thoughts on making cooking more physically accessible / PART ONE
this one is from so many of you...
Hi all!
Before I jump into today’s newsletter, a quick reminder that my upcoming cookbook WHAT GOES WITH WHAT will be out this fall!! All info is here!!
If you’d like a signed or personalized copy, I’ll be doing those through Oblong Books, my local independent bookstore. This is where to order from if you want me to sign a copy or to make one out specifically to you or anyone in your life (signed cookbooks = great gifts).
Oh and one more quick reminder !!
I won’t be teaching this weekend (it’s Grace’s birthday!), but have two more classes coming up this month before I take my normal summer teaching break until the fall. Come join me and Haley!
→ Remember that even if you can’t attend live, if you sign up for class you’ll automatically receive the class recipe document and the class recording the same day class happens.
→ As always, if money is a barrier and you want to come to a class, just let me know and we’ll work it out!
→ Also remember that I have a large online archive of all of my previously-recorded classes: there are A HUNDRED AVAILABLE! CHECK THEM OUT HERE!
Okay, onto today’s newsletter!
A few weeks ago I shared that I got an email from a reader named Beth inquiring about ideas for recipes that help with accessibility issues. “What if you can't lift heavy weights [big pots/cans/etc.] or chop veggies easily?” were some of Beth’s questions.
I had lots of ideas, sure, but I do not have lived experience cooking with accessibility issues so I asked all of you and WOW WOW WOW you all shared so many incredible thoughts and tips. Putting together today’s newsletter has made me feel so incredibly grateful for all of you, this kind, generous + supportive community.
So today I will be sharing everything shared with me. Please feel free to share this with anyone in your life you think it might be useful for. Stay tuned for PART TWO NEXT WEEK!
BOOKS
First, sooooo many people recommended Ruby Tandoh’s excellent book Cook As You Are, which is such a wonderful book.
There’s also Extra Helping: Recipes for Caring, Connecting, and Building Community One Dish at a Time by Janet Reich Elsbach (fun fact: I wrote the foreword for that book!).
And of course Crip Up the Kitchen: Tools, Tips and Recipes for the Disabled Cook by Jules Sherred.
COMMENTS/EMAILS I GOT IN RESPONSE TO BETH’S INQUIRY:
FROM JESSICA: To answer Beth’s question, I would rely heavily on pre-cut fresh fruits & veg (packaged and/of from the salad bar) and buy lots of frozen fruits and vegetables. Frozen produce gets a bad rap, but it shouldn’t! Frozen produce is picked & frozen at peak ripeness, providing great flavor and texture. It’s *usually* fresher than buying fresh produce (unless you’re a farmer and/or grow your own)! Canned and jarred fruits & veg are also wonderful to keep on-hand, but can be more difficult to open, if mobility/strength is a concern.
FROM KATHARINE: A friend of mine, when talking about our small children, said "we're in the grocery store cut fruit phase of life" and I think about that all the time. Freeing us from the unrealistic expectations to prep things the "right" or "scratch" way is so important, for so many people and for so many reasons.
Some links:
“Low and Slow” by Alice Wong (Eater and Disability Visibility Present)
“How Cooking Websites Are Failing People With Disabilities” by George Stern (Serious Eats)
FROM BEKKA: When my mom broke an arm she bought this pepper grinder from Kuhn Rikon that she could tuck under her broken arm and use her working arm to grind! [FROM JT: there are also electric ones that only require the touch of a button, like this salt & pepper set!]. Also my MIL used to be a hospice nurse and now works privately with elderly clients (helping navigate healthcare / insurance / set up their homes for aging bodies). She suggests a rice steamer for most of the cooking for patients with memory loss / dementia / Alzheimer's disease because it turns off automatically so there's no worries about leaving ovens or burners on if the person forgets they turned it on. You can cook a lot more than just rice in it! Dumplings, meat, veggies or any combination of those things.
FROM AHAVA: I am the chief cook and bottle washer for our family of four. A little over a year ago I was in a pretty serious car accident that left me with a slipped disc and some other injuries. It also weakened my strength over time, and I was recently diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. I love to cook and I usually prepare three meals a day for my family. My wife of 26 years, G-d bless her, knows how to make one dish, (broccoli pasta). Needless to say, the accident has affected my ability to prep, cook, and clean up.
So we strategized about how to help me. My kids, ages, 11 and 13 pitch in to do prep work like squeezing lemons and chopping. We rely on machines like a blender to do things like grating the cheese. My wife also bought me one of those great vegetable choppers with all the different size squares, and tools like a lemon squeezer, etc.. so that helps, and the kids think it’s fun to use them. Since they don’t like cleaning up, we pay them per task. For example, five shekels per pot or pan and 10 shekels to empty the dishwasher.
FROM SARAH: Getting long COVID a couple of years ago exacerbated some existing chronic illnesses for me and I now really struggle with things like joint pain, fatigue, and dizziness in daily activities, but I love to cook and bake. Adjusting to changing abilities is a frustrating ongoing process, from practical changes to emotional reactions to beliefs about your identity related to cooking and baking and general ableism. What am I going to eat when my hands really hurt? I love fancy cakes and fussy pastry for any or no occasion, what do you mean I am confused and exhausted and cannot make chocolate chip cookies without help? The meals and breads and pastries I learned with my Armenian grandmother are part of my connection to family history torn by genocide, and making them is irreplaceable, so what then?
I have general practical tips for managing in the kitchen more than specific recipes, but also wanted to share this piece: https://thewalrus.ca/garlic-in-a-jar/
See an occupational therapist if at all possible, even for a session or two. They will have strategies and tools specifically for cooking but also to manage pain/fatigue overall which might help cooking be more possible. Also some great people to follow on Instagram for ideas and tips: @emilyrichot / @equipmeot / @hand_coach_corinne
Practical tips/tools:
Small (less heavy) food processor and/or one of those vegetable chopper things for chopping, shredding, etc
Automatic can opener
Jar opener thing (mine is attached to the bottom of a cabinet)
Keep extra on top of sharpening knives because it lessens the effort required
A heavy cast iron pan or dutch oven can live on the stovetop all the time if you want it to, it doesn't eliminate moving it sometimes but back and forth to the sink is easier than also moving it to a cabinet
Where accessible/in your budget buy some ingredients pre-chopped - even some of my local farmers market vendors occasionally have chopped and bagged produce like rhubarb in the spring or butternut squash in the fall, which I love
If your schedule allows, spreading out chopping/prep so you don't do too much at once
Using whatever kind of supports for your hands are appropriate for you, for example I have ring splints that keep my fingers from hyperextending and a type of brace for one of my thumb joints
Tips for baking with arthritis and other hand-related chronic pain (from King Arthur Baking)
Baking with chronic fatigue? We've got tips for conserving energy in the kitchen (from King Arthur Baking)
For the occasions/recipes that you're just going to do it anyway because you want to even though you'll be exhausted/have more pain, plan ahead to take care of yourself the next day (having leftovers/ordering takeout/having a nap/whatever) and/or not to do that at the end of an already busy day.
Asking for help is, I guess, also an option, but depends both on your helper and your own ability to keep hold of your irritation about how carrots are sliced or pastry is folded. (My irritation is 90% grief related to not being able to do things I used to enjoy and only 10% why a person would cut an onion like that.)
ALSO A FEW ADDITIONAL NOTES FROM READERS RE: COOKING AS CAREGIVING
ELLEN: Another take on returnable containers. For someone grieving, returning is a reason to get out, see someone.
LIZ: Someone brought me a meal after I had my first child and it is my go to when I bring a meal to others: Baked Potato Bar. The potatoes were baked and cooled and my friend had small deli containers full of toppings: several types of shredded cheese, bacon, diced hard boiled eggs, diced cooked bacon, cooked/chilled broccoli, chili, salsa, and sour cream.
JESS: In reference to nonprofit meal services, last year I started volunteering at Open Arms of Minnesota based in the Twin Cities. Meals are prepared by trained chefs and then portioned, packaged and delivered by volunteers. It’s been so rewarding to know my hands are helping feed someone who needs it, whether they are going through a crisis, live with a chronic condition or are taking care of someone else who is. If any readers are in MSP, I encourage you to check out their org and mission! And volunteer if you’re able. 🥪
ELISA: My family also was lucky enough to have a meal train run for us when my husband was in cancer treatment and I will say it helps to be specific about what you want and don't want - people really welcome that feedback. I will also say that I got way more excited about cut-up fruit and vegetables than anything else!
CHRISTINE: My sister had breast cancer when her kids were small so friends very helpfully did a meal train. Best suggestion was to leave in a cooler at the door so no one had to visit if they weren’t up to it.
I’ll be back next week with PART TWO!! which is an entire conversation with the one and only Ali Stroker and it’s so packed with amazing info! — I can’t wait to share it will all of you. Until then, take good care. xooxox
this post pushed me to finally subscribe. thank you so much for assembling this wonderful handy guide. it is so kind and warm and helpful for me to use in my work distributing nutrition incentive programs. <3
Okay, this was great. But... ALI STROKER?! OMG, I cannot wait. She was absolutely incredible in Oklahoma, and I've been a fan ever since!