|
Welcome to The Morning Star Update!
|
Greetings!
Early in August, inspired by reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, I decided to use bittersweet as a theme for this month's newsletter. Little did I know at the time that Hurricane Irene would cause so much damage on the East Coast including a little town in Vermont where my cousin Bonnie and her family live. Between tornadoes, flooding, heat, fires and now Irene, it has been quite a summer in the U.S. As you might recall, parts of Manhattan were hard hit by flooding early in the summer and parts of the Midwest are still under water. I guess there's been lots of "bitter" all over the country. Bill and I are thankful to have made it through the summer without having been hit by any natural disasters and send our thoughts and wishes out to everyone who has lost their home, business, or loved one to the weather. Having been an academic schedule for much of my life, I still think of September as the start of a new year. With that perspective in mind, here is hoping that with "the new year" - at least with the new academic year - bad weather is behind us and that it is smooth, "sweet" sailing for everyone from here on out.
|
 Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Sometimes I read a book just because I am intrigued by its title. That's what I happened to do with Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. In this instance, I got lucky because I really liked this tenderly written novel.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is about Henry Lee - a first generation Chinese-American who grew up in Seattle's Chinatown in the 1930's and '40's. The setting is 1986. Henry has recently lost his wife to cancer when a discovery at the Panama Hotel draws his thoughts back to the years of WWII and his personal struggle to be a good son and a good American while being a good friend to the Japanese-American girl he loved. Pass along your book recommendations. |
 Sweet & Sour Shrimp
In keeping with the bittersweet theme, I thought that Sweet & Sour Shrimp would be a good recipe selection. The key to this dish is not overcooking the shrimp and veggies. 1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
3 T. rice wine vinegar
1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 c. light brown sugar
1/4 t. salt
2 T. water
3 T. peanut oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 1/2 T. grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 c. + 2 T. corn starch
1/2 c. honey roasted peanuts
2 handfuls fresh snow pea pods
Before preparing vegetables, make marinade: combine 1 T. soy sauce, 1 T. rice wine vinegar and 2 T. reserved pineapple juice. Place shrimp in a medium size bowl, pour marinade over shrimp, and toss to make sure shrimp are all coated with marinade. To make sauce, combine remaining pineapple juice, soy sauce and vinegar, brown sugar, and salt. Set aside. In a small dish, whisk together 2 T. cornstarch and water. Set aside. Prepare vegetables before proceeding. Drain shrimp and discard marinade. Dredge shrimp in remaining corn starch. Knock excess corn starch off shrimp. Heat 1 T. peanut oil in a wok or very large skillet. Add peppers and onions. Stir fry until just starting to get tender, but not quite cooked. Remove from pan and put on a warm plate. Add 1 T. more oil to the pan and stir fry shrimp until almost cooked. Remove shrimp from pan and add to veggies on plate. Add remaining 1 T. oil to pan. Add sauce. Bring to a simmer and then whisk in the reserved cornstarch-water mixture. Continue to simmer, whisking until smooth. Add ginger and garlic, then peanuts, pineapple, shrimp and veggies. Stir fry until the shrimp are cooked and the sauce is thickened (about 1 to 2 minutes.) Add snow pea pods. Toss shrimp mixture with pea pods. Serve with rice. Enjoy!Pass along your recipe recommendations. |
 Bittersweet Vine
There are three types of vine known as Bittersweet, all of which are known for their autumn color: Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), which is a destructive and invasive plant introduced to the U.S. in the 19th century; American Bittersweet (Celestrus scandens), which is much less destructive and not invasive and is also known as false bittersweet; and Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), the true bittersweet vine, which is poisonous.
American Bittersweet (in the photo at left) is distinguished by smooth stems - its oriental cousin has thorns - and by the location of its berries which grow at the ends of the stems and not along the length of them. The berries of Bittersweeet Nightshade ripen at different times and so one will often see green, yellow, orange and red berries in the same cluster.
The invasive variety, Oriental Bittersweet, chokes out other plants even killing trees by girdling them and is considered to be very dangerous to indigenous vegetation. While you don't want to eat the berries of any of the so-called bittersweet vines - any of them will make you sick - it is Bittersweet Nightshade that is the most toxic. So if you are interested in growing Bittersweet for its fall color and its berries, popular in dried flower arrangements, look for Celestrus scandens, American Bittersweet. Note, to produce berries, you will need both male and female specimens.
|
|
|
As always, thank you for reading The Morning Star Update. May you have a sweet September.
Looking forward to hearing from and seeing you soon,
Laurie Pieper
The Morning Star B&B |
|
|
 | |
Flooding in Plymouth, VT
| |
My cousin Bonnie and her family live in Plymouth, VT - a little town outside of Ludlow, which is also a little town, but big enough to show up on maps. Bonnie sent me some pictures of the destruction. She described the town itself as having been devasted by the flooding. Pictured here is the road that she would normally take from her house to work. She said that all over the place there is one section after another of road that looks just like this. In case you can't tell, the brown stuff is water rushing through where the road used to be. We're thinking of you Bonnie, Jim, Cedar & Sage! - and of everyone affected by storms this summer ...
|
 | |
High Water at Schroon Lake, NY
| |
In mid-August, I visited my family on beautiful Schroon Lake in the Adirondacks. A week later storms from Irene brought a foot of rain to the mountains which brought the level of lake up and up - and it is still rising. When I was there, the water line was out past the shrubs that you can see submerged in the mid-ground of this photo. The end of the dock, which now looks like a ramp coming up out of the water, is usually on land. The waves caused by 60 mph sustained winds, broke the boats and docks loose and and brought trees down. Falling trees, of course, brought the power lines down. As dramatic as that was, however, fortunately the area was spared from the flooding and tornadoes that affected other areas back East. To our family on Schroon Lake - we're glad that you didn't get hit by the worst of it!
|
 | |
Promenade on Poyntz
| Onto something to something more festive ...
On October 5th, the Flint Hills Wine Festival is once again taking to the streets with the 7th annual Promenade on Poyntz. Participants stroll along Poyntz Avenue as they sample wine and hors d'oeuvres at various businesses from 5:30 to 8:00 in the evening. The Morning Star Bed & Breakfast is partnering with our friends at Gaia Salon Spa to provide special treats at their location, 421 Poyntz Avenue. Promenade on Poyntz is a fundraiser for Homecare and Hospice Foundation. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 537-0688 or 1-800-748-7474. We hope to see you there! Make reservations at The Morning Star. |
 | |
Dates to Remember
| September 1st - 2nd: Purple Power Play on Poyntz
September 3rd: KSU Football v. Eastern Kentucky
September 10th: Flint Hills Daylily Society Sale, Downtown Farmers' Market
September 17th: KSU Family Day
September 17th: KSU Football v. Kent State
September 17th: Paxico Blues Festival
September 23rd - 24th: Aggiefest
September 23rd - 24th: 38th Annual Pumpkin Patch Craft Fair, CiCo Park |
|
|
