By Laura Stec
E-mail Laura Stec
About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and en...
(More)About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and environment pioneer, macrobiotic, Master Cleanser, ayurvedic, and officially-designated health-nut or party-girl (depending on the year). Professionally, I've worn many industry hats including: line cook, corporate chef, Food Coach, caterer, product developer, restaurant reviewer, culinary school teacher, corporate wellness educator, food co-op clerk, author, and even Cirque-du-Soleil lead popcorn concessioner! For years I managed an outdoor kitchen, deep in the bear-infested woods of Tahoe, and also for hospitals (the most unhealthy kitchen I ever worked in?), Singapore high-rises, mule-pack trips, Canadian catholic rectories, and more events than I could ever recall. Yet I still keep discovering. Actually, I adapt everyday by new lessons learned from teachers, customers and students. However there is one food truth I now hold sacrosanct: Eaters are motivated by pleasure. So no matter what we discuss here - recipes or restaurants, food politics or pairings, local events, food as art, or even as God, I will always come from a high-vibe, party perspective. Oh I do still long to change the world with great tasting food, but know in my heart, "If it ain't fun, it don't get done!" So - wanna come to the Food Party? By the way - it's a potluck.
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Boy o boy, Palo Alto is having fun, AND getting it done these days. Toot toot to yout. Last week it was the Last Straw campaign, and their Food Party! continues with a look-see into single-use gas cylinders. You know, those green canisters you bring camping. You can refill them. Right, like who knew?
We’ve Food Partied! about camping in the past. First there was
Camp Glamp with Elaine's Crunchy Pancakes, and then we learned how to make Bacon S’mores in
Bacon in Bed.
Little did I know in those innocent days that 40 million single-use, 1-pound propane cans are thrown way each year in North America, with over 20,000 clogging up Yosemite alone. Bad design in single-use products means litter, accidents, and even fire.
So drum roll please….
There is a solution and the 2018 winner award goes to….
Reusable Cylinders!
Refillable propane cylinders, now available at local stores and hardware centers, can be used hundreds of times, and have a lifespan of up to 12 years. Plus it’s cheaper to buy and refill a one-pound cylinder than it is to use disposables (80% of the price is packaging and only 20% is for the gas).
Lucky-dog Palo Alto’ans, can bring an empty, disposable, 1-pound propane cylinder, and the voucher from your April bill, to the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Station till the end of June, and get a FREE refillable 1-pound cylinder. But you have to do it by June 30th.
If you aren’t a Palo Alto resident, stop by the stores listed below to buy or refill your reusable cylinders, or find a retailer near you by
clicking here.
Time to ready. Summer is coming (I think), and the best Food Party! is one cooked outside.
Where You Can Buy or Refill Reusable Cylinders
George's Fuel & Auto Repair
996 East Evelyn Ave., Sunnyvale
408-733-2221
Refills cylinders
Hassett Hardware
875 Alma Street, Palo Alto
650-327-7222
Sells and exchanges cylinders
For more information about this program,
click here.
Next week is
Farm Bill Cafe chapters 4- 6. Read the chapters and join us back here for a discussion.
