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Fireworks Cupcakes

By Barbara Beltrami

When it’s not dark enough yet for fireworks or when the fireworks are over and you’re hankering for a nice cup of coffee, it’s time to bring out the dessert. The following recipes are delicious finishes to a long day celebrating our independence They all are patriotically correct red, white and blue and sure to please.

Fireworks Cupcakes

YIELD: Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes

INGREDIENTS: 

For the cupcakes:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 2/3 cups sugar

3 egg whites, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 cup vanilla cookie crumbs

For the frosting:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 tablespoons milk

Red, white and blue sprinkles

Star sprinkles 

DIRECTIONS:

For the cupcake batter:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 cupcake pans with cupcake papers. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add one egg white at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In another large bowl, thoroughly combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Fold in cookie crumbs. 

Fill prepared cupcake tins two-thirds full; bake about 22 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. 

For the frosting:

In a large bowl combine the butter, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract. Add the milk very gradually to form a stiff frosting; beat until smooth. Spread the frosting on cooled cupcakes; top with sprinkles. Serve with coffee, milk or fruit punch.

Fourth of July Pie

YIELD: Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

One baked 9” pastry crust

1 pint raspberry sorbet, softened

2 cups sliced strawberries

1 pint strawberry ice cream, softened

2 cups blueberries

1 cup sweetened whipped cream

DIRECTIONS:

Spread baked pastry crust with raspberry sorbet; top with half the sliced strawberries; and freeze for one hour. Spread strawberry ice cream evenly over the strawberries; top with half the blueberries; freeze two hours. Top with whipped cream; arrange remaining berries in an attractive pattern on top. Let sit in refrigerator half an hour before serving or freeze, covered, for up to 48 hours. Serve with coffee, milk or fruit punch

Strawberry, Raspberry and Blueberry Cornmeal Cobbler

Strawberry, Raspberry and Blueberry Cornmeal Cobbler

YIELD: Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

1 pint blueberries

1 pint raspberries

1 pint strawberries, hulled and halved

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8” x 8” square baking dish. In a large bowl toss together the berries, the half cup sugar and cornstarch.; transfer to baking dish. In a large bowl with mixer on medium speed, beat together the one-third cup sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes; add egg and vanilla and beat until well blended.

In a small bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture; beat on low speed just until combined; beat in the milk, then the remaining flour mixture. Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto the berries; bake until berries are bubbly and top is golden, about 45 minutes to one hour. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

 

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Pictured above, from left, Paige Hubbard, office manager; Councilman Neil Foley; Dr. Rohit Reejsinghani; Councilman Timothy Hubbard; Catrina Grefe, NP; Dr. Vishnu Seodat; Councilwoman Jodi Giglio; Councilwoman Catherine Kent; Tina Toulon, physician liaison for NYCBS; and Amanda Brown, medical assistant. Photo courtesy of New York Health

New York Health (NYHealth) recently announced the addition of family physician Dr. Vishnudat Seodat. To celebrate the opening of his two new offices — at 6144 Route 25A, Suite 19 in Wading River and 32645 Main Road, Suite 7-8 in Cutchogue — a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the Wading River location on June 25. 

The event was attended by the Executive Director of New York Health, Dr. Rohit Reejsinghani; Brookhaven Town Councilman Neil Foley: Riverhead Town Councilmembers Catherine Kent, Jodi Giglio and Timothy Hubbard; and members of the staff and community.

Dr. Vishnudat is presented with a Certificate of Congratulations from the Town of Riverhead. Photo courtesy of New York Health

“At the end of the day, New York Health is really about patient care and having the basis of a large group of patients with such a great practitioner in this area really compliments our group very well so we are very happy to have Dr. Seodat on board and we think this is going to be a successful operation moving forward,” said Dr. Reejsinghani.

“As a child, I developed pneumonia which led to a house call from my family physician. The physician did not accept payment from my family for the appointment due to my less fortunate financial living conditions at the time,” said Dr. Seodat. Inspired by the physician’s compassion, Dr. Seodat navigated his life so that he could become a doctor for everyone. “My journey began as a nurse and a pharmacist dispenser before traveling to New York to earn my degree in medicine.”

Working alongside him for the past two years is Adult-Geri Nurse Practitioner, Catrina Grefe, MS, RN-BC, AGNP-C. “Patients can feel confident with me as their practitioner, and I am eager to deliver high-quality care to patients on the East End,” she said.

“Supervisor Yvette Aguiar of the Town of Riverhead together with the entire town board extend their best wishes for success to New York Health Family Medicine … on the opening of your new practice in Wading River. We look forward to having your quality of business in our town and wish you great success,” said Councilman Hubbard before presenting Dr. Seodat with a Certificate of Congratulations.  

“This ribbon cutting ceremony, in my mind, signifies not only the clearing of a barrier but to open a new door and the birth of a new venture with New York Health,” said Dr. Seodat. “It offers an opportunity to expand medical care … to the East End of Long Island. I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to partner with this multidisciplinary group and I hope to set the standard for family practice and primary care in this community and many other communities on Long Island.”

To make an appointment with Dr. Seodat or Catrina Grefe, please call ​631-758-7003.

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Marci Lobel. Photo from SBU

By Daniel Dunaief

Pregnant women with access to the outdoors are less stressed during the pandemic.

In fact, according to an unpublished finding that isn’t yet peer reviewed, pregnant women who had outdoor access were 67 percent less likely to worry about contracting the virus and 63 percent less likely to feel stress about being unprepared for the birth.

Lobel with a recent doctoral student, Jennifer Nicolo-SantaBarbara.

Stony Brook University recently awarded a project led by Dr. Heidi Preis in the Department of Psychology, with co-Principal Investigators Dr. Marci Lobel in the Department of Psychology and Dr. Brittain Mahaffey in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health that explored the link between stress and pregnancy. The researchers are hoping to identify what helps pregnant women and what may make them more vulnerable to the impacts of stress.

Stony Brook provided a total of $398,200 in seed funding to 17 research projects in response to the pandemic. Researchers at Stony Brook had put together 63 submissions, using a peer review process to choose the projects to fund, including the COVID-19 Pregnancy Experiences (or COPE) Study. The funding, which is for one year, is designed to provide the kind of seed funding that will lead to further research and that other funding agencies will support.

The COPE study tapped into a global network of collaborators that Lobel, who is the Director of the Stress and Reproduction Lab at SBU, established over the past 30 years to compare the different factors that mitigate or exacerbate stress for pregnant women in Spain, Israel, Italy, Germany Poland and Switzerland.

“The biological impact of COVID-19 is getting the lion’s share of attention, as it should,” said Lobel. “We don’t yet know enough about how the psychological impact will affect vulnerable groups, like pregnant women.”

Indeed, Lobel has spent three decades studying the effect of stress and related psychological factors on pregnancy. In other studies, major stressors, such as earthquakes, ice storms, and periods of warfare, confirm the toxic impact of prenatal stress, particularly for preterm births and low birth weight, she said.

Lobel and her colleagues created a self-report instrument called the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale, or PREPS, in which women report their specific concerns or anxieties caused by COVID-19.

Throughout the United States, the team sought responses from about 4,500 women recruited through social media at the end of April and the beginning of May.

Marci Lobel with her family at Yosemite in 2016. The photo credit is: Photo courtesy of Marci Lobel.

Among the women in the study, just over half of them were pregnant with their first child. In many studies that predated the current work, including some from her own research group, Lobel said women pregnant with their first child had higher levels of stress.

In some preliminary findings, 21.7 percent of pregnant women in the study reported severe levels of anxiety. “I think that is higher than what we typically would find in a population study of pregnant women,” Lobel said.

Women with a history of interpersonal violence also reported higher levels of stress and those whose prenatal appointments were canceled or altered were 1.78 times more likely to experience high stress related to a lack of preparedness and 1.49 times more likely to experience high stress related to worries about perinatal infection.

Some women in the study have found ways to reduce the accumulating stress about the health care crisis. The techniques that work for some women, Lobel said, may not work for others, suggesting that stress relief is specific to the individual and is usually determined by the situation itself.

“I don’t recommend any particular way of coping,” Lobel said. “What works for one may not work for another. It’s good to have a tool kit with lots of ways of coping.”

Indeed, some of the techniques pregnant women have found helpful include meditation, prayer, and faith-based practices. Pregnant women have also benefited from social support, which is particularly important during the pandemic when some women may feel “literally and figuratively isolated from others,” Lobel said.

Of all the research Lobel has done, the one that has received the most attention and landed her in the bible for pregnant women, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” was a study on optimism. She found that women who were more optimistic had better birth outcomes due in part to the better are they took of their health during pregnancy.

Coping with stress by avoidance predicts increases in emotional distress, Lobel explained. This corroborates much research which shows that avoidance is usually an ineffective way to cope with stress, except in limited cases such as when a stressful situation is brief and uncontrollable.

When people avoid the things that bother them, they can do it cognitively or through alcohol, which is especially dangerous for pregnant women and their developing fetuses. Avoidance can also involve excessive sleeping, as pregnant women may decide they don’t want to deal with life and stay in bed all day.

The scientists plan to collect a second set of data from these women, who were recruited through social media and who represent a diverse socioeconomic background, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other factors, on July 15th.

Lobel said she already has some preliminary, unpublished findings from Poland, which are showing the same kinds of stressors and distress among pregnant women. Polish women have expressed stress related to worries about lack of preparation for birth during the pandemic and stress related to worries about infection.

Lobel said the researchers hope to explore a host of questions as they collect more information. They hope to look at obsessions and compulsions and would like to measure anger. They also will measure levels of depression and anxiety and will compare that to the norms for non-pregnant women.

On the other side of the stress meter, the group will study how being pregnant during the pandemic may help some women appreciate their pregnancy more. For some women, the pregnancy may give them strength to deal with the pandemic, as they focus on having a baby.

The researchers will also explore the level of control women feel over the outcome of their pregnancy and the health of their baby. Feeling in control can create a positive response associated with lower distress.

While Lobel and her colleagues won’t answer all these questions in a year, they hope their initial studies will lead to more funding and research. “Hopefully, we’ll get a [National Institutes of Health] grant to follow up these women for a couple of years to study them and their children to see if there are any developmental or mental or physical health effects” of the pandemic.

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Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci and Councilman Ed Smyth joined Andrew Steinmueller, President of ARS Landscape & Design, the first business to “adopt” and beautify two pieces of public property under the Adopt-a-Corner community beautification program, for a special unveiling of the installations at the southwest entrance to Heckscher Park in Huntington on June 24.

ARS Landscape & Design planted their first Adopt-a-Corner installation at the Prime Avenue entrance to the park in September of 2019 and added a second installation at the Main Street and Prime Avenue corner entrance to the park, maintaining both installations throughout the year. 

A box of complimentary wildflower seed packets was installed by the landscape company at the second installation, from which visitors to the park can take a complimentary seed packet. A second box of seed packets will be installed next to the first installation on the western Prime Avenue entrance to the park within the week.

Businesses, organizations and residents can adopt, beautify and maintain a select piece of public property approved by the Town of Huntington for one year, with the option to renew for a second year. 

Supervisor Lupinacci sponsored the Town Board resolution creating the Adopt-a-Corner program in October 2018 after Andre Sorrentino, the Town’s Director of General Services, approached him with the idea to involve the greater Huntington community in beautification projects across the town.

“Adopt-a-Corner is quality of life initiative, that offers a creative outlet for residents, business owners and organizations to display their pride in the Huntington community, while helping beautify our town at no cost to our taxpayers,” explained Supervisor Lupinacci. “Thank you to ARS Landscape & Design for these inaugural Adopt-a-Corner installations and for the seed packets they are giving away.”

“I am the prime beneficiary of this Adopt-a-Corner installation because my office is located across the street,” stated Councilman Smyth. “I see this beautiful corner every day. I encourage everyone to make the town look its best by adopting a corner. The resident or business which adopts a corner may put place a small plaque with their name or dedicate the corner in honor of someone.” 

“Over these past few months, we have been faced with a pandemic that forced us all inside and gave us all a feeling of uncertainty. Audrey Hepburn once said ‘To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow,’ I hope that by planting these gardens, I can spread a little joy and hope for what tomorrow may bring,” added Steinmueller.

Pictured in photo, from left, Councilman Smyth; Andre Sorrentino; Supervisor Lupinacci; Andrew Steinmueller (holding Addison Steinmueller); Bonnie Steinmueller (holding Ashton Steinmueller); Liz Steinmueller; and Joseph Digicomo. To apply to adopt a corner, visit www.huntingtonny.gov.

Photos courtesy of the Town of Huntington

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Stock photo

By Linda Toga, Esq.

Linda Toga, Esq.

With the COVID-19 pandemic on everyone’s mind, many people who have not engaged in estate planning have contacted me about how best to proceed with the development of an estate plan. 

It seems that the fear of the virus has made people understand the need for estate planning. However, even if you have a will or a trust, a power of attorney and/or a healthcare proxy, now is a good time to review your documents to confirm that they still express your wishes and meet your needs. Advanced planning is not something you think about once and forget. Successful planning requires that you periodically review and possibly revise your documents to reflect changes in your life circumstances. 

Some things to think about are:

Your beneficiaries: Have any of the beneficiaries named in your will or trust passed away? If so, you may want to name some new beneficiaries to share in your estate. Even if a beneficiary is still living, you should ask yourself if that person is still someone to whom you wish to leave a bequest. Relationships change over time. Are there new people in your life who are important to you? Are there beneficiaries named in your documents with whom you now have little or no contact, perhaps as the result of a divorce or relocation? Did you name a charity that no longer exists as a beneficiary? Are any of the beneficiaries now disabled? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you should consider making changes to your will or trust. 

The bequests: If you financial situation has changed since you created your estate plan and you can now make more generous bequests, you may want to revisit the size of bequests made to certain individuals. The converse is also true. If your estate is likely to be significantly smaller, perhaps you want to limit the bequests you are making either by removing some beneficiaries or decreasing the amount or percent of your estate going to each beneficiary. 

Your fiduciaries: The word fiduciaries refers to the people you have named as executor, trustee, agent and/or guardian in your estate planning documents. If any of the people you named as a fiduciary have passed, you should name a successor. If you named a sibling as an executor because your children were minor and now they are responsible adults, perhaps you want to name one of more of your children as the executor(s) of your estate.

Many clients revise their estate plans and name their children as agents on their powers of attorney or healthcare proxies when their children are older, more responsible and in a better position to make important decisions. This may be something you want to consider. If you named guardians to care for your children in the event you die when the children are still minors, it is very important to revisit this appointment. Perhaps your children have attained the age of majority and no longer need a guardian in which case the provision naming a guardian can be deleted. 

If a guardian may still be needed, you should consider the relationship the named guardian has with your children. Perhaps the person you named no longer has a good relationship with your children, or they have moved out of state and could only serve if your children are relocated. Has the guardian’s financial situation or living arrangements changed to the point that taking in and caring for your children will be overly burdensome? Since the guardian you name may be raising your children, all of these issues deserve serious thought. 

Although there are many issues to consider when reviewing your estate plan, the points mentioned above can provide a good starting point. Retaining an experienced estate planning attorney to review your documents with you and to discuss any changes you may want made will ensure that your estate plan will once again reflect your wishes. 

Linda M. Toga, Esq provides legal services in the areas of estate planning and administration, real estate, small business services and litigation. Call 631-444-5605 or email Ms. Toga at [email protected] to schedule a consultation. 

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Reviewed by Melissa Arnold

Author Tara Drouin

For the past several weeks, a national conversation about racism and discrimination has reached a fever pitch. Protests are happening from coast to coast, social media is buzzing, and statues are being taken down.

As a musician, teacher and parent, Tara Drouin has always tried to instill young people with good values, among them respect, inclusivity, and celebrating the things that make us different and unique. Several years ago, Drouin’s band iRideSense (pronounced “iridescence”) wrote a song called “One Heart” that shares those messages. Not long after, she published a book for children, also titled One Heart.

Now more than ever, the message of “One Heart” — both on the page and in the fun, upbeat tune — is needed in our world. The book is easy enough for young readers to try alone, and can be used as a lighthearted, positive conversation starter about these important issues. Tara Drouin is also available to lead 45-minute lessons on diversity for students either in-person or virtually. Teachers can hire her via the Nassau County BOCES system. 

Are you from Long Island?

When I was very young, I lived in Far Rockaway, and then we moved to Merrick when I was about 12.

Were you a musical child? Do you come from a musical family?

Yes! My mom would play guitar around the house. She was really into Joni Mitchell and a lot of classic rock — The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Led Zeppelin — all of those were played at home. I took guitar lessons when I was around 12, but it didn’t really stick in the beginning. My younger brother really took to it, though, and he was writing songs at 16 years old. It wasn’t until I started playing bass that I really found my instrument. 

What did you pursue in school, and what did you end up doing for a career?

When I first started college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I got a degree in liberal arts from Nassau County Community College. I was taking a music class, as well as a lot of English and poetry classes. 

I worked in the fashion industry for many years, but music was always a serious pursuit. Songwriting came easily to me. I would use music as an outlet for my feelings and expressing the way I live life. It’s my therapy. A lot of the songs I write are the things I need to tell myself. 

Tara Drouin

Tell me a bit about your band, iRideSense. 

I’ve been playing in iRideSense since my early 20s — we’ve been together since 1993. I’m now married to the drummer, and my brother is a part of the band as well. When I first started school at Nassau County Community College, I met Rob Viccari, who became our guitar player, and my husband Rich auditioned for us. He was the last piece of the puzzle. Some of our songs ended up being licensed to Nickelodeon, which was really cool. We released a couple albums and got to do a cross-country tour, so it’s been a crazy ride. 

You’re also a teacher, correct?

I am. I went back to school to become a teacher when I was in my 30s. I had always thought about teaching and I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world with music. The band was moderately successful, but I did want another career, and my husband encouraged me to go back to school. I got a bachelor’s in English and my master’s in education for grades 1 through 6 from Queens College. I’ve been teaching for 12 years now in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. 

What came first, the idea for the book One Heart or the song?

The song came first. I’ve had a diverse population in all my classrooms  my students have been Dominican, Haitian, Asian, Jewish, and from many other backgrounds. I saw a need for children to learn that while, yes, we might all look different and have different experiences, on the inside, we have the same heart. We’re all human. 

I wanted to write an upbeat song that would bring people together and share that message of unity. It’s a bit of a departure from our normal pop-rock sound — “One Heart” is more folk-based, and I had my daughter and nephew sing on the chorus. We released the song on the International Day of Peace, Sept. 21, in 2016.

What inspired you to write this story?

I could always picture images to go along with the lyrics of the song. I really saw it turning into a book. 

How did you go about publishing the book?

I self-published. At first I didn’t know that was possible, and I put a lot of time into researching and sending query letters to publishers. I read that the process was competitive. But then a friend said to me, “You know you can self-publish, right?” I had no idea. I ended up going with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, where each book is printed on demand instead of in mass quantities. It works really well for me. 

Is there a target age group?

I think it would be a good fit for kids in pre-K through 5th grade

Who is the illustrator and how did you find her?

I met a really nice art teacher working in the Bethpage School District named Nancy Noskewicz, and she also loved the idea of the book, so she offered to illustrate it for me and we began to collaborate. She had never illustrated a book before, and it had been a long time since she’d done artwork for herself, outside of the school setting, so she was really excited. I loved the creativity she brought to the illustrations.

Have you gotten feedback on the book since it was written?

Yes, I got some great feedback and sold a bunch of copies. A friend of mine put the book images together with the song track on YouTube, which went over really well, too. I also got to do an interview on The Donna Drake Show. 

What message do you hope kids will come away with after reading your book?

This book teaches kids about unity and kindness in a way that’s easy to understand. No one should be judged by the color of their skin, but rather the kind of person that they are. In light of everything that has happened with race relations in America, most recently with George Floyd, I feel a responsibility as a mom, a teacher and a musician to speak out against this systemic racism. 

We cannot change the past but we must change our future. Our children need to be taught that acceptance, kindness, unity and love are all important to making this work. Our lives are all intertwined. As the book says, “When voices come together there’s nothing better! Inside everybody’s got One Heart!” I do believe we are all alike more than we are different. 

What’s next for you? Have you written any other books?

Before the pandemic started, we were getting ready to go back into the studio to record some new songs with the band. We haven’t put out an album since 2015. We just got the green light to come in whenever we’re ready, so that’s exciting. I also have two children’s book ideas in the works — one is about my parent’s house in the Catskills, called Red Rock Road, and the other is based on a lullaby.

“One Heart” is available to purchase at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. To keep up on what’s new with One Heart, follow @1heartofficial on Instagram. The song “One Heart” is available wherever you stream music, and a free download is available at www.iridesense.com.

 

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Kevin Reed. Photo from SBU

By Daniel Dunaief

At the beginning of this month, the North Atlantic started its annual hurricane season that will extend through the end of November.

Each year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offers a forecast in May for the coming season. This year, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center anticipates a 60 percent chance of an above-normal season. The Center anticipates 13 to 19 storms, although that number doesn’t indicate how many storms will make landfall.

These predictions have become the crystal ball through which forecasters and city planners prepare for a season that involves tracking disturbances that typically begin off the West coast of Africa and pick up energy and size as they travel west across the Atlantic towards Central America. While some storms travel back out to sea, others threaten landfall by moving up the Gulf Coast or along Atlantic Seaboard of the United States.

Kevin Reed, an Associate Professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, and Alyssa Stansfield, a graduate student in his lab, recently predicted the likely amount of rainfall from tropical cyclones.

Alyssa Stansfield at the 33rd Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology in 2018. Photo by Arianna Varuolo-Clarke

 

Using climate change projection simulations, Reed and Stansfield came up with a good-news, bad-news scenario for the years 2070 through 2100. The good news in research they published in Geophysical Research Letters is they anticipate fewer hurricanes.

The bad news? The storms will likely have higher amounts of rain, with increased rain per hour.

“If you focus on storms that make landfall over the Eastern United States, they are more impactful from a rainfall standpoint,” Reed said. “The amount of rainfall per hour and the rainfall impact per year is expected to increase significantly in the future.”

In total, the amount of rainfall will be less because of the lower number of storms, although the intensity and overall precipitation will be sufficient to cause damaging rains and flooding.

Warmer oceans and the air above them will drive the increased rainfall, as these storms pass over higher sea surface temperatures where they can gain energy. Warmer, moist air gives the hurricanes more moisture to work with and therefore more potential rainfall.

“As the air gets warmer, it can hold more water in it,” Stansfield said. “There’s more potential rain in the air for the hurricanes before they make landfall.”

Stansfield said the predictions are consistent with what climatologists would expect, reflecting how the models line up with the theory behind them. She explored how climate change affects the size of storms in this paper, but she wants to do more research looking at hurricane size in the future.

“If hurricanes are larger, they will drop rainfall over a larger area,” which could increase the range of area over which policy makers might need to prepare for potential damage from flooding and high winds, Stansfield said.

While her models suggest that storms will be larger, she cautioned that the field hasn’t reached a consensus about the size of future storms. As for areas where there is greater consensus, such as the increased rainfall their models predict for storms at the end of the century, Stansfield suggested that the confidence in the community about their forecasts, which use different climate models, is becoming “more apparent as more modeling groups reach the same conclusion.”

Alyssa Stansfield at Sequoia National Park in 2018. Photo by Jess Stansfield

In explaining the expectations for higher rainfall in future storms, Reed said that even storms that had the same intensity as current hurricanes would have an increase in precipitation because of the availability of more moisture at the surface.

While storms in recent years, such as Hurricanes Harvey, Florence and Dorian dumped considerable rain in their path because they moved more slowly, effectively dumping rain over a longer period of time in any one area, it’s “unclear” whether future storms would move more slowly or stall over land.

Several factors might contribute to a decrease in the number of storms. For starters, an increase in wind sheer could disrupt the formation of some storms. Vertical wind sheer is caused when wind speed and direction changes with increasing altitude. Pre-hurricane conditions may also change due to internal variability and the randomness of the atmosphere, according to Reed.

Reed said the team chose to use climate models to make predictions for the end of the century because it is common in climate science for comparison to the recent historical record. They also used a 30 year period to limit some of the uncertainty due to internal variability of weather systems.

Stansfield, who is in her third year of graduate school and anticipates spending another two years at Stony Brook University before defending her graduate thesis, said she became interested in studying hurricanes in part because of the effects of Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Alyssa Stansfield at Yosemite in 2019. Photo by Kathy Stansfield

When she was younger, she and her father Greg used to go to the beach when a hurricane passed hundreds of miles off the coast, where she would see the impact of the storm in larger waves. At some point, she would like to fly in a hurricane hunter plane, traveling directly into a storm to track its speed and direction.

Stansfield said one of the more common misconceptions about hurricanes is that the category somehow determines their destructive power. Indeed, Superstorm Sandy was a Category 1 hurricane when it hit New York and yet it caused $65 billion in damage, making it the 4th costliest hurricane in the United States, according to the NOAA.

After Stansfield earns her PhD, she said she wants to continue studying hurricanes. One question that she’d like to address at some point is why there are between 80 to 90 hurricanes around the world each year. This has been the case for about 50 years, since satellite records began.

“That’s consistent every year,” she said. “We don’t know why that’s the number. There’s no theory behind it.” She suggested that was a “central question” that is unanswered in her field. 

Understanding what controls the number of hurricanes will inform predictions about how that number will change in response to climate change.

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Happy Meal
Beauty in Hand
Ballet En L'air
Appetizing
A Big One
Color Display
Crazy Speed
Golden Fun
Hummingbird Mint
In Love
Kill Deer
Night Hunter
Piping Plover
Prairie Warbler
Color Display

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER: Jay Gao

Jay Gao

Hometown: Stony Brook

Photographer: When empty-nested, I bought myself a Nikon D750 camera, my first DSLR, at the end of 2015 as a New Year’s gift. Before that, I had experience in using compact point and shoot cameras.

Favorite camera: Nikon D750, an entry-level full-frame DSLR. I love its strength in low-light performance. 

Favorite lenses: For wildlife, I mostly use Sigma 150-600mm 5-6.3 Contemporary, and for travel I like to use Nikon 24-120mm f/4. When shooting flowers, I prefer to use Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G.

Favorite locations: I love to visit the Stony Brook Mill Pond and Stony Brook Harbor with my camera. It is a beautiful place all year round and there are so many kinds of birds. As a matter of fact, this is mostly where I have been practicing my bird shots. My other favorite spots include my backyard, West Meadow Beach, Nissequogue River State Park and Sunken Meadow State Park.

Have you entered any photo contests? I won first place in the 2018 Better Newspaper Contest of New York Press Association; was selected to exhibit in the Oversea Chinese History Museum in Beijing by the committee of the 4th World Overseas Chinese Photography Exhibition (2019); and won in the “China’s City View” theme of Impression of China photography contest in 2020, although the display was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Favorite aspect about taking photos: I enjoy going out and shooting with my camera. In addition to appreciating and sharing of the beauty of mother nature, you can benefit from the fresh air and physical exercise.

Best advice to get that perfect shot: 

Go out often and enjoy. When shooting birds, pay attention to the background and try to get close to their eye levels. I mostly use these camera settings: manual mode (1/1200 s, f8 and auto ISO), single point continuous focus and continuous shooting. I love to use the back button focus.

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Stock photo

By Barbara Beltrami

I think of scallions as the kinder, gentler member of the onion family. They have the flavor without the bitter aftertaste but offer the nuances of an onion-y taste. Suited more to delicate dishes than robust ones, they are especially nice in Asian-style cuisine. The other day I dug a lot of them out of my garden, brought them inside and vigorously washed the dirt off them. Then I trimmed them and laid them in a beautiful pyramid on my cutting board and realized I had more than I could use. Or did I? What about a creamy scallion soup? Or scallion pancakes? Or a scallion salad with radishes, cucumbers and herbs?

Creamy Scallion Soup

YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

6 to 7 bunches of scallions

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large potato, peeled and diced

6 cups chicken broth

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup snipped chives for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Wash, trim and thinly slice the scallions. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat melt butter with the olive oil; add scallions and, stirring often, cook until wilted but not browned. Add potato and chicken broth and over medium-high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potato is mushy; season with salt and pepper. Let soup sit until cooled slightly, about 15 minutes, then puree in food processor until smooth. Stir in cream; garnish with chives and serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold with crusty bread and a tomato and cucumber salad.

Scallion and Kimchi Pancakes

Scallion and Kimchi Pancakes

YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

1 cup flour

1/2 cup rice flour

Coarse salt

1 egg, beaten

1 cup sparkling water, seltzer or club soda

6 scallions, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 cup drained kimchi (Korean preserved cabbage)

1/4 cup liquid from kimchi 

1 tablespoon minced fresh red chile pepper

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 F. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, rice flour, salt, egg, sparkling water and kimchi liquid. Stir in scallions, kimchi and chile pepper. In an 8″ nonstick skillet heat 1 to 2 teaspoons oil. Ladle half a cup of batter to cover bottom of skillet and form an 8” pancake. Cook, turning once, until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes each side; transfer to shallow baking pan or baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining batter. Cut each pancake into quarters and serve hot or warm with Korean dipping sauce. 

Scallion and Herb Salad with Radishes and Cucumbers

YIELD: Makes 6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

8 scallions, washed and trimmed, whites and greens separated

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

Coarse salt to taste

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 cup fresh arugula

6 to 8 radishes, washed, trimmed and very thinly sliced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and minced,

1 red chile, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

Thinly slice scallion whites. In a large bowl, toss them with rice vinegar, sugar and salt; let sit about 10 minutes. Thinly slice scallion greens. Add them along with cilantro, arugula, radishes, cucumber, red chile, sesame oil and sesame seeds to scallion whites. Toss to combine all ingredients. Serve immediately with fish, poultry, pork or beef.

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The restored Vanderbilt Estate saltwater pool with a view of Northport Bay. Photo from Vanderbilt Museum

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum recently reopened its grounds – but not its buildings – to the public in accordance with Suffolk County and New York State safety guidelines. The museum, which is located at 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, will welcome a limited number of visitors on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Come for a stroll, a picnic, salt air, blooming gardens, and spectacular views of Northport Bay. 

“We are thrilled to have permission from Suffolk County and New York State to begin slowly reopening to the public,” said Elizabeth Wayland-Morgan, executive director of the museum.

“Our gardeners have been busy working in the gardens and flower beds since May 15, doing spring cleanup and planting new roses and annual flowers. Our crew has been tending to the property, mowing acres of lawn and trimming trees. The work is still in-progress, but the Mansion and Estate grounds are looking beautiful once again. We’re ready and eager to welcome summer visitors,” she said.

Visitors are asked to wear a mask when unable to maintain six feet of social distance. Bathrooms will be open to one family/visitor group at a time, and a custodian will sanitize bathroom touchpoints regularly throughout the day.

All visitors must carry out everything they bring with them to the property, including picnic/food waste, and water or beverage containers.

The fee to enter the property will be $14 per carload, members are free. Tickets are available online only at www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

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