My Cooking Philosophy

I'm disabled. I use a wheelchair. My arms are weak. I'm now a senior. And I like to cook! I've been cooking for over 40 years. I do it because I love the creativity of it. It has only been for the last 10 years that I've had an accessible kitchen. Before that I made do with preparing food at eye level.  Surprised I never put my eye out.

Me!

This blog is about how I do it. I give tips on what works best for cooking with a disability. Admittedly I have a modified kitchen, my counter is lowered and I have space under the counters to fit my wheelchair. My sink, cook top and oven are all lowered too.  I don't use a range, no way to get it low enough and I couldn't get under one with my wheelchair. My cook top is an induction cook top. It was going to be really costly to bring gas into my kitchen, induction is the very best next thing. I tend not to use gadgets or small appliances. Exceptions are my mini-chop, rice cooker, immersion blender and toaster oven. I've pretty much given up on food processors, blenders and mixers. They are just too bulky and heavy for me to deal with. 

my lowered counter

I tend to make one pot meals or meals with minimal courses. I find this easier to handle. I enjoy chopping, so many of my meals involve lots of chopping. When I mix things I use a whisk rather than a mixer. Again, I just find it easier than wrestling with a large appliance. I like to make odd things, like fermented vegetables and preserved lemons. Hopefully some of those recipes will end up here.

I was a vegan cook for about 25 years, now I cook meat again.  My husband is a meat and potatoes person, so I have to sneak in the vegan meals. I don't mind gluten, in fact some gluten free baked goods bother my tummy something awful, must be one of the substitute flours. And I'm good with soy.  But I'm pretty sure those of you who need to use different ingredients due to allergies or you just want to avoid something will know how to modify the recipes.

While I do love to experiment with the latest trendy food item, mostly I cook with things I have in my kitchen. Over the years my favorite things to cook have changed. A factoid about me and cooking - there are very few dishes I make more than once. That is part of the fun - cooking new things or old things in new ways.  Really speaks to my creativity. Hope you enjoy my blog and if you have a disability are inspired to cook or inspired to cook more!