[blindcooks] Re: Helping a totally blind friend learn to cook
- From: "Jon Rawlings" <twosocks76@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 12:34:31 -0800
To all who have replied thus far: I think I may have given the wrong
impression of what happened in my friend's kitchen the other night. What he
was experiencing wasn't so much fear as it was uncertainty. The high heat
didn't bother him at all, and he told me before I went out and spent the money
on these steaks that he felt ready to make the attempt. I know this friend of
his (not me) has given him a few lessons on how to make some other basic
things, but I'm not sure what those things were. I'll try to find out later
today. I also don't think he was afraid of the hot pan or oven because he
mentioned wanting to do it again so he could get it all down. Valerie: Your
idea of roasting some things on a sheet pan in the oven is a very good one. I
also wonder if an electric skillet might work, but he has very limited
countertop space, so I'm not sure. As far as how to set the oven, he has high
marks set at 350 and so on to mark the temperatures so he can feel them, so
that's not a problem. I'm not sure how to get around the use of a knife, but
we'll worry about that when he feels prepared to take on that particular
challenge. Jon
----- Original Message -----
From: Valerie
To: blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, November 24, 2013 11:59 AM
Subject: [blindcooks] Re: Helping a totally blind friend learn to cook
Hi Jon, all I could add is to perhaps begin with something really easy as far
as pan cooking goes, say a pancake, an egg, just one item in the pan at a
time. Searing hot pans might be far too dangerous and frightening to a
beginner cook, even I find searing hot pans a bit nerve wracking sometimes and
I've cooked all my life. Other suggestions are to get him to familiarize
himself totally with the lay out of the oven. When the oven is totally cold, he
should practice pulling out trays, feeling the depth, width of oven, also make
sure he has the best long oven mitts possible for safety. Sometimes it's
possible to familiarize yourself to oven dials, say two clicks turns the oven
on, or the half way mark, six O'clock, may be a general cooking temp, but
other than that, temps can be marked with tactile bumps or buttons. Finding
items in a pan on the stove can be made a little easier by thinking of the pan
as a clock, two pancakes in there, one pancake is at 12 o'clock, the other at
three. For frying eggs, some vision impaired people prefer egg cooking being
done with the egg in a metal ring, others don't, I think as confidence
improves, we all find what makes it easier for us.
Sometimes in the beginning, it just may be that a person feels more confident
using an appliance rather than the stovetop or oven, I think you mentioned the
slow cooker? Getting really confident with one appliance can make it easier to
then move on to another way of cooking. Hope there is something there that
helps and best of luck with the cooking lessons, I'd have loved to have a real
food inspired person teaching me to cook.
Cheers. Valerie P.S Would maybe a tray of vegetables and chickien pieces
roasting together at a moderate temp be something worth him trying as an oven
bake? There's recipes for such dishes cooking away in the oven in a nice
savoury sauce. .
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: blindcooks-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blindcooks-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jacob Kruger
Sent: Monday, 25 November 2013 4:11 AM
To: blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blindcooks] Re: Helping a totally blind friend learn to cook
All I would say is maybe start him off on techniques/cooking activities that
he might find/think of as less risky..?
I find that explaining/showing some of the basic procedures to them seem to
be the best way to get people to develop more interest in then taking it
further.
Really not too sure what would actually be the safest/simplest things to ge
them started on, since fears really vary quite a lot person to person, but,
maybe something like just baking things, to get him used to the concept that
with things like decent oven mitts, you don't have to worry about burning
yourself too much, and, from my side, I specifically enjoy/like/appreciate
certain of the basic ingredient preparation procedures, like dicing vegetables
properly, etc. quite a bit as well, but, I know that, for example, my
occupational therapist sister seemed to think that using a relatively sharp
knife was a risk for a blind/visually impaired person - I don't think of it as
much of a risk at all, since, yes, it's a sharp knife, but, doesn't mean I'm
going to be doing anything dashing/daring with it, as opposed to just using the
right tool for the job, in a relatively careful manner...<smile>
Stay well
Stay well
Jacob Kruger
Blind Biker
Skype: BlindZA
'...fate had broken his body, but not his spirit...'
----- Original Message -----
From: Jon Rawlings
To: Blind Cooks List
Sent: Sunday, November 24, 2013 07:15 PM
Subject: [blindcooks] Helping a totally blind friend learn to cook
I need some serious input here from as many of you as possible. I have a
friend that has been a big part of my life since we were very little kids. He
never had much interest in cooking, getting most of his meals from microwave
dinners or leftovers from dinners with family or restaurant food. Recently,
however, a friend of this guy has been teaching him some very basic things like
how to set his oven to cook frozen foods and also some simple slow cooker
recipes. He's slowly gaining an interest in cooking as he sees there are ways
to make fresh dishes for dinner that he feels are within his reach. I should
mention this friend is totally blind and has been from birth. Anyhow, I hung
out with him for the better part of Friday afternoon and evening, and I decided
I'd show him how to make a good pan-seared steak and baked potatoes. The
method with the steak is to season it lightly, get a cast iron skillet roaring,
fiercely hot, then sear the steaks in the pan for about 30 seconds a side
before tossing into a 500-degree oven for two minutes a side. The steaks then
rest on a cutting board or plate under a sheet of foil for a few minutes before
being served. I prefer to leave the pan in the oven while the potatoes bake to
give it plenty of time to get hot. Well, I walked him through the whole
procedure from oiling and salting the potatoes for baking to how the meat
should feel when it has the right amount of seasoning and so on. He did pretty
well, but the biggest challenge was getting the steaks in the hot skillet. He
ended up putting the second steak almost directly on top of the first one, and
because of his fear of getting badly burned, was unable to figure out where the
second steak should go. Part of the problem was that he was handling the tongs
with the same hand that was wearing the oven mitt he had on to protect his
hand, but even after I showed him that the hand with the mitt on it was to
handle the skillet while the mitt-free hand was for feeling with the tongs, he
still couldn't quite get it. So, from those of you with no vision at all, do
you have anything to offer me that I can pass on to my buddy the next time he
at tempts this little adventure? I'm certain this meal is well within his
abilities, even at this early stage of his learning, and is something every
bachelor should know how to make for himself. Jon
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