Earth Day sustainability in the kitchen

Hands-on initiatives to celebrate Earth Day

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The City of Pickerington is known for keeping the area clean, healthy and safe for its residents. When Earth Day comes around, the people of Pickerington make sure to give back to their community.

For the city’s Earth Day celebration on Apr. 22, residents and city employees meet at 100 Lockville Rd. for a full day of cleaning up natural spaces around town.

Local organizations such as Combustion Brewery & Taproom get in on the fun as well. Combustion is hosting a clean-up of its own from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Apr. 20 at 80 W. Church St. for other clean-earth initiatives, such as removing invasive species from local parks.

You can bring the Earth Day spirit into your home with small, practical steps such as monitoring water and electricity use at home and keeping your lawn free of unnatural debris. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Midwest homeowners use more electricity than homeowners from any other region, with Midwestern single-family detached homes using 30 percent more energy than their Northeastern neighbors annually.

The kitchen is a great place to start being a greener homeowner. Being mindful of water use, recycling, avoiding single-use plastics and plastic bags, and composting food scraps are all ways to make your mark with a sustainable mindset.

Making one-pot meals is a meaningful way to integrate these efforts into your daily routine. One-pot meals produce less waste and use less water, which can make an impact on your household’s carbon footprint over time. Many are also easy to store and reheat, which makes them a convenient way to share a hot meal with your family at any time.

Chickpea and Tomato Stew is one of these easy, environmentally conscious one-pot dishes which is sure to be a hit at the dinner table. This stew is an easy 35- to 40-minute recipe packed with protein and veggies.

Ria Akhilesh is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.

Recipe:

Chickpea and Tomato Stew

Ingredients:

  • 2 15-oz. cans of chickpeas
  • 2 cups of crushed peeled tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 bell peppers, diced
  • 4 cups of your choice of leafy greens – spinach or kale
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 9 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1 Tbsp. vinegar
  • ½ cup your choice of nuts – almonds or peanuts, sliced or roughly chopped
  • 4 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. coriander
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. turmeric

Steps:

  1. Preheat the pan and toss in your choice of nuts until roasted, and leave aside for garnish.
  2. In the pan, add oil, garlic and onion, and saute until translucent. Add peppers mid-way and let them roast alongside the rest of the base.
  3. Add spices – cumin, paprika, coriander and turmeric – generously, or enough to cover each of the ingredients.
  4. Stir until peppers, garlic and onion are entirely coated with spices.
  5. Add crushed tomatoes and a dash of vinegar. Stir.
  6. Add chickpeas and stir until they are tender.
  7. Bring the stew to a simmer and cover the pan. Keep simmering over low heat for 15 minutes and then add greens. Cover again until they are wilted.
  8. When serving, sprinkle toasted nuts over each bowl. Enjoy with a slice of sourdough toast, rice or flatbread.

Yields about two servings.

Recipe courtesy of PlantBased RD. www.plantbasedrdblog.com. Copyright 2022. All rights reserved.