Some Tips for Good Measure
My grandmother seasoned using a dash or a pinch. My mother just sprinkled and tasted until it seemed right. I learned to cook well without measuring, but little did I know I would have to learn to measure in order to communicate my recipes. Just because I can measure doesn’t mean I like it.
Now maybe you have several sets of measuring spoons and cups that are always clean and in the right drawer, but I don’t. I guess this adds to my frustration when measuring. So yesterday, using five minutes and a little ‘outside the box’ thinking, I came up with a less frustrating way to measure.
Instead of trying to locate the few things in my kitchen marked with measurements, I found the actual measure of some common utensils in abundance in my kitchen. Now I know I have about 20 spoons that measure exact teaspoons, 6 that are exact tablespoons, 2 serving spoons that are 1/4 cup, and 3 ladles that are 1/2 cup. Think how quickly I can grab small spoons to measure with and how much simpler it will be to spoon over measured amounts of broth and then serve the soup with the same ladle. I’m not suggesting we throw out the measuring cups or those cute little spoons on a ring, but add another simple, readily available way to measure.
Here are a few more tips that make measuring a little easier. Measure all the dry ingredients first, so the measuring cup (or ladle) doesn’t need rinsing. If measuring something sticky, first measure any oil the recipe calls for because it coats the cup and the sticky ingredient slides right out. I also never stir dry ingredients together until they are all added. That way if the phone rings, or a child needs me, when I come back I can look at the pile of dry ingredients and see what I have added. Feel free to comment tricks you use to make measuring less of a chore.
