A while ago a found a hot pocket in the microwave that I had forgotten about 3 days prior. I’ve also left the oven on more than once. Sometimes a single alert isnt enough.
So true, even if I realise I’m hungry and have enough impulse control to put something in the oven instead of ordering in or resorting to a protein shake for dinner, there is an 80% chance that I will both forget that I’m hungry and completely forget I haven’t eaten, in the time it takes the food to cook.
40 minutes later I’m sitting at my desk thinking “why have I got such a bad headache? why do I feel so groggy and cranky? Wait, do I need a nap!? I probably need a nap… Hang on, Why can I smell smoke?”
Why do I always assume I need a nap, even if I haven’t eaten all day!? I have to basically run through a flow chart to figure out why my head hurts. Food, water, full bladder, sleep, eye strain? Why do I feel bad? Who knows?
It’s a mystery only neurotypical people can solve!
I’m awaiting assessment, but there’s a strong chance I have both autism and ADHD (my brother and father are both autistic, I was never assessed because it wasn’t as obvious growing up as a girl that I struggled with similar things, but it’s hard to know without an assessment because my ADHD was undiagnosed for so long so there’s a lot of overlapping symptoms from all the maladaptive coping mechanisms I’ve developed)
I know poor hunger signals are a big part of autism too, so maybe I’ve got a double whammy 🤷♀️
But it also sounds like your sensitive to hunger signals the same way I’m sensitive to fatigue/drowsiness signals, so it sounds like the same underlying interception issue, just two different outcomes of that attempt to listen to our bodies.
My partner bought me one of those all in one cookers (instant pot style thing) because it will automatically shut off when it’s done cooking…
It has saved our relationship with our neighbours because I’m no longer setting off smoke alarms every other night.
Case in point, while typing this I just heard it beep and it scared the shit out of me because I completely forgot I put some squishy old pears (that were always destined to rot in my fridge) in it to stew when I got home… like 2 hours ago.
It feels like past me has left a suprise gift for present me, because I have stewed pears for dessert now!
I don’t like having assistant always listening on my phone. I tried it for awhile but it bothered me having an always listening device right there waiting. (I’ve become a lot more privacy oriented with my personal data over the years)
One thing I did partially setup was having NFC tags in various places so all I had to do was unlock my phone and hold it to a specific tag for a timer to start (like my washer, dryer, food cool down, etc). But unfortunately due to an update making scanning NFC tags while your phone is locked not a thing anymore (combined with the death of Smart Unlock) that fun little project basically died in the cradle.
One little project I’ve been floating is setting up a couple micro controllers (1 in my laundry room and another in the kitchen) with some buttons I can just press to send me a notification on my phone (via contacting my home server) in X time when a timer expires. I’ve been in the planning stage of that one for awhile now but it had to get shelved until my server rebuild happens. (Hopefully soon)
So the stop gap right now is practicing a skill I’m perpetually shitty at: resisting the allure of memes and shit posts.
Cold fresh baked lasagna, cut into servings, and reheated in the oven to get that melty crispy cheese on every side is one of the best things in the world. It's not an accident if the end result is better.
With spaghetti I do a bake after the initial cook with layers of ricotta cheese and some garlicy bread crumbs on top and that turns out pretty good. Especially with some chunks of chicken in there.
Basically a lasagna with spaghetti noodles and a way bigger margin for error lol
Dude, you just described spaghetti au gratin, which was a diner staple back home growing up. Try it with chunks of Montreal smoked meat under cheese for a real treat.
I need a timer to remind me that I have the oven pre-heating. The oven itself beeps when it’s at temp, but it’s super fuckin’ quiet and I sometimes don’t even hear it while reading at the kitchen table. The other day, I left the apartment while the oven was on because of this.
Yeah, my oven doesn’t even beep at all! All I get to indicate is a small light that’s hard to distinguish the on-off status of in most conditions going off with the faintest of clicks so I’m DEFINITELY Team Preheat Timer too 😆
This is why I just don’t preheat my oven for most stuff anymore.
I turn it on while I’m doing whatever needs to be done for the food and then throw it in whatever the temp. Add an extra 3-5 minutes to the timer, and call it good.
I’ve noticed some features I laughed at actually kinda have a legit use. My oven has some “assisted cooking” options to cook food without a preheat. It’s supposed to automatically adjust the preheat temp and cooking time. You can select from like frozen lasagna, frozen pizza, frozen nuggets.
That’s literally why everyone uses a timer. If you could remember, you would just look at a clock to know how long it’s been in. The timer is there to remind you.
Yeah, but there’s a difference between forgetting to look at a clock and forgetting that you have a kitchen.
I never put anything in the oven without having the timer set and ready to start at the push of a button, because I have to, but I have accidentally preheated my oven for several hours many times.
Who hasn’t preheated their oven for (well over) 4 hours though?..because I was almost done defrosting. Shit, I preheated the oven to cook some chicken we had, and then went shopping cause I forgot I already had a plan of action.
Then the question is, "Am I still cooking this chicken or these porkchops (that i just went through the trouble of procuring?). I can do both, I guess… fuck it, I’m eating sandwiches and I’ll cook tomorrow
There’s a difference between overcooking your food by a few minutes making it less palatable and forgetting it the oven making it a crisp 3 hours later when you’re hungry and go looking for food.
The timer on my oven might as well just be glued on the front after the fact. It’s just a little clockwork twist timer with no connection to overall the mechanism of the oven at all.
I’ve never used an oven that automatically turns off after the timer buzzes. That sounds luxurious!
(and honestly, sounds like a super helpful OT tool/accommodation for me to be more independent/safe when cooking, so I know what to look for in a new oven… Not that I get a choice of oven as a renter, you get what you get)
Maybe, I imagine it’s much harder to have an auto shut off timer when you also need to mechanically close the gas valves. But I think it could just be the price point, the one at my current unit is an electric built in, but it’s also just a reminder timer. Not sure what brand it is, all the paint on the front has long since worn away (it was installed in 1998 according to the REA) - so I also don’t quite know what temperature I’m cooking at. (when I moved in I put a probe thermometer in there and spent about 4 hours playing with the temperature dial and marking it with nail polish so I could at least have a vague idea of what temperature I was setting the oven to)
check out my “luxurious” oven from the 90s that shuts off automatically after the timer ends (it has both microwave and convection (hot air) as well as other options I never use)
I mean every oven I’ve ever had has a cook time and a timer, the cook time turns the oven off when done and the timer just beeps, plus it doesn’t require that your oven be on, so you can use it for other things. Also your link doesn’t work.
I’m 35 and was working with an oven in the “50+ year mark”, just a few years ago.
I have preheated overnight
I have baked cookies, cinnamon rolls, frozen pizza etc… overnight
I’ve had it justa warming my house, cause I didn’t turn it off
Maybe I’m irresponsible… maybe older ovens are less forgiving. When my stove/oven was finally replaced, I didn’t have that issue. And it also cooked properly/evenly (a bonus).
What I’m kinda saying is: old stoves/ovens don’t “easily” die, because they’re easily repaired. But ya gotta keep your eye on them when they’re cooking. And they will keep cooking, regardless of timer.
That “timer” is an analog ‘buzz-noise’, but it don’t do anything to stop the heat. It’s a reminder/warning… for you to come deal with it
At least back then they made things to last. My parents installed a new oven not even 10 years ago and it’s already faulty. I got their old one and it still operates like it used to 20+ years ago.
I’ve never heard of an oven turning off when a timer is done, can you provide a link to one please?
What if the food isn’t done cooking and needs more time? Now it needs to warm back up, and it can also still continue to cook in the still warmIsh oven even if it turned off. So I don’t see the point either?
Most ovens (at least in the UK) do have a timer setting that will turn the oven off when it’s done and also a way to delay it starting until a certain time. They aren’t the default though, most people will just set the basic kitchen timer on the oven and not even realise there’s the extra functions available.
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