Cooking is one of life’s pleasures people enjoy –but what if you were to lose your sight? Do you think it is possible to continue cooking ‘blind’?
In my newly released book, Blindness for Beginners: a renewed vision of the possible, I include a chapter devoted to ‘Cooking in a Tactile Kitchen’. It offers many tips and strategies to help people new to vision loss understand that they really don’t have to forgo their love of cooking if they are experiencing sight loss.
The key is to be organised, create a place for everything and be willing to cook with all your senses – including your sense of humour!
Cooking Blind
As my book launch was set for April 26th at Writer’s Victoria, I sent out several pitches to media outlets. The Radio National program on ABC, Life Matters, responded by asking me if one of the presenters could visit my home and cook ‘blind’ in my kitchen. What a novel idea!
Michael Mackenzie arrived with a smile and an open heart to investigate this ‘cooking with less sight’ scenario. I had a few things prepared; the ingredients to make spaghetti Bolognese, all the pots and utensils, a bottle of Champagne and a few odd surprises along the way.
Michael Mackenzie – Presenter and producer, ‘Life Matters’ ABC RN
‘We can lose our ability to see for a whole range of reasons- sometimes it’s hereditary, other times it’s because of an accident, or a disease like diabetes. Maribel Steel lost her eyesight when she was a teenager, and for years leading up to that, she flat out refused to believe her vision was failing Now Maribel wants to help other people with low or no vision accept what’s happening to them and find strategies to deal with it’.
Join us here and LISTEN to the cooking soundscape Michael (and Harry) recorded in my kitchen as we feel our way around cooking ‘blind’ together.
Invitation to My Book Launch
If you live in Victoria, and have time to spare on Friday 26th April, it would be a real treat to see you at my book launch!
Hosted by Writers Victoria, and officially launched by Hazel Edwards, author, Patron of the Society of Women Writers Vic, I will be in conversation with Lyndel Caffrey, my writing mentor and the Write-ability program manager. We have a few surprises planned so do join us by following this link to register your attendance:
Launch of Blindness for Beginners
If you would like to contact me to purchase a signed copy of Blindness for Beginners, or would like to receive further information, you can email me:
maribel@springstudio.com.au
‘It is not so much being vision-impaired that will bar the way forward
but how we react to oncoming obstacles’ –
Maribel Steel, Blindness for Beginners
You Might Also Like to Read:
Listen to Cooking Blind in a Tactile Kitchen Part 2
Copyright © Maribel Steel 2019