I have two concerts coming up — one in a week, and the same concert presented at a different location the week following. The flyers are posted above. Please come if you can!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Still More Cooking Tips — Cooking "Green"
It seems that we all too often believe that each element of our meal needs to be cooked in a separate pot or dish, using a different cooking method for each. As a result, we use more energy to cook. We also use more pots, pans, and dishes, causing us to use more water, more energy to heat that water and, if we wash by hand, more human time and energy.
Try cooking everything in one pot or pan on the stovetop. Two things that I regularly cook on the stove are my "goulash" (I hate calling it "hamburger helper"; besides I don't buy that product) and barley with vegetables and precooked roast beef.
For the goulash, brown the beef (you can use a tender cut of beef cut into strips or bits). Add 2 cups of water and seasonings and a couple of handfuls of pasta. If you are using fresh vegetables, add those now. If you are using frozen vegetables, let the pasta/meat/seasonings bubble on medium heat for a few minutes before adding. If you like cheese in your goulash, add after the pasta reaches the correct texture for you. Almost immediately, add a thickener like corn starch shaken with water. Stir to mix, let thicken, and eat. Takes about 20 minutes.
What I'm doing tonight is preparing a meal of a cooked, frozen slice of roast beef with barley and vegetables. I got the barley bubbling in water for about five minutes, then added the vegetables, stirred those together, and then placed the slice of roast beef on top. There is no need to defrost the roast beef before doing this, saving use of the microwave. I would care less that my veggies and the barley are mixed together; it still makes a great meal (especially because I make great roast beef!) I also added some of the juice, kept frozen from cooking the roast beef, to the water in which to cook the barley. Yum Yum!
I also have a gas stove. Gas creates the heat more efficiently than electric stoves; electric-resistance heating elements are inherently less efficient than a gas burner.
Microwave ovens are also more efficient than electric-resistance heating in many cases.
Save energy — let your food enjoy the company of being cooked together!
Try cooking everything in one pot or pan on the stovetop. Two things that I regularly cook on the stove are my "goulash" (I hate calling it "hamburger helper"; besides I don't buy that product) and barley with vegetables and precooked roast beef.
For the goulash, brown the beef (you can use a tender cut of beef cut into strips or bits). Add 2 cups of water and seasonings and a couple of handfuls of pasta. If you are using fresh vegetables, add those now. If you are using frozen vegetables, let the pasta/meat/seasonings bubble on medium heat for a few minutes before adding. If you like cheese in your goulash, add after the pasta reaches the correct texture for you. Almost immediately, add a thickener like corn starch shaken with water. Stir to mix, let thicken, and eat. Takes about 20 minutes.
What I'm doing tonight is preparing a meal of a cooked, frozen slice of roast beef with barley and vegetables. I got the barley bubbling in water for about five minutes, then added the vegetables, stirred those together, and then placed the slice of roast beef on top. There is no need to defrost the roast beef before doing this, saving use of the microwave. I would care less that my veggies and the barley are mixed together; it still makes a great meal (especially because I make great roast beef!) I also added some of the juice, kept frozen from cooking the roast beef, to the water in which to cook the barley. Yum Yum!
I also have a gas stove. Gas creates the heat more efficiently than electric stoves; electric-resistance heating elements are inherently less efficient than a gas burner.
Microwave ovens are also more efficient than electric-resistance heating in many cases.
Save energy — let your food enjoy the company of being cooked together!
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