Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Works for Me Wednesday

Now, if you are a Rachel Ray fan, this tip will not be new to you. You may not have tried it yet though, because you just don't go in for all those new-fangled ideas, like horseless carriages and e-lectronic mail and all those modern thing-a-ma-jigs. You may just be a creature of habit like myself.

For however-many-years Rachel has had her multiple tv shows, I've been watching her cook. And we all know that her shtick is that she prepares meals quickly - 30 minutes start to finish. And I've always watched her and her bowl.

Yes, Rachel's bowl is my tip today. I resisted for a long time, but I am now a fan. If you aren't a fan of hers, aren't home when her shows are on, or like me you live somewhere that doesn't show one of her 453 different television shows (seriously, does this girl ever sleep???) maybe you don't know about the bowl. Well, let me share with you . . .

In the preparation stage of cooking, the first thing Rachel grabs is a big bowl. Then she makes her rounds through the kitchen, gathering all the necessary tools and ingredients. She stops at the fridge and freezer, the pantry, the utensil drawer. Everything she needs gets piled into her bowl and her arms. She's got it all right there, ready for use.

Then, and this is the part I love, all the garbage that is produced while cooking goes into that same bowl as she goes. Egg shells? Yep. Empty cans? You betcha. Vegetable peelings? That too. (Disclaimer: Rachel also pours excess liquids from cans into the bowl. I don't do that. After all, you don't think she's actually going to clean her kitchen, do you? No, she's got "people" who do that. I'm my own "people" and I'm not interested in pulling soggy, wet icky garbage out of the bowl or in dumping water into my garbage can. Ick!)

Now, I know it sounds simple, and it is. But I never did it until a month or so again and now I never want to go back. I love not having to pace all through my kitchen to get this and that and I really love not having to make multiple trips to the garbage can, particularly now that I don't have a garbage disposal. It's so nice to just dump everything in the bowl and keep moving. When I'm done, it all gets tossed out at once and I only have one extra bowl to toss in the dishwasher. Well worth it to me!

So that's my tip for this week. For more helpful ideas to make your life just a little bit easier, visit Rocks in My Dryer!

9 comments:

jan said...

What a fun idea! I usually try and dump as much as I can in a can I've opened while I'm cooking, but by doing it that way I still end up making several trips to the garbage. I will give this a try.
Thanks for keeping an eye on Rachel! :-)

Sandy said...

Great idea - but my kitchen is soooo small, my garbage is right there. I actually have 2 garbages in my kitchen, which really helps!

Thanks for visiting me.

Lynn said...

I think her bowl idea is great. But my kitchen is also very small so the trash is not really a problem. However, if I am doing a lot of cooking I do use a garbage bowl. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

My kitchen is really small, but I hate going back and forth to the trash. I might try this, even though I'm not a huge RR fan.

Ashley said...

Here's one better - I use a bowl and a colander from Pampered Chef's set. When I'm done, I just lift the colander and dump the solids, then pour the liquid down the drain. That way I can still dump everything into one bowl and not have to get my hands all messy sorting it all out when I'm done.

I've shown that at several of my Pampered Chef shows and most people love the idea.

Unknown said...

Nope. That girl does not sleep. She had Regis & Joy Philbin over for dinner Monday night (I watch Regis & Kelly over coffee!) you should have heard what she cooked! After 3 shows that day!

Anonymous said...

I love the garbage bowl too! I do one more step - I put one of my produce bags from the recipe in the bowl (like a trash bag) then just throw it all away at the end. I still wash it, but there is nothing to scrub and it just takes a second.

Amy said...

I love Racheal Ray too. I do the garbage bowl thing but haven't gathered everything up like she does before she starts cooking. I love watching her 30 minute meals show.-Amy

Anonymous said...

I HAVE one of those bowls!!! It is awesome and a great idea!

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