Today’s blog is dedicated to doing things in the kitchen more efficiently and, in essence, quick cooking. It’s all about getting out of the kitchen, and doing something else I love to do.
Of course, if you are a new cook, that always doesn’t apply because it takes time to get things right. As a newly wed, I remember once making homemade pea soup for dinner. It was quite a long procedure cooking the green peas until tender, then blending it in batches in the blender and adding bits of ham for flavoring. I also added the large ham bone to the cooking peas to enhance the flavor. Then finally warming the soup up again for dinner. Of course, I burned my hand pouring the hot peas in to the blender, but that was a lesson in kitchen safety for me, too.
Guess what, no one liked pea soup and, in fact, my family hated it. My family also felt it was too hot in the summer to eat soup. I felt like the kitchen boob after spending so much time and effort making the pea soup. But I guess, that was a learning experience for me as a new cook. And, I never made that mistake twice.
Efficient Cooking Tips
Now, many years later as an experience cook, Farmhouse Magic Blog would like to share a few tips for kitchen efficiency.
Know the Steps/Ingredients in the Recipe
There is nothing more annoying than discovering you forgot to add an ingredient to a new recipe. Or if you added it at the wrong time. Reread a new recipe a couple of times to make sure you understand the steps.
Once I forgot to add one ingredient in a cake recipe only to have to pour the cake batter out of pans and add it–quite the mess and a waste of time.
I’ve also had to make special stops at the grocery store to pick it up a forgotten item. Of course, a second grocery stop trip for the week is totally inefficient. Plus, all the food has to be placed in the refrigerator while you are gone. Then the recipe starts again when you get home.
Quick Cooking Means Using Extra Time Efficiently
Years ago, when I gave many, many parties a year, I preplanned everything down to what serving dishes I was using. I also kept a list in my apron pocket of what I was serving to make sure I didn’t forget anything.
For my fresh vegetable tray I also precut up vegetables and made the dip the day before the party. I also washed, cut up and peeled the fruits for my fruit platter. This, usually, didn’t require a dip but the sliced fruit had to be artistically arranged on a large serving dish, then plastic wrapped, and angled into the refrigerator. A large batch of deviled eggs was made the morning of the party, and the garnish was placed on the dish right before setting it on the table. The ice ring for the punch was made several days before the party, removed from the mold, and then stored in a large plastic bag until the time of the party.
Store Bought Short Cuts and Quick Cooking
When making apple pastries, I always use store purchased puff pastry. Frozen puff pastry is easy to buy at the store and keeps until needed. Concentrated broths for stews and stir fry comes in convenient jars to store in the refrigerator.
Don’t be afraid to use store bought items to quicken things up. Sometimes I would buy a cake for dessert or pick up already made chicken pieces to speed up my cooking for special holidays.
Everyone, Let’s Practice Quick Cooking!
It takes practice to be a quick cook. I often notice on cooking shows how quickly and efficiently they use a sharp knife to chop vegetables. While, of course, being careful not to cut their fingers but that is what practice brings.
Since I’ve made some dishes so many times, I have memorized the ingredients such as for making lemon squares or vegetable soup. Of course, I have been making those recipes for many years.
Sooner or later, you’ll find that you are quickly in and out of the kitchen.
Now if only the dirty dishes could be done in a quick and efficient manner and disappear. (But, of course, Farmhouse Magic Blog has a system for that, too!)
Resource Sites: The Washington Post, Food section, Jan. 10, 2024.