What style cook are you?

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While at work last week a coworker was making fun of her daughter and how she prepares everything in advance and dirtied a million little bowls....


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I just laughed because I'm the exact same way! So now I'm curious... Do you pre-measure everything? Or do you cut as you go and just eyeball it? Or a little of both?

Replies

  • Kougra
    Kougra Posts: 358 Member
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    I do a little of both. Depends on what I am making.
  • healthybabs
    healthybabs Posts: 600 Member
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    Hey, we have the same scale!! So, I get everything out that I need then I chop, measure, weigh etc as I go. I usually eye ball my herbs/spices. No little bowls....too many dishes. When I bake I get everything out and then put away as I measure and add it so I don't forget an ingredient. (I have been known to do that if I get side tracked, it sucks when you forget the baking soda!)
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    I measure as I go, I have on occasion pre-measured everything, but it just seems like extra work and more cleanup to me.
  • garlic7girl
    garlic7girl Posts: 2,236 Member
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    I am like Ms Babs....depends on what I am making...with baking I measure because baking is more exact science. I am a tweaker. I love recipes but if I don't have an ingredient I see what I got similar. I like to make it T's way!!!!! Hee hee hee!!! I also usually add more spice/herbs because flavor is everything...I throw in what I think will make anything better.
    I have learned thru Food Network and reading all my cookbooks some things are to be respected and measured for example ground cloves...ha you don't measure you will regret it!!!
  • Nikkie_too
    Nikkie_too Posts: 495 Member
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    The only time I do "mise en place" cooking is when a dish comes together very quickly - like for a stir fry where I won't have time to do additional chopping in between adds. For that, I won't always use little dishes - sometimes just section off the cutting board. LOL

    Ok, and sometimes with new recipes if they're a little complicated - it's hard to read and get everything right and get the timing handled correctly.

    I'm pretty quick with a knife, though, so I can usually get away with a bit less pre-prep.
  • garlic7girl
    garlic7girl Posts: 2,236 Member
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    I thought about this some more and I love cooking from scratch for that was what my mother did but she was the original "semi-homemade" cook because she did teach me how in a pinch to 'hook' up store bought something for example if she bought frozen greens to make fast she would still cook bacon add onions etc to make them better. I know both.
    So know as I do my think I still like scratch but work full time and commute so not always feasible so I call myself a 'Flash' cook. I so the 5 ingredients or less, 30 min meals or make on the weekend to enjoy during the week.

    A good example I made a soup tonight from Martha Stewart...so good and it was fast. Diced tomatoes garlic corn black beans( I added mixed peppers and cumin and hot sauce) chili powder broth and water. I put red onion on top...then cheese. It was the bomb! I think the extra spices did it. Fast but tasty. Had squeeze of lime. Mmmmm....

    Swish....
  • pixlamarque
    pixlamarque Posts: 312 Member
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    I'm with Nikki. I pre-measure if there it is complicated, amounts need dividing, or there will be too little time while cooking to measure, but if it is a slow recipe, then I measure as I go.
  • VeggyGal
    VeggyGal Posts: 25 Member
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    Well recently I got really excited about this vegan italian sausage recipe because I had a feeling it would become a good recipe mainstay for me. So I had lots of small dishes but normally I'll just measure as I go to be less wasteful and make less work for myself. I would never judge anyone that does have lot of small dishes because when you're first making something it's fun to be precise and have everything ready to put together all at once. To each his/her own!
  • SweetSammie
    SweetSammie Posts: 391 Member
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    I have always been a toss it in and taste cook, now trying to log, I measure. I use as few bowls as possible.
  • allyjoy83
    allyjoy83 Posts: 176 Member
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    I'm totally a fly by the seat of your pants cook. Even if I'm following a recipe, I think I know better (unless it's something I tasted before trying to make it). I'm a lazy cleaner, so I try to limit the number of dishes I use. I think it comes from not having a dishwasher for 8 years. I'm not very good at measuring things out ... half a palmful, a pinch, toss some of this ... I tried to do the whole recording my recipes, but I lost the journal I bought to record the recipes. Luckily, I'm usually the only one eating my food, so if I mess up, most people won't know. :wink: