John Lutterbie and Naomi Solo with the sign designating Port Jefferson as a ‘green’ village.
By Naomi Solo
The Port Jefferson High School Environmental Club sells reusable water bottles at a previous Go Green event.
A decade ago Ann Kaplan and John Lutterbie from the Stony Brook University Humanities Institute formed a university community group in order to inspire positive thinking about the environment. When the group wanted to choose a target area to begin its work, the Village of Port Jefferson was selected. The Humanities Institute joined forces with the local government and Port Jefferson schools to make the village a model for environmental awareness.
On Saturday, Nov. 5, the community is invited to to learn more about these joint efforts at the 9th Annual Go Green Information Fair. This year the free event will be held in the cafeteria of the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School at 350 Old Post Road in Port Jefferson from noon to 3 p.m. Creative projects initiated by local students will be the highlight of the day along with musical presentations by the elementary school chorus and a special musical performance by high school student Cole Fortier.
Come learn about Port Jefferson High School’s new Green Roof project, located on the roof of the boy’s locker room. A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. Sierra Club members will be on hand with information on where to hike and explore on Long Island, and members from the Long Island Native Plant Initiative will demonstrate the many ways to cultivate a garden using indigenous plants. A fine example of this is the native plant garden Go Green, LINPI and Port Jefferson Village have developed on the green triangle at the intersection of Spring and High Streets.
An environmental-themed student art show, organized by Lynn Edsall, chairperson of the high school art department, will also be on view to add to the richness of the day and don’t forget to stop by the “Green Elephant” table where, for no money, you can be part of yet another recycle team by taking home whatever items you wish. You may also contribute items while cleaning your closets and cabinets. Call Barbara at 631-642-3048. Please no clothes, linen, electronics, or books.
Jaeda, age 5, and Giana, age 3, of Setauket paint their pumpkins. Photo by Heidi Sutton
From left, 6-year-old Tyler McDermott of Lake Grove, his brother Justin, age 8, and Dylan Munoz, age 2, of Islip enjoy the day. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Painted pumpkins wait to dry at the Long Island Museum's Halloween Family Fun Day. Photo by Heidi Sutton
The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook hosted its annual Halloween Family Fun Day last Sunday afternoon. The free event attracted many families who enjoyed the day painting and decorating pumpkins, trick-or-treating, games and a 1960s-themed musical performance by Squeaky Clean.
The Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook will welcome Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche in concert on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. for an afternoon of songs, great harmonies and stories. The mother/daughter duo bearing the names of two famous musical families is presented as part of the museum’s Sunday Street Concert Series, which is a collaboration with WUSB-FM, The Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and The Long Island Museum. All concerts take place in the Carriage Museum’s Gillespie Room.
Advance sale tickets are $22 through Nov. 11 at www.sundaystreet.org. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $27 (cash only). For the full Sunday Street schedule visit www.sundaystreet.org or call 631-632-1093.
Staff members from the Sachem Public Library’s Community Services Department pose with Lidia Bastianich after the event: from left, Patrice Prawicka, Debra Vigliotti, Lauren Gilbert, Anne Marie Tognella, Lidia, Lorraine Silvering, Barbara DiPalmo, Karen Brady and Wendy Schlactus. Photo from Annemarie Tognella
The celebrity chef speaks to the a large audience at Sachem Public Library on Oct. 30. Photo from Anne Marie TognellaTeen librarian Kyle Quenneville gets his signed copy of Bastianich’s new book. Photo from Annemarie Tognella
TUTTI A TAVOLA A MANGIARE!
Approximately 375 fans of celebrity chef, author and restaurateur Lidia Bastianich attended a talk and book signing event at Sachem Public Library in Holbrook last Sunday in honor of Italian Heritage Month. Lidia signed copies of her latest book, “Lidia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook,” and posed for pictures with attendees both before and after her talk.
Lidia spoke about growing up in Italy and moving to the United States at the age of 12, how she got started in television with the help of Julia Child, going into business with her children and how important family is to her. She described some of the differences between Italian and Italian-American cuisine, how proud she is to be from “the two best countries in the world” and answered some cooking questions from the audience. The crowd was thrilled to meet her and enjoyed her personal anecdotes.
High cholesterol affects a great number of Americans and cuts across many demographics, affecting young and old and those in between. When we think of hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), what do you think is the mainstay of medical treatment? If you said “statins” you would be correct.
Do statins deserve this central role in treatment? They have been convincingly shown in studies to significantly lower cholesterol, and they play an important role for those who have cardiovascular disease. However, should we be using statins as liberally as we have? Well, guidelines for the treatment of high cholesterol, released in November 2013, suggest that we should. In fact, if followed, these guidelines would increase the use of this medication, especially in those over the age of 60. Some in the medical community have even joked that statins might as well be put in the drinking water.
This is a medication that patients may be on for life. I don’t know about you, but that thought sends chills down my spine. We know all medications have pros and cons. Statins are no exception; they have been mired in controversy. For one thing, they have side effects. These include possibly increasing the risks of diabetes, myalgias (muscle pain), hepatic (liver) toxicity, kidney disorders and negatively affecting memory.
Statins also may reduce the benefits of exercise, and they may not be as effective in women as they are in men. Because statins are such effective cholesterol-lowering medications, does this mean that patients on these drugs may become complacent with their diets? A new study indicates that this is exactly what might be happening. Let’s look at the evidence.
Statins have been mired in controversy.
Diet complacency
The “S” in statins does not stand for “superimmune to eating anything.” In a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, results show that those who are taking statins tend to eat more calories and fats and, ultimately, increase their [body mass index] by gaining weight compared to those who were not taking statins (1).
In fact, in this study that used 11 years of NHANES data, results showed that there were a 14 percent increase in fat intake and an almost 10 percent increase in overall calorie intake among statin users. This resulted in a BMI that rose by 1.3 percent in those on statins, while in nonusers over the same period BMI only rose by 0.4 percent.
In other words, if you took an average male who was 5 feet 9 inches and weighed 200 lb, the difference between statin users and nonusers would be the difference between obesity and being just below obesity. Those on statins were consuming about 200 extra calories a day. This increase in calorie consumption occurred after they were placed on statins. Their weight also increased by 6.6 to 11 lb. This is especially concerning to the researchers, since the guidelines for statin use call for a prudent diet to help reduce fat and calorie intake with the ultimate goal of reducing weight.
However, the opposite was found to have happened — users consumed more calories and gained more weight. This is an observational study with over 27,000 participants, therefore no firm conclusions can be made. However, statins are not a license to gorge at the all-you-can-eat buffet line. We already know that statins may increase the risk of diabetes. Why worsen this risk with dietary indiscretions that are harmful to your BMI?
As an aside, the authors note that this increased calorie and fat consumption may be a contributing reason for the increased risk of diabetes with statins, but it’s too early to tell.
Impact on women
We tend to clump data together from trials that focus predominantly on one demographic, in this case men, and apply the results broadly to both men and women. However, in a May 5, 2014, New York Times article, “A New Women’s Issue: Statins,” some in the medical community, including the editor of JAMA, focus attention on this tendency, noting that this may be a mistake (2).
According to the dissenters, the thought process is that women have been underrepresented in statin trials, and cholesterol may not play the same role in women as it does in men. Yet almost half of the patients treated with statins are women. These physicians were referring to the use of statins in primary prevention, or in those who have high cholesterol but who do not have documented heart disease.
Lest you think their views are based solely on opinion or anecdotal data from clinical experience, this data on women was from the JUPITER trial, which looked at almost 7,000 initially healthy female participants (3). Statins did benefit women by reducing the occurrence of chest pain and reducing the number of stent placements and bypass surgeries, but they did not reach the primary end points of showing statistical significance in reducing the occurrence of a first heart attack, stroke or death.
The caveat is that there were not a large number of cardiovascular events — heart attacks, strokes or death — that occurred in either the treatment group or the control group. These results were in women over the age of 60. This may give slight pause when prescribing statins. By no means do I think these physicians are advocating to not give women statins, just that we may want to weigh the benefits and risks on a case-by-case basis.
Tamping down exercise benefits
If exercise is beneficial for lowering cardiovascular disease risk and so are statins, the logical presumption might be that the two together would create a synergistic effect that is greater than the two alone — or at least an added benefit from combining the two. Unfortunately, what seems straightforward is not always the case.
In a small, yet randomized controlled trial, participants who were put on statins and monitored for cardiopulmonary exercise saw a blunted aerobic effect compared to the control group, which exercised without the medication (4). In the treatment group, there was a marginal 1.5 percent improvement with aerobic exercise, while the control group experienced a much more robust 10 percent gain.
The reason for this disappointing discrepancy is that statins seem to interrupt the enzymes that are responsible for making the mitochondria (the powerhouse or energy source for the cell) more efficient. The most troubling aspect of this trial is that the participants chosen were out-of-shape, overweight individuals in need of aerobic exercise.
Whether or not a patient, male or female, is placed on cholesterol-lowering medication, one thing is clear: There is a strong need to make sure that lifestyle modifications are always emphasized to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease to its lowest levels. But the quandary becomes what to do with statins and exercise. And statins, as powerful and effective as they may be, still do have side effects, may reduce exercise benefits and may not have the same effects for women. Thus, they may not be appropriate for everyone. A healthy diet and exercise, however, are appropriate for all.
References: (1) JAMA Intern Med. online April 24, 2014. (2) nytimes.com. (3) N Engl J Med. 2008 Nov 20;359(21):2195-2207. (4) J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013;62(8):709-714.
Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.
Zoyzia grass is a tough, easy to grow lawn grass but turns brown with the cold weather. The small green sprouts are probably onion grass. Over time, zoyzia grass chokes out weeds. Photo by Ellen Barcel
By Ellen Barcel
Last week, we looked at the history of lawns. Since we live in suburbia, and since lawns are part of our gardening experience, let’s take a look at what grasses we grow and what needs to be done in autumn. Each of the grasses below has its advantages and disadvantages.
Zoysia grass, a native of Asia and my personal favorite, needs little in the way of fertilizer, spreads easily through underground runners, choking out weeds, and once established is somewhat drought tolerant. Its major disadvantage is that it thrives on very warm weather, meaning that come winter, it turns brown. Some people dislike this feature enough that they will dye the brown grass green. Me, I just ignore it.
I know that come next spring it will green up and be very easy to care for, something that really appeals to me. If you do add some fertilizer in the spring, make sure you wait until the grass has actually greened up so it can take up the fertilizer. Since it is a warm-weather grass, plant it is spring, not fall.
Kentucky bluegrass is a cool-weather grass. Like zoysia grass it can spread through underground rhizomes. Being more cold tolerant, it stays nice and green much longer than other grasses. However, in the heat of summer, it needs lots of water and it’s also not very shade tolerant. Kentucky bluegrass may have been cultivated in Kentucky, but, it, too is an import from Europe and the Middle East.
Ryegrass is also a cool-weather grass. It’s a tough grass, used in sports fields. It is, however, susceptible to a variety of diseases and winterkill. It’s common in lawn seed mixes and originated in Europe, Asia and North Africa.
Fescue grass, a native of Europe, is also a cool-weather grass but has the advantage of tolerating some shade. According to Oregon State University, it was not widely planted until the 1940s and ’50s — interestingly, the time of the growth of suburbia. Because each grass has some different characteristics, you will frequently find grass seed mixes. If you notice that many of the popular grasses are cool-weather grasses, it will come as no surprise that autumn, with its cooler weather, is a great time to refurbish your lawns. You’ll have less heat and therefore require less added watering.
If you want less work, you can buy sod. Like most everything it has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that it is already sprouted. Disadvantages include cost (it’s more expensive) and you don’t get to select the variety of grasses available. Sod is ideal for refurbishing small areas.
Growing from seed is more time consuming and you need to make sure the seeds are well watered. But, growing from seed is cheaper. You can also get seed that has a covering that absorbs water and contains nutrients. This latter seed is more expensive, but it’s the kind used along roadways where there is no one to tend the new planting.
Since most of the grasses in lawn mixes are cool-weather crops, they grow well in September, October and November (and even a mild December). Remember, according to Suffolk County law, you can’t add fertilizer to your lawn past the end of October. The lawns won’t take up the nutrients — they’ll go into the water table, polluting it and running off into local waterways. In spring, you can’t add fertilizer before the beginning of April for the same reason. Use pre-emergent weed killer in early spring if needed.
A soil pH of 6.0 to 7 is ideal for lawns. Since most of Long Island’s soil is substantially below this level, that is, more acidic, you need to periodically add lime to raise the pH. Read the package directions for each manufacturer’s ideal timing, frequency and amount.
Make sure you remove fallen leaves from your lawn to keep the lawn healthier. Some old-school gardeners will scatter grass seed on bare spots in their lawn just before the first predicted snow fall. This way, the seed is ready to germinate come spring. Water will be provided by the melting snow. Remember that come winter and snow, try to avoid getting ice melt on the lawn.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk (https://ccesuffok.org) has an extensive selection of horticulture fact sheets that can be downloaded, including Healthy Lawns, Lawn Care Without Pesticides, The Homeowner’s Lawn and Repetitive Overseeding.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
Pumpkins are readily available in fall, when people carve jack-o’-lanterns out of pumpkins for Halloween or serve up pumpkin pie after a hearty Thanksgiving dinner. But people who are unsatisfied with plain old pumpkin pie can add something new to their repertoire this fall by cooking up the following recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust, courtesy of Lori Longbotham’s “Luscious Creamy Desserts” (Chronicle Books).
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust
YIELD: Serves 8 to 10
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust
INGREDIENTS:
Crust
1½ cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
½ cup finely chopped hazelnuts
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
Filling
1½ pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup solid-pack pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix)
½ cup créme fraîche, homemade (see below) or store bought, or sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly butter an 8- or 8½-inch springform pan. To make the crust: Stir together all of the ingredients in a medium bowl until the crumbs are moistened. Press the mixture over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Increase the oven temperature to 425 F.
To make the filling: With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large deep bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and then the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and pumpkin pie spice and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the pumpkin purée, créme fraîche and vanilla, and beat until just combined. Pour the filling into the shell.
Place the cheesecake on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 250 F and continue baking for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 2½ hours. Then transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate, tightly covered, for at least 10 hours, until thoroughly chilled and set, or for up to 2 days.
To serve, run a knife around the side of the cheesecake and remove the side of the pan. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature, cut into thin wedges with a sharp knife dipped into hot water and wiped dry after each cut.
Créme Fraîche (Makes about ½ cup) ½ cup heavy whipping cream ½ cup créme fraîche or sour cream with live culture Pour the cream into a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and spoon in the créme fraîche. Let sit on the counter, with the lid slightly ajar, until the mixture thickens, from 4 to 24 hours, depending on the weather. Refrigerate, tightly covered, until ready to use.
Laird’s is America’s first and oldest commercial distillery. Records indicate that William Laird, a County Fyfe Scotsman, settled in Monmouth County, N.J., and produced applejack as early as 1698. In 1780, Robert Laird, a Revolutionary War soldier who served under George Washington, established Laird’s Distillery (License #1) in the tiny community of Scobeyville, N.J.
Applejack is an 80-proof brandy made from apples such as Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Rome, Winesap, Fuji, Stayman, Pippins, Granny Smith, Gala, Macintosh and Jonathan. It is estimated that about 7,000 pounds of apples are needed to make one 50-gallon barrel of apple brandy and about six pounds are needed to make one 750-ml (25.4-ounce) bottle of 80-proof applejack. Laird’s also makes a 100-proof apple brandy labeled Jersey Lighting, which is made from about 20 pounds of apples! By the way, applejack was originally distilled from frozen fermented apple cider, a process called jacking.
Laird’s 80-proof applejack is a blend of 35 percent apple brandy and 66 percent neutral grain spirits. Under U.S. law, it must be aged for two years, but Laird’s is aged for a minimum of three years in charred oak barrels. It is dry and full of deep, rich apple aroma and flavor. Very smooth in the mouth with a caramel finish and an ultra-smooth finish (meaning no burn).
Jersey Lighting is a term dating back to the mid-1800s for applejack, which was made in New Jersey. The brandy is clear in color with an unmistakable perfumed aroma of cider followed by a rich, dry apple taste, subtle, yet full of flavor. I like it either in a brandy snifter or sometimes on the rocks while listening to relaxing music. Applejack is also perfect for hot apple drinks and cocktails, such as Jack Rose and the Pink Lady.
The Jack Rose Cocktail (see recipe below) was supposedly named after “Bald Jack” Rose, a gangster who turned state’s evidence after the killing of Herman Rosenthal in a bar in Times Square in 1912. The Pink Lady Cocktail (see recipe below) was named after a play in 1911 of the same name and starring Hazel Dawn. In 1944, the Pink Lady enjoyed a revival in the play “Happy Birthday” in which Helen Hayes danced on the bar top after several drinks, including the Pink Lady.
Laird’s applejack is excellent for basting or creating a glaze for your turkey and is an essential ingredient for stuffing, which is generally made with apples. Simply add 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup applejack to your stuffing prior to cooking. That’s it… “Here’s to Apples.”
Jack Rose Cocktail
INGREDIENTS: 2 ounces applejack
1 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce grenadine
DIRECTIONS: Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Pink Lady Cocktail
Pink Lady Cocktail
INGREDIENTS: 1-1/2 ounces gin 1/2 ounce applejack 1/2 ounce lemon juice 1/4 ounce grenadine 1 egg white
DIRECTIONS: Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Bob Lipinski, a local author, has written 10 books, including “101: Everything You Need to Know About Whiskey” and “Italian Wine & Cheese Made Simple” (available on Amazon.com). He conducts training seminars on wine, spirits and food and is available for speaking engagements. He can be reached at www.boblipinski.com OR [email protected].
America at its finest has always been a series of contradictions. We are a democracy, but not directly. We are a republic, but not entirely. We are capitalists, but not wholly. We are free, but not always. America has never been an absolute anything and I think with good reason.
All one must do is look toward the grand and gleaming white rotunda of our Capitol Building, adorned with a bronze statue of Freedom, to see the irony of our union. Though an uncomfortable truth, the epicenter of freedom and democracy in the world was built by those who were not free. Slavery is a stain on our nation. Some would rather ignore its uncomfortable truths, refuse to acknowledge its lasting impacts, and remain blind to the errors of our past. Others choose to let its singularity define us.
In the modern era (and in most eras), there are those who comfortably hide behind our flag. They refuse to acknowledge its shortcomings, believing that somehow our imperfections make us weak and/or dilute the idea of America itself. Others have given up on the idea of our nation altogether and have subscribed to the self-deprecating belief that America is a sham, that our misdeeds are too plentiful to salvage our republic.
One question, in particular, uncomfortably encapsulates this whole concept and in a lot of ways the modern American conflict: Can George Washington still be considered a great man if he owned slaves?
This is an unsettling question for some. Personally, I have always viewed him as an almost God-like figure. Who against all odds led an army of ragtags to victory over the world’s greatest superpower? Who had the opportunity to rule for life and establish a monarchy but rather ensured the peaceful transition of power and secured the blessings of liberty for generations to come? Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew he owned slaves. That was a fact I wanted to ignore. More than anything I didn’t want to second guess the pureness of my personal hero, our nation’s first president, a man I had placed on a pedestal of great renown.
Yet, we are doing our country a disservice if we remain blind to uncomfortable truths: George Washington owned more slaves than any other American president — 318 slaves at the time of his death. For perspective, that is roughly the same population as the freshman, sophomore and junior classes of Port Jefferson High School combined.
“Everyone had slaves back then!” is an argument I’ve often heard. You don’t need to look any further than to John Adams or Alexander Hamilton to know there were mainstream abolitionist. Many recognized that slavery was a misdeed, a criminal act even. This fact is a source of great contention among Americans, but I think both sides are the missing the point.
The greatest accomplishment of our nation’s forefathers was their creation of a system of government that would allow future Americans to correct their sins. Using their model, we have successfully abolished slavery and Jim Crow laws, given women and African Americans the right to vote, landed a man on the moon, defeated the Third Reich, created the most professional and well-trained military, built great cities, and fostered the education of the world’s most renowned thinkers, inventors and dreamers.
Our Capitol Building, while built by slaves, is the very same building in which their freedom was finally granted. Progress isn’t always easy, and the work of it is never truly done. In a nation that abhors absolutes, it strikes me as a great misstep to allow absolutists to define us.
George Washington means many things to many people, his entire existence perhaps symbolic of the American story. After his death, he had granted his slaves their most basic right to freedom. After his death, the system of government he helped create would forever grant slaves their basic right to freedom.
Like many, President Washington feared that the abolition of slavery would rip our young country apart. Those fears were not ill founded, as our country did tear apart during the brutal American Civil War. We as individuals must come to our own conclusion, but to reduce our complex history to a series of absolutes strikes me as an injustice to history itself.
America’s genius was not crafted in a single summer day in Philadelphia. It was earned through trial and error, war and bloodshed, broken bloodied chains and crackled whips and the tireless debate and civil discourse of the American people.
We are a dynamic and ever-changing people. Our sins do not define us, but that does not absolve us of them either. We must face the repercussions of our actions as a collective. Abraham Lincoln fought the war George Washington could not, just as we today are forced to confront the conflicts our fathers and forefathers could not.
We did not want to inherit these struggles, no generation does, but how we choose to move forward is what truly makes us American. Our ability to embrace our imperfections and strive ever forward in spite of them, with the endless dream of achieving a more perfect union. Now that is America the Beautiful.
On Nov. 8, please honor our servicemen and women by casting your ballot. Feel free to share your thoughts with me at [email protected].
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