Clean Cooking on SJVCEO's November Spotify!

As it turns out, cooking is an incredibly personal activity.  It’s rooted in culture, in religion, in tradition. It’s small personal choices, like, ‘do I leave my knives on the counter in a block, or do I put them in a drawer?’.  Do you have cutting boards for specific purposes? Do you store your apples on the counter or in the fridge? Do you use natural gas, or electric, or induction cooktops? Or are you super weird like my stepdad and everything gets cooked in the sous-vide machine?

Do you even care?

More and more people do care and are considering their options for cooking and what the fuel source means within their homes.  While Rochelle has written about clean cooking options through Tech Tuesdays for years now, we figured it’s time to put clean cooking to the test ourselves!

And what better time put our kitchens through their paces than now?  While not all of us take a week off to cook for Thanksgiving (looks at Rochelle…thanks Whole Foods catering), we all have kitchens that are busier than usual.  Follow along with our journey as we compare various types of clean cooking, how to get a loaner induction cooker from your electric utility, a round-up of clean cooking friendly cookware, and our very own “Queensgiving” meal—cooked entirely on induction cooktops.

And if you’re curious about what clean cooking means and where to even start we’ve got you covered!

Induction Cooktops
MORE Induction Cooktops
5-in-One Ovens
Convection Ovens
Energy Efficient Cooking on a Budget
Warming Drawers
Can I Make Tortillas on an Induction Cooktop

Courtney’s Picks:
I’m an active chef.  I move around and keep busy.  I clean while I go.  But I also cook simply (ignoring that French phase from 2020), so I want my music to keep up with me and keep my mind moving.  My son (he’s 10 going on 27) heard me putting the playlist together and said, “why don’t you just put the whole Low album on and call it done?  That’s what you cook to most.”  He’s not wrong, but I do sneak a few others in from time to time. 

Superstition, Stevie Wonder
Otis, JAY-Z, Kanye West, Otis Redding
Sound and Vision, David Bowie
Sweet Thing, Van Morrison

Samantha’s Picks:
Some may play traditional holiday songs while preparing the feast that is the Thanksgiving dinner, but for me it's more about what songs I can sing along with.  So, grab your wooden spoon and sing with me so we can all enjoy cooking this year!

I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Whitney Houston
Stop, Spice Girls
Dancing in the Moonlight, Toploader
These Days, Rudimental

Kelsey’s Picks
Holidays can be most wonderful time of year, but also the most stressful.  Music that brings a sense of relaxation and happiness can make all the difference and alleviate some of that stress! If you plan to spend a lot of time in your kitchen for the next month calm yourself a bit with these songs, and be sure to check out the latest from our Tech Tuesdays series (#cleancooking)—both will cut down on that holiday stress!

Beyond, Leon Bridges (featuring Luke Combs)
Real Love Baby, Father John Misty
You Are the Best Thing, Ray LaMontagne
Home, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Rochelle’s Picks:
The music we listen to while cooking is deeply personal and a cultural topic for me. It reminds me of cooking meals with my parents and my grandparents. It makes me think of the years I’ve spent taking on and perfecting our family recipes to carry on our traditions.  With all that in mind, the only truly acceptable cooking music is the music of their generations…affectionately, “old school”! Enjoy some of the songs I listen to with my parents and my grandparents while we cook and maybe dance a bit in the kitchen too!

Got to Give it Up, Marvin Gaye 
For the Love of You, The Isley Brothers  
Ooo La La La, Teena Marie
Sweet Thing, Rufus (feat. Chaka Khan)