the "art" of the blind-ish chef,.more tales of the utterly squinty

i was inspired by my dear FB friends from "Cooking with out looking" to look into how i cook,..

for those who don't know me i adore cooking! funny since i got off to a rough start as a kid.

one cold winter day back when i was about 4 years  old, i was pretty thirsty," mom can  have some hot cocoa?". My mom running around yelled  back " just get some milk , cup and start boiling the milk on the stove." I must explain i was quite the literal child, so i did what i heard. I grabbed a frosty grey coffee cup, filed it with milk then placed it directly on the gas burner and turned it on.I watched it intently as i started to boil so proud of myself for cooking something! As the bubbles got wilder i yelled to my mom" its boiling its boiling!!".
She entered the kitchen, slowly , confused,..looking for the pot.I could see on her face the horror as she realized what i had done. She quickly turned off the burner of boiling milk , grabbed a oven mitt pulled the cup off then,..
BOOM!!!!!!!
YEAH,... SO,..UM,..WHEN A COLD CUP OF MILK GOES DIRECTLY ON A BURNER AND BOILS SEE IT TENDS TO MAKE THE CUP EXPLODE WHEN REMOVED.
(do not try this at home without adult supervision, direct written consent of mythbusters, a cop riot shield and a camera,..)

i wasn't allowed to cook for many years,..or cut with a real knife,...

But growing up despite this fact my father and my grandma fisher when she was alive would teach me how to cook. Both had great techniques that i actually think made it easier to learn how to cook with my impairment.

My grandma Fisher was a wonderful cook, she pretty much cook the majority of her waking time, that and watching tennis , She was a Russian Jewish woman, her cooking reflected this style completely. She measured absolutely  nothing there were measuring cups  but she didn't really measure what a normal cook would use them for. She also cooked in large quantities programmed for ultimate leftovers. The meal always had sides, a main meal, mogan david wine, desert and pre and post meal snacks. She used her hands to feel the food, tasted everything instead of just going by numbers and used her sense of smell to know when it was done verses watching the clock. All three of those things really effected me and if i hadn't of learned from her I'm sure id burn allot of food!

My father,  the artist of the most unhealthy concoctions ever imagined. Much like his mother, my grandmother, he doesn't measure he tastes, but he used such extreme combinations experimenting with food. He would even name them hilarious names, one was BUFCA. it was the name of a school friend of my brothers back in the day that he thought sounded like the best made up swear word ever. One day when experimenting with a crazy taco type meal he went crazy trying new cheeses, sauces, seasonings and when it was done it looked awful! but tasted amazing!!! this craziness led to him naming his dish, bufca.i think his silliness but experimental joy and love for cooking really taught me allot.

I still have nights when at 2 am i experiment and make something that Shane says is delicious.  He giggles about my late night cooking and how i move through the kitchen not using measuring cups. trying new things. On several occasions he'll say " but I've never really liked that",..then i make it and he says" this is ACTUALLY good". lol this has been my new cooking goal to open his "food mind."

maybe its that old European cook in me, my dads creativity and my need to make people smile, but cooking is so much fun even if you cant see what your doing,...you don't have to!