Category: The Rave Board
That's right, today, not only did I finally get around to labeling the oven but I used it and I must say it went rather well!
I know it's a small thing but it's one step closer to beeing self-sufficient. I'll bet now my family will come home from work and be glad to have a hot meal.
Hey, small steps are still steps and should be taken with pride. Way to go!
That's awesome. now, how to go about labeling the damn microwave in my kitchen ... blasted touch screens. oh well ...
Small steps are great, and definitely count, often more than we realize. So way to go on that.
my oven used to cook stuff real quick, now though, i have a gentler oven. well done for that step.
Thanks folks...and as for the microwave, I have one with a dial for selecting the temperature so don't need labels. I just hit cook and turn the knob 4 clicks = 1 minute and push it in.
Ooh, I've never seen that kind. Is the button for cook a real one or on a touch screen? My microwave just has one flat dial. I just set the minutes and it does the rest. I've also seen one with two dials. Either way, both are better than touch screens. I really need to label the dials on my stove too. lol Oops.
Wow! Way to go. You'll be boiling water in no time at all. HeeHee.
Keep us posted.
I can't stand touch screens, but congratulations! What did you cook in it?
Well just sayin' if you used an oven, that'll get you going on any number of things wihthenclosed spaces / heat ... like your patio grill when summer comes ...
And don't feel bad, I still struggle with getting my daughter *who can see* to use the oven. Lots of people are taken aback by that intense heat I guess. Good on you for nailing it.
And I too find the ovens with all digital to be a veritable pain in the ass ... but just another way to sharpen the wits I guess
I will admit that the heat kept me away from the oven for quite awhile, but when I realized that in order to make many of the meals I like, I would have to use it, I stepped up to the plate and promised myself that the heat wouldn't bother me anymore. Now I use the oven quite regularly. Of course, I will admit that I didn't do this without some help at the beginning, but now I use it independently.
Oh the heat made me nervous but I put on my oven mits and went for it.
And tiff, it was a chicken with some seasonings and potatoes.
That's what I did too. It just took a little longer than it should have. I was sixteen.
Well it is a couple hundred degrees after all.
Oven mitts are the key. And seeing you all are doing it gives me some hope I'll be able to get my daughter - who can see - to do it.
I think she got scared because a pan fell, and some of you all would no doubt criticize but I kinda jumped in not knowing how serious it was, only that she was scared, and picked everything up. The new Ove Gloves you can pretty much pick anything up right off of hot burners in the oven.
What I don't really know is how you show someone how to do stuff like this ... I tend to just do it.
But seriously guys, you all are basically a lot more independent with stuff than a lot of the sighted population your age from what I've read in articles about preparing your kids for college. You all oughta be proud really, not on account of blind or whatever - I know that's patronizing and I wouldn't want it either, but for real lots of kids now don't know how to do their laundry, boil Raman noodles or slice stuff up. From the way you all write on these boards, you all are ahead of the game - compared to the population at large.
And everyone's got something that's tough I guess. My daughter knows how to cook, even experiments and stuff, it's just the oven that freaks her out.
Me, I basically can't bake to save my life. Well yeah I could follow a recipe, but since I'm more one to do things from the point of view of how the parts fit, I basically feel like I don't understand the parts. But I can cook stovetop, grill, and smoke meat ... so everyone has got strenths, and nobody is truly independent.
The oven doesn't bother me. I just use one of those square pot holders and lift the pan out, single handed, with my thumb over the edge of the pan. This works well most of the time. If it's a pie or something, I'll use both hands, so I don't get my thumb or the pot holder dirty and mess up the pie. As far as baking, I love to bake brownies. They're the easiest. I find that using brown sugar makes them taste better, but doesn't that make them more blondey than brownie? Not completely sure on that one. I hate to follow recipes, so I just add stuff and hope. When I'm in practice, it works pretty well. As for when I'm not in practice, well, we won't talk about that... LOL
It is a good idea to open the oven and let the enitial blast of heat escape for a minute or so and just do your thing.
That's especially true when you're removing something from the oven once it's done, and especially if your oven doesn't have vents.
The oven I use is convection but still it is a good idea.
You've a convection oven? Those are some of the nicest to cook with ... stuff comes out quite tender so they say.
I must say it is great to have. Probably one of the best kinds and it is self-cleaning.
So if you don't mind me asking, have you done a whole chicken or something like that yet in there?
The Convection ovens are supposed to work wonders on meat keeping it tender.
I've seen recently where apartments come furnished with Convection ovens ... something I remember as being rather a luxury accessory to the kitchen.
Just remember ... chicks dig men that can cook ... just get you a chef's apron you dog! ... lol
I'm willing
I did put a whole chicken in that oven and it came right off the bone. I'd say that a convection oven would be a sound investmint.
Congrats Margorp!
Thanks.
I'm glad our oven has vents. It allows at least some of the heat to escape so you don't get quite so much of a blast when you open it up.
Your not supposed to put your face near it anyway. Lol!
I don't, but it still gets the heat unless I turn my head, which makes me feel a bit awkward when working with an oven.
I see what you mean...it's not safe to work with it with your head turned. You might smash a pan by misstake.
Well, usually I use the metal ones, but....it could get dropped somehow.
Ah I use stoneware...and it can crack in half.
Really? I've never heard of that. Is it more expensive?
Mmm stonewear. And yep, it can crack, usually takes years to crack, but it does. Could get into the physics of the whole thing but a) nobody but us geeks cares, and b) somebody would claim it an antisocial blind thing, even though my scientist brother is far more prone to, has a postdoctorate, and can see.
lol
And it's not to costly...and keeps food hot longer. Also easy to clean...but oh boy it can crack.
I might have to try that.
I like metalware, but it doesn't last as long as it could.
Yup, the stoneware is a bit bulky but it sure is good to have.
i heard you dont' clean stoneware, just wipe it out, apparently it flavours foods quite well. and re ovens, try frying with stirfry, really hot oil flying about, happy days.
haha sounds rough.
Did somebody on here say they had trouble labeling their microwave? You can buy plastic sheets with sticky stuff on the back. You just braille on the sheet what you want and have help cutting your labels. The sighted person can peel the back off and you can put labels on the touch screen for your microwave. Just a suggestion.
Hoorah for stoneware! It will crack after awhile, and by awhile I mean upwards of ten years of regular use.
However, Christmas 09 my parents-in-law got us a new crockpot. Retired the 20-year-old one and all I have to say is the new ones with the ceramic pot inside are a joy to use! And, dare I say, rather a joy to clean as well. Stuff just comes right off 'em.
I haven't done roasts and similar red meat items in there, due to the majority of the household's dislike of red meat / preoccupations with all things deemed healthy by modern markets / fads. However, it's very even (that's the ceramic for you) with a bottom-placed element, rather than the side/windy kind they used to have. From a purely physical standpoint, a great device. But from a serving standpoint, also a great device: slide out the ceramic crock and put it on a pad on the table, there ya go. Nobody minds looking at it.
I have a normal dial oven and love it. I've had it marked but haven't needed to use it yet because Mom usually does the major cooking downstairs and since I'm one person, I can generally get away with just using my toaster oven. Still, there are a few things that I'd like to try which will give me practice in using the big oven. I have both Ove Glovs and professional shefs gloves which go up to the elbow. I'm not afraid of that or the stove. The one and only thing in cooking which frightens me is frying, which is ashame, because I love fried food!
How the hell can younger people not know how to do basic things like laundry, boiling things or slicing food? I could understand someone who just went blind, but someone who's been blind all his/her life, or worse, someone sighted? That's ridiculous! I love to follow recipes with precise measurements but also to create my own. I've been doing it since I was about 10 or so, and somehow, I just seem to know what goes with what, even if I've never had it.
How can I tell whether my oven is convection or regular? I'm not sure about metalware not lasting. I have some pots that are over 20-years-old. Then again, they're professional, so that could be why. I'm also starting a cast iron collection, not the modern coated stuff but the regular kind. I avoid teflon at all costs. Dangerous chemicals and I don't want them near my food. I've never tried stoneware. Now i'm curious. I'm a huge meat-eater, so if it makes cooking that easier, I'm all for it!
some young people didn't have parents to teache them such skills. that's the case a lot, actually.
well i mean some young people just got spoiled and never had to do it for themselves. my parents were afraid of me not being independent in college so i got lucky in the sense that they made sure i could cook, do laundry, clean, all that before i got to school. but here in my dorm, the fire alarm goes off at least twice a month at 3 or 4 in the morning because someone left their easy mac in the microwave. so have no fear, even sighted college students cannot make easy mac in the microwave. lol
Little by little step by step any accomplishment counts. Congratulations! I hope your family enjoys the first meal you cook, I'm sure they will.
I labeled the microwave, but the labels kind of slipped off because people kept touching the pad with greasy fingers. So now, I just have two of those fuzzy labels that never seem to come off, no matter what you do to them. One is on the number five, and the other is on the start button. I can easily gauge the rest of the numbers, and reset is right below start, so all good there. As for the oven, I have put stuff in and taken it out, and actually almost burned myself when I bumped a tray fresh from the oven with my hand after taking it out of the mitt.
That's completely understandable and even cooks and chefs occasionally burn themselves. *smile* Hurts but it's part of the risk.
Sighted people burn themselves all the time. Don't let the fools tell ya that this, too, is some sorta blind thing.
Oh, by the way, I absolutely hate meat, simply for the reason that it usually tastes weird and has the consistancy of rubber. I hate eating it...big time.
overweaning, eco-turbulent hipster! :)
No seriously my daughter's like that too, only tolerates meat if it's that boneless skinless chicken breast, minced thin and small enough as to be indistinguishable from air itself.
Hey. I mean I do eat meat, it just tastes really weird. And anyway I can pretty much guarantee I've tried more fruits than anyone on this board. Try me.
Ever have a lichi?
Sorry, didn't check here in a while. Yes, they were tasty, but the store ran out--and didn't get any more.
Never tried it.
Kind of sour, and a bit like a berry in--not consistency, but kind of like it.
Wow we did go off topic.