If I was in the kitchen getting ready to make dinner, I would always ask Mom if she wanted to come in and help. I would set some cookbooks on the counter and we would have tea. She would usually pick one of the soup cookbooks that I picked up from thrift stores. They have great pictures and larger print that she would read the recipe out loud, then tell me whether we should make that soup or not.
We made a lot of those soups. She would cut potatoes or carrots or mushrooms or onions. She was always very handy with a knife. I hardly ever saw her use a cutting board. She would hold it in her hand and cut it. I still can’t do that. When I noticed she was having some difficulty, we would par boil carrots and other dense veggies so she could use a butter knife.
Since my mom loved cooking and eating, colorful cookbooks were great for her. And it wasn’t just her sitting in a corner looking at them. We interacted with her and it was always interesting. What type of books would be good for your loved one?