The festive rush.

Anybody who tells you that you can smoothly juggle:

1. a full-time job (with responsibilities that warrant that I clear all my articles before I jet off for a 11-day holiday - read: 8 stories, photo shoots + proofreading in 1.5 weeks)
2. festive celebrations
3. temporarily running a household and
4. planning and packing for above-mentioned holiday

is LYING.

I have in the past 10 days, :

1. Researched, written and typed myself into a corner
2. Ran amok collecting work-related stuff from around Singapore
3. Researched, written and typed myself into a corner
4. Shopped, searched and bought gifts for festive exchanges
5. Shopped, searched and lugged home 100000 items for a photo shoot
6. Played Cinderella at a gala dinner (11pm curfew to WRITE)
7. Realised I've missed out on a gift
8. Scrambled/begged for favours to get gift
9. Researched, written and typed myself into a corner
10. Drawn up a packing list
11. Chucked packing list
12. Vacuumed luggage (that's what happens when you now live near a construction site)
13. Baked way too many cookies
14. Ate way too many chocolates
15. Ate way too much

 #7 - #14 happened today, by the way. #15 happens every other day.

Crazy? It's an understatement.

My golden kitchen rule.

picture from inmagine

My job often sees me interviewing chefs and bakers, and one recurring question I always pose is this: "What is the one piece of advice you'll give to aspiring cooks?"
Their replies range from "Always read the recipe once in its entirety before cooking" to "Invest in a sharp knife". Valuable advice definitely, but if you asked me - which you probably wouldn't, which is why I'm blogging about this - I would say: "Never pile the dishes in the sink!" Trust me, it's something I've learned from all the recipes I've been testing.
 
Have a think. To make a simple chocolate cake, you would require:

1. Measuring cups and spoons to measure the ingredients
2. A knife to portion the butter
3. A heatproof bowl to melt the chocolate
4. A whisk or electric beaters to cream the butter and sugar
5. A bowl to hold the butter and sugar
6. And if you're separating the eggs from the yolks, another whisk and bowl to whip up the egg whites
7. A baking tin for the batter 

That's quite a bit to plunk in the sink, and quite a dreary feat to wash up after! It doesn't have to be though, not if you - and here's the key phrase - wash as you go.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Measure out all ingredients, then plunk measuring spoons, cups and knife into the sink
2. Put the chocolate to melt
3. Wash all that are in the sink - this shouldn't take too long and the chocolate should have melted by the time you're done.
4. Remove chocolate from heat and leave to cool slightly.
5. Cream butter and sugar
6. Whisk egg whites
7. Add chocolate, yolks and other ingredients into the creamed butter.
8. Fold in egg whites.
9. Dump all used bakeware into the sink.
10. Pour batter into the tin, then place it into the oven to bake.
11. Wash all that is in the sink - this will take longer than the first round of washing up, but your cake's probably not gonna be ready that soon anyway!
12. Wipe down the tables, twiddle thumbs and perhaps take a quick shower.
13. Cake's ready.
14. Serve and eat in peace, comforted by the knowledge that all you have to wash at the end of this is the greasy cake tin.

Easy peasy?