Lois, I'm not entirely certain I understand Nicole's explanation, either, but that's okay. We all find our own techniques, and what works for one may not work for another. All I can say is that I've been totally blind forever and have been nicked an amazingly few times. It's much less likely to happen if I simply slow down and think about what I'm doing, rather than letting myself get distracted by thinking about what I have yet to do. As we said to Jessica not so long ago, relax, take a deep breath and keep practicing. The rest will come.
-----Original Message----- From: cookinginthedark-boun...@acbradio.org [mailto:cookinginthedark-boun...@acbradio.org] On Behalf Of Lois Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 9:43 PM To: cookinginthedark@acbradio.org Subject: Re: [CnD] Knife Skills yet Again I haven't used a knife very much since I went totally blind and am a little afraid of them. Nicole was trying to tell me how to use one, but am not sure I understood. Lois ----- Original Message ----- From: Jean Hunt To: cookinginthedark@acbradio.org Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 9:32 PM Subject: Re: [CnD] Knife Skills yet Again I do most of the technique the way you explained it except I must also keep my knives sharp as I live alone and do not have a sighted person to rely on for such tasks. I have been blind for only 5 years but severely visually empaired for some 60 + years. Have had to redefine my techniques in the kitchen and am now just getting around to redefinine my baking skills. What a challenge. -----Original Message----- From: cookinginthedark-boun...@acbradio.org [mailto:cookinginthedark-boun...@acbradio.org] On Behalf Of Nicole Massey Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 8:46 PM To: cookinginthedark@acbradio.org; 'Lois' Subject: [CnD] Knife Skills yet Again Yeah, I was going to respond when I had some well thought out things to say. But for the quick and dirty data dump, here goes. In my opinion good knife skills are one of the most important things any person working in a kitchen can develop. Knowing how to use your knife or knives is one of the key things to getting really comfortable in the kitchen. As blind folks we have extra considerations. That said, the added caution we use can make a big difference. I have friends who nick themselves about 80% of the time in the kitchen. I've nicked myself twice in the eight and a half years since I lost my sight. First, holding the knife. There are a lot of ways to do it, but the key is control. Don't worry about speed -- like in typing, getting the technique down will allow speed to come in time. My way of choice for holding a knife is to hold the blade right above the handle with my thumb and forefinger and wrap the rest of my fingers around the handle. This gives you the most blade control. Note that it's not a comfortable position at first, as you'll get tired holding the knife this way. Take time to shake your hands out from time to time if you have a lot of cutting, or get a good food processor, like a cuisanart, Mulineaux, or spouse. (Each has its benefits, with the cuisinart style doing a lot of things, the Moulineaux doing some interesting things its sideways cutting and shredding drums that work like snow cone makers, and of course a spousal food processor can do lots of other things like snuggle and scrape ice off windshields) At first cutting is a two handed job. You use your fingers to guide the blade. For example, you're cutting carrots. First you cut the tips and bottoms off for each carrot. Then you line them up on the cutting board, and get the end you're cutting even. Now place the knife at the end, put your fingers against the side of the knife of the hand not doing the knife holding, and then move the tips of your fingers back the distance you want to cut off those carrots, say a quarter of an inch. Put the knife edge, carefully, against your fingernails, Then slide the palm back so your fingers are flat, move them the next quarter inch, then cut at your original point. Now move them up to fingernails again, and rinse, wash, repeat until they're all cut. Sighted folks will see your cut up veggies and marvel at how even they are. The second tip is to slow down. Time things so you do cutting first, not while an earlier step is cooking, so you aren't in a rush. Cooking is not a sprint, it's a meditation. Take your time cooking. So what if the recipe says it's done in thirty minutes and you take forty five. You'll take a lot longer if you have to stop in the middle to run to the ER to have body parts reattached. Third, have someone sighted in the house who has the job of keeping the knives sharp. Sharp knives are safer than dull ones, because dull knives do things like shift instead of cut, which undermines your control. Hope this helps. -----Original Message----- From: cookinginthedark-boun...@acbradio.org [mailto:cookinginthedark-boun...@acbradio.org] On Behalf Of Lois Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 7:41 PM To: cookinginthedark@acbradio.org; Lois Subject: Re: [CnD] the purpose of "cooking in the dark" - Re: Maybe I amonthe wrong list. No one has said anything about what I asked. I wasn't trying to stur up trouble I was asking a honest question. I think it is within the guidelines of the list. If it is off topic I will shut up, but I will not leave the list. Lois ----- Original Message ----- From: Lois To: cookinginthedark@acbradio.org Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 5:49 PM Subject: Re: [CnD] the purpose of "cooking in the dark" - Re: Maybe I amonthe wrong list. I am sure Charles is right, but noone usually talks about that kind of thing. So I will try to start it off, smile. No, it isn't about cutting meat at the table, but the best way to use a knife while cooking. I have a fear of sharp knives. Tell me if this is on topic. Lois ----- Original Message ----- From: Debbra Piening To: cookinginthedark@acbradio.org Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 4:58 PM Subject: Re: [CnD] the purpose of "cooking in the dark" - Re: Maybe I am onthe wrong list. I think you've described this list just right. I suspect that the problem we ran into earlier in the week was the length of time spent on this one topic. Possibly much of what was discussed could have been handled off list. Could we have a bit of clarification from Dale and steve? -----Original Message----- From: cookinginthedark-boun...@acbradio.org [mailto:cookinginthedark-boun...@acbradio.org] On Behalf Of Charles Rivard Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 2:49 PM To: cookinginthedark@acbradio.org Subject: [CnD] the purpose of "cooking in the dark" - Re: Maybe I am on the wrong list. Just a personal opinion, but here goes: While how to load and operate a dish washer could be thought of as food related, it doesn't have anything to do with cooking, nor does cutting the food. I think this list is for how to prepare a recipe, cook it safely. I think that, originally, this list was meant as a way for blind people to help each other become better cooks by sharing not only recipes, but also, and more importantly, sharing tips on how to, as a blind person, perform the tasks of recipe preparation and food cooking. I think the list has gotten away from being a list for that purpose. Recipes are gotten from the Internet, some are not even reworked. They still have unnecessary clutter in them. People send in stuff they haven't tried as a blind person. I would like to see a lot fewer copied recipes, and a lot more recipes with "how to do this as a blind person", written by a blind person who actually does it. Dale's weekly program, "cooking in the dark" not only gives a recipe, but how! he! makes! it!, especially the technique and the tools he uses. That, to me, is what this list either was, or should be. Whit this in mind, am I on the right list?, or should I subscribe to another. Thanks. --- Shepherds are the best beasts, but Labs are a close second. ----- Original Message ----- From: "jessica" <jessicabrown...@gmail.com> To: <cookinginthedark@acbradio.org> Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 12:51 PM Subject: [CnD] Maybe I am on the wrong list. > Hi. I have to apologise for all of this. I am new to this list. I did not > know that this list was just for recipes. I thought that because it was > called cooking in the dark that you could talk about anything cooking > related. I also read as a part of the subscription rules that no questions > were stupid because everyone cooks at a different level. Maybe I took that > too literally, but that is what I got out of it. Maybe if we are only > supposed to talk about recipes on this list and not talk about other > aspects of cooking then this list should be called recipes in the dark > instead of cooking in the dark. I was going to ask other questions like > how to load and unload a dishwasher and how to make food look good when > you are going to be serving it to a bunch of people and how to tell wen > all of the ingredients are mixed in to the food properly and lots of other > stuff as well. Now I see that this is the wrong place for that kind of > stuff. I need a lot of help with my cooking skills before any of these > recipes you are talking about will do me any good. At this point, I would > not know how to do any of these recipes you are talking about. Not even > the microwave ones. This list is too advanced for me. When I signed up for > it I thought that we could talk about anything cooking or food related. > The name cooking in the dark threw me off and made me think that this was > a cooking list not just a list for recipes. Now that I am reading all of > the mail from this list, I see that all people talk about on here is > recipes. I am sorry! Maybe I need to go and find myself a different list. > > sent from my BrailleNote > _______________________________________________ > Cookinginthedark mailing list > Cookinginthedark@acbradio.org > http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark _______________________________________________ Cookinginthedark mailing list Cookinginthedark@acbradio.org http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark _______________________________________________ Cookinginthedark mailing list Cookinginthedark@acbradio.org http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark _______________________________________________ Cookinginthedark mailing list Cookinginthedark@acbradio.org http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark _______________________________________________ Cookinginthedark mailing list Cookinginthedark@acbradio.org http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark _______________________________________________ Cookinginthedark mailing list Cookinginthedark@acbradio.org http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark _______________________________________________ Cookinginthedark mailing list Cookinginthedark@acbradio.org http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark _______________________________________________ Cookinginthedark mailing list Cookinginthedark@acbradio.org http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark _______________________________________________ Cookinginthedark mailing list Cookinginthedark@acbradio.org http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark
