Cooking in the Time of Drought

I think I bought this pasta pot when I moved into my first apartment, oh so long ago. It's followed me around ever since even though I rarely use it. A smaller pot suffices for pasta for one or two people.

However, I'm using it more in this time of drought because even though it takes a lot of water to fill it, the draining insert makes it really easy to save the pasta water to put on the plants.









The other night I pulled it out of the cupboard to cook tagliatelle with arugula (yes, our arugula patch keeps on giving!) and cherry tomatoes.

It took many kettles of water to fill the pot, but I persisted.

Then I added tagliatelle from Italy.



When it was cooked halfway through, I added the arugula to the pot, and cooked it all for another 5 minutes, until the pasta was al dente. I then lifted up the insert and let the water drain back into the pot.













Meanwhile, in a large skillet, I had fried cherry tomatoes and garlic in olive oil. I poured in the drained pasta and arugula, and tossed it all together.

Then we sat down to a simple meal.

While we ate, the pasta water in the big pot gradually cooled down. When it was at room temperature, we took it outside to water our little kumquat tree. I'm sure the extra vitamins from the arugula will be especially nourishing for it.

Cooking in the Time of Drought

I pour cooking water into the pyrex jug, and
when it cools I use it to water our plants.

We're still in a drought here in Southern California. Yes, we had 18 inches of rain last winter, and the snow pack is looking good, but the reality of low-water living is setting in.

We put plastic bottles in our toilet tanks to lower the amount of water used with each flush, learned to enjoy 3-minute showers, and bought a low-water washing machine.

However, I am still watering my garden. I use a drip system, started a rain farm, mulch a lot, and encourage my plants to grow long roots deep down into the cool earth and away from the hot sun.

I also started saving my kitchen water to put on my plants.

Ideally, we would have a grey water set-up where I could flick a switch at the kitchen sink and run the waste water directly into our garden. Unfortunately, we haven't yet figured out how to do this. So I've started small with a jug that I pour our cooking water into and then carry outside to water the plants.

The amount of water adds up. The kumquat gets at least a quart a day just from our morning boiled eggs. Plus it gets extra nutrients from the water I've cooked beans or vegetables in.

Whether rinsing greens or scrubbing carrots and potatoes, I used to take that clean water pouring out of the tap for granted. But it's actually a valuable resource. So I now catch the water in my large pyrex jug and reap   more benefit from each drop — first in the kitchen, and then in the garden.