Update. Grandpa says to wait a while. He is overwhelmed right now, learning how to care for his wife and himself.

I looked at the "Absolute Beginner's Cookbook." It seems promising, but as one reviewer points out, you have to know the names of kitchenware. It talks about "saucepan, skillet, doubleboiler, Dutch oven" without explaining what they are. (I learned just recently what exactly a Dutch oven is.)

Digression: Once I read a book called "Adopting the Older Child." The author told the story of a girl aged eleven, newly-adopted and trying to fit into a comfortable, middle-class home. She was willing to help out in the kitchen, but didn't know the names of anything in it. When asked to hand Mom a skillet, a spatula, a bowl, she was useless. How many of us could figure out what the child's problem was?

Poor kid. When I read that, I began to understand what cultural deprivation is. And I wonder if my friend's grandson will have the same problem. I'll check it out tactfully.