The phrase mise en place is French for “everything in its place” – loosely translated, since I don’t speak French. When I look at my kitchen and see a clean counter, free of school papers, old recipes, serving plates that need to be put away in the top cupboard, etc., I am eager to cook.
When I to into my kitchen and a different kind of counter greets me, I feel too tired to even make the attempt. And I love to cook. If you don’t, I can’t even imagine how you would motivate yourself to get started. It is just depressing to think about cleaning up the kitchen before even starting to cook, then cleaning it up again.
Which is why I was thinking of mise en place. At the end of the day, when I clean my kitchen and put everything in its place, I feel a sense of peace and calm. I am in control of my little world and all is well. If you are thinking that my world must be really small, then you are right. But I am happy here and the food is good.
So now I am off to finish what I should have done last night, and get my kitchen in order. So when dinner time rolls around, what I can whip up in my darling little world seems much more appealing than delivery pizza.
How does a clean kitchen make you feel?
Yes, I know that mise in place usually refers to measuring all of the ingredients and putting them in little bowls before starting a recipe. But since I never actually do that, and I like the phrase, I use it my way. Like I said, loosely translated. 😉
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