Baking up the wrong tree

Submitted by lish on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 - 09:52
Oven with cook-up

On Sunday mornings my dad likes a croissant. Warm from the oven.

One oven. One croissant.

I love dad, and I love warm croissants but this challenges my notions of energy efficiency – basically because it is not at all. Dad just wants a croissant for breakfast and I want to use all that pent-up oven–energy and go baking mad. 

And this is where the problem begins. While the oven is on why not use it - make a pie, roast some beetroot, bake some biscuits, a loaf of bread, invite friends over for lasagne and then, in the residual heat, make meringues and dry your socks. All for the same energy that it takes to heat up one croissant.

That is my theory but I it never runs like that.

It has a soundtrack from some modern composer, discordant and disorganised.

My oven cook-ups turn into a crazed messy mess. What could have been a delightful Sunday breaky or a 1 hour relaxed and enjoyable bread baking activity  turns into 3 hours with mess, flour, vegetable peelings, eggshells, babies chewing on dangerous items and me struggling to dig in to my moral high-ground. 

And I certainly don’t save energy. I am exhausted by the end of it and the oven has been on for hours.

I have just done a similar cook-up.

  • Potatoes in jackets
  • Roast pumpkin for soup/pizza topping
  • A loaf of bread
  • Macaroni cheese

It was a bit planned but still ended in chaos so I have taken a step back to not be so obsessive about the oven and take the time to enjoy the croissant.

Never let it be said that I am not against direct action but it is not actually that efficient.

 

Comments

cooking saving power etc

Submitted by Rosie on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 - 15:11.

Hi Lish

Thanks for your funny inspiring info on all these great topics! you have no idea how empowering your video on changing the washer on a tap is, with you doing it... slowly, clearly telling people what youre doing as you do it. Its really useful, has inspired me to have a go next time myself.

funny story about cooking, yes it takes time and a bit of thinking the whole saving power thing. I have a housemate who likes to fill - or over fil the kettle. I figure if I only want a cup of tea, i'll just boil a cup and a bit of water. Maybe I need to get a smaller kettle, and a smaller coffee plunger, then its easy to see you dont need as much. Im not trying to be mean, I want to say, but I visualise the gas not flowing from a line, but a cylinder and see the level going down, us using more than we need. All takes practice I guess, to get into the mindset of using things differently.

Changing the culture of how we do things, and being aware of where we are and how we interact with this place. Gradually I guess, we get the idea! thanks and good luck with those dangerous babies / babies getting into dangerous stuff as well!

R

Thanks Rosie

Submitted by lish on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 - 20:29.

Hi Rosie,

That kettle thing really is a good one. A large factor in the designing of the kettle is about making it clear to people how much water is in the kettle so they only have to boil what they need. Another part is the reminder that they have boiled the kettle!

They have bought back the 'ding-bell' on electric kettles to remind people to use the hot water rather than come back in 1 hour and reboil the kettle.

Maybe we just fill up the kettle unknowingly ...lulled into a trance by the sound of water filling up the jug. 

I have a whistling kettle on the gas stove top which takes hours to boil. The less water the quicker it takes to boil ... writing too much in reply to your comment ..I think I will do a whole blog on it.

Hoorah - good luck with the dripping tap.

Lish