 Hi, I'm Loren Silent. Welcome to this new pilot program called Able to Cook on Orca Media, which will air on Channel 15, Comcast Cable. Able to Cook is a new program that is and will focus on cooking for and about people with special needs. What you're about to see in this pilot is a person by the name of Mindy Sprague. She used to be so afraid of the kitchen she couldn't even deal with knives or hot objects. Now she cooks for Washington County. This is Able to Cook, the first episode. Stay tuned. All that and much more when Able to Cook starts right now. Washington. Yeah, Washington. Yeah, I know. Yeah, I just want to make sure you're just up there and dirty or nothing. What made you want to start cooking or why do you like cooking? Well, I like cooking because I'm good at it. I'm good at it. And anytime I cook, I get excited about it and happy. But if it's a lot, cooking makes me feel good. Do you follow recipes? Yeah, I got my own recipe book and I follow it. Whatever it's in my recipe book, I do slow Canadian stuff. I like to cook homemade mac and cheese and meatloaf because meatloaf is my favorite. I love meatloaf. I have to come back here when they will do it. Oh, yeah, that'd be awesome. I'm a good cook and Rosie's a good cook, too. Rosie's a good cook, too. Okay, well, the blade, the handle blade, yeah, you can just rinse it off. Just like this because it's very, very sharp. I'll leave it right there. I'll leave it right there. If I get done with it, I'll leave it right there. I don't like cooking. Cooking is my fun thing to do. One of the things, other types of things, right? Yeah, I do. Yeah. I mean, other tasks. I heard that you paint, you've done other... Oh, I have Rosie took a couple pictures. The painting I did, I go up to, what is it? Summer Street. Summer Street and I paint. And everybody loves my paint and they go on, they're like what I do or anything. She even has one hung up over on there. And I have one over there hanging up on that wall over there. And I have one over there hanging up on that wall over there that me and Rosie did together. And Rosie, on Rosie's phone, she has this one that I did. It was so beautiful. It was a mountain one that I did. It's very pretty. So, Min, when you're done with that one. Yeah, we made these yesterday. They are for the ice cream sundaes. It is eight cups of chocolate chips. There's cocoa powder in that too? No, just chocolate chips. Some ice-cream chocolate chips. We do a cup of sugar. Six eggs Min? Six eggs. Yeah. Six eggs. Yeah. Bacon soda. Yeah. And we do a cup, a cup of butter or margarine. Yeah. And they're very, very fudgy. As you can tell by the way the... The reason why I ask cocoa powder is that, you know, they make the extra chocolate. Oh, you haven't tried these. These are really, really, really good. We tend to try and keep everything homemade. Yes. Not out of a box. That makes a lot of sense. Especially with all the preservatives that are in the stuff that's in boxes. And people might have allergies. Yeah. So we keep it very simple. And no hidden stuff. No what? No hidden stuff. What is a typical, I mean... Typical meal? Because you know, food goes up all the time. Well, this meal itself is $80. Yeah. That's typical grocery shopping. Yeah. She spends anywhere from $50 to $80, depending on the ingredients. Come back for the meatloaf. I will give you a small sample of the brownie. Go for it. When Mindy first started it, she did have like $30 stipend to help. But that only lasted for like three months. And then... $30 for three months. That's a... because the way food steams works, they don't give people a lot of... if you're on food stamps, they don't give people a lot of food stamps. Well, this was through the agency. They would give her $30 to spend on activities. And she happened to use it for her cooking activities. So that was that, yeah. Yeah, that's done. Pick it up and put it in. All right, cool. And then... So basically, at the end, you take the husk off. We give it to that, give it to everybody else, and they deal with it. All right, great. And this is for some some other friends of Mindy's. Actually, every Wednesday Mindy has a meal. Yeah. And sells it to everybody in the building. Awesome. And it's $5 a meal. And she charges an extra for a drink. And that's how you... it helps fun. That's how she funds it. That's great. She takes the... Entrepreneur, huh? Oh, yeah. I'm always capable by the grill. Yeah. When Mindy first started with me, she was afraid to go near the stove and afraid to be near the grill. Serious, yeah. Hold up. It's a little bright. Okay. And then you close the lid, Mindy. And then you're gonna come... What temperature to cook it at and all of that? Yeah, we do a lot of eyeballing, but the ovens, she knows what to put it on. The temperature to put it on. Does she know the thermometer at all? Because I'm just asking, because... She actually haven't done thermometers with her, because we don't have one. A lot of it is just checking to see if chicken is pink in the center, checking by using this method, like you hold the fingers together like this. Yeah. And different ways. You can tell by the density of the meat. But for example, other states like New York, you wouldn't be able to do that. You would have to have a thermometer. A thermometer, because they deal with temperature. Yeah. Noodles at 165 is... And chicken is 150. No, pork is 160. No. Pork is 155. 150 to 155. Chicken is 165 to 170. Now, if you want to stay well done, then it's a little bit extra. Right. But it just depends. The reason why they turn around and they instill temperatures a lot, is because they just don't want to keep them sick, period. Right. She does not mix vegetable with meat. Pork and... Yeah. I was thinking about the harvest meal. What exactly is that? So this will be our fourth year. Every year, we donate the money to the Coke Committee to help people during the holiday season. What the Coke Committee does is they take a list from each case manager of the most neediest consumers that they have, and then they try and help them with a meal for the holiday. If there's kids in the family, they try with presents also. Can you deliver meals to people? No. We actually give the money to the Coke Committee and they go out and buy it. Last year, we were able to help 19 families. Yeah. The first year we donated $636 free and clear that's after her costs. The second year was $856 free and clear after her costs. We're not really going to mention prices because this is public access. Right. Yeah. And actually last year we were able to do $1,031. Oh, yeah. We can mention that. It's donation, yeah. Yeah, it's just a donation to the Coke Committee to help these needy families. Yeah. Yeah. Because warm clothes and food is a... Unnecessity. Yeah. Yeah. You can't do without it. You got people that are buying these cell phones, huge bills on cell phones and not putting food on the table. Yes. That's something. Yes. That's... That's a... Oops. Keep rolling it over. You're good. Just roll it over. There you go. There's that one. I'm sure kids have a little burnt corn. Oh, yeah. That's a good thing. Okay, so roll it. Yep. Now the next one. I'm always K-formed with this one. Yeah. Okay, the next one. Oh, I'm handling good. You can do it. I'm doing good so far. That's okay to have a little burnt. Yeah. Actually, you want it too because you want more char on the outside of the husk. Yeah. The more it's done. Yes, the more it's cooked inside. So we tend to char both sides and then put it in the food. That one's kind of... So roll it the other way if we can't do this that way. One of my ultimate goals on TV is to... There we go. Look at that. Mindy has actually catered the GMSA board meeting. Yeah. This one? Yep. Roll that one too. That one fall. Yep. Stay. Don't be fine. In a lot of different countries like Israel, for example, they teach culinary and hotel management for people with disabilities. There we go. Okay, then close it up and you're good. Your name and spell of pleasing your retirement? Okay, my name is Janet Furmeister and I am a case manager at Washington County Mental Health. Mindy has been doing a bunch of here for a few years now and it has been great for her to learn independent living skills so that she might someday be able to live on her own. But she's learned how to use the stove in oven when she had not been able to do so in the past. So it's been really great for building her self-confidence. Plus learning how to cook more responsibly. She has been cooking really healthy meals. Today might not be an example of that, but it's been great. Don't say that. It's a meal. So anyway, what else would you like to know? What type of, I mean, so you're a social worker, right? Within this program? I don't know really how to answer that. I guess we deal with social work, but... No, what is your title? Case Manager. Your case manager. So before that, I was a community support specialist. What? Or residential support specialist. So working one-on-one, we really want to engage our consumers in the community, doing what they want to do, and being a part of the community. So also we help out. There are some of our consumers who live on their own, so I would help out on a daily basis with preparing meals, maintaining a household. Or basically ADL skills. Teaching ADL skills. Yes, independent living skills and also accompanying somebody to the doctors to help explain whatever procedure is happening. As far as Mindy's capabilities, so you've seen her, you know, reaching for the stars, because I mean from what I understand, she used to be afraid of the kitchen. Can you explain a little bit more about that? So using sharp objects such as knives, she was very worried about doing that. She was worried about burning herself. So she is now able to use a grill, which is absolutely amazing, in addition to the stove and the oven. So her skills, her self-confidence have just blossomed. It's been great. Okay. Just to help put more on the grill. Yeah, I know. So sugar, sugar. Yeah, I'm just letting her. Sugar, sugar. Just a thought, just trying to help. Yeah. I don't know everything there, but you know, he stays, stays, stays. Well, yeah. It's nerve. Yep. Somebody's like watching. You got hot dogs too? Yes, we have hot dogs too. Hot dogs are in the refrigerator. Yeah. Do you want to get hot dogs too? Sure, want to get hot dogs too? Here, I'll take this. You go get the hot dogs. Hot dogs are in the refrigerator. Yep. I'm just going to move these around then. Yep. Sorry about making you guys nervous. Making you guys nervous? You're not making me nervous. Making you nervous? A little bit. Because she wants to have everything perfect. And it's okay. It's okay. And I tell her there's people all around. Yep. Well, trust me, when I get coming in and see I am... Well, there's nothing in there. I mean, you could make mistakes, you're good, but... Nobody's perfect. And I have to leave that program, because my wife works in a studio. So we have problems with houses and so you hear. Yeah, good payment. So we need something to open. Do we have a knife? Can you get one? I can get a sharp knife for it. Okay. Make sure you carry it down. Hey, Miss Dottie. Hi, Dottie. You having lunch today? I don't know if I'll have time. I would like to, but I can't say that I am. Okay. Well, depends what you're cooking, so what time? 1130. Yep. Okay, then I'm going to try and make it back. Dottie, if it goes over. I just flipped over four of them. All you did? What you can do is you can put the hot dogs on the top. And Tom, I can do that. And I'll definitely take a plate of stuff. No, you can. You can. Yeah, I was late. Yes. You can have some. Put it right on the top rack. Get closer. You can get closer. Yep. Kind of slimy. That's okay. There you go. And if you want me to show you something? What really? If you turn them... Like that. Oh, do it like that. And set it in that way to get a little more on there. Do it like that. Yeah. Take this and just go just like that. And we also have cheddar cheese or an American cheeseburger. Yeah, we do. And the cheese is all around. That's okay. Don't worry about it. It's still on there. It is. Even if it falls on the next rack, it's still on the grill. It is. Yeah, one of the things that when I was going through and going through my Wednesday, it tried to have gloves near a grill because they would be part of the grill. Yep. They become part of the grill. One more I would do. Last one. Okay. Oh, like that. I think do you have one more in there? Yeah, I do. Yep. You can do the last one on there. And this... Oh, that's too close. That's okay. So we can take this. Take this one. And just go like that with it. Okay. Just space them out a little bit. You're gonna wrap them together. Well, if they're touching, they steam instead of cook. Oh, they do. Instead of grill. All right. We're getting grill marks already. So, see how the blood is pulling on top? The blood. Yep. See the redness on top? Oh, yeah, I see it, yeah. That means the meat is cooking through on the inside. Oh, it is? Yep. It is? Yep. See, like right here? See how it's all pulled on top? Oh, see right here? That's blood. Yep. And you can take this and flip that one over. This one? Yep. Slide it under. Can do it? You can do it. Slide it right under and flip. Get it ready to reel. Oh, wait. Flip it in towards. Yep. You got it. You can actually do the middle one. There's one? Nope. The middle one. Yep. Try and do it? Yep. You can. Uh-oh. Let me help you. That was a nice pull. That's okay. We'll just get it right back on there. The strokes are easily eaten. Oh, yeah. Don't flip those over yet? Nope. They're not quite ready. See how they're just starting to pull? Oh, yeah. By these, we can flip over. Right. All right. So it always has to cook. When they're just starting to pull, that means on the back side they're gonna be cooked. Forcing the meat up there. Forcing the meat up to it. The blood up there. Okay. Yep. The light right here. These are almost. Are they almost done? Those are almost. You can tell when they're almost done, Rosie. Yep. They're almost done. They're almost done. Remember those. Okay. And if you, with hamburgers, if you flip them over too much, they dry out. Oh, they do, Rosie? They do. Oh, that's good. So we can probably turn this down a little bit. Yep. So, and we need to have another take. Yeah, we do. We do, yeah. Yeah, I don't, what time is it? 11, 31. Okay. So why don't we see if we can get it to. Okay. So those two in the back, they look very well done. Oh boy. You can do it. Yeah, they've been flipped. I flipped those. I got it. Okay. And that one there. I can do it. Yes, you can. I turned it down. We're just, it's just a flare up from the green. You can do it. You can do it. Remember these chefs burn themselves when they flip. Yep. You're underneath the grill. So, see right here? Slide it there. Push. And bring it out. Good. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. One more. See if I can do it. I know you can do it. Look at the back one. Mm-hmm. Flip it. Flip it. Yes, yes, yes, yes. You got it, girl. See, go me a thumb's up. Okay. So do you want to get some cheese? Michael, do you want cheese with your hamburger? You got it. Okay. Do you want cheese? So there's American cheese and cheddar cheese. Both of them are in the fridge. So bring them both out. All right. Cool. Go for it. Do you want cheddar or American? And you're gonna have it all, right, cut? And did you say American on yours or you didn't care? That's my brother's brother. What is your opinion on the whole cooking thing and Mindy's capabilities? Yeah. I've been very impressed with what I've seen today and what I've heard today. So I heard that to begin with Mindy was uncomfortable around any sort of stove at all, wouldn't touch it, was afraid to try and cook where there was heat. And now I've just watched her cooking on a grill with pretty big flame flare-ups and just simply stepping away. And then as soon as she was told it was fine, stepping right back in and demonstrating that she has made leaps and bounds towards, you know, feeling comfortable with the work she's doing. So with your opinion, she can go farther and possibly maybe even do a catering, but more catering? I mean, yeah, obviously with the work that they're doing when they do their harvest meal and they serve, you know, 40 pounds of turkey and equal or more, I'm sorry, 40 pounds of pork and equal or more of turkey, it's obviously something she can do and do more of. Yeah, let's put it here. Go, sir. I'm all about the bright colors, love it. He's getting the food. Any butter for the corn? They're getting it out of the fridge. Hey, Missy? I mean, Rosie?