Reusable Net Produce Bags

Quicktip

Ever find you’ve accumulated way too many flimsy plastic produce bags? Stop the insanity! As I point out in Cooking Green, recycling is good, and bringing your own bags for produce as well as groceries is even better. Now, 3B Bags offers hip and practical bags for both vegetables and groceries. They make reusable, washable produce bags from fine, see-through netting. Cool!

They feature a drawstring, weigh next to nothing, and come three to a pack ($7.50). Bring them to the store in the 3B Paisley Tote ($6.00), which is made of polypropylene so it can be wiped clean, and features a clear pocket on the interior side (drop in garlic heads or a grocery list). According to the manufacturer, using three of their reusable produce bags once a week can save as many as 150 plastic bags per year. Check them out at 3BBags.com.

Buy the Self-Cleaning Oven

Quicktip

by Kate Hehyoe

Even if you never use the self-cleaning function, it’s a worthwhile feature. Why? Because self-cleaning ovens are better insulated than standard ovens, so less heat pours into your kitchen.

If you do use the self-cleaning feature, turn it on after your oven’s already hot, like after roasting, so you don’t waste extra fuel getting it up to inferno temperature.

Quick Tips

Find more tips to shrink your cookprint in Kate Heyhoe’s book Cooking Green

Freezer Packs

Quicktip: Make Meats Last Longer

by Kate Heyhoe

Fresh meat and poultry can last up to three days longer if stored at 31 degrees F. (The spoilage rate slows down, but without solid freezing.) My fridge has a programmable bin with this setting, but you can lower a regular bin’s temperature by tossing in a freezer pack. By the way, fish markets tend to have loads of freezer packs; next time you shop at one, ask them for a pack or two for keeping the fish cool on your way home (and in your fridge). Wash the pack well with a little bleach in the water to remove any odors, and re-use it whenever you need to chill out, or chill in.

8 Green Ways to Use a Freezer Pack

Freezer packs thaw very slowly, especially if placed in an already cool environment. Keep some handy in your freezer, then use them:

• In a bowl instead of ice when shocking vegetables in “ice water”
• In the refrigerator meat bin (a lower temperature can extend freshness up to 3 days)
• To take up vacant fridge or freezer space (the motor won’t need to work so hard)
• To keep groceries chilled in an ice chest (less need to rush home, so you can do more errands while you’re out; plus perishables will last longer if kept consistently cold)
• For chilled drinks on patios and at barbecues (with fewer trips indoors, the house and fridge both stay cooler)
• To keep fish at its peak of freshness, even in the fridge (ever wonder why fish markets keep fish on ice?)
• Under your milk carton (dairy products prefer 34 degrees F., slightly cooler than most fridges, which should run between 35 and 38 degrees to prevent freezing more sensitive items).

Quick Tips

Find more tips to shrink your cookprint in Kate Heyhoe’s book Cooking Green

Make Your Own Steamer

Quicktip

by Kate Heyhoe

Cooktop cooking can be more than six times as energy efficient as oven cooking. Steaming is one form of cooktop cooking.

Types of Steamers: Bamboo steamers, the kind used with woks, are biodegradable, but foods may stick unless you place them on a plate or line the steamer with lettuce leaves or parchment paper; bamboo also releases its own grassy aroma, which may or may not be desirable. Stainless-steel steamers require more resources to manufacture, but they can last decades, and they clean up readily. For steaming one dish at a time, inexpensive collapsible steamer baskets work fine, and some cookware pots come with steamer inserts.

NGB Tip: Instead of buying more equipment, shrink your cookprint by making a steamer out of an existing pot, like this:

1. Raise the food using a rack or any pedestal-like object tall enough to elevate it above water level. Examples: Set a plate or a roasting rack over a small empty can (with ends cut out; a tuna can works well) a heatproof trivet, or a canning jar lid. Or use a metal colander if it fits in the pot.

2. Steam the food on a heatproof plate to catch the juices; or it can rest on a rack, or a lettuce leaf, or a cornhusk, or a piece of foil, or parchment paper, a pie pan, or a tart pan. (Just make sure there’s enough room for the steam to circulate.)

3. If your pot doesn’t have a proper lid, cover it with a plate or a heavy baking sheet; if necessary, set a weight on top (like a can or kettle of water) to hold it in place.

Quick Tips

Find more tips to shrink your cookprint in Kate Heyhoe’s book Cooking Green

Can the Bottled Water

Quicktip

by Kate Heyhoe

Alice Waters, the patron saint of all foods good and green, has banned bottled water from her legendary restaurant Chez Panisse. Most bottled water brands are owned by two giants, Coca Cola and Nestlé. But that’s not the issue. It turns out that public water systems, regulated by the EPA, undergo testing for bacteria and contaminants several times a day. The FDA, though, controls bottled water, and only requires a once weekly test of the source, the results of which can be kept private. So restaurants from NYC to SF Bay are going back to filtered tap water, and even converting it to sparking water in-house.

This makes such good sense at home, too. With tap water, you help keep the recycling bin clear, and you’re drinking locally (instead of trucking in water to grocery stores from some distant plant, then driving to the store yourself to buy plastic bottles of the stuff, and sending the empties on yet another journey to a recycling center or landfill. By the way, if you do have plastic water bottles on hand, fill them up and stick them in your fridge. They’ll keep the refrigerator from working so hard to chill the vacant spaces, and you can always pull them out when you need more room.

Quick Tips

Find more tips to shrink your cookprint in Kate Heyhoe’s book Cooking Green