Low-energy cooking

Have you tried this way of cooking pasta and rice? Simply bring a pan of water to the boil, put in your pasta or rice, turn off the heat, put a lid on and then cover with a tea-cosy or thick towel, and leave for the recommended cooking time. If it is not quite done, leave it a little longer (you may have to experiment a bit). Even if you forget and leave it longer, pasta doesn't seem to overcook. With rice, I have found that using about twice the volume of water to rice seems to result in the water being absorbed with no need to drain, but again, you will need to be guided by experience, because there are so many different kinds of rice - I haven't tried this with any variety that needs a long cooking time, such as Camargue Red which takes 35-40 minutes.

You can also try this idea when boiling eggs. Put in a pan with cold water to cover, bring to the boil, put a lid on (no need for tea cosy), turn off heat and leave for 6 minutes for a soft-boiled egg, 10 or more for a hard boiled one. Again, experiment to find the perfect timing for you. Just a little energy saved each time you use this method, but over the year it adds up to several hours' worth.