What's Cookin'? Smithtown - Zucchini Pasta With Gazpacho Dressing

If you were at the Kings Park Farmer’s Market on Sunday you might have seen “What’s Cookin’? Smithtown’s, Nancy Vallarella. Hopefully you took the opportunity to stop by, say hi, and grab a bite of the food she was preparing. Chef Nancy was serving up a nutritious and delicious Zucchini Pasta.  Using a special tool called a turning slicer, Chef Nancy changed regular green zucchini into a spaghetti shape and served it with a flavorful Gazpacho Dressing (recipe below). Many of the ingredients are found in backyard gardens and all of them can be found at the Farmers Market.  In addition to the pasta, Chef Nancy served up some wonderful breaded, fried pickle slices that were outrageous!  

Councilman Bob Creighton at Kings Park Farmers MarketSummer may be ending, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up the wonderful summer foods and flavors. Visit the Kings Park Farmers Market on Sundays 10am - 2pm across from the Kings Park Fire Department. 

Zucchini Pasta with Gazpacho Dressing - by Nancy Vallarella

Serves 4 as a main course. Serves 8 as a salad course.

4 medium zucchini

4 cups chopped fresh tomato - (about 6 large) reserve ½ cup

½ medium Vidalia onion chopped

2 roasted red peppers

2Tbs. balsamic vinegar

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 – 2 Tbs. fresh basil

2-3 cloves roasted garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

• Roast red peppers and peel off skin.

To roast peppers: Cut peppers in half. Discard seeds, stem and membrane. Place face down on foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until you smell peppers cooking then turn oven to broil. Broil until skin is blackened. Let cool. Peel off skin.

• Roast whole garlic head and reserve 2- 3 cloves.

To roast garlic clove: Peel excess skin from head. Cut head to expose cloves. Place head in foil and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Close head in foil and place in baking dish. Bake at 400 for 30 – 35 minutes until cloves are soft and pop out when squeezed.

• Place 3 1/2 cups of tomato, ½ Vidalia onion, 2 roasted peppers, 2Tbs. balsamic vinegar, basil and roasted garlic cloves in blender. Blend until ingredients are combined. Slowly pour in extra virgin olive oil until incorporated. Add salt, pepper and additional roasted garlic and basil to taste.  Stir in ½ cup reserved cupped tomatoes. Place in frig for a few hours or overnight.

• Spiralize washed zucchini and dress with gazpacho. 

I recommend Padero World Cuisine turning slicer www.paderno.it

You can also find a hand tool at Sur La Table.

Expect An Announcement This Week On Campaign Sign Theft

“We have identified the owner of the car. The investigation as to who was driving the vehicle is ongoing. I will have more to say about this next week.” Mario Mattera, in a phone conversation with Smithtown Matters. Mr. Mattera was asked to make a statement about the identity of the person who illegally removed campaign signs on 25A in St. James last week. (Candidates Spouse - Alleged theft of political signs “No such theft took place”)

Mr. Mattera is currently in a primary against Paul Hennings and Robert Trotta for a seat on the Suffolk County Legislature. His goal is to replace Lynne Nowick  in the 13th Legislative District. Ms. Nowick has been term limited out of office. Nowick is looking to fill a seat on the Smithtown Town Council and is also in a three-person Republican primary.  Both Nowick and Mattera are endorsing each other. Many of their signs are posted by the same people. According to Mattera, he is placing signs with the permission of residents and business owners. He has instructed all supporters on the appropriate placement of signs and campaign literature, and expressly forbids the removal of competitors signs and literature. 

The Mattera campaign issued the following statement last week. “A passerby witnessed a woman pull her car over, exit the car, and begin to remove signs promoting the campaigns of Mario Mattera and Lynne Nowick, and place them in the car trunk.  When confronted, the woman stated that she was stealing ‘the signs because Mattera stole my Paul Hennings signs.”  The witness demanded she put the signs back, but she refused.  The witness told the woman that he noted her license plate number and would be contacting the police.

The signs were not replaced and the police were asked to investigate. “This is how crazy things are going in this campaign. This woman stopped her car, stopped traffic and ran across 25A, putting herself and other drivers in jeopardy to steal my signs.” Mario Mattera.   According to sources, all the primary candidates are experiencing theft of signs and the signs are not cheap.  In a primary getting ones name out before the public is critical. Signage is one way to do it. According to Mattera, “these signs were paid for with campaign donations, money that came from family and friends and supporters to help me. I cannot take the illegal removal of the signs lightly and I am angry that instead of talking about issues like the terrible drug problem we have, this woman is making the conversation about signs. How crazy is this? I will have an announcement to make next week after the investigation is completed.” 

Inspection Site Dedicated In Honor Of Officer Glen Ciano

Suffolk County Legislators Salute Officer Ciano at Dedication of Motor Carrier Inspection Site in his Memory - Nowick, Kennedy, Gregory, Muratore, Browning, & Stern Attend Ceremony

(Smithtown, NY)…A Motor Carrier Inspection Site has opened on Crooked Hill Road in Commack and commercial trucks, buses, school buses,  and limousines will be inspected to check suspension, breaks, tires and fluids. It was dedicated in memory of Officer Glen Ciano who was killed in the line of duty in 2009, when his patrol car was hit by a drunken driver.  This was a collaboration between the Town of Smithtown, Suffolk County and a private company. Officials from the Town of Smithtown, County of Suffolk, New York State Senate and Assembly and Police Benevolent Association attended the dedication ceremony.

Legislator Nowick said, “This is a fitting tribute to a dedicated police officer who cared about the safety of others. This site will continue to save lives in Officer Ciano’s memory.”

Picture with the Ciano family are from left to right Suffolk County Legislators Tom Muratore and Lynne C. Nowick, Susan Ciano, Officer Ciano’s widow;  their son, Daniel; and daughter, Samantha; Legislators John M. Kennedy, Minority Leader; Kate Browning, chair of the Public Safety Committee; and DuWayne Gregory, Majority Leader. 

Mattera Campaign Files Complaint Related to Brazen Sign Theft

Mattera Campaign Files Complaint Related to Brazen Sign Theft

St. James, NY – The campaign for Mario Mattera for Legislature has filed a complaint with the Suffolk County Police Department related to a brazen political sign theft from a business property on 25A over the weekend.  A passerby witnessed a woman pull her car over, exit the car, and begin to remove signs promoting the campaigns of Mario Mattera and Lynne Nowick and place them in the car trunk.  When confronted, the woman stated that she was stealing ‘the signs because Mattera stole my Paul Hennings signs.”  The witness demanded she put the signs back, but she refused.  The witness told the woman that he noted her license plate number and would be contacting the police.  

A statement from the Mattera campaign stated, “These signs were placed by Mr. Mattera on the property of a local business with the express permission of the owner of the property. Mr. Mattera personally requested the placement, and put the signs in place.  Over the weekend, one third of the signs the campaign placed on private property and businesses were stolen.  A person driving along 25A Sunday morning witnessed a woman stealing signs belonging to Mr. Mattera and Lynne Nowick, who is involved in a primary for Smithtown Town Council.   The witness asked her to return the signs to their rightful owner, and she refused.  The witness told her he had her license plate number and was going to report the theft to the police.  The witness contacted Mr. Mattera stating that the signs were not returned, and when Mr. Mattera drove by shortly thereafter he confirmed the signs he had placed were missing.  The witness went to the 4^th Precinct and provided the information to the desk officer regarding the incident. We await the outcome of the investigation and deplore the childish and immature theft of any campaign signs related to any candidate.  These signs are costly and their removal and destruction indicates a level of immaturity for the culprits.”  The Suffolk County Police is currently investigating the theft.

Mr. Mattera stated, “During the past week, I personally placed signs for my campaign and Lynne Nowick’s on business and residential properties with the authorization from the owners.  I find it reprehensible that people would steal these signs.  I have instructed every member of my campaign that we will not engage in stealing my opponents’ signs, as we expect the same courtesy from their campaigns.  I would prefer we talk about the issues with the voters and concentrate on getting our message out about creating jobs and opportunity and working to keep our families safe.  That is what is most important to me and my campaign.  I will let the Suffolk County Police Department investigate the witnessed theft of my signs and wait for the outcome of their work. “

Sean Lehman's Unpublished Letter To The Smithtown Messenger

On the Town of Smithtown’s official website it is proclaimed, “The Smithtown Messenger is the Official Newspaper of the Town of Smithtown”.

In February of 2012, Smithtown Messenger became the official town newspaper. The decision was made with a three - two vote, Councilmen Wherheim, Creighton, Malloy (Yes) Supervisor Vecchio, Councilman McCarthy (No).  With its new status as the official newspaper of the town came tax dollars of approximately $30,000 a year. The paper publishes the legal notices for Smithtown. 

Many people were troubled by the fact that the Smithtown Messenger did not print a letter from Sean Lehman, president of the Kings Park Civic Association. The letter expressed the organization’s position along with dissatisfaction and criticism of positions taken by Councilmen Creighton and Malloy in a July 11, 2013 Smithtown Messenger article “Primary Race Is Getting Ugly, Graffiti and Uplands Muddy the Waters”.

Because freedom of speech is fundamental to our democracy, Smithtown Matters has decided to provide Sean Lehman with a forum to post his letter. Like it or hate it, you have the right to see it. 

Like any other letter posted on Smithtown Matters the letter reflects the position of the author not that of Smithtown Matters.

Dear Editor:

The article in the July 11th issue of the Smithtown Messenger titled “Primary Race Is Getting Ugly, Graffiti and Uplands Muddy the Waters”  is misleading, flawed, and irresponsible.

Let’s start at the beginning with the article’s headline. How in the world can the Messenger place the word “graffiti” next to a legitimate and long standing civic issue, the “Uplands”? These two words appear above a large picture of a defaced political sign on the front cover of the paper.

Linking the signs and the Uplands appears to be another attempt by the Creighton/Malloy team to discredit the good name of the Kings Park Civic Association, in all likelihood because the civic disagrees with the pair on several very important community issues. An attack on the KPCA for speaking out would not be the first by the councilmen.

I refer to the January 24th, 2013 Town Board meeting where Councilman Malloy angrily and falsely accused me of lying about a prior conversation we had on October 26th, 2012 regarding his statement that the Uplands’ application “is going through.”  His statement to me was only made public because Councilman Creighton forced me to defend myself regarding my words at the public hearing on the Uplands.  So Councilman Malloy, you can blame Mr. Creighton for the public disclosure.

The civics were at the meeting that night to oppose Councilman Creighton’s request to alienate state parkland, which would have robbed our school district of crucial tax dollars. Instead of alienation, we recommended a solution.  Ask for a lease agreement with the state to preserve the tax payments. We also suggested that this request be made by our state representatives, Senator Flanagan and Assemblyman Fitzpatrick.  Unfortunately, Councilman Creighton, Malloy and Wehrheim decided to circumvent both Flanagan and Fitzpatrick (fellow republicans) on this issue. They did not even have the decency to carbon copy the state representatives on Town Attorney John Zollo’s letter to the Governor.

I also refer to Councilman Creighton’s recent attempt to stifle the Kings Park Civic Association’s First Amendment rights (the people have the right to speak freely without government interference). The councilman tried to intimidate us to stop petitioning in a public area at the farmer’s market, which the Kings Park Civic Association sponsors. That was followed by Town Attorney John Zollo, who is part of Councilman Creighton’s campaign team, decreeing that there shall be no more civic/community interaction at the market. This has put an end to our successful fundraising and much needed monetary donations to the St. Joseph’s Food Pantry, book collections for our soldiers at war, our Kings Park High School Scholarship, and fall festival activities for our children. Isn’t that intimidation?

Did I mention that the petition in question had to do with The Uplands? There was no complaint from Creighton last year when there was a petition for playing fields; a cause in which the councilman had unsuccessfully tried to use as part of his campaign. Every person who approached the community table that day signed our petition and was provided with a fact sheet on the project. Creighton said he received complaints about the Uplands petition, yet the Office of the Supervisor never received any. Hmmm

Additionally, Councilman Malloy  egregiously claims that the Vecchio camp is riling up and misinforming the Civics about The Uplands.  Either Mr. Malloy has been under a rock, with no local newspapers or computers for the past seven years, or he is just out of touch with the facts. The Civics in Kings Park have been on this issue, both quietly and publicly, since at least early 2007. Mr. Malloy, there is nothing about The Uplands that we do not know or have not studied.  We even hired an expert to advise us on this issue. The councilman is very much aware of these facts.

It was actually Councilman Malloy who came to a rash and uninformed decision regarding The Uplands when he told me the application “is  going through” - prior to the draft environmental impact statement being released. It was Supervisor Vecchio and Councilman McCarthy who advanced opinions only after it was released.

Graffiti on political signs and The Uplands should not be linked  together in this article. They are unrelated. The Uplands is nothing more that a high density housing project on land that is zoned one acre residential in the midst of a beautiful residential community. A project that, if approved, will set a precedent that has the potential to negatively impact EVERY residential neighborhood in the Town Smithtown.  A project that is so unaffordable that only 12% of its residents will come from the entire Smithtown Township. A project that is opposed by at least three civic associations and whose environmental impact on the area has drawn the concerns of both New York State Parks and the Audubon Society.

The Creighton/Malloy ticket seems to tout Smart Growth. Is it smart to put a 50 foot tall, high density 200 unit apartment project with underground parking garages and huge lighted parking lots in the middle of a residential community that also borders two state parks? We know many people who don’t think so.

Sean Lehmann, President

Kings Park Civic Association