Tara Carpenter, NC.
Nutrition Consultant specialized in creating digestive strength.
Originally published on February 25, 2016.
In 2006 my teacher, Cornelia Aihara, passed away. I loved this woman. A respected macrobiotic teacher who ran a learning center in the northern part of California with her husband, Herman Aihara. I apprenticed with her in my early twenties before having children and lived and breathed her teachings of yin/yang traditional healing principles; ones I continue to use in my life and work as a Holistic Nutrition Consultant.
My fondest memories are those of shelling peas with Cornelia at the wooden table as the sun went down. Walking barefoot in the morning grass wet with dew. Being in her cellar, tending the huge vats of miso. Harvesting ume plums to make umeboshi vinegar. Hanging daikon for takuan pickles. Chanting until my mind dropped down into my belly.
My favorite memory though is something she called ‘throwing the healthy business of eating’ out the window. She’d spontaneously take us to a diner to order banana splits and Belgium waffles. We sat and laughed, then walked back to the center to put on our aprons and make miso soup.
Cornelia taught me food is food. She helped me see my health issues were more in my control than I realized. That what went in had to come out …. one way or another. Yin and yang. She taught me to take medicinal cooking less seriously no matter how serious the health condition. To create balance. Balance in the kitchen and bigger world. To keep the balancing act tipped in my favor. The bigger the front, the bigger the back.
I’m trying Cornelia, each and every day 🙂
Tara Carpenter, NC.
