HKSB News Release
Seniors Divulge Family Secrets Senior Center Shares Recipes in New Cookbook
New York, May 4, 2006
Although Ruby Brown has some trouble getting around these days, it hasn’t slowed her down. Volunteers drive her to the Senior Center on a regular basis and while there, others cut out patterns so she could indulge in her favorite pastime—sewing. And Ruby’s blindness doesn’t deter her from putting together and wearing her many creations (some of which she has even modeled in the Center’s fashion shows). A native of Jamaica, Ruby’s zest for life is carried through in her cooking, specifically her curried goat, which she is looking forward to sharing through her center’s new cook book.
“Faces of Hempstead” is a collection of recipes from the seniors and volunteers of the Helen Keller Services for the Blind’s Nassau Senior Center. An anthology of personal favorites and secret family recipes, the book is a way for the seniors to share their collective wisdom and memories, passed down from generation to generation. The Center’s Director, Janet Sarro, can personally attest to this sentiment as she included her own grandmother’s recipe for chocolate meringue pie. In the time before blenders and mixers, Janet’s grandmother would beat the egg whites on a flat plate with a fork. Janet appreciates the time and love that went into her grandmother’s pies. “Grandma Herrington’s baking is one of my favorite childhood memories,” said Janet.
The cookbook is broken down into sections: Starters and Soups; Side Dishes and Vegetables; Entrees; and everyone’s favorite—Desserts. On a regular basis, seniors at the Center are known to bring in home made cakes and cookies. Long-time Long Island resident Kathy Woods’ infamous ladyfinger cheesecake and chocolate dessert, shared by many a senior at the Center, are included in the cookbook.
Funded by The Roslyn Savings Foundation, a long-time supporter of the Senior Center, the book can be found and downloaded for free from Helen Keller Services for the Blind’s website (www.helenkeller.org). For a donation of $25, Helen Keller Services for the Blind will send those interested a hard copy of the book. For more information, visit the website or call Deborah Samuelson at (718) 522-2122, ext. 204.
Helen Keller Services for the Blind Nassau Senior Center is sponsored in part by Helen Keller Services, Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen Affairs and the Roslyn Savings Foundation.
Since 1983, Helen Keller Services for the Blind (HKSB) has been a pioneer in the field of blindness rehabilitation. Its mission is to help individuals of all ages and degrees of blindness to live as independently as possible within their own communities.
