A greener kitchen

No, she's not redecorating in '70s avocado. Rather, a bride energy-audits her cooking techniques and surroundings and learns where she can save.

By Malina Brown

For The Inquirer

The EPA estimates that changing a quarter of your bulbs to compact fluorescents can cut a lighting bill in half.

A few weeks into my marriage with the Environmentalist, I made the mistake of reading aloud an article about global warming that noted that kitchen appliances account for the largest share of total electricity consumption in many households.

"So, I guess that makes the kitchen the least eco-friendly room in the whole house," I said. "Go figure!"

And with that, as they say, the honeymoon was over. I had been transformed in his eyes from blushing bride to Eco-enemy No. 1. It made no difference that I drive a car small enough to be mistaken for a child's toy, incessantly carpool, and wash my face with organic cleanser made from seaweed. In our household, the kitchen is my domain. And the look the Environmentalist gave me just then said I might as well have cut down a rainforest with my bare teeth.

On the plus side, there's nothing like finding out that your new husband views you as an accomplice to the planet's destruction to jump-start interest in "greening" your kitchen.

With burgeoning literature, Web sites and blogs on the environment, it is not hard to find useful information to help make your whole kitchen greener - from the big stuff, like appliances, countertops and flooring, down to the way you cook your food and wash your dishes.

Since we rent our apartment, I was not willing to invest in any major purchases, like new appliances. (See the accompanying article for my research on how to save energy on those.)

So, my best chance for achieving a truly green kitchen lay in my ability to adjust my cooking habits. Tests by the U.S. Bureau of Standards determined that some people use 50 percent more energy than others to cook the same meal. If the number of dirty pots and pans is any indicator, I was probably guilty of energy overexertion as well.

Here's what I discovered: Low-impact cooking requires only reasonable amounts of discipline, such as using as little water as possible when boiling water for pasta or other dishes, and covering the pot with a lid to help it boil faster. Use the smallest pan and burner possible to get the job done and, if using a gas stove, be careful not to crank the flame up too high (if you see the flame anywhere on the side of the pot, it's probably too high). Also, turn off the oven a few minutes before food is ready, since it will still be hot enough to finish up.

A tough one for a messy cook like me is keeping the metal grease plates under burners clean to help reflect heat more effectively up to the cookware. I've had better luck lining them with aluminum foil. But don't cover oven racks with foil, because it will reduce heat flow and increase cooking time.

To really save energy, I had to train myself to stop being a slave to my stove. The microwave reduces energy consumption by an average of two-thirds and can be used for more than just heating up frozen dinners. You can poach salmon, bake a potato, or even make a casserole in the microwave.

The toaster oven is another ingenious energy-saver as long as you don't limit it to toasting. Think of the toaster as a mini-oven and start using it for real cooking, like lamb chops, fish fillets and roasted vegetables. Lynn Alley's The Gourmet Toaster Oven (Ten Speed Press, 2006) offers sophisticated recipes for toaster-oven meals, including a top-notch Herbed Oven-Fried Chicken and a sweet potato casserole. Other appliances that save time and energy include pressure cookers, crock pots and electric kettles. Just remember to unplug appliances after use, because they draw small amounts of electricity even in the "off" position.

Of course, even if you are using eco-friendly cooking techniques, it helps if the ingredients are locally grown, organic, hormone-free, bought in bulk, and carried in a reusable bag instead of the plastic ones at the store. That's why farmers markets are so popular among environmentalists: They offer fresh produce that has not traveled a long distance and isn't wrapped in a lot of plastic packaging. You earn extra eco-points if you grow herbs or vegetables yourself, so I purchased a fragrant rosemary plant and a couple of other indoor plants to help offset our household's energy usage.

To boost my savings, I also moved my main workstation - including my new eco-friendly beechwood cutting board - to the counter nearest the window to eliminate any need to switch on the overhead lights during the day. Luckily, my countertops and cabinets are bright white; dark wood and stone suck up light, meaning you are more likely to rely on overhead lighting - something to keep in mind for anyone remodeling a kitchen.

It's now been several weeks since I greened our kitchen. My conscience is lighter, as is my energy usage, and my husband has stopped looking at me like an environmental Antichrist. I feel better knowing I am doing my part to save the planet - except, of course, for unintentionally killing the rosemary plant, which I threw out when the Environmentalist wasn't home.

Turns out, I don't have much of a green thumb. Go figure.