It was a joy to share kitchen tips with a group of fellow visually impaired people last week.
Members of the Portsmouth Macular Degeneration Group visited us to learn more about good nutrition that doesn’t break the bank and is so easy that even a blind person can do it!
We started with the simple yoghurt bread. Mixing just three ingredients together is so quick that the oven needs to be on from the start. Thirty minutes later and there was a loaf to share.
We moved on to the heady heights of pastry. But my no mess, no waste hot water version was again made in a trice. Not a puff of flour to be seen and no need to worry about “warm hands”. All the visitors helped make delicious individual pork pies: crisp thin pastry encasing succulent pork flavoured with lemon, thyme and a touch of garlic.
Next came an experiment: hot water pastry cases enclosing chopped apple from the garden, topped with homemade Christmas mincemeat and our special wheat-free crumble. Our visitors were a conveyor belt of activity from moulding the pastry to the final topping before baking. A huge success with every morsel devoured and massive thanks to my trusty sidekick, Karen.
Our theme was simple wholesome ingredients that avoid “processed” stuff. Alongside, batch cooking reduces the energy costs: 45 minutes oven time producing a dozen (or more) meals for the freezer. Bargain!
Likewise, the remaining pastry and crumble mix went into the freezer. Both can be taken out and used as if freshly made next time. One lot of effort but multiple uses.
The veg-in-water tip was another great success. Cutting off the bottom or stem of broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and even cucumber before standing in water in the fridge overnight perks then up no end. Cut potatoes and carrots get a new lease of life even quicker. Food waste? I’ve no idea what it means.
As for tips for other visually impaired people, we quickly moved past the usual talking scales and thermometer. Drawers in all the cupboards and even the fridge make finding things so much easier. I’m a great fan of Lakeland and ice-cream boxes: storage for ingredients and crockery; great for freezing and then microwaving; even for fruit and veg trimmings destined for the compost. And no more scrabbling for the right lid when they’re all the same size.
The knife block of straws is so much easier than struggling to find the right slot (Lakeland again but other sources are available) and there’s a perfect sharpener that clamps to the worksurface when needed. Labelling for those who can’t see is always tricky but the cheapest stick-on tactile letters (designed for children) work.
There’s so much more (cooker, microwave, “kettle” etc) but I hope that you get the message: understanding what is needed by visually impaired people isn’t difficult, doesn’t always mean specifically “adaptive” equipment but just careful selection of regular off-the-shelf kit that works as well for us as anyone else. After all, we don’t want to be restricted to a miserable diet of shop-bought ready-meals but prefer delicious food that keeps us as fit and healthy as anyone else.
After our lunch, the sous-chef regaled the group with his tales of beekeeping, their hives and lifestyles. The chance to feel raw wax honeycomb, taste real home-produced honey and hear about all the bee-effort it takes convinced them that the “real thing” can be so much healthier than those commercial brands. The group buzzed off with jars in hand and, hopefully, some new ideas for their own kitchens.
The remains of the loaf fed us for breakfast the next day: toasted and topped with banana and honey. Delicious, healthily simple and didn’t break the bank!