 Welcome to this edition of Able to Cook, a one and only program that in Vermont and beyond focuses on cooking for people with special needs. With me and with us today, my name is Lauren Seiler. And with us today we have Mindy Sprague of Washington County and Rosie Emmons of Washington County. Welcome to Able to Cook. This will air on Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving week. Tell us a little bit about Mindy's story and what she's done because we're gonna air you know while she's while you guys are talking we're gonna run footage from before but okay tell me a little bit about Mindy's story. So I started working with Mindy it'll be five years in January and we were trying to figure out what her niche was what you like to do. So we started to donate well not donate we started to make meals and on donation and then she found out that they liked her meals so we started what was called what is now called Mindy's lunchbox and she makes a meal every Wednesday and sells it to the people at Grandview. Grandview which is a Washington County facility. It's a CDS which is Community Developmental Support Services. And you obviously supporting Mindy and why she cooks and what she does. Mindy what kind of menus do you mean what kind of food do you like to cook? I like to cook mac and cheese. Because mac and cheese is my best food ever because I like doing that a lot. What else? What else do you like to cook? I see you brought brownies today. Oh yeah. That's your favorite. Yep. So here we have obviously this is gonna air after the fact but we have a you have a whole it's the fourth annual autumn harvest meal to benefit the co-committee of Washington County Mental Health the 25th of October. October. Explain that how that came about. How that came about in years past. Okay so the first year Mindy had been cooking since February January February and we thought it would be good to give back to the community. And the co-committee is Community Outreach Activities Team. And what they do during the holiday each case manager has a list of consumers that are the most neediest. I mean they all need something but the most neediest. So the case managers each give their list to the co-committee and they go through and find which ones are the neediest and due to funding it's all by fun fundraising. Then they are able to help each family. Okay so I thought it would be cool to have Mindy give back to the community. Because a lot of times people don't think that people with disabilities can do anything other than be there. And I wanted to show that there's more to it than just being there. So you have this whole menu plan. Yes. You know obviously okay you know cooking is one of those things where you have to plan you know plan recipes or as they say in the cooking world mise en place. Everything you know everything oh we're gonna get into cooking terms. But everything in its place you have a whole menu plan explain some of that menu. Okay so we typically do 80 pounds of turkey. That was last year. Last year we did 80 pounds of turkey and 27 pounds of roast pork. Mindy's group is Friends Helping Friends self-advocate group and they have actually started to help with us. The last three this will be their third year that they have actually helped with us. So we start like three to four weeks before because we do a bread sale just before to pay for the meal itself. And you're charging 12 dollars for meal because it's just going back into funding. Yes it's going back into the Coat Committee to help with the families. And it's and that money will be used for either presence for families that have children or sometimes they use it for a Christmas tree and Christmas ornaments. Gift cards for a meal holiday meal. So how many people obviously is a lot you know you've got the turkey and the trimmings and the whole how many people working on it or how many people do we feed? Both. Okay so typically like next week we're gonna have three days of intense cooking and preparing. We'll have anywheres from five, four to five, six people plus the staff preparing. We cut up all the vegetables and we roast them in and prepare them for Thursday. Last year we fed a hundred and twenty people that actually paid for the meal and what's ever left over we actually donate last year we donated to the church the Presbyterian Church which also feeds the homeless. Now what if let's just say what if this is if there's a person in Washington County or that comes to the church or the event that cannot afford. We're not gonna turn people away. You won't turn. Oh that that's my we even have we even have some people that will buy tickets just for people who need it. So we have some some people that can't make it but they want to donate so they will buy a ticket and tell us give this to someone who needs it. So yeah you're having a real support. We don't during the festivities itself but at the end everything that is left over goes to the Good Samaritan Haven or to the church who feed the homeless quite frequently. So you're having roast pork roast or I just make me hungry and we eat some brownies and roast pork roast turkey roasts of veggies which will include carrots beets squash onions and rutabaga toast salad which we had some of the food here. Well you can always come next Thursday. Yes we will and we'll be there with camera also. Cranberry sauce gravy pie it's just for more information you can call 479-2502. Yeah but this will air after the yes of course so don't call the number when this airs after right we'll definitely be at the harvest meal. Tell us a little bit about well last time when we last time when we got you for episode one for able to cook we saw you do a whole barbecue. Tell us a little bit more about you know why do you really like to cook. Cooking is fun. Okay so this is more a hobby for you. Okay he wants to know what why do you like to cook does it make you how does it make you feel. Oh it makes me feel good. It makes me it makes me feel good. And why does it make you feel good. Because I like doing it yeah I like doing it a lot. You feed people. I feed a lot of people. Yeah I feed a lot of people. Obviously by this you're gonna have a meal. So but why call why call it the harvest meal is there a reason behind the name. Because basically a lot of the stuff is harvested in the fall you know. Why not do it. My question is I hope you guys don't mind me asking it. You're doing it in October Thanksgiving is not until November. And I know why because yes there is a reason for one thing the Co-Committee starts shopping for the holiday season before the holiday. Oh okay. And a lot of these vegetables are harvested in October. So they're fresh they are easier to come by. So the meal will be brought to the church or you're cooking in the church kitchen. We will make a lot of it prepare a lot of it to be put in the oven at the church. The meal itself isn't served until 1215. Mindy and I will be there at quarter after eight in the morning. And then we have people who take who buy takeouts and those will be served at 1130. They will come and get their takeouts. You're gonna be serving approximately a hundred. Last year we did a hundred and twenty people. So far in just takeouts we have almost forty takeouts. Wow. That's a lot. That's a lot. Yeah. So okay you brought some brownies today. Break up the brownies. Is dessert your best? Yes it is. What are the brownies? And the brownies has chocolate, eggs, flour, and sugar and butter and that's vanilla and that's what the brownie is. So this tasty. Do you want to see them? Yeah. Okay. You want to split a brownie because you can't have a whole one? You want a whole one? Yeah. All right. It looks yummy. This was actually on the menu on Wednesday. Yeah. On the menu. Oh so every Wednesday you do. You all women? Yeah, sure. I think this one. Every Wednesday you do the meals. So explain. Thank you. I'll explain a little bit about the meal that you do on Wednesday. Okay so Wednesday's meals basically like I said five years ago we were looking for a niche for Mindy to occupy her time because we're with each other six hours a day and you can only walk around the mall so many times. Yeah because that mall, my opinion in the mall in Barry Mumpila, they used to be a big restaurant there. They don't have it no more. Open one. Yeah. So we figured out that Mindy liked to cook but she was afraid of burning herself and afraid of cutting herself. So when we first first started it she was afraid to even turn on the stove and do anything around the stove. So over the last five years she will use the knives now. She will turn the stove on, she will put stuff in the oven, take things out of the oven, and take hot pots and drain the water out. So she's and as you saw on the last show she works on the grill. So she has come, she is. Do you teach her safety with you know having a potholder's hair if she needs it or what about cutting with knives? I mean how does that work with the safety with her? I'm usually with her doing knives also. So we'll both be chopping at the same time and if her fingers get too close I'll show her different things to show her how to keep her fingers from getting nicked. And we also do when she's carrying the knife she knows that she has to walk with it down instead of walking with it up. So that not saying that she's going to fall but in case she falls it doesn't injure. Yeah it doesn't injure her. Now so what has been the previous menus like what are some of the menus that you have on Wednesdays? So what have we done men? Do you remember some of them? Some of them. What did we do last week? Last week we did. I don't remember. With guacamole. Oh we we did Taco Bar. We did Taco Bar. Okay. And we did ground beef and ground beef and and hamburg. We usually have either turkey or beef for those who can't have the extra fat of the beef. Did you guys work out the menu based on cost? We actually decide on the menu and then go from there. Yeah. We shop around a lot. You know one week we'll shop at Price Shopper because something's on sale there. One week we'll stop shop at Shaw's because there's a sale there. It just depends on the sales and a lot of times we will look beforehand to because you can you can view the flyers online a lot of times and we'll figure that out. She also buys things when they're on sale and stores them. Yeah. So this is a good thing because you should have a budget. You're working on kitchen safety. What is your opinion about people with special needs cooking and getting out there and being independent? They just need a chance. They need somebody to believe that they can do it. For the most part a lot of times we've grown up with this mentality because they're special. They can't do anything. We're all good because you never know because there are I'll give an example. Kitchen nightmares. There was a I mean I mean I mean not kitchen nightmares. Master chef. One of the seasons season three there was a woman Christine huh she was completely blind. Okay. And she passed and did this and became master chef. So what's your opinion about people with special needs in the corner and field? I think it's great. I mean somebody's given them an opportunity. Somebody has given them an opportunity to expand their horizons whereas years ago I mean years ago they wouldn't. Talk about DDS. Yeah I have an older brother that is okay. Is three years older than I am and he was at Brandon training school. I mean back then people were stigmatized you have a learning disability you're not going to shelter the workshop. Yep and they weren't they weren't allowed to do a lot of the stuff. I'm giving Mindy the opportunity to find a different areas and different things that she can do. Encouraging her. In your opinion do you want to explore more culinary opportunities? Do you know what that means? No I don't. Okay he wants to know. Do you want to expand Mindy's lunchbox? Cook more. Yes I do. I like I want to cook. Yeah yeah. Challenge going around maybe. Because he does give. I've read his blogs and he does give people with disabilities chances in the kitchen. Who knows you might. Go on tap. But what do you see this more no I have besides Mindy have you worked on help helping to train helping to work with other people especially or does she help does she work just with me yeah she sometimes has friends that come down to help out with her and I'm training everybody I'm okay the other participants in the program do they help Mindy what do you mean this program that Mindy does yeah no no my my point is I'm trying to see about oh friends helping friends group no in other words when Mindy cooks mm-hmm on Wednesday mm-hmm is it only her cooking or is there other people helping with it within the preparation mostly it's Mindy it's just Mindy and I once in a while she'll have friends come down and they want something to do and if she's got a really big big meal or a lot of different components that need to be done then if they ask what is the biggest meal that you've done that is the biggest meal we have catered once for the GMSA board meeting a long time we mount support support services yeah self-advocate green self-advocate yeah yeah okay so let me just we have a couple minutes left remember this is pre-tapes don't call this this is gonna air after but you're going to have the menu is going to be roast pork roast turkey roast veggies toss salad green bean casserole one of my favorites mashed potatoes homemade gravy cranberry sauce pies not just one pie not just pumpkin but you're gonna have pecan and apple don't forget the lemonade the tea the coffee on tickets available with door is it is this you have to have reservations no you don't know I just I just like putting that so we know a ballpark how many people are coming we can we take walk walk-ins and again if you can't afford you won't turn anyone away nobody yeah because everybody deserves a meal anyway um maybe we'd like to know what is her future goals you're gonna keep maybe so much box open bring more brownies he also paints too so I do a little bit about that we have a couple minutes left um I like I like to paint you know when I do my painting everybody likes it because I do a good job on it there's no this Rosie on Rosie's phone she has this one that I did it's a long canvas and it has a scarecrow on it me and Rosie was working on that for a while 30 30 hours 30 hours 30 hours to do that it's like a four-foot tall by four by three Mindy is also now the treasurer of herself advocate group I'm a new treasurer yeah a new treasurer yeah and she was speaking at the legislative breakfast yesterday I was and I did awesome I did good okay yeah well we didn't cook but yeah okay anyway anyway thank you for joining us yeah I'm able to cook for more information on on this meal or any other meals that Mindy cooks you can call for 802 479 2502 that number again is 479 2502 this puts it in to able to cook happy Thanksgiving to everyone in their families and I'm Lauren Silas I'm on see you next time when the next able to cook stay cooking