Healthier Seniors Wrap up Summer
Linda Zolten-Wood and Michel Hodges RN continued arts/health programming at the Rose Center on Lakeshore Blvd. as part of the Collinwood 2015 initiative sponsored by Northeast Shores Development Corporation and the Kresge Foundation. We kicked off the month with Valerie Salstrom from Get Hep Swing, a local dance studio. Valerie is an award winning swing dancer and taught us some great moves. She then invited us to make up our own moves by thinking about summer activities and then setting them to music. We created The Fly Swatter, The Swimmer, and even The Corn Eater. Great fun was had by all as can be seen from the accompanying pictures.
The next week featured great eats. Linda made easy peasy bean dip with canned beans, fresh salsa and shredded cheese. Kevin Scheuring, manager of The Coit Road Farmers Market expanded our culinary horizons by treating us to a North African dish called chermoula. Ingredients included saffron, parsley, green bell peppers, onion, garlic, lemon juice and preserved lemon, cumin, sunflower sprouts and a variety of spices from Spice Hound. All this mixed together and served over rice. Yum!!
We also gathered recipes of a different kind, home remedies that Rose seniors remembered from their childhoods. Does anybody remember something called mutton taler? It is a mixture of quinine, soda, and rubbing alcohol made into a paste which you rubbed on your chest, back, top of your head and bottoms of your feet to draw out a cold.
Great eating continued the next week with Kai Wingo of Kultured Mushrooms. Kai started growing mushrooms after being laid off and was named this year as one of Cleveland Magazine's Most Interesting People. She sauteed oyster and shitaki mushrooms with a little olive oil and garlic powder. Amazing how good these were! She explained that mushrooms are not only a great source of nutrition featuring anti-inflammatory properties but also can be used to break down oil in contaminated waterways.
The month ended with a potluck where everyone shared their favorite recipes featuring end of summer bounty. There may even be a cookbook so keep your eyes open for future info! Everyone got to take a home a hand painted flower pot filled with herbs from local herb specialist Anastasia Pantsios.
Linda and Michel have greatly enjoyed their time with everyone at the Rose Center and hope to repeat a similar program next year. Thank you to Northeast Shores and the Kresge Foundation for sponsoring the grant that made this program possible. Thanks also to everyone who presented and participated.
Michel Hodges
Michel is an RN at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and brags to everyone how she can walk to Lake Erie in minutes from her Shore Acres neighborhood. She and Linda have been neighbors for years and look forward to collaborating on future projects.