ACAN has teamed up with the South Central Regional Library to showcase their resources about sustainability. We invite you to check out their wide range of books on this topic. To arrange for a contactless pick up of books, you can
a) place a hold on the books you want online or by phone
b) call 204-324-1503 to schedule your pick up time
Sustainable Kitchen Book Review
By Jonah Langelotz
In Sustainable Kitchen, authors Heather Wolfe, and Jaynie McCloskey put a modern spin on a cookbook ethic that many are familiar with: cook more healthfully, eat more sustainably, live more faithfully. Although not connected to Mennonite cookbooks like More with Less, or Simply in Season, it carries a similar belief that the food choices we make help or harm our bodies, families, communities, and planet.
Written by two younger mothers, Sustainable Kitchen begins with information about human and planet health, along with basic nutrition information. Full disclosure, there are no recipes or mention of meat in this cookbook. As I’m sure you’ve heard, and as research points out, eating a plant-based diet is often better for people, and uses less energy - so is better overall for the environment.
If you’re like me though, and prefer including some meat in your diet, don’t despair! This cookbook might still be for you. I enjoyed the challenge of cooking plant-based recipes (along with some creative additions of meat along the way) and although I won’t be fully vegetarian going forward, I do have a few more meatless meal ideas in my repertoire as a result.
Outside of my own plant-based eating bias, Sustainable Kitchen is an excellent kitchen resource. I found myself familiar with many of the recipes, which are modern takes on familiar dishes. For example, instead of a quiche there’s a recipe for frittata, or instead of a classic beef chilli, a lighter sweet potato variation. So, along with pushing me towards plant-based proteins, Sustainable Kitchen also expanded my meal repertoire into somewhat familiar but less charted territory. The result is something I think we all crave in eating: healthier meals with more diverse ingredients and overall variety.
What I appreciated most about Sustainable Kitchen was the aesthetic. The majority of recipes included a full-page picture, and a clearly written ingredient and instruction list. Recipes as a whole have a moderate number of ingredients, and instructions that are clear, but not extensive.
It never felt as though I needed to go out and buy a pantry full of specialty ingredients to eat something different. If you were to follow the outline in the introduction to “a well-stocked kitchen”, many of which are staples in our house at least, you’d be well on your way to making the vast majority of recipes, without changing any grocery shopping habits.
Some recipes we really enjoyed and have already gone back to include: Simple Granola (p. 50), Winter Wheat Berry Bowl (p. 149) (great with some winter squash!), and Singapore Street-Style
Noodles (p. 167). And this is only the tip of the iceberg! I still haven’t tried recipes like the Moroccan Spiced Lentil Salad (p. 89), or the Cauliflower Tacos (p. 170), so I’ll apologize in advance for the hold you’ll need to take at the library to get me to return this book!
Tasty foods, and fun recipes aside, I’ve enjoyed working my way through this cookbook because it really hits home. I do want to cook healthier meals, using local ingredients and more seasonally available foods. I want to decrease food waste and buy more whole food, finding exciting ways to cook it. I want to eat less meat, and so plant-based alternatives and creative recipes are important. If you are looking for a new cookbook, I’d highly recommend Sustainable Kitchen.
ACAN seeks to educate and inspire sustainable practices in our community.
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