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Take
on a coach to tame your kitchen
August 24, 2006
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Are
there dishes in your kitchen sink and clutter on the counter?
Does fixing a healthful dinner pose an insurmountable task?
If so, maybe you need a kitchen coach.
A book by a former lawyer and self-professed “everyday
cook” could be your stoveside guide.
What makes “Take Control of Your Kitchen” by Mary
Collette Rogers so appealing is that the advice it offers
is sensible, practical and unpretentious, aimed at the majority
of us who just need to get a good meal on the table fast,
nothing fancy.
The tone is cheerful, and the design of the book makes it
an easy read. It’s filled with illustrations, sample
worksheets and snapshots of foods, cupboards, countertops
and gadgets from real-life kitchens, not designer showcases.
Rogers, based in Boulder, Colo., was raised on a farm in western
Colorado where her family grew most of its own food. As a
girl, Rogers enjoyed organizing her mother’s kitchen
cupboards. Today, she enjoys cooking for her friends.
Rogers funneled her passion for food into the development
and marketing of meal planning software. When her children
developed food allergies, Rogers had to find new ways to get
meals on the table within the parameters of her kids’
dietary restrictions. Along the way, she discovered that her
new meal management skills might benefit others.
“I realized people didn’t understand organization,”
she told me by phone. “They may have 100 cookbooks but
they still say, ‘What’s for dinner tonight?’”
she said.
She suggests a first step is to narrow your cookbook collection
to five or ten books.
According to Rogers, a member of the National Association
of Professional Organizers, most of us have “too much
stuff” that simply gets in the way. Her book helps people
organize and simplify their lives, with a focus on meals.
Like popular TV shows that show viewers how to decorate by
rearranging what they already own, Rogers helps readers manage
meals by making better use of what they already have on hand.
Her advice conforms to three criteria:
* Meals have to taste good. For families, Rogers says to ask
yourself, “Have I chosen something everyone will like?
* Food should be nutritious. Rogers is an advocate of “healthy
homemade” rather than ready-made.
* Plans have to be realistic. Meals need to fit the budget
and skill level of the cook.
Among Rogers’ strategies for taking control of your
kitchen:
* Create a simple meal idea list. Do it when you’re
not under time pressures and your creative side will more
likely contribute.
* Construct a one- or two-day meal plan. Choose a main dish
from your idea list and add one or two side dishes. If you
pick a one-dish meal, no sides may be needed. Whole wheat
bow tie pasta tossed with pesto, pine nuts and mixed vegetables,
for example, is a complete meal in itself.
* Make a quick shopping list. If you have a list, you can
delegate the task of shopping to someone else. Shop at off-peak
hours to save time in lines, and shop at the same store most
of the time to save time finding items you need.
* Keep on hand basic kitchen tools. Rogers includes a checklist
and recommends looking at thrift shops and garage sales for
good, used kitchen supplies.
* Assemble a beginner’s pantry stocked with staples.
Having what you need on hand protects you from unexpected
shortages of key ingredients.
Rogers also addresses recipe clutter, stale meal ideas, planning
for leftovers, using up oddball ingredients, eliminating excess
equipment, and making a place for everything in your pantry.
There is hope for the hapless in the kitchen. If you’re
in search of guidance in eating better meals at home, “Take
Control of Your Kitchen” may help.
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