Saturday, October 16, 2010

Farmer's Market wonderful as usual in the midst of some chaos at home


I went to get some fresh tomatoes as I can find no other store with such a supply. Doc asked me to buy another breakfast treat, so I bought a roast beef meld with the most delicious roasted red pepper, pavolone cheese on sourdough, and we split it. It made a very delicious breakfast with some of the freshly brewed coffee he always makes. I only stayed long enough to read through the paper which I always buy with Doc's money and leave to his place.
I took one of my casserole dishes home I left to Doc's so I could make my chicken enchiladas later on today. I finally got all the ingredients together which include cooked chicken, pulled into small pieces, a can of Campbell's mushroom soup into which I stir the chicken for the filling after heating the soup. I open the enchilada sauce, in this case I am using medium, and heat it some, and dip the corn tortillas in it and then put some of the chicken in each tortilla, with some pitted black olives and a little grated cheese if desired, roll and place in the dish. Once the pan is filled with the enchiladas, I pour the sauce over them and sprinkle grated cheese on top, and on top of that scatter pitted olives. Put the casserole dish into the oven and bake for one half an hour, at around 350 degrees so it will heat thoroughly through, let cool some and serve. I bought some iceberg lettuce to grate and serve with.
When I finish I will take a photo and show you how it looks when done! I have taken this dish to parties, served it to my family. My daughter got the recipe from her Hispanic friends, which reminds me of the time she and I made Christmas tamales one year, the authentic Mexican way. I didn't know tamales were so much work! Neither of us have ever made them again! So I won't give you that recipe, but you have to go to one certain store to get the masa.
A disturbed resident was howling and shouting at 5 AM or so in the patio this morning. He is a boyish looking fellow who appears to be both schizophrenic and autistic, not that I can diagnose, but he is so disconnected from reality. How frustrating that must be. However he has taken to shouting at people also and calling them names. It is the weekend. I just hope he will keep until Monday when something will definitely have to be done. He is a slim boyish looking fellow, looks to be in his early thirties. I don't think I have ever seen him connect to people very well, so putting him in here as capable of independent living was a risk. He managed for a while. He was taken to the psych ward to see if his meds couldn't be adjusted, but is worse than ever. Don't know what happened.
I can't help but wonder what will happen to him if he can't live in a place like this. He doesn't seem to be aware of or anticipate that his behavior will cause him to lose this home. I think that will be very hard for him, but he can't keep a big complex like this in an uproar with misbehavior and people not knowing if name calling will lead to physical attack. This man did threaten to kill someone's dog, like a naughty little boy who knew that would cause an upset reaction! Days like this the complex really feels like an insane asylum, but once the one who cannot adjust has been evicted, things settle down.
I believe that attempts must be made to house the chronically mentally ill if at all possible. I choose to live in a complex that houses more of them than most. The Westward Ho has definitely changed since I moved in when only ten percent were disabled. Many of the old moved out during the fast transit construction and our own renovation, and have been replaced now by possibly 60 percent disabled, not necessarily all mentally ill among the disabled, just some.
The staff has had to meet these challenges in changes, too. I am willing to do my part to try to create an atmosphere here that the disabled will find as congenial to them as any large complex can be. I think the residents on the whole do a pretty good job of accepting all kinds without too much fuss, unless of course, a meltdown happens and a resident really calls attention to himself with his behavior and talks and acts in a threatening manner.

5 comments:

salemslot9 said...

enchilada recipe sounds
tasty
looking forward to
photo
Chef Gerry

Gerry said...

I forgot about taking a photo and now the enchiladas are in freezer and fridge and distributed. I remembered I never made this dish without making Spanish rice. Well, no more big meals like that. It was tasty.

salemslot9 said...

that's ok

kanyonland King 2.blogspot.com said...

Love the hot pink outfit. Shayna would love to borrow your hats.
Enchiladas sound good enough to make.

Amrita said...

Great header photo Gerry.

The mentally disturbed residents should be restrained otherwise they will harm themselves and others.


Herrad

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