THERE WAS NOTHING VERY SIMPLE at all about the making of “Real Simple,” the TV show that made its debut on PBS last week and is inspired by the popular lifestyle magazine by the same name. The one that promises “life made easier” (faster meals, cleaner closets, better-fitting bras) right there on its pretty cover and has seen its circulation almost quintuple in its five (almost six) years of being.
The crew blew into Chicago last summer for a whirl-wind day of shooting. Morning at The Spice House in Old Town for tips on choosing and storing spices. Afternoon at Chicago Children’s Museum on Navy Pier for ideas in the category of child amusement.
Twelve hours and 22 minutes later (with nary more than a 20-minute lunch break), it was a wrap. Two segments were taped. Each will end up being 4 to 5 minutes long.
No kidding.
Simplicity is a funny thing.
“It takes a certain amount of work to get to the meat of a problem and to discover the easiest solution,” explains Dustin Smith, senior national publicist for the show. The mission, he explains, is to provide viewers with those “key strategies” for tackling life’s daily challenges.
Serendipitously, while all the fuss was being made to hone this thing called “simplicity” (and while sets were being assembled and scripts perfected and makeup applied), we did some simple chasing of our own.
We trolled the scene and asked the real people assembled — the cast and crew along with the folks from The Spice House and the Children’s Museum — for their personal secrets for making hectic lives easier. (Asking real people to share their solutions is a tactic of both the magazine and, now, the TV show.)
We got interesting answers on a variety of topics — from cable/cord management to “curating” your kids’ art projects (which seem to be taking over the house) to fast food you can feel good about eating.
And so, we share with you a behind-the-scenes look at a “Real Simple” day, in both pictures and our own sound bites.
Cord control
“Real Simple” director Kevin Jones contains cord and cable chaos in his Brooklyn rowhouse with the zip of a plastic bag. A TV person by training, not an expert in home organization, Jones says, “I just organized all the cords for our digital cameras and Walkman and all the different electronic devices we have.” He put each one into its own zippered plastic bag. Labeled the bag. Then put all such bags into one box. Labeled that box and stowed it on a shelf. “It’s not in this drawer or that drawer or another drawer anymore. It’s all together.”
Meal preparation
Patricia Erd, co-owner of The Spice Houseloves freeze-dried shallots as a quick way to perk up sauces, homemade salad dressings, marinades, meatloaf, hamburger patties, plain old rice, etc. “Just soak them in any sort of liquid for about 10 minutes. Get them to plump up and then throw them in. It’s just one of those things that saves you time — instead of slicing and dicing and having your eyes water.”
Mail organization
Cydnee Welburn, “Real Simple” co-host, saves time with an on-the-spot mail organization system she devised. “Before [she landed the co-host job; before she stopped taking her “disorganization for granted”] all of my mail used to just land on the table right by my door and not get opened for a month and a half,” says the New Yorker. “I now have a whole organizational system that’s merely a plastic folder that sits there, and I separate stuff immediately. I realize that a few minutes every day saves me a huge chunk of time somewhere down the road.”
`Art’ collecting
Jennifer Farrington, vice president of education at Chicago Children’s Museum on Navy Pier, has three “systems” for “curating” her children’s arts-and-crafts projects at home. Big projects go in a big bin. When it fills up, “we go through it and edit it, and we put the very best stuff in plastic bins that get moved to the basement. But 80 percent of it goes away and the kids understand that. It’s really about the process [of editing and identifying the special from the not-so-special]. And that’s an important message to give to the kids.” Drawings done on 8 1/2-by-11-inch paper get a three-hole-punch and are put in a binder. Each child has his/her own binder. When the binder gets full (which takes quite a lot of coloring), she staples the pages and stows it in the basement as well. “My ultimate goal is to start scanning it.” And finally, really big art projects get saved — in a downsize format. Only a small part of a large mural, for instance, will be saved. She made see-through Lucite squares (5-inch) that the kids use to trace around, tracing the best part of that large piece of artwork. It gets cut out. A hole, punched in the corner. And then it’s added to a big metal ring (3-inch size; find them at art supply stores) which she hangs from a magnetic hook on the side of the fridge.
Mood magic
“Spices are very absorbent of feelings,” says Steven Tobiason, a veteran employee at The Spice House. “You have to have a positive mind when you’re stirring them because they will absorb whatever mood you have and transfer that into the food.”
Gift-wrapping
“I got a $5 hot glue gun from a crafts store that I use for velvet ribbons when I wrap presents at the holidays,” says Dustin Smith, senior national publicist for the “Real Simple” show, who loves to wrap gifts. (He learned it from his mother.) “You just put one [velvet] band across, and there’s not tape everywhere. It looks really clean.”
Meal efficiency and more
Amelia Schettler, production manager for the Chicago crew,akes the prize for most organized person on the set. Carries a binder to keep track of everything and everyone. (Kept one for her wedding too.) At home, keeps a list taped inside the door of all her kitchen cupboards, itemizing what’s in there so she and her husband don’t overbuy at the grocery store. And, yes, she cooks dinner every night, even after a 12-hour day. Especially proud of her marinated chicken breasts — both taste and efficiency-wise. Buys a large box of (non-frozen) breasts, 6 to 7 ounces each. Cuts each one in half, “because, technically, you are only supposed to have 3 to 4 ounces of protein with every meal.” Freezes four per freezer bag. Takes a bag out a couple days before cooking and marinates the four thawing breasts (now in the fridge) in store-bought salad dressing. Could be a Caesar, honey mustard, Vidalia onion, ranch. (Sometimes will add the salad dressing to the freezer bag before freezing.) Bakes at 320 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Sautes some spinach. Does a little couscous. And “you’ve got a meal.” And then some. Two remaining chicken breasts are next day’s lunch. “My mother never thought I would turn out this way.”
Calorie cutting
Robert White, Chicago-based makeup artist/stylist, sings the praises of Fluky’s fat-free hot dogs — just 30 calories a dog; regular dogs are 120 calories. Available at some — but not all — Fluky’s restaurants.
“You have to ask for them.” And “you have to wait a little longer because they have to make them” to order. But it’s worth it, he says. Tastes “just like a hot dog. Like a juicy hot dog.” (Also available at some grocery stores. Check www.flukys.com for stores or order through that site. Or call 877-876-3663.)
Digestive aid
Tom Erd, co-owner of The Spice House, recommends ginger for nausea and as an all-around digestive aid. “Ginger in any form. You could chomp on the root, but that would be painful. You could do ginger powder mixed in water to make ginger tea. [But] crystallized ginger is probably the easiest” and most pleasant way to get it down.
Fast meal
Rob Keefe, “Real Simple” co-host, New Yorker, single father of a 5-year-old boy and a guy who says he can be “kind of frenzied about stuff,” loves the Last-Minute Lasagna recipe they tested on the show. Uses store-bought frozen ravioli as the critical timesaving ingredient. (See below for recipe.) “It makes it look like you’ve done a lot more work than you really have,” says the single father of a 5-year-old boy. “And it’s really good. And it’s fast. And yes, it’s child-tested.”
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A fast and easy `Real Simple’ favorite
Last-Minute Lasagna
As seen on Saturday’s premier episode of “Real Simple” on WTTW-Ch. 11, PBS.
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Baking time: 30 to 35 minutes
1 jar (26-ounce) pasta sauce
1 bag (30-ounce) frozen large cheese ravioli, unthawed
1 box (10-ounce) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 bag (8-ounce) shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spoon in a third of the sauce. Arrange 12 ravioli on top and scatter the spinach over them. Top with half of each cheese. Cover with another layer of ravioli and the remaining sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until bubbly.
Nutritional information from Real Simple:
385 calories; 0% of calories from fat; 17 g fat; 8 g saturated fat; 56 mg cholesterol; 507 mg calcium; 35 g carbohydrates; 22 mg protein; 1,183 mg sodium; 4 g fiber; 3 mg iron
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What is Real Simple?
The magazine: Launched in March 2000 by Time Inc. Looks a lot like Martha Stewart Living with beautiful photographs and clean layouts — but the focus is broader (extending to fashion, relationships, etc.) and the “angle” is polar opposite. This mag’s about having a beautiful home, clean closets, homemade lasagna, the perfect dress for your high school reunion, the right sunscreen — but doing it and getting it as easily and simply as possible.
The TV show: Has been in the works for several years; part of the “branding” of Real Simple, which includes books and a line of products that will be launched in the next few weeks. A total of 26 half-hour episodes will run in 2006 on PBS channels across the country.
In Chicago: Airs at 3:30 p.m. Saturdays on WTTW-Ch. 11. The segment filmed at Chicago Children’s Museum at Navy Pier is scheduled to run Jan. 28; the segment from The Spice House in Old Town is scheduled for some time in spring.
Those responsible: Created and produced by Real Simple Productions Inc. and presented (to the world of PBS) by WGBH Lifestyle Productions in Boston, which has a long history of how-to programming. “This Old House” is another show it presents.
Content: “It’s really a strategy show,” says “Real Simple” executive producer Leslie McNeil. “It’s a show that wants to enable the viewer to access things simply, without stress, so they have more time in their already-busy lives — without sacrificing quality.” Content is inspired by the magazine but won’t be an exact copy. Quick meals and getting organized are favorite topics. Trips to various destinations to talk with experts in a particular field also will be a recurring theme. Editors from the magazine make occasional appearances.
Cast of characters: Three co-hosts take turns doing segments. All have acting backgrounds and are billed as “real people” in search of real solutions. They are: Cydnee Welburn (young single woman with lots of energy); Rob Keefe (single father, good-natured, good sense of humor) and Brooke Alexander (new mother, has a soulfulness about her).
— Karen Klages, kklages@tribune.com
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kklages@tribune.com
