Most mornings I have oatmeal. I’ve challenged my brother’s to an Oatmeal cook-off, because I believe mine is the best. I use Oat groats (a little less than 1/4 cup), dried cherries (except when the supply chain cuts off my supply and then I use frozen cherries or right now dried blueberries), a quarter of an apple diced up, a spoonful of sunflower butter (peanut butter can be a trigger for migraines), a spoonful of flax seed (this is a recent addition), a pinch of salt, and a pinch of dried ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. Plus a little over a cup of water. I cook it on medium until it bubbles, and then I turn it down to 4.

On my induction stove top.

Which uses electricity.

Not natural gas.

I had a gas stove before my kitchen model. I think everyone thought I was nuts for given up a gas stove. I mean, that’s the holy grail of cooking right? Well, that’s the bag of goods the natural gas (“natural” gas) companies have been selling for years. And gas is better admittedly for cooking on than electric - older electric, with the coils and such - so say gas aficionados. Now, my mother is an excellent cook - and we had electric growing up, and she still has electric. But I digress.

This is a love letter to my induction stove top.

Because I love it.

Yes, I did have to get some new pans. I had non-stick Caphalon pots and pans that were over 20 years old. I donated them - the ones that were in good condition. And I bought way less replacement pots and pans. In fact, I bought one pan I haven’t really used, and I might buy one more pot, as I start to host more.

But I get up in the morning and fill my kettle with 3 cups of water to make my coffee. It bowls in less than 4 minutes. I’m going to time it again. Its so fast. So my coffee is also Putin-free.

After I have a cup or two of coffee, and do my weights - if its a weight lifting day - I start up my oatmeal. While my oat meal bubbles away, I toast some nuts and seeds - walnuts, almond slivers and pumpkin seeds -in the toaster oven. Uses less electricity than the oven for small things.

Once my oats have bubbled enough, and its the consistency I like, I pour and scrap it into my bowl - technically called a “breakfast cup” - because I’m fancy like that. Top it with some blueberries, the nuts and seeds, sometimes half a banana, sometimes other berries like raspberries or strawberries.

And then I read the news and vow to keep reducing my use of fossil fuels.

BUT WAIT - you say - You are using electricity so you are burning COAL. AH HA GOTCHA.

Well maybe you don’t say that last part out loud. You might still have some social graces. But maybe there is a tiny voice, saying, sure sure Tori, go ahead and virtual signal with your oatmeal but you’re still burning fossil fuels by using electricity.

You aren’t 100% wrong. But you aren’t 100% right either. To begin with, I have solar panels, and from about now-ish through most of the summer I produce enough electricity for my needs (summer depends a bit on how much I run the dehumidifier in the basement).

So right now - this minute - there may be a little snow left on my panels from that whacky storm that came barreling through yesterday. So - I may be pulling from the grid. But this is where it is good to learn about your state’s energy mixture. Here in MD as of 2020 the requirement was for 20% percent renewables, and we currently use 37% nuclear energy (nuclear energy is complex from an environmental standpoint and I’m not as of yet prepared to have a strong opinion).

But here is the other piece to pay attention too - what are the goals/requirements for increasing that mix in your state? I hope and intend that my induction stove will last at least 10 years (I mean, I’d love more than 10 years, but that seems to the lifespan of appliances this days - which is a whole ‘nother topic of waste). So - what does the switchover look like over the next 10 years? By 2030 the requirement is for 50% of our energy to be from renewables in Maryland. That is 8 years away. And from there the numbers just keep going up if we are going to reach “net-zero” by 2050.

Back to my vow on reducing my use of fossil fuels - I’ve been working on that anyways because of the climate disaster unfolding each day - but now its become incredibly apparent how our addiction to the use of fossil fuel - our over consumption of energy - supports too many regimes that can use this addiction to act in the world in ways that are aggressive and damaging - as in killing people in needless wars.

So maybe you don’t or didn’t care about the destruction of the natural environment, but maybe you care about national security - which is part and parcel tied to global security.

Whatever is the motivation that gets you to reduce your consumption of fossil fuels I’m there for.

So - I love my induction stove top. If you have questions about it, ask! If you want to try it, come over and lets cook together! Or you can borrow my one burner induction that I bought while my kitchen was being renovated.

And don’t get me started on how incredibly fast a big pot of water boils when making pasta!

Next up I need to learn how to use the convection oven option - and determine if that is an energy saver, or if it the time is shorter but overall energy is the same? More research!

Also - I do have options available should the power go out, if the gird is attacked etc. I still have my propane grill, my coleman campstove, and my tiny camp stove and fire pit. And yes, they are not solar powered, they are fossil fuel powered (except for the fire pit). But I don’t use them every day.

I think that is where sometimes people get stuck - we can’t apply “all or nothing” thinking to moving forward and improving our world. All that All or Nothing thinking and attitude gets - is Nothing.

and we can’t afford to do nothing.