Moab Happenings Archive
Return to home

HEALTHY HAPPENINGS February 2016

Vegetable Coconut Korma

Jon OlschewskiFor a Moonflower Community Cooperative free class, Jon Olschewski’s made Vegetable Coconut Korma at the MARC and showed us what comes of hard work and dedication to the food one loves.
And Jon loves good food that is good for you.

“The thing about cooking,” Jon said, “is you’re only as good as your produce.”
Growing up with vegetarian parents Jon frequented the Bombay House in Salt Lake City. This is when he learned the earthy flavors of Indian food and found a favorite dish with Korma.

Jon began to recreate the dish himself four years ago and after many trials and errors was able to adapt his own interpretation of the dish from his childhood.

The class was given the recipe to follow along as he chopped his way through the ingredients. He demonstrated proper cutting technique with his fingers flat while cutting the bite size pieces of potatoes and carrots.
Jon put emphasis on making the toasted Garam Marsala. You can buy it premade at Moonflower, but the flavors will never be the same as making your own, he said.

“It is like buying peeled garlic,” he said. It is convenient, but doesn’t carry the same potency.
He toasted the mixed Garam Marsala ingredients on the stove top; cumin, black pepper, mace, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, and fennel. The almost sweet chai smell enveloped the room. Then he put the toasted Garam Marsala into the mortar and pestle and passed it around the group to help work it until pulverized.

The mortar and pestle was a gift to Jon and he said if it was ever broken he would immediately run out and buy a new one.
If your smell memory is good you will notice the difference in the Garam Marsala, he said about the store bought versus from scratch.

More cooking tips included: If you don’t like the raisins, put them in the blender; the finer you cut the garlic and ginger the stronger it will be; instead of blanching your tomatoes try an easier method and broil halved tomatoes and the peel just slides off; light coconut milk is a scam because they just add water.

In addition to cooking tips, he explained some sociology of the regions people and the food they eat. In this case, Indian Buddhists do not eat alkaline foods and wouldn’t eat the garlic in this dish.
After showing the audience the proper way to dice an onion, Jon said, “Onion is key, brown it until it is dark and don’t be afraid of high heat; all the flavors come out when the onion is brown.”

When Jon Olschewski was traveling in Thailand he met a woman who said something that still resides with him, “We don’t know recipes—we know ingredients.”

13th Annual Community Health Fair

On Saturday, February 20th, 2016, Moab Regional Hospital will host the 13th annual Community Health Fair at the Grand Center in Moab. The Health Fair is a unique opportunity for community members to connect with local healthcare organizations, professionals, and other health-oriented businesses and learn how to prioritize personal health and wellness. The various departments of Moab Regional Hospital such as Imaging and the Emergency Department will also provide informational and interactive booths at the fair. The Health Fair will be open to the public from 10am to 1pm.

One of the major components of the Health Fair is the low cost blood draw service available at Moab Regional Hospital preceding the main Health Fair event. The fee for the screening is $60, which covers an array of blood tests, including: Complete Blood Count; Complete Metabolic Panel; Lipids; Thyroid Stimulating Hormone; and A1C blood glucose. The blood draw is an ideal opportunity for individuals to get a comprehensive baseline read of their health at an affordable price; typically, this array of blood panels costs $300-500 out-of-pocket.

For the first time, blood draw participants will be able to access their lab results online using the hospital’s online Patient Portal. The Patient Portal is a secure online website that gives patients easy 24-hour access to personal health information. Participants have the opportunity sign up for the Patient Portal at their scheduled blood draw appointment, and can expect their individual results to be posted online around a week afterwards. The link to the Patient Portal is available on the MRH website’s main landing page. For patients who opt out of signing up for the portal, lab results will still be made available at the Laboratory booth at the Health Fair.

Once again, the diverse Moab health care community will be represented at this year’s event. Mountain Land Physical Therapy will host a booth and answer questions pertaining to the benefits of physical therapy services. Grand County Hospice staff and volunteers will provide the community with information on Advanced Directives. Hospital professionals will be available at several booths to discuss diabetes education, review the importance of mammography, and provide information about services at the hospital. Many alternative medicine practitioners offer services in Moab and will be available to answer questions and help you understand naturopathic medicine and healing body therapies. Thanks to our local massage therapists, there are always free massages available throughout the fair. Attendees will also have the opportunity to register for a raffle of health-inspired options.

If you are interested in hosting a booth at the health fair, please contact Sarah Shea at (435) 719-3683 for more information. If you would like to register for the Low Cost Blood Draw, please call (435) 719-3500 to schedule your appointment. We look forward to seeing you at this year’s Community Health Fair!

“Du-ing” it the Moab Way!
Moab’s second annual Off-Road Duathlon and Spring Trail Run will be on March 5th and 6th, 2016. The trail run is either a ½ Marathon (13 miles) or 8K (5 miles) The duathlon consists of an 8k trail run followed by a 13k (8 mile) mountain bike ride. Participants can race as a solo, where they ‘du’ both the run and the bike, or as a team where one person runs and then tag-off to their team's biker.

Moab has long been a destination for both runners and bikers for its stunning and unique scenery. In the past, bikers and runners had to share the trails with motorized vehicles. A few years ago the Grand County Trail Mix began building superb trails for non-motorized use. They put Moab even higher on the “must-go” destination list for endurance athletes. The Off-Road Duathlon is a match made in heaven for these folks. The race features trails in the North Klondike Bluffs area. Local race director and multisport athlete Danelle Ballengee expects to see the race grow quickly and potentially become a championship event.

The run course features the Dinosaur Stomping Ground Track; a foot-travel only trail that goes by an actual dinosaur track site. This trail combined with the ‘Mega-Steps Trail’ were built by Trail Mix and our local chapter Paleontology Members and the Sierra Club. The area is what paleontologists call the “Dinosaur Dance Floor”. We expect participants will enjoy “dancing” on this beautiful and unique trail! The bike course features the “Newab” or New-Moab style trails: super-fun singletrack mixed with slickrock, red dirt, and scenic views. This course has the scenery that has put Moab on the map combined with the superb new trails!

These scenic and fun trail races are a great way to ‘thaw out’ and start off the season.
Those interested in participating or volunteering are invited. Participants may find more info or sign up at www.TrainingRX.com. Those interested in volunteering can call or email Nellie at 970-389-4838 or danelle22@msn.com. Volunteers may also participate in exchange for a discount entry fee.
Come on out and “Du it!”
Return to Archive Index
return to home
 
Return to home