[nabs-l] cooking questions

Fri Jun 4 14:09:44 UTC 2010

Hello Kerri:

     I just read Karen's comments about browning hamberger. Here is how I do 
it.
I have a stock pot that has a heavy bottom. This is very IMPORTANT! I put 
the raw hamburger in it and break it up. Then setting the stove on high, I 
stir with a metal spatula or metal spoon. I have some tools that have long 
handles and are intended for this purpose. I pay attention and when the 
spoon or spatula moves through the meat, it is done.

For taco filling, I add one cup of water and a package of Taco Bell 
seasoning. This is then mixed well with the heat turned down low. Stir 
occasionally and cook slowly for about 30 minutes. Be sure to work across 
all the pan or you may get some of the taco filling stuck and burned on. I 
like using my stock pot since it has high sides and there is less chance of 
slopping food on the stove.

Regards,

Robert

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kerri Kosten" <kerrik2006 at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, June 04, 2010 12:28 AM
Subject: [nabs-l] cooking questions

> Hi All!!
>
> I hope these questions are not off-topic for this list. I understand
> there is  a blind cooks list, but since I am a 22-year-old college
> student I wanted to get some answers from other students.
>
> I know very little about cooking. My parents refuse to teach me how to
> do anything with the stove (I'm talking about the stove, not oven) and
> think I should make everything in either the microwave, or George
> Foreman grill.
>
> I live in an area where the closest NFB chapter is an hour away so I
> don't really have any other blind people that can come over to help
> me.
>
> I can make a few things, mainly chicken (just put a boneless chicken
> breast on the George Foreman grill), tacos (I cook the hamburger in
> the Microwave, make the taco sauce in the microwave, and use hard taco
> shells), sloppy joes (same thing, cook the hamburger in the microwave
> and add the sloppy joe sauce), and steaks (George Foreman grill.)
>
> I can also use the toaster for fixing waffles, and strudles.
>
> I can fix hotdogs and pancakes in the microwave.
>
> As you can see, this is very limiting and gets old after a while. I
> would like to learn how to fix other things but don't know how without
> a blind person teaching me.
>
> Two things I'd like to do in particular are learning how to brown
> hamburger properly on the stove, and fixing eggs but I am afraid to
> just begin messing with the stove because without it being labeled
> properly and not knowing what I'm doing I could easily start a fire.
>
> For the oven, I use one of those small small toaster ovens. It has a
> dial and I put dots beside the knob to tell the temperature but since
> the dots are just dots I often can't tell which temperature I am
> actually setting the oven to. I have my own apartment and it has one
> of those huge ovens but my parents won't allow me to label it. It's
> electric, not gas so there are no flames but I can't get them to see
> it my way. They refuse to teach me how to fix even the simplest things
> on the stove because they do not want to be responsible for me burning
> my fingers or having grease splatter on me.
>
> Do any of you have any suggestions?
>
> What things can I buy that you can fix in the oven? I've been told
> things like chicken nuggets, tator tots...
>
> Where can I find good recipes to begin trying to cook other things?
>
> Can many of you cook well or is this the level you are on?
>
> Is there any way to learn to fix eggs or brown hamburger without
> having another blind person teach me?
>
> How do you have your ovens/stoves labeled?
>
> How do you find out directions on packages? I've tried looking up the
> directions for things like hamburger helper on the internet but I get
> results such as "how to make home made hamburger helper," and all I
> want is the oven time/temperature on the package.
>
> Can I fix hamburger helper by cooking the hamburger meat in the
> microwave, then fixing the noodles/sauce in the microwave and mixing
> it all together?
>
> When I go grocery shopping, is it appropriate to ask the shopping
> assistant to read me the package directions (at least the cooking time
> and oven temperature) and jot it down?
>
> When grocery shopping, how do you make sure to get the best prices on
> your items? Is it appropriate to ask the shopping assistant to look in
> one of those sales papers to see any of the items on the list is on
> sale? If so, are they usually willing to do these extra things?
>
>
> I am going to training eventually, but in the mean time it frustrates
> me not being able to fix hardly anything!
>
> When I stay at my parents house (they live really really close so I
> can come to their house often) they fix real dinners that taste so
> good and it makes me not want to go back to my apartment because I
> hate my cooking because I don't really fix things properly. My parents
> are not that good at cooking themselves, but they fry their food and
> it's cooked right so it tastes good whereas I'm trying to brown
> hamburger in the microwave for example which isn't really how your
> supposed to do it.
>
> Thanks so much for any help!
>
> Kerri
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nabs-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/rjaquiss%40earthlink.net 