Let me tell you about an idea I had recently in order to improve my cooking and baking efficiency, dear friends – something you might say so simple that any child could have thought of it, and something many of you might already have in your own kitchen; but I think it’s something really important for our everyday routine, and it’s already helped me doing some of my favourites more regularly and more reliably.
Now, there are many ways of keeping your favourite recipes, written down by hand, or newspaper clips collected, or printed out in paper; well, I’ve got mine (collected over the years from cookery books, magazines, wise housewives I’ve known, and the internet) saved on a USB stick, so that I can add or edit things any time – but that means that whenever I can’t remember a recipe I want to do exactly, I’ve got to open up the laptop and check before I can start cooking…
If you’re half as scatter-brained as me, dear friends, you might want to have this little help with the exact amounts so that you won’t mess up one of your favourites; and in fact, I’d even come to notice that my laziness in looking up the recipes often keeps me from doing one of them even though I love them. Whether morning, afternoon or evening, it’s always easier to simply have everything in front of you as soon as you open your cupboards; and it’ll help with shopping for the ingredients, too. So, I’ve simply printed out the ones I use most, and stuck them inside the doors of my kitchen cupboard!
There are lots and lots of basic recipes, especially for doughs and batters, that are pretty similar, but in order to get the right consistency for each one you mustn’t get anything mixed up. How much flour, sugar and butter do you need for your favourite cake, and what amount of dough or batter do you need to exactly fill each cup in your muffin tray, or your waffle maker?
And when you’re doing a yeast dough – how long do you have to let it rest before you can make your pizza or your homemade bread? Believe me, dear friends, it’s simply easier to have the answer right to hand…
So, get those favourite recipes of yours together, print them out or write them on a piece of paper and stick them to the kitchen cupboard – and nothing can go wrong anymore, and everybody will admire you for your expertise and efficiency!
Roberta Franklin 