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By Barbara Beltrami

For Mother’s Day I wrote about moms loving salads. And it’s true. For Father’s Day I’m writing about dads loving hefty stick-to-your-ribs breakfasts because, chauvinistic as it sounds, it’s also true. Hopefully you don’t get picked up by the cholesterol police for the Father’s Day breakfast I’m about to share with you, but I know Dad will love the Steak and Eggs with Bloody Mary Sauce and Garlic Bread, the Drunken Melon Balls and the ‘Cappuccino’ Smoothie, so much that it will be worth it for one beautiful June morning.

Steak and Eggs with Bloody Mary Sauce

Steak and Eggs with Bloody Mary Sauce

YIELD: Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

One 1½–2 pound flank steak

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup chopped fresh parsley, thyme and rosemary

Coarse salt and black pepper to taste

One crusty baguette

One stick unsalted butter, softened

3 large garlic cloves, minced

One 14-ounce can tomato sauce

¼ cup prepared horseradish, well-drained

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon

4 ounces unsalted butter

6 extra large eggs

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat grill to high setting. Brush steak on both sides with olive oil, then sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper. Slice baguette in half lengthwise; spread each half with butter, then sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper. Cut into 6 pieces with tops and bottoms together, reassemble and wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Grill steak 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, for medium rare, more or less for other desired doneness. Remove from grill, let sit for 10 minutes, then slice and set aside to keep warm.

Place garlic bread on upper rack or off to side of main grill rack; turn once or twice; remove when heated through and crust feels slightly hard to the touch, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan, over medium heat, mix and cook the tomato sauce, horseradish, oil, and lemon juice, stirring occasionally, until bubbly and thick. On iron griddle, melt the 4 ounces of butter, then fry eggs to desired doneness. On a large platter assemble sliced steak, eggs and garlic bread. Pour Bloody Mary Sauce over steak. Serve immediately with a “Cappuccino” Smoothie and Drunken Melon Balls.

Drunken Melon Balls

Drunken Melon Balls

 

YIELD: Makes 6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 baby watermelon

½ cantaloupe, seeds removed

¼ honeydew, seeds removed

½ cup vodka or white rum

Fresh mint sprigs for garnish

1 lime, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

With a melon baller, scoop balls from melons and place them in a large bowl. Toss with vodka or rum, cover and refrigerate at least one hour, tossing them several times in between. Transfer to chilled glasses, garnish with mint and a lime slice and serve with “Cappuccino” Smoothie, Steak and Eggs or Danish pastries.

‘Cappuccino’ Smoothie

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups coffee yogurt

1 cup whole or 2% milk

2 teaspoons instant coffee powder

½ cup sugar or to taste

1 cup ice cubes

¼ cup coffee liqueur

Ground cinnamon

Shaved chocolate

DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients except cinnamon and shaved chocolate in jar of electric blender, pulse a few times, then process until thick and foamy. Sprinkle with cinnamon and shaved chocolate. Serve immediately with steak and eggs, Drunken Melon Balls, muffins or croissants.

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Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Daniel Dunaief

I am in the news business. I also write columns. Today, I’d like to conflate the two, tackling the ubiquitous topic of “fake news.” Don’t run away, figuratively speaking! I’m not going to write about politics or politicians. I’m going to share fake news from my world.

10. I am a Yankees fan.

What makes that fake? It’s accurate, but it’s also fake because I’ve always been a Yankees fan. While the statement isn’t false, it’s not news because news suggests that it’s something new. It’s not fake per se, but also not news and that’s what makes it fake news.

9. I enjoy the time my kids are away.

What makes that fake? The fake element to this is that I enjoy the time they’re home, so I don’t exclusively enjoy the time they’re away. I may have smiled at and with my wife and, yes, I’ve found myself laughing out loud now and then for no particular reason in public, knowing that no one will glare at me, but it’s fake news to suggest I only enjoy this time.

8. I reveled in the movie “Rocketman.”

What makes that fake? While the movie was compelling and it offered details about superstar singer Sir Elton John’s childhood, it was a look behind the curtain at his early pain. I sympathized with him as he dealt with family challenges and personal demons, but I can’t say that I reveled in the biopic. I felt moved by his struggles and I appreciate how much he had to overcome to live the balanced life that he seems to have now. The gift of his musical genius may have been enough for the world to appreciate him, but not to give him what he wanted or needed when he was younger.

7. I have a wonderful dog.

What makes that fake? My dog has wonderful moments, but I wouldn’t characterize him as wonderful. He needs training, chews on furniture, jumps on people and barks at things I can’t see, which isn’t so wonderful when I’m conducting interviews with people in other states or when I’m in the middle of a delicate peace negotiation between children who don’t seem to have missed each other all that much when they were apart.

6. I detest logic.

What makes that fake? I enjoy logic. It follows rules and patterns. It only appears that I detest logic in this column because I’m trying to make a point about fake news.

5. I’m worried about the Earth.

What makes that fake? I’m not just worried about the land: I’m also concerned about the air, the water, biodiversity and a host of other limited resources.

4. I use real words.

What makes that fake? People who rely on a computer spellchecker will find numerous words that appear to be incorrect or that are underlined in red in my science columns. Words like nanomaterials, which are super small structures that hold out hope for future technologies such as medical devices or sensors, don’t register at all. If you asked a spellchecker, my columns are rife with fake words.

3. I use fake words.

What makes that fake? I love the double negative element to this. It’s fake to say I use fake words, because I also use real words.

2. I only use small words.

What makes that fake? I categorically refute the notion that I only use minuscule words. Check out the word “ubiquitous” at the top of this column.

1. I always lie.

What makes that fake? If I always lied, that would make the confession true, which would mean I don’t always lie, which would make the statement fake.

The flexible and logic-challenged fake news has become a tool to dismiss information, opinions and realities that people find disagreeable. It provides a convenient way to ignore news that may have more than a kernel of truth to it.

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? I recently asked that question of staffers at the news media office, and this is what they answered. I’ve grouped the responses by department, wondering if there was a common thread that ran through their common work. Answer: There wasn’t, at least not one that I could see. You judge.

The Sales Department

“Go to college.” I also asked this person if that advice had changed her life. “Yes, it was a positive thing for my future. College changed my life, with its new ideas — and independence, both socially as well as academically.”

“No matter what, trust that God has a plan for everything. For something good to come out of whatever seems bad now.” Right around then, I started to ask the source of the advice. “My mother,” she explained.

“One day, when I was about 12, my mother and I were disagreeing. ‘You need to remember the world does not revolve around you.’ That thought helped me be a much less self-centered person. I became more aware that what was going on around me was often more important.”

“Never look back or to the future. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not yet come. Live for today. That came from my Aunt Doris.”

“If at first you don’t succeed, don’t give up. That came from my mother and was especially true for my dancing. Another is: Always trust your gut. Go with it if something doesn’t feel right.”

The Business Department

“See the humor in things. It’s only just recently that I have begun to see that and be on the positive side of things. That has made me a happier person since I turned 50.” I forgot to ask who told her that.

“Expect the unexpected. That may sound pessimistic but it has made me ready to cope. That advice comes from life’s experiences.”

“Treat others as you want to be treated. That came from my father.”

The Copyediting/Proofing Department

“Have a sense of balance. That’s good because often I don’t have that. When I think about that, it always works out for the best. And that came from my sister.”

“Probably two things. First, never stop learning. At the dinner table, if there was something that came up that I didn’t know, my father would take down the ‘World Encyclopedia’ after dinner and we’d look it up. Be curious, educate yourself. Read about it. Second, be kind and treat other people with respect. Again the source was my father.”

“Learn to cultivate a sense of urgency. I tend to be too laid back. That’s from Dr. Who, the sci-fi character.” [That thought came from the sister, above.]

The Art and Production Department

“Try not to care what other people think. It’s a constant struggle because I am a Libra, a people pleaser. That came from my mother, who oddly enough was always critical.”

“Stop worrying. My husband told me that, and I find I’m not as uptight as I used to be.”

“Having low expectations is a good strategy. Don’t expect too much and you won’t be disappointed. That may sound pessimistic but the message is that things will always be better. The source: Stefan Sagmeister, who wrote a book that included things to be learned.”

The Editorial Department

“Don’t listen to outside people. If you think of something you really believe in, just go for it.”

“This paraphrased quote from Maya Angelou: ‘People will forget what you did, what you said but never how you made them feel.’ My first-grade teacher made me feel mutual respect and that is what I show others.”

“Keep swimming — no matter what’s going on in your life, never give up, keep going. I never gave up on dating [points to engagement ring] or careerwise. From ‘The Road Less Traveled,’ life is difficult and once you realize that, life becomes easier.”

“Always clean stuff from the top down. Don’t do anything over again — from my father.”

“I will quote what a priest told my father when he was diagnosed with cancer. ‘All you can do is be grateful for what you’ve had. Otherwise it’s too difficult.’”

And from my mother: “You don’t have to answer every barking dog.” Not a bad piece of advice for a future newspaper publisher.

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Tiny nematodes like this one were found to be unexpectedly hardy, reviving after thousands of years frozen in Arctic ice. Stock photo

By Elof Axel Carlson

Elof Axel Carlson

Back in 1968 I gave a futuristic public lecture at UCLA in which I predicted that the mummified tissue of long dead people could be used to reconstruct their genotypes and, if the chemical tools became available, this could lead to what I called “necrogenetic twinning.”

That got on the wire services and I got clippings with headlines like “King Tut may become a papa.” I also got letters from the public including one irate lady who said, “If you were my son, I’d beat you with a broomstick.” Well there is a field of paleogenetics today, and it is being used to work out the genomes of Neanderthal ancestors and may some day be used to bring back old favorites like passenger pigeons and dodos.

But there is a more immediate source of bringing back a few of the presumed long dead that are present in permafrost. The term was coined in 1943 in a report carried out by the U.S. Army. It is an acronym for permanently frozen soil. That is not ice in waterlogged soil. When permafrost is subject to warm temperatures, it thaws. It does not melt. But from that thawed material the organic matter can be isolated and dated by carbon-14 techniques to get the age. 

Recently, Russian scientists studying thawed permafrost discovered samples (one 32,000 years old and the other 42,000 years old) that produced live nematodes that had been frozen for a very long sleep. They began moving a few weeks after removal and eating bacteria and protozoa on a petri dish. These are roundworms related to vinegar eels as they are called, which can be seen in organic vinegars served in restaurants. Hold such a cruet of vinegar to the light and you will see what look like tiny flakes jittering about in the vinegar.

It is not just cold temperature that can preserve life for centuries. Date palm seeds that are more than a thousand years old have been planted and produced fruit bearing dates. The record of the deepest sleep, however, goes to bacterial spores isolated from salt crystals in rock that was present 250 million years ago. They hatched from their protected state and formed bacterial colonies.

I would not be surprised to find future core samples from ocean cores taken in rock that may be as old as the first life-forms on Earth (viruslike) whose sequences might reveal the first genotypes capable of sustaining life in the organic soup thought to be present when the lifeless Earth was formed. That is a speculation that appeals to the imagination. But we humans can also imagine other possibilities that are less charming than alarming.

What if these early life-forms, whether from permafrost or ocean dredgings, contain pathogens that find humans a suitable host? Ancient viruses would not be treatable by antibiotics, and vaccines might be needed to check their spread. Ancient bacteria might be contained by present-day antibiotics, but some might not.

But is that not true of humans who have explored Earth? Many have come down with diseases they did not know existed in the ruins of ancient civilizations. When Darwin was in the Amazon, he contracted Chagas disease, which made him sickly in his later life. My father was in the Merchant Marine in his youth and came down with malaria and had summer chills when the sporozoans decided to celebrate.

That is why my wife Nedra and I had to get several vaccinations when we traveled on Semester at Sea. When we approached equatorial countries, we had to take anti-malarial medication to prevent coming down with a life-threatening malaria infection. Life is full of risks and not all are predictable, but using knowledge often thwarts unknown threats we may encounter.

Elof Axel Carlson is a distinguished teaching professor emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University.

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Being active is the magic pill for a healthy life. Stock photo
Inactivity may increase mortality and disease risk

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Dr. David Dunaief

With the advent of summer weather, with its heat and humidity, who wants to think about exercise? Instead, it’s tempting to lounge by the pool or even inside with air conditioning.

First, let me delineate between exercise and inactivity; they are not complete opposites. When we consider exercise, studies tend to focus on moderate to intense activity. However, light activity and being sedentary, or inactive, tend to get clumped together. But there are differences between light activity and inactivity.

Light activity may involve cooking, writing and strolling (1). Inactivity involves sitting, as in watching TV or in front of a computer screen. Inactivity utilizes between 1 and 1.5 metabolic equivalent units — better known as METS — a way of measuring energy. Light activity, however, requires greater than 1.5 METS. Thus, in order to avoid inactivity, we don’t have to exercise in the dreaded heat. We need to increase our movement.

What are the potential costs of inactivity? According to the World Health Organization, over 3 million people die annually from inactivity. This ranks inactivity in the top five of potential underlying mortality causes (2).

How much time do we spend inactive? In an observational study of over 7,000 women with a mean age of 71 years old, 9.7 waking hours were spent inactive or sedentary. These women wore an accelerometer to measure movements. Interestingly, as body mass index and age increased, the amount of time spent sedentary also increased (3).

Inactivity may increase the risk of mortality and plays a role in increasing risks for diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and fibromyalgia. It can also increase the risk of disability in older adults.

Surprisingly, inactivity may be worse for us than smoking and obesity. For example, there can be a doubling of the risk for diabetes in those who sit for long periods of time, compared to those who sit the least (4).

Let’s look at the evidence.

Does exercise overcome inactivity?

We tend to think that exercise trumps all; if you exercise, you can eat what you want and, by definition, you’re not sedentary. Right? Not exactly. Diet is important, and you can still be sedentary, even if you exercise. In a meta-analysis — a group of 47 studies — results show that there is an increased risk of all-cause mortality with inactivity, even in those who exercised (5). In other words, even if you exercise, you can’t sit for the rest of the day. The risk for all-cause mortality was 24 percent overall.

However, those who exercised saw a blunted effect with all-cause mortality, making it significantly lower than those who were inactive and did very little exercise: 16 percent versus 46 percent increased risk of all-cause mortality. So, it isn’t that exercise is not important, it just may not be enough to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality if you are inactive for a significant part of the rest of the day.

Worse than obesity?

Obesity is a massive problem in this country; it has been declared a disease, itself, and it also contributes to other chronic diseases. But would you believe that inactivity has more of an impact than even obesity? In an observational study, using data from the EPIC trial, inactivity might be responsible for two times as many premature deaths as obesity (6). This was a study involving 330,000 men and women.

Interestingly, the researchers created an index that combined occupational activity with recreational activity. They found that the greatest reduction in premature deaths (in the range of 16 to 30 percent) was between two groups, the normal weight and moderately inactive group versus the normal weight and completely inactive group. The latter was defined as those having a desk job with no additional physical activity. To go from the completely inactive to moderately inactive, all it took, according to the study, was 20 minutes of brisk walking on a daily basis.

So what have we learned about inactivity? If you are inactive, increasing your activity to be moderately inactive by briskly walking for 20 minutes a day may reduce your risk of premature death significantly. Even if you exercise the recommended 150 minutes a week, but are inactive the rest of the day, you may still be at risk for cardiovascular disease. You can potentially further reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by increasing your activity with small additions throughout the day.

The underlying message is that we need to consciously move throughout the day, whether at work with a walk during lunch or at home with recreational activity. Those with desk jobs need to be most attuned to opportunities to increase activity. Simply setting a timer and standing or walking every 30 to 45 minutes may increase your activity levels and possibly reduce your risk.

References:

(1) Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2008;36(4):173-178. (2) WHO report: https://bit.ly/1z7TBAF. (3) JAMA. 2013;310(23):2562-2563. (4) Diabetologia 2012; 55:2895-2905. (5) Ann Intern Med. 2015;162:123-132, 146-147. (6) Am J Clin Nutr. online Jan. 24, 2015.

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.   

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File photo
Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky

When choosing a hospital, whether for yourself or a loved one, it pays to have the peace of mind in knowing that you or your loved one will receive the highest quality of care. One way to help ensure that peace of mind is to do your homework.

We recently received news that will give the residents of Suffolk County and beyond one more reason to feel confident about choosing Stony Brook University Hospital for their health care needs. Our hospital has been named one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals™ for 2019 by Healthgrades, the first organization in the country to rate hospitals entirely on the basis of the quality of clinical outcomes.

Recipients of the America’s 100 Best Hospitals Award are recognized for overall clinical excellence based on quality outcomes for 34 conditions and procedures for 4,500 hospitals nationwide. Healthgrades reviews three years of Medicare and other inpatient data, comparing actual to predicted performance for specific and common patient conditions. 

This impressive distinction was achieved by the entire Stony Brook University Hospital team working together to achieve one goal — to deliver on a commitment to provide every patient with exceptional care. We continuously put patient safety and quality of care first, while bringing cutting-edge services and evidence-based medicine to our community. 

As one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals, Stony Brook University Hospital is in the top 2 percent of hospitals nationwide and one of only four hospitals in New York State exhibiting exemplary clinical excellence over the most recent three-year evaluation.

Stony Brook was also named one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for cardiac care, coronary intervention and stroke care. I’m proud to report that our hospital is the only one in the entire U.S. Northeast region, and one of only two hospitals in the nation, to achieve America’s 100 Best Hospitals in all four of these categories.

With so many choices, it helps to understand that the quality of care you receive varies from hospital to hospital. Whether you are planning an elective surgery or you are admitted to our hospital unexpectedly, it’s important to know that at Stony Brook University Hospital, you’ll be at one of the nation’s best.

Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky is senior vice president, Health Sciences, and dean, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.

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Stock photo

By Nancy Marr

Concern about the school to prison pipeline has mounted in recent years. At the opening of the first federal hearing on the subject, earlier this year, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said, “For many young people, our schools are increasingly a gateway to the criminal justice system. This phenomenon is a consequence of a culture of zero tolerance that is widespread in our schools and is depriving many children of their fundamental right to an education.” 

Matthew Cregot, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, explained, “With suspension a top predictor of dropout, we must confront this practice if we are ever to end the ‘dropout crisis,’ or the so-called achievement gap.”

A zero-tolerance policy requires school officials to hand down specific, consistent and harsh punishment — usually suspension or expulsion — when students break certain rules. The punishment applies regardless of the circumstances, the reasons for the behavior (like self-defense) or the student’s history of discipline problems.

These policies developed in the 1990s in response to school shootings and general fears about crime. The school to prison pipeline starts (or is best avoided) in the classroom. When combined with zero-tolerance policies, a teacher’s decision to refer students for punishment can mean they are pushed out of the classroom, and much more likely to be headed toward the criminal justice system.

On May 10, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. (D) and Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre (D-Wheatley Heights) from Babylon brought together experts in juvenile justice, child development, human services, law and trauma to develop A Holistic Approach to Deconstructing the Prison Pipeline.

Testimony at the hearing identified domestic abuse, substance abuse, mental health issues, lack of education and gangs as factors that lead young people into crime, and called for the creation of “safe spaces” for “at-risk” children to receive counseling, recreational activities, job training and education.

Intervention to help a child must recognize that he may be calling out for help, angry at himself and his environment; instead, what he gets is punishment. Significantly, three previously incarcerated women testified that prison had rescued them. It changed their environment by providing for their basic needs, making them follow rules, requiring them to go to school.

Jerri Katzerman, deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said that the increase in police in school buildings, called school resource officers, has contributed to the increase in in-school arrests. The vast majority of these arrests are for nonviolent offenses, often for being disruptive.

A recent U.S. Department of Education study found that more than 70 percent of students arrested in school-related incidents or referred to law enforcement are black or Hispanic. Children with special needs are also arrested at a higher rate than others. Instead of pushing children out, Katzerman said, teachers need a lot more support and training for effective discipline, and schools need to use best practices of behavior modification to keep these kids in school where they belong. 

In restorative justice circles, which bring together the student who has committed the crime with the victims and any others who are affected, it is possible to repair the harm, restore relationships and help the student become accountable for his actions. 

Parent groups have successfully worked with school districts to change zero-tolerance policies and adopt schoolwide positive behavior support systems that create a more welcoming environment for children and their parents, encouraging parents to advocate effectively for their children in suspension cases. These are societal issues that will not be solved solely within schools. We need to take action to create a society that meets the needs of all children.

“Deconstructing the prison pipeline is about mobilizing all facets of the community to prevent juvenile delinquency and crime,” said Toulon. “It’s about implementing practical prevention and intervention solutions that will improve people’s lives and make our communities safer.”

You can support programs in your school or community that work for all children, but especially those who need help to overcome the trauma of family problems or mental illness.

Nancy Marr is first vice president of the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information, visit www.lwv-suffolkcounty.org or call 631-862-6860.

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Jet

MEET JET!

This week’s shelter pet is a beautiful 9-month-old terrier mix named Jet. Surrendered to a high kill shelter in Texas due to his owner’s personal problems, he is now safe at Kent Animal Shelter.

Jet is a lovely dog and would do well in any home situation. He weighs 25 pounds and comes neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.

Black dogs very often get overlooked in shelters.  Won’t you come and meet this little guy and give him a chance? You may just fall in love! 

Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. The adoption center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on Jet and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.

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Annabelle’s Key Lime Cheesecake

By Barbara Beltrami

People who live in hot climates know about limes. They use them lavishly in savory and sweet dishes as well as drinks and know just how refreshing their taste can be, particularly if they’re key limes, which have an extra intense flavor and tartness. I think a lime dessert on a balmy evening under the stars or as a pick-me-up with just a glass of iced tea or coffee on a steamy afternoon is the supreme finale and palate pleaser when something sweet is in order. Here are three winners to take your taste buds to some really cool places.

Tea Lime Cookies

YIELD: Makes about 2 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1/3 cup milk

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest

1¾ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

¼ cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a small bowl combine the two teaspoons lime juice and milk; let sit about 5 minutes. In a large bowl use electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg with lime zest; then stir in lime juice-milk mixture. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; blend into butter mixture; drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, until edges are pale brown. Let cool slightly on baking sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice and confectioners’ sugar. Brush onto cooled cookies. Serve with iced tea or iced coffee.

Annabelle’s Key Lime Cheesecake

Annabelle’s Key Lime Cheesecake

YIELD: Makes 6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tablespoons sugar

½ stick unsalted butter, melted

2½ eight-ounce bricks cream cheese, softened

¾ cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons flour

¾ cup Key lime juice

Dash vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a medium bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, two tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Press onto bottom and partly up sides of a greased 10-inch spring form pan. Bake 5 to 10 minutes; cool on wire rack.

In a large bowl using a mixer on medium-high speed beat cream cheese and three-quarters cup of sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time; then beat in remaining ingredients until mixture is smooth; pour into cooled crust. Bake in 375 F oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 250 F and bake another 45 to 55 minutes, until mixture is just set.

Remove from oven, cool on wire rack, cover and refrigerate 6 to 8 hours. Remove from pan, top with whipped cream if desired, and serve chilled with coffee, tea or honeydew liqueur.

Alice’s Key Lime Pie

YIELD: Makes 6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1½ cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

4 egg yolks

1 tablespoon freshly grated lime zest

One 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup Key lime juice

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press mixture onto bottom and sides of 8- or 9-inch pie plate. Bake about 10 minutes; cool in plate on wire rack. While crust is cooling, using wire whisk attachment to mixer, beat egg yolks with lime zest until very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add sweetened condensed milk and continue to beat until thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes longer. With mixer speed on low, add lime juice and beat just until blended, no longer. Pour into crust and bake about 10 minutes, until filling is barely set (a knife inserted in center should come out clean). Cool to room temperature, refrigerate, then freeze for half an hour before serving. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

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John Broven Photo by Diane Wattecamps

By John Broven

Part two of three

I’ve been waiting patiently to write this second part of my personal Brexit overview (see part 1, “Brexit: To leave or not to leave, that is the big question,” TBR News Media’s papers and websites, March 14). There has been an interested response from TBR readers, although as expected not everybody agreed with my Europhile stance or interpretation of events. An apt New York Times description was “fractured Britain.”

Even now, there is no resolution to the terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to leave the European Union as determined by a national referendum June 23, 2016, almost three years ago — the vote was 51.89 to 48.11 percent. The March 29 deadline went by, so did one on April 12. Now the departure date has been extended begrudgingly by the EU until Oct. 31. That’s Halloween, as many wags have pointed out. Still the drama continues.

Prime Minister Theresa May resigns

On May 24, Prime Minister Theresa May (Conservative, known as Tories) announced her forthcoming departure in tears for failing to deliver Brexit. Never a team player, she was rapidly losing support among her Brexit-leaning party. The withdrawal agreement negotiated with the EU was criticized from all sides even as May tried to soften her parliamentary bill by including environmental measures, workers rights and even the prospect of a second referendum — anathema to Brexiteers in her own party. With no majority in sight for her deal, she will formally resign on June 7, immediately after the state visit by President Donald Trump (R).

She is now the second prime minister to be felled by Brexit in the footsteps of David Cameron (Conservative), who was responsible for calling the 2016 referendum. Indeed, the Tory Party’s neurosis with Europe had previously ensnared former prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

Tory leadership battle

Now, the Brexit process has been put on hold while the ruling Conservative Party elects a new leader, expected by the end of July. That leaves four short months to finalize leave arrangements. Understandably, the EU is running out of patience and has indicated it will not renegotiate the deal on the table, including the controversial Irish backstop.

The number of Tory prime minister candidates currently stands at 11, still well short of the tally of U.S. Democratic presidential candidates. At the time of writing the bookies favorite is the self-serving former mayor of London, Boris Johnson, the New York City-born member of parliament of British parents who dealt a fatal blow to Cameron’s 2016 Vote Remain campaign by treacherously joining the Vote Leave team. The covertly ambitious Michael Gove and hardliner Dominic Raab are also in the running. Just as the U.S. Democratic candidates are in a quandary over presidential impeachment proceedings, so the U.K. Tory leadership candidates are scrambling for Brexit answers.

Our president has caused local controversy by favoring Johnson. If the former mayor is elected as prime minister by the Conservative Party and his pronouncements are carried out, he could lead the country into the worst of all possibilities on Oct. 31 — a hard no deal. It is chilling to think that such a chaotic scenario could happen to the fifth largest economy in the world, with an impact far beyond the borders of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

As Will Hutton described it in London’s The Guardian, the Brexiteers view is of a blissful but flawed image of “sunlit uplands of immigrant-free, global free trade.” Sir Elton John, also in The Guardian, was more blunt: “I’m ashamed of my country for what it has done. It’s torn people apart … I am sick to death of politicians, especially British politicians. I am sick to death of Brexit. I am a European. I am not a stupid, colonial, imperialist English idiot.”

EU elections shock

The British government had hoped to avoid taking part in the recent EU elections, but as the country was still formally one of the 28 member states the people went to the polls on May 23. In keeping with the unpredictable Brexit mess, what a shocking result it turned out to be. Former UKIP leader and an elected member of the European Parliament since 1999, Nigel Farage, who has been described by his Euro colleagues as a “one-man wrecking ball,” had formed the new Brexit Party only six weeks previously and topped the polls with a 30.8 percent share of the vote. The two leading parties in British politics for almost 100 years, Labour (third place) and Conservatives (fifth), managed a meager 23 percent of the vote between them, beaten by second-place Liberal Democrats with their remain message and fourth-place Green Party with an urgent climate-change agenda.

Tellingly, the Tories suffered their worst election result since formation in 1834 and registered only 8.8 percent of the vote, with no seats won in London. May’s party had also taken a shellacking in the earlier county council elections. That’s the current governing party, don’t forget. As The Washington Post noted, coalition governments and a genuine multiparty system may be the future of British politics.

In effect, British voters were giving a severe kicking to the government and lead opposition party under arch-socialist Jeremy Corbyn for their inept handling of Brexit. Intriguingly, Scotland and Northern Ireland still balloted majority votes to remain candidates. The MEPs term will end if and when Brexit occurs. Taking all the parties into account, the respective total leave and remain votes were very close, which is where we came in — a divided nation with a divided parliament and parties internally divided.

The cross-Europe vote showed a fragmentation of parties, with the establishment center-left and center-right bloc losing power. The populist parties in Britain, France and Italy showed gains but surprisingly little elsewhere, notably in Holland. There was a general message that the EU needs to address growth, security, immigration (again) and climate change (the U.S. please note). Still, with a turnout in excess of 50 percent, there are indications the Europeans still see their union as the future. In the wake of the Brexit debacle, it seems the other Euro populist movements are determined to fight for their cause from inside the EU, not on the outside with little influence.

Incidentally, I was impressed by the BBC World News TV election coverage Sunday, May 26, and its first-class presenter Ros Atkins. I learned a lot about the EU, its procedures, the debating arguments and how countries from Germany to Latvia voted. If only Brexit voters had been educated likewise.

Where the UK stands

Embarrassingly, Britain’s pragmatic standing in the world seems to be falling by the day. I’ve lost count of the number of barbed Monty Python jokes I’ve seen in print. As my good friend John Ridley, of Hildenborough, Kent, told me, “I can’t recall any other democratic country committing an act of such extreme self-harm ever before.”

The Brexit fiasco shows on a macro level that elections do matter and do have consequences — in this instance, for an entire nation and its future. And the dangers of putting such a critical issue to an ill-informed public by way of a loosely worded referendum have been fully exposed.

If there is a lesson for us all, it is a message that TBR News Media carries at every election: Your vote counts, please vote — and do understand what you’re voting for. That applies from presidential elections to the local fire departments, libraries and schools (the turnout for the recent Three Village Central School District budget vote was abysmal).

With Brexit still unresolved, I am readying myself for a part 3 Your Turn article but further patience may be required on the part of myself and TBR readers. Will there be a second referendum, general election, another EU extension or a hard no deal?

John Broven, a member of the TBR News Media editorial team, is an English-born resident of East Setauket, who immigrated to the United States in 1995. He has written three award-winning (American) music history books. An updated edition of his second book, “South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous,” has just
been published.

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