Hector, I used to have one of those stoves and learned to center things just fine. Practice with a cold stove, keeping one hand at the edge and moving the other to where you think the burner should be. With time, you'll learn to estimate the distance without much thought at all, and even with the burner on, you'll learn to adjust the pan to the center if you don't get it just right. The important thing is to try to relax and to give yourself time to learn things. These days, there may even be ways of marking those burners now; I'm not quite sure. You're right, it's difficult when someone else just takes over, but you can do this. We'll help!
-----Original Message----- From: Nicole Massey via Cookinginthedark [mailto:cookinginthedark@acbradio.org] Sent: Friday, January 27, 2017 3:05 PM To: cookinginthedark@acbradio.org Cc: Nicole Massey Subject: Re: [CnD] Learning to boil water! Hector, do you have an NLS/BARD membership? If so then there are some excellent resources you can use. They've got Cooking Without Looking, (not to be confused with the book When the Cook can't Look) that has a lot of strong tips for blind folks. Crockery Cookery is also great for using a slow cooker. For simple recipes they've got one of the Girl Scout cookbooks and several cookbooks aimed at children that should provide good simple recipes that don't require a lot of tools or advanced techniques. When you want to advance your skills they've got the four standard kitchen reference cookbooks -- Better Homes & Gardens, The Joy of Cooking, Betty Crocker, and the 1918 Fannie Farmer cookbook. The Joy of Cooking is especially good for techniques. Cooking isn't hard, but it will take some practice. I'd suggest that you keep easy preparation meal items around, like sandwich stuff, as a backup. Just about every cook has a cooking failure sometimes, and knowing that such problems are okay and you're not going to have to go hungry can be comforting. If at all possible get help from a local blind services agency with this. An understanding of measurements, assistance in labeling your ingredients so you know where to find them, and a sighted person to help guide you through knife skills until you get comfortable with them are all great benefits to learning how to cook. Knife skills will make more difference to cooking ability than just about anything else, and remember that the only thing you have to watch out for on a knife is the edge -- the rest of it is harmless unless someone is using it to beat someone with, and I've never heard of anyone doing that with a knife. Demystify them and they become the useful tools they're designed to be. (And keep them sharp, as a dull knife is far more dangerous than a razor sharp one) Since your stove is, for all intents and purposes, inaccessible you might want to get a hot plate to cook on, one with a defined edge of the heating element. A microwave oven, either marked or talking, is also extremely helpful. A toaster oven is also a popular option, and other devices can make things easier too. I love my old pizza cooker because it gives me a controllable environment for making a frozen pizza, for example. (I can make other things on it too, like pizza rolls and English muffin pizzas or tuna melts) Feel free to ask questions here. This is a good group of folks and there are also some folks who train blind folks how to do things like this for their livelihood, so they're going to have some excellent tips. Remember that there are pretty much no commandments in cooking, so a technique might not work for you but you won't be the first or last person to have that difficulty, and other techniques exist. Also remember to start cooking before you get hungry and take your time. And if someone lacks patience then they're not helping you by taking over. Also make it clear that your kitchen is your space, and ask folks to put things back where you had them because you need to know where things are when you reach for them. -----Original Message----- From: Hector Elias via Cookinginthedark [mailto:cookinginthedark@acbradio.org] Sent: Friday, January 27, 2017 1:28 PM To: cookinginthedark@acbradio.org Cc: Hector Elias <hmelia...@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [CnD] Learning to boil water! Hello: I am not faking :), I am blind. I live in California (Orange County area). I am turning 32 in a few days. I have never followed a recipe because I never had too. I went blind at the age of 16 and my family always lived with me. They wanted to let me cook, but got frustrated and took over. I own a Crock-Pot, George Foreman grill, a talking thermometer,, boiling alert disk, and a set of measuring cups/spoons with braille. My stove is a electric glass top. The ones that don't have any indication where the burner is at. I usually hover my hand over the burner, but I can't place the pot dead center most of the time. I have never gone to a center to learn to cook, only to one in Arkansas (that was a joke). I only learned to toast bread with jam. I don't know if learning to use the George Foreman and Crock-Pot would be a better start or not? I want to learn the basics and go from there. I have watched many youtube videos on cooking; however, I don't know the jargon. I also don't know how t o adapt the recipe when they say to look when the meat is brown. Ummm! I am blind and can't see it. I would appreciate any suggestions for websites with easy and good recipes, or book suggestions. I just need a starting point. I am on medical leave from work so I have time now. If I return to work, going to a center may not be a solution for me. I have not asked someone for help with the Crock-Pot and George Foreman because it ends up being a frustrating situation on both sides. I do like to learn new techniques and am willing to put in the time to learn to cook. I hope this clarifies any questions people may have. Thanks, Hector Elias > On Jan 27, 2017, at 9:13 AM, Brenda Mueller via Cookinginthedark > <cookinginthedark@acbradio.org> wrote: > > Well, he says he has never attempted to follow or read a recipe? Why not? Are > there cookbooks online for beginners with very basic recipes that anyone who > cooks knows how to prepare? Are there books that are better for blind readers > online? If he purchased a crockpot, why hasn't he asked someone to read the > literature that came with the crockpot? As for training, we need to know > where he is and maybe how old he is. Before we give him instructions, it > would be good to know what equipment he has: gas stove, electric, hot plate, > etc. Which simple things does he want to learn to prepare first. I hope the > guy is really a blind guy who wants to learn and not some poster who is > playing around. > > > > After all as a blind kid I figured out a lot about cooking just by keeping my > ears open and using my nose when I was in the kitchen while Mom was cooking, > long before microwave even came on the market. > > Brenda Mueller > > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Jan 27, 2017, at 10:32 AM, Blaine Deutscher via Cookinginthedark >> <cookinginthedark@acbradio.org> wrote: >> >> Hey there. >> >> Even though many of us can assist in technique we can't assist to much in >> terms of gaining confidence. My suggestion, take a course through centres >> like the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), not sure if the American >> Council of the Blind (ACB) has a similar program. It's one thing to give >> technique, but confidence is another. Just a suggestion. Deborah is right >> though, you can tell when a pot is boiling by the steam coming out of the >> top. Also, there are products available that will whistle and indicate when >> the pot is boiling. For more products check out www.blindmicemegamall.com. >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>> On Jan 27, 2017, at 3:45 AM, Deborah Barnes via Cookinginthedark >>> <cookinginthedark@acbradio.org> wrote: >>> >>> Hi Hector, >>> >>> Well, there are quite a number of folks on here that can surely >>> help. Most of us had to start somewhere, and even though I'm an old >>> lady, I remember when I didn't know how to boil water. <g< >>> >>> When using a crock pot, cooking on Low might help. The nice thing about a >>> recipe is that it gives you some guidance to help you get started. Once >>> you get some confidence in cooking, you may find that you don't really need >>> that recipe, or you'll start to make changes to suit your personal tastes. >>> >>> Now about boiling water: one thing I will say is that when the >>> water is boiling: if you put your hand over the pot, not on the pot, >>> there will be a steady flow of steam when the water is boiling. <g< >>> >>> So what's the first thing you'd like to cook? >>> >>> Deb B. >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Hector Elias via Cookinginthedark >>> [mailto:cookinginthedark@acbradio.org] >>> Sent: Friday, January 27, 2017 2:56 AM >>> To: cookinginthedark@acbradio.org >>> Cc: Hector Elias >>> Subject: [CnD] Learning to boil water! >>> >>> Hi everyone: >>> >>> I'm a blind guy who is wanting to learn how to cook. I don't know much, >>> when it comes to cooking. I am learning to boil water. I am looking for a >>> way to begin. I recently bought a Crock-pot, but I burned the food. Any >>> advise is greatly appreciated. I have never followed a recipe before, and >>> there is many things I don't know. >>> >>> Please help. >>> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Hector Elias >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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
