Unplugged

There are plenty of reasons for me to continue to be Nervous in the kitchen. What if I burn the rice, for instance? Wondering whether this milk is spoiled. And glancing at our electrical outlets, each crammed with an octopus-like collection of wires all tangled up in a profoundly unsafe, energy-squandering way.

Sigh… It breaks my little eco-loving heart to see all these plugs, all these cords, this chaos of wasted watts. So, in my pursuit of a greener life, I've been looking for unplugged alternatives: Using a potato masher instead of a blender, for instance, and trading in my old coffee grinder for a hand-powered one. Little things do add up: I've managed to free a few outlets in my little cooking cave, and feel much better overall about the state of our wires.

And then things got really cookin' around here, with an exciting new outlet-free addition to the Nervous kitchen. Enter my favorite new non-electric appliance: The pyramid toaster from Jacob Bromwell.

Photo care of JacobBromwell.com

Not only does this simple little device brown bread perfectly in a jiffy, but it does so without staying plugged in all day, causing an electrical dead end on the counter. Put this little baby over a burner on the stove, fire 'er up on medium-low heat, and in no time at all you've got pieces of perfect toast, just begging for some fresh butter. (Why not churn some yourself by hand? After all, you'll feel like you're living out on the prairie with this thing anyway.)

What other nonelectrical appliances can I swap, dear readers? Help me help the planet!


(NB: This post is purely my own opinion, about a product I bought with my own money. I have not in any way been sponsored by Jacob Bromwell, though I would happily buy more products from the company based on my satisfaction with this toaster. #BYDHTTMWFI)