April 2nd, 2026 at 09:30 am » Comments (0)

FLOUR & Other Dry Storage: My “system” currently uses some “lock tight” Containers intended for Cereal, but that hold a 5 lb bag of Flour. This started when I was still able to manage the Fresh Milled Flour process so I could break up the steps that allowed me to fit it into my version(s) of 10-20-30 minutes bits as my work and family time allowed.

Humidity & Moisture Control: Every few years I buy a 10 or so pack of 50 gram Moisture Absorbers. When you live an area subject to humidity and other weather related issues, and your apartment is only 700 square feet, ideal storage is NOT Always available.
I also keep & use reuse a supplie of 5g, 10g, and 20g for use the dry herbs & spices I buy in bulk – small for the “daily use” bottles and the larger as needed for the “back up storage” And, yes, in those 1 lb bags of dry yeast too. ncidentally EVERY Dry Ingredient and the mixes I make up in advance all are stored in air tight containers with Moisture absorbers.

o see the closest match I could find, this is an affiliate link, but it is used for illustration in this case.
https://amzn.to/4bLoWqe

Last but not least, each container has a “dedicated” dry measure cup in the size most often needed.
the exception is flours used in breads. those has two, a one (1) cup & a half (1/2) cup. Vital Wheat gluten has a eighth (1/8) cup. These stay in that container so ALL measuring from that ingredient is consistent.

Bulk yeast has the spoon that came with the KBS/Keepeez bread machine. Again, consistent measuring.

This also means less cleanup most of the time. Measure the dry ingredient into a pan or bowl, and back into the container for next time.

March 25th, 2021 at 01:23 am » Comments (0)

Friday Fact: Mise-En-Place Is Worth The Effort

As an important element of my “10-20-30 Minute” Life Style
Mise-En-Place is not only worth the effort but it makes many things possible

So do you Mise-En-Place in the Kitchen or anywhere else?

For How to in the kitchen, a nice summary of the steps

Minute 1-5: Read Recipe TWICE or More – the only way to avoid unpleasant realities, like you don’t have the necessary ingredients, so may need to plan a substitute. (like mixing Heavy Cream with Ricotta to make a Marscapone alternative.

Minute 6-10: READ RECIPE AGAIN and then GATHER Tools and needed pots, pans, ice bath, whatever – Because no one wants to stop fail just because the sheet pan is still waiting in the dishwasher and your sauce is about to burn

Minutes 11-18: Prep Each Ingredient, measure or cut those veggies as need for a proper or custom mirepoix once all your ingredients are prepped and ready leave nothing in your space but what you will need. If you are not cooking now, get all the ingredients into the fridge or freezer as needed.

Miunutes19-20 : Clearing the debris – Rinse and add dirty stuff to the dishwasher –

take a nap, read a book, enjoy afternoon snack or tea, answer email, happily knowing that getting dinner going is only a matter of minutes whenever you want to start.

Minutes 20-21: Set Up Work Area
This is usually even less than a minute – mostly just grabbing the tray from the fridge to the work area that already has tools and such ready and waiting.

InMySmallKitchen Minute 22-30 is final prep/assembly
Using recipe, lay out the ingredients in the order needed

Most of the time much of this can be done in advance and in some cases I freeze the “ready for the oven” or the Ninja Foodi so dinner can be freezer to table in as little as 30 minutes, but usually averaging under an hour.

Admittedly, the 30 minute part may be longer, because of longer unattended cooking time (like 45 minutes in Pressure Cooker or Air Fryer

But mostly it is about “relaxed” cooking

It all starts with Mise-En-Place InMySmallKitchen