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How Do You Deal with Handicaps in the Kitchen?

Marlene

By Marlene
in Food Traditions & Culture

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Margaret Pilgrim

Margaret Pilgrim

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, heidih said:

 We are not our disabilities - and we keep on cooking ;) 

 

This can't be overemphasized.    Almost 20 years ago, I needed a hip replacement.   I was going to lunch with an older friend who lamented as we walked to the restaurant, "Oh, Darlin', you're limping.   It breaks my heart!"    I bristled and told her that I actually was not aware of my limp, that I was plowing through as best I could and really was resentful of her (condescending) sympathy.    Hip replacement(s) done, limp gone.   Now I have a compromised knee and am making similar accommodation, as in how I manage stairs.   Husband lovingly tries to intervene and do chores that require stairs, and I can't get across to him that activity and use are good  for me, that I do not feel sorry for myself and in fact find a sick sense of accomplishment as I soldier on.   I do not define myself as disabled, now.   

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heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted (edited)

A dear friend had a hip replacement young (56). I happened to be at St. Johns in Santa Monica the next day and went to visit, Already up. 6 months later we were buying plants for an event after a rain and she leapt over a big puddle at the nursery. I tearily laughed. Knees bit tougher but I know many success stories. I am still eyeing the oven mitts and the gloves as I plan a large sheet pan of broiled zucchini tomorrow. or day after. Another small adjustment with pans from stove I have begun is using 2 hands to move the pan - gives more stability for me. 2 hands multi tasking not so wise anymore.  

Edited by heidih (log)
Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted (edited)
6 hours ago, heidih said:

. I am still eyeing the oven mitts and the gloves

As I took my casserole out of the oven last night I had to laugh at myself and think that I'm a poor one to give advice on oven protection. I just had to take a picture of my HotPads, as we always called them.

20211208_171719.thumb.jpg.fb003ce759af0909429ad22ad882afe1.jpg

I have no idea how old they are and they have sure been through the wringer. Yes, they are clean. They have even been bleached but they are just so old and stained that they can't help it. Twice I have gotten brand new pads and thrown these away. Both times I've used the new pads for a couple days and retrieved the old ones. I have five or six really pretty ones that would do the job but they're just too pretty and I save them to use as trivets on my glass top table.

They say that old friends are the best. I guess that applies to HotPads, too.

Edited by Tropicalsenior (log)
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Yvonne Shannon

San Joaquin, Costa Rica

A member since 2017 and still loving it!

Margaret Pilgrim

Margaret Pilgrim

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

As I took my casserole out of the oven last night I had to laugh at myself and think that I'm a poor one to give advice on oven protection. I just had to take a picture of my HotPads, as we always called them.

20211208_171719.thumb.jpg.fb003ce759af0909429ad22ad882afe1.jpg

I have no idea how old they are and they have sure been through the wringer. Yes, they are clean. They have even been bleached but they are just so old and stained that they can't help it. Twice I have gotten brand new pads and thrown these away. Both times I've used the new pads for a couple days and retrieved the old ones. I have five or six really pretty ones that would do the job but they're just too pretty and I save them to use as trivets on my glass top table.

They say that old friends are the best. I guess that applies to HotPads, too.

Totally get it.   I recently replaced my terry mitts (discussed above).   The new ones are somewhat stiff but within the month of use are coming to heel.    A couple of times through the washer should have done the trick but they take so long to dry (AND WE ALL KNOW THE PERIL OF WET OR DAMP HOT PADS!) that I just let them settle in.   

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

I'm sitting here by the computer with my almonds and mai tai, in my ergonomic chair, nurturing my knee (no peanuts tonight) while my blessed Paragon cooks dinner and my StirMATE stirs it for me.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I'm sitting here by the computer with my almonds and mai tai, in my ergonomic chair, nurturing my knee (no peanuts tonight) while my blessed Paragon cooks dinner and my StirMATE stirs it for me.

 

Lets call you "Gadget" v. "Gidget". Sally is a force though.

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, heidih said:

Lets call you "Gadget" v. "Gidget". Sally is a force though.

 

If this is a television reference, I am no girl midget.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

  • 4 months later...
JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

I'm sitting here by the computer with my almonds and mai tai, in my ergonomic chair, nurturing my toe (no peanuts tonight) while my blessed Paragon cooks dinner.

 

I don't know how much longer I can do this, real cooking I mean.  I'm usually OK with convenience food, such as last night's frozen fish and fries.  Grilling a steak or chop is not much work, nor is a steam broiled chicken thigh.  Pair them with a baked potato, sour cream, and 30 second green beans for a fine dinner.

 

But that's not following a real recipe.  I've been planning bunny chow from Bryant Terry's Vegetable Kingdom for some days.  His vegan take on a South African curry dish.  Knowing my limitations I pressure cooked the specified Royal Corona Beans last night.  (I have nothing if not Rancho Gordo beans.)  Cooled rapidly overnight by the Michael Ruhlman method.

 

I got home from Shoprite about 6:00 pm and started prepping stuff.  I posses innumerable pots and bowls, but little place to deploy them.

 

Excruciating pain in my left right foot.  Did I mention I suffer from directional aphasia?  Investigated and toe was bleeding.  Nothing particularly new.

 

Now at 1:02 am the stew is on its final cook.  I love my Paragon.  Even so I cheated.  I did not bake my buns from scratch.  I did not peel my Yukon Gold potatoes.  I made my persillade with raw garlic.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

Kim Shook

Kim Shook

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I don't know how much longer I can do this, real cooking I mean.  I'm usually OK with convenience food, such as last night's frozen fish and fries.  Grilling a steak or chop is not much work, nor is a steam broiled chicken thigh.  Pair them with a baked potato, sour cream, and 30 second green beans for a fine dinner.

I think this is something that most of us are going to have to face at one time.  I remember the adjustments that older family members had to make - sitting down at the kitchen table to do prep, using a smaller knife because it was more comfortable in arthritic hands, etc.  Even changes in taste and interest.   One of my grandmothers never lost her interest in good food, but lost the ability to cook.  Her caretakers were lovely ladies, but terrible cooks, so they picked up take-out a lot.  My mom, on the other hand, lost interest in anything but sweets (she never had much of a sweet tooth before) and her dementia caused her to not recognize some of her formerly favorite foods.  It is hard to tell how it will go for any of us.  

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Kim

Kim's Cookbook

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lindag

lindag

Posted
Posted

My big issue is that with AMD I cannot see very well.  I have to use a magnifier for reading.  It's so frustrating, my cursing has increased.  And, what's with the small and light-colored print on everything?!  Shit!

 

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Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, lindag said:

And, what's with the small and light-colored print on everything?!  Shit!

And double shit for the white print on a light blue background. What are these people thinking?

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Yvonne Shannon

San Joaquin, Costa Rica

A member since 2017 and still loving it!

heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted (edited)

My biggest recent work around was getting pans out of oven, A drop/mess/breakage plus the attendant feeling like an idiot... I realized I never have a problem taking my bread which is baked on a rimmed sheet pan out. Analyzing my "moves" I realized I pulled out knowing pan sturdy/no flex, backed up a step and set on stovetop. Doing  a sma Cornish Hen the other day I put the 8 x 8 pan  on a sheet pan. No drama, no trauma. We figure things out.

Edited by heidih (log)
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Margaret Pilgrim

Margaret Pilgrim

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, lindag said:

And, what's with the small and light-colored print on everything?!  Shit!

 

Aaaaaarrrrrrrrgggghhhhh!    I absolutely agree and DO NOT GET IT!     It's not even a particularly interesting or attractive stylistic gimmick.  

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eGullet member #80.

Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted (edited)
20 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

directional aphasia

Is that where you have trouble telling your left from your right? Or at least trouble telling others to go left or right. If it is, I've had it all my life I just didn't know what it was called.

As for not being able to do what you used to do, that creeps up on all of us. I can no longer multitask because of mobility issues. I have learned to cook a lot of things ahead of time and just reheat them in the microwave. I understand that you don't have a microwave but it might be a good investment for you because it saves a lot of work. You can make whole meals when you are able and reheat them when you want to. Might save you from a lot of early am meals.

I would say that surviving old age is a lot easier if you readjust your priorities.

Edited by Tropicalsenior (log)
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Yvonne Shannon

San Joaquin, Costa Rica

A member since 2017 and still loving it!

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted (edited)
35 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Is that where you have trouble telling your left from your right? Or at least trouble telling others to go left or right. If it is, I've had it all my life I just didn't know what it was called.

As for not being able to do what you used to do, that creeps up on all of us. I can no longer multitask because of mobility issues. I have learned to cook a lot of things ahead of time and just reheat them in the microwave. I understand that you don't have a microwave but it might be a good investment for you because it saves a lot of work. You can make whole meals when you are able and reheat them when you want to. Might save you from a lot of early am meals.

I would say that surviving old age is a lot easier if you readjust your priorities.

 

Exactly!  I can blithely use left and right interchangeably, particularly when giving directions to others.  My solution is to point.

 

 

Edit:  back when I was driving regularly, my bane was signs that said "Yield Left".

 

Edited by JoNorvelleWalker (log)
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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
44 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Exactly!  I can blithely use left and right interchangeably, particularly when giving directions to others.  My solution is to point.

 

 

Edit:  back when I was driving regularly, my bane was signs that said "Yield Left".

 

 

Me too. I know my right and left.

 

Its your right and left that confound me.

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heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted

I default to pasenger side and driver side  as you face windshield. Probay makes ho sense unless you've been there

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

Me too. I know my right and left.

 

Its your right and left that confound me.

 

9 minutes ago, heidih said:

I default to pasenger side and driver side  as you face windshield. Probay makes ho sense unless you've been there

 

Port and starboard?

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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DesertTinker

DesertTinker

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, lindag said:

My big issue is that with AMD I cannot see very well.  I have to use a magnifier for reading.  It's so frustrating, my cursing has increased.  And, what's with the small and light-colored print on everything?!  Shit!

 

 

2 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Aaaaaarrrrrrrrgggghhhhh!    I absolutely agree and DO NOT GET IT!     It's not even a particularly interesting or attractive stylistic gimmick.  

Send a letter/email/make a call to the publisher and editor or manufacturer of the publication or product and let them know that they have a serious lack of accessibility for people who are visually impaired. For any company worth worrying about this should be a major wake up call.

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Smithy said:

 

Port and starboard?

 

Whatever else, Port usually helps.  I have an open bottle on the table.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

 

Port and starboard?

Oh no I aways mix those up as I do bow & stern. I am not "normal" My sailing instructor was a verywonderfully patient man

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lindag

lindag

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, DesertTinker said:

 

Send a letter/email/make a call to the publisher and editor or manufacturer of the publication or product and let them know that they have a serious lack of accessibility for people who are visually impaired. For any company worth worrying about this should be a major wake up call.

Does it cost more to print darker?  More ink maybe?

Margaret Pilgrim

Margaret Pilgrim

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, DesertTinker said:

 

Send a letter/email/make a call to the publisher and editor or manufacturer of the publication or product and let them know that they have a serious lack of accessibility for people who are visually impaired. For any company worth worrying about this should be a major wake up call.

Good idea.   This stylistic catastrophe is quite prevalent on websites.     White script on a yellow background, for instance, seems particularly popular at the moment,

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eGullet member #80.

DesertTinker

DesertTinker

Posted
Posted (edited)
38 minutes ago, lindag said:

Does it cost more to print darker?  More ink maybe?

It’s really just bad design and lack of training in accessibility. Another thing is that images can look great and have good contrast on a computer monitor, but when translated to paper, or on another monitor even, it all changes.

Edited by DesertTinker (log)
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