Energy Efficiency in the Kitchen

Kitchen is a space where you spend quite some time of the day and energy too. Kitchen Appliances account for 25% of a household’s energy consumption.[i] And this calls for efficient ways of using the available energy.

Energy efficiency measures provide a way of saving and reducing our household consumption. I have tried to apply some of these in my day to day life. And these can be very useful in your kitchen as well.

Cook with a lid - It speeds up the process of cooking, as the heat is conserved by covering a pan. And when the heat is not able to escape, the pressure inside the pan increases which in turn furthers the cooking process. Use it while boiling, sautéing vegetables or for making your favorite pasta.

     

  Optimize oven use – While cooking with oven, we work with very high temperatures and this leads to greater use of energy. But there are ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint here. This can be done by optimizing the use of an oven, with multiple racks – you can stack two or three different things at the same time. This way you can not only save energy but time too.                                            

   Turn off before time – This works with both oven and stove. When you are baking or roasting, according to the given cooking time, you can put off the oven just 4-5 minutes before the time is up. And it doesn’t affect the cooking process at all, as the temperature remains the same inside the oven for that period of time. This helps in saving energy and the dish comes out just as perfect. While cooking on stove too, especially for boiling vegetables or pasta, you can put off the gas a little before time and leave it covered for the remaining time. These few minutes add up to hours of saved energy over the years.

    Unplug Appliances – Appliances use energy even when not in use, if they are plugged in. So, one of the easiest ways of avoiding wastage is to unplug appliances like microwave, toaster or blender in the kitchen. It becomes more beneficial, when you are planning to be away from home for a few days or you are going on a vacation.

   Pressure cook your soups and beans – Pressure cooker is a much quicker way of cooking and results in less energy consumption. It can be used for soups, meats, beans and even for boiling potatoes. It reduces the cooking time considerably (down to 20–30 minutes) in comparison to simmering for hours.

    Shop for Energy efficient appliances - If you are looking to buy a new microwave oven or stove, go for the energy efficient appliances which save energy and money in the long run.  

One of the most important things in the direction of saving energy is using it efficiently. Every bit we do helps, as the saying goes, “little drops of water make a mighty ocean”.

References

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[i] General Electric, Ecomagination Kitchen, http://www.ecomagination.com/portfolio/ecomagination-kitchen

Olympics : Tuned in

I have been hooked onto the Winter Olympics since it started on February 5, 2014 in Sochi. It has been amazing, the Opening Ceremony was breathtaking, the events are great and of course extremely competitive athletes. 

Just a few minutes ago, I was watching the Mens Nordic Combined Event, what a thrilling race it was. Germany's Eric Frenzel won the cross-country part after getting the highest score in Ski jump. 

                                                               Mens Nordic Combined Result 

Have been following most of the events - Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding, Figure Skating, Curling, Speed skating, Luge, Ski Jumping, Biathlon and others. 

            Germany's Carina Vogt Ski Jump which won her Gold

February 13th - Saw the women's skeleton event in the morning, it was so good. This sport is crazy fast in terms of speed and looks pretty scary. And I just finished watching the Luge team relay, another high-speed race to the finish. The fastest team Germany won the gold.

Women's 1000M Speed Skating

February 14 - Today, I saw the final two runs of the women's skeleton- what an exciting race it was. And Elizabeth Yarnold from Great Britain won the gold medal, she was superbly fast.

                                                               Elizabeth Yarnold's run

February 27th - Olympics ended a few days back. The closing ceremony was equally spectacular as the opening ceremony was. I had a fantastic time watching these games and I must say, I did feel bad when it got over. Anyway, looking forward to the next Olympics.

The Daily Show: Attended a 'live taping'

Yesterday, I attended a live taping of the famous - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It was a fabulous experience though the weather wasn't good at all.
                                                           

The Daily Show Studio

I got the ticket confirmation email two weeks before the show date and I was super excited. And read reviews about the show prior to the date. Most of the people recommended to be there in line before 1 as if you are late, you end up not getting any tickets.

So accordingly, I left home around 11, as it takes me almost two hours to reach. And changed three trains to get to the venue and I was bang on time at 1. And got the place under the awning, which was a life saver as it was a cold, frigid day. Waited in the line for one and a half hour before finally getting hold of my ticket at 2:30. And was asked to come back by 4:30. I left right away and decided to have lunch in one of the restaurants close by.

                                                                       Show Ticket

Spent almost two hours in the restaurant and arrived at the venue again in time and got in the line. We had to wait for another 15 minutes before we were ushered in to the airport style security area. Got through that and into another line to get in the studio. And I got a great aisle seat, third row - it was perfect - clear view with no cameras in the front.

Then it was time to click pictures of the beautiful studio, but no one was allowed to use the phones till everyone was settled in their seats. And after 15 more minutes, they allowed us to click pictures for few minutes and it was like a burst of clicks everywhere. Everyone was out with their phones and got busy. In no time, we were advised to put off our phones.

Phones off, everyone finally settled down and the warm-up guy/comedian was there to entertain us. He was super funny and really changed the mood of the crowd. And then came Mr. Jon Stewart, looking crisp, he took questions from audience and gave very witty replies. He really interacted with the crowd and it was so much fun. Then, they began the shoot with a countdown and we were live.
                                                       

                                                                 Inside the Studio

It went well, with some video sequences in between and in the end, Jon Stewart interviewed Ty Burell (from Modern Family). It was a short one and within an hour it was time to wrap up. The show got over in time and the host thanked us for being there. We walked out swiftly and I was home by 8 after changing three trains (as usual).

The show was awesome and Jon Stewart is incredibly hilarious. I enjoyed it thoroughly except for the weather.