Tag: recipes

When life robs you of what you love to do and an unusual but delicious chicken enchilada recipe

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

Oh, my, here I go with another Elvis theme, but I didn’t want to share my sketches or bad paintings, so here it is. I started this project in 2006 when my sister-in-law and I visited the quilt museum in Paducah, Kentucky. The quilts there were true works of art, and one of the winners was a Beatles quilt. She gave me the idea of making an Elvis quilt, so that’s how it began. As time went on, I got lazy and just bought some fabric withElvis to fill in the squares. I did not do the actual quilting–I just drew the patterns and pieced the quilt together and paid someone else to do the quilting.

It is not a work of art, but it was fun, and if you know anything about Elvis, you will recognize the symbolism in the squares. The gold records, the teddy bear, the Bible (the black book), and so on.

People who enjoy arts and crafts have a need to create. They see the world differently, and probably they are people who feel deeply and who contemplate life a little differently. They (we) get craft ideas from the most random places. Anything–even a blade of grass–can generate an idea.

Just as sports fans are the competitive types who thrive on watching game after game after game and never seem to tire of it, we artsy folks either stick with a particular creative outlet or jump on the trend bandwagons to try. new things.

Me, it all started with coloring and sketching at a very young age. I used to draw, color, and cut out my own paper dolls. I created my own comic books and magazines. Then, at the age of ten, I began to learn to sew, using Mom’s old treadle sewing machine. One of my favorite classes in high school was home ec, and the sewing continued as well as learning how to cook, another skill Mom taught me at a young age.

The college years brought cross-stitch and macramé into my life. I made things for myself and others, and Mom loved the purses and towel rods I gave her. A cake decorating class (thank you, Nancy, for telling me about that and doing that with me) taught me skills I still know today. The sketching continued and expanded to oil painting, acrylics, and even watercolors.

Vision loss has robbed me of the ability to sew, do cross-stitch, even sketch like I’d like to do. But I’ve discovered the round looms on which to make toboggans (caps), so I do that. I do abstract water colors, fit only for me to see because they’re not good, although my precious granddaughters seem to think my Nemo water colors are pretty cool. The innocence of childhood, right?

When I was teaching Spanish, I taught the students to made god’s eyes, using dowel rods and yarn, and it hit me yesterday that I could do that despite my vision issues, so I went on the Walmart website and ordered the 8-inch dowel rod pack. I don’t know what I’ll do with them when I finish them, but the process will be fun.

My point in all this? Sometimes life robs you of things you enjoy, and you have to search for ways to continue. We’ve all heard about Beethoven’s hearing loss and how he composed masterful pieces, but most of us are not a genius in what we do. But that doesn’t mean we can’t explore other ways to enjoy what we love.

Sure, I’d love to be able to sew again. I’d love to be able to sketch as I used to do. That was and is my first love. Sure, it makes me wistful and even teary at times. But I keep doing what I can while I can. If there’s anything vision loss has taught me, it is that you can never count on the future. All you can do is count on today.

But, hey, even totally blind people can read this blog? How? There are accessibility features on phones and computers that read things aloud to them. Even totally blind people can cook. Really! Just watch some videos sometime. And the recipe I’m about to share–well, even if you think you can’t cook, you can do this!

Chicken Enchiladas (from my husband’s aunt Martha)

5 to 6 chicken breasts

One 8 oz. block cream cheese, softened

One small onion, chopped

One can green chiles

6 or 7 soft flour tortillas, taco or fajita size

1/4 stick butter

16 oz. whipping cream

8 to 10 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Boil chicken until tender, probably 15 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.

Sauté onion in butter (I’m sure this could be optional, you could leave out the onion if you wanted) and add onion and green chiles to softened cream cheese. Mix well. I use a hand mixer for this step, but if the cream cheese is soft enough, you could use just a spoon. Shred chicken and add to mixture. Fill each tortilla with the mixture, fold, and place fold size down in a sprayed 9 x 13 glass dish. Pour whipping cream to cover well. Top with shredded cheese and bake in pre-heated oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

The Pickle Ball craze and a buttermilk pie recipe

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

Mention “kitchen” to people these days, and their thoughts may not go to that room in your house where food is prepared. Instead, they might envision the area in front of the net of a pickle ball court.

That’s right. The kitchen is part of a pickle ball court. I have no idea why.

Nor do I have any idea why it has taken so many years for this game to catch on. After all, three men in Washington (state) invented it way back in 1965. I never heard of it until recent years, and chances are, you hadn’t either.

But to say it is all the rage now is an understatement. My husband loves it. He wasn’t that interested when, a few months into his retirement, a friend invited him to play with a local group. The first outing was enjoyable, but he had to learn the aspects of the game. As time went on, he became passionate about it.

Apparently, he’s not alone. According to the Internet (and who doubts the Internet?), approximately 20 million people in the U.S. currently play pickle ball. My husband and his ever-expanding group of Monday-Wednesday-Friday morning players number around 20 total players although game-day participants are usually less. Most play one or two days a week. He plays three. Go by those courts at night, and they’re crowded with younger players.

You can buy a cheap paddle at Walmart (not recommended if you want to get really good) or go online or to Dick’s to purchase the paddle that will give you the ability to hit the ball most effectively. And while you’re at it, you might want to consider some safety eyewear. Those balls come in pretty hard and fast.

It’s great exercise, no doubt. It’s also a great way to get injured if you’re not careful. Wear the right shoes. Be smart. If you’re 65, you probably don’t need to make a flying dive to hit a ball just to score a point.

You competitive types know what I’m talking about. You tend to lose common sense in the heat of battle. Me, I’m not competitive at all with others. I’m just competitive with myself.

We were in the Philadelphia airport on July 5, and a family sitting near us struck up a conversation. When the wife found out my husband played pickle ball, she told her husband, and he immediately went to my husband’s side and started talking about the game, including showing him videos of equipment and more. They were from California and at least 15 years younger, but that pickle ball connection was like a fraternity or sorority kinship.

I played tennis in high school and college, and I loved racquetball when it was experiencing its own craze. Both seem much less popular, and I have no doubt pickle ball will eventually lose some of its momentum. But for now, it’s all the rage. Go on YouTube and look at all the instructional videos, the competitions (I think even former tennis players like Andre Agassi?), the tournaments, explanations of scoring, and more. It’s all there. But, of course, everything is on YouTube. What did we ever do without it?

To all you pickle ball players, I’m glad you are doing something active instead of playing video games or being couch potatoes watching one streaming show after another. I’m glad you retirees have discovered a cheaper, less frustrating alternative to golf, and likely better cardio exercise unless you walk the course, which I doubt anyone does.

As I said, I believe something will replace it someday. Until then, enjoy. And burn lots of calories to offset the calories in this easy-to-make buttermilk pie!

Buttermilk Pie (this came from my husband’s grandmother’s recipe collection, but I think it is now on All Recipes)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

1/2 cup Bisquick

1/3 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

Grease or spray pie pan. Mix all ingredients and pour into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Cursive writing–important or not? Plus a fresh apple cake recipe perfect for fall

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

I once heard a man about my age say that the United States was dumbing down education because cursive writing is no longer taught.

You may agree. I don’t.

(Photo explanation to those of you new to my blog. I am visually impaired and cannot see to do things like people with sight, so I use devices. The device I use to write things like I the above picture is a CCTV.)

Cursive writing evolved over many years and became popular to use because the letters were connected, meaning the writer didn’t have to lift the pen from the page except between words. It became common in the 17th century, but in modern times, it is no longer taught in many schools.

Why? Well, other than being able to read someone else’s cursive writing, there’s no need anymore. Sure, we think we need it for our signatures, but not really. Our printed signature can work just as well. And yes, someone will have to learn it to ensure a future of scholars who can read and interpret documents written in cursive. Kind of like us relying on people who know Hebrew and Greek to translate the Bible or people who know Latin to translate ancient documents written in the language. They study it and interpret it for us. I took Latin for two years in high school and remember very little, but at the time our school’s Latin Club was more fun than the Modern Foreign Language Club, so naturally I took Latin. And at the time I was considering entering the medical field, specifically nursing.

My point? People in medicine and the legal fields benefit from knowing Latin as it is the foundation for many terms in those areas. But the average person manages life just fine without it.

That’s the same with cursive writing. It had its use at one time, but it’s no longer needed. When living in a world where you can speak the words and a computer types them for you and in a world in which forms are often e-mailed for e-signatures, it’s just not necessary.

Maybe you’re reading this and disagreeing with me. That’s your right, and I respect that. But you know…I never learned to use an abacus. I never learned to spin yarn on a spinning wheel or make homemade soap or use a loom to weave fabric. There are people who know how to do those things, but machinery has replaced the human worker, whether we like it or not. Machinery is faster and more efficient. The human touch is more special and valued because of its rarity.

If there is anything in modern education that concerns me, it’s the fact students are not required to memorize math facts. Ask any eighth grader to subtract 25 from 105 mentally, and it’s likely they can’t do it. They’ve depended on calculators too long. That bothers me, but then I ask myself, why? If machines do it for them or charts are available to look things up, why does it bother me? I try to think logically about this, but I’ll admit I’m still bothered by it. I guess I’m showing my age and preconceived notions in this case.

And just as there are fewer people learning or knowing cursive writing, there are fewer people cooking and baking. But for those of you who still enjoy cooking your own food, here’s one of Mom’s recipes that is a family favorite. The best part is the cake doesn’t dry out.

Fresh Apple Cake

1 1/2 cups oil (I didn’t say this was a light dish)

2 cups sugar (I didn’t say it was low calorie)

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

3 cups peeled and chopped apples (I use Granny Smith)

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients with a large spoon. Press into 9 x 13 casserole dish, top with pecans (optional), and bake one hour.

Icing:

Mix 1 cup milk (whole or 2%) and 2 cups powdered sugar. Pour over cake while cake is still warm. I usually heat the milk and sugar to dissolve lumps and pour over cake so it is more of a glaze than an icing.

Why do we enjoy the things we do? Plus a homemade bread recipe

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

This is an old picture of our oldest granddaughter, but I just thought it was too cute not to share. It always makes me smile.

It has been fun watching her grow and change, and it’s even more interesting to see the ways she and her younger sister are alike…and different.

I get it, we’re all different. That’s not what I mean by my question. The question is: what makes us become interested in things? Is it the influence of someone in our lives? Is it because of a book we read, a movie we saw, or some other outside influence?

You’re probably confused by my questions, so maybe some examples would work better.

My husband is a sports FAN. Notice the capital letters. He has always loved to play and/or watch football, basketball, and baseball, and he even watches some soccer games when the World Cup is going on. A little hockey occasionally. His interest in sports is not unusual since many share his passion. But no one else in his family was that way. His parents didn’t watch sports. His older brother didn’t enjoy sports. Yet he, as a very young boy, became enamored with baseball first and then other interests followed.

Why is/was he so different from his family?

I had an artistic interest from a very young age. I spent hours drawing and coloring. As I got older, I loved play-acting. I spearheaded neighborhood plays which I wrote and my friends and I performed for our parents in our living room. From the moment I learned to read, I loved it. My brother was an avid reader, so maybe his influence affected me, but no one else in the family had my artistic bent.

And no one else loved horses like I did. I used to think I loved horses because of the books I read, but I realized I loved horses before I could read. We didn’t own horses. But I was drawn to horses (and still am) the way my husband was drawn to sports.

I love the Kentucky Derby, but I’m learning some things about horse racing that don’t sit well with me. Some aspects are not humane. I won’t go into that now. More research is required.

I could go on and on. The musician born into a family of non-musicians. The doctor whose family members had no interest in science or medicine. You get the idea.

Maybe you don’t think about these things, but I’m a thinker. I’m a questioner. I often want to know “why,” although often there is no firm answer to that.

Our oldest granddaughter has that imaginative, artistic bent, more pronounced than many her age. She loves make-believe and dress-up. I know what you’re thinking. That’s not unusual for a little girl. No, it’s not, but her fascination with songs from a very young age, from being soothed by “Somewhere over the Rainbow” while a very young infant…yes, I believe she has an artsy bent. Her younger sister? Well, if she doesn’t grow up to be a skydiver and a mountain climber and anything else requiring physical skill and a daredevil attitude, I will be amazed.

I sometimes think our interests, like our personalities, are somewhat genetic. Maybe my husband’s great-grandfather had a competitive spirit and was involved with whatever activity was competitive back then. Maybe my great-great-grandmother drew pictures or wrote stories or had a flair for the dramatic. And maybe my love of horses stems from being a descendent in a long line of farmers who loved their service animals as well as relied upon them.

I guess this blog is pointless. I’m writing about something that has no answer, something most people wouldn’t even think about. But for a curious mind like mine, it’s a natural path to follow. It’s okay if I don’t have the answer. It’s just something that intrigues me.

Well, if you’ve made it this far and are bored out of your mind by. now, maybe your interest is piqued by a homemade bread recipe that does not require having to feed a starter! I’ve been making this for so many years, I have it memorized and have long forgotten where I got it. The bread is soft and perfect as an accompaniment to meals or just to eat by itself.

Homemade yeast bread

Ingredients:

2 packages active dry yeast (I use Rapid Rise)

1 cup shortening

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

2 cups water

2 eggs, beaten with a fork

5 to 6 cups all-purpose or bread flour (I use bread flour usually)

Instructions:

In a large, deep mixing bowl, pour in two packages of yeast. Add sugar and one cup of warm water. Mix with wooden or silicon spoon.

On medium high heat, in a small saucepan bring one cup of water and the salt to a boil. Set off heat and add one cup of shortening, stirring constantly to melt the shortening. Add this mixture to the water, yeast, and sugar mixture in the bowl. Stir and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Slowly stir in beaten eggs with spoon or whisk until well mixed.

Slowly stir in flour, one cup at a time, being sure to mix well. Once the mixture has reached the consistency that creates a dough ball, stop adding flour. I don’t measure the flour–I usually just “eyeball” it. I like it when the dough ball is moist and no extra flour is visible.

Cover mixture and allow to rise for at least 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down dough and divide into two equal parts. You cn refrigerate one part for several days if desired or make two loaves.

Melt butter in a bowl. Break off pieces of the dough (about the size of a ping-pong ball) and dip in the melted butter. Drop into a bundt pan and repeat until all dough is used, being sure to distribute evenly in the pan. You will have more than one layer.

Cover and allow to rise for at least 1 1/2 hours. Pre-heat oven to 350 and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

A variation:

After dipping into melted butter, roll each piece in a cinnamon sugar mixture before dropping into bundt pan.

It’s Elvis Week 2025. Try this Elvis Gooey Butter Cake to celebrate~

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

It’s hard to believe that 48 years after his death, there are still enough Elvis fans in the world to converge upon Memphis and participate in activities celebrating the life and legacy of Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley Enterprises is, no doubt, a marketing machine that has kept the legend alive for multiple generations.

I’ve never been to Elvis Week, although my youngest son and I did go to Memphis one year to go to the expo where we met June Juanico, Elvis’s Mississippi girlfriend in 1955 or so (not sure of the year), Bill Black’s children (Bill Black was the bass player who played with Elvis on Sun Records), and others connected to the Elvis world.

Elvis fans can do the week in -person or virtually. I’ve never done those either.

To be honest, I’m not the Elvis fan (attic) people think I am. It’s just that because I once was a super Elvis fan, I know a lot about him, so it’s natural for me to talk about him and his life. I have no illusions about the man, and I never wanted to have him as a boyfriend. My family doubts that, but when I was a little girl, I just wanted to be in his circle, maybe have him for a brother.

Not so with celebrity crushes Kurt Russell and Lee Majors. I wanted to grow up and marry them. Well, not Lee Majors. Heath Barkley. If you’re a baby boomer, you know what I mean.

Back to Elvis Week. The reason it’s held annually at this time is because Elvis died on August 16. When the week began, they had multiple events including “talks on Elvis” in which people in Elvis’s circle shared their memories and experiences, an Elvis Tribute Artist contest, and special tours of Graceland. Those things still take place today. In addition, they have constant music by performers singing Elvis songs, special tours (for a mere $500 this year, you could pay to go on a private tour of Graceland headed by former girlfriend Linda Thompson or Elvis’s longtime friend Jerry Schilling), or you could pay to go by bus to Tupelo, Mississippi, to visit Elvis’s childhood home until the age of 13. Since its inception, the week has concluded with a candlelight vigil on August 15 during which hundreds if not thousands of fan hold a candle and walked to the gravesites beside the mansion. In the early days, that vigil took all night. I’m not sure of the attendance these days.

If you’ve never been to Memphis in August, let me warn you: it’s HOT and HUMID. All caps to stress. Keep hydrated if you go there!

You get the idea. Go on YouTube after the week is over and see what fan-made videos you can find. They’re pretty interesting.

Speaking of Lee Majors…he and Elvis were friends (they met while Elvis was making a movie he hated Clambake and Lee was on The Big Valley) and last year he was a guest speaker for the conversations on Elvis. It was pretty interesting, and you can find it on YouTube. Lee, bless his heart, is now 86 years old and not the “Big Valley” hunk he once was, but it’s still interesting, even if you’re not an Elvis fan.

But whether you loved, hated, or felt neutral about Elvis the entertainer/person, you might like this recipe. I found it when going through Mom’s stash of recipes. I’d never made it before yesterday, so it was a true experiment. My husband loves it. If I loved sweets, I’d love it, but I’m not a fan of sweets. A couple of bites is all I can manage. I get nauseated if I eat more than that. I know, I’m weird. I admit it.

Here’s the recipe:

Elvis Gooey Butter Cake

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9 x 13 glass dish with cooking spray.

Ingredients and instructions for crust:

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick of butter, softened

1 egg

Mix well with mixer and press into bottom of 9 x 13 glass casserole dish.

Filling (topping) ingredients and instructions.

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened

1 stick of butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

3 eggs

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 banana

1 box powdered sugar (16 oz.–I used 3 1/2 cups)

Mix cream cheese, butter, vanilla flavoring, and eggs until mixed well to a creamy texture. Add banana (I broke it into pieces before adding) and peanut butter. Mix well. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and mix well between additions.

Using a rubber spatula, spoon over crust and spread evenly. You may need to run water over the spatula or dip it in water to keep mixture from sticking.

Bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

St. Jude Fun(d)raisers and a favorite Mexican dish recipe

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

Memphis, first Saturday of December 2018. Also my first St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital fundraiser. I, along with 26,000 other people, walked/ran that unusually warm December morning to raise money to help fight childhood cancer.

It had been on my bucket list for years, but my hectic schedule kept me from training. I’d been a fitness walker since my twenties, but walking 13.1 miles requires preparation to avoid injury.

It is still one of the highlights of my life.

You may think that is weird, so allow me to explain. Growing up, I was never the athletic type. Oh, I was good at normal childhood things. I rode my bicycle, was an excellent roller skater, and even tetherball champion at my elementary school in Arizona. Softball…very average. Basketball…below average. Tried out for cheerleading…a fiasco.

I didn’t do team sports. Partly because I wasn’t that competitive with others and partly because I was embarrassed. But individual challenges, things that made me compete with myself and set higher goals for myself, were more in my wheelhouse. In college, I swam in the university’s huge indoor pool, jogged on the running track or indoor gym balcony, and played racquetball and tennis. I eventually participated in Jazzercise classes at the health club and purchased a Jane Fonda workout video to do at home.

You get the picture. Although not exactly athletic, I was and am active.

My college service sorority, Gamma Sigma Sigma, participated in an annual fundraising event for St. Jude. Living just a little over two hours north of Memphis, the location of the research hospital, makes St. Jude very well known in our area. So as time went on, and I learned about the annual fundraisers involving running and/or walking in various cities across the country, participating in one of them seemed like the natural thing to do.

I registered as a “hero,” meaning I donated some money and pledged to raise $600 more. Thanks to the generosity of family and friends, I exceeded that goal. I registered as a walker, not a runner, which was important because that determined which group you would be in to start the race. The race consisted of a 5K and a 10K, a half-marathon, and a full marathon. I’m pretty sure it was a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, but you might need to double-check that fact.

We lined up at 8:00 A.M. in front of the FedEX Forum in downtown Memphis. I was supposed to be in corral Q, but my declining vision made me think it was corral O. The full marathon runners were at the from of the crowd.

Every five minutes (I think), a loud horn released each group. Well, when my group was released, EVERYONE was running. The walkers were two corrals back. So guess what I did? Yep, I ran too. The adrenalin was pumping, the excitement was high, the spectators lined up along the entire course were cheering me on. My name was in large letters on the number attached to my shirt, and cries of “Go, Pam” or “You’ve got this, Pam” followed me the entire course.

No, I didn’t run the entire course. I ran a mile then walked a mile or so. The course took us down by the river, through downtown streets, across the St. Jude campus where patients, workers, and parents were cheering us on, and to the finish line at the Memphis Redbirds ballpark. At every mile, local organizations were set up to hand us a small cup of water or Gatorade. Trash cans were set up to toss the empty cups into when finished. And, yes, there were those blue portable potty buildings along the entire course. Oh, also musical entertainment on stages situated at strategic locales. A group f musicians and singers welcomed us to the St. Jude campus.

Running across the campus (no way could I walk with that group cheering me on and thanking me for being a hero–I wasn’t the hero, it was that group that were the heroes) was a moving experience. It reminded me of why I was doing what I was doing. Yes, it was a selfish thing, a bucket list thing to prove I could do it. But it was so much more.

I finished the 13.1 miles in 3 hours 17 minutes. Nothing exceptional, but I was okay with that. I did it. And it was an experience and memory I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I did it virtually in my neighborhood in 2020, but that wasn’t the same as being with all those people in that setting.

Since that time, I’ve done numerous walk/run fundraisers, and I’m doing one again on Sept. 27. If you’d like to donate, go to my Facebook timeline (Pam Watts Harris) and click on the link. And if you’d like to fundraise on your own, search for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Walk/Run Fundraiser Sept. 27, 2025. You can join a team in your area or do it individually as a virtual walker. It’s only 3.1 miles. Piece of cake, right?

We ate Mexican food at an East Memphis restaurant that night, so maybe it’s appropriate I share a homemade chicken quesadilla recipe that’s easy to make.

Baked chicken fajita quesadillas (this recipe makes three quesadillas)

Ingredients:

1 package of chicken tenderloins, usually 1.5 to 2 pounds

1 small red pepper

1 small green pepper

1 small sweet onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

garlic powder

chili powder

1 white queso dip available in supermarkets

Flour tortillas, large taco or fajita size

Instructions:

Bake chicken tenders in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for at least five minutes when done. Remove tendons from each piece and discard. Cut up chicken tenders into chunks or shred by pulling meat apart.

While chicken is baking, Cut peppers and onion into slices. Heat olive oil in skillet on medium high heat and add sliced peppers and onions. Sauté until tender. Sprinkle garlic and chili powders on vegetables (I just guess on this, depends on your personal preference). Add chicken to pepper/onion mixture and more garlic powder and chili powder if desired. Stir well.

Pour queso dip into a microwave-safe bowl and heat until melted.

In a separate skillet on medium high heat, spray with cooking spray and place a tortilla on the pan. Spoon in chicken/pepper/onion mixture one side of the tortilla, and top with two tablespoons melted queso. Immediately bring other side of the tortilla over the mixture and remove with a spatula once both sides are heated. Top with more melted queso if desired.

I usually have salsa, guacamole, and chips to accompany this meal, and you may be able to make more than three quesadillas, depending upon how much chicken you have.

Total time? Maybe 30 minutes. A quick meal for busy lives!

4:15 A.M. thoughts and a great summer dessert recipe

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

My mom started teaching me to cook when I was very young. Really young. As a matter of fact, when I was four or five, I made homemade biscuits because she was sick in bed. Yes, my dad helped me, but she told us how to do it, and I felt very grown-up when I took her the finished product. The problem? I had used a bowl to mix the dough that she used to put my goldfish in when she changed the water in the goldfish bowl. Looks like my dad would have known, but to say he knew nothing about cooking is putting it mildly. I wonder if she figured that out when she took the first bite—dirty fish water taste maybe:

I took home ec, as we called it, my freshman year, and during the cooking semester we prepared and ate a meal during our 60-minute class time. We cooked easy things, but still we cooked. We had homework to make cookies, muffins, biscuits, and cornbread, and we’d bring one sample to our teacher to evaluate. Maybe other girls had their moms do the cooking for them, but I never even asked Mom. I just went by the recipe, and she helped by supervising.

She also started teaching me to sew when I was 12, using an old treadle sewing machine on which I made Barbie clothes. Yes, I was still playing with Barbies at the age of 12. I can confess it now, although it was a deep, dark secret I told no one back then.

So I haven’t let vision loss stop me from cooking. I discovered low-vision cooking aids on Amazon, and I have measuring cups designed for people with low vision, measuring spoons (which were great at first but with the vision decline, I can no longer see without a magnifier), and tactile (bump) dots. The dots are on my oven controls and on frequently used buttons on my microwave. Sure, I make a mess at times, but truth be told, I did that at times even before vision loss!

I still have problems. Yesterday I made guacamole. I used garlic salt accidentally instead of garlic powder, and it was WAY too salty. I ate some of it but had to throw out the rest. I have a Braille labeler that I used to make labels for my spices, but I have gotten lazy about labeling the new ones that replaced the old ones. Now that’s a project I need to do today.

But why was I thinking about all of this at 4:15 this morning and couldn’t fall back asleep? Partly because I was thinking about what topic I’d like to address in my blog. I was thinking about how, as challenging as vision loss is, it would be so much worse to be deaf with no hearing at all. At least vision loss doesn’t keep me from interacting with other people. It doesn’t keep me from enjoying music. To me, being totally deaf would be much worse than totally blind. That’s because I’m a social person, but maybe someone who prefers to be alone or with a very small circle of people would prefer the loss of hearing over the loss of sight.

We’re all different. Yet it would be my hope that anyone facing adversity would be active in searching for solutions to living as normally as possible and finding fulfillment in new areas.

One thing both blind and deaf people can do, though, is cook. So whether you are reading this blog or using Voice Over or Talk Back to read it, I hope you’ll try this recipe. It’s easy, just the kind of stuff we made back in home ec. And, oh, a special thanks in my mom who passed away in 2021–thanks, Mom, for teaching me so much!

Four-Layer Delight

Ingredients and instructions for each layer:

First layer: 1 stick softened (not melted) butter, 1 cup flour (all-purpose or self-rising), 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Mix well and press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for one hour.

Second layer: 1 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened; 1 cup powdered sugar; 1 cup of Cool Whip. Mix well with mixer and spread on top of cooled crush. I use a rubber spatula for this, dipping it occasionally in water to keep the mixture from sticking. You could do the same with a table knife.

Third layer: 2 small packages of Jello instant pudding mix (lemon, chocolate, pistachio, or butterscotch–I use lemon) and 3 cups of milk. Beat well and spread on top of cream cheese layer.

Fourth layer: Cool whip and if desired sprinkle pecans on top. Cover and keep in refrigerator.

Mom’s homemade ice cream…it’s still my favorite

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

Mom loved being a mother and a housewife. When I was growing up, she babysat other people’s children just so I wouldn’t have to go to a baby-sitter. Until I was ten, I had multiple “siblings,” but Cindy was a constant who occasionally spent the night and was even the flower girl in my brother’s wedding.

Mom was an immaculate housekeeper. She used to say that some people couldn’t help being poor, but anybody, rich or poor, could be clean. In the 1960s, housework was more difficult than it is today, especially laundry.

Part of her love of being a housewife revolved around her love of cooking and baking. We never had much junk food in our house. We never had soft drinks on hand, even when I was a teen-ager, and chips were seldom purchased. Freshly popped popcorn (on the stove), though, was a regular part of our lives because my dad loved it and wanted to eat it almost every night. He also expected sweets to be available at all times, and an evening meal without dessert was taboo. So Mom baked a lot.

Did I mention my dad was six feet four inches tall and weighed a whopping 165 or 170 pounds until he got into his sixties when he ballooned all the way up to maybe 200 pounds? He had an enormous appetite and was able to eat all he wanted. People were so jealous of him!

Before electric ice cream freezers, we used a hand-cranking wooden bucket style that required some kid to sit on a towel placed on top while an adult turned the handle. We were pretty excited when electric freezers came along!

Mom’s Homemade Vanilla Ice cream

3 large cans Carnation milk

1/2 gallon whole milk

3 cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring

six junkets (good luck finding them!)

Instructions:

Dissolve junkets in one cup of warm milk. While junkets are dissolving, mix all other ingredients with a hand mixer. Add milk/junket mixture and beat well until frothy. Pour into ice cream freezer and follow instructions for freezing. Usually you must purchase a bag or two of ice and ice cream salt to place around the metal container and add ice and salt at intervals until ice cream is ready. The electric freezers usually stop turning once the ice cream is ready.

Top with any toppings if desired. Enjoy!

Philadelphia on July 4th–and a delicious blueberry bread recipe

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

Let’s face it. It’s hard to get much more American than attending a baseball game on July 4 in the city that was the birthplace of our nation. Long before “The Star Spangled Banner” was penned by Francis Scott Key, a group of brave and forward-thinking men embarked upon a human experiment that resulted in a country still thriving today.

True, we have our problems. True, it is a paradox that the very men who were promoting the concept of freedom did not see the injustice of slavery and its ramifications. True, those men did not understand that women were of equal intelligence and not to be treated as property, but their mindset was common to the culture of the times. We can be grateful that times have changed, and freedom is a concept to be embraced by all.

We’d never been to Philadelphia, and it was never on my list of places I desired to go. It was, however, interesting and enjoyable. We did the “hop-on, hop-off” tour and saw places like Independence Hall, the Congressional Hall where John Adams was sworn in as president, the Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross house, and other sites. We ate Philly cheesesteak sandwiches (after all, we were in Philly, so you kind of have to do that) at the Reading Terminal Market and bought ice cream at the nation’s longest continuous ice cream shop.The sandwich? Really good. The ice cream? Nothing exceptional.

On Friday, July 4, we walked a few feet from our hotel to board the subway that took us straight to the ballpark. This was our third ballgame of the week. We’d been in Pittsburgh Monday and Tuesday, where my husband, a lifelong Pirates fan, was thrilled to witness his team beat the Cardinals both games. We live in Cardinals country, so he takes a lot of abuse for being a Pirates fan.

Back to the Phillies game. I’m not a baseball fan, although I’ve attended many games and watched a few on TV over the years, so I can’t describe any particulars. However, I thought it was pretty cool to be participating in a stereotypical American activity. And just as I’d had to eat the Philly cheesesteak sandwich, I felt obligated to have a hot dog, although I usually avoid that type of food. I usually avoid red meat, also, but hey, I was on vacation.

Before the 7th inning stretch, a woman sang “God Bless America.” Unlike the national anthem, during which time people stood and listened, the crowd sang along with her. They continued to sing (of course) when it was time for “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” We had conversations with those sitting near us. The people of Philadelphia truly were friendly.

Would I want to go back to Philadelphia? Probably not. It was a good one-time visit, but there are too many other bucket-list places I want to visit. I don’t even really care about trips to the Florida/Alabama beaches because I’ve been there so much. I want to see something different. So I guess I’m saying at this stage of my life, I’m not interested in repeating experiences. I’m about new ones.

Although time at the beach with my family would be okay because I’d be with them. That would be my focus, not the beach itself.

Maybe you’ve taken trips that surprised you or trips that disappointed you. Maybe you’ve taken trips you’d want to repeat or trips you never want to experience again. And maybe you don’t care about travel at all, which is fine. We’re all different.

But I’ll always remember this particular July 4th as the most patriotic one I have ever experienced. That make sit special.

Something else that’s special is this delicious blueberry bread I discovered in 2012 when my dad was in hospice care and people from church were bringing us food. When we tried this, I had to have the recipe, and I’ve been making it regularly ever since. I know an apple pie or homemade ice cream recipe might be more “American,” but I like this better. I hope you enjoy it!

Blueberry Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup roasted chopped pecans (optional)

1 slightly heaping cup of sugar

2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup orange juice

1 egg

1/4 cup oil

1 teaspoon softened butter

Instructions:

If you plan to use pecans, place one cup of chopped pecans in a baking dish and roast in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Stir together sugar and flour. In a separate bowl, place frozen blueberries and add just enough of the sugar/flour mixture to coat. Set aside. Add egg, orange juice, oil, and softened butter to the sugar/flour mixture and stir well. Add pecan pieces (optionalL).

Using a colander held above this mixture, pour blueberries into colander and allow the extra sugar/flour mixture to be added. Stir again.

In a loaf (glass or metal) pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil, pour half the batter. Place half the frozen blueberries on top of this layer. Add the rest of the batter and place the remaining blueberries on top. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

This makes a great dessert or breakfast treat.

Some people don’t want to be independent…and a crockpot chicken and dressing recipe

by Pam Harris, "blind" writer

Sedona, Arizona. Nothing to do with my blog today, but maybe I can make a connection. We’ll see. I may figure it out while I’m writing.

As you know, one of my missions in life these days is to inform and educate people about vision loss. If I were to have a mission statement, it would read something like this: To educate the general public, caregivers, and those new to vision loss about ways to live as independently as possible and to provide encouragement and emotional support to those dealing with a new normal.

That’s why I wrote the book Learning to Live with Vision Loss. That’s why I share my story and spread the word about the aids, devices, and technology I use to do as many things as I can. And that is why my retina specialist sometimes contacts me about someone he’d like for me to talk to about these things.

The truth is, though, some people I’ve talked with don’t share my need for independence. Some are perfectly content with allowing others to do things for them. Some are intimidated by the technology. Some can’t afford the devices. And some are in the valley of depression and don’t want to accept what is happening to them.

I understand all of that. Well, sort of. Technology can be frustrating. Spending money on a device that will likely only last five or six years makes me pause and wonder if the expense is worth it. And I definitely get the valley of depression. After over five years, I still fall into it at times. But I climb out much more quickly than before.

But I do not want to be dependent on anyone else any more than I absolutely have to. I have to depend on others to drive me places, and oh, how I hate that. I hate it for many reasons. One is the limitation of not being able to go and do whenever I want to go and do. I miss running errands. Yes, I truly do. I hate not being able to go places to help others when I want.

“But you have a husband,” you say. “He can drive you where you want to go.”

Yes, he can. But he has his own interests and his own activities. He is not always around, and even if he were, I’m not the type to expect him to go whenever I want to go. His life is busier than mine, and I just cannot be that person who demands. He would do it, I know. But I’m too independent. I’m the kind of person who would never ask someone to go with me to an event I know they wouldn’t enjoy. Knowing they are not enjoying it would dampen my enjoyment, you know?

Back to the independence thing. I’m not talking about people being happy alone. That’s great if you can live like that. If I lived alone, I would still need social connections. I would need to go to church, to social activities, to see friends and family. No, what I mean about independence is doing things for myself instead of expecting others to do them.

That is what my book is about. If you have been diagnosed with the beginnings of glaucoma or AMD or RP or diabetic retinopathy, I encourage you to start learning now about what you may need to know in the future. Did you know that, on average, most people diagnosed with dry AMD are legally blind within ten years, according to my research? Remember, on average. Did you know that 1/3 of the patients seen by my retina specialist have diabetic retinopathy? Did you know glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness?

So what does this blog have to do with the photo I posted of Sedona. Well, it just hit me. I was there in 2013, but my son took this photo this week and sent it to me. Here’s the connection: If I ever go back, which I would love to do, I won’t be able to see the beauty of the area as I was able to do in 2013. But thanks to technology, I can see this photo on my large-screen iPad and enjoy its beauty once more.

Technology has changed our lives, not all of it for the better, but for those of us with vision loss, it is a game-changer. Please, if you’re relying on others to do everything for you, reconsider. Sure, they’re happy to help you. But their lives would be easier if they didn’t have to do as much. If you’re a caregiver for someone with vision loss, learn for them, research for them, encourage them to try new things. What will happen to them if something happens to you? They need to be able to fend for themselves, even if they are forced to go to an assisted living facility. Knowledge is power. Give it to them.

I know people who are completely blind (remember, most people labeled “blind” actually have some sight–only ten to 15 percent have no sight at all) who work full-time, live alone, travel alone, navigate large cities alone, and live very full lives. It took training and perseverance, but they overcame. A video you might appreciate on YouTube is Blind Architect 60 Minutes. It’s about 13 minutes long. Watch it. That guy is amazing.

And now for the crockpot chicken and dressing recipe that has absolutely nothing to do with this post except even people with vision loss can cook! Yes, completely blind people can cook. Research it (go to Hadley Helps or YouTube) to find out how. Hadley is a GREAT resource.

Crockpot chicken and dressing recipe

Four or five chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

28 oz. chicken broth

four eggs, boiled and cut into chunks

1/2 onion, chopped

olive oil

canola oil (or more olive oil if preferred)

1 tablespoon sage seasoning

3 cups self-rising cornmeal, white or yellow (not Jiffy mix)

1/2 cup or more of milk

one raw egg

Instructions:

Make cornbread by preheating oven to 425 and pouring enough oil (canola or olive) in the bottom of a skillet. Place skillet in oven to heat while mixing with a spoon the corn meal, raw egg, and milk. Add milk if needed to create a mixture that can be stirred with a spoon while retaining thickness.

Remove skillet from oven, pour in cornbread mixture, and bake in oven for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

Place chicken breasts in casserole dish or baking pan and bake for 25 minutes at 350 or until internal temperature is 160.

Sauté chopped onion in just enough olive oil for about seven minutes.

Once cornbread is cooled, crumble into large crockpot. Chop the boiled eggs and add. Add cooked onions. Add cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, chicken broth, and sage. Stir well, cover, and cook on high for one hour.

Cut cooked chicken breasts into strips or chunks and add to crockpot mixture. Stir in, then set crockpot to low. Cook for two more hours.

This makes enough to feed at least a dozen. Great for potlucks and family get-togethers!