MNN - Mother Nature Network

It’s Friday afternoon, and that means it’s time for me to give you a little weekend reading from around the web. Here are a few food related items that I thought might interest you.

FOR the last two years, Rachel Muston, a 32-year-old information-technology worker for the Canadian government in Ottawa, has been taking steps to reduce her carbon footprint — composting, line-drying clothes, installing an efficient furnace in her three-story house downtown.To reduce their carbon footprint, Rachel Muston and her husband haven’t used a refrigerator in a year. A small basement freezer and a cooler are all they need.

About a year ago, though, she decided to “go big” in her effort to be more environmentally responsible, she said. After mulling the idea over for several weeks, she and her husband, Scott Young, did something many would find unthinkable: they unplugged their refrigerator. For good.

Soon enough, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. will make more than just tasty beer--it will also manufacture high-grade ethanol fuel from leftover beer yeast. The company announced today that it is partnering with E-Fuel--the inventor of the world's first home ethanol machine--to test portable ethanol refineries at its Chico, California brewery.

A few years back on Valentine's Day, at the home of Jamie Oliver and his wife, Jools, the table was set, the wine was poured, rich aromas wafted from the stovetop, and Jamie was on fire—literally. "I cooked in the nude for a laugh, and I burned a certain part of my anatomy," Oliver, a.k.a. the Naked Chef, explains, sheepishly. "It wasn't the most successful Valentine's Day, and the British press had a field day."

 

Now when Valentine's Day rolls around, Oliver tries to keep things simple—and keep his clothes on (in the kitchen, anyway)—to avoid disaster. Whether you're cooking as a couple or presenting a meal to your partner, a low-key supper is always a safer bet than an elaborate multicourse meal that leaves you feeling stressed and exhausted.

And finally, if you’re looking for even more tips for your Valentine’s celebration, you don’t need to look any further than MNN. We have a Valentine’s Day round-up that gathers all of our Valentine’s posts in one place.