In my quest to reduce my carbon footprint, I have been looking into “de-gassifying” my home.
I have always insisted on cooking with gas. I found that traditional electric stoves were slow to heat up and cool down, and I often overcooked or burned dinner.
I tried the portable induction cooktop that is part of the San Diego Green Building Council’s program to allow people to borrow a cooktop for 3 weeks and try it out for free. I was impressed with it and decided to buy my own. I also bought an 8” fry pan, and already had my cast iron skillet, a wok and a spaghetti pot that would work on it and I was set.
I decided to plan a week without using my gas stove. When I made up my week’s menus, I planned my meals with electricity in mind. Between the induction cooktop, the microwave, my crockpot and rice cooker, I managed to get through the week, gas-free.
Although most people brew their own coffee with a coffeemaker (if they don’t buy it at a coffee shop), I am one of those rare individuals who hates coffee; can’t even stand mocha ice cream. But rather than using my tea kettle on the gas stove as I usually do, I brought out my electric tea pot that I used to use in my classroom when I taught and found that it was easier and faster than the old way. Since then, I bought a new tea kettle that works on my induction cooktop.
Spaghetti sauce was cooked in the crockpot while the spaghetti cooked on the induction burner. It came to a boil quicker than using gas. I fried chicken in my caste-iron frying pan and made potato salad where I boiled the potatoes and eggs in the spaghetti pot. Casseroles in my electric oven, stews and soups in the crock pot- it all was easy to do. It just took planning, So I challenge you to try it… You’ll like it!
I have to confess that I haven’t given up my gas dryer yet. I intend to get a clothes line up eventually or if my gas dryer dies, I will install 220 V which I’ve been tempted to do for my EV. But these little changes along the way have not been hard and hopefully, the future may not be as bleak as it looks right now if we all try to do what we can.
But if I can keep a glacier from calving too soon, it is all worth it.
