WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.960 --> 00:00:02.280 Ricky Enger: We all have to eat. 2 00:00:02.360 --> 00:00:07.320 But when you're new to cooking or regaining those skills after vision loss, the kitchen can 3 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:09.928 feel like a stressful and confusing place. 4 00:00:10.064 --> 00:00:15.928 In this episode, Deborah Erickson, founder of the Blind Kitchen, joins us to share her story, 5 00:00:16.064 --> 00:00:19.672 along with tips on keeping cooking safe and enjoyable. 6 00:00:19.816 --> 00:00:23.512 I'm Ricky Enger, and this is Hadley Presents. 7 00:00:23.656 --> 00:00:25.518 Welcome to the show, Debra. 8 00:00:25.664 --> 00:00:27.666 Debra Erickson: Thank you. Thank you for having me, Ricky. 9 00:00:27.698 --> 00:00:33.538 I really appreciate it and am a big fan of Hadley's from a long time ago, long before the Blind Kitchen. 10 00:00:33.714 --> 00:00:36.626 Ricky Enger: Wow. Well, it is amazing to have you here. 11 00:00:36.698 --> 00:00:41.986 I know that you have participated in our what's Cooking discussion group, and certainly we've 12 00:00:42.018 --> 00:00:49.314 had any number of Hadley members call me up and say, hey, have you been to this website, the Blind Kitchen? 13 00:00:49.362 --> 00:00:52.530 They have all these cool tools, and I really have. 14 00:00:52.570 --> 00:00:58.702 I've had people recommend specific things that they've gotten from your website and wanted to 15 00:00:58.726 --> 00:01:00.222 make sure that we knew about them. 16 00:01:00.326 --> 00:01:06.350 So I am delighted to have the chance to talk with you and just get a little bit about your story. 17 00:01:06.470 --> 00:01:12.302 And, you know, cooking is one of those things that should be a lot of fun. 18 00:01:12.406 --> 00:01:18.942 We hope that the kitchen is, you know, fun and fellowship and all of that, but it can feel really 19 00:01:19.046 --> 00:01:24.382 stressful if you're trying to figure out what's what or where does everything go, or how do I stay safe? 20 00:01:24.526 --> 00:01:28.080 So that's just some of what we're going to talk about today. 21 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:35.280 So before we kind of jump into talking about any kitchen tools or techniques or anything like 22 00:01:35.320 --> 00:01:37.984 that, I want to learn a bit about you. 23 00:01:38.072 --> 00:01:41.460 So can you just give us a quick intro, tell us a bit about yourself? 24 00:01:41.800 --> 00:01:45.248 Debra Erickson: Sure. So I am blind. 25 00:01:45.344 --> 00:01:49.536 I have retinitis pigmentosa, and I'm one of 12 children from Indiana. 26 00:01:49.568 --> 00:01:51.580 I have two brothers with it as well. 27 00:01:52.170 --> 00:01:59.042 I was the only blind student in culinary school, so I had to learn to solve a lot of problems, 28 00:01:59.186 --> 00:02:01.650 and that's how the Blind Kitchen came to be. 29 00:02:01.770 --> 00:02:06.450 When you're in culinary school, it's very busy, six hours a day, five days a week. 30 00:02:06.570 --> 00:02:08.562 It's a lot of time and energy. 31 00:02:08.666 --> 00:02:14.594 So when I had to do something like poach, so I'd have to get on the Internet, try and find books 32 00:02:14.642 --> 00:02:18.228 or podcasts anywhere I could find out how can I do this with vision loss. 33 00:02:18.354 --> 00:02:19.600 Then I'd get my answer. 34 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:23.488 And so then I'd do my practical and whatever, and then I'd move on to the next lesson. 35 00:02:23.584 --> 00:02:29.520 And so, oh, my goodness, how am I going to take the temperature of this food if I can't see the Thermometer. 36 00:02:29.600 --> 00:02:36.112 And so once Covid hit and I was no longer able to teach cooking at the Oregon Commission for 37 00:02:36.136 --> 00:02:40.448 the Blind, that's when I put together the Blind Kitchen. All those little nuggets. 38 00:02:40.464 --> 00:02:46.586 I'd picked up different pieces and places through my own training and through all the podcasts 39 00:02:46.618 --> 00:02:50.090 and things like that, and that's how the Blind Kitchen came to be. 40 00:02:50.130 --> 00:02:51.034 I had a lot of time to. 41 00:02:51.042 --> 00:02:52.762 Ricky Enger: Put it together, no doubt. 42 00:02:52.826 --> 00:02:58.538 Well, just talking about culinary school and the things that you have to do kind of makes my head spin. 43 00:02:58.634 --> 00:03:02.826 And we'll talk a bit more about that a little later. I am curious. 44 00:03:02.938 --> 00:03:05.386 So you have retinitis pigmentosa. 45 00:03:05.498 --> 00:03:08.346 So it is a progressive vision loss. 46 00:03:08.418 --> 00:03:17.082 So you didn't grow up totally blind, but at some point you did lose enough vision that it was an adjustment. Right. 47 00:03:17.106 --> 00:03:21.770 You had to start thinking about doing things differently, getting some training. 48 00:03:22.110 --> 00:03:29.430 And you went to the Oregon Commission for the Blind to kind of get some of those things under 49 00:03:29.470 --> 00:03:33.990 your belt, like figuring out how to get around and figuring out cooking and cleaning. 50 00:03:34.070 --> 00:03:39.158 And so first, I'm curious, were you always a good cook? 51 00:03:39.214 --> 00:03:40.774 Was it something you enjoyed? 52 00:03:40.902 --> 00:03:46.668 How did you feel about cooking before you had to learn sort of how to do that without vision? 53 00:03:46.844 --> 00:03:51.212 Debra Erickson: I was not a good cook, and I really didn't particularly enjoy it. 54 00:03:51.316 --> 00:03:58.172 Like I said, I'm one of 12 kids growing up in Indiana, so my mom mainly distributed food, but 55 00:03:58.196 --> 00:04:01.180 she fed us really well, and I'll always be grateful to her. 56 00:04:01.220 --> 00:04:02.508 But I did not learn to cook. 57 00:04:02.564 --> 00:04:07.340 My part was peeling 10 pounds of potatoes, setting the table, and then cleaning up afterwards. 58 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:08.204 Ricky Enger: Right. 59 00:04:08.372 --> 00:04:14.396 Debra Erickson: And so then after I moved out and lived on my own, my way of cooking was packaged cooking. 60 00:04:14.428 --> 00:04:22.680 You know, I could follow directions on a box Of Tuna Helper or open a can of Manwiches or macaroni and cheese. And I. 61 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:24.216 And that's how I fed my family. 62 00:04:24.288 --> 00:04:30.100 Now, my youngest son is now 6 foot 5, so obviously I fed him enough to let him get that call. 63 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:34.008 But I was not a particularly good cook. 64 00:04:34.144 --> 00:04:36.776 And so I have taught adults in the past. 65 00:04:36.848 --> 00:04:38.920 That's what I did professionally. 66 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:44.024 But I didn't want to go back to teaching what I had taught before, which was professional writing 67 00:04:44.072 --> 00:04:48.700 and mediation, because I'd have to do it differently, and I felt like I'd be really frustrating. 68 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:55.448 So I was in cooking class, and I was like, this is fun. I'm enjoying this. I could teach cooking. 69 00:04:55.624 --> 00:04:57.944 And then I realized I don't know how to cook. 70 00:04:58.032 --> 00:05:00.072 You know, I could do a little bit here. 71 00:05:00.176 --> 00:05:01.800 How the heck am I going to teach it. 72 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:04.600 So that's where the idea for culinary school came in. 73 00:05:04.640 --> 00:05:07.336 There are schools that teach you how to cook. 74 00:05:07.488 --> 00:05:08.920 And I decided to go. 75 00:05:08.960 --> 00:05:14.440 I don't know what I was thinking, but I made it through. I actually loved it. 76 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:21.590 It was physically demanding and a lot of memorization and things like that, but it was so worth it. 77 00:05:21.630 --> 00:05:25.494 And the chef instructors were absolutely fantastic. 78 00:05:25.622 --> 00:05:32.566 Ricky Enger: I think that's incredible going from, you know, I should figure out a couple things in the kitchen. 79 00:05:32.678 --> 00:05:40.150 And many of us would have said, I'll just get those stove safety basics and go back to Hamburger Helper, right? 80 00:05:40.190 --> 00:05:44.262 But you said, now I'm going to take it a little further. 81 00:05:44.446 --> 00:05:51.128 Was there anything initially, even before you went to culinary school and you're in the kitchen, 82 00:05:51.304 --> 00:05:55.740 you're learning to do this after you've lost some vision. 83 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:03.240 Was there anything that kind of made your heart beat a little faster as you're learning to do 84 00:06:03.280 --> 00:06:07.192 that for the first time when you're not looking at what you're doing? 85 00:06:07.376 --> 00:06:11.096 Debra Erickson: Moment stands out very clearly for me. 86 00:06:11.168 --> 00:06:15.144 So Char was my cooking instructor, and she's in the Midwest. 87 00:06:15.192 --> 00:06:16.940 She is absolutely an icon. 88 00:06:17.280 --> 00:06:18.572 She's now my dear friend. 89 00:06:18.656 --> 00:06:19.684 But we were in the kitchen. 90 00:06:19.732 --> 00:06:23.252 I was under sleep shade, so I couldn't see a thing. No light, nothing. 91 00:06:23.396 --> 00:06:27.748 And we were making something called Dutch Baby, which is terrible name for something you're 92 00:06:27.764 --> 00:06:29.680 going to eat, just for the record, right? 93 00:06:30.060 --> 00:06:36.020 But what you do is you put butter in a pan, and then you put it in a very hot oven, like 425, 94 00:06:36.140 --> 00:06:38.148 until the tablespoon of butter melts. 95 00:06:38.244 --> 00:06:41.876 And then you pull it out, and then you're supposed to pour in the batter that you've already 96 00:06:41.948 --> 00:06:45.972 made, and it goes in the pan, and it comes up, and it forms a piece of art, basically, that 97 00:06:45.996 --> 00:06:48.810 you can then sprinkle lemon and powdered sugar on. 98 00:06:48.900 --> 00:06:51.246 But I was standing at the oven with her, and she's like, okay. 99 00:06:51.278 --> 00:06:56.478 Now, she had taught me how to open the oven safely, pull out the rack, grab the thing, and she's 100 00:06:56.494 --> 00:06:59.566 like, okay, pull it out. And I was paralyzed. 101 00:06:59.678 --> 00:07:04.206 The heat was so hot, and I could hear the pan sizzling. 102 00:07:04.318 --> 00:07:05.038 Ricky Enger: Oh, yeah. 103 00:07:05.134 --> 00:07:05.914 Debra Erickson: I just said. I said, Char, you need. 104 00:07:07.590 --> 00:07:08.670 You need to give me a minute here. 105 00:07:08.710 --> 00:07:10.190 I've got to think about this. 106 00:07:10.310 --> 00:07:13.310 And she is the best teacher. She. She's like, okay. 107 00:07:13.470 --> 00:07:19.976 Because normally I can kind of fake my confidence through even when I'm not feeling that confident, but I couldn't. 108 00:07:20.088 --> 00:07:22.216 My body would not do what my brain was. 109 00:07:22.288 --> 00:07:23.688 Was trying to get it to do. 110 00:07:23.744 --> 00:07:31.848 And so that was a gift to me as a teacher to recognize how paralyzing fear can be. 111 00:07:31.904 --> 00:07:34.216 Even though it was perfectly safe, I was in. 112 00:07:34.288 --> 00:07:35.688 I had the tools I need. 113 00:07:35.744 --> 00:07:37.496 I had the knowledge I needed. 114 00:07:37.688 --> 00:07:41.646 Sometimes your fear overrides your brain for. For a little bit. 115 00:07:41.718 --> 00:07:45.374 And so then when I would teach students, I'd be like, okay, just breathe. Just breathe. 116 00:07:45.422 --> 00:07:46.254 You don't have to move. 117 00:07:46.342 --> 00:07:47.390 You don't have to move. 118 00:07:47.430 --> 00:07:54.078 If it's a blade that's scaring you, if it's a motor that's scaring you, if it's the hot stovetop, just. 119 00:07:54.134 --> 00:07:56.206 Just breathe for a minute. Nothing's going to happen. 120 00:07:56.278 --> 00:07:59.134 And so that was the moment in time. 121 00:07:59.222 --> 00:08:01.472 And it's funny because Char later told me, I learned from you in that moment how to be a better 122 00:08:04.630 --> 00:08:07.438 teacher, because I did not recognize that. 123 00:08:07.494 --> 00:08:09.518 That fear in you and your hesitation. 124 00:08:09.694 --> 00:08:18.094 Ricky Enger: Yeah, it's so relatable, too, because there have definitely been moments in my kitchen, even 125 00:08:18.182 --> 00:08:23.570 after having cooked for a while, where I just have that anxiety. 126 00:08:23.990 --> 00:08:25.230 For me, it's a weird one. 127 00:08:25.270 --> 00:08:31.550 It's having the fan on over the stove, and I can't hear everything that's going on, and so I 128 00:08:31.590 --> 00:08:35.406 feel a little anxious, you know, something going on that I don't know about. 129 00:08:35.478 --> 00:08:42.270 But it's then just tuning back into. I know what's happening. 130 00:08:42.350 --> 00:08:47.518 I have the skills to figure it out and, you know, and keep myself safe. 131 00:08:47.614 --> 00:08:50.530 So, yeah, it's very relatable. 132 00:08:50.870 --> 00:08:53.180 So when you went to culinary school, and again, I just love that you went from, I'm gonna learn 133 00:08:57.678 --> 00:09:05.130 to, you know, be in the kitchen safely to no, now I have to learn all of it so that I can teach other people. 134 00:09:05.590 --> 00:09:15.454 When you decided to go on this adventure, I imagine you have some stories, and we could spend 135 00:09:15.502 --> 00:09:19.486 an entire episode or two talking about just that. 136 00:09:19.558 --> 00:09:22.894 But I'm wondering if we can just concentrate on a couple of things. 137 00:09:22.982 --> 00:09:28.030 Do you remember what the biggest challenge for you? 138 00:09:28.070 --> 00:09:32.466 Maybe it was something really unexpected expected that you were challenged with in culinary 139 00:09:32.498 --> 00:09:34.306 school that you had to figure out. 140 00:09:34.458 --> 00:09:40.210 Debra Erickson: Probably the biggest challenge I had was completing my practicals in time. 141 00:09:40.330 --> 00:09:41.666 So it's just like the cooking shows. 142 00:09:41.698 --> 00:09:42.958 Everybody's running around like crazy, and. But. 143 00:09:42.958 --> 00:09:45.368 So that was, was my biggest challenge, and. 144 00:09:45.994 --> 00:09:48.394 And I lost points for it, because if you come into my restaurant and you order a steak and sautéed, 145 00:09:52.098 --> 00:09:56.522 cream of spinach or something like that, and 45 minutes, an hour goes by, and you flag down 146 00:09:56.522 --> 00:09:57.812 your waiter and say, hey, where's my, where's my food? 147 00:09:59.116 --> 00:10:02.756 Oh, Deborah's the chef, and she's blind, so she's a little slow. 148 00:10:02.868 --> 00:10:04.480 You don't want to hear that. 149 00:10:04.780 --> 00:10:06.612 So they had to hold me accountable. 150 00:10:06.676 --> 00:10:11.908 But they just say out loud to everybody, because I never was the only one that didn't finish on time. 151 00:10:12.044 --> 00:10:14.484 They would say, if you can't finish on time, finish strong. 152 00:10:14.572 --> 00:10:16.020 And so that's what I focused on. 153 00:10:16.060 --> 00:10:19.988 Make sure it was seasoned well, make sure it was presented well. And there. 154 00:10:20.044 --> 00:10:23.652 There are tricks to do that, too, to make sure that they're getting an attractive dish, even 155 00:10:23.676 --> 00:10:24.096 if I can't see it. 156 00:10:24.096 --> 00:10:27.020 But the the one story I have was the first couple weeks of culinary school. 157 00:10:28.904 --> 00:10:33.904 We learned all about eggs, poaching, scrambling, making omelets, things like that. 158 00:10:33.992 --> 00:10:37.392 And I had a sighted guide for about two months. 159 00:10:37.576 --> 00:10:39.166 So she told me that he was flipping an egg in a pan. And basically, 160 00:10:42.536 --> 00:10:48.272 So you've got a frying pan, you've got your egg in it, and you're going to flip the egg without a spatula. 161 00:10:48.336 --> 00:10:52.428 You're going to flip it halfway up in the air, and it's come down and land the pan, right? 162 00:10:52.564 --> 00:10:54.760 Well, about half the time. 163 00:10:56.020 --> 00:11:01.324 So I thought we had to do it that way because that's the way my sighted guide described it to me. 164 00:11:01.412 --> 00:11:01.708 Ricky Enger: Right. 165 00:11:01.764 --> 00:11:03.964 Debra Erickson: So when I got home, my husband thought I was nuts. 166 00:11:04.012 --> 00:11:07.244 I put a piece of toast in the toaster, and first I was just flipping toast. 167 00:11:07.372 --> 00:11:12.988 Then I bought about three dozen eggs, and I had a work tray next to my stove, so I'd fry the egg on the stove. 168 00:11:13.084 --> 00:11:15.516 When it came time to flip it, I didn't flip it over the stove. 169 00:11:15.548 --> 00:11:17.740 I moved it over the work tray and then flipped it. 170 00:11:17.780 --> 00:11:19.550 And before the end of the week, before the practical, I was about 50/50. 171 00:11:21.316 --> 00:11:25.852 So then I was in school, and I started with that one because it was the highest anxiety for me. 172 00:11:25.876 --> 00:11:29.164 And so I like, chef, I'm ready. And he. He's like, what? 173 00:11:29.252 --> 00:11:31.068 He had no idea what I was talking about. 174 00:11:31.204 --> 00:11:33.436 I thought they had to witness us doing that. 175 00:11:33.588 --> 00:11:35.052 Well, I was the only one. 176 00:11:35.076 --> 00:11:40.440 Nobody told me that everybody else was using spatulas, that we didn't have to do that. 177 00:11:41.060 --> 00:11:44.012 So he called the whole class over to watch. Hey, come over here. 178 00:11:44.036 --> 00:11:45.020 Let's see Deborah do this. 179 00:11:45.060 --> 00:11:48.600 And I was, like, praying to the egg gods, please let this work. 180 00:11:48.900 --> 00:11:49.740 And I flipped it, and it came down. 181 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:50.400 And the yolk didn't break. 182 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:58.440 I felt like I won an Olympic medal. It was. It was a funny. A funny time. 183 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:03.912 But that's one of the things where vision loss can definitely change your interpretation of things. 184 00:12:04.096 --> 00:12:11.896 Ricky Enger: Absolutely. So on a slightly More serious note, and we kind of touched on this earlier, just talking about fear. 185 00:12:12.008 --> 00:12:16.312 Fear is definitely a thing that can happen in the kitchen. 186 00:12:16.376 --> 00:12:19.970 And sometimes we have conversations at Hadley. 187 00:12:20.050 --> 00:12:27.538 In fact, a lot we have these conversations where people will be looking for some advice because 188 00:12:27.594 --> 00:12:34.514 either a family member or a friend is saying, no, you shouldn't be in the kitchen. It's not safe. 189 00:12:34.562 --> 00:12:35.762 I don't want you doing that. 190 00:12:35.866 --> 00:12:39.634 Or the person themselves is feeling, you know, I'm not safe. 191 00:12:39.682 --> 00:12:40.898 I don't want to do this. 192 00:12:40.954 --> 00:12:42.870 What if something goes wrong? 193 00:12:43.330 --> 00:12:47.978 But I think there's room for a little healthy fear, right? 194 00:12:48.034 --> 00:12:55.818 You should respect that a knife is sharp, but there's also that fear that can hold us back and 195 00:12:55.874 --> 00:13:00.202 actually act as a barrier to getting some things accomplished. 196 00:13:00.266 --> 00:13:05.930 So do you have any thoughts on just how do you navigate that whole thing and make the fear work 197 00:13:05.970 --> 00:13:10.710 for you and then kind of work through that fear that isn't serving you well? 198 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:16.220 Debra Erickson: Well, I'm one, and it's always been in my nature is to take it head on. 199 00:13:16.680 --> 00:13:23.120 So, like when I was standing in front of that hot oven and expected to perform that task, I 200 00:13:23.160 --> 00:13:28.144 just had to stop and let my brain take over and say, you're safe. 201 00:13:28.272 --> 00:13:31.856 And if you aren't afraid and there's a sharp knife around you and you don't know where it's 202 00:13:31.888 --> 00:13:37.504 at, or there's a hot bubbling pan of oil on the stove and you're not afraid, you're going to 203 00:13:37.512 --> 00:13:42.000 get taken out of the gene pool pretty quick, because that's what keeps us alive, without a doubt. 204 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:48.236 But it's when it paralyzes you and you can't figure a way past it, that's when it becomes detrimental 205 00:13:48.268 --> 00:13:50.492 to your independence and your freedom. 206 00:13:50.636 --> 00:13:55.180 The fears we've talked about of cutting yourself, the fear of burning yourself, those are real. 207 00:13:55.300 --> 00:13:59.260 But there's other fears, too, like fears of embarrassing yourself. 208 00:13:59.340 --> 00:14:00.524 Am I going to look messy? 209 00:14:00.572 --> 00:14:03.516 Am I going to look dirty and disorganized and knocking things over? 210 00:14:03.588 --> 00:14:05.208 Other people can see me, so that that's a real fear. And there you. 211 00:14:07.924 --> 00:14:12.508 You have to have a strategy to get around it if you can't see it. Or tools, whichever. 212 00:14:12.604 --> 00:14:15.412 Some are both and some are one or the other. 213 00:14:15.516 --> 00:14:20.628 The other fear is, if I give you a plate of food, is it going to look attractive? You can see it. I can't. 214 00:14:20.724 --> 00:14:25.876 So I want to have some strategies in place so that I won't have to deal with the fear of being embarrassed. 215 00:14:25.908 --> 00:14:28.676 I can be confident that I'm giving you an attractive dish. 216 00:14:28.788 --> 00:14:31.038 But the other fear, making people sick because you don't cook the food right, like, you don't 217 00:14:33.828 --> 00:14:34.668 cook the chicken enough or whatever. 218 00:14:35.412 --> 00:14:38.244 And a talking thermometer can take care of that for you. 219 00:14:38.332 --> 00:14:42.772 And most of us, let's face it, if we're afraid of making our family sick, we're going to overcook it. 220 00:14:42.876 --> 00:14:47.872 You know, yes, it's better to overcook than undercook, but that's not what we want to do either. 221 00:14:47.936 --> 00:14:55.376 We really want to produce a lovely dish that's easy to chew. This isn't beef jerky. This is a steak. 222 00:14:55.568 --> 00:15:05.424 But the other fear that I've come to start to add to this is other people's fear of us being in the kitchen. 223 00:15:05.552 --> 00:15:07.024 And it comes from a good place. 224 00:15:07.112 --> 00:15:08.304 I don't want to get burnt. 225 00:15:08.352 --> 00:15:09.584 I don't want to get them cut. 226 00:15:09.672 --> 00:15:12.462 And the kitchen is full of stuff that can hurt them. 227 00:15:12.656 --> 00:15:19.842 So families also have to get past their own fears and help that person to build that confidence 228 00:15:19.906 --> 00:15:24.322 and that success by making sure they have the right tools or the right strategies. 229 00:15:24.466 --> 00:15:26.670 So fear is a real thing. 230 00:15:26.970 --> 00:15:33.778 Ricky Enger: And it sounds like every fear that you've mentioned really all comes down to one thing. 231 00:15:33.834 --> 00:15:38.850 They all reference it in different ways, but it's all about fear of the unknown. 232 00:15:38.930 --> 00:15:46.502 So if you don't have a strategy or you don't know about certain ways to keep yourself safe in 233 00:15:46.526 --> 00:15:50.118 the kitchen, then certainly you're going to be afraid. 234 00:15:50.214 --> 00:15:58.646 But once you have some knowledge or a strategy, as you say, then you have a way to move forward. 235 00:15:58.718 --> 00:16:01.238 It's no longer about the emotion. 236 00:16:01.414 --> 00:16:07.782 You have some tools in place or a strategy in place, and then it's about, okay, whatever else 237 00:16:07.846 --> 00:16:16.008 I'm still feeling, I can confront that, knowing that it's a feeling, it's not necessarily reality. 238 00:16:16.184 --> 00:16:23.592 Debra Erickson: That's a good observation. And I feel like in this chosen career path of cooking, all of us 239 00:16:23.616 --> 00:16:27.176 have fears around relationships, around weather, around bills. 240 00:16:27.208 --> 00:16:30.060 I mean, the fears are part of what keep us alive. 241 00:16:30.640 --> 00:16:36.840 But rarely in life do we have a chance to, like, face a fear and then realize we overcome it. 242 00:16:36.880 --> 00:16:44.472 Like flipping that egg in real time, I can note my fear, and then I can overcome it, and I can 243 00:16:44.496 --> 00:16:45.800 be proud of myself for it. 244 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:47.912 I can say, look, I went from here to here. 245 00:16:47.936 --> 00:16:49.768 I could see progress and. 246 00:16:49.824 --> 00:16:55.272 But there's so many other things in life that we have fear where the reward is not that close. 247 00:16:55.456 --> 00:16:57.608 Ricky Enger: Yeah, that's a really good point. 248 00:16:57.744 --> 00:17:06.020 And what's better than overcoming that fear and seeing in real time than, hey, I get to eat my own success? 249 00:17:06.800 --> 00:17:07.818 Debra Erickson: That's a good point. 250 00:17:07.944 --> 00:17:11.302 Ricky Enger: So there is a lot to think about in the kitchen. 251 00:17:11.366 --> 00:17:15.046 You gotta figure out what each ingredient is. 252 00:17:15.198 --> 00:17:18.070 You have to figure out how to measure those ingredients. 253 00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:19.734 You gotta think about cleanup. 254 00:17:19.862 --> 00:17:27.478 So all these different things, and I think there are tools and techniques for a lot of these different things. 255 00:17:27.534 --> 00:17:32.454 And so, again, we could spend a whole episode just talking about tools and techniques in the kitchen. 256 00:17:32.502 --> 00:17:39.068 But since we don't have quite that much time, we'll focus on just a couple of different things. 257 00:17:39.124 --> 00:17:45.212 I'm wondering, first, those tools that keep you safe in the kitchen. 258 00:17:45.356 --> 00:17:53.740 Do you have some thoughts on tools that everyone should have in their kitchen for safety? 259 00:17:53.900 --> 00:17:59.516 Debra Erickson: A cut glove would be one that's a relatively thin glove that you wear on the hand holding the food. 260 00:17:59.588 --> 00:18:02.988 And you can literally run a knife back and forth on the palm of that. 261 00:18:03.124 --> 00:18:07.416 You'll feel the pressure and you'll feel the movement, but it won't cut through. Heat gloves. 262 00:18:07.528 --> 00:18:09.778 So most of us grew up using bulky quilted rectangles or circles or whatever. The heat gloves 263 00:18:15.208 --> 00:18:17.656 that are found in the Blind Kitchen and other places as well. 264 00:18:17.728 --> 00:18:19.588 Some people might know them as ove gloves, but those are much more expensive. 265 00:18:20.840 --> 00:18:25.800 But they have four fingers and a thumb, so you've got the flexibility of your fingertips. 266 00:18:25.880 --> 00:18:28.984 And they're thick, but not as thick as the quilted ones. 267 00:18:29.032 --> 00:18:32.104 But they have designs on them made of silicone. 268 00:18:32.232 --> 00:18:35.218 So the silicone makes it non skid as well. 269 00:18:35.354 --> 00:18:39.602 So not only are you getting heat protection, you're also going to be able to trust that you 270 00:18:39.626 --> 00:18:41.630 have a more secure grip on it. 271 00:18:41.930 --> 00:18:47.122 So those are two of the tools for cutting and for heat. 272 00:18:47.266 --> 00:18:49.554 The work trays, they're just cafeteria trays. 273 00:18:49.602 --> 00:18:55.154 I would encourage anyone to get those because if you accidentally do spill something, I do not 274 00:18:55.242 --> 00:18:56.786 work without a work tray. 275 00:18:56.898 --> 00:19:02.314 So if I do accidentally knock something over, it's going to contain the spill within the confines 276 00:19:02.362 --> 00:19:03.898 of that tray for most of them. 277 00:19:03.954 --> 00:19:08.522 And you may even be able to salvage the spillage by using a funnel to get it back in the box 278 00:19:08.586 --> 00:19:12.074 or the bottle, because it's trapped in a predictable place. 279 00:19:12.242 --> 00:19:16.858 We have a cutting and chopping collection where nobody needs everything in the Blind Kitchen. 280 00:19:16.954 --> 00:19:24.218 But that contains 15 tools that all have to do with cutting and chopping and to keep your hands from getting cut. 281 00:19:24.354 --> 00:19:29.908 Ricky Enger: Yeah, and I think that's so important, you know, protecting yourself from something sharp or something hot. 282 00:19:29.964 --> 00:19:32.452 The first couple of things people think about. 283 00:19:32.636 --> 00:19:37.892 The work tray is one of my favorite tips. 284 00:19:37.956 --> 00:19:49.092 I tend to be a messy cook, and nothing has saved me more time than learning to measure over a work tray. 285 00:19:49.156 --> 00:19:50.996 You know, it's all contained. 286 00:19:51.188 --> 00:19:55.590 I don't end up with flour on the ceiling or whatever. So it's true. 287 00:19:55.740 --> 00:20:00.306 If we can talk about one other kind of tool. 288 00:20:00.378 --> 00:20:05.986 So now that we're safe in the kitchen, presentation is such a big thing. 289 00:20:06.058 --> 00:20:13.042 You know, if you're giving food to someone else, you want to feel proud about not only how it 290 00:20:13.066 --> 00:20:14.834 tastes, but how it looks. 291 00:20:14.962 --> 00:20:21.538 And did I just give you three times as much as is on my plate or what have you? 292 00:20:21.594 --> 00:20:26.868 Do you have tools or techniques for plating, for portioning? 293 00:20:27.044 --> 00:20:31.956 Debra Erickson: Yeah. So this is something I also learned in culinary school, because if you're running a restaurant, 294 00:20:32.068 --> 00:20:36.452 if you're giving somebody three times as much as one person, let's just take rice. 295 00:20:36.596 --> 00:20:39.876 So I'm giving you three times as much rice as I'm. I'm giving your buddy. 296 00:20:39.908 --> 00:20:44.004 Your buddy's going to be mad and probably not come back to the restaurant. They're portion scoops. 297 00:20:44.052 --> 00:20:45.556 So they're just like ice cream scoops. 298 00:20:45.588 --> 00:20:47.988 And they come in like 42 different sizes. 299 00:20:48.164 --> 00:20:53.476 So if I have rice, I can use a 6 ounce portion scoop, or if I want to give you a cup of rice, 300 00:20:53.508 --> 00:20:56.472 an 8 ounce portion scoop, and then level it out. 301 00:20:56.556 --> 00:20:58.096 I know exactly how much it is. 302 00:20:58.168 --> 00:20:59.824 And then invert that over a plate. 303 00:20:59.872 --> 00:21:02.288 I can put it in the center, I can put it to the side. 304 00:21:02.424 --> 00:21:07.232 You're gonna have this beautiful dome of rice, and so will your friend because it just got portion scooped out. 305 00:21:07.256 --> 00:21:11.632 And then I can sprinkle fresh herbs on it or toasted nuts. 306 00:21:11.696 --> 00:21:18.688 And just know that it's going to be very attractively presented because I had the tool to help make that happen. 307 00:21:18.744 --> 00:21:20.832 I'm guessing doesn't work as a rule. 308 00:21:20.896 --> 00:21:23.008 Some people are better at guessing, I guess, than I am. 309 00:21:23.064 --> 00:21:27.058 But I have to have a strategy, definitely. 310 00:21:27.154 --> 00:21:33.842 Ricky Enger: And it's a simple thing, but very effective just to have something that you are measuring with. 311 00:21:33.946 --> 00:21:42.190 So whether it's an ice cream scoop or I know the Blind Kitchen has some of these portion scoops as well. 312 00:21:42.490 --> 00:21:47.218 So such a great tip for not having to do the guesswork. 313 00:21:47.314 --> 00:21:48.424 You don't have to eyeball it anymore, right. 314 00:21:50.778 --> 00:21:58.830 It's if you've got this scoop full, then you know everyone is going to have a plate that looks the same. 315 00:21:58.950 --> 00:22:04.062 Debra Erickson: And if I don't want a dome of rice, if I don't want a little rice mountain, I still have the 316 00:22:04.086 --> 00:22:08.014 amount on the plate and I can smash it down a little bit right with the back of the scoop. 317 00:22:08.062 --> 00:22:09.022 And I've done that before. 318 00:22:09.126 --> 00:22:12.302 And I put a poached egg on the top of the mound of rice. 319 00:22:12.446 --> 00:22:13.976 Ricky Enger: And you, as we've said, have a couple of these on your website. 320 00:22:18.028 --> 00:22:22.404 We'll have the link to Debra's site in the show notes. 321 00:22:22.452 --> 00:22:23.828 A lot of great stuff there. 322 00:22:23.884 --> 00:22:28.680 Not just tools, but also tips, techniques, recipes. 323 00:22:29.100 --> 00:22:32.244 So it's a great place to go and look around. 324 00:22:32.412 --> 00:22:34.242 Also, gotta give a shout out to Hadley's What's Cooking discussion group. 325 00:22:37.068 --> 00:22:42.340 If you're thinking about getting back into cooking or maybe you're really good at it and you 326 00:22:42.380 --> 00:22:46.654 want to come share some recipes with us, we'd love to have you for that, too. 327 00:22:46.822 --> 00:22:48.222 So this has been amazing. 328 00:22:48.286 --> 00:22:50.116 Debra, as we wrap up, any final thoughts that you would leave people with? 329 00:22:53.414 --> 00:23:01.454 Maybe someone is still at that paralyzing fear stage and not sure how to step back in the kitchen, 330 00:23:01.502 --> 00:23:08.398 or maybe someone has done that and they're just finding it a little bit tedious now. 331 00:23:08.454 --> 00:23:13.422 Like, you know, I'm still having trouble measuring things, or it's just not as enjoyable as 332 00:23:13.446 --> 00:23:15.214 it once was or whatever. 333 00:23:15.342 --> 00:23:22.596 Do you have any tips for these budding new cooks or someone who's returning to it and finding 334 00:23:22.628 --> 00:23:24.500 it maybe not so enjoyable? 335 00:23:24.660 --> 00:23:29.028 Debra Erickson: I'd encourage people to look at why it's not enjoyable for them. 336 00:23:29.084 --> 00:23:30.708 Some people just don't like to cook. 337 00:23:30.844 --> 00:23:36.164 But if you really have that motivation that you would really like to cook and like the outcomes, 338 00:23:36.212 --> 00:23:38.072 then there's different sources besides me about how do blind people cook? 339 00:23:40.692 --> 00:23:46.078 There's a lot of different things on there to seek out the information to notice where your problem is. 340 00:23:46.134 --> 00:23:50.606 Just don't let it freeze you on the threshold to walking into your kitchen saying, no, I'm afraid 341 00:23:50.638 --> 00:23:52.318 I'm going to spill stuff I don't know how to measure well. It's a skill. 342 00:23:55.070 --> 00:23:59.678 You have to do it over and over and over again before you can build your confidence that you're 343 00:23:59.694 --> 00:24:00.782 going to get it right. 344 00:24:00.966 --> 00:24:06.830 So I would encourage people to, Instead of just having this general fear door in front of them, 345 00:24:06.870 --> 00:24:09.320 not allowing them access to something they want to do, to isolate. 346 00:24:09.320 --> 00:24:09.860 What is it I'm afraid of? 347 00:24:09.860 --> 00:24:10.400 And then focus on that. 348 00:24:14.054 --> 00:24:18.854 Because if you break it into manageable pieces, cooking is too big. 349 00:24:19.022 --> 00:24:23.286 Knives, stoves, all of that in one thought. It's too big. 350 00:24:23.358 --> 00:24:27.980 Pick a piece of it and then pat yourself on the back when you, when you get it right, and then pick another piece. 351 00:24:29.270 --> 00:24:33.126 Ricky Enger: I love that. Really good advice for. For anything, really. 352 00:24:33.198 --> 00:24:38.742 Just breaking it down into smaller chunks that you can tackle and then you get to feel that 353 00:24:38.846 --> 00:24:44.080 reward of having accomplished that one little thing and you can move on to the next. 354 00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:45.056 Debra Erickson: Exactly. 355 00:24:45.168 --> 00:24:47.388 Ricky Enger: Well, Debra, thank you so much for stopping by, giving us your story, some tips and tricks 356 00:24:51.264 --> 00:24:53.808 and tools and all kinds of things. 357 00:24:53.944 --> 00:24:56.528 And certainly check out Debra's website. 358 00:24:56.664 --> 00:24:58.254 That's TheBlindKitchen, all one word, TheBlindKitchen.com. 359 00:24:58.254 --> 00:24:58.974 Thanks for joining us, Debra. 360 00:25:04.288 --> 00:25:05.984 It's been wonderful having you. 361 00:25:06.072 --> 00:25:08.500 Debra Erickson: Thank you for having me. It's been an honor. 362 00:25:10.100 --> 00:25:17.756 Ricky Enger: Got something to say? Share your thoughts about this episode of Hadley Presents or make suggestions for future episodes. 363 00:25:17.868 --> 00:25:19.500 We'd love to hear from you. 364 00:25:19.620 --> 00:25:38.790 Send us an email@podcastadleyhelps.org that's P O D C A S T hadleyhelps.org or leave us a message at 847-784-2870. Thanks for listening.