UNDER
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Fall 2014
SMALL TOWNS, BIG HEROES
Why Small is the Next New Big Meet Montclair, New Jersey
Small is the New Big MEET THE HOTTEST, COOLEST TOWN
Fall is a time of change and along with the changing leaves and unpredictable bursts of weather this also a time to change the menu. From content in Under the Apron to savory or sweet pies, fall is a refreshing burst of newness for kids and adults. What better way, I thought, to celebrate this seasonal shift then to focus on an American home town that has it all? Montclair brings the foods of so many different places to their borders that you can really take a trip around the world and never leave town. But it’s not just the foodie charm of this spot that I adore. This is a walkable town, a place that is not too big and not too small; and like Goldilocks I have come to realize there is something just right for me - and for you. I love the way a big city brings the world to me, but a town like Montclair - not tiny by any means but just the right kind of “small” - welcomes me in so many ways. The population is diverse in every way imaginable, the events and feel of the charming streets hints of city but feels more family-friendly, and it’s safe.
Another remarkable thing about the township of Montclair is their unified and transparent governing body; the incredible town bookends of a renowned museum,The Montclair Museum (MAM) and a major school, The University of Montclair, and also the list of over 200 non-profits that call Montclair home. I hope you enjoy this view of a classic yet modern American town. Under the Apron is still growing, and I plan to focus on more cities and towns in the next issues. Food trends and luscious meals still get my heart racing, but I also love the idea of featuring places that offer something special, like Montclair. America is not only our home, but also our drawing board. As business owners and clients of those businesses, we have the opportunity here to create and choose our very favorite places to eat, businesses to support, and most of all, freedoms to celebrate. Enjoy fall - and I hope you get a kick out of this issue. Diane Lilli, Editor in Chief Under the Apron
FALL 2014
In This Issue
Under the Apron Presents Best U.S. Town - Fall, 2014
Grow. Harvest. Test. Roast. Sip. Repeat.
Fresh Picks
Make your Own Beer
Meet the Township of Montclair - Why Small is the Next New Big
Mad Men meets Bemelmans Bar
Home Brewed with Mollie Mae Grewe
Vintage Apple Pie
Check out this vintage recipe for apple pie, from the 1800’s.
GRASS FED
UNDER THE APRON STUFF
Wear our tee shirts, sip from our mugs or google your favorite chefs - with Under the Apron
WELCOME TO STEAM CITY
Discover your Victorian roots - add a dash of science fiction - and welcome to Steampunk.
Under the Apron Social Media Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Intagram. Check our Blog.
VANILLA VEX
Sometimes, chocolate is NOT on the menu.
Under The Apron Staff Editor in Chief Diane Lillli
Contributors
Art Director Ari Pramagioulis
Mollie Mae Grewe
Montclair town photos by OUTlooks by OUThere Photo Arts Productions, Nutley
Monica Johnson Mike Szimanski Armando Diaz Chris Bannon
Under the Apron P.O. Box 16 Caldwell, NJ 07006 Visit us at our special section at: www.thejerseytomatopress.com
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AFRICAN-AMERICAN QUILTS FROM HEART TO HAND: AFRICAN-AMERICAN QUILTS FROM THE MONTGOMERY MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS Montclair Art Museum September 21, 2014–January 4, 2015
H
onoring the 50th anniversary of several U.S. civil rights landmarks, this exhibition presents 30 colorful and creatively designed quilts by AfricanAmerican quiltmakers, primarily from West Alabama. Most were made between the mid-1950s and the end of the 20th century, and represent the major themes in traditional quiltmaking. A group of outstanding narrative quilts by Tuscaloosa quiltmaker Yvonne Wells exemplifies modern quiltmaking.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS accompanying the exhibition will honor the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement. Highlights include the 28th Annual Julia Norton Babson Lecture featuring artist/quilter Yvonne Wells and historian/artist Dr. Nell Painter (October 9) and MAM Art Talks: Sanford Biggers showcasing his recent project Codex, which probes themes of identity through painting on historical quilts (November 20). Please visit montclairartmuseum.org for tickets and more information. Yvonne Wells, Rosa Parks I, 2005, Cotton/polyester blend, polyester, cotton, plastic buttons. Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association Purchase, 2008.9.6. Arrangements for the appearance of Dr. Nell Painter made through Greater Talent Network, Inc., New York, NY From Heart to Hand: African American Quilts from the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts  was organized by the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama. Major funding at the Montclair Art Museum provided by Bob and Bobbie Constable, Tracy Higgins and James Leitner and Margo and Frank Walter. All Museum programs are made possible, in part, by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, Carol and Terry Wall/The Vance Wall Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and Museum members.
Grow. Harvest. Test. Roast. Sip. Repeat. Making the Cut: Inside the aromatic world of Fairway’s Coffee Maven, Benny Lanfranco Is there any anything more rousing, aromatic and inspirational than that whiff of your first cup of coffee in the morning? I sometimes go to sleep, frankly, and fantasize about my first cup of Joe that will welcome me to a new day. But I always wondered: how does all the incredible coffee get to my kitchen table? Sure, we all have our preferred methods of making coffee: a French press, or a percolator (my style) or a drip-coffee maker. But what about the source - and how do coffee beans become this incredible, magical pleasure that is a tradition among the current 400 billion cups consumed every single year? Fairway Market invited me to visit their Coffee Lab, in Brooklyn, New York. As I quickly discovered, all that magic I enjoy every day is truly a marriage between art and science. Benny Lanfranco grew up both in the Dominican Republic and the United States, where he lived in Queens, and can boast about parents with roots in Italy and the Dominican Republic. As a young boy, Benny was very curious, and happened to befriend another young boy -and then his entire family- who owned a coffee farm. Little did this inquisitive young energetic boy realize his obsession with coffee in all its forms would morph into a career as a wellknown coffee expert, with a cool nickname to
match: Chef Benny. “Everything about the coffee farm, fascinated me,” said Lanfranco. “We grew up drinking coffee. After school I would go to the farm. I learned all about the coffee beans, and the process.” Fairway has a very exacting system of who they purchase their coffee beans from, and Lanfranco is truly the gateway to all those aromatic coffee beans you smell when you peruse their large coffee department. Before you ever get to sniff the beans - from a hearty dark roast to a lighter version, or any one of their numerous flavored beans, you can bet Lanfranco has already spent hours in his Coffee Lab, located in Brooklyn, doing everything possible via science and also his own fantastic experience - to decide which beans make the cut, and make it to your coffee pot. His Coffee Lab is unique, since he designed it. There are no chairs, but plenty of space in a circular table that moves with Lanfranco, as he does the painstaking work of testing coffee beans, from their smell to the color to the taste, before they make that final cut to be a Fairway Coffee. Follow our photo timeline, and the intense work involved in choosing great beans for your perfect cup of coffee.
Welcome to the Fairway Coffee Lab - with Benny Lanfranco
1. Bags of Coffee It all starts with the bags of coffee beans, which are sent to be tested. Before any coffee beans are approved or roasted, Benny Lanfranco tests them.
2. Beans The coffee beans are not only checked for the color but also for their smell. There are many many aromas - about 36 - associated with coffee beans, and Benny Lanfranco must see where each crop of beans falls within this “smell” test. And yes, freshness counts!
Welcome to the Fairway Coffee Lab - with Benny Lanfranco
3. Moisture Tester This contraption measures for moisture in the coffee beans. The coffee beans are also measured for size. Benny Lanfranco actually checks to see how many “seeds” are in each “fruit” which yields the beans.
4. Meet the Chef Benny Lanfranco hard at work, at his own Coffee Lab spinning circular table. He doesn’t sit down - ever - and instead moves around his lab taking notes as he runs his testing of the coffee beans. As he said, his nose and palate are truly his life.
Welcome to the Fairway Coffee Lab - with Benny Lanfranco
5. Gadgets Some of the tools of the coffee trade.
6. Cupping This is how Benny Lanfranco must test his small batches of coffee beans, that are steeped at a specific temperature of hot water for a specific amount of time. He gets the hot concoctions right up into his nose, and calls it “cupping�. Everything is documented meticulously, in a special chart. This is all about aroma, taste, and mouth feel.
Welcome to the Fairway Coffee Lab - with Benny Lanfranco
7. Sample Roaster A sample roaster is used in this Fairway Coffee Lab, for the small batches of coffee beans that must be tested. About 100 grams of coffee beans are roasted this way.
8. Roasted The beans, once roasted, emit a glorious aroma, and change color.
Welcome to the Fairway Coffee Lab - with Benny Lanfranco
9. Roastery This is the actual roaster that takes in the approved coffee beans, and roasts them to create the finished product.
10. Stone Street Coffee A view of Stone Street Coffee Company coffee, established in 2009, where the coffee beans are roasted.
11. Sweet Finale The finished product is a work of art -足 and the hard work that produced it is also something reflecting not only science but also the very honed talents of a coffee genius. Flavored coffees have natural flavors added to them, to offer all kinds of aromas to your coffee.
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Under the Apron Presents Best U.S. Town - Fall, 2014 Meet the Township of Montclair - Why Small is the Next New Big A view of one charming street in Montclair, in Watchung Plaza, where the independent bookstore Watchung Booksellers can be found.
IT TAKES A DIRECTOR Diane Lilli chose the first Under the Apron Best U.S. Town. Think a vibrant downtown “just happens”? Think Again. The Great Recession, or as I like to call it, the New Depression, is still taking its toll upon our country. Even though numbers are constantly published stating the economy is getting better and more jobs are being filled, it’s hard to believe this is 100 percent accurate. Just look around your own hometown. What makes a great town, city, village? From what I can see, it is not just about luck or location, but instead the very success of a downtown falls on the shoulders of some very real men and women - the directors and also the volunteers of each downtown’s district. Nowadays, success means something very different than it did even ten years ago. When a business fails there is true mourning in a community, and it is imperative for an empty storefront to become alive again - with new business owners. Don’t assume major cities like New York City or San Francisco have it easier than smaller areas, because the idea of scale - and how to translate larger creative and business savvy ideas into
pedestrians with “feet on the street” to support all those big ideas is not an easy challenge to overcome. Montclair, 12 miles west of NYC, with about 38,000 residents, is not too big, not too small, and as Goldilocks might say, “just the right size”. Compared to big cities it is manageable, walkable, diverse, safe and absolutely charming. There is a famous saying: it takes a village. But I’m here to show you why it takes much more than that - and instead, especially in the downtown area of Montclair, a team of people working as one, under the leadership and guidance of a fulltime director. There are numerous centers in Montclair, which create a lovely walkable and enjoyable atmosphere, as if you are on a mini-vacation. Upper Montclair, Walnut Street, Watchung Plaza, the South End (and fourth ward) and the award winning downtown all work together to offer a diverse, spirited and totally satisfying experience, where the Urban meets the Suburban.
Around the World in One Town: Montclair Plum
Le Salbuen
Noches De Columbia
When you have a yen for fresh, veggie American fare for breakfast, Ethiopian for lunch and Brazilian for dinner, where are you going to go but Montclair? This town packs a solid food punch - and offerings of every kind of food imaginable from a Southern fish fry to Indian fare to good old fashioned burgers or new American cuisine are all located within its lovely foodie borders. Forget that plane ticket - just come to Montclair and eat your way around the world!
Escape
Upstairs
Mesob
Under the Apron Presents Best U.S. Town - Fall, 2014 Meet Montclair Center BID
Singer Emma Brooke performing live on Church St. Photography by Armando “OUTTHERE” Diaz
The crowd enjoys their free concert in Montclair. Photography by Armando “OUTTHERE” Diaz
A view of the popular alley on Church St. Photography by Armando “OUTTHERE” Diaz
Although Montclair can boast numerous and wildly creative centers like Upper Montclair, Walnut Street, the South End, Watchung Plaza and places in between, the downtown of Montclair is startling as its own success story. Downtown Montclair is run by a small yet fearless force working side by side to bring excitement, shoppers, the arts, and support for all the downtown under the umbrella of the Montclair Center BID. Luther Flurry is the executive director of the Montclair Center BID, and spends his days, many of his nights and weekends downtown. He has been the executive director for three years. Flurry said, though he may lead, his staff is his secret weapon, working long hours and helping him create magic downtown. From live free music, art events, a new Farmer’s Market (the second in town), to eclectic fun shops and a focus on dining and the arts, this is one busy center. “We are a nonprofit organization that works to make Montclair Center a wonderful place to eat, shop, live, work and play,” said Flurry. “In some ways we are like the management company at a mall, cleaning, decorating, advertising and sponsoring events. In other ways we are like a chamber of commerce, attracting and supporting small businesses. We are also like a tourism center marketing, publishing directories and creating itineraries. Finally, we serve as a liaison between downtown landlords and businesses and the township; helping to make Montclair Center more business friendly.” So what does the job entail?
Under the Apron Presents Best U.S. Town - Fall, 2014 Meet Montclair Center BID
Downtown Montclair BID has won the APANJ Great Street Award from in 2012 and the Great Place award in 2013. Now, the downtown is a finalist for the New Jersey Chapter of the APA for Outstanding Downtown. (Click here to vote.) The gem of the downtown is Church Street, a charming small street lined with many creative and lovely shops, restaurants, cafes and businesses. This is a must-visit area when you visit Montclair. What is truly amazing about this downtown area, which includes not only Church St. but also Bloomfield Avenue, and numerous other spots like Glen Ridge Avenue, there is always something exciting to do, places to eat, or drink or meander, from the oldest bookstore in the area to the numerous galleries, independent coffee shops, boutiques and outdoor entertainment. My favorite? People watching.
“I have to jump between the big picture and the tiny details,” he explained. “On a recent day I spent some time on the street with the ambassadors, worked on a new media campaign with a vendor, spoke to potential downtown tenants, problem solved with a local merchant, met about upcoming fashion event and spoke at a public meeting in the evening. Not every day is as varied. Today I mostly did accounting, correspondence and a press release, with a little time in Illustrator and on our website. Part of what I love about this job is that there is no such thing as a typical day. I never have a chance to get bored.” And does he ever take time off? “My wife and kids ask me the same question!,” laughed Flurry. “I live near Montclair Center so we pass through it a lot on my “days off.” My family has gotten used to my detours to check out the foot traffic, my “quick” stops to talk to a new business, and the way I corner strangers to ask their impression of something downtown. They have even gotten used to having family vacations photos sandwiched between pictures of signage (especially parking signage), lamp posts, and sidewalks. I am on Church Street most days we have music, but not always lingering. On a nice weekend you might find me downtown or on a day trip with my family, but they are convinced I only go so I can bring ideas back to Montclair Center. Montclair is an amazing town!” The fruits of his labor, and that of his hardworking staff, who Flurry noted often during this interview, is obvious. With a new boutique hotel coming soon, this is a perfect place to visit.
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Under the Apron Presents Best U.S. Town - Fall, 2014 Montclair - Hometown of the Arts
Montclair is chock full of art. From their many galleries to the local art studios, photography studios, Montclair State University galleries and uber-popular spots like the Art Garage, where not only can kids learn to draw but also learn the finer points of Anime, this a town that offers a robust arts scene. Every year, there is a fun art walk, where people visit local shops and galleries,to peruse art by local artists, and enjoy a glass of wine or snack - free. Then, there is the shining star of the local arts scene: The Montclair Art Museum. I don’t know about you, but I like to get lost in the art - not in the museum. That is one reason why The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) is a true find: this is an award winning, notable community based institution with an international reputation, a renowned collection of American and Native American art and much much more - a beloved place you can enjoy without getting overwhelmed by endless rooms.
Though this spot includes more than 12,000 objects, from paintings to prints to all kinds of original works and sculpture, MAM is welcoming to all ages, charming on all levels and astounding in all it does within its walls. You can spend a morning focusing on just the American and Native American art, a true history lesson highlighting 300 years of history. Or, you can enjoy the works of American artists from the 18th center to the present, and there is always an exciting exhibition ongoing at all times. This is also a museum with a flair for cutting edge education: children and adults adore the Mam’s Yard School of Art, because it offers comprehensive courses for children, teens, adults, seniors and even professional artists. An upcoming exhibit, drawn from the very fabric of Montclair and American history, is the perfect example of how this local museum transcends the norm and embraces the power and impact of meaningful art for the community.
Under the Apron Presents Best U.S. Town - Fall, 2014 Montclair - Hometown of the Arts
At the Heart of the Matter - New Exhibit at MAM Embodies Fabric of Diverse American culture From heart to hand: African American Quilts honor landmark civil rights gains Civil rights in America was a war, in many ways, first fought by hand. A new exhibition at MAM brings an astounding collection of African-American quilts to the community. “Heart to Hand: African American Quilts from the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts” will be at MAM September 21, 2014– January 4, 201
No matter where you live, this is an exhibit you should visit. With a summer of tears, deaths, and a public awareness of a racial divide still powerfully alive in the U.S., it is timely to study the work of 30 AfricanAmerican artists, who patiently created quilts telling stories of that embody the struggles of civil rights here in our country.
“
The quilts on view have an amazing graphic power and also offer an important visual narrative reflecting African-American social history,” said the Museum’s director, Lora Urbanelli. “We’re proud to be able to present this exhibition as the final show of our Centennial year.
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The timing of this exhibition corresponds with the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and MAM will offer programs accompanying the show that will reflect on the many civil rights landmarks that occurred around that period. These artists, who hail from West Alabama, have designed moving, colorful quilts that embody the very history of their Southern home, where the art of quilts is deeply rooted. “The quilts on view have an amazing graphic power and also offer an important visual narrative reflecting African-American social history,” said the Museum’s director, Lora Urbanelli. “We’re proud to be able to present this exhibition as the final show of our Centennial year.” The show also marks the continuation of MAM’s Centennial celebrations, which began officially on January 15, 2014, 100 years to the day from its founding. These quilts are part of the permanent collection of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Montgomery, Alabama. Most were created between the mid-1950s through the end of the 20th century, and represent the major themes in traditional quilt making. The exhibition includes examples of pieced quilts and appliqué, as well as the improvisational techniques and use of unconventional materials that are common practice for contemporary quilt makers.
All Museum programs are made possible, in part, by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, Carol and Terry Wall/The Vance Wall Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and Museum members.
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Under the Apron Presents Best U.S. Town - Fall, 2014 Because Charity Matters
Montclair is the town where hundreds of nonprofits call home, with most of them working to help not only the town but also the neighboring communities. Some of these charitable organizations include The Salvation Army; The Rotary Club of Montclair, the Y.M.C.A. and many more. And, in spite of the grim economy, new non-profits seem to spring up every year. Since it is impossible to feature all of these fantastic non-profits, here is a peek into two we adore.
Under the Apron Presents Best U.S. Town - Fall, 2014 Because Charity Matters
S.O.F.I.A. - Start Out Fresh Intervention Advocates Born out of he violent, fatal shooting of a young mother, Monica Paul, by her exhusband, S.O.F.I.A. has lifted charity out of the ashes of a deadly shooting, infusing hope into the lives of many. This is a non-profit that uses charitable muscle to protect victims of domestic violence. Since its inception in 2009, founder Cynthia Walker has built a formidable wellknown entity. Her group shows up when a victim of domestic violence has been murdered, and supports the family and community, hosting walks and candlelight vigils. S.O.F.I.A. offers “ advocacy, supportive services and referrals for temporary housing to “at risk” women and children of domestic violence.” Their mission,
as Walker writes, is “to help each of our domestic violence victim and survivor clients become self-sufficient, positive and successful. Our Alliance Counselors teach career and life skills workshops to members to participate in.” Now, this growing nonprofit has launched a new Success Center, that they use as a healing and wellness center for domestic violence victims. Along with their numerous community events and workshops, education, and more, this is a non-profit that may save lives. With their 4th annual walk coming up, and their fierce leadership as advocates for victims of domestic violence, along with education for both girls and boys, S.O.F.I.A. is a Jersey charitable star. To read more, or to donate, visit S.O.F.I.A. by tapping here.
Under the Apron Presents Best U.S. Town - Fall, 2014 Because Charity Matters
Partners for Health Foundation Since 2008, Partners for Health Foundation has awarded $5.1 million in grants and partnered with more than 60 organizations in the community. These partnerships embrace schools, congregations, municipalities and other non-profits. Located in downtown Montclair, Partners for Health Foundation has become a creative force for good, working in the town of Montclair and also serving neighboring towns Bloomfield, the Caldwells, Cedar Grove, Clifton Essex Fells, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Little Falls, Nutley, Roseland, Verona and West Orange. Though they operate with a small staff, their impact is gigantic. Pam Scott,Executive Director of Partners for Health, said the idea with all of their work is to bring the reality of hunger - right in anyone’s home town - to the public. “We want to raise awareness in the entire community about hunger,” noted Scott. “
This is a real problem. Your can be hungry and you never know who may be struggling to put healthy food on the table.” To date,they have used their health promotions to grow 20 community gardens; distributed 87 free bicycles to children and 250 bike racks; given 618 free dental screenings along with oral health education; purchased 1.7 million pounds of food for local feeding programs; conducted 4,500 concussion baseline tests, increased the capacity of major food pantry The Human Needs Food Pantry by 40 percent by supplying two new freezers and a refrigerator, helping them serve more than 3,000 hungry people per month; collected 2,700 units of whole blood; assisted over 200 seniors with both companionship and assistance; awarded 76 scholarships to HackensackUMC Mountainside School of Nursing students; and initiated numerous programs.
Some of their programs include Aging in Place, which is aimed at enriching the lives of area seniors; creating those 20 community gardens, which then donate fresh produce to local feeding programs in the area; and popular campaigns such as “Fight Hunger the Healthy Way Campaign” and their health promotion and chronic disease prevention initiative called “Eat. Play. Live...Better”. Did you know that 7 out of 10 Americans die annually from preventable chronic diseases? This is a very busy Foundation, and now they have launched yet another major campaign. The “Fight Huger the Healthy Way” campaign donates up to $25,000 in matching grants to residents or organizations. Anyone, from kids to seniors, can organize a food drive and their work will be matched $! for $1. or they can run
a “Healthy Food Drive” and Partners for Health will donate $500 per drive. There is a long list of emergency food programs, in the area, that may benefit from these grants and the events run by local people or organizations. This is a local non-profit with a powerful reach.
HUNGER - BY THE NUMBERS Local food pantries and soup kitchens serve the young and old, the physically and mentally well and unwell, the unemployed and underemployed, single parents, and the homeless and homebound. Since 2007, Toni’s Kitchen in Montclair has seen a 62% increase in the number of meals that are served to their guests. The Human Needs Food Pantry in Montclair provides between 2,000 and 3,000 bags of groceries each month, and the number of clients is growing. Each month, an average of nearly 30 new households register to receive food from the Human Needs Food Pantry. Between 2010 and 2013 the number of families served annually by the Bethel Rehoboth Food Pantry in Bloomfield increased 44%, from 6,027 to 8,672. During the 1st quarter of 2014, more than 50 senior citizens who visited Toni’s Kitchen for a meal also received case management services to prevent slippage into homelessness and enable continued independent living. The Salvation Army serves homeless individuals and families who don’t qualify for public assistance; they have income from employment, unemployment or child support, but it’s not enough to sustain housing, let alone put food on the table. Human Needs Food Pantry volunteers deliver food to almost 200 households each week that include the elderly and homebound. The number of meals served at the Salvation Army increased 15% between 2012 and 2013, from 12,991 to 15,000.
The face of homelessness continues to change, affecting individuals of all ages. It could be someone you knew from high school or college. The reality is that it can happen to anyone. A Lot to Grow community gardens produced more than 4,800 pounds of fresh vegetables and herbs since 2010, all of which were donated to local food pantries and soup kitchens. More than 150,000 Essex County residents are food insecure, but 34% of them don’t qualify for nutrition assistance programs because they’re above 185% of the Federal poverty level. Nearly one out of every 10 people who live in NJ receive SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps). Nearly half (49%) of emergency food clients in NJ report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel (up from 40% in 2006). One-third (34%) of emergency food clients in NJ have to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care (up from 31% in 2006). The Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside distributes 40 million pounds of food a year. Suburban residents living in poverty grew to nearly 16.4 million people in 2011, an increase of almost 64% since 2000, twice the growth rate of urban poverty. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, pays less than $1.50 a meal.
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Welcome to
Steam City Jeff  Mach  is  a  busy  man,  but  if  you  want  to  peg  him  with  any  one  style,  forget  it.  This  is  one  entrepreneur  who  really  is  a  visionary.  Mach  is  the  creator  and  promoter  for  one  of  the  largest  Steampunk  events  anywhere,  the  annual  Steampunk  Worlds  Fair. Steampunk,  if  you  don’t  know  about  it,  is  a  wonderful  Victorian  inspired  ARTSY MOVEMENT THAT SOMEHOW MANAGES TO INCORPORATE SCIENCE lCTION Yes,  it  is  also  hard  to  peg,  just  like  its  biggest  fan,  Jeff  Mach.
Jeff Mach in one of his eclectic Steampunk looks.
Jeff Mach is a busy man, but if you want to peg him with any one style, forget it. This is one entrepreneur who really is a visionary. Mach is the creator and promoter for one of the largest Steampunk events anywhere, the annual Steampunk Worlds Fair. Steampunk, if you don’t know about it, is a wonderful Victorian inspired artsy movement that somehow manages to incorporate science fiction. Yes, it is also hard to peg, just like its biggest fan, Jeff Mach. Every year, the Steampunk Worlds Fair welcomes fans from across the globe, who fly into New Jersey and spend a weekend enjoying music, all kinds of arts, and plenty of unique shops. People show up dressed in tophats or other Victorian garb, and if you suspend your disbelief for a moment or two you will be transported to a retro-world, where the specter of science fiction casts a halo over all. This year, for the first time, Jeff Mach is bringing his Steam City to benefit a wonderful
museum. Steam City, in October 2015, will benefit the Historic Speedwell Museum in New Jersey, the home of the telegraph. It was here at Speedwell that Stephen Vail and his son Alfred worked with Samuel F. B. Morse at the “Factory”, a National Historic Landmark where they perfected the telegraph. Jeff Mach also has the first Steampunk robot, which stands 15 feet high and has marched in the annual NYC Pride parade. Steampunk is sweeping the nation, but is still new to most Americans. Imagine this movement/lifestyle/phenomenon as a mix of history circa the Victorian Era mixed with a dash of Science - and science fiction. From the hats and clothing and monocles people wear at these events to the thoroughly innovative artwork, music and books inspired by the past they embrace, this is a very new idea for your viewers. To purchase tickets or learn more, tap here.
Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder!
This young woman was dressed to thrill at the Steampunk Worlds Fair.
Meet the world’s first and foremost equal rights’ minded Steampunk Robot, courtesy of Jeff Mach.
Grass-fed Vs. Feedlot Beef
Monica Johnson explains how when it comes to your health, what type of beef you eat is tricky.
You’ve probably seen the popular buzzword, grass-fed, while shopping at your local grocery store or dining at a farm-to-table restaurant. An image of happy cows grazing in fields of lush green grass (until they make it to your dinner plate) comes to mind, but is this accurate? Sadly, it is not. Many products labeled as grass-fed beef are little more than clever marketing tactics profiting from the latest buzzword. So let’s flesh out (pun intended) what grassfed beef is and is not. Cattle naturally graze on pasturelands, consuming grass and other plants. Up until the 1950’s, most cattle were raised this way. However, rising demand for beef, advancing technology, and a surplus of corn all lent to developing a new system to raise cattle. This system took cattle off pastureland and put them in feedlots, which are confined spaces with little vegetation, while their diet was switched from grass to mostly corn. Corn provides farmers the opportunity to add quick weight to the cattle at a fraction of the cost of other foods. Now, farmers could produce more beef in a shorter amount of time and in less space. However, there are consequences for our modern-day system of raising cattle. Cattle aren’t meant to eat a diet heavy in corn, because their stomachs cannot properly digest it; as a result, they develop health issues and disease. To combat this, cattle are pumped full of antibiotics. Overuse has made the antibiotics less effective and created bacteria that are more resistant to treatment. Alternatively, grass-fed beef means, in its purest form, that once the calf is weaned from its mother’s milk, it grazes pastureland for food until it goes to the slaughterhouse. It may receive supplements in the form of hay, minerals, and vitamins, but that is all. But, not all grass fed beef is created equally! Under the USDA’s grass-fed beef label, cattle may still be kept in feedlots and administered antibiotics. Even if the cattle ate grass for most of their life, they often are “finished” on corn and grain during their last six months. This undoes all the good that pasture grazing has done.
By eating corn, feedlot cattle develop marbled meat laden with unhealthy saturated that cannot be trimmed off. It doesn’t have to be this way. In his early twenties, Matt Cadman was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and told he’d never heal. He was faced with a lifetime of heavy medication and the possibility of losing his colon. When a neighbor suggested that he try grassfed beef because it was healthier, he figured he had nothing to lose. So, he and his wife, Jerica, decided to give it a try. But, there wasn’t a reliable supply of truly grass-fed beef in the area. “The more we learned about it [grass-fed beef] the more we realized there was a very distinct need for this kind of food in this area,” reported Jerica Cadman. So, in 2010, the Cadmans, with little agriculture experience, founded Shady Grove Ranch, with
a mission to provide local and sustainable, high-nutrient foods for other families in the area. Situated in North East Texas, they have 185 acres where they raise grass-fed cattle, along with pigs, turkeys and chickens. The Cadman’s cows forage the fields for natural flora. They not only avoid feeding their cows corn, they also do not provide any cultivated plants. This forces the cows to eat the whole plant – the root, stem and flower. Jerica describes it as a “whole salad bar of nutrition.” This allows the cows to digest more fiber and maximize the nutritional and medicinal attributes of what they are eating. They believe that raising cattle this way
produces high-quality meat full of nutrients and good fat. Their cows have a much higher concentration of vitamins, especially fat soluble vitamins, in their meat – something that corn fed cows are deficient in. It is also considerably higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a nutrient lacking in our diets, which lowers the risk of heart disease and cancer. Grass-fed beef is lower in overall fat, including saturated (unhealthy) fat, but higher in unsaturated (healthy) fats like, omega-3. Maximizing nutrition is an important aspect of the Cadman’s operation. All of this care shows up in the health of their cows and the quality of their meat. In four years, they have only had to administer antibiotics three times. Their own family is proof of the quality of their meat. For many years, Matt has needed no medication and is living symptomfree. In the end, the Cadmans don’t strive to provide “lean” beef, but “healthy beef” instead.
HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO FIND GOOD QUALITY, TRULY GRASS-FED BEEF: t Support a local source, close to where you live, if possible. This encourages local economy and supports farmers in your area. t Be open to paying a little more for greater quality and nutrition. Because grass-fed practices are more labor intensive, they will also cost a little more. t Get to know your farmer. Don’t be afraid ask questions about their farming methods. If they offer a farm tour, take advantage of it and see the farm first hand. t Become a label master. If you are going to buy beef from stores, look for labels that say “grass-finished.” Ask the meat counter if you are unsure.
FRESH PICKS
Your USDA Daily Allowance of Delish!
Pick your Own They don’t call it the Garden State for nothing. Farms dot New Jersey from tip-to-tip.Fall is prime time to pick your own veggies and fruits. From apple orchards to pumpkin patches, if you want to spend a mellow day picking your favorite natural treats this is the state to do it. Tap here for a map and information on where the farms are located.
Foodie Alert: Have you met your food forager yet? The hottest new/old trend to hit the foodie scene is the new army of food foragers. Many chefs now call upon their trusted food foragers to root through the woods for those delectable edible mushrooms, or wild flowers or weeds that are the hottest new edible accessory on your plate. A new crop of professional food foragers are becoming popular among chefs, so watch out for some interesting new food trends - brought to you via inspired foragers in boots - that will show up on your plate.
Vintage Recipe for Modern Apple Pie - Circa 1896
Apple pie is a classic fall treat, and has been for over a century. This is an extremely simple recipe from the past, and though we do not tell you how to make crust, we tried this recipe and it was fantastic. Give it a whirl. The vintage recipe does not offer specifics, so we added them for you. Adding rose water and powdered sugar was an unusual twist, but worked well. If you enjoy sweet apple pie, you can always substitute regular sugar. INGREDIENTS x Ripe Apples
6-8 medium, peeled and sliced thin
x Powdered Sugar
As needed to cover each layer
x Rose Water x Cloves
1/2 teaspoon
x Crust INSTRUCTIONS 1. Put a crust in the bottom of a dish, put on it a layer of ripe apples, pared and sliced thin; then a layer of powdered sugar; do this alternately till the dish is full; put in a tablespoon of rose water and cloves; put on a crust and bake it. 2. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes but check to see if crust is golden. Don’t forget to poke some holes in the top of your crust.
Since brewing your own beer became legal in 1978, it’s been a trend on the rise. In the last few years, Brooklyn has seen it’s own boom in home brewing. Here’s why. Article by Mollie Mae Grewe
Our generation often gets made fun of for being lazier than our parents. We sit on our phones with our virtual friends, taking short cuts for schoolwork like using Wikipedia and Spark Notes, short cuts for convenience like ordering toilet paper and groceries from a home delivery service. But on the flip side of the coin, we are also a generation of DIY-ers, knitting our own scarves, pickling our own veggies, and screen-printing our own t-shirts. In that same vein, home brewing, the act of brewing beer in your own home, is a trend that’s been on the rise for a few years now. I talked with a few people “in the know” in the Brooklyn home brew scene to see what’s happening, who’s brewing, and how to get involved. When you Google “New York City Home Brewing,” the search engine practically yells at you: “JOSHUA M. BERNSTEIN.” Joshua is a writer and beer
drinker in the city and the man behind the now nearly 5-year-old tradition of Home brew Tours. Every 4-6 weeks Joshua hosts a tour of three home brewers in the city. Josh started the tours as a way to get out of his head and connect with people who shared his interest. So, do you need to be a home brewer to go on the tour? Absolutely not. “The majority of the people on the tour are just beer-lovers,” Joshua tells me. And a lot are repeat tourists, going on multiple tours to see that many more homes and taste that many more brews. One group of home brewers that have been visited on Joshua’s tours more than once is Billingsgate Brewing, who I had the pleasure of spending a sunny Saturday with last weekend. Billingsgate Brewing explains their different roles through the lens of a publishing house. Andrew Thomas is the writer, coming up with many of the recipes. Dylan Mabin is the
editor (the science editor) who checks the recipe for plausibility and makes changes as he sees fit. And Bill Ryder is the editorial director/publisher who gives the final seal of approval and gathers what they need to actually produce the beer, and hosts the brew sessions in his Park Slope backyard. These beer-makers and friends met a couple years back at a Knights of Bruklyn meet-up. The Knights’ meetings are held the 1st Wednesday of the month at Union Hall and are open to anyone interested in talking about and drinking beer. Dylan, Andrew, and Bill met and became friends, sharing their interest in deconstructing beer. Then, one day, as Andrew tells the story, Dylan went ahead and purchased a home brewing kit and told Andrew what he owed him. “Four years ago when we started,” Andrew told me, “we thought we were making pretty good beer, but in hindsight,
it was probably crap.” Now, though, it seems Billingsgate has found their footing. Upon going to their website, one will see a scrolling list of the awards they have won for their beer, from Knights of Bruklyn home brewing competitions to the National Home brewer’s competitions. When asked about the home brewing community in New York, Bill and Andrew had only good things to say. Since they started going to meetings, four years ago, they mention how fast and big the community has grown. “Everyone is super friendly, super respectful,” says Andrew. “You need a team,” adds Bill, “You can brew beer alone, but it’s more fun to have shared knowledge.” I spoke with Ben Stutz who, along with his wife, Danielle Cefaro, opened Brooklyn Home brew (a home brewing supply store), and he agreed with the boys from Billingsgate: The home brew community is awesome
and it’s growing. Before Ben and Danielle opened up shop, there was nowhere to get supplies to brew beer at home, anyone interested had to order online. With the availability of local supplies from an actual brick and mortar store started to bring people out of the woodwork. Now there are a few options in the city to buy your home brew supplies in person, and that means more and more relationships being built on the shared interest of making and consuming good, fresh, local beer. To Ben, one of the most exciting things is to see his customers evolve from humble home brewers to head brewers at local breweries, or perhaps even brewery owners themselves. Ben and Danielle host home brewing classes for beginners to learn and, along with Sycamore Bar, host a Brookly Wort competition once or twice a year.
From my conversations with a few main players in the home brew game, it’s clear that home brewing is here to stay. The community is rich with knowledge, support, and entertainment – the one thing lacking? Women. For whatever reason, home brewing is still very much a male-dominated hobby. Andrew guessed that at the Knights meet-ups the ratio is maybe 15 to 1. And Ben told stories of his wife running the store, only to be asked by the customers to “get one of the guys” so they could ask their question. So if you enjoy drinking locally made, fresh craft beer and you think it might be fun to learn how to make your own, attend a class or a meet-up. Go on a home brew tour or vote with your tongue at a local competition. We may love our iphones and our amazons, but we love our homemade beer too!
Vanilla Vex Chocolate on top leaves many perplexed, but not writer Mike Szimanski
Challenge to Readers: Click here to send us your own favorite vanilla treats or recipes.
Vanilla. For many of you, the very word conjures up the plain, the bland, the comfort and legitimacy of being undecided, the safe choice. A choice you do and can make when you don’t feel like making a choice. Vanilla, somehow, has become the default decision for many a non-decider. To wit, “I’m not feeling particularly gamey tonight, sweetheart, let’s go vanilla.” Are they talking about sno-cones or sex? Yes. Or both. Given the limited degree of insight to which the average eater is exposed on the subject of true vanilla, there is little wonder vanilla is ripe to be maligned by neglect so unbenign. Even beyond food, for example, it could be argued that “off white” is the vanilla of house paint: a palette-less palette lacking visual stimulation -- safe, serene, sleepy -- somehow only qualified to serve as a backdrop to more portable punches of color such as aubergine throw pillows and Bahaman-blue scatter rugs. A common first encounter with what should be called “true vanilla” was historically, and is often currently, enjoyed through some of the more premium ice creams. Those first daring dairies bravely touted the small, ironically black specks embedded like shrapnel in a frozen bed of offwhite milkiness. Somehow, this introduction to
the consumer market worked. “Real” vanilla ice cream wasn’t to be judged on how pure and white is was. Rather, quality was determined by visual imperfections seemingly caused by the chef à froid looking over the master mixing bowl while tapping his cigarette into the froth. And ultimately, vanilla ice cream came out a winner -- and a consistent one at that. According to the most recent survey by the National Ice Cream Association, vanilla as a flavor rules first place, at least in the United States. For those of us who truly, really “get” what true vanilla is all about, it
It’s What’s on the Inside that Counts Born of beans and a kind of seed-scraping vivisection, vanilla appears to be an ugly evolutionary afterthought. Unlike the plump and pretty, healthy-looking cocoa bean that begets us chocolate, vanilla produces pods that are long, stringy, withered, and thin. It is to humankind’s credit, or desperation, that someone, somewhere during an era long passed, stuck one in his mouth. And what a glorious day that was!
would be nice to think that some percentage of those voting didn’t do so as a result of apathy. Realistically, vanilla cannot be intelligently discussed without bringing chocolate into the fray, so let us fray away. If everything written about the health, sex and beauty benefits of chocolate were true, it wouldn’t be a food, it would be a religion. And there are certainly those who say and so pray accordingly. From losing weight (somehow) to cardiovascular benefits to inciting amour, chocolate seems to solve many of our First World problems. Chocolate has jumped from being a singular albeit complex, taste bud sensation to making its particular magic known through everything from greeting cards to garments. Publicly admitting an avid addiction to this dark-side delicacy somehow enrolls you into a club of chocophants proudly enslaved by its flavanol-laced goodness. If vanilla has such acolytes, they’re a great deal subtler about it. And maybe chocolate deserves such a following. Who among us hasn’t quenched a craving by coning up and allowing it to crash over us like a protective wave, satisfying so many parts of us in one fell scoop? We care less about bulging out of our clothes than belonging to this cult. Chocolate, by law it seems, is never far away. From gourmet grocers to gas stations, a buck or two will get you a fix by way of a chew. No, chocolate isn’t subtle. The gods did not design it that way. Chocolate can be a frappé-y freight train or an Easter avalanche. And as much as you pay homage to it, it seems to love you back. So how does vanilla ever hope to compete, ice cream sales statistics notwithstanding? It doesn’t. Vanilla is a summer breeze, where chocolate is that gale-force wind that didn’t quite knock you over
but DID blow that wasp out of your hair. Vanilla is more likely to leave room for other flavors in your mouth, while chocolate takes few prisoners. Vanilla, true vanilla, has a purity and lightness that, once tasted and appreciated, will make its artificial adopted siblings taste like a dollar store candle. Know that we do live in a world where there is room for such delicious diversity. Sadly, for those of us who lean towards vanilla and not lean on it as a flavor default, we seem not vocal enough. There are those who’ve said they absolutely agree that vanilla ranks in areas (non-ice-cream) with chocolate, but they show little evidence of such loyalty in practice. True vanilla loyalists suffer from non-vanilla baked goods crowding public rack space and foisting upon us all manner of carrot, red velvet and, egads, yellow cake concoctions. None of us expect chocolate to share its turf for what it has earned (through drugging people or however it works). But bakers and food makers must honor those of us who need real vanilla for the miracle it is, not the none-of-the-above cop out it has sometimes become.
Just because I love vanilla don’t mock me. Vanilla is lush, rich, and when authentic will blow your mind. So why does vanilla get a bad rap? Under the Apron loves vanilla, and has a strong hunch so do you. Click here to send us your favorite vanilla treats or vanilla recipes to our Facebook page.