My poor wife.  She is one of the few (but I’ve noticed, growing) women who have little to no experience in cooking.  She does try though and through that, she gets better as time goes by.  Watching her make a few recipes, I began to notice something.  When she cooks, her mess travels across most of the kitchen.  Not only that, many times she is hurrying along.

I could not figure out why, I mean, I make the same dishes with half the mess and no real stress while doing it.

After watching her knock a few things off the counter while preparing a meal it dawned on me.  She was working around bowls, cutting boards, empty food containers from the parts that she already prepared.  She never cleaned while she was cooking.  Much of the reason she was rushing is because she had not prepared ahead of time before starting the recipe.

Having worked in a kitchen for a while in my youth, I learned pretty much from the beginning that preparation and cleanup are very important when it comes to cooking.  A professional kitchen comes to a screeching halt when there is no room to prepare food, and there is hardware all over the place.

Assuming my wife is not alone, perhaps it is a good idea to lay out a good strategy to use with any recipe.

First, go over your ingredients list.  Many times not only will it list an ingredient, it will list how that ingredient should be prepared.  For example, you may see it calls for one onion.  But not only that, it may say: one onion, chopped.  As long as there is not a huge waiting period before you have to use this ingredient, then chop it ahead of time.

Measure out all the spices needed in advance and put them in little glass bowls, or in a pinch I have used coffee cups.  Having those cheap paper plates on hand are great for holding things like chopped vege’s, flour, and other such dry ingredients.

Preparing all of your ingredients ahead will save you a lot of time when you are cooking.

With many recipes, there are usually stages in the cooking.  For example, you may be creating something with chicken thighs where it requires you to brown (sear) them in a frying pan before you do anything else.  Usually something like this takes 4-5 minutes per side so while your waiting, clean up the mess you made from unpacking the thighs, seasoning them, the plate you put them on, etc..

In professional kitchens, there usually is someone there to take care of most of the cleaning, but when your home, that isn’t the case.  One thing most cooking shows do not show you is how to manage your time while your preparing the recipe.

Whenever there is a pause in the action, clean the mess you made that way you have room for the next step in the recipe and you don’t dirty another area of the kitchen.  Also, this will help in keeping your food clean while you prepare it.  There is nothing worse then cooking something volatile like chicken and then throwing it back on the same area it was when it was raw.

If you are constantly cleaning up your mess, throwing stuff away, putting dishes in the washer (or washing them by hand) etc., not only will it make the process easier, the time will seem to fly by because you are keeping yourself busy.

Timers can be very helpful here because sometimes you lose track of time.  Learn how to use that timer built into your stove, microwave or other appliances to your advantage.

Make time your ally and cooking will become a much more rewarding experience.