Cooking in a Clean Kitchen

The idea for this post came to me after we arrived to our friend’s house for an afternoon social including drinks and snack foods. Well, we arrived right on time, and so did our hosts, yes they had been out and had just got home themselves. They immediately jumped into action and within 5 minutes the entire kitchen was a complete disaster. Noticing the time, I asked if I could help, but by now the counters were completely cluttered, in fact there was not even a spot for me to set my drink. 

This situation is not uncommon. Even while simply discussing food and different recipes with my friends, many of them admit that ¨they want to cook more¨ but are more intimidated by the mess they will create and the inevitable cleanup. There is only one thing that gives cooking a bad name, yes, the clean-up!

The 12 Step Program to Cooking in a Clean Kitchen.

STEP 1: Admit you have a problem. Gross kitchens are The Worst –– who wants to cook in, or allow your guests to see, a nasty, disorganized kitchen? NOBODY.  Am I right?

Okay so enough humor, let’s begin;

• Start with a clean kitchen. Everything has been washed and put away and the trash has been taken out.
• Read your recipe beforehand to organize, and assemble what you will be using, i.e. food ingredients and cooking utensils. Really, you need to read the entire recipe the day before, then go out and buy all of the ingredients that you will be using.
• Pre-prepare ingredients beforehand. Somethings can also be made or organized the day before, lasagna for example can be made the day before, and then with no mess on the day of the meal, just heat and serve.
• Repeat step 2; read your recipe again to assemble what you will be using, measure and pre-cut as much as possible. Think ¨cooking show¨, what this means is, first measure all of your spices into a small bowl, then put away the spice bottles, second, gather your vegetables, if you need 1/2 of a chopped onion for example, chop the onion and save in a small bowl, pre-cut all veggies then store the extra veggies back in the fridge. Now you’re ready to cook and the kitchen is still clean and organized.
• Begin cooking, but don´t be afraid to TURN OFF THE GAS. Remember, when you begin cooking, things will start to happen really fast, so you must be ready. If you forgot something, TURN OFF THE GAS, yes, do what you need to do, then return to your cooking. This is a better option than burning food. Burnt food = Clean-up.
• If you get called away from the kitchen again, TURN OFF THE GAS, do what you need to do, then return to your cooking.
• Now that we have begun cooking, if there was only one rule on this whole page, CLEAN UP AS YOU GO, keep organized and don’t lose control. You will usually have a few minutes between steps, you don’t necessarily need to wash dishes, but this is the perfect time to put things away and do a little clean-up.
• Flexible cutting mats. These cutting mats come in a pack of 4 and are made to cover your wooden cutting board. After cutting vegetables for instance, I can pick up the flexible mat, instead of the whole board, and bend it to funnel everything neatly into the pot. If it gets too dirty, I can set it aside and grab a clean one, you can also save one exclusively for meat or fish.
• Use a garbage bowl; this is like having a mini trash can right next to your cutting board. I always thought this was the coolest idea, but I will generally use a vegetable bag to organize trash and veggie scraps as I work. Part of the CLEAN UP AS YOU GO, method.
• Don’t be in a rush, think about it, you can’t make water boil any faster by watching it. Take your time with measuring and chopping, and wiping up in between each step, this is probably the most effective way to cook more neatly.

As a yoga teacher I practice mindfulness and enjoy the creative joy of being present in the kitchen. Even more rewarding is when everything comes together as planned. You have to remember that there will always be clean-up, even after the simplest breakfast, there will always be dishes to wash. With time, practice and confidence in your skills and knowledge, cooking will become a very relaxed experience. And as far as the kitchen is concerned, I encourage you, do your best and remember, CLEAN UP AS YOU GO.