Cooking is stressful and hazardous to my health. If I were to accidentally hurt myself, it would be in the kitchen trying to cook an ordinary meal.
Creating a meal is complex business. One must be completely focused and aware whenever working with things that can burn or cut.
A meal consisting of more than one item, say, cooking spaghetti in which onions and mushrooms need to be sauteed, meat requires cooking and pasta desired to boil, all involve working on a hot stove with potentially burning substances.
I detest the shock of a sudden burn. I deplore splattering grease burns or wet potholders that cause me to burn fingers. I abhor the shattering of a glass pan because I put something too cold in it. The sound of a breaking plate or glass sends my hands to my ears and my feet to a running. The actual act of cleaning up broken glass is OCD hell in that I have to ensure I locate each and every shard. I've figured out that it's best to sweep the area twice or three times, followed by wet paper towel going over the area an equal number of times. I'll wear shoes or slippers for a few days afterwards just to be sure and probably sweep and wash again the next day.
Breaking things is a nightmare for me. Not sure what is worse, broken glass or splattering oil. Both are high high distressing events.
I've burned the oil in my onion pan more than once, likewise, I've charred the meat and, most painfully, I've scalded myself on numerous occasions draining the pasta. Chopping up my veggies have caused more than one light finger cut.
Cooking is stressful. I have to carefully plan each item and try and sync their "done", fully cooked time so that everything is finished close to the same time. I have 3 different timers in my kitchen that I use to help monitor everything.
I only cook a few complete meals: spaghetti, meatloaf, salmon patties and chicken with rice. I'm fortunate, in a way, in that I don't like a wide variety of foods so I'm naturally limited in how much time I spend over a hot stove.
It isn't fun for me, cooking that is. I do it more for my son than for myself. I'd be perfectly happy to eat ham and cheese sandwiches every day but the boy should have a few decent meals a week.
I saw the strangest things when I was at my friend's party a few weeks ago. I was listening to two people discuss how they weren't at all sure of what the ingredients were of the bean salad they were eating.
I was positively horrified.
How can anyone eat something in which they don't know what the dish is composed of? I was stymied and taken aback. Yes, I had to consciously close my mouth as my chin had dropped in that perplexed, stunned gesture.
I need to know exactly what is in everything on my plate!
And yes, maybe it is because I'm gluten free and that I have a food allergy that almost killed me but do people seriously just devour foods of which they have no knowledge of?
Yes, I'm sounding pretty autistic here but I thought it was just common sense to be fully aware of what one ingests.
But I digress. The place where I am most likely to injury myself is my kitchen, so I do as little as possible in that arena.
Making meals isn't easy. I feel like I'm worlds away from most in this respect.
I eat because I have to, not because it's fun and enjoyable.
Just sayin
Creating a meal is complex business. One must be completely focused and aware whenever working with things that can burn or cut.
A meal consisting of more than one item, say, cooking spaghetti in which onions and mushrooms need to be sauteed, meat requires cooking and pasta desired to boil, all involve working on a hot stove with potentially burning substances.
I detest the shock of a sudden burn. I deplore splattering grease burns or wet potholders that cause me to burn fingers. I abhor the shattering of a glass pan because I put something too cold in it. The sound of a breaking plate or glass sends my hands to my ears and my feet to a running. The actual act of cleaning up broken glass is OCD hell in that I have to ensure I locate each and every shard. I've figured out that it's best to sweep the area twice or three times, followed by wet paper towel going over the area an equal number of times. I'll wear shoes or slippers for a few days afterwards just to be sure and probably sweep and wash again the next day.
Breaking things is a nightmare for me. Not sure what is worse, broken glass or splattering oil. Both are high high distressing events.
I've burned the oil in my onion pan more than once, likewise, I've charred the meat and, most painfully, I've scalded myself on numerous occasions draining the pasta. Chopping up my veggies have caused more than one light finger cut.
Cooking is stressful. I have to carefully plan each item and try and sync their "done", fully cooked time so that everything is finished close to the same time. I have 3 different timers in my kitchen that I use to help monitor everything.
I only cook a few complete meals: spaghetti, meatloaf, salmon patties and chicken with rice. I'm fortunate, in a way, in that I don't like a wide variety of foods so I'm naturally limited in how much time I spend over a hot stove.
It isn't fun for me, cooking that is. I do it more for my son than for myself. I'd be perfectly happy to eat ham and cheese sandwiches every day but the boy should have a few decent meals a week.
I saw the strangest things when I was at my friend's party a few weeks ago. I was listening to two people discuss how they weren't at all sure of what the ingredients were of the bean salad they were eating.
I was positively horrified.
How can anyone eat something in which they don't know what the dish is composed of? I was stymied and taken aback. Yes, I had to consciously close my mouth as my chin had dropped in that perplexed, stunned gesture.
I need to know exactly what is in everything on my plate!
And yes, maybe it is because I'm gluten free and that I have a food allergy that almost killed me but do people seriously just devour foods of which they have no knowledge of?
Yes, I'm sounding pretty autistic here but I thought it was just common sense to be fully aware of what one ingests.
But I digress. The place where I am most likely to injury myself is my kitchen, so I do as little as possible in that arena.
Making meals isn't easy. I feel like I'm worlds away from most in this respect.
I eat because I have to, not because it's fun and enjoyable.
Just sayin
