Gluten Free Cooking Tips #3 -- Mise en place

Cooking Tip#3 
Mise En Place 
Today’s tip is inspired by Sally J. Parrott, author of the blog Aprovechar.


“Mise En Place” simply means “putting in place” or “everything in place.” When applied towards cooking it basically just means to have all your utensils, pans, and ingredients prepared and ready to use before cooking. It may seem like a silly tip, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started on a recipe (without fully being prepared) and in the midst of cooking realize I’m out of butter or cinnamon or garlic!

This one little step will just make the entire cooking process go much more smoothly and easily. There are many steps you can make several days ahead of time to make “mise en place” even easier! For example, if you commonly cook with garlic, onions, celery, or carrots, you can spend a few minutes chopping and dicing (with a good knife!) enough of these ingredients to last for 4-5 days. Store the prepared ingredients in an air-tight container or plastic bag in your refrigerator for up to 1 week.

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When preparing for a recipe: chop your ingredients and place them individually in small bowls or in mounds on a flexible chopping mat. Pull out any utensils you may need such as a spatula, spoon, or whisk. Pull out the pot, pan, or baking dish you are using. Prepare the pan by greasing it or spritzing it with non-stick cooking spray if called for in the recipe. Have a kitchen towel handy to clean up any spills or to dry your hands. Place a medium sized bowl on the counter as your “garbage bowl” to place any scraps or peelings (best tip from Rachael Ray EVER!) Now, chop, dice, prep, and you’re ready to cook!

Reader’s Tip of the Day: 
“If baking -- bring ingredients to room temperature (eggs, the milk ect...) and if cooking or baking have all your ingredients out , try to be as organized as much as possible... (or as possible as you can be coming from a mother of 4!)” -- Joanna, author of Gluten Free Chef and Health Enthusiast 


Please visit each topic in "10 Days of Gluten Free"
From: May 7th - May 18th

• Getting Started - Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker 
• Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House 
• Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog 
• Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat 
• Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal 
• Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free 
• Kids – Lynn @ Lynn’s Recipe Adventures 
• Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva 
• Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry

10 Days Gluten Free GIVEAWAY!
Included with this awesome series is a giveaway on each blog once the two weeks are over! I will be giving away a brand new copy of Carol Fenster's cookbook, "100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes." This is one of my FAVORITE gluten free cookbooks with an awesome collection of Carol's absolute best recipes.

The Giveaway Nitty Gritty: 

• This giveaway is limited to U.S. residents 18 and older. 
• You are allowed one entry per "10 Days of Gluten Free" blog post for a total of 10 entries on this blog. 
• Enter by leaving a comment (WITH an email address to contact you) on this post (and other 10 Days of GF posts). 
• The giveaway begins May 7, 2012 and ends at 11:59 pm eastern time on May 18, 2012. 
• No purchase is necessary. 
• Odds of winning are based on the number of entries. 
• The winner will be randomly chosen and will be contacted by email. 
• The winner will have 48 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen