, they might as well start getting used to my Serling-esque ways.

#175 - Stickin' It to the Man Pan

Giving Up My Non-Stick Pans

I've had this change on my list for a while, but I just finally got around to doing the research on non-stick and I've got one thing to say:

Holy Toxicity, Batman!

According to several online resources - including the Environmental Working Group, CorpWatch, the EPA and (here's the kicker) DuPont - use of non-stick pans has the potential to release toxic fumes, including chemicals that are likely carcinogenic. Not good.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a synthetic chemical that was recently found by the EPA to be a "likely human carcinogen". PFOA is used as a processing aid in the manufacturing process for non-stick pans and is also released as toxic fumes when these pans are heated to temperatures exceeding 660 F. Here's some groovy scientific info I found:

PFOA is a stable, synthetic chemical, which, when produced, lasts 50-60 years. PFOA is both water and oil resistant. It is found in dolphins, trout, polar bears, humans and many other species throughout the world - from the Arctic to the South Pacific. PFOA can cross the placenta, which is why it is even found in the bloodstreams of newborn infants. Some adverse effects of PFOA found in labratory animals studies include hepatotoxicity, carcinogenicity, immunotoxicity, hormone imbalance and developmental toxicity.

The most interesting (and easiest to read) information I found came from an article called "Toxic Teflon", published by the Environmental Working Group, who also released another Teflon article just last week entitled "Chemical Used In Non-Stick Cookware Continues to Prove Its Toxicity"

I could go on and on about the oodles and oodles of information I found, but I think a brief synopsis of the findings might be more helpful:


PFOA Bad.


DuPont's argument (you knew they'd have one, didn't you?) is that the PFOA is not released unless the pan reaches a temperature of around 660F degrees. DuPont stated that this is well-above the scroch point of butter and most cooking oils, so we needn't worry about the toxic fumes since no one would ever scorch butter.

Riiiigggghhhhhht. I don't know about you, but I don't use a fancy egg timer or thermometer to tell me when my food is cooked. I use a smoke detector. That, my friend, is how you know dinner is done.

Not to mention that PFOA is used during the manufacturing process and so, by purchasing new Teflon products, we are encouraging the production of more PFOA. Wonder where that all ends up. Hmmmm..... Well, I doubt the previously mentioned dolphins, trout and polar bears are cooking with Teflon so you draw your own conclusions.

And so, in the name of saving the planet and my own lungs, I hereby say goodbye to my jumbo non-stick frying pan and my non-stick omelette pan. Sianara to my professional style wok. Au revoir to my griddle and so long to the waffle maker I pilfered from my sister's kitchen last year. *sniff* I shall miss you all.

NOT!

I have my awesome, seasoned cast-iron skillets -- the ORIGINAL non-stick pan whose only side-effect would be anemia relief. And those babies work like a charm!

Now for all of you PFOA experts (and even you novices) I found a lot more information than I bargained for while researching Teflon pans. I found PFOA is found in many everyday items that we have in our homes. Honestly, I've simply run out of time to write it all up. I'll post more on this topic later. But if you just can't wait, a google search of "environmental hazards PFOA" will yield many more results than you would hope for.

Savings:

Release of toxic chemicals into our waterways and our bodies.



Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

This could be difficult if you didn't get a couple cast-iron skillets for Christmas like I did. But, I gotta tell ya, I picked up a nice 8" cast iron skillet at Goodwill last week for $5. Check your local thrift shop, garage sale, craigslist and freecycle for skillets before you buy new. Odds are you can get a nice set of pans on the cheap. And since these puppies are damn near indestructable, they should serve you for years and years and years to come.

Oh, BTW, if you find a nasty-ass, rusty old cast-iron skillet at a garage sale, buy it! You can easily clean it, season it and use it!

#174 - Main Menu

Meal Planning To Save on Food Waste

You're going to be seeing quite a few posts from me on reducing food waste. It's all part of Crunchy Chicken's Project NO WASTE, a challenge that combines reducing both individual caloric consumption AND household food waste. I LOVE this challenge as it involves both my poor body image and my struggling budgeting skills.

Anyso, one of the most effective means I have found for reducing our household food waste is to create a bi-weekly meal plan. I have been an on-again, off-again meal planner for ten years now and I can attest that meal planning does more to reduce my monthly grocery expenditures more than coupon-clipping and sale-hunting combined. This reduced expenditure translates directly into less food waste for us. The less we buy, the less we toss, you know.

I don't know how a professional meal planner goes about it, but here's what I do:

Step 1: See what you've got. Check the pantry, fridge, freezer and garden. What have you got that needs to be used up? How can you incorporate it into a meal? Can certain items be combined (ie: lots of tomatoes and some frozen ground turkey sounds like the start of a good chili, goulash or spaghetti & meatballs)?

Step 2: See what's on sale. Check the flyers for your local grocery store. What are they putting on sale this week? Can you stock up on certain items? Do you have space in your freezer, fridge or pantry for them?

Step 3: What are your meal goals? My main goal is to ensure variety in our weekly menus. I hate having chicken two nights in a row. Since I'm also trying to reduce my caloric intake, another meal goal of mine is to make sure each dinner is around 500 calories.

Step 4: Make the menu. I write my meals on the family calendar so I know I'll look at it every day. Write out not just the main dish, but whatever sides you're going to serve too.

Step 5: Now use your menu to make your list. You saw my super-anal grocery list a couple of months ago. You may laugh, but this uber-organization keeps me from trapsing back and forth through the store (which would most likely result in me tossing more crap in my cart).


Now there are two exceptions to the list...Ethan and Daphne. My little helpers go shopping with me and the highlight of the trip for them is to be able to pick one item out of the "snack" aisle to put in the cart. It ain't always nutritious and it's never organic, but it is usually damn tasty, and might even sport a picture of Spiderman or Hello Kitty on the front.

So that's my style of menu planning. When I don't do it, my bill runs about $200 per week, when I DO meal plan, it runs between $125- $150. Need I say more?

I'd love to hear any tips or suggestions you might have on the subject, since I tend to overlook the obvious!

#164 - All Warm and Toasty

Using My Toaster Oven Instead of My Big Oven

I am in love - In love, I tell you. And I'm not talking about my imaginary butcher boyfriend. I'm referring to my new favorite appliance.

Get your minds out of the gutter, kids -- it's not that kind of appliance.

It's my Oster Toaster Oven that I got for Christmas! This thing is da bomb, folks and it has been chefing up toasty, tasty meals for almost a month now! It heats up in a jiffy and the temperature control seems to be pretty accurate. I've been cooking hot nuggets and fries for the kids' lunches, mini-meatloafs for dinner and single-serving apple crisps for hubby. I've even been whipping up cookies for dessert -- four at a time, of course! There is nothing this little toaster oven can't cook.

With the exception of toast, oddly enough. It does kind of suck at making toast.

But other than that, it ROCKS! I have only used my big, energy sucking oven twice this month. Once, because the pizza delivery guy came early and I needed to store the pie someplace warm. And again, when I was making bacon and waffles for dinner (nice diet food, eh?) and I wanted to keep the first batch hot while I made more. Basically, my GE Profile Drop-In Range has been demoted to a warming drawer.

This change from daily use of my oven to the toaster oven is pretty similar to my "using the crockpot" post. It's really no extra work, but should pay off in a sizable reduction in my electric consumption.


Savings:

Let's assume that my average dinner takes about a half an hour to cook. That leaves me with a nightly difference of:

Oven - 8700 watts x .001 x .5 hours = 4.35 kWh
Toaster - 1250 watts x .001 x .5 hours = .625 kWh

I was already crockin' dinner once a week, and once a week we're eating salads, so I'm down to five nights per week that I'll need to use the oven. That makes my weekly oven usage roughly 21.75 kWh while my toaster oven would be drawing 3.125 kWh for the same time period. A weekly difference of 18.625.

In one year, that adds up to 968.5 kWh saved! At my current wind-generated electrical rate of $0.10 kWh, that's a dollar savings of $96.85 - greater than the cost of the oven. SCORE!


Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

It's actually easier to cook in the toaster oven. Because it's such a tiny space, I don't have to wait for the darn thing to preheat. And like I said, I've been making cookies in it and even they bake up nice and evenly, delivering a really nice chocolate cookie fix each night. Of course, eating the dough right out of the tub would save even MORE electricity. Hmmmmm. Food for thought.

Supplemental Post - HELP!!!!

Ok all you super home-canners out there - it's time to ante up. I've given out loads of advice on how to reduce your impact, find imaginary boyfriends and frighten your neighbors and now I'm the one that needs some help.

Last fall, I got a SUPER deal on a huge box of tomatoes so I decided to can them. Well, I got as far as blanching them and removing the skins before something shiny caught my attention and I put the canning project on hold. I put the naked tomatoes in some bread wrappers and tossed them in the freezer. After my four-month coffee break, I've decided to finish processing them.

Question 1. - Is this a lost cause? I hate to toss them because I joined Crunchy Chicken's No Waste Challenge and how big of an ass will I look if my first weeks' waste total is like 20 pounds?!?!?

Question 2. - Not really sure I want to "can" them, per se. I'd like to stick them in the crockpot until they turn to mush, cast a magic spell to remove all the seeds, then add some spices to create the world's most perfect spaghetti sauce. Is this possible?

Question 3. - OK, that's what I'd LIKE to do. Realistically, what is the simplest way to finish processing these? We like stewed tomatoes here. Is it possible I can just pull a couple out a time, heat them up and serve them with dinner?

Any help on this would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

All My Internet Love,
Erin

Day 131 - I Can Mash Potato

Cooking Like Dear Old Dad

My Dad used to live with us when we were still up in New York and he was - and still is - a hell of a cook. The downside to having a hell of a cook live with you is that they're always messing with whatever you're cooking and it's really freakin' annoying.

For instance, anytime I would be cooking mashed potatoes or carrots or anything boiled on the stove, he would wait until the pot was steaming, shut off the burner, slap on a lid and proclaim "It ain't gonna get any hotter!".

Being the good daughter that I am, I of course asked Dear Father what he meant so that I could learn from his great wisdom and experience. NOT! I rolled my eyes, muttered something under my breath about 'old coots' and turned the heat back on so the food would cook. Dammit.

It wasn't until last week when I was chefing up dinner with the kids that it actually hit me. Daphne asked me "What Dat?" (the relentless 2 year old inquiry), indicating the steam rising from the pot. I explained to her that water is a liquid, at least until it reaches 212 degrees, at which point it can't get any hotter as a liquid so it turns into a steam. You know, cuz two year olds are all about physics and stuff.

And it was during this little lesson that the lightbulb went off. The old coot was right. It wasn't gonna get any hotter. Thirty-five years it took me to get that one, folks. Sorry 'bout that, Dad. ;-)

So now, whenever cooking potatoes, carrots, sweet corn or pasta, I will remember my Dad's great wisdom and shut off the burner when the water reaches its maximum heat level. The food will continue to cook and I'll save some watts in the process.

Savings:

At an average of 800 watts per burner, and about 10 minutes of wasted heat per item, I'll be saving .1333 kWh per boiled item. We eat pasta weekly and average two boiled veggies during that time, for a total of three boiled menu items per week. Assuming each item takes the same amount of time to cook (which they don't, but hey, cut me some slack, would ya?), I'll be saving 1.73 kWh per month or 20.77 kWh per year. It's not a huge savings, but every little bit adds up.

Difficulty Level: 2 out of 5

No extra work involved here, other than remembering to shut off the burner when I see the steam. And, of course, having to admit to my Dad that he was right.

Day 130 - Feelin' Hot! Hot! Hot!

Consolidating My Oven Use to Once Per Day

Ever since I learned about how much electricity my oven sucks up, I've been looking for ways to cut down on its use. You might say it's been a "burning" desire.

But that would be really lame.

Oh well, just one more month of using the insanely energy-draining oven and then, if Santa got my note, I'll be able to save lots of electricity with my new (or used) Toaster Oven. While I'm waiting, though, I have devised a plan that should help save some of the juice associated with the 5,000 watt range.

I will consolidate any and all oven use to once per day (assuming I use it at all). So, if I need to make a batch of granola, the kids want cookies and I'm making pork chops for supper, it's all gonna get cooked up at the same time - varying temperatures, lengthened cooking times and cross smellination be damned. This will be lots of fun -- like learning to juggle butcher knives and prairie dogs simultaneously.

If they cannot be cooked together (like if they won't all fit in at once), I will at least cook all the items back-to-back, thereby saving the energy that would have been required to preheat the darn thing twice.

Savings:

I only use the oven twice a day about twice a week. Good grief, I wrote that sentence and even I don't understand it. What I mean is that, roughly two days per week, I find myself in the situation of needing to cook multiple items. Better?

Savings is estimated to be about 30 minutes, twice per week at 350 degrees, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of a little more than 5 kWh. In one year, that's 261 kWh (for you finance types, that equates to a dollar savings of $28.78). Not bad - that right there'll get me a large pepperoni pizza and a dozen wings - all cooked by someone else!

Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

This is going to require both planning acumen and spacial relation skills, neither of which I possess. Fear not, though, I have a meat thermometer and a set of pot holders. And one hot idea.

Day 112 - Gobble Gobble!

Planning an Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving Meal

With Thanksgiving less than three weeks away, it's time to start planning the menu. I want to try to make it as environmentally friendly as possible, while still including all of the traditional family dishes.

The piece de la resistance will be the bird, of course. We will be eating a big turkey, probably 16 pounds or so. I would love to get a free range bird from a local farm but it's just not in the cards. Hubby's employer always buys everyone in the company a turkey for Thanksgiving and it would be considered very rude of us not to take it. I will gladly accept the free bird in the spirit in which it is given and be thankful that dh works for a great company with such a kind-hearted boss.

That leaves stuffing, mashed potatoes, winter squash, green bean casserole, rolls, gravy, corn, beverages and pies. Let's attack each item seperately:

I use my Dad's awesome stuffing recipe which is a combination of stale bread, breakfast sausage, celery, onion, chicken broth and spices. I could easily make my own bread, but I will instead take all the "leftover" breads in the freezers and dry them - thereby ensuring they get used rather than tossed out the next time I clean the freezer. For the sausage, I will start looking for an eco-friendly source this week. The celery and onion will both be purchased from the farm stand and I will make the broth myself. I wish I had a spice garden of my own, but I don't, so I will use the spices that are already in my cupboard.

The potatoes and winter squash can also be purchased from the market, but I'm not sure about the green beans. I will check this week to see if they still have some. If not, I might just forget the casserole, as I have no idea how to make my own condensed mushroom soup anyhow!

The rolls and gravy I will make from scratch on Thanksgiving.

Corn. Hmmmmm. I really wish I had purchased a few extra ears this summer and frozen them for just such an occasion. Hindsight being 20/20 and all, I guess the best I can do is buy a can of corn and make a mental note for next year. You can't NOT have corn if you have gravy and potatoes. It's un-American and, quite possibly, illegal.

Beverages are easy. I already purchase local, organic milk in reusable glass containers. I will also offer up some local cider and wine for those who prefer something sweet with dinner. If none of those work, I've always got lots of bottled water. JOKING -- Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.

Desserts? Get me. I'm going to try to make a pumpkin pie from..... a pumpkin! No shit! I hear it can be done and Ethan said he would even try it if I managed to not screw it up. I'll also get some local apples and make a nice apple crisp for hubby. It's his favorite.


Savings:

Not much, really. I'll be trying to serve as many local, seasonal foods as possible so the food miles will be a bit lower than they would have otherwise been. And if I do need to purchase something out of season or canned/frozen, I'll be sure to buy organic.


Difficulty Level: 2 out of 5

Wow, this was easier than I thought it would be. The only to-do's on my list are to find an eco-friendly breakfast sausage and see what's still coming in to the farm stand. Of course, making all these items from scratch, instead of just opening cans and jars will be a bit more work. But when you're surrounded by family and counting your blessings, it's hard to bitch about stirring gravy.

Day Eighty-Three - That's a Crock

Using the Crockpot Instead of the Oven

I'm making ribs today (pork ones, of course -- no beef!). Now, I'm not the world's greatest chef or anything, but I do ok in the kitchen. Nearly every night there's a nutritous, home-cooked meal on the table, all prepared by yours truly. I used to really enjoy cooking but now that I'm working three afternoons a week, Daphne has given up her afternoon nap, and 5 pm is either fightin', whinin' or racin' time at my house, I look for whatever shortcuts I can take.

One of my favorite shortcuts is the crockpot. In fact, I love it so much that I own two of them. Super-consumeristic, I know, but one is for really big dinners and the other for smaller dishes -plus I bought them before the Compact.

But back to the ribs. Normally, I would wrap them in aluminum foil, toss them in the oven at 300 for two hours, then throw them on the grill for a nice, crispy finish. Today I am trying something new. I cut the long set of ribs into five smaller sections and threw them in the crockpot on HIGH where they will sit for 5 hours. Then I'll pull 'em out and toss them on the grill. What's the big difference? I thought you'd never ask.

Well, besides the fact that I'm saving a 2 foot length of aluminum foil (which ends up so food-encrusted that it can't be recycled), I'm saving oodles of electricity. Using my super-geeky-cool Kill-A-Watt device, I discovered that my large crockpot, when set on high, draws 260 watts. Compare this with my oven which has a kW rating of 8.7 (that's 8700 watts). So even though I'm more than doubling the amount of time spent cooking, I'm greatly reducing the energy required to do so.

Savings:

Oven - 8700 watts x .001 x 2 hours = 17.4 kWh

Crock - 260 watts x .001 x 5 hours = 1.3 kWh

Pretty simple to see that using the crock is saving me over 16 kWh. If I can use the crock once a week, instead of the oven, I'll be saving 64 kWh a month -- 832 kWh per year. That's another $8.32 :-) Who says "going green" is expensive? Most of my changes save me money. Maybe I should rename the blog "going cheap". Would you still read?

Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

I already own two cookbooks devoted to crockpot cooking so I should be set on recipes for at least a full year, maybe more. Plus, it really cuts down on the late afternoon craziness around here. I've even heard tell of a clever woman who makes her crockpot dishes the evening before and stores them in the fridge overnight -- thereby eliminating all the chopping and mixing work the next day, while simultaneously guilting her hubby into giving the kids their baths while she is "working on supper". Wow, she sounds really smart, doesn't she? ;-)