Make the food come to me!

[pinesandmaples]

Let's kick things up a notch!

Something that my wife/kitchen buddy rooibos and I would love to do and share with the community is make really complicated recipes into low-spoon friendly things. We both love things involving the kitchen, and we have complimentary annoyances so what I can't do, she can and vice versa.

But what would be the point in breaking down a lovely, complex Julia Child recipe only to find that no one else cares? Right. To combat that, it's poll time!

Keeping in mind that we are both vegetarians and will work these recipes out as our schedules allow, we'd like some feedback about interest in various options.

If you have a favorite recipe or a recipe tucked away in a cookbook that has always struck your fancy, but you haven't worked out how to break down the work, please do comment so we can pursue those things, too! She and I are up for all sorts of wild adventure in the kitchen.

Poll #3266 Things to modify

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 25

View Respondents

What types of recipes would you like to see modified?

View Answers

side dishes/vegetables
14 (56.0%)

vegetarian entrees
17 (68.0%)

gourmet/involved dishes (think Julia Child)
13 (52.0%)

baked goods
15 (60.0%)

desserts that are not baked goods
12 (48.0%)

Indo-Trinidadian style food
14 (56.0%)

something else that I will tell you about in the comments
1 (4.0%)

What physical considerations should we keep in mind?

View Answers

low energy cooks
24 (96.0%)

limited manual dexterity
8 (32.0%)

cooking while seated
5 (20.0%)

limited storage space
10 (40.0%)

low lifting capacity
5 (20.0%)

something else that I will tell you about in the comments
2 (8.0%)

If a very complicated recipe could be done over the course of several days, would it be more appealing?

View Answers

yes
14 (56.0%)

no
8 (32.0%)

depends (please explain?)
3 (12.0%)

Comments

[lilacsigil]

I ticked "yes" on the last question, because I often cook things over a few days, but considering my vegetable situation, maybe I should have ticked "depends"! If it involves getting fresh vegetables on more than one day, I can't do it because of my distance from the fruit & veg shop. That said, storage space is not a problem, so I can easily buy a good quantity of something and use it up slowly over the week.

[killing_rose]

My usual issue is that I have a limited storage area plus low energy. I'm not certain that I could feasibly manage to over a number of days though I would love to do so. Maybe that way, I could actually conserve my spoons.

[mathsnerd]

I used to love cooking and baking, and in the last two years I've gone down to the level of 'having to be forcibly reminded to put jam on bread and put it in my mouth'. This comm gives me hope that I might be able to find ways to re-adjust the kitchen to accommodate my substantial limitations. Thank you!

[ex_shadytail214]

I answered "something else: to the second question because the relevant physical limitations are in my brain. That is, preplanning, multitasking, and complicated prep are hard for me. Actually, the main barrier to cooking is remembering to clean up afterwards -- it's often hard to find clean dishes. It would be nice to figure out how to make the kitchen run on autopilot. I suppose it counts as low mental energy.

[fred_mouse]

I answered 'depends' on the last question, because if it is something that has to be done each day, I can't guarantee being able to get back to it (unreliable energy levels, often worst at dinner cooking time). But if it is something that isn't going to go off if I ignore it for a few days, that would be good (not sure how that would work).

question 2 - I didn't tick 'limited manual dexterity' as well, but I could have. My manual dexterity is usually fine, but I have a fair bit of cooking help from a six year old, who doesn't get a lot of experience with knives, etc. If zie is doing the prep while I'm hanging on to the counter, stirring the hot stuff, then it is an issue.

and in particular (this goes for question 1 as well) - my biggest accessibility issue is actually the food itself. No gluten, no dairy, nothing from cans, vegetarian (eggs yes, fish no). What I'm really really interested in are recipes that have some aspect of 'doing ahead' (I have two slow cookers, and I often do the work in the mornings when upright is mostly comfortable), or are 'one pot', and have a reasonable mix of protein and vegetables.

[pebblerocker]

I have great trouble remembering to look after what I'm cooking, especially if I don't have much energy for cooking anyway, so I burn a lot of things. Things that need stirring constantly for a short time or things that go in the oven for a long time are OK; "stirring occasionally" is a recipe direction that leads to disaster.

I would love to get better at meals that include plenty of fresh veges but don't exhaust me with lengthy grating or slicing. I have similar mental energy issues to shadytail, especially with finding clean dishes and kitchen space.

[snowgrouse]

I'm interested in anything that's low-carb (under 10 grams/portion), rich in protein and quick (yeah, not always an easy thing to accomplish, and one of the reasons why I have had problems eating in the way that's right for me). Anything that requires fiddliness, such as separating yolks and whites is a no-no. If I can throw it together and make it happen in half an hour or less would be brilliant.