Cooking Outside the Recipe

Hola, mejores amigos,

Today we are going to discuss something that some would see as “normal” or “easy” and when it is explained to neurotypicals, some do not understand at all. Today we are going to talk about cooking.

I love cooking, recipes, embracing food and showing love through food. I even love baking. Sometimes when bananas go out of date, I make banana bread. I have a cupboard full of baking ingredients and a bread maker. I wing it and make my own recipes sometimes, and sometimes I follow recipes down to the wire. 

However, cooking does not come without its troubles, let us start with noise. 

First off, the fear of setting the fire alarm off? Major. The second the alarm goes off, I am done, panic, fear, everything suddenly comes to surface. But that is not the only noise that comes with cooking, the clings of the pots and pans, sizzling of frying things, dinging of the microwave and the light hum of an oven.  Everything you use makes a noise, and if you are using multiple appliances, they make twice, sometimes three times the noise. That just puts me into shut down mode from the very start. 

Now do not get me wrong we try to get through it hence why I still love cooking and cook all the time, but the noise adds some stress. 

Staying on the sensory part of things, the smell. Especially if you do not necessarily like something you are cooking, my sister who also has autism will literally gag at certain smells. 

Multiple smells in the air when you are cooking multiple things, the smells are really nice especially when making certain dishes or baking. However, sometimes the smells are a complete hazard to my nose and my life. 

Now onto more pressing cooking issues, cooking for multiple people. I like cooking for myself, my needs and wants but the second I am cooking for say three plus then it becomes a complete stress, especially if there is a lot of things cooking, pasta in one pan, veg in a steamer, meat in another, all cooking. 

Alternatively, if I am cooking more than one dish, I live in a household of picky eaters so sometimes you have one dish for one, one for another, a similar, you are trying to juggle it all at once, and I will tell you for this for free besties I can not juggle. 

Although once the food is done it tastes amazing, most of the time I still do not want it once it is cooked, not only have I had the texture of all the raw food on my hands, but I have also just cooked it all. 

So next time your neurodivergent friend cooks for you, thank them a little bit harder. 

I know this week was short and light, but that is because next week I want to talk about something a little heavy, surgery. A new diagnosis, hospital stays and what does that look like for a neurodivergent? So next time you are in hospital and see someone acting funny, or your friend gets a new diagnosis you understand why and what is happening for them. 

Like always thank you for tuning it and sitting with my besties! 

Amor, tu mejor amigo autista

Book of the week: The Housemaid is Watching – Freida McFadden.