My challenges with following a recipe

Yesterday, I decided to make some peach jam. This is something that I have made before, but it has probably been about two years. Before starting the jam, I had a little anxiety and I tried to figure out why. I have always enjoyed baking and also making jam. I think the reason for my anxiety is because over the past few years, I have noticed that following a recipe can be challenging for me.

So rather than give up, I took a piece of scrap paper and I jotted down the ingredients and the quantities. Then as I added them to the pan, I put a check mark next to the ingredient that I just added. This helps me a lot since my short-term memory is what I usually have problems with, especially moment to moment. By doing this, I don’t have to worry about remembering which ingredients I’ve already used. I also keep a tally if I have more than one cup of something. Otherwise, I will have no idea whether I put in three or four cups of something. I got through the recipe and I made seven jars of jam.

I continue to do the things that I enjoy, but sometimes I just have to find a different way of doing them, so that I can still be successful! I guess that it is a good thing that I’m a little stubborn, since it usually keeps me from giving up too easily.

During the summer, when I'm not working as many hours, I think that it can be a lot easier for me to do these things. I know that when I work less hours, my cognition is so much better and there is definitely less fog in my brain. I am also making sure that I am taking my medicine daily and I think that helps me too.

This has helped to make it so that I can still cook and bake. I will not give in to my memory impairment! I just won't let this memory impairment stop me from living my life. I refuse to give up cooking or baking which I enjoy doing. I do a lot of baking around Christmas time.

I can also become frustrated because I have to look at the recipe so many times just to add one ingredient.