ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—On Aug. 15, you didn’t have to hear to smell and taste the delicious food being prepared at Modiani Kitchens in Englewood.
A cooking class for the deaf was led by Rita Rusin, the dietician at ShopRite in New Milford, whose parents are both deaf. Assisting her was Kelsey Lubeck from the Ramsey ShopRite.
The program was sponsored by the Englewood Health Department, Inserra ShopRites, and a grant through the Bergen County Departments of Health Services, Human Services and Parks from the New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs, and the host site was donated by Modiani Kitchens, Englewood.
Jim Fedorko, director of the Englewood Department of Health was enthused about the event.
“We do a lot of health programs, but this is a first for special needs people,” Fedorko said.
Englewood was selected as the location for the class because the city had won the first place prize in a National Nutrition Month Contest in March. At the time, all of the Bergen County libraries were invited to join a colorful plate contest to celebrate National Nutrition Month and Englewood Library and Montvale Library were winners.
On Aug. 15, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., 20 visitors from various Bergen County towns attended the class and were treated to a tasty presentation. Christine Dicosmo did signing for the hearing impaired participants.
After a welcome by Fedorko, Rusin addressed the group assembled around the kitchen by extolling the Mediterranean diet, which is inspired by the eating habits of the people of Greece and Italy. The principal aspects of this diet include proportionally high consumption of olive oil, legumes, unrefined cereals, fruits, and vegetables, moderate to high consumption of fish, moderate consumption of dairy products, moderate wine consumption, and low consumption of non-fish meat and refined carbs.
Amongst the benefits of the diet that Rusin discussed are a healthy weight, lower LDL cholesterol, and reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.
To complement the lecture, Rusin and Lubeck prepared two uber-healthy dishes—farro, mushroom and kale risotto and an avocado pesto salad with zucchini noodles.
Both dishes passed the taste test with flying colors. Alice Soll, a Westwood resident, who had come to the class with her daughter, Alisa Smith from Teaneck, remarked “Everything was delicious! I can’t wait to try these recipes at home!”
One teenager tasted the farro kale mushroom dish and looked up surprisingly and said, “Wow! This is really good.”
At the end of the class, attendees were given packets of information about health and nutrition as well as ShopRite gift cards.
Maria Sweeney, Inserra Shoprite’s Director of Public Relations, is delighted with the program and with the large turnout it has been generating.
“We have held cooking classes for the deaf in ShopRite’s supermarkets in Wallington, Emerson and West Nyack, N.Y., and they were very successful. This is our first such program in Englewood and we hope to have it here again.”
Author’s note: On Sept. 19 at 4 p.m. at the Englewood Library, the Bergen County Department of Health Services will host a celebration for Englewood’s winning the National Nutrition Month Contest. They will present an award and a gift book and there will be a food demonstration for children.
