Handless in the Kitchen

I love to eat and I love to cook, however my lack of hands present a unique set of challenges and make it very frustrating in the kitchen. Basically, at this stage in my life I’m best at coaching my kids or my husband on how to make a meal. However, once in a while I do enjoy getting in there and helping when I can. I don’t have any special tools, so it’s all how I hold onto the spoon that determines if I can be more help than hindrance. Imagine trying to stir something hot by holding a spoon between your wrists. It’s very awkward and I have very little control.

When they did the amputations, they fused the bones somehow so that I cannot do that flipping pancake motion. Therefore I really am limited to simple stirring. Sometimes I break out the chicken or pork chops and I can handle simple breading. We have a double wall oven which allows me to set the temperature and start times, so long as someone is there to pull the hot, finished product out of the oven.

This last Valentine’s day I had absolutely nothing for Mike. He’s not big about celebrating that day because he shows me he loves me every day of the year. For my gift to him, I decided to make him dinner. I made fried chicken fingers. I breaded the chicken and put my eating arm on so I could use a fork to flip the chicken in the cast iron pan. I was so frustrated through the whole process. As frustrated as I was, the end result was a home cooked meal by me as a gift to my husband. He loved it! It was definitely a reminder why I leave the cooking to Mike and the kids. However, I came to the realization that once in a while it’s not so bad for me to take on the meal prep alone.