AS YOU WISH
Cary Elwes and Robin Wright star in ‘The Princess Bride’
Inconceivable! Thirty years have passed since the tale of Princess Buttercup and her true love Westley became a movie classic. In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Rob Reiner’s film adaptation of William Goldman’s “The Princess Bride” will return to over 700 select cinemas nationwide on Sunday, Oct. 15 and Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m., as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series from Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies.
André the Giant and Robin Wright in a scene from ‘The Princess Bride.’
When the beautiful maiden Buttercup (Robin Wright) hears that her true love Westley (Cary Elwes) is dead, she reluctantly agrees to marry the loathsome Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). After Westley returns to rescue Buttercup, the two begin an epic adventure filled with giants, fire swamps and rodents of unusual size. Featuring an all-star cast, including Mandy Patinkin, Carol Kane, André the Giant and Billy Crystal, the film proves that true love will conquer all. The screening will include a special introduction by TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz and Reiner, who will discuss “The Princess Bride” and its legacy.
Participating movie theaters in our neck of the woods include AMC Loews Stony Brook 17, 2196 Nesconset Highway, Stony Brook; Farmingdale Multiplex Cinemas, 1001 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale; and Island 16 Cinema de Lux, 185 Morris Ave., Holtsville. To purchase your ticket in advance, please visit www.fathomevents.com.
Above, the cast of ‘A Kooky, Spooky Halloween’ at Theatre Three.
By Heidi Sutton
There’s something kooky going on at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson. As a matter of fact, there’s something spooky going on there as well. In perfect timing with the upcoming holiday, the Children’s Theatre presents a brand new musical treat, “A Kooky Spooky Halloween,” through Oct. 28.
Written by Jeffrey Sanzel and Steve McCoy, the adorable show emphasizes the importance of telling the truth and helping others. Skillfully directed by Sanzel, the talented cast of eight adults embraces the brilliant script and, with plenty of audience interaction, presents a wonderful afternoon of live theater.
The cast sings ‘It’s Ma Who Makes the Toast’
Ghost Abner Perkins (Dylan Robert Poulos) has just graduated from Haunted High School and awarded a medallion of invisibility. His first assignment is to be the spooksperson on Halloween for Ma Aberdeen’s Boarding House, “the most haunted house in Harrison County, USA,” which is also known for serving the best toast. There’s only one problem — Abner is afraid of the dark. “It’s like a vampire who’s afraid of necks!” quips his friend Lavinda (Jessica Contino), a good natured witch, before presenting him with a night-light to wear on his hat. Lavinda promises to help Abner with his haunting duties for the first few days.
When they arrive at the boarding house, they come upon Ma Aberdeen (Ginger Dalton), the finest toast maker in the land, and her boarders, Kit Garret (Meg Bush) and the Petersons — Paul the periodontist (Steven Uihlein), his wife Penelope (Nina Moran) and their son Pip (Eric J. Hughes), whose alliterations using words that start with the letter P are perfectly prodigious!
As the sun sets, Abner plays silly tricks on the unsuspecting group, making them stuff Halloween goodie bags in double time, exercise, sing, dance and get stuck to each other. Things are going hauntingly well until fellow graduate Dora Pike (Elizabeth Ladd) shows up. A ghost with a grudge (she was hoping to be assigned to Ma Aberdeen’s boarding house), Dora steals Abner’s night-light and medallion out of revenge and makes her way to Black Ridge Gulch, the deepest, darkest gorge in the entire world (where it’s really, really dark).
Dylan Robert Poulos and Jessica Contino star as Abner and Lavinda in the show.
Now visible, Abner convinces the boarders, who are still stuck to each other, to accompany him and Lavinda on a quest to retrieve his property. Will Abner be able to overcome his fear of the dark? Will the two ghosts be able to reach a compromise?
From the first number, “A-Haunting We Will Go” by the entire company, to the downright creepy “It Will All Fade to Black” by Dora, and the catchy “It’s Ma Who Makes the Toast,” the original songs by Steve McCoy are the heart of the show. Utilizing the set from the current Mainstage production, “The Bridges of Madison County,” the show features excellent choreography by Nicole Bianco. Ditto the costumes by Teresa Matteson.
“A Kooky Spooky Halloween” is the perfect show to get into the spirit of Halloween and a wonderful way to spend a fall afternoon. But be forewarned — for some strange reason, you’ll exit the theater having a craving for toast! Meet the cast in the lobby for photos on your way out.
Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson will present “A Kooky Spooky Halloween” on Oct. 14, 21 and 28 at 11 a.m. and Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. with a sensory-sensitive performance on Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. Running time is 1 hour and 15 minutes with one intermission, and Halloween costumes are encouraged.
Children’s Theatre will continue with everyone’s holiday favorite, “Barnaby Saves Christmas,” from Nov. 24 to Dec. 30 and “Rapunzel — The Untold Story” from Jan. 20 to Feb. 24. All seats are $10. To order, call 631-928-9100 or visit www.theatrethree.com.
All photos by Peter Lanscombe, Theatre Three Productions, Inc.
Health professionals from John T. Mather Memorial Hospital will be on hand to provide free blood pressure screenings at the event. File photo by Heidi Sutton
By Ernestine Franco
We all strive to lead healthy lives. We strive to eat healthy foods, even if sometimes we overindulge. We strive to be active, even if sometimes we spend too much time in front of the TV or computer. We strive to do what our doctors tell us to do, even if sometimes we don’t like what we hear. To reach these goals, we can use all the help that’s out there. To provide some of this help the Sound Beach Civic Association will bring together health professionals at a free Health and Wellness Expo on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Sound Beach Firehouse, 152 Sound Beach Blvd. The event is co-sponsored by the Times Beacon Record News Media.
The civic invites everyone to come and learn how to make good health decisions from a variety of health professionals. Mather Hospital and its physician services group, Harbor View Medical Services, will provide glucose screening, blood pressure screening, body mass index as well as distribute kits for colon cancer screening.
Ergonomic posture exams will be provided by The Chiropractic Joint, hearing screenings by Ear Works Audiology, body wrap demonstration and fat fighter demonstration by IT Works Health and Wellness and carbon monoxide testing for smokers by Suffolk County Health Department.
Rite Aid will provide flu shots. To get a flu shot, you’ll need to bring any insurance information (including Medicare Parts B & D), a list of any medical conditions, as well as your primary care physician’s name, address and phone number.
Suffolk County Police, 7th Precinct, will be there with a Shed the Meds box so you can safely dispose of unused/unwanted prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs. The Sound Beach Fire Department will be on hand to showcase its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) equipment and explain best practices for calling 911 for a medical emergency. Ameriprise will bring some table goodies and provide information on your financial health. Echo Pharmacy will have information on compounding, pet prescriptions, medical equipment and more. Senior Callers is a personalized calling service that offers regular check-in to your loved ones.
Suffolk Center for Speech specializes in the treatment and correction of a number of language disorders. The mission of Wellness and Chiropractic Solutions is to help people get well without drugs and surgery. Young Living Essential Oils will provide material on how to kick toxins out of your system as well as some samples and raffles.
The civic has brought together health professionals providing information for all stages of life, with two specifically geared for our young people: the North Shore Youth Council (NSYC) and the LI Chapter of NYC + PANDAS/PANS Awareness Group and NY PANS Awareness Group.
Are you looking for reasons to try yoga? At 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. join Barbara Delledonne of the Santi Yoga Community for a yoga demonstration. Delledonne has been practicing yoga for 25 years and believes there is a yoga for everyone. “If you can breathe, you can practice,” she said. “It’s had a tremendous impact on my life and it’s something I want to share with everyone.”
At noon, Joanne Lauro, nutrition director and co-founder of the Community Growth Center and owner and founder of Healthy Living Network, will present a short talk, “Alkalize and Live.” Lauro is a holistic health coach and functional fitness instructor. Join Lauro and learn how food can have a negative and positive impact on your body, mind and spirit.
Our eating habits directly determine our health, but often, because of our busy schedules, we don’t practice healthy eating. So, complete your experience and sample some healthy snacks and pick up some water provided by Bonnie Boeger, a Coldwell Banker Residential Broker, as well as some recipes for healthy living.
“We hope this expo will help build awareness of health risks and provide information on how to make behavioral changes to enhance one’s health,” Bea Ruberto, president of the civic said. We should all strive to “eat well, live well and be well!” For more information, please call 631-744-6952.
Promotional image from The Lockhorns Meet Howard Huge
By Jennifer Sloat
With just one cartoon panel and a few words, comic creator Bunny Hoest of The Lockhorns can deliver a zinger that can prompt a knowing smirk in most anyone that counts themselves as married, cohabitating or part of a couple.
What started as The Lockhorns of Levittown (yes, that Levittown) in 1968, grew into a comic strip loved worldwide and published in more than 500 newspapers. The bickering couple along with the sweet, supersized pet, Howard Huge, are part of a new exhibit at The Heckscher Museum of Art titled The Lockhorns Meet Howard Huge: Comic Cartoons by Bill and Bunny Hoest, which will be on view from Oct. 6 to Nov. 5. Bill Hoest is being honored in memoriam for his work.
“It became popular very quickly,” said Bunny Hoest, speaking from her home studio in Huntington. Her husband was a returning GI when he created the strip after observing the interactions of couples settling down in Levittown. “He thought it was a great source of humor.”
The couple met in the early 1970s while playing tennis at the Huntington Racquet Club, during the same time Bill was compiling the cartoons into a book. He took notice of Bunny’s wit and soon asked her to become the book’s editor. The two married in 1973 and formed William Hoest Enterprises and co-created several more cartoons, including Laugh Parade and Howard Huge.
Bill was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1986. The couple then hired John Reiner to become Bill’s assistant and apprentice. After Bill’s passing in 1988, Reiner and Hoest kept the strip going, preserving her husband’s legacy. Still published in Newsday, the comic is translated into 22 languages and is seen by 100 million people worldwide.
Loyal readers may notice the occasional local landmarks thrown in by Reiner, a Stony Brook University alum. Nostalgic fans that have moved away often write Hoest after they spot an Aboffs paint store or other local reference in the strip.
The cartoons, according to Hoest, are social commentary and social criticism, not political. “We do it all in one cartoon. It has always been in one panel,” said Hoest, a former English teacher and graduate of Adelphi University.
Times have changed since the inception of the strip’s characters, Leroy and Loretta. Punch lines like “Leroy has joined the anti-social network,” keep the humor current but stay true to Leroy’s grumpy nature and Loretta’s sarcasm.
“We aren’t social workers but we are helping,” said Hoest. “Marriage counselors say they use it in therapy. If you can laugh at yourself it helps with the problems. But that is not why we did it; being therapeutic was a bonus! We are delighted. Isn’t that nice that people can get a laugh and resolve something with humor?” Hoest also notes that Leroy and Loretta are not Bill and Bunny. “We were crazy about each other,” said Hoest of her marriage to Bill. “A lot of times resolution is humor and that worked for us.”
After 40 years in print the comic still touches a cord with its readers. “Our fans say to us, ‘You are hiding in my closet or peering in my window,’” said Hoest with a laugh. “We seem to be hitting the nail on the head. That’s makes me feel very good.”
Several programs related to the exhibit will also take place, including Take a Selfie with Howard Huge and Children’s Art Activity happening on the terrace. Kids can also create a dog puppet to take home. The event takes place Oct. 8 from noon to 4 p.m. There is also a Celebrate Achievement Benefit honoring Pien and Hans Bosch, Bunny Hoest and the memory of Bill Hoest for their contributions to arts and culture on Long Island, taking place on Oct. 28.
While the amount of print publications has diminished, the syndicated strip still thrives. The nearly 85-year-old Hoest has five years left of a 10-year contract with King Feature Syndicate, distributors the The Lockhorns, with a 10-year option to renew. This would make Hoest a remarkable 90 years old when the contract comes up for renewal.
The very lively Hoest shows no signs of stopping. In addition to writing the cartoon, she is a member of the Berndt Toast Society (named after Smitty cartoonist, Walter Berndt), where she keeps in touch with fellow cartoon writers. They meet monthly for lunch, which may sometimes include a visit from some other famous cartoonists such as Mort Walker who pens Beetle Bailey and Mort Drucker, who is best known for his work at Mad Magazine or Mort Gerber of The New Yorker.
“I will do it as long as I can do it,” said Hoest. “I hope I can keep on.”
The Lockhorns Meet Howard Huge: Comic Cartoons by Bill and Bunny Hoest is on view at The Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington from Oct. 6 to Nov. 5. For more information, call 631-351-3250.
From left, Steve Healy (as Henry Smith Mount) and Steve Hintze (as William Sidney Mount) at last year’s Spirits Tour. Photo by Heidi Sutton
For the past 23 years, as the air gets chilly and colorful leaves decorate the ground, the Three Village Historical Society ushers in the spooky month of October with its annual Spirits Tour, a night of treks through local historic cemeteries guided by local historic figures. This year’s event, whose theme is The Spirits of Prohibition: Setauket of the Roaring 20s, will take place Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Setauket Presbyterian Cemetery, 5 Caroline Ave., and Carolina Church Cemetery, 1 Dyke Road in Setauket. The evening promises a rip-roaring night of jazz, artifacts and more for all guys and dolls in attendance.
The 2015 Spirits Tour focused on Culper Spies. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Building on the themes of the historical society’s Prohibition Night fundraiser last month, this year’s Spirits Tour is a 1920s-set event exploring what it was like to live in Setauket in the decade that saw the rise of the women’s suffrage movement, gangsters and flappers, and, of course, illegal speakeasies and alcohol bootleggers. Fourteen actors, decked out in period-perfect costumes courtesy of Antiques Costume & Prop Rental by Nan Guzzetta, will portray local figures from the past such as Annie Rensselaer Tinker, a prominent suffragette who had a summer cottage in Poquott, George Vingut, whose barn was used to bootleg liquor, Ward Melville, who famously redeveloped Stony Brook Village, and many more.
This year’s 2-hour tour will be a multisensational event, according to director Brian Cea, including period exhibits previously displayed at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook, like Ford Model T cars, antique bottles, a live jazz band and even silent films projected on the side of the churches. Prohibition-era food and drinks will also be offered for sale.
“It’s not just going to be walking around in a circle listening to spirits,” Cea said. “It will entail smelling, feeling and tasting the era. I wanted to help bring this subject to life.”
Brian Cea as Benedict Arnold during the 2015 Spirits Tour. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Cea, who has been involved in the Spirits Tour for the past eight years, got the idea for the Prohibition-era concept when he was giving a private historic house tour on Bennetts Street in East Setauket once owned by a judge with ties to a tavern owner on Wall Street in New York City in the 1920s. Old whiskey bottles dating back to that time were eventually found underneath the flooring.
“We believe this guy was holding liquor that was being transported from over the Sound into Long Island and brought into the city,” Cea said. “I then found out bootlegging was very prosperous here on Long Island with illegal gin mills around our area and I thought, ‘Let’s look into that.’”
TVHS President Stephen Healy said he’s excited for a walk through that unexplored aspect of Long Island history. “A lot of times you see the bootlegging arrests that took place in the city, but you don’t see where the product was made and where it came from,” Healy said, explaining the local farmers grew the key ingredient in alcohol: potatoes. “It’s fascinating how people would get alcohol. They would smuggle it in coffins and rum-running boats. We were a pretty good source [for the alcohol].”
Historical society trustee Frank Turano returned to write the script for the event, a process that took up a majority of the summer due to the massive amounts of research. “In town, around Prohibition, there were bootleggers, there were people storing booze, people making moonshine — a representation of all things,” he said. “Each year we try to do something different and we’d never done that era before, so we took advantage.”
The Cast
Kate Wheeler Strong (Donna Smith)
Ellsworth Buckingham (Steve Healy)
Eversley Childs (Max Golub)
Harry Golden (Mort Rosen)
Celia Hawkins (Karin Lynch)
Ward Melville (Michael O’Dwyer)
Robert Cushman Murphy (Art Billadello)
Sarry Ann Sells (Bonnie Duvall)
Etta Sherry (Holly Griesel)
Eugenio Goncalves de Teixeira (Michael Tessler)
Annie Rensselaer Tinker (Stephanie Carsten)
William Bryant (George Overin)
George Vingut (Robert Ogden)
Roaming Cop (Brian Cea)
The Three Village Historical Society will present its 23rd annual Spirits Tour on Saturday, Oct. 21 from 5 to 9 p.m. Rain date is Oct. 28. Tours, which begin at the Setauket Presbyterian Church parking lot at 5 p.m., leave every 15 minutes and can last from 1½ to 2 hours each. Last tour starts at 7:45 p.m. Participants are asked to arrive 15 minutes prior to your tour’s departure, to dress warmly, wear comfortable shoes and bring a flashlight and umbrella.Tickets in advance are $18 adults, $15 members; $10 children under 12, $8 members. Tickets at the door are $25 adults, $20 members; $12 children under 12, $10 members. For more information, call 631-751-3730 or visit www.tvhs.org.
A short walk after eating may help lower blood sugar levels
Similar risks found in prediabetes and diabetes
By David Dunaief
Dr. David Dunaief
Let’s start with a quiz:
1. Compared to sitting, which has more benefit on diabetes?
a) Standing for five minutes every half hour
b) Walking for five minutes every half hour
c) Neither had benefit, the activities were too short
d) Both were potentially equal in benefit
2. True or false? Diabetes patients are predominantly obese and overweight.
Diabetes just won’t go away. It seems that every time I write about the disease, the news is doom and gloom about how it has become a pandemic. The prevalence, or the number with the disease, and the incidence, or the growth rate of the disease, always seem to be on the rise, with little end in sight.
Depression and stress
We don’t want to make you depressed or stressed, especially since these conditions combined with diabetes can have dangerous outcomes. In fact, in an observational study, results showed that diabetes patients with stress and/or depression had greater risk of cardiovascular events and death, compared to those with diabetes alone. When diabetes patients had stress or depression, there was a 53 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease (1). And in those diabetes patients who had both stress and depression, there was two times greater risk of death from heart disease than in those without these mental health issues. These results need to be confirmed with more rigorous study.
Something to brighten your day!
However, there is good news. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence, or the rate of increase in new cases, has begun to slow for the first time in 25 years (2). There was a 20 percent reduction in the rate of new cases in the six-year period ending in 2014. This should help to brighten your day. However, your optimism should be cautious; it does not mean the disease has stopped growing, it means it has potentially turned a corner in terms of the growth rate, or at least we hope. This may relate in part to the fact that we have reduced our consumption of sugary drinks like soda and orange juice. By the way, the answers to the quiz questions are (1) d and (2) True, although not all patients have a weight issue.
Get up, stand up!
It may be easier than you think to reduce the risk of developing diabetes. This goes along with the answer to the first question: Standing and walking may be equivalent in certain circumstances for diabetes prevention. In a small, randomized control trial, the gold standard of studies, results showed that when sitting, those who either stood or walked for a five-minute duration every 30 minutes, had a substantial reduction in the risk of diabetes, compared to those who sat for long uninterrupted periods (3).
There was a postprandial, or postmeal, reduction in the rise of glucose of 34 percent in those who stood and 28 percent reduction in those who walked, both compared to those who sat for long periods continuously in the first day. The effects remained significant on the second day. A controlled diet was given to the patients. In this study, the difference in results for those who stood and those who walked was not statistically significant.
The participants were overweight, postmenopausal women who had prediabetes, HbA1C between 5.7 and 6.4 percent. The HbA1C gives an average glucose or sugar reading over three months. The researchers hypothesize that this effect of standing or walking may have to do with favorably changing the muscle physiology. So, in other words, a large effect can come from a very small but conscientious effort. This is a preliminary study, but the results are impressive.
Can prediabetes and diabetes have similar complications?
Diabetes is much more significant than prediabetes, or is it? It turns out that both stages of the disease can have substantial complications. In a study of those presenting in the emergency room with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), those who have either prediabetes or diabetes have a much poorer outcome. ACS is defined as a sudden reduction in blood flow to the heart, resulting in potentially severe events, such as heart attack or unstable angina (chest pain).
In the patients with diabetes or prediabetes, there was an increased risk of death with ACS as compared to those with normal sugars. The diabetes patients experienced an increased risk of greater than 100 percent, while those who had prediabetes had an almost 50 percent increased risk of mortality over and above the general population with ACS. Thus, both diabetes and prediabetes need to be taken seriously.
Sadly, most diabetes drugs do not reduce the risk of cardiac events. And bariatric surgery, which may reduce or put diabetes in remission for five years, did not have an impact on increasing survival (4).
What do the prevention guidelines tell us?
The United States Preventive Services Task Force renders recommendations on screening for diseases. On one hand, I commend them for changing their recommendation for diabetes screening. In 2008, the USPSTF did not believe the research provided enough results to screen asymptomatic patients for abnormal sugar levels and diabetes. However, in October 2015, the committee drafted guidelines suggesting that everyone more than 45 years old should be screened, but the final guidelines settled on screening a target population of those between the ages of 40 and 70 who are overweight or obese (5). They recommend that those with abnormal glucose levels pursue intensive lifestyle modification as a first step.
This is a great step forward, as most diabetes patients are overweight or obese; however, 15 to 20 percent of diabetes patients are within the normal range for body mass index (6). So this screening still misses a significant number of people.
Potassium: It’s not just for breakfast anymore
When we think of potassium, the first things that comes to mind is bananas, which do contain a significant amount of potassium, as do other plant-based foods. Those with rich amounts of potassium include dark green, leafy vegetables, almonds, avocado, beans and raisins. We know potassium is critical for blood pressure control, but why is this important to diabetes?
In an observational study, results showed that the greater the excretion of potassium through the kidneys, the lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and kidney dysfunction in those with diabetes (7). There were 623 Japanese participants with normal kidney function at the start of the trial. The duration was substantial, with a mean of 11 years of follow-up. Those who had the highest quartile of urinary potassium excretion were 67 percent less likely to experience a cardiovascular event or kidney event than those in the lowest quartile. The researchers suggested that higher urinary excretion of potassium is associated with higher intake of foods rich in potassium.
Where does this leave us for the prevention of diabetes and its complications? You guessed it: lifestyle modifications, the tried and true! Lifestyle should be the cornerstone, including diet, stress reduction and exercise, or at least mild to moderate physical activity.
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.
From left, Leg. Kara Hahn and Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant check out the selection of books in the new Little Free Library at Rocketship Park with a young reader. Photo by Kevin Redding
‘Today a reader, tomorrow a leader’ — Margaret Fuller
By Kevin Redding
Port Jefferson’s newest minilibrary has liftoff at Rocketship Park. In a partnership between the Port Jefferson Free Library and the village board, a Little Free Library was recently installed at the family-friendly park, where adults, teens and children alike can reach into the purple-painted wooden box to pick up or drop off a wide array of books. An official ribbon cutting was held last Thursday, Sept. 28.
The library, shaped like a tiny schoolhouse and currently stocked with children’s titles like “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” was built from a kit and installed by Stonegate Landscape. It stands as Port Jefferson Free Library’s second book exchange program, with the other unveiled in front of the William Miller House on North Country Road in Miller Place last month.
From left, PJFL Director Tom Donlon, Leg. Kara Hahn, Mayor Margot Garant and Chris Graf, president, Stonegate Landscape in East Setauket. Photo by Kevin Redding
Director of Port Jefferson Free Library Tom Donlon led elected officials, including Mayor Margot Garant and Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for what the mayor called a fantastic addition to the town.
“I’m so happy that we can provide some reading for our young children because I think reading a book goes a long way to helping educate them and bring them into the world,” Garant said with giant scissors in hand. “[It’ll make for] a true sense of community, and that’s what makes our village great.”
Donlon said when the park reopened in June, he and the library’s board members knew it was a perfect spot for book-sharing for all ages. “We have families that come here and while the kids are running around, mom or dad or the adult with them might want something to read,” he said. “Giving back to the community is our goal. And you never know what you’re going to find in there … and what adventures await.”
Rocketship Park is located in the Village of Port Jefferson on Maple Place between Mill Creek Road and Barnum Avenue, across from the tennis courts. For more information, call 631-473-0022.
BAD BUGS BEWARE Although it is well-camoflauged, Mary Ellen Johnson spotted this beauty in her backyard in Port Jefferson. She writes, “Here is a praying mantis resting in my flower garden taken Sept. 17. Can you see why they call them ‘praying’ mantis?”
When little Jack Horner sat in a corner, stuck his thumb in a pie and pulled out a plum, I wonder if he knew what a prize he’d managed to get his hands on. There is something about cooked plums that far supersedes fresh raw ones, in my opinion. No matter how delicious the fresh fruit’s pulp may be, that sour skin is unpleasant. But when plums are cooked, stewed or poached with a little water and sugar, roasted or baked in a pie, cake, tart or crumble, they go through a magical metamorphosis as they release their sweet purple juices and become velvety and succulent. The recipes that follow are especially good made with plums but are also delicious when any stone fruit is substituted.
Plum Upside Down Cake
Plum Upside Down Cake
YIELD: Makes 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
¹/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
6 to 8 medium plums, halved and pitted
1½ cups flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
3 large egg yolks
½ cup sour cream
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter an 8½-inch round springform pan. Line bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Melt two tablespoons butter; pour into pan and tip to distribute evenly over bottom. Sprinkle brown sugar over butter. Arrange plum halves, cut-side down, over brown sugar; leave as little space as possible between plums to allow for shrinkage during cooking. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In an electric mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment cream together the remaining 10 tablespoons butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and almond extracts, then the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each one. Beating continuously, add half the flour mixture, then the sour cream, then the remaining flour mixture. Pour batter over plums and spread evenly. Place on rimmed baking sheet on middle rack of oven and bake one hour or a little more until cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for one hour. Run a sharp knife around edge of cake, loosen ring of cake pan, then place plate on top of cake and invert onto plate. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Carrie’s Plum Crumble
Carrie’s Plum Crumble
YIELD: Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
Nonstick cooking spray
1¼ cups flour
¾ cup oats (not quick cooking)
¼ cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
2 pounds plums, pitted and cut into wedges
1 tablespoon apple or cranberry juice
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a deep 9-inch round or square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl combine flour, oats, nuts (if using), half the sugar and cinnamon. Add the butter and with fingertips rub it into the flour mixture until it forms moist clumps. Toss plums with remaining sugar and juice together; transfer to baking dish. Sprinkle crumb topping over plums; bake until top is golden brown and fruit bubbles. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Roasted Plums with Balsamic Vinegar and Mascarpone
Roasted Plums with Balsamic Vinegar and Marscapone
YIELD: Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds plums, quartered and pitted
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons sherry or port wine
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 small sprig fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup mascarpone
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the plums, butter and brown sugar; toss well to coat. Place plums with any remaining butter and sugar on parchment. Bake 15 minutes or until plums are softened and release their juices. Meanwhile in a small saucepan bring sherry or port to a boil, over medium heat; continue cooking until liquid is considerably reduced, to about 2 tablespoons. Add balsamic vinegar and rosemary and simmer until mixture is reduced to about ¼ cup, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove rosemary and discard. Stir in granulated sugar and vanilla until sugar is dissolved; remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes or until thickened. Place plums on individual plates, spoon balsamic mixture evenly over each serving, then top with a dollop of mascarpone. Serve with biscotti.
From left, Zachary Lippman and Dave Jackson, professors at CSHL who are working on ways to alter promoter regions of genes to control traits in tomato and corn. Photo by Ullas Pedmale
By Daniel Dunaief
He works with tomatoes, but what he’s discovered could have applications to food and fuel crops, including corn, rice and wheat.
Using the latest gene editing technique called CRISPR, Zachary Lippman, a professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, developed ways to fine-tune traits for fruit size, branching architecture and plant shape. Called quantitative variation, these genetic changes act as a dimmer switch, potentially increasing or decreasing specific traits. This could help meet specific agricultural needs. Looking at the so-called promoter region of genes, Lippman was able to “use those genes as proof of principal” for a technique that may enable the fine-tuning of several traits.
For decades, plant breeders have been looking for naturally occurring mutations that allow them to breed those desirable traits, such as a larger fruit on a tomato or more branches on a plant. In some cases, genetic mutations have occurred naturally, altering the cell’s directions. At other times, breeders have sought ways to encourage mutations by treating their seeds with a specific mutagenic agent, like a chemical.
In an article in the journal Cell, Lippman said the results reflect a road map that other researchers or agricultural companies can use to create desirable traits. This article provides a way to “create a new, raw material for breeders to have access to tools they never had before,” he said. Lippman has taken a chunk of the DNA in the promoter region, typically on the order of 2,000 to 4,000 base pairs, and let the CRISPR scissors alter this part of the genetic code. Then, he and his scientific team chose which cuts from the scissors and subsequent repairs by the cell’s machinery gave the desired modifications to the traits they were studying.
Invented only five years ago, CRISPR is a genetic editing technique that uses tools bacteria have developed to fight off viral infections. Once a bacteria is attacked by a virus, it inserts a small piece of the viral gene into its own sequence. If a similar virus attacks again, the bacteria immediately recognizes the invader and cuts the sequence away.
Scientists sometimes use these molecular scissors to trim specific gene sequences in a process called a deletion. They are also working toward ways to take another genetic code and insert a replacement. “Replacement technology is only now starting to become efficient,” Lippman said. Clinical researchers are especially excited about the potential for this technique in treating genetic conditions, potentially removing and replacing an ineffective sequence.
In Lippman’s case, he used the scissors to cut in several places in the promoter regions of the tomato plant. Rather than targeting specific genes, he directed those scissors to change the genome at several places. When he planted the new seeds, he explored their phenotype, or the physical manifestation of their genetic instructions. These phenotypes varied along a continuum, depending on the changes in their genes.
By going backward and then comparing the genes of the altered plants to the original, he could then hone in on the precise changes in the genetic code that enabled that variation. This technique allows for a finer manipulation than turning on or off specific genes in which an organism, in this case a plant, would either follow specific instructions or would go on a transcriptional break, halting production until it was turned on again.
At this point, Lippman has worked with each trait individually but hasn’t done quantitative variation for more than one at a time. “The next question,” he said, “is to do this multitargeting.” He will also use the tool to study how genes are instructed to turn on and off during growth, including exploring the levels and location of expression.
Lippman is talking with agricultural and scientific collaborators and hopes to go beyond the tomato to exploring the application of this approach to other crops. He is working with Dave Jackson, who is also a professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, on applying this model to corn.
The scientific duo has known each other for 20 years. Jackson taught his collaborator when Lippman was a graduate student at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Jackson was chair of his thesis committee.
They have worked together on and off since Lippman became a faculty member about nine years ago. Last year, the two received a National Science Foundation genome grant to work on using CRISPR to study the effect of changes in promoter regions in their respective plant specialties.
“Unfortunately for us, tomato has a faster life cycle than corn, but we hope to have some results in corn this fall,” Jackson explained in an email. Lippman hopes to continue on the path toward understanding how regulatory DNA is controlling complex traits. “We can use this tool to dissect critical regulatory regions,” he said. “When we create this variation, we can look at how that translates to a phenotypic variation.”
Lippman said he is especially excited about the fundamental biological questions related to plant growth and development. When other scientists or agricultural companies attempt to use this approach, they may run into some challenges, he said. Some plants are “not transformable [genetically] easily.” These plants can be recalcitrant to plant transformation, a step sometimes needed for CRISPR gene editing. Still, it is “likely that CRISPR will work in all organisms,” he said.
Lippman hopes others discuss this technique and see the potential for a system that could help to customize plants. “My hope and my anticipation is that people all over the world will look at this paper and say, ‘Let’s start to try this out in our own systems.’ Hopefully, there will be a grass roots effort to import this tool.”
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