Make sure you shut the taps all the way off, and remember that things cook faster. You really should be OK. I grew up cooking with gas (liquid propane) and didn't die. If I can do it, you can do it.
At least in the States, you really do not need to worry about gas leaks because sulfur either occurs naturally or is added to the gas for that reason (if it leaks, you will smell it long before it reaches a concentration that can blow anything up). If you smell something akin to rotten eggs, check the stove (I had this problem a lot for a couple of weeks-- my toddler kept opening the taps).
In that vein, you can get little shields (they make them for kids like mine) that slide into place behind or over the tap knobs and force you to press in on the knobs before you can open the taps. That way you can't have any accidents.
Don't be too hard on yourself for "stupid mistakes." There is a learning curve with any new thing. It might seem stupid in retrospect, but if someone neglected to tell you something like "You have to light it once the tap is open" (you don't always-- most of them have an automatic ignition like a cigarette lighter) or something, that's not knowing, which is not the same thing as being stupid.
You'll figure it out.
_________________
"Alas, our dried voices when we whisper together are quiet and meaningless, as wind in dry grass, or rats' feet over broken glass in our dry cellar." --TS Eliot, "The Hollow Men"
02 Jun 2014, 5:04 am
