Book review: Sustainable Kitchen by Abi Aspen Glencross and Sadhbh Moore

15 September 2022 by
Book review: Sustainable Kitchen by Abi Aspen Glencross and Sadhbh Moore

Sustainable Kitchen comes with the tagline "Projects, tips and advice to shop, cook and eat in a more eco-conscious way". It does exactly that, offering a comprehensive guide to nutritious, self-sufficient cooking that aims to "change the food system for the better".

Environmental entrepreneur Abi Aspen Glencross and eco-chef Sadhbh Moore have teamed up to create the Sustainable Food Story, a collective that has been hosting ecology-inspired dinners and experiences since 2017. With its holistic approach that covers food, equipment and kitchen furnishings, Sustainable Kitchen invites readers to develop a "new hobby" in sustainability. That might include carving your own whittled porridge spoon, concocting homemade garlic pesticide, or swapping your midweek takeaway for heritage-grain gyoza stuffed with stir-fry leftovers.

At the same time, it doesn't ask us to harvest home-grown produce, forage for berries or strain our own oat milk – though it provides practical methods of doing so. It delivers a balanced overview of the changes we can make to align our diet with sustainability considerations.

Each of the dishes are introduced in an anecdotal style, with recipes including smokey breakfast porridge with melted leeks; marrow fritters with roast autumn veg and lentil salad; and quick creamy mushroom pasta. The dessert offering makes the most of British seasonality, with sweet treats such as basil panna cotta with charred balsamic strawberries. They are arranged into ‘Plants', ‘Vaguean' (meaning mostly vegan, except when animal products will be wasted anyway), ‘Omnivore' (for when our bodies request iron or B12), and ‘Sauces and Sides'.

The book seeks to challenge the perception that environmental sustainability cannot coincide with economic sustainability. Although the authors acknowledge that organic produce is more expensive, they also point out that using secondhand electronics could reap both environmental and economical results. At Sustainable Kitchen, sustainability remains resilient amid the cost of living crisis.

Sustainable Kitchen by Abi Aspen Glencross and Sadhbh Moore (White Lion Publishing, £18)

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