Tasty Recipes From The Blind Vine

Debbie Azzarone via The Blind Vine has written about how as her vision has declined, there are things she doesn’t feel as comfortable cooking and baking as she used to feel.
 
Read on for some of The Blind Vine‘s tasty recipes (dessert, breakfast, even dinner!) that don’t require flipping, checking for browning, and other steps that those with low vision may want to avoid.
 
1. Cheesecake Flavored Ambrosia
 

Dessert ambrosia with fruit on top sits in a bowl.

Ingredients

1 (29-ounce) can Dole fruit cocktail, drained

1 (8-ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained

1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and rinsed

1 (1-ounce) box cheesecake flavor Sugar-Free Jell-O pudding

8 ounces Daisy sour cream

3 cups Cool Whip

1 cup Jet-Puffed miniature marshmallows

Instructions

Drain all fruit. If fruit was packed in syrup, rinse in c old water and drain.

Combine fruit cocktail, pineapple, mandarin oranges and cherries in a large bowl. Sprinkle with cheesecake flavored pudding mix and stir to coat. Add in sour cream and Cool Whip and stir well.

Fold in marshmallows and chill for at least one hour before serving.

2. No-Flip Omelet

A no-flip omelet is featured in a skillet and cut up on plates.

Mix your eggs, and two tablespoons water, a little salt, etc. into a fry pan. Put all of the toppings in the eggs. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Top with cheese until it’s melted. Fold the omelet over. Voila! A no-flip omelet. 

3. Beer Crockpot Chicken

A close-up view of seasoned crock pot chicken.

You can play around with your seasonings. These are just a suggestion. You can also use fresh chicken or use frozen breasts, and either cook on low all day or cook for five hours on high. Adjust the heat according to your time on hand.

4-6 Chicken Breasts or 1 Whole or cut up Chicken

1 Can of any kind of Beer

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Basil

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

*You can use whatever spices you like 

Put all ingredients into crockpot

If frozen cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-10

If fresh cook on high 3-4 hrs. or low 7-8 hours if fresh

Being Visually Impaired During The Pandemic

For those who are blind or visually impaired, who “may not notice arrows on the floor directing foot traffic that have no texture to be felt,” such [COVID-19] safety measures “present additional obstacles for safely navigating the pandemic-era world.”
 
Read the full article by Well + Good about being visually impaired during the pandemic – and know that you and/or your loved ones are not alone in finding it difficult to navigate: CLICK HERE
 

Athlete Quits Team USA After She’s Told She Can’t Bring A Care Assistant

Becca Meyers, a six-time Paralympic medalist who is deaf and blind, will miss the Tokyo Paralympics after being told she could not bring her Personal Care Assistant — her mother, Maria Meyers — to the Summer Games. 

She called her decision to quit Team USA “gut-wrenching, and wrote: “So, in 2021, why as a disabled person am I still fighting for my rights?”

 

An image of Becca Meyers is depicted with the headline: “This deaf-blind Paralympian was told to navigate Tokyo alone. So she quit Team USA. Image/headline via New York Post.”

 

As Meyers has stated of being deaf and blind, “We must continue to fight and advocate for ourselves so that future generations can have an easier tomorrow.” Accessibility matters, inclusion matters, and disability rights matter. Read more about Becca’s story here.

Human Echolocation: How It Works

Echolocation is shared by many species, including whales and dolphins – even people can learn how to use it!
Now, new research shows that both sighted people and those who are blind can learn how to echolocate using clicking noise, either from one’s own mouth, footsteps, or walking cane taps, after just 10 weeks of training.
Read more on this interesting topic as shared by journals.plos.org here: https://bit.ly/humanecholocation

The VLANJ logo and an image via Discover Magazine depicting how human echolocation works is featured, with text that reads: “Human Echolocation: How It Works. Clicking noise creates ongoing sound waves. Sound bounces off object. Returning echo activates the visual processing area (circled) in the brain of an experienced echolocator.” Text below reads: “Blind Individuals Who See By Sound.”

Bringing Blind Hockey To Newark

As originally reported by the Morristown Daily Record, Josh Schneider of North Haledon, a member of the New York Metro Blind Hockey Team, organized a learn-to-skate clinic for the visually impaired at the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House in Newark on Sunday, May 23rd, 2021. Learn more here: dailyrecord.com

 

Josh Schneider is pictured in full hockey uniform on the ice.