Urban Foragers
September 24, 2012
Today you will learn how to tune into nature and turn seemingly useless acorns into edible delights. But first, a bit of blog keeping: apparently Nidhi has given up on our fair city and her socialite status. COME BACK FROM MICHIGAN and be fabulous in CLE again, bestie!!!!
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Acorns are ubiquitous whether you live out in the woods or in the middle of a large city because oak trees are hardy and resilient. Acorns may also be one of the most sustainable sources of food; but certainly one of the most labor intensive. If all Native American tribes and Pioneers used this much effort in bread-making, I’m certain I would have thrown myself to the wolves.
If you are anything like me and 99.99999% of the world, you’ve never picked up an acorn and said “I bet this is a fabulous substitute for flour in muffins”. In fact, you likely didn’t know or care to know that there is fruit inside of an acorn! And you most certainly did not ever entertain the idea of spending a Sunday afternoon boiling and re-boiling and re-re-re-re-re-boiling acorn meat to release all of it tannic (read: harmful to your kidneys) acid.
I can honestly say I was not overcome with excitement when Stephen proposed scavenging for acorns, but since it was a lovely morning and I’d never been to Shaker Lakes (a travesty, I know), I agreed to the hunt if it could be prefaced a lovely brunch at Bon Vivant (see earlier post). Stephen claims he felt an urge to Google “acorn bread” after viewing some plump acorns on the ground, but I think he must have been replaying a scene fro m his childhood, when he attended a Pioneer Day in Chagrin.
Last weekend, once we found the mother of all white oak trees (the type of oak lending the meatiest, tastiest, least poisonous acorns) I did actually enjoy myself – until I was whacked on the back by an angry acorn, tumbling 50 feet from the top of the tree.
After two hours of careful gathering (soft shells are no good, as are ones with holes in them from worms or squirrels), we amassed somewhere between 600 and 800 acorns, later resulting in 12 cups of acorn flour. FYI: If the idea of behaving like Pioneers and baking, smashing, drying, boiling, blending and baking acorns is tantalizing, know that the greatest time sink is the shelling process. And I thought pistachios were annoying!
The foodstuffs you can produce with acorn flour is endless, as it easily substitutes for all-purpose flour; We’re thinking muffins and pancakes for starters. The bitter taste of the acorn dissipates the more you boil, but to me, it could never be something to eat on it’s own, like pistachios or almonds. However, I did thoroughly enjoy the bread and look forward to making my own to share with skeptical co-workers and friends.
Make your own by following our slightly amended version of the recipe below.
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“Urban Forager” Acorn Bread by Ava Chin, the Urban Forager, is a professor of creative nonfiction and journalism at the College of Staten Island-CUNY
1 cup acorn meal
½ cup corn meal
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon melted butter or oil
2 teaspoons sugar, with a little on reserve for the yeast
1 packet of yeast with ¼ cup of warmed water
1 egg
½ cup tap water
½ cup of milk
***Stephen added cranberries and walnuts, based on rec’s from other bloggers.
1. Combine acorn and corn meal with flour, butter, and sugar.
2. Mix yeast with warmed water and reserved sugar (follow packet recipe), and allow to sit until frothy.
3. Add yeast, egg, water, and milk.
4. With floured hands and on a floured surface, knead dough until stiff.
5. Allow dough to sit in warm place to rise, covered. ***We found this to take about an hour.
6. When dough has doubled in size, knead again, and allow to rise.
7. Place dough in greased pan, or fashion it into a desirable loaf shape, before placing into a pre-heated oven, 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
Voila, acorn bread!
Squirrels, watch out.
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Everything you ever wanted to know about acorns, and more: http://www.grandpappy.info/racorns.htm
http://honest-food.net/2010/01/03/acorn-cake-and-acorns-around-the-world/
The Little Float that Could(n’t)
September 9, 2012
We all know the story of the Little Engine that Could, despite his unfounded fears that he was an inadequate fella’, but this weekend, our little raft for the Lake Erie Boat Float really couldn’t.
Not that it was the heap of recyclables’ fault (because we tested it and it really did remain buoyant!). No, it was Hurricane Isaac’s remnants that damned our mission to set sail a pile of pool noodles, five gallon water jugs, old kiddie pools and mounds of plastic grocery bags – ironed into a sail and braided into rope – into Lake Erie (pictured above).
The three year old event designed to help raise awareness about the impact of plastic on our environment held a permit to launch rafts made of entirely post-consumer recyclable material at 10am on Saturday. Unfortunately, raging winds and rains moved into the area overnight at by sunrise, Edgewater Beach was being pounded by waves I thought were only possible in the ocean!
Over the course of the past two weeks, Craft+Wine Club’s regularly scheduled programming had been transformed to include boat building, including two off-site events at Euclid Beach where we tested the rafts (take one and take two, at right), fully confident our little guy would safely take Nidhi out to Canada and back again.
We christened the boat, shown below, something Bridget said she had always wanted to do. Meanwhile, Nick signed his name, Nidhi said “what are you doing?” (I presume, because she asks this of Nick a lot) and Stephen said “you know, I just checked the radar for the tenth time in twenty minutes and there are going to be 8 foot waves”.
Nidhi was significantly less confident at 8:30am on Saturday, and so while she was overjoyed that she would not become part of the many sunken ships and perished crew lurking in the bottom of the Great Lakes (like she also would have been if she had ridden the noodle cluster pictured at left and below!), Stephen was inversely irritated to learn that this lovely contraption would remain in his van (at the event, PolyFlow would have been available for us to re-recycle our creation!).
However, having a liking for organization, the float didn’t last in the back of the van long; but before Stephen banished it to its current resting place on a hook in the garage, we had to put the good fella’ to use and simulate the act of rowing. In the driveway. In raincoats. You didn’t think these were Photoshopped, right?!
Thanks to everyone on team CrAFT: Nidhi, Bridget, Tiffany, Julie, Juliana, Laei, Nick, Stephen, Ricky and Ariel! We’ll get ‘em next year!
Brownies, mmm
September 7, 2012
The endearing nickname for the Cleveland Browns seems a tad too adorable when describing 300 pound, grunting men but I suppose inventing a cuddly name is the only way fans here could remain fans.
Last Thursday I had the good fortune to have an early morning meeting with someone whose club seats would surely have gone to waste had I not put on a football-loving-facade.
{I’m pretty sure he knew I didn’t have a clue when I said “oooo we are playing the Chicago Cubs” (…in my defense, cubs ARE bears); but he was stuck with four stellar tickets and I looked eager, I suppose.}
After a flurry of text messages – apologies to people whom I previously had plans with, offering tickets – it was decided that Nidhi and Nick (who like / know about football) and Stephen and I (who know stadium beer is expensive / happy hour at NoodleCat is cheap) would proudly occupy amazing seats.
{An aside for NoodleCat: It was my first visit and the food was super unique, filling and half off during happy hour, plus $1 black labels. Try the steam buns– they are so far from the authentic versions I ate in Asia, but the hamburger-shaped, stuffed goodies are delicious! Just east of Public Square, it is an easy walk to the game and the street front patio is a great place to watch fans!}
If you’ve been to the club level prior to this season, you’ve still missed out on the newly renovated vendor area ringing the stadium. The view of Lake Erie is stunning and the burgers are gourmet. While observing the awesomeness of the new club level, I was approached by Calvin, a fan, who asked me if I was a Soap Opera star. Well, that’s a new one. I told him I wasn’t. He said I should be and guessed I was 23 years old. We became good friends.
Also, I was so surprised to see a line at the sushi counter.
Sushi and football? That’s a mashup I never envisioned! c’est la vie!
The stadium itself is also pretty great – I must say this because I know the contractors who built it and they are great people! It’s also amazing to me that it used to be a municipal stadium and is one of the few in the country where the naming rights will never be sold to a bank!
Sadly, the Browns were pretty lousy (some blamed it on the referees, I gathered from listen to angry, shouting fans) and so we left – along with 3/4 of the audience in the third quarter.
While I can’t say I’ll return to the stadium, I am looking forward to the Colts v. Browns in Indianapolis later this fall.
Maybe by then I’ll know a thing or two about the game! 😉
FEASTING, NOT FASTING
August 17, 2012
When it comes to Lent, the Catholic tradition of giving up gluttonous materials like wine and chocolate, I am a total failure: read, I always eat meat on Fridays in March. However, when it comes to the Roman Catholic celebration ‘The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin’, which happens to correspond to my birthday, I’m all for practicing my faith!
An amazing perk of living and working in University Circle is its proximity to Little Italy, and so while the district is part of my daily commute and a routine lunch stop, nothing compares to the liveliness of Mayfield Rd. this weekend.
While the prices are steeper (Presti’s keeps it under control, FYI), if you consider that you’re paying for the atmosphere of street performers and live music, you can view this event as your well worth-it weekend splurge on entertainment and nourishment 🙂
The actual Feast began on Wednesday (my bday! / India’s Independence Day) of this week. This and last year my office packed the streets to enjoy the fabulous food, including stuffed hot peppers and Cassata cakes that WILL make you swoon.
Following the mid-morning mass and solemn funeral procession (that many mistake for a parade), the Little Italy district swells with vendors of all sorts, locals and out-of-towners alike.
There are rides all weekend for kids and entertainment throughout the day until midnight, especially at La Trattoria on E123rd and Mayfield Rd, where an open air nightclub pops up.
Plan a trip tonight, where you just might run into Cleveland Socialites like us, live on the scene 🙂
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For a complete schedule of the events happening today and tomorrow, including the fireworks spectacular on Saturday, check out the Holy Rosary Church’s website.
To learn more about Cleveland’s own Little Italy, check out: http://www.littleitalycleveland.com/
it was a BLAST!
August 5, 2012
Today, north winds brought waves crashing over the rocks that line Euclid Beach in North Collinwood, and despite the noise, created an atmosphere of serenity.
Yesterday, southern winds ushered in hundreds of people from all over greater Cleveland to join a rocking party on the beach, aptly titled Euclid Beach Blast.
Both scenarios demonstrate why the shore point, former home to the Euclid Beach Amusement park, is a great destination in North East Ohio. And with the combined efforts of the Sewer District, the local CDC and groups like Alliance for the Great Lakes in support of the newly launched Urban Beach Ambassador’s program, the water quality of Lake Erie is on its way to healthy levels, even after a rainfall event.
The second annual Beach Blast truly was a blast, combining the creativity of neighboring artists with locals’ passion for one of the region’s best resource. The Blast is Stephen’s creation, a way for him to express his love for and belief in the greatness of the north coast shore in a way that people of all ages can enjoy.
BeachLab, an interactive aspect of the Blast and brainchild of Collinwood artist Ivana and CIA employee Ivy, demonstrated to Blast goers the varied potential of the park’s vast property while a masterplanning proposal from MKSK (out of Columbus) and Land Studio (in Ohio City) generated conversation about linking Wildwood, Villa Angela and the Recreation Center to the beach.
My recycled paper roses, manufactured for sale at this summer’s Collective Upcycle pop-up, made a return appearance in the “Recycled Rose Garden”, suggesting that plantings could spruce up patches of under-utilized lawn (above).
As a volunteer, I was awarded a t-shirt, a food truck voucher (which I redeemed for a Po Boy at B&M BBQ) and a voucher for a free burrito to Chili Peppers on E.185th (which we redeemed today, and the burrito was sensational. FYI: all Beach Clean-Up attendees at Euclid will be given a burrito voucher in the future, and this fact alone should be motivation enough!).
In addition to installing my artwork and assisting in the creation of the children’s playground on the plinth of a former amusement park ride, I spent the evening crafting trash mobiles with Nicole of Plenty Underfoot.
A crew of us made samples at Nicole’s studio last week and tirelessly scrubbed recyclable trash for beach goers to string onto mobiles of their own. You can read about our craft night on the Detroit Shoreway, here! My mobile is pictured above and is resplendent with bottle caps, plastic toy pieces and a tampon applicator – all found by clean-up crews on the shores of Lake Erie! GROSS! GROSS! GROSS!
Funded by the generous support of backers on Kickstarter, in addition to raising awareness, the Blast provided a safe, fun atmosphere for people of all ages to dance, craft and dine at Cleveland’s Famous Food Trucks! Other activities included games, face painting and of course, music!
In addition to the after-party at the nearby Beachland Ballroom, three bands performed with Lake Erie in the background including The Hesitations singing covers from the ‘50s and ‘60s and Son Gitano, Stephen’s band, performing original Latin fusion jams.
Sad you missed it? I bet you are! Well, never fear, the Euclid Beach Adopt-A-Beach team is always looking for volunteers and clean-up events happen through the Fall with Ivana leading the occasional free yoga class as a cool down to lugging around pounds of recyclable trash! Planning for the Blast 2013 will likely start soon, so stay tuned to the FB page for details!
Also, the next Urban Beach Ambassador’s training will be held at Edgewater this Thursday at 6:30pm-8:30pm.
https://www.facebook.com/euclidbeachblast
http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/forgood/euclidbeachblast080212.aspx
WOW indeed
August 4, 2012
Otherwise known as Wade Oval Wednesday, WOW is a summer programming spectacular put on by University Circle Inc. that takes place on the lawn between the Botanical Gardens, CMA and the Natural History Museum. Weekly through August 29th, live music fills the park. Occasionally, films play in the park, too, and although I can technically say I sat through a screening of the Academy Award winning The Artist, ambient noise killed even a silent movie. Albeit a less than ideal location for viewing silent films, the atmosphere is otherwise perfect.
People flock to UC from all around, but we are fortunate to have Wade Oval in our backyard, making every Wednesday an optimal Wine (or Sangria, pictured above) Wednesday.
And what wine tasting would be complete without crafting?!
That’s right, wine, live music, dancing and decoupaging. Admittedly, I’m the only nut who carries a bag of brushes and glue around the park, but so far its been my most productive downtime and also a great way to garner compliments from people who are amazed at my talent of gluing paper!
For this project my inspiration was Trader Joe’s whimsically illustrated brown paper bags that cheekily ask whether it counts as recycling if you hang the bags on the wall! Happily, Stephen is a die-hard recycler and he just happened to have three awfully mundane wall hangings left from a previous tenant, left.
And because the modgepodge used as an adhesive creates a watertight seal, my droll art hangs behind the kitchen sink, sprucing up a dull backsplash, right!
For a decoupage tutorial jump on over to ALITHEARCHITECrT where I’ve posted guides to this and other DIY crafts even novices can master!
For more on WOW, scroll down!
Stationary paper and paper bag art on the lawn.
Tiffany and Sagree enjoying our set-up at WOW.
“The Artist” co-sponsored by CMA.
My favorite photo of Tiffany, ever. If this doesn’t capture the happiness of summer nights stargazing in the park listening to Reggae, I don’t know what does!
Mark August 22nd on your calendar as a ‘must go’ for WOW. Stephen’s band, Son Gitano, will be playing for the second year in a row. Their Latin fusion music is tremendous and will have you dancing on your blankets!
Check them out: https://www.facebook.com/son.gitano.9
how NOT to be social
August 3, 2012
While we haven’t literally written a manual for our followers on how to be social, it cannot be denied that we wrote the book (figuratively).
Some suggestions from those who know / want to be famous (aka us):
(1) Always wear one statement piece, preferably from a thrift store. It’s an easy conversation starter AND you’ll have more cash to spend on things like cosmos. YUM.
(2) Always laugh when there is a camera in sight. People like happy people. Newspaper / Magazine photographers should like happy people. This theory may have to be tested further.
(3) When announcing plans for the evening, recite your awesome schedule really loud so other people can hear you and be jealous.
(4) When someone asks you do something next Tuesday, smile and politely/smugly announce that you have of course been booked for months: Tuesdays are for wining and crafting, what could possibly interfere with that?
(5) Post photographs of all the awesome things you do to all social media outlets. Of course, everything you do is awesome when you are a socialite, so POST, BABY, POST!
(6) Always be fashionably late. Socialites don’t have time to wait around.
(7) Wear really obnoxious sunglasses, again, preferably from a thrift store.
(8) When people ask if you’re famous, say YES! These people on the wall weren’t famous until Andy Warhol said “are you famous” and they were like, “yes, I think so”. And so then they were. That is a true story.
(9) Take budding socialites under your wing. After all, they always say its lonely at the top, so you’ll want to reject that silly stereotype and bring lots of happy, shiny, fun people with you!
(10) Live. Love. Eat. Never sleep until you get Mono.
Conversely, here is something you should not do.
This Little Italy abode houses very anti-Cleveland Socialites! EWW!
Euclid Beach Blast!
August 1, 2012
Do you ever look at yourself in the mirror and think, “Man, this girl should be at a beach party right now!”? Well, I do that almost every day. Since it’s incredibly tiring to organize a beach party every day, I instead go on my Kindle and read inane books like La Seduction and How to be a Woman. Sometimes I play Scramble with friends.
BEACH PARTY. Ok. You guys should all come to Euclid Beach Blast this Saturday, August 4. According to their Facebook Page, “Celebrate Euclid Beach Park with an evening of art, live music, games, food trucks, summer sunsets and an after party at the 3rd Annual Euclid Beach Blast! Free and fun for the entire family! Saturday August 4th 5pm-830pm” AND THAT SOUNDS AMAZING, DOESN’T IT??
On Monday, Ali & I joined some other people (including Steve, who organized this event!) at Nicole’s Plenty Underfoot (which is an amazing organization about reusing materials for art WHICH I TOTALLY SUPPORT) and started getting stuff ready for the beach trash mobiles that you will be able to make if you attend! YAY BEACHES.
Here is a picture of me cutely chopping up some beach noodles that are reused from CMA’s Summer Solstice party which I was very rudely not invited to and/or forgot to buy tickets.
A random assortment of all the supplies you’ll get to use when making your mobiles!
And my mobile that I made as a demo. Everyone is going to want this mobile. But it’s mine! JK I have no idea where I put it. Ali put her mobile on her head for some reason. IDK why. But it looks like a very effective hat.
A blurry picture of the worker crafterbees!
Come to Euclid Beach Blast! August 4! 5:30-8:30p or something like that!