Mean cuisine

I'm impressed. Since I switched to using a slow cooker and electric steamer (from an electric fan oven and hob), my domestic electricity consumption has halved.

That's without deploying any other energy-saving measures, since I already turn off lights in rooms which aren't being used, chargers once finished charging, and nothing is ever left on standby.

Researching further, the difference in energy consumption between the various types of appliances is quite scary:

0.79 kW/hour for a typical oven, compared with 0.15 kW/hour for the slow cooker.

1.2kW/hour for a halogen hob, compared with 0.9 kW/hour for the steamer (the steamer also cooks faster).

At a cost of £11.97 for the slow cooker (Asda), and £14.65 for the steamer (Tesco), my recent acquisitions have paid for themselves within a month. Plus I've had some very tasty stews, soups and vegetables.

Wood cutting

Spring is the time to get out there cutting, splitting and storing firewood, so that this:














Can be transformed next winter into this:

As a newbie to 'wood power' I've learned the hard way about which types of wood are worth bothering with and which are not, with much fiddling around trying to light wet petrol station logs on bitterly cold winter nights.

However, I've recently been given a chainsaw and can now cut my own firewood. In theory - fekkin' dangerous things, chainsaws. Agricultural colleges sometimes offer training sessions for the occasional / domestic chainsaw user. If not, the two-day NPTC 'CS30' Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross-cutting course covers everything and more.

Armed with a chainsaw (and the appropriate training and equipment), I'd go out and cut, in order of preference:

1. Birch
This burns well green or seasoned, and gives off a lovely smell. Since birch burns fast and hot, it is useful for mixing with slower burning woods such as beech or oak, especially if these aren't fully seasoned. (Or crap petrol station logs.)

2. Ash
The King of firewood. Burns well green or seasoned, although it lacks the aroma of birch I love so much. There's also lots of it about - much of the devastation caused by the great storm in 1987 has since been filled by ash seedlings grown up in their natural environment.

3. Beech / oak
Burns slowly with an intense heat. These woods need to be well seasoned, ie. cut, split and dry stored for at least a year before using - two years if cut in spring / summer. Save any chips from the splitting to flavour the BBQ.

4. Fruit woods
Cherry, apple, plum, pear. These smell wonderful but need to be well seasoned, else they'll smoke the house out. (I know.)

5. Sycamore / elm
These need to be well seasoned, particularly elm which has a high water content, however they burn slowly with a steady heat. These are common garden trees which require thinning, or felling if the elm has succumbed to disease. If ever I see a tree surgeon working on one, I make a point of asking if I can have whatever wood they've sawn.

6. Everything else
Virtually any wood will burn if well seasoned, or on top of a good bed of hot embers. A few lumps of smokeless coal or charcoal can help things along. I use candle drippings, or the unburned wax residue in tea lights to get the fire going if need be, rather than buy firelighters.

999. Coniferous woods
Larch, pine, spruce. Last and least. The red net bags typically found in petrol stations, at least in the South East. Avoid these like the plague unless your woodburner is just for decoration. Often wet, they're difficult to light, and don't produce much except an oily smoke that will clog up the chimney. They also spit like fury, and therefore shouldn't be used in an open fireplace without a fireguard.