[blindkid] The Blind Teaching the Blind; Kitchen Advice Wanted

[Deborah Kent Stein]

The NFB adjustment-to-blindness training centers in Minnesota, Colorado, and
Louisiana operate wholly on the philosophy that blind people can learn
effectively from blind instructors and mentors. Cooking is an important part
of the curriculum at each of the centers. Students who complete the full
nine-month program are expected to prepare a meal for forty students and
instructors. In my experience, sighted people have a lot of fears about
teaching cooking to blind people, and that fear can heighten the student's
anxieties. If you follow a few basic safety precautions, such as turning off
the burner before removing a pan from the stove and making sure you never
slice with the blade of the knife facing your free hand, cooking is not a
dangerous activity; and the precautions are ones which should be followed by
all cooks, regardless of visual acuity.

Debbie



  -----Original Message-----
From: blindkid [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of BillList1
via blindkid
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2017 1:12 PM
To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
Cc: BillList1 <billlist1 at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [blindkid] The Blind Teaching the Blind; Kitchen Advice Wanted

> Maybe you have ideas to teach the girls to get things like pasta 
> safely
from the stove to the sink to drain it.

We have a big spaghetti pot that has a removable colander.  The pot and the
colander both  have nice big handles.  I just carry it to the sink, set it
down in the sink, and remove the colander.  The hot water just drains off
the pasta.  I like it because I don't have to tip the pot over to pour off
the boiling water.  I have done that before we acquired this pot but I
really like this one much better.

Before I got married to a real cook almost 30 years ago, I lived on my own
for a few years.  I applied the basic cooking skills I learned from a blind
woman who had taught me one summer late in my high school career.  My mom
wisely accepted this blind lady's offer to teach me.  Mom was sighted and
really could not imagine how to teach me, a blind kid, how to cook.  I
realize that is a different challenge than a blind mom trying to teach a
blind child.  

During my bachelor days, I never went hungry because I was what I call a
"survival cook."  That being said, I cannot remember ever having invited
anyone over to dinner.  

When we got married, I told my wife that it was a great match because she
loves to cook and I love to eat!  I rarely make an appearance in the kitchen
these days as a cook.  I am much better at cleaning up.  But I do enjoy
cooking and baking when I make the time to do it.

Safety first, of course.  But I encourage anyone who is blind to do as much
as they can in the kitchen.  A late friend of mine who was blind was just
such a good cook.  He had a knack for it, I'm sure.  But he also was a much
better cook than I because he worked at it on a regular basis.

Bill



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