Healthy cooking with Susan Higa

By Judith LernerPrint Story | Email Story
GREAT BARRINGTON — I was attracted by the ad in the paper, "Cooking whole foods for your whole family: Good habits to strengthen your health." Healthy cooking. Everybody talks about doing it, but how do you learn? I called and signed up. Upstairs at The NOAH Center — a nonprofit organization with a mission to educate and encourage health through self-knowledge and activity in Great Barrington — macrobiotic cooking teacher and counselor Susan Higa prepared an autumn evening meal for the class, from pureed butternut squash soup with croutons to apple cider gelatin with pears. As dinner was cooking, we drank tea and asked questions. The aromas emanating from her pots were so enticing, I think everyone was salivating, waiting. About halfway through her preparations Ms. Higa took pity on us. Impromptu, she made an appetizer to hold us over until the soup, rice, beans with squash, pressed salad, sautéed vegetables, blanched vegetables and dessert were ready. She cut up a package of mochi, a flat cake of cooked, pounded sweet brown rice available in health-food stores, food coops and Guido's. She sliced it. She sautéed it in unrefined sesame oil until it became warm and a bit crisp. She dabbed each piece with a bit of shoyu, traditional Japanese soy sauce, and served us little mochi canapés wrapped in a sliver of toasted nori, the sea vegetable used to wrap sushi. The mochi was delicious. We nibbled it gratefully, now able to pay attention again to Ms. Higa's lessons to us on macrobiotic cooking and lifestyle. The next day, I thawed and scored lines in a package of mochi I have had in my freezer for too long. I have nearly finished it. Two pieces with some nori satisfy me. I like to bake my mochi in a 450-degree oven for about 10 or 15 minutes, so it puffs out and has more crunch than when sautéed. Ms Higa prefers sautéing. She says baking brings the fat to the surface of food and makes it very rich. She will teach a class about healthy, sweet autumn treats for the family at The NOAH Center next Tuesday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. She believes desserts and treats are important and will demonstrate fun recipes and new ways to prepare them in time for all the holidays. You can find out more about that and other natural health and cooking classes by calling 528-0297 or visiting www.noahcenter.org. Ms. Higa also teaches at Berkshire South Regional Community Center on Crissy Road off Route 7 in Great Barrington, 528-2810, www.berkshiresouth.org. She will give a three-session lecture series on family nutrition beginning Tuesday, Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m. …Oh. When dinner was ready, we devoured, savored it slowly with great pleasure, chewing well. Macrobiotic food, made from the freshest, purest ingredients, gets its flavors from the simple food itself. Prepared by a creative, enthusiastic, experienced cook and practitioner like Susan Higa, each flavor is brought, subtly, to its most satisfying fullness. If you think you can't cook or eat macrobiotic or even healthy food, know that through intention and study Ms. Higa went from a five-candy-bar-a-day college student to a life in which she helps people to make smart choices to enhance their health. "Variety is the key as well as consistency," she said. "I see cooking and this lifestyle as an art. I never get bored because there are so many possibilities, so many different cooking styles within it." Now a wife and mother of a young son, she sees people for macrobiotic counseling. "I help them make choices,” she said. “I believe we should be as educated as possible, and I define myself by what I include in my life, not by what I don't include." Kanten is a gelatin pudding. Simple as this following recipe from Susan Higa appears — and it is simple to prepare — the finished dessert is delicious. It may be made with any combination of seasonal juice and fruit. If made with stock and vegetables, it becomes a vegetable aspic. Kanten is thickened with agar agar, a tasteless, odorless gelatin made from processed sea vegetable. Avaline Kushi, in her “Complete Guide to Macrobiotic Cooking,” states, "Agar agar is high in calcium, iodine and trace minerals. It is a healthful alternative to commercial gelatins made with animal products.” APPLE PEAR KANTEN 2 cups apple juice 2 tablespoons agar agar flakes pinch of sea salt 1/2 pear, diced Heat the apple juice, sea salt and agar agar flakes on a medium flame. When the agar agar flakes are dissolved, add chopped pea. Let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour into four small bowls. Let set one to two hours until hard. You may put in refrigerator for faster results. SERVES 4. Judith Lerner of Lenox Dale is The Advocate’s regular food columnist.
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Berkshire Community College Graduates Historically Large Class

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Class valedictorian Jeremiah Reagan says he found himself at BCC in in nursing, earning his associate's degree from the program. See more photos here. 
LENOX, Mass. — The largest Berkshire Community College class in more than 10 years crossed Tanglewood's stage on Friday night.
 
It was also President Ellen Kennedy's last BCC commencement in the position, as she will step down at the end of June.
 
"It has been the greatest gift of my professional life to have been on this journey with you, all of you," Kennedy said. 
 
"Though our paths will now diverge, I know that the memories, the relationships, the moments of conflict and pain that led to new possibilities and growth, those will stay with me always." 
 
The 341 graduates in 38 programs of study earned a total of 377 awards: 218 associate degrees, and 159 certificates. This is the highest number of graduates the college has had since 2014, when it conferred awards to 362 students.
 
Graduates ranged in age from 17 to 68, and while a majority live in Massachusetts, others are from Connecticut, Kentucky, New York, Vermont, and West Virginia.
 
Travis Murach, who earned an associates degree in liberal arts, took the mic as he crossed the stage to receive his diploma to say he had been at BCC for a total of 15 years, dropped out three times, and has finally done it. 
 
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