37: Cooking with the Climate in Mind
USA
A Climate Pollinator story by Sierra Ross Richer
“The Mennonites are known for their cookbooks,” said Heather Wolfe, a dietitian and homesteader who attends Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship in Woodstock, Vermont, USA.
In 2020, Heather co-authored Herald Press’ first vegetarian cookbook, encouraging eating habits that are sustainable for the planet as well as for people.
“Seeing the world changing and the climate changing, and bringing three young children into the world,” Heather said. “I had to do something, and this is what I knew how to do.”
Sustainable Kitchen: Recipes and Inspiration for Plant-based, Planet-Conscious Meals is a guidebook on how to cook, eat and live in a way that cares for the health of creation.
Heather said she and her co-author Jaynie McCloskey “really wanted to make a comprehensive, stand alone resource for everyone.” In addition to recipes, the book includes sections on why to eat sustainably, how to stock a pantry and how to shop at a farmers market as well as lessons on nutrition and plant-based eating.
It even includes Heather’s family’s personal meal prayer songs because, Heather said, “We have to have that connection back to the Creator.”
The recipes are all plant-forward and feature vegetables and other staples that can be grown locally or bought in bulk, to reduce packaging waste.
Sustainability in the kitchen means producing as little waste as possible, so in the cookbook, if there’s a recipe using beets, Heather said, then there’s also a recipe that uses the beet greens. Using carrots? Make the carrot top pesto. Butternut squash? Roast the seeds and leave the edible squash skin on.
“And any food scraps you do have, we teach you how to compost them,” said Heather.
The cookbook provides tips on sustainability for people at all levels, so it isn’t meant to overwhelm or intimidate anyone. It’s meant to include and inspire.
“Not everyone can put solar panels on their roof or buy an electric vehicle or have land to plant trees,” Heather said, “but we all make food choices every single day, and it can make a difference, a big difference over time.”
“This is something we want to be known for as Mennonites,” Heather said. “In the tradition of Simply in Season and More With Less, Sustainable Kitchen aspires to be that next progressive step in a legacy of faith-based cookbooks that invite us to intentional action that nourishes the health of body, soul and planet and also tastes delicious!”
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