10. July 2010
| by
John
Staying in a cottage rental is relaxing and refreshing. True, but maybe not when you are on kitchen duty. Who wants to spend their vacation time preparing meal after meal for everyone? Mommies, Aunts, or the “best cook” are always the kitchen star!
They do all the slicing, cutting, the cooking, and the serving. Yes, mealtime is always a treat but the kitchen managers do get tired. All of you went on that same trip to enjoy and have fun. Hey, they also deserve a good break.
One good solution to this is to share the work. Give out kitchen assignments. If you are out with the family or with a big group of friends, divide the work and assign kitchen duties to lighten the load.
Set a meal plan for a number of days you are staying in the cottage rental, you can consult everyone who is coming along and come up with a menu plan according to food preferences.
Ask the cottage owner and check if equipment like microwave, blender, coffeemaker, toasters, stoves and ovens are available in the kitchen and if it is feasible enough for you. Otherwise, you can just settle with what’s available.
After finalizing the meal plan, you may assign somebody reliable enough to do the marketing. List down all ingredients and everything else needed for cooking. Ingredients with shorter storage life may be purchased a day or two before you leave to avoid staling. Purchase everything needed ahead of time because the cottage location may be far from specialty shops and you might not find the exact items that you need.
Once the ingredients are complete, segregate, label and pack them properly to avoid spilling while traveling. Assign someone to carry and take charge of the meats, fruits, breads and pastries, beverage, and others. The kids can even carry with them their cookies, chips and juices. Let them participate.
Simple and easy recipes are best ways to an enjoyable cottage picnic time. You can prepare the marinade, salad dressings, or even the sweet cookie dough beforehand to save time. Prepare sandwiches, salads, fruits, the ever-famous barbecues and even sweets and chips for the kids.
Another thing to consider in food preparation is the clean-up and proper disposal of trash. Staying in a cottage requires a lot of clean-up and taking care of equipment. Observe proper sanitation and use of kitchen. And with respect to the cottage owner, keep it clean.
You can also assign aftercare duties. Who cleans up, who washes the dishes, who prepares the next meal. Two or three groups may take turns doing these. This way you can share the work and participation in preparing food for the group. And you won’t spend too much time on cleaning the kitchen and the dining area. You can bring some paper plates, plastic cups and utensils for easy disposal and to save time washing kitchen tools and dishes.
So there you go. Are you ready for another cottage getaway? Don’t ever fret thinking that you would be holed in the kitchen again. Everyone should enjoy the cottage get-away and the yummy picnic foods that all really look forward to!
