Advance planning

  As I wrote the title, I realised the the only type of planning is the advanced type as it's very difficult to plan for something in the past. But enough of that nonsense. I've been going on about fiddling with your food and making it up as you go along but I thought this little tip would be helpful with that.

  So you can feel relaxed while throwing all sorts of ingredients in the pan or at the plate, the more bits of preparation you have lurking about, the easier the process will be. This may sound quite vague and that's because as I was writing this, I realised all the myriad ways in which I've been preparing my kitchen.

Maybe not such good advice.

  One example is the way I've organised my kitchen. You'll have done some of this already, (or will as soon as you've read this). All my hot drink necessaries, (tea bags, coffee, mugs, spoons etc.) are near my hot water; my knives are near my chopping boards; all practical and time saving things, you get the idea. A lot of this has come about gradually as I try things out to make the setup more efficient. Have a look at your kitchen, is there anything you can do to make it easier to work in?

  Then there's the ingredients. You'll definitely have the most commonly used ingredients at the front and with any luck you finish what's in open packets before you, (and I shudder at the thought), open a new one. It always amazes and dismays me to find sometimes three of the same ingredients all open. No, really. It's more common than you think.

  And my favourite suggestion, leftovers. Always cook too much (and try not to eat it) then put it in the fridge or freezer for later. Did you know you can freeze cooked rice and pasta? And as I've told you loads already, make stock and put it in the freezer in little tubs. Having a range of ingredients at your fingertips will also give you a broader choice when you want to start experimenting. You know what to do so off you go. Any questions to the usual address.

Kirk out