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ChaosLife: K’s Kitchen
🕑 Added 2022-04-01 00:23:30 +0000 UTCA few simple, yet under appreciated things that make a huge difference to cooking with K’s particular mobility issues. 💜
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From K:
CW: FOOD AND FOOD PHOTOS
While I understand everyone’s needs and abilities are different, including abled bodied people, these are my favorite little kitchen hacks.
It actually took me a couple of years after my epilepsy diagnosis to be completely comfortable again in the kitchen. I had a few bad spills in it and more than a couple injuries just because I wasn’t used to, well, being that disabled. Now I’m starting to learn hacks and tricks to make cooking for us more efficient and less stressful, with less accidents and more joy. One thing I’ve found is so helpful is just making the surroundings fun. If I have a pink or green colored jar, I’ll be happy to pour a big bag of sugar into it because it makes me happy, it doesn’t remind me that I need things that are less awkward or bulky when I’m cooking rapid-pace.
- The kitchen shears we’ve had for years, but they’ve taken on a new life by being better for my hands when I’m too shaky or can’t see exactly right to chop. They’re especially great for meat (even in the pan after being cooked, which tends to be easier for my spatial reasoning too) and herbs and even snipping the tops off of mini peppers when I just want to chuck a few into a sheet pan roast.
- The curtain rod is something new — since getting COVID, I’ve had POTS which means any amount of bending is dizzying if not an imposied 10 minute break. It sucks because I’m incredibly active and made of wirey muscles, so I can technically bench over 200lbs, but if I bend over to grab a basket from under the cupboards, I need a rest while my blood recirculates. Someone on Twitter shared an adorable 1950s kitchen accessibility video with me where they stressed the need for “No Stooping.” They also stressed the need for seating in the kitchen. Our kitchen is a bit too small for that, but the other tips were great, and obviously my need for ‘not stooping’ isn’t a new one.
- We have two huge, almost-floor-to-ceiling windows in our kitchen that take up the majority of it, which is great for natural lighting but silly when it comes to storage. Cue the curtains rods, once combined with hooks, they added a much needed space to hang baskets and measuring spoons.
- Socks have been instrumental in helping me not only not slip, but maintain where I am spatially. I especially like the sort that have patterns, the thrift store is chock full of them luckily!
- The fan is a ‘not yet’ addition I’m hoping to add in the Summer, because the breeze from the windows hasn’t been enough, and at the very least, it isn’t head-focused, which I feel would help with overall overheating.
- And finally, but most importantly, my rock and little kitchen helper, Legba the Service Pup, is my most important disability kitchen hack. He’s been so amazing at sitting right in the doorway and watching, occasionally coming over to sniff or get a scrap, and if I get too stressed or dizzy, he immediately alerts and pulls me out of the kitchen by biting my wrist in his mouth (biting being very very very gentle, no marks, just kind of a grab-of-mouth) and dragging me out stubbornly until I sit. I usually don’t know if I’m going to get dizzy, but he seems to, and drags me out just in time to sit and be safe. I’m so lucky to have him in my life and I’m so happy to be able to cook again because of, mostly, him. I never let him in when I’m handling sharp stuff or there’s popping oil, but I check in with him often so he can smell my breath and alert me to any chemical changes, and he’s so so sweet about staying right outside and watching me like a hawk. I’ve slipped a couple of times and he’s come right in to do a Big Brace, and I couldn’t be more proud of our sweet little nurse.
Thank you for supporting us in our weird trans lives, and I hope I can share more soon — especially some recipes and food pics! All the love, and all the luck, K.” 
