Karen

The Help

I just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This is a novel set in Mississippi in the early 1960’s, and is a story about the relationships between white women and their colored maids. I never thought much about those relationships, until I started reading this book. As a girl who grew up in the south, I can certainly relate to the story.

While we weren’t “high society”, far from it, we had a maid because Mama had to go to work to help support the family. Lena lived up the road from us, in a house much better than ours. She came to our house Monday through Friday to take care of the five of us kids, clean the house, do the laundry and ironing, and cook dinner. I don’t know how much she was paid, but I can tell you it probably wasn’t enough. She was always polite and deferential to my mother. She was pretty tough on us kids, and wielded a pretty mean hickory switch.

While the maids in The Help were treated badly, it was accepted in those times. I truly understand why they were willing to risk everything to get their story told. Kathryn Stockett tells the story well—I read the entire book in three days. While I think anyone would enjoy reading it, The Help will be especially appreciated by those of you who grew up southern in the 1950’s and 60’s.

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Shrimp Stuffed Avocados

Karen · 12 Comments

Last month when we went down to Prescott for FabGrandpa’s visit to the VA, we ate at a little Mexican restaurant there. We tried their Shrimp Stuffed Avocados and boy were they ever good! I told FabGrandpa that I would try to re-create them at home.

shrimp stuffed avocado 01 — halve and peel the avocados

Here is the version I came up with, and it is pretty darn close! This recipe makes enough for 4 servings for appetizers or 2 servings for dinner.

2 ripe avocados

1 lime

1 lb uncooked shrimp

2 tablespoons butter, margarine, or olive oil

chipotle pepper

pico de gallo (store bought or make your own. I used ready made from the produce section of the grocery store)

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and peel. For two dinner servings, put 2 avocado halves in each bowl. For appetizer servings, put one avocado half in each bowl. Roll the lime around on the counter to soften it up, slice off one end, and squeeze the juice over the avocado halves.

shrimp stuffed avocado 04 — Shrimp with chipotle pepper

Peel and devein the shrimp, rinse well, and drain. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the shrimp to the pan, and sprinkle generously with chipotle pepper. Stir and sautee the shrimp until done, about 10 minutes.

Place half of the cooked shrimp in each bowl over the avocado halves for dinner servings, or a fourth of the shrimp on each avocado half for appetizer servings. Spoon about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of pico de gallo over the shrimp. Serve with tabasco sauce if desired.

shrimp stuffed avocado 05 — Shrimp Stuffed Avocado

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Gluten Free Fried Cauliflower

Karen · 12 Comments

Many years ago, when my children were small, our best friends introduced us to a restaurant in Atlanta that was famous for their T-bone steaks. They have been in business since 1932. At the time we were going there, it was located on Lee Street, but now it is on Lake Dow Road in McDonough, Georgia. The thing I liked best about Pilgreen’s was their fried cauliflower. It was battered in a beer batter and deep fried, and served up with seafood cocktail sauce or horseradish sauce. Either one makes it sooooo gooooodddd!

fried cauliflower 01 — Break up cauliflower into florets

Yesterday, I discovered that I had all the ingredients on hand to make up some gluten free fried cauliflower here at home. And while I was making it, I was reminiscing about all the times we ate there with Bobby and Sharon Jones and their son, Johnny. Sometimes other friends would show up and it would be a wonderful time.

fried cauliflower 02 — Bob's Red Mill Biscuit and Baking Mix

To make the beer batter:

1 bottle of gluten free beer (I used a new one I found in Flagstaff called New Grist, made with sorghum and rice, and it is good!)

1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

Mix all ingredients well and let it sit for about half an hour before using. Cut up the cauliflower into florets. Dip each floret into the batter, and deep fry in canola or corn oil until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes on high heat. Remove from oil and let drain on paper towels.

fried cauliflower 04 — Dip the pieces in the batter

I didn’t have any kind of sauce for the batch I made, but it still tasted good. Almost like they make at Pilgreen’s. This batter would also make some yummy onion rings. I made fried eggplant too!

fried cauliflower 05 — Fry them up, then drain on paper towels.

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I Made It! Blog Party

Karen · 3 Comments

I discovered the other day that my camera is not the only thing I lost on my last trip. I had a neat little manicure kit for more than 20 years, that just disappeared. It was leather, and had a little zipper closure, and loops inside to hold everything. I have looked everywhere for it, and decided today that I would have to make a new case to hold all those little tools.

I made up the pattern as I went along. It is a little larger than I wanted it to be, but since this is the first attempt, that can be remedied in the future. I also poked a hole in one corner when I was turning it, so this one is mine forever.

manicure kit 02 — See that little hole in the corner?

So, there ya have it–my first attempt at a manicure kit case. It’ll work for the purpose, and I can make alterations on the next one.

To see all of the I Made It! Blog Party post, click on the Everything Etsy Icon:

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Gluten Free On Sale?

Karen · 7 Comments

We went over to Utah to buy groceries today. While I was in town, I picked up a newspaper. This is the grocery ad on the back page of the first section of the newpaper:

gluten free sale — In a newspaper in Utah!

I have never seen an ad for a sale on gluten free products in a newspaper. I know I have been able to find gluten free items in most grocery stores in Utah (which is NOT the case in other states, like Alabama, Arizona, and Georgia). I think it is wonderful! I just wish there were one of those stores near me.

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This Reminds Me How Blessed I Really Am

Karen · 3 Comments

Tara is a young mother of four, whose husband, Mike, is in the Army. Their youngest son, Isaac, has been diagnosed as autistic. I don’t know Tara personally–she was looking for another person with the same name as mine on Facebook, we started chatting, and reading each other’s blogs. Her story is amazing–you can read what she has to say at Red, Green, Lellow. Tara spends a great deal of her time fighting for her son–first to get a diagnosis, now to get treatment and help for him so that he can return to a normal life. I sincerely hope that her efforts pay off and that he will be a healthy, happy, normal little boy again.

In the mean time, Tara’s husband is being deployed somewhere again. I don’t really know where or for how long, but this means that she will be by herself again with four children until he comes back. They are planning a ONE DAY “vacation to Virginia Beach before he goes away. I would like to see them be able to go for two or three days, and for them to be able to take the children to see some of the wonderful sites in that area, like the Virginia Aquarium .

I am so interested in her story, I guess, because it is one that is repeated so much here in the United States. Our health care system is NOT the best in the world. Even if you have insurance, like Mike and Tara do, that does not guarantee that you will get the health care or services you need and deserve for your family. Tara has had to fight tooth and nail every step of the way. It shouldn’t be so darn hard. Can you imagine how much harder it would be with no insurance? I surely can’t, but there are many many people just like Tara and her family, who have struggles like this every day, who do not have insurance to help pay for it, who get nowhere in their struggles.

Tara has no idea I am doing this, but if you would like to make a donation via paypal, to help they have a much needed few days at the beach, send me an email or make a comment and I will send you her paypal address. Let’s make this a great trip for this little family that is trying so hard.

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Got A New Camera. Not The One I Wanted, but a camera. Caution, don’t look if you are squeamish…..

Karen · 6 Comments

41Js8c2V1cL._SL160_AA115_ — Olympus SP-600UZ

After studying the different cameras available on the market, and talking to several knowledgeable people, I had decided to buy a Nikon D5000. It is a digital SLR camera with good reviews and a lot of good features. At around $700 for the body and two lenses, and a battery charger and an SD card, it would have been a good camera for me to use while I learned how to use a digital SLR because it would also take pictures in automatic mode. That’s where the camera does all the settings automatically so you don’t have to think about it. But, alas, it was not in the cards for me to get that camera right now.

That is because the night before last, after dinner, I broke my partial plate. For anyone who wears dentures or a dental device like a partial plate, you know how expensive that can be. I got the plate in 2005, when we were still living in south Texas, 8 miles from the Mexican border. I walked across the border, had six teeth extracted, and had the partial plate made, for a total expense of $400. That included an antibiotic and pain meds to take after the extractions. I never thought about the thing breaking. Heck, I didn’t even know it COULD break. And I didn’t know you could only expect a partial plate to last for five to seven years!

After my initial shock, I did what any other sane person would do–I googled the internet for “repairs to partial plate”. The most important thing I learned from that search is that MY partial can not be repaired, because it broke on the metal part. They can only make repairs if it is the plastic part that broke.

My next search was for what it would cost to get a new partial plate made. In the United States, a partial plate like mine would cost me a whopping $1500 to $2000 at a regular dentist’s office! I know dental work is expensive, but this is not even a full set of teeth we are talking about here. At discount denture place I found, I can get a new set of teeth for about $650, but I would still have to drive down to Phoenix, twice. And that would also involve staying in a motel overnight both times, because it is just too far to go there and back in one day. So, we are still trying to decide whether to go to Yuma and walk across to Mexico, go to Phoenix, or wait and go to the outlet they have in Georgia in November. I CAN eat, just not a steak or a pork chop. And it would be sooo much easier to wait and go in Georgia when we get back east.

At any rate, in anticipation of having to spend at least $650 out of pocket, I decided it wouldn’t be prudent to also spend over $700 for a new camera, even though I really really want it. So, when we went to Kanab today, I bought an Olympus SP-600UZ. It is NOT an SLR camera, but it is a pretty good digital camera for under $200. It has lots of good features, including taking pretty good videos. The pictures come out clear and with good color. Which is what I want a camera to do.

It takes pretty decent photos of people:

It does pretty good on close-ups:

Landscapes:

P1010041 — The cliffs behind the hospital in Kanab, Utah

And zoom:

P1010042 — Zoom to the top of the cliffs

Full sun does not wash out the color of the sky and forest:

P1010074 — A meadow on Hwy 67 this afternoon in full sun

And just because I like this photo:

P1010088 — Aspen bones at the North Rim.

So, even though I didn’t get the camera I wanted, I DID get one, and that is a good thing. Now for those teeth…..

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Oh, Boo Hoo, I Lost My Camera!!!

Karen · 13 Comments

In case you didn’t catch it in the last sentence of my last post, I LOST MY CAMERA! Can you believe that? I, who have my camera permanently attached to my hand, LOST MY CAMERA. I am so sad. So disappointed in myself for being so careless. So lost myself. How can I possibly blog without my camera?

SO, I am in the market for a new one. I really really really want a DSLR. I have never used an SLR or a DSLR, but I am so amazed at what you can accomplish with one. I am looking at the Nikon D3000 and the D5000, and at the Olympus E-Pl1. So, if you have used one of these, please let me know in a comment what you think of them.

Also, if you have an amazing digital point and shoot, let me know what it is and why you love it so. I need to get a new camera like, yesterday. Can you believe, I lost that camera with pictures of rare fog at the Vermilion Cliffs? A fabulous shot of a thunderstorm over the Painted Desert? A wonderful cloud formation over the San Francisco Peaks? or the happy, giddy, FabGrandpa’s face? I am in mourning, people!

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