A year ago on Unclutterer
2008
- Semi-homemade cooking for busy people
Lee’s cookbooks are perfect tools for modern, busy families. - Collapsible gardening container
For those of you who have spring fever and are itching to get outside and clean up your yard, here is a nice 30 gallon gardening container that may interest you. - Additional cookbooks for busy people
Since readers were so outraged by our Sandra Lee suggestion, here are other fast and easy cookbooks for busy people. - Your boarding pass on your cell phone
As paper becomes less and less important in the digital age, the paper boarding pass may also be a thing of the past. - Being organized: A learned behavior
Is disorganization inherited genetically? Phooey!
2 comments posted
Posted by Dana - 03/25/2009
Adding to the cookbook recommendations one year late:
One Pot Cakes: 60 Recipes for Cakes from Scratch Using a Pot, a Spoon, and a Pan
I hate cleanup, so this book is great. I’ve used it for years. I’m not a fan of box cake mixes but I’m not that great in the kitchen either. This book isn’t fussy at all (no sifting or egg separating!) and has some great recipes. There’s a chocolate brandy pudding cake that I adore
Posted by Karyn - 03/25/2009
Oh, yes, I remember the Sandra Lee debacle.
I think you closed the thread before I ever had a chance to comment–and since I don’t watch TV, I had nothing to say about Sandra Lee herself, except that she can’t possibly have done anything evil enough to deserve the crucifixion she got from some of the commenters on that thread!
But I did want to comment on the notion that cooking from scratch is more purely “uncluttered” than using convenience foods. For me, uncluttering includes considering how I use my time–and although I enjoy cooking as a relaxing recreational pursuit, now and again, on a day-to-day basis I DON’T want to spend a huge chunk of my time cooking!
So yes, I turn to conveniences like bottled salad dressings, prewashed and cut vegetables, frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes, canned soups, and frozen ready-to-cook-and-eat fish fillets. BUT… I also read ingredient lists. There are plenty of natural-foods and organic brands on the market these days, and it is possible to have both convenient and healthy in the same package. As I said, read the label.
For example, when I eat canned soup, I prefer the Amy’s brand, which is about as healthy as you can get without making it yourself. And I buy salad dressings (other than basic vinegar and oil) because the simple truth is that I’m not very skilled at getting just the right balance of seasonings to make a dressing I love.
I balance quick-to-prepare basic staple ingredients with decent-ingredient prepared dressings, sauces, etc., and it keeps the budget in line, as well.
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