Trees:

I read this article a couple days ago in the Star News:

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090224/ARTICLES/902240289#

red circle shows the power lines through the trees

This is quite disturbing news! I understand the need to keep "vegetative debris" away from power lines, especially in a hurricane prone area where wind can bring down large trees and limbs, but cutting down century old trees (or any trees for that matter) seems to me like the wrong move.

Trees, like the ones Mr. Turner planted 12 years ago when he moved to South 10th Street, provide shade in the summer which in turn keeps the area cooler, allow the sun to warm homes in the winter, provide cleaner air by trapping soil and air pollution and are visually attractive. These are just a few things trees (and forests) provide for us.

My husband and I live along a tree lined road. I can't imagine our neighborhood, or our front yard, without the beautiful oaks and crape myrtles. We would lose two large trees from our front yard and two cypress from the median. For me, this would significantly lower the area's charm, curb appeal and my desire to stay in the neighborhood.

One possible solution is to, as a neighborhood, raise half of the money necessary to place the power lines underground. This would eliminate the need to cut down the trees and provide a more visually appealing area. Although there are additional costs associated with underground power lines, I feel the costs outweigh the alternative. Too often trees are haphazardly cut down. It is time we start thinking of alternative ways of doing things instead of taking the easy way out.

The photos posted are of our front yard and median area.

Have a look around your yard, your neighborhood and our city to see how you could be affected.

- Lara Schuhmann

Trees in the median

English Muffins

A few years ago, Pete (my hubby) started to dabble in bread-making. He began with basic white bread, then moved to sourdough, had a few weekends of rye and even a hearty breakfast loaf with raisins and oats (my favorite). I will admit, the first few loaves were a bit stout, but as time goes on, the bread gets better and better!

A typical breakfast and lunch for us definitely has bread on the menu. For breakfast, a couple pieces of toast, a muffin, bagel or egg sandwich and for lunch, a cheese or veggie sandwich.

We were out of the country for seven months in 2007. On the go all the time, bread was a quick and easy solution for every meal. A quick piece of toast for breakfast or a cheese sandwich thrown in a cooler for a picnic lunch was pretty much what we ate on a daily basis. After the first month, as you can imagine, we started to get tired of the same ol' same ol' and I began to look up recipes for English muffins.

A bit of background on our local: we were in Barbados, which use to be a British colony but gained it's independence on November 30, 1966. Life in Barbados definitely has British influence. We rented the downstairs apartment from Barbara whose home overlooks the Caribbean Sea. Barbara, who has called Barbados home for quite some time, is from Whales and is very familiar with muffins, or crumpets as she calls them. One afternoon, I decided to give the recipe a go.

When Pete first started to make bread he kneaded by hand since we didn't have a stand mixer. I noticed that this was a grueling task for him, messy and could get quite hot in the summer. Of course, we did not have a stand mixer in Barbados so my first attempt at muffins was by hand. We did not have AC in the apartment - which really is not needed - but when kneading bread, I am sure a few drops of extra salt made it into the dough ;)

I followed the recipe, waited for the dough to rise and finally, cooked them. What a WONDERFUL treat! I immediately brought one to Barbara who gave them her stamp of approval. What a delightful addition to any cook's cookbook.

Here is the link to the recipe from cdkitchen - this is the first recipe I used for muffins. They are better than Thomas's! FYI - I did not use the natural improver.

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/505/Ultimate_English_Muffin48306.shtml

This last time, I used the recipe below from the Joy of Cooking - Rombauer, Becker and Becker, 2006. I found this recipe produces fluffier, more milky and biscuit- like muffins when toasted. I personally like the fist recipe better but of course, these are still yummy!

Stir together in small bowl and let stand 3-5 minutes:
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast
Combine in large bowl:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup room temp milk
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
Stir in dissolved yeast and gradually beat (or stir) in:
- 2 cups sifted flour (I just poured in the four gradually)
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and let sponge rise in a warm place for 1.5 hours or until it collapses back into the bowl.
Beat in:
- 3 tbs softened butter
Beat or knead in: and this is where it gets messy :) if you don't use a stand mixer
- 2 (or more depending on consistency) of all-purpose flour (sifted if you want)

You want your dough to be a bit sticky but not so sticky it cannot be handled. Place your dough on a lightly floured (or cornmeal) area of your counter and hand-roll your dough out like a snake. You want the dough to be about 1/2 in thick and then cut into rounds about 3 inches (or larger/smaller) in diameter. I pat each side with cornmeal. Place them on a greased baking sheet and let rise until doubled in size.
Cooking your dough: generously grease a griddle/frying pan and heat until hot. Work muffins in batches cooking each side until they are nicely browned. I usually cook them on a med-high to high temp for about 2 - 3 minutes per side. Let cool on rack. I usually don't let mine cool - they are so good hot right off the griddle!

I have attached a few photos: top photo is of the bread and muffins we baked yesterday. The photo on the bottom left are the muffins after their second rise. The bottom right is the finished batch.
Have a great week & enjoy!
~ Lara Schuhmann

Joy of Cooking Recipe

Little River

For the past couple weeks, I have been going through receipts, organizing invoices and statements from vendors and entering numbers into spreadsheets. We do our own taxes so all of our i's must be dotted and t's crossed. Most of the time, it is a pretty stressful task.

Besides accountants and tax prep offices, I can't think of too many people that enjoy this season but, I do always like to find at least one good thing about a situation. I started to think about what was happening last year around this time and I remembered the Little River Trail Run.

The LRTR is an annual (trail running) race held at the Little River Park right on the Durham/Orange County (NC) line. The park is absolutely beautiful with 7+ miles of hiking trails and 8 miles of mountain-biking trails. Of course you can also find hardwoods, creeks, hills, evergreens, wildlife and the peace and tranquility of the woods.

I grew up in a small town in Connecticut with woods all around, ponds and creeks to play in and plenty of wildlife to keep me entertained. Heading up to Durham and spending time in the woods waiting for runners to pass to snap their photos was right up my ally.

My husband and I set-up in different locations along the trail to catch both the 7k and the 10 mile runners - by a lovely creek, up a winding hill and the finish line. The runners, from the looks of the photos, were enjoying themselves; some made funny faces and had very interesting things to say as they ran by. I myself would have been so out of breath I wouldn't have been able to say a word!

The top photo is overlooking one of the creeks. The photo below is of me, making sure I set-up the camera in the correct position to capture the runners and the tree in the top left.

Lara Schuhmann

Founder's Gala

In November of last year, I looked into putting together a photography fundraising event with proceeds benefiting a local charity in Wilmington. I contacted the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Foundation to see if I could donate to the Betty H. Cameron Women's & Children's Hospital.

After talking with a few fantastic individuals in the foundation office, I learned about an annual event - The Founder's Gala. The Gala is an annual black-tie event bringing together, monetary donors to the foundation, doctors, nurses and physicians. The event is open to corporate sponsors and proceeds from the fundraiser benefit various departments within the hospital. This year, money raised benefits the Betty H. Cameron Women's and Children's Hospital. What a perfect fit!

I talked with foundation members and the gala committee regarding logistics and we decided it would be great to photograph children in the community born at New Hanover, some of whom began their lives in the neonatal intensive care unit. I planned to donate twenty framed photographs to the foundation for display at the Gala on January 24. The photographs would include children, mother with child and pregnancy poses. Parents would have an opportunity to purchase the photographs with all proceeds going to the foundation. Those not purchased would decorate the walls in the Women's and Children's hospital.

In late November and into early December, I photographed fourteen wonderful families. I was able to meet and work with children of all ages and parents excited about the event. The gala committee members were eager to assist and just as excited as I to see the final product.

On January 23, my husband and I arrived at the Coastline Convention Center, the venue for the event, with twenty framed photographs: ten 18x24's and ten 20x24's. For the next few hours, all twenty were hung on the walls while committee members and volunteers decorated for the event the following evening.

I had an idea of the decor and the overall theme of the event but, arriving on the 24th and stepping inside, I was blown away. The decor was amazing, the lighting elegant and romantic. The evening was quite special.

My hope in donating the photographs was to emphasize children, capture their innocence and call to mind the need to keep children safe, cared for and healthy.

It was lovely to be apart of the Founder's Gala this year. I look forward to participating and hosting more fundraisers in the future to benefit our local charities.

Lara Schuhmann