Low energy cooking

For a while now I've become increasingly intrigued with the idea of low energy cooking (funny how things like that happen when you get your electricity bill lol!)

I've been doing some experimenting over the last month or so with mixed results!

My first method was with the food thermos I bought on sale. I have managed to successfully cook porridge in it - yay! It's quite simple - I put one cup of rolled oats in the thermos (not quick / instant oats but the old-fashioned ones), and fill it up with boiling water - I think it probably takes about 1.5 cups of boiling water. Put the lid on, go to bed, and in the morning (about 9 hours later by the time I get to it) you have porridge! I haven't experimented to find out how long it actually takes before it's ready but I'm sure you wouldn't need to leave it that long! It's luke-warm by that stage, and I like creamy porridge, so I just tip it in the saucepan with some milk and heat it back up. No stirring over a stove - so easy!

I also tried to cook potatoes in it the same way - by peeling and chopping potatoes, and then pouring boiling water over them in the thermos, but didn't have much luck. They had started to soften a little, but were nowhere near cooked. I'm going to try again by boiling them for a few minutes first and then putting them in the thermos to see if that helps.

My other experiment was making a haybox cooker - google it for heaps of ways to do it! The idea of the haybox is that you start the meal cooking, then transfer it to the insulated box to finish cooking.

What I did was take our old metal esky that we picked up at a car boot sale years ago, grab a pillowcase and fill it with styrofoam peanuts and place that in the bottom as the bottom insulating layer.


I wanted to try it with sweet rice (white rice boiled with milk & sugar) so I grabbed a saucepan that would fit in and boiled it up for a few minutes using my normal recipe. Then I popped it in the Esky.


I put a towel & a bunny rug over the top and tucked it in tight :)


Popped the lid on and left it for about 4 minutes.


End result - not too bad but not perfect. The rice was still a bit crunchy and not very hot, and there was way too much liquid. The size of the esky made it hard to find a saucepan to fit. It didn't keep it very hot - I'm not sure if it was the type of pot I used, the lid may not have fitted tightly or whether the insulation was insufficient in the esky and my added stuff. It definitely needs tweaking but the idea is good!



I'm also very tempted to try this solar cooker that Molly posted about on her blog -
http://doing-it-naturally.blogspot.com/2008/05/windshield-cover-solar-cooker.html - I just don't have the necessary "bits" atm.

BUT wait there's more...

Yesterday I went to the Caravan & Camping Show with my parents and purchased a brand new toy - the Dreampot thermo cooker.


The Dreampot works on the same idea as the haybox but someone has already done all the work for you :) You basically put your food in the pots, bring it to the boil and cook it for a few minutes and then place it in the insulated outer pot. Seal it up and it finishes cooking the food and keeps it hot for up to 8 hours. You can cook stews, rice, pasta, breads, cakes, yoghurt and heaps more! You can also use it as a cooler.

I will admit that I got a bit swayed by the sales pitch - I hadn't gone there planning to buy one but I had been looking at them and lusting for a while. The saleslady was one of the owners of the company and what impressed me most was that she wasn't trying to push a whole heap of accessories with it. Cake tin - use an empty baked bean tin, trivet to raise the pot up - use a couple of small tuna tins etc. It impressed me. She and her husband have developed the product and use it themselves as they travel around. I'll be using it both at home and in the caravan - how nice to have a stew for tea and an egg custard for dessert cooking away as we travel around lol.

So hopefully a combination of the above will help with electricity costs!

Impressions of "An Hour for the Planet" challenge

This was written last night:

"I'm sitting here in bed taking part in my first An Hour for the Planet challenge. It's 9:19pm, I started at 8:30pm. The only light left on in the house is Billy's toilet light - he doesn't like to go to sleep without it. I must find an alternative.

I've been sitting here by candlelight jotting down impressions - it's hard to find a comfortable spot where I can actually see what I'm writing so I've finally given up and turned the torch on so I can write. I feel like I'm cheating!

My strongest impression is how tired I feel. You don't realise how strongly electric lights interfere with our body clocks and internal rhythms. I feel like I'm camping when you're ready for bed by 7:30!

The air is quite chilly tonight. My arms are feeling the nip of autumn while my legs are toasty warm under the doona.

It's quiet now. Earlier the gentle sounds of night were all but drowned out by the CD Billy was listening to as he went to sleep. I've just been in to turn it off and cover him up again.

Now I can hear the tick of the clock, and the occasional "creak" of the frogs in the pond. Before there was the calling of a bird flying overhead - I can't identify what it was but it brought back memories of sleeping in the van outside Gram & Pop's house at Bonnell's Bay.

I have a single tealight candle burning in my oil burner. The oil I used last was a "relaxing" blend - I can smell it subtly on the air. There's also a hint of eucalyptus - I was burning it this afternoon to help Billy's cold.

I feel very relaxed - the hour seems to have lasted much longer. I've learnt that it's impossible to do anything by the light of one candle!

I'm about to chase away the mysterious shadows and the warm yellow glow of candlelight and return to the world of electric lighting - but only long enough to turn a light on to welcome Pete home. Then I'm tucking myself back into bed to sleep."

An hour for the planet

Melinda at Elements in Time is running a new challenge to extend Earth Hour (I saw in mentioned over at Crazy Mumma's blog). Melinda's challenge is to continue turning our lights etc off for an hour each week until the end of May (and by then it will hopefully be a habit).

I've put my hand up for it. My chosen hour is Monday nights - about 8:30 - 9:30pm. By then Billy will be in bed - he's scared of the dark so it wouldn't be pleasant trying to do it while he's awake! Pete is out at squash on Monday nights - I can't see him being keen on it.

My challenges will be:
* I leave the toilet light on for Billy at night because he's scared of the dark. Maybe there's some kind of solar light that would work instead?
* Instead of leaving the loungeroom light on for Pete to come home to, I'll switch it off until just before I go to bed.
* I'll try reading & writing by candlelight. Computer will be switched off.

I'm looking forward to it!

Today is Blog Action Day

Bloggers all over the world will be discussing the environment on their blog today - what a great way to raise awareness!

I'm not the type of person to campaign or demonstrate on a large scale. Instead I'm trying to change my own habits to tread lightly on the earth in the hope that that will make some overall difference. A couple of quotes I've read recently sum it up for me:

“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” Robert Francis Kennedy

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever does” Margaret Mead

I've listed before some of the habits I'm trying to establish to have a positive impact on the environment eg in water & electricity savings. I'm also trying to grow more of our food, cut down on packaging, reduce usage of disposal items like plastic bags, use non-toxic cleaners etc. It's the same sort of things many of you are doing.

For me, the biggest way I'm making a difference is by passing on a responsible attitude & habits to my son. If these sorts of things become second-nature to our children, then hopefully the picture won't be so bleak for their generation. I was explaining Freecycle to Billy this afternoon as a lady was coming to pick up some things I was offering. I explained that just because we didn't have a use for something any more, some one else may be able to make use of it rather than throwing it to the dump - he piped up with "I know - reduce, reuse, recycle"! I was a very proud mum :) (Thanks also go to Bob the Builder for reinforcing that message!)

Saturday Ramblings

I'm tired and stressed.. (so what else is new?! lol)

We had a dreadful night last night - all 3 of us are coughing our lungs up (sorry, hope no-one was eating lol) so we were all waking each other up through the night. Once I'm awake I keep lying in bed thinking of all of the things that I have to do - my heart races, I can feel my body tense, and my mind won't shut off.

I'm only capable of thinking about things one day at a time - my life consists of ticking things off a list atm, and if it's not on the list, it doesn't happen. I'm even treating Billy's party that way which is sad - rather than the happy event it should be..

10 weeks to go until work & uni are finished.. I've done out a timeline in the task section of Microsoft Outlook of the paid work I have on, which also stretches until the end of Oct. I've blocked November off as R&R - it may not happen but it makes me feel good!

On the upside, the electricity bill came yesterday. We used 42 kWh / day which is more than last qtr ( 36 kWh ), but way down on the same quarter last year (72 kWh - ouch, yeah I know!!). The main change has been in heating. I haven't pulled the heater out at all this year - I've been putting a cuddly blanket over my legs instead when I've been sitting in the loungeroom. I'm only using Billy's heater for maybe 30 mins to take the chill off his room before bed. Other than that there's a little fan heater in the bathroom that's only on when he has a bath, and our IXL-tastic heater lights in the ensuite - I'd hate to see what they use though. The dryer has only been used a couple of times all winter as well. I'm pretty pleased with it for a winter bill - will try to do better next year.


Kin & Lightening have both awarded me the "schmooze" award! I'm not sure I like the name of this one - schmooze implies "sleazy" to me, but the sentiment is good!

This award was created by Danielle at Pink Reviews with the help of Mike at Things by Mike.

The award was created to:

"recognize those people that were exceptionally adept at creating relationships with other bloggers by making an effort to be part of a conversation, as opposed to a monologue".

I duly award it to:

Susan
Lisa

Thanks to you both for the regular comments you leave on my blog!

I taught my last Saturday course for this term today - Getting started on eBay. I had 6 students so not a bad number. After work I did the shopping for Billy's party - tonight I work on my assignment, and tomorrow I'll be cooking for the party.. What a wild life I lead :)

Well, best get to it - the assignment isn't going to write itself unfortunately..