Putting Veggies On Stack

“Permaculture is that art of the possible.” - Graham Bell

Stacking functions is a permaculture concept that means to seek many yields from a single element of a system. It's something I try to do whenever I can and remember to think to do so (obviously trying to increase that frequency!). So when I was planning dinner tonight I decided I would get inventive to stack functions while cooking the veggies.

The Challenge:

• Roast the meat.
• Boil the potatoes.
• Steam the cauliflower and asparagus.
• Cook the onions and mushrooms.
• Stack functions to get all of this done with as little energy and as few pans as possible.

How I Succeeded:

Roasting the meat and cooking the mushrooms and onions was pretty much a no-brainer. They all went in the same pan and went in the oven together. Pretty much status quo, and it makes the mushrooms and onions and meat tastier.

Cooking the rest of the veggies? Let's get creative!

1. Get a large (I used a 12-quart) stock pot and put the water and potatoes in it. Bring the potatoes to a boil.
2. Place a large steel colander in the pot to use as a deep steamer basket and load with cauliflower.
3. Place the steamer basket in the colander and load with asparagus.
4. Place the lid on top and cook until the veggies are ready to eat or prepare.

All three veggies were cooked in the same pan on one burner rather than three pans and lids and two steamer baskets on three burners. Added bonus for the colander pulling double duty as a steamer basket! I was able to reuse the colander to drain the potatoes. I should have prepared the mashed potatoes and cauliflower in the pot I used to cook them, but I admit I used a separate steel mixing bowl.