Breakin’ Eggs

I’m no chef, just a single dude that likes to eat.  One thing I like, especially after a night out, is eggs.  I don’t know what it is about eggs, but they certainly help the occasional hangover..

Before I lost my arm, probably like most of you, non-professional food service peeps, I cracked eggs with two hands .  One handed egg cracking is that show off move that’s supposed to separate the pro’s from the not so much..

Well, I’m now forced to do the one handed crack.  No, not the smoking crack or the butt crack, the egg crack.  Here’s how I go about it..

If you’ve read my other posts, you’ll know that I use cast iron to cook with.  The cast iron is a little thick and has a tendency to crush the egg shell instead of breaking through it.  So instead, I use a beer pint glass to crack the egg.

I start by grabbing the egg with 4 fingers.  On one side of the egg, I use my index and middle fingers and on the other side my thumb and ring finger with the egg oriented long ways between the fingers.

Then I’ll use a swift downward motion striking the egg on the edge of the glass.  The weight of the bar glass helps with this. I then quickly move the egg over the pot, and use my fingers to spread the shell apart, dropping all the eggy goodness in.

After dropping the eggs in to the pot, I’ll drop the shells in to the glass.

One more thing to note, before you watch the video,  I started putting the glass on a piece of paper towel before cracking the eggs.  This isn’t shown in the video, but you will see some of the egg runs down the glass.  The paper towel makes clean up easier.  Here’s the whole process in video:

 

Cast Iron

I love my cast iron pots.  I’ve you’ve never cooked with cast iron, you’re missing out.  The cast iron heats evenly and with a cast iron lid, holds the moisture in so you don’t dry out dinner.  They can be used on the stove, in the oven and even on a barbecue.

Cast iron cookware is often criticized for being heavy.  You know what, the critics are right.  It can be a pain to handle these pots, but it’s precisely this property that makes this an essential part of my kitchen tricks for amputee cooking.

I know what you’re thinking “you only have one arm dumbass…  why not go with something lighter?”  Well…  Have you ever tried to stir something without holding the pot with one hand and stir with the other?  The pot spins as much as the food does, especially when you have a glass cook top like mine.

You see, its the weight of the cast iron cookware that helps the pot to stay put, when trying to stir dinner.

Cast iron comes in two varieties, the primary is raw cast iron, that may be pre seasoned, but is essentially, uncoated iron.  Here’s my large 12 inch skillet.  These aren’t too expensive and can be found at Walmart, Kmart and most stores that sell camping gear.  Usually, you’ll find the Lodge brand at these locations.  (Bonus they’re made in the USA!)

One thing to look for, for an amputee cook, is a pot that is flat on the bottom.  I have an older Lodge 10 inch deep fryer that I don’t use often because it has a ridge on the bottom.  The flat bottom, having more surface contact with the cook top, increases friction and so it doesn’t slide when I stir.  Conversely the ridge on the fryer, having less surface contact will still slide around when stirring is required.

Of course the raw cast iron pots do require different care methods than a coated pot.  There are many tutorials online for caring and seasoning this cookware.  If proper care is maintained, these pots are no harder to maintain than the coated variety or the other materials pots are normally mad out of.

Here’s the care page on the Lodge website.  Disclaimer: I’m not an employee or paid spokes person, I just like their products and employing American workers.

If raw cast iron isn’t your speed, cast iron comes coated in enamel.  This is a considerably more expensive option if you’re buying new cookware.

I have some enamel cast iron too.  I got mine second hand.  Sometimes these can be found at garage sales and I’ve fond them on Ebay too.  Just beware they’re heavy so if you buy from Ebay shipping will cost you.  Here’s a small sauce pan and another covered pot I have.  I’m not particular so I got a deal since the lids were mismatched.

To show you how much the heavy cast iron helps, here’s a short video of me making breakfast.  PS don’t mind the escaped pepper…

 

Dycem

So here’s a little something that I picked up reading about another amputee.  This is also something that I had wished I found out about sooner, because it’s a huge help.

Miles O’Brien is a reporter, he used to be a regular on CNN.  I haven’t seen him on TV in a while, but I believe he’s still a reporter.  At some point on an assignment, he had a medical problem that lead to the loss of his left arm.  He wrote an article about it for New York Magazine that can be found HERE. It’s a good read.

Anyway, in this article Miles mentions this Dycem material.  I looked in to it and bought some.  It’s a bit pricey.  This roll 8 inches wide by 6 and a half feet cost me $60 about a year ago from what I remember.  Although a quick Google search shows that it’s come down in price..

I spent more back then because I wanted Black.  Most of the colors are bright primary colors, so I paid a vanity tax for the color.  If you’re not picky about the colors you probably can get it for cheaper.

Also, It also comes in shorter lengths than 6 1/2 feet.  And I’m finding that I didn’t really need 6 feet of it.  The 3 foot roll would have sufficed.

Bla bla bla colors…  bla bla bla price…  what the hell is this stuff already?

Well I’m glad you asked, it’s a non-slip plastic material.  Out of the box it has a slight tacky feel to it, but it’s not “sticky”. It will pick up dust and dirt as it’s used, but the beauty of this stuff is that it’s also washable.  Just a little soap and water and you’re back in business.  So it’s reusable.

Here’s a picture of a piece of it on my desk.  I cut small patches of this from the roll to use around the house and at work.

I use it for a number of reasons.  One is for writing, I’ll place a piece on my desk for writing notes or checks. It’s also useful for when I might need to unscrew a cap for something like glue or white out.

I’ll use it under my dinner plate to keep it from sliding around the table while eating.

I also use it in the kitchen for opening jars and holding bowls still while I mix ingredients. Here, I’m using a jar lid tool (Opening jars and cans is an upcoming post) with the Dycem.  The Dycem keeps the jar from spinning on me.  BTW: can you see why I wanted black…

I use this stuff anywhere I need to keep things from slipping and to hold them still while I manipulate them with my only hand.

Lastly, you don’t need to be an amputee to get a benefit out of this stuff.   This is good for anywhere you need a non-slip surface.  I highly recommend Dycem.

Scooper Do-hickey

This is just a quick bonus post.

So I was making some dinner this weekend and using my one handed cutting board that I discussed in a previous post.  I was chopping carrots.

Small pieces of cut carrots can be fast little buggers when you’re trying pick them up.  I find my self chasing them around often and even a few escape.  Although those that escape me never make it past my back-up defence…  My dog Lola….  Suffice it to say, she likes when I use carrots..

Anyway, I forgot I had this little scooper do-hickey.  I think I bought this at Bed Bath and Beyond.  Being a dude, I love gadgets and being an amputee, I’m always looking for ones that might help.  So I bought this tool while there one day.

Anyway, it’s just a little plastic scooper.  I’ve had these before but they’ve usually just been a flat piece of stainless steel or plastic.  What I like about this one is that it has sides, which help to keep those little buggers from getting away.

From an amputee perspective, using this with the little sandwich walls on my cutting board allows me to pick up larger quantities of chopped veggies than I could with one hand.  This speeds up the food prep process.

I wanted to show you guys this, because it’s also another way that I use the adaptive cutting board.