By Jane Keller Gordon, Contributing Writer
Westborough – Almost 30 people – mostly cancer survivors – gathered May 3 for the monthly meeting of Cancer Support for All (CaSfA) at the Central One Federal Credit Union in Westborough. Joanne Sullivan, herself a breast cancer survivor, founded the group in 2011 when she could not find a local support group. What began as a small group, meeting in her family room, now has 80 members.
According to its website, “CaSfA is dedicated to providing support, information, education and hope to improve the lives and well-being of cancer survivors and their loved ones – from diagnosis, through treatment and beyond.”
Sullivan, who has lived in Westborough since 1998, said that running CaSfA is now her full-time job. Sullivan was previously an emergency room physician and raised four children with her husband.
For CaSfA, Sullivan writes an extensive newsletter twice a month that she emails to members, and organizes a monthly lunch at local restaurants and monthly meetings the first Tuesday night of the month.
“Evening workshops have included nutrition for survivors, Zumba, yoga, medication, managing lymphedema, acupuncture, polarity, oncology massage, physical therapy and healthy cooking with a professional chef,” Sullivan commented.
Westborough’s Lynn Price has found the group very beneficial.
“I’ve been a member since I was diagnosed with breast cancer,” she said. “Joanne Sullivan has been phenomenal in helping getting me through my treatment. The group has been supportive in so many ways.”
CaSfA’s May 2016 evening speaker was award-winning cookbook author Maria Speck. Her highly regarded books are “Simply Ancient Grains” and “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals.”
“I do hope that the recipes that I created will accompany them on their journey,” Speck said about the members of the group.
Speck, who now lives in Cambridge, gained a deep appreciation for ancient grains while growing up in Germany and Greece. She spoke with great enthusiasm about easy recipes that result in delicious dishes.
“I get totally carried away with grains,” she noted.
Her mission was to write cookbooks that made it easier for busy Americans to cook with ancient grains. To that end, she includes tips about advance preparations and freezing.
Speck discussed quick-cooking whole grains, such as quinoa, amaranth, couscous, bulgur and millet, and, slow-cooking grains, which she recommends soaking overnight, including wheat berries, rye berries, kamut and spelt.
Using a large pot, Speck likes to make a batch of slow cooking grains during the weekend, and then add them into recipes throughout the week. Some of her recipes include a little bit of meat and fish.
“It’s about portion size, for our own health and the health of our planet,” Speck said.
Speck lamented about today’s grains.
“We’ve treated grains like trash,” she noted. “Modern wheat today is not what a grain should be like. It’s a flavorless high gluten.”
She commented that pumpernickel bread in the U.S. bears no resemblance to the dark rustic whole grain bread that she ate in Germany.
In contrast to grains that we buy in the supermarket, Speck said that once you eat locally grown, good quality whole grains, “it’s like eating farm-grown tomatoes compared to canned tomatoes.”
After Speck’s talk, the group enjoyed a bounty of dishes prepared using her recipes. There were muffins, cookies, breads, tomato-rye risotto with cumin and chorizo, chicken stew with honey-balsamic squash and farro, gluten-free quinoa bits with smoked salmon and dill, and more.
For more information about Speck’s recipes, visit mariaspeck.com. To learn about CaSfA, contact Sullivan at [email protected].