15 Cooking and Baking Techniques
Slides: Cooking and Baking Techniques
Video: Cooking and Baking Techniques Introduction (0:59)
Video: Sequencing (1:49)
Video: General Tips (2:07)
Video: Healthy Eating (2:54)
Video: Healthy Snack Ideas (3:01)
Tip Sheet: How to Avoid Burning Things (5 minutes)
Cooking Methods
The following section describes cooking methods and techniques that may be helpful personally or for teaching clients who are working on cooking skills. As with all of the skills in this section, you might have different ways of doing things. Feel free to adapt the techniques to suit your needs and preferences, and remember to modify techniques as needed to suit your clients as well.
Video: Methods and Techniques – how not to burn things (2:57)
Video: Using and Reading a Recipe (2:29)
Video: Modifying a Recipe (1:50)
Resource: Simple Cooking Techniques
https://goodfoodvegan.com/simple-cooking-techniques-and-methods/
Resource: Too busy to cook! 7 Time Saving Tips
https://goodfoodvegan.com/menu-and-meal-plan/too-busy-to-cook-7-time-saving-tips-for-busy-people/
Demonstrations
These demonstrations show some ideas for meal preparation techniques. You may have other techniques that work for you, and you might have ways of modifying the techniques to better suit your preferences. I find that I am always learning new ways of cooking, and that experimentation is a great way to learn what works!
Demonstration: Cutting Watermelon (0:45)
Demonstration: The Easy Way to Bake Fresh Bread (1:17 – quick video; or 16:16 – full length)
Demonstration: Making Breadsticks (0:46)
Demonstration: How to Make Popcorn on the Stove (1:32)
Demonstration: Cooking Pasta and Sauce (12:59)
Demonstration: Making Stir Fry with Rice (11:54)
Practical Application: Meal Preparation Observation
Use your observation skills by watching another person prepare a meal and completing this Meal Preparation Observation checklist [Google Doc]. You could observe a friend, roommate, or family member (with their permission) or you may want to take turns making meals with a classmate so you each have a chance to make a meal and to observe each other. This observation can be done in person or over a video call.
After completing the observation, reflect on the following.
- What was it like to watch the person make a meal while thinking about the items on the checklist?
- Compare this individual’s method of cooking to your own way of making meals. What similarities and differences did you notice?
- What did you learn based on observing another person making a meal? How might this experience relate to your work as a therapy assistant?
Practical Application: Cooking and Baking Techniques
As you know, the best way to improve one’s cooking and baking skills is practice. Let’s make something!
- Choose one thing to cook or bake within the next few days. Ideally, choose something new that you haven’t made before.
- Use your problem solving skills to break this task down into parts (planning the meal/dish, finding a recipe, making a grocery list, getting the ingredients, preparing the food).
- Do the steps!
- Reflect:
- Do you consider yourself an experienced cook/baker? How interested are you in these tasks, and how much do you generally enjoy cooking/baking?
- What did you make? Describe what made you choose this meal/dish.
- What was the process like? How enjoyable was it to make this food?
- How did the food turn out?
- What would you do the same and what would you do differently next time?
- Would you make this food again? Why or why not?
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