Green Eats

A great way to eat more sustainably is to cook at home rather than go out to eat. Cooking from scratch using local, whole, and unprocessed ingredients is not only tastier and healthier but is also good for the planet. Many people who are intimidated by cooking are often surprised to find how easy it can be to make simple and delicious meals from just a few basic ingredients (check out my brownie recipe). Personally I cook at home as much as possible, both out of a love of cooking and economic necessity. I can't afford to eat out very often, nor can I afford to buy $5.99 boxes of granola bars or $7.99 boxes of organic cereal. If you look through my cabinets you will find that my kitchen is virtually devoid of any processed or pre-made item.

One staple that I try to make as often as possible is bread. For the cost of a loaf of organic bread you can buy all the ingredients you need to make at least six loaves of homemade bread. Plus, there is nothing more impressive than serving a gently poached egg with a big slice of toast from bread you made yourself. People will love you for it, and they'll have no idea how easy it was!

Now usually I steer clear of extra gadgets and appliances in the kitchen – most anything I need to do can be done with a few simple tools. I don't even have a toaster! However when it comes to bread I break my rule in favor of my bread machine. I rarely have time to sit and let the dough rise, then punch it down and rise again, plus as much as I like getting my hands dirty while cooking, baking bread is a messy process. The bread machine is great – toss in all the ingredients in the morning and a few hours later you have a fresh loaf! I actually have a cookbook that is designed for baking in a bread machine and it is full of some delicious recipes – mango macadamia nut bread anyone? The only downside is that the loaves turn out fairly uniform – if you like the artistic style of a free-form loaf or have a special pan you'd like to use, you can use your machine to mix and proof the dough for you and then bake it in the oven. Below you'll find the recipe for basic white bread, which is what I make most often. Enjoy!

Basic White Bread – 1lb loaf

1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup warm milk
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups bread flour
2 tsp yeast

Put all ingredients into bread pan in order suggested by your bread machine instructions (I add the milk and water first, then the yeast. Let the yeast sit for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients). Set for white bread, medium crust. Press start.