Living Like Ed by Ed Jr. (i have read the book a hundred times TXT) 📕

cook it. So that part’s good, even if I do have to watch my step in the garden. Besides, the stuff Ed makes actually tastes good, so I guess I shouldn’t complain. At least he doesn’t make me do the cooking!

Ed’s Cooking Hierarchy

Just as I do for modes of transportation, I have a preference ranking for cooking methods. Raw foods, like salads and many other wonderful fruit and vegetable dishes, don’t require any energy other than what is used to bring the water for rinsing and cleanup, but other dishes do require cooking, and that generally requires energy.

Obviously, when I can, I cook in my solar ovens as much as possible. That would be my first choice.

After that comes electric. There are quite a few things I can cook with electricity, especially if you use the word cook to mean making a hot beverage like a cup of coffee or tea, because that’s made in my electric teakettle.

The last line of defense for me is the precious resource known as natural gas. Natural gas burns pretty clean, and I have a natural gas stove and a natural gas oven, as most people do, so I cook that way when I have to. What I don’t do is burn wood or charcoal or propane in a barbecue grill. Wood and charcoal burn very dirty. Natural gas burns cleaner, but it does not even come close to being 100 percent clean, like a solar oven. So the choice to barbecue doesn’t exist in my cooking hierarchy.

Ed’s Favorite Recipes

After seeing a Living with Ed episode where I cooked in my solar oven, many people wrote to request the recipes for the dishes I prepared. I’ve included those recipes here, along with a few more of my favorites.

Ed’s Lentil Soup

4 cups water

1 cup lentils

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

10 broccoli florets

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

½ teaspoon chopped serrano or jalapeño pepper, with seeds

1 teaspoon salt

Either on a conventional stove or in a solar oven, in a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the lentils, onion, carrot, broccoli, ginger, garlic, and hot pepper. Stir, return to a boil, and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes, or until the lentils become soft.

Stir in 1 teaspoon of salt, and serve. Enjoy!

SERVES 4

Ed’s Vegan Birthday Brownies

¼ cup vegetable oil, plus more for pan

8 ounces soft to medium tofu

1 cup raw sugar or honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup cocoa or carob powder

11/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil an 8 × 8-inch cake pan.

In a blender or food processor, blend the tofu, sugar or honey, vanilla, oil, and cocoa powder until smooth and creamy.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the pecans and tofu mixture to the flour and mix together gently until just combined. If the batter is too dry, add a splash of water.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Test with a knife to see if it’s done; it should come out clean with just a few moist crumbs when inserted in the middle.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before cutting into squares.

MAKES 6 LARGE BROWNIES

Ed’s Spicy Thai Basil Eggplant

1-pound eggplant

2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar

½ tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 serrano chile pepper, minced, with seeds

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons chopped Thai basil

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Slash the eggplant in several places so it won’t explode and place it on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until soft when pressed. Remove from the oven and let the eggplant cool for 15 minutes.

When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and chop the flesh into sugar cube-size pieces.

While the eggplant is cooking and cooling, in a small bowl, mix together the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and chile peppers.

Heat a wok over high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the eggplant to the hot oil and cook for 2 minutes, then add the vinegar mixture and cook for 1 minute longer.

Remove from the heat, stir in the basil, and top with the sesame seeds before serving.

SERVES 6

Ed’s Olives

You need to cure at least a quart or two to make it worth your while.

Fresh (uncured) olives Rock salt Olive oil Vinegar or fresh lemon juice Garlic (optional) Herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, oregano (optional)

Wash the olives well, remove the stems, and soak them in a jar of water for 3 days, changing the water every day.

When they have soaked for 3 days, drain the olives. Return them to the jar, adding a layer of 4 tablespoons of rock salt after every 3 cups of olives. Cover the jar with a lid and shake gently to mix the salt and olives.

Turn and shake the jar every day, draining off any excess liquid. After 8 or 10 days, taste the olives to see if they’re still bitter. If they’re not, they’re done. At that point rinse the olives and set them aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the olives and boil them for 5 minutes, then drain.

Put the cooked olives in a jar with a few spoonfuls of olive oil and a sprinkle of lemon juice. You can add slices of garlic or herbs to suit your taste. The olives should be stored in a refrigerator and turned or shaken once a week.

And One from Rachelle

         I’m not