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Asian Salmon
Ingredients
4 Salmon fillets
Salt and pepper
Butter
Sesame seeds
2 T olive oil
1 Cup scallions cut in 1" pieces
1 Cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1/2 Cup soy sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime
1T fresh grated ginger
1/2 t wasabi paste
Cooking Instructions
Preheat oven to 375. Place salmon fillets in foil with salt and pepper, sprinkle with Sesame seeds and a dab of butter on each fillet. Wrap tightly in foil and bake until salmon flakes. OR brown fillets in a hot skillet with a dab of olive oil.
Heat olive oil in skillet and saute scallions and cilantro. In a separate dish, create a sauce of soy, lime, ginger and wasabi. Adjust ratios to your taste.
Plate by removing skin from salmon and placing on a dish, top with sauteed greens and spoon soy sauce mixture over top.
Serve with edemame, and crunchy stir-fried veggies.

Rocky Pointe Tacos
Ingredients and Cooking Instructions
1 Flank steak seasoned with salt, fresh cracked pepper, garlic powder and onion powder Grill to medium well. Cool and chop finely.
Bowl of lime wedges
Shredded cabbage, chopped Queso Fresco, (Fresh Mexican cheese) Fresh salsa and guacamole sauce (we thin the guac with canned tomitillo sauce so that it's very runny).
Small flour tortillas
1 bowl each radishes and thick sliced cucumbers, juice 1/2 lime over each bowl and chill
Heat 2 skillets on the stove top nice and hot (no oil). In one, quickly heat the tortillas on each side. In the other quickly heat enough steak for each tortilla. Add cheese on top of hot steak to melt, then cabbage, salsa and guacamole sauce. Squeeze lime over top. Serve with frijoles and radishes and cucumbers on the side (to cool your mouth) and icy cold beer.

Stuffed steak
Ingredients
1 Flank Steak
6 Roma tomatoes chopped into large pieces
2 cups fresh spinach coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
Olive Oil
8 oz of tomato sauce
1/4 C red wine
1T Worcestershire sauce

Cooking Instructions
Preheat oven to 350.
Saute garlic tomatoes and spinach in olive oil and cool.
Salt and pepper flank steak, place spinach mixture inside (reserve juice) and roll. Hold together with toothpicks or bamboo skewers. Heat oven-proof skillet on stove top with 2 T olive oil, and quickly brown rolled steak. Season the vegetable juices with salt and pepper, add tomato sauce wine and Worcestershire sauce and pour over browned steak. Bake until cooked to your liking. Baste with juice often.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Adjust the heat of your dish by choosing between the mild, medium or hot enchilada sauce and chillies. Layer this like lasagna and play with the ratios to make a dish that pleases your palate.
Ingredients
18 flour tortillas
4 cups cubed chicken
1 bunch cilantro
2 cups coarse chopped onions
1 14-oz can whole corn
1 28-oz can green enchilada sauce
1 14-oz can stewed tomatoes with chili's
1 4-oz can green chili's

Cooking Instructions
In a 9X13 baking pan place a layer of tortillas, the chicken and 1/3 of the enchilada sauce.
Next layer of tortillas, the cilantro, corn, tomatoes (with their juice) and onions and another 1/3 of the enchilada sauce. Final layer of tortillas, the green chilies and the rest of the enchilada sauce. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 until heated through and the cheese melts - usually about 20 minutes.

Most veggies can be bought pre-chopped in the frozen food section or the salad bar. My food processor also chops nicely and for slicing, I use a mandolin -- I have a friend with a C-level injury who tells me she finds the motion for using the mandolin much easier than the motion to slice with a knife plus, she doesn't have to stabilize the food she's about to slice.

Look through your produce section for prepared herbs. Many can now be purchased in a tube (you can keep it in the freezer) or pre-chopped in jars. I usually buy garlic and basil this way.

I have asked the produce manager to open melons, artichokes and squash for me without a problem, they take my picks in back, split it per my needs, wrap it in shrink wrap and price it (no charge for the splitting). Now I use an electric knife to do this.

I have also charmed the butcher into sharpening my knives.

Last night's plain pasta becomes tonight's lo mien noodles. I don't like to drain hot pastas (for fear of burns) so this is one of the tasks I ask my PCA to do. Cooked, drain pasta will store in the frig for several days.

So, tonight is spaghetti with broccoli and lemon.

prepare 1 box spaghetti and drain ( I have this done early in the day and keep the drained pasta in the frig)

while that cooks, in a skillet, saute 3 cloves of garlic (sliced, crushed or buy chopped in a jar in your produce section) a pound of broccoli florets, a dash of red pepper flakes and the juice of a lemon. Add half of the cooked pasta and any left-over grilled chicken. Just before service, add a cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese (you can buy this prepared at the store).

Tomorrow, heat 1 pound frozen stir fry veggie mix in a skillet with olive oil, add either cubed beef or chicken add baby corn, bean sprouts, etc to your liking. Make a sauce of 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup (lo sodium) soy sauce, 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar and a 1/4 teaspoon of 5 spice powder. Add the leftover plain pasta from last night, add sauce, heat through and serve.

I placed my microwave at knee level. Most kitchen designs will put it high but I don't want to reach over my head and put out hot food and liquids. I keep envisioning the burn pattern if I spill it and it showers over me. I also feel I have better accessibility with a counter-top installed cook top and a wall oven instead of a full size range.

One of the things I can't do without is my battery operated pepper mill and salt mill. I am not comfortable with a big lean forward to use both hands to add cracked pepper or salt to a hot pot. The one handed mills allow me to safely maintain my balance while using these tools.

I gained more knee room under my sink by picking a model that has the drains in the back of the bowl instead of the center. I had to buy a European manufacturer to get this feature but I got the sink at Home Depot at a competitive price.

I wish I could redo my frig purchase. I love the pull-out shelves and I made sure I could reach the water filter to change it but I neglected to check to see if I could reach the controls for the ice-maker. If you choose a frig with these features, consider the placement of the controls. I cannot turn the ice maker off or adjust the size and shape of the cubes. Overall, not a life-changing issue but a feature of my appliance that I cannot use on my own.

If you use a wheelchair, consider the placement of the control knobs on your cook top. Mine are on the side so I don't have to reach over hot burners to turn them on and off and adjust the heat.

My counters are all at wheelchair height as is my sink. The only counter at standard height is the one over the dishwasher. My breakfast bar has nice leather office chairs around it. My AB friends wheel around my kitchen in one of these chairs if they are cooking or washing up. It saves their back from the stooping to wheelchair level and gives a subtle empathy lesson. Best of all, it allows everyone to participate in the kitchen. Add bonus, those chairs are easy for me to push out of the way when I want to clean the floors.

I found I was happier with my final product, both in terms of price, style and layout when I chose a custom kitchen shop than the options available at the "big box stores." In my experience, I was better able to utilize all my space and achieve a seamless look by going custom and the price was slightly better in the long run. So, if you're redoing the cabinets, look at both options. All of the cabinets I can reach have full-extension pull outs so I can reach everything stored inside.

You can improve your QOL in the kitchen with small changes too. There, the big box stores offer good options for adding a few pull outs to existing cabinets. Browse around and see if small changes can open up the usable space in your kitchen.

Last, while I work to make sure I can be as independent as possible, I am always willing to ask for help, in the kitchen, at the store, whatever. Before my injury, I was comfortable with delegating certain tasks to others, I see no difference now. Utilizing the best skills of others is one of the ways I save time and energy that allows me to concentrate on the things that matter most to me.