Christine Dabney wrote:
> On Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:46:26 -0700, Serene Vannoy
> > wrote:
>
>
>>> So what kind of cook are you? The 'clean up as you go along' type or the
>>> 'do it all in one go when you're finished' type? Or somewhere in between?
>>> Just wonderin'.
>>>
>> I'm mostly a disaster when I cook, but I try to be better about it. At
>> least I don't have huge piles of vegetable matter all over the floor
>> when I'm done, as my partner does. ;-)
>>
>> Serene
>
> I used to be a disaster type cook but when I learned how to mise en
> place with all the little bowls, etc, I became much better and
> cleaner. It became much easier to wipe down and clean up my spot
> after I prepped each ingredient. Then by the time the final cooking
> stage came along, I just had to add my ingredients and put the dishes
> in the dishwasher.
>
> Mind you, I am not totally at this cleaner place, but I have gotten a
> LOT better!!

Same here, and I think I would be even better at it if I had a
dishwasher. I don't actually want one, but I believe it would help with
the cleaning-up part.

The other thing I do that helps me is to set a plate on the counter
while I'm cooking or baking. Onto that plate go the measuring cups,
spoons, utensils I'm using, so that if I need them again, I can reuse
them. I used to just toss the wooden spoon (for instance) into the sink
when I was finished with it, and then when I needed it a few minutes
later, I had to get a new one or wash the first one. Now I can reuse it,
or at most rinse and reuse.

Serene