Guest Author - Carla Ruschival

The countertop grill makes cooking easy for the blind and visually impaired. It's easy to use and clean. Whether you are totally blind, visually impaired or fully sighted, you can produce great meals without recipes and long lists of instructions.

A few years ago my brother-in-law gave me a wonderful Christmas present - a small countertop grill! I brought it home and made a grilled cheese sandwich, and I was hooked.

Within a month, I had bought a large model that would hold six or seven strips of bacon, three or four hamburgers, or enough of whatever I was cooking for a meal for two. Since then I have owned several countertop grills.

My husband and I are both totally blind, and we use our grill every day. Easy to use and clean, and requiring no special recipes, these grills are a kitchen appliance that could have been made just for a blind person. They come in different sizes, from one barely big enough for two hamburgers or two slices of bread to one that can hold three or four hamburgers.

To use, place the grill on the countertop in front of you; the lid opens up and back. Arrange food on the bottom cooking surface and close the top over it. Plug the grill in and let the cooking begin!

Since the top also has a cooking surface, the food cooks on both sides at once; no turning necessary.

The cooking surfaces have grooves that allow fat to run off into a drip pan under the grill. The pan is easily removed for cleaning.

Cookbooks and grill manuals say to preheat the appliance before adding food. Food cooks more evenly, however, if it is added before the grill is heated. It is also easier to position food on a cool surface since there is no popping grease or hot grids to cause burns.

Some grills come with timers, but these really aren't necessary. It's easy to tell when food is done by sound and smell. Pork chops, hamburgers and chicken have a delicious browned smell. As bacon cooks, the fat sizzles and bubbles and runs off into the drip pan; when it's done, the bubbling sound diminishes and the smell is yummy.

Many blind and visually impaired people are afraid of heat and don't like to turn foods in a skillet or remove food from a hot oven. I know how they feel, because it took me a long time to overcome these fears myself. Many people settle for microwave cooking, trading good taste for easier preparation.

Food can get very hot on the grill. However, when food is finished cooking, just unplug the grill, open the top, and let it sit for a few minutes. Food cools down quickly and you can remove it with a spatula, tongs, fork or your fingers.

With your grill you can cook meats, fish, sausage, vegetables, toast, frozen waffles or frozen pancakes, and open-faced sandwiches. Give leftovers new pizzazz; just sprinkle pizza, potatoes, chicken etc. with a few drops of water before grilling.

Grills are available at local stores such as Wal-Mart and on-line. I bought my last grill at Amazon, and it was shipped free right to my door.