Designing Kitchens with Essential Tremor

October is National Movement Disorders Awareness Month.

October is also National Kitchen & Bath Month!

I am going to combine these two themes into one post, because that's the way I live my life every day.

Obviously I am a kitchen and bath designer. Not so obviously, I have been dealing with a movement disorder, Essential Tremor, since childhood.

"Well known people with tremor include: Samuel Adams, Magnus Berg, Oliver Cromwell, Katharine Hepburn, and Eugene O'Neill.

Recognized for centuries, essential tremor and tremor related neurological movement disorders afflict millions of children, adults, and next generations, yet little is known about the etiology."

I remember being a small child and watching my mother tie my shoes. Her hands always shook when doing such tasks. She was in her early thirties at the time. Essential tremor is often "familial". It runs in families. My Mom had it; I and both of my brothers have it; my oldest daughter has it; my younger daughter has escaped...So far.

My first inklings that I might have a problem occurred when I had to get up on stage as a child. I would shake uncontrollably, with my heart pounding; and soon was avoiding those days at school with "sore throats" or "headaches".

I was an artistic child, always doing some sort of art or craft project. I was so good with my hands that I took up sculpture and painting as I progressed through school. I dreamed of becoming an artist, and spent most of my free time improving my work.

Unfortunately I never found a way to make money at my artistic endeavors. So I became a surgical nurse (also hand-eye intensive work) to pay the bills, but I still continued my art for my own enjoyment.

As I went through my twenties and thirties I noticed more and more occasions that would cause my hands to shake. Stress exacerbated the problem.

I married, had children, and left the work world to care for them.

I began remodeling our home and building and installing cabinetry (handy me). Eventually I returned to work and became a kitchen and bath designer. Finally, I had found a way to make a living drawing!

In 1991 we were in a terrible recession, very much like today. I had no work and talked my employer into sending me to CAD training because the State would pay for it.

I purchased a computer and AutoCAD software and went through a six month training program. Thank YOU California!

Ever since 1991 I have done all of my drawing and drafting on the computer in AutoCAD. It's a good thing too, because I would have been out of commission as a kitchen designer by the mid-nineties because my tremor got worse.

I learned about Essential Tremor and was diagnosed by a movement disorder specialist. I take quite a bit of medication to keep my tremor under control.

It doesn't work any longer. I can no longer conceal my tremor from my clients. But I still want to continue with my work.

The tremor doesn't affect my mind; just my hands and head.

So, if you don't mind working with a shaky kitchen and bath designer...Give me a call. Just remember: When I shake my head, it may not really mean "no".

Peggy

Addendum: Essential Tremor is often confused with Parkinson's Disease. Here is an explanation of the differences between the two maladies by a cogent neurologist, Dr. Kieran.

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Ribbon Pakoda & Mathri ~ Savories for Diwali

Diwali is one festival when we can have our choice of  savories and sweets to be made. Unlike most of the festivals which has a predefined menu  like Murukku, Seedai for Krishnajayanthi, Kali for Thiruvathirai, Appam,Pori for Karthigai etc. When it comes to Diwali recipes, DIET comes last for me. The amount of oil, sugar and ghee doesn't affect the choice of sweets or savories. Celebration is the key word and Diwali comes only once in a year. So lets get onto the savories I made for this Diwali. Come what may, Ribbon Pakoda is always there. I made no exception to that rule this year too. There is no fixed recipe for pakoda. I feel each family has a recipe of their own, passed down from generations. Here is mine.

Ingredients

Rice flour - 3 cups

Gram flour/Besan - 1 cup

Butter - 3 tblspn

Salt - 1/2 tspn

Chilli powder - 1 tspn heaped

Hing

Water to make the dough

Oil to deep fry


Method

Measure rice flour and besan in a vessel. Add butter and chilli powder. Mix well so that the flour is well coated with butter. Mix in the salt and hing dissolved in water. Add enough water to make a pliable dough. Heat oil in a kadai. Using the pakoda achu/plate, press it into hot oil. Gently flip with a perforated ladle and remove when it is golden brown. Drain and leave it to come to room temperature. Store in air tight container.

My MIL adds a 1/4 cup of roasted and powder tuvar dal. It sure adds to the flavor. But I was lazy to do that. So I skipped it. Nevertheless, mine turned out to be very crispy and melt-in-the-mouth kind.

Note: If store bought rice flour is used, you can measure rice flour :besan in the ratio 2:1 to get crispier pakodas.

Mathri/Mathi

The other savory is from the Land of Rajasthan - Mathri/Mathi. The is the first time I am trying at home though I have tasted it. On goggling, I went through several recipes and found that more than the measurement of ingredients, it’s the way of making them that is important to get flaky, crisp biscuits. And I followed the instructions at Tongue Ticklers. Harini has given all the little points to be taken care of. Though she has baked it, I deep fried them. My ingredient list slightly varies from hers, but I followed her method to prepare the dough. It came out excellent. Do drop into her space to have a look at the perfectly baked mathris. I am sure going to bake them soon.

Ingredients

Wheat flour/Atta - 2 cups

All purpose flour/Maida - 1 cup

Salt - 1 tspn

Chilli powder -1/2 tspn

Pepper powder - 1/2 tspn

Kasuri methi - 2 tblspn

Ajwain/Omam- 1tspn

Turmeric - a pinch

Hot oil - 3/4 cup

Warm water - 1 cup



Oil to deep fry


Method

Take wheat flour, maida, salt, chilli powder ,pepper powder, ajwain and turmeric in a bowl. Mix the ingredients well. Make a well in the centre. Pour the hot oil. rub the oil into the ingredients using a spatula. The more the oil and less water used in making the dough, gives better biscuits. I felt the amount of oil used was right enough. So used water to prepare the dough. Add kasuri methi to the dough. Don't knead the dough. Just bring together as you do for cookies.

Take marble sized dough and press it down between your palms. Else you can roll it using the rolling pin. I rolled into a big thick chappathi. Cut into small circles with a bottle cap. Make marks on top with a fork or knife so that it doesn't puff up while fried. Deep fry 4 or 5 mathris in a batch till it is golden brown. When cool it is very crisp and flaky. Since I have added chilli and pepper powders, it was spicy too.

My diwali sweets will follow in the next post.

Wishing you all a very happy and safe Diwali/Deepavali.