The Simple Life at Home

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!