10 Tips to a More Sustainable Kitchen
With help from Chef Ouita and Culinary Director Tyler McNabb, we’ve pulled together some creative ways you can integrate sustainability into your kitchen by reducing food waste, lowering energy consumption, and eating well.
We know how tempting it is to buy everything in sight at your local farmers market. We also know how hard it is to do justice to all that great produce once you get it home. So in the pursuit of sustainability and good eating, check out these suggestions –
1.Refine your meal planning so the most perishable foods like fresh peas, asparagus and green onions are cooked or eaten first, and practice disciplined purchasing. Tyler says to be realistic and by the end of the week, after you’ve eaten all your fruits and veggies, you’ll be proud of yourself and hungry for more.
2. Relish roots like beets, carrots, turnips? Roast them all right away in a hot oven and store in your fridge for adding to salads or soups later. They’ll keep for days.
3. Grilling out? Fill your grill with veggies while it’s hot; a grill basket is great for this and the veggies will be delicious in salads and sandwiches all week long. Spring asparagus, zucchini, onions, and summertime peppers and eggplant are great cooked this way. So are mushrooms anytime.
4. Subdue those greens! Kale, collard, mustard, turnip and beet greens – so good for you and yet so intimidating all bunched up. If you like them cooked, consider washing and wilting your greens all at one time. They’ll take up a lot less room in the fridge and they’re delicious hot or cold, shredded into soups or dressed with evoo and fresh lemon the Greek way.
5. Another way to handle greens is to handle them, really handle them. Chef Ouita likes to massage young kale leaves with olive oil and a bit of salt. No time on the stove and you’ll have the makings of a great Caesar salad.
6. Love herbs? Consider buying a few starter plants to keep handy in a kitchen window for quick snipping. Or fill a few pots outside your kitchen door. Fresh herbs make everything better.
7. Herbs starting to wilt? Add them to cider vinegar or red and white wine vinegar; tarragon is great for this and the flavored vinegar will really perk up your veggies and salads, too. Or do as Chef Ouita does and make refrigerator pickles while you’re at it. A great two-for-one deal.
8. Bought too many berries? Freeze the extra for smoothies. Lay them out flat on a sheet pan, freeze until solid, then relocate to a zip-lock freezer bag.
9. As summer vegetables start to ripen, expand your gazpacho game with unexpected combinations. In fact, this is a great time to look up new recipes for uncooked dishes or ones that can be served cold or at room temperature.
10. And finally, if there are any vegetable scraps you can’t find a use for or time runs out before you do, consider composting!
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