Yes, You Can! . . . Learn Easier Cooking and Kitchen Clean-up Techniques

Yes, You Can! . . . Learn Easier Cooking and Kitchen Clean-up Techniques

By Arlene Bascom

All of us need to prepare meals, but as we age, we may find this task harder because we may not have the energy to enjoy the job. Learning some new skills that make food preparation and clean-up easier can be a big help. If you have trouble following a recipe, or if you find yourself in a dreadful mess after you have prepared a meal, or if you dread the clean-up…read on. You can make cooking and clean-up easier on yourself by using my handy hints and tips. 

Tip #1:  Assemble all of your ingredients on the counter before you begin to cook.

This way, you will not get half way through a recipe and find you are all out of one of the ingredients. With all ingredients on the counter, you are free to keep your mind on following the recipe or assembling the salad or casserole.   

Tip #2:  Put away ingredients as you use them. 

This takes a little practice if you haven’t been used to doing it, but you will find it is well worth the effort. This one practice can take a lot of the frustration out of preparing meals. If you add the baking powder to the batter and then promptly put it away, you won’t see it sitting there when you finish making the cake and wonder if you did or did not put it in! It will also keep you from ending up with cluttered, messy countertops.  

If you have a large kitchen that would cause you to run all over the kitchen to put away each ingredient as you use it, designate a place to set the ingredients you have used, such as an empty baking sheet.  Then, put them away all at once, right after you finish the recipe. 

Tip #3:  Organize your kitchen to make it recipe friendly.

A large kitchen may be a good reason to reorganize. If you organize your pantry and cupboards in a more convenient way, getting ingredients out and putting them away as you use them will be easier. For example, organize a baking center where all the ingredients, bowls, and utensils you will need for baking are within arm’s reach. 

Organizing your refrigerator with a specified place for meats, vegetables, salad ingredients, dairy, and condiments is also a big help when finding ingredients and returning them. 

Tip #4: Start any food preparation by partially filling your kitchen sink with hot, sudsy water. 

As you finish using a bowl, spoon, spatula, or measuring cup, place it in the sudsy water. During cooking, measure dry ingredients in a measuring cup or on a spoon first. Then, use the same cup or spoon to measure liquids; this will cut down on the number of utensils you will need to wash.

While your meal is cooking, quickly rinse the dishwasher-safe items and place them in the dishwasher, and wash and rinse the remaining items and place in a dish drainer to dry. By the time the meal is eaten, the preparation implements are in the dishwasher or washed, dried and ready to put away so you now have room for the pots and pans. If you refill the sink with hot, sudsy water again, you can repeat the above step with your pots and pans as they are emptied. (Or you can just fill each pan with hot soapy water.) That way, they will be already soaked and can be easily washed after the meal. Presto! Half of your mess is eliminated. 

Tip #5:  Wash large serving dishes and pans by hand to save dishwasher room and energy.

After your meal, wash pots and pans and let them dry in the dish drainer while you put away leftover foods, load the dishwasher, and clean the counters. Washing bulky pots and pans by hand makes sure they get clean and saves room in the dishwasher, allowing you to load twice as many dishes and other items, thus cutting down on your dishwasher use, saving energy and money. 

Yes, you can make cooking and clean-up easier by implementing these easy techniques!