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Home cooks grappling with how to prepare meals in a more environmentally responsible way will find a practical, holistic approach in Kate Heyhoe's book, "Cooking Green: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen -- the New Green Basics Way."

Sustainable food advocates frequently bemoan the massive amounts of fossil fuels and other resources used on the farm and during the transport of our meat, grains and produce. But Heyhoe completes the dialogue by explaining what can be done once the food reaches the kitchen.

Her "cookprint" term encompasses the entire chain of resources used to prepare meals, along with its resulting waste. She writes: "The cookprint measures every meal's entire environmental impact. It's the total amount of energy and resources (from farm to fuel to fork) used in creating a meal. And it puts the cook squarely in charge of just how big, or how green, that cookprint will be -- in ways that include but go far beyond buying organic or local, or eating meat or not."

"Cooking Green" covers some comprehensive territory and the recommendations are backed up by data from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies. Heyhoe offers advice on buying foods, choosing appliances and cookware, and reducing waste at home and on the go. The last section of the book features more than 50 energy-saving recipes.

I found that some of Heyhoe's suggestions serve as welcome reminders, such as turning off the stove early and letting residual heat complete a dish, or baking two or more dishes together. Others I never thought about, such as the use of freezer packs to extend the life of refrigerated meat, or that cooking on an electric stove is six times more efficient than using the oven.

All this information can be overwhelming, and I recommend that readers focus on one or two areas at a time. But the book's thoroughness makes it a keeper that provides something for everyone, from the busy parent who wants to save money to the committed greenie ready for the next carbon-neutral challenge.

WANT TO READ IT?
“Cooking Green” by Kate Heyhoe (Da Capo Press, 272 pages, $17.95)
Find out how to win a free copy of this book at the Green Notes blog, www.news-record.com/blog/green