Smithtown Dish - Small Bites Of Foodie News - Think Kids Think Fruit

Smithtown Dish – small bites of foodie news

By Nancy Vallarella

Summer Baking with Kids

Val Gal Peach Kuchen“I’m bored and there’s nothing to do. I’m hungry and there’s nothing good to eat.”- It’s the mantra of kids everywhere by this time during summer vacation. What’s a parent to do?

I tried taking them shopping for school supplies, but that didn’t enhance their mood even though it gave me great hope.

Cooking projects have many positive effects and benefits: It keeps them busy. You get to sneak in some reading, math and science. It gets creative juices flowing.  The result is hopefully something good to eat. Best of all – they can’t speak while chewing and swallowing!

Here’s a simple recipe that has great flexibility. You can use any stone fruit or apple in season, add blueberries or raisins, use cinnamon or not.

Give the kids tasks that are age appropriate – especially those requiring knife skills and using hot ovens.

Val Gal Peach Kuchen – 16 servings

Crust:                                                                                          Topping: 

½ lb. butter (room temperature)                                                   6-8 medium peaches

½ cup sugar                                                                                 ½ cup sugar

2 cups flour                                                                                  2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder                                                     

¼ tsp. salt                 

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs (room temperature)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 11x 16x 1” baking sheet with parchment paper.

*Peel and slice peaches into 1/4 inch slices. Place in bowl and set in side.

Mix 1/2cup sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

In large bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. In medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture slowly into butter mixture. Once flour is incorporated add vanilla and eggs and mix until incorporated.

Scrape dough onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using an offset spatula or butter knife spread dough evenly on pan and up onto side to form crust. Hold sides of parchment paper while spreading batter.

Add peach slices in rows. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly on top of peaches. Bake in oven center rack for 30 – 45 minutes until edges and bottom are golden brown.

*Peeling fruit is optional. If skin is tough, I recommend removing.

Smithtown Resident Michelle Lombardi Graduates Cum Laude From Eastern Nazarene College

Local student graduates from Eastern Nazarene College

QUINCY, MASS.—Smithtown resident Michelle Lombardi graduated from Eastern Nazarene College recently, receiving a diploma during ENC’s 92nd spring commencement exercises held May 3 at the college’s main campus in Quincy, Mass. Lombardi graduated (Cum Laude) with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

HARD CHOICES - By Hillary Rodham Clinton - Book Review

HARD CHOICES – 635 pages, by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Published by Simon & Schuster

Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur

You’ve got to hand it to the Klein Brothers, Robert and Richard, owners of Huntington’s Book Revue – along with their unflappable staff, they continually host the most unwieldy book signing events imaginable – in one of Long Island’s most difficult towns to navigate – and they do it with a flair that makes each undertaking seem routine.

The result of these successful, ongoing, literary affairs is that Book Revue has become the Mecca to which leading authors from the community (such as Nelson DeMille), the nation (like prolific Jodi Picoult), and the world (Jo Rowling for example) all gravitate, when introducing each new book they produce.

Granted, most authors do not generate the sort of Police, EMS, and Secret Service presence that marked Hillary Clinton’s appearance on August 6^th (by my count, a dozen identifiable agents, and who knows how many without those telltale lapel pins). But few celebrities bring a resume to Long Island’s premier bookstore that identifies them as a former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State.

Of course, those titles are not the magnets that drew blocks-long lines of patrons, and dozens of Police and Emergency vehicles to New York Avenue and Main Street on Wednesday. The undisputable fact that Mrs. Clinton is quite possibly destined to be the next occupant of the White House (again), and this nation’s first female president, was the primary reason for the huge crowd – some of whom waited for four and five hours, in typical North Shore August weather, to say hello to the bubbly, incipient grandmother, and lay out $35. for a signed book.

Whether those hundreds of books will ever actually be read, however, is a good question, and it’s doubtful that Mrs. Clinton really cares one way or the other. Her estimated $14 million advance from Simon & Schuster has already been deposited, the Clinton staffers (who really wrote the ‘Memoir’) have presumably been paid, and the Press is in possession of a fairly up-to-date handbook that places presidential candidate Hillary in the best possible light. It’s true that in ‘Hard Choices’ Clinton says, “The one question I’m asked more than any other is: will I run for President in 2016.” The problem is, she then insults our intelligence by adding, “I haven’t decided yet.” Granted, we don’t know the precise date that Clinton issued that disclaimer, but though Hillary might be a lot of things, she’s not stupid. She knew when this book was being released…so essentially she fibbed. The woman is running – and running vigorously.

‘Hard Choices’ is not a treatise on politics; it’s not an autobiography; nor can it be called a history book. Rather it’s a compulsory compendium of the sort that all presidential candidates release during their campaigns. Obama did it, Kerry did it, so did Gingrich and Romney. These men, like Mrs. Clinton, may refer to their volumes as ‘Memoirs’ all they want, but they are still glorified campaign guide books in autobiographical drag.

Tedious though this doorstopper of a book might be at times (one wag called it “Fifty Shades of Boring”) ‘Hard Choices’ is not without its moments…such as Clinton’s reminiscences on her Mother’s death – Chelsea’s wedding – and of course, her Daughter’s pregnancy. One of the most poignant lines from ‘Hard Choices’ is anthropologist Margaret Mead’s quote that “Children keep our imaginations fresh and our hearts young, and drive us to work for a better future.” Whichever ghostwriter decided to include that statement in this tome obviously has his or her finger on Hillary Clinton’s ever-opportunistic pulse.

Finally, Mrs. Clinton assures us that if the unthinkable happened, and Sarah Palin were ever elected president, she would not move to Canada. We can only conclude that Alaska would be out of the question as well.

Award-winning Smithtown writer Jeb Ladouceur is the author of eight novels, and his book and theater reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. In Ladouceur’s next thriller, “Harvest” due in late summer, an American doctor is forced to perform illegal surgeries for a gang of vital organ traffickers in The Balkans.

Smithtown Man Drives Into Bldg. On E.Main St

Commercial bldg. 227 E.Main (photo courtesy Smithtown public safety)A motor vehicle traveling westbound on Middle Country Road crashed into a vacant building at 227 E. Main Street on Monday, August 4, approximately  9:50 am.  The driver of the vehicle, a 66-year-old Smithtown resident, was taken to St. Catherine’s of Siena Hospital for observation.

2009 Jeep Wrangler crashed into 227 E. Main St. Monday, Aug. 4 (photo courtesy Smithtown Public Safety)According to Smithtown Fire Marshall Nicholas Kefalos; A 2009 jeep wrangler driven by a Smithtown resident was heading westbound on Middle Country Road when he swerved. As he attempted to correct the swerve he collided with another vehicle before leaving the road and hitting the commercial bldg. located at 227 E. Main St., Village of the Branch.

The building which was vacant at the time and is currently on the market(photo courtesy of Smithtown Public Safety) sustained damage on the left side, but did not damage any weight bearing walls. Apparently, according to Kefalos, the jeep went up the steps before hitting the building.  

Neither of the drivers, both Smithtown residents, involved in the vehicle crash are believed to have sustained serious injuries.

Can You Help? Claudia Bowers Kidney Transplant Fundraiser

Claudia Bowers Kidney Transplant Fundraiser

Friends and family in Smithtown  have always rallied around each other in times of need. Whether it’s been for a neighbor fighting cancer or a family who lost their house in a fire, those in the community have long held fundraising events like spaghetti dinners and silent auctions to help their neighbors through difficult times.  

Now, through a growing trend called crowdfunding, they are taking these efforts online.  

Friends and family of Claudia Bowers have set up a crowdfunding page on the popular crowdunding website, GiveForward.com. 

So far, the friends and family of Claudia Bowers have raised $1,950 for medical costs associated with her kidney transplant since the campaign launched on July 29.

Just over a year ago, Claudia, who has been a Smithtown resident for over 38 years, was diagnosed with renal failure, a debilitating disease that forced her to retire from a job she loved as Suffolk County Girl Scout’s Director of Camping Services. The diagnosis, which also requires her to go to dialysis three times a week at St. Catherine’s of Siena Hospital in Smithtown, often times prevents her from spending time with the loves of her life, her grandchildren.

There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel for Claudia. In September, her sister, Alyson Capone, of Daytona Beach, Florida, will unselfishly give her the gift of life by donating one of her kidneys to her big sister.  The operation will take place at the University Hospital at Stony Brook.

Of course, with a kidney transplant comes costs — costs that the insurance company won’t cover, including medications that Claudia will need to take to prevent her body from rejecting her sister’s kidney. Due to what is called a “donut hole,” in the insurance system, Claudia will have to pay $5,000 out of pocket for these expenses. This is why a fundraiser has been set up in her name. 

“Raising this money is so important to help my mom on her way to good health. It has been a long road since her diagnosis and we are forever grateful to everyone who has stepped up to help,” said Erica Jackson, Claudia’s eldest daughter.

To learn how you can support Claudia Bowers, please visit http://gfwd.at/1qLf44M or go to www.GiveForward.com and search for Claudia Bowers, Kidney Transplant Fundraiser the campaign closes on October 30, 2014.

A Facebook page to provide supporters with updates has also been created and can be visited here: https://www.facebook.com/Claudiastransplant?ref=hl

About GiveForward

GiveForward.com is one of the world’s leading online fundraising websites and the easiest way to raise money for a loved one in need. It is the #1 platform to start a medical fundraiser with 99 cents of every dollar going directly to the people who need it.  It is the only online fundraising site with fundraising coaches who provide fundraising ideas and guidance on how to raise money online.