Amelia Stevens

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SPRING/SUMMER 2020 | VOLUME 1 EDITION 1 | MAY 26, 2020

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Greetings fellow beaners!

Congrats on making it through the end of this crazy school year. We’re so excited for you to read this edition of Bean Box. This quarantine has really made us think about what we love beans and the Iowa City community. We wanted to share ways you can become involved in and help our community as well as ways to remain sane during quarantine. So s down with a cold can of baked beans and read away.

Cheers and stay safe, Amelia Stevens and Laura Nelson

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CONTENTS

SUPP ORTIN -3 G LOCAL CHARATIES . . . . . . . . . . 2

ENT ERTAI NMENT TOP TEN

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NETFLIX

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SHOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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MOR 0 EL HU . . 8- 1 . .

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SUPPORTING LOCAL CHARITIES

By Amelia Stevens

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How local charities and non-profits have adjusted to the coronavirus and the help and support they have recieved from our community.

T

he Covid-19 virus has caused many businesses to shut down and social distancing rules to be enforced.

Now more than ever community charities such as food banks or other programs are important. But, with social distancing rules, they have had to adjust and change how they usually would serve and help the community.

The Free Clinic, which provides free medical help to the community has stayed open with two major changes.

Barbara Vinograde, Executive Director of the Free Clinic said, “We are not having our volunteers come in at this time as we want to minimize the number of people coming in and out of the Clinic”. This is a big change for the Clinic as they have over 250 volunteers.

The Free Clinic has also stopped providing some less essential services such as dental services. Vinograde is looking to increase the services provided. “We are in the process of planning - carefully - increasing the number of patients we see on site, including resuming dental services,” she said.

HOW CAN I HELP?

DONATE Search up local charities and other non-profits in our community and donate money through their website.

Table to Table is a charity that takes damaged or otherwise unsellable food that would have been discarded from grocery stores such as Hy-vee and delivers them to local food pantries and people in need. The COVID-19 virus has taken a lot from Table to Table. Andrew Winkers, Program and Communications Assistant said, “We increased volunteer recruitment efforts to supplement the loss of 80% of our volunteer force who were over the age of 61 or college students”.

Through community support and

“We increased volunteer recruitment efforts to supplement the loss of 80% of our volunteer force who were over the age of 61 or college students” new volunteers, they were able to continue operating. They also lost a van, “however, thanks to our Executive Director’s efforts to secure funding,

VOLUNTEER Search up local charities and other non-profits and sign up to volunteer on their website.

we raised enough to purchase a replacement van over the course of two weeks!” Winkers said. Currently, they are in need of new volunteers, as they start to expand their routes and reach in the community. If interested there is more information on their website, https://table2table.org/.

Free Lunch, a charity that provides free meals for the community has stayed open by providing Free Lunch as a take-out meal. “We have settled into a new normal serving all of our meal take out style. We continue to serve Monday-Saturday, from noon1pm,” Jama Lidral, the Free Lunch Co-Director said. They have received many donations as well as emergency funding, and their need for volunteers has gone down. “I do have a list of approximately 30 people willing to help on open days, and my supply of food is good as well thanks in large part to donations received via Table to Table,” Lidral said.

While COVID-19 is a challenge for everyone, an upside is that our community has bonded together, with local charities continuing to do what they have always done.

STAY AT HOME Stay at home and practice socail distancing to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

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TOP TEN NETFLIX SHOWS While stuck at home with nothing better to do, these are the ten most binge-worthy shows on Netflix right now.

1.

By Amelia Stevens NICKELODEON

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” Genre: Adventure/Action Animation Rated: TV-Y7 “Avatar: The Last Airbender” follows Aang, the avatar, the socalled savior of the world, who can bend all four elements. After being discovered frozen in ice, he finds out that the world is in a war, and he is the only one who can bring peace. The story follows him as he makes friends and journeys around to master his abilities and restore peace before it’s too late. This series took me a bit longer to watch, around four days because it has three long seasons.

3.

Genre: Sports Anime Rated: TV-14

PRODUCTION I.G

“Haikyuu”

In “Haikyuu”, Hinata, an energetic but extremely short volleyball player attempts to become one of the best high school volleyball players despite his height. It follows him and his rookie high school team, Karasuno, as they train and compete to go to nationals. “Haikyuu” took me around four days to binge-watch as it has four seasons.

2.

THUNDERBIRD ENTERTAINMENT

“Kim’s Convenience” Genre: Comedy Rated: TV-14 If you liked sitcoms “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Fresh Off the Boat”, you’ll love this show. “Kim’s Convenience” is a sit-com that follows a Korean immigrant family that owns a convenience store in Canada.The show covers cultural differences and challenges immigrants face as well as the daily lives of the family while keeping it light hearted and extremely funny. This series took me around a week to watch because it has four seasons.

4.

Genre: Drama Rated: TV-MA

NETFLIX

“Unorthodox:

“Unorthodox” tells the story of an ultra-orthodox Jewish young woman who flees her arranged marriage and strikes out on her own to discover herself. On this journey she finds friends who give her a safe space to explore and challenge her previous beliefs.

Her safe space doesn’t last forever and her past soon catches up to her. This series took me a night to binge-watch because I couldn’t stop until I knew what happened at the end.

NBC

5.

“The Good Place” Genre: Comedy Rated: TV-PG In “The Good Place”, Eleanor dies and ends up in the Good Place, a town in the afterlife where people who were good during their lives end up. However, Eleanor was a horrible person and is falsely put in the Good Place. Through the show, she tries to become good, and learn more about how the mix up happened. However, the more she learns, the crazier it gets. This show took me around a week to binge-watch as it has four long seasons.

NETFLIX

NETFLIX

6.

“Sex Education” Genre: Comedy/Drama Rated: TV-Ma “Sex Education” follows Owen a high school student, whose mother is a sex therapist. He becomes friends with Mauve, his crush who’s in desperate need for money, and together they start a business. They give sex advice and solve their highschool classmates’ sex problems in return for money. “Sex Education” offers a frank view on teens’ sexuality and isn’t afraid to confront often taboo or embarrassing topics.

“Sex Education” only took me a day or two to binge-watch as it has only two seasons.

NETFLIX

7.

“Street Food” Genre: Documentary Rating: TV-G “Street Food” explores a key part of culture: food. Famous street food vendors from around the world are interviewed, as you learn not only about famous dishes but also the history that goes along with them. It gives a personal view of the street vendors lives and tells their often overlooked stories. I watched “Street Food” in a day because it told such cool and interesting stories.

NETFLIX

SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT

8.

“How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)” Genre: Comedy/Drama Rated: TV-MA Based on a true story, “How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)”, covers the story of a teenager, Moritz, and his best friend who sell drugs online in order to win back Moritz’s ex-girlfriend. It’s as crazy as it sounds. I watched “How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)” in one night. The story is completely crazy yet hilarious and I could not stop watching once I started.

9.

“Explained” Genre: Docu-series Rated: TV-MA “Explained” gives an explanation each episode about everything from athleisure to cults. It balances being informative while still entertaining and interesting extremely well and gives a crazy amount of information in a short time. It’s a perfect way to keep learning when you just want to watch a show. “Explained” took me a while to binge-watch as they add episodes frequently, and some of the topics covered didn’t interest me.

10.

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” Genre: Drama/Romance Rated: PG-13 While “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” isn’t a show but a movie, it was too good not to include. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” tells the story of a shy, awkward teenager, Charlie who everyone can relate to. It follows him slowly coming out of his shell once he meets two seniors who bring him under their wings. If you enjoy coming of age movies such as “Lady Bird” or “The Edge of Seventeen”, you’ll love “The perks of being a Wallflower”

MOREL HUNTING

BY AMELIA STEVENS

To deal with quarantine boredome, some people have found an obscure hobby: morel hunting.

During this quarantine many people are turning to new hobbies for entertainment and some have found an obscure hobby: Morel Hunting. Morels are mushrooms with a honeycomb cap and hollow interior. There are over 50 different species of morels all different shapes, sizes, and colors, some growing as big as your hand. Commonly found in the Northern Hemisphere in forests with tepid climates, these mushrooms are extremely hard to find. The hunting season usually starts around April and ends around May but it depends on weather and your location.

Morels are extremely popular with not only mushroom enthusiasts but also chefs. They are seen as a culinary delicacy and are heavily foraged when in season. The main draw is their unique taste and texture, both of which make even mushroom haters love them. They don’t have the typical slimy or slippery texture associated with regular mushrooms. Instead they are more meaty and tender, with a nutty, earthy flavor. However, they are incredibly expensive to buy. This is mainly due to their elusiveness, cultivation difficulties, and perishability.

Morels are very hard to find. To start off they have a short lifespan (only a couple of days) and when morels sprout varies greatly by their location.

Morels are at the mercy of the environment. If they do not have the right soil

temperature and moisture, humidity, and sunlight at the right time, they will not produce the part of the mushroom that we eat. It’s hard to predict where and when morels will grow and how abundant the season will be. This irregularity has driven people to try to farm morels.

Unlike most mushrooms, morels are rarely farmed. There is a special relationship morels have with trees, which is extremely complex and hard to replicate artificially. Additionally, morels are very susceptible to their environment, making it hard to have the right conditions for cultivation. Despite this some companies have taken on the challenge, and there are a few rare morel farms. The morels produced in farms are scrutinized and many people question the quality and authenticity of farmed morels. Even when farmed, it’s still very hard to get consistent yields.

Once morels are found and harvested, the morels are still in danger.

Due to the morels’ hollow structure once harvested they don’t last more than a week before they lose their structure. Time is of the essence if you want to sell or buy morels. This all leads to morels costing at least $20 a pound. So it’s no surprise that many people turn towards forging their own mushrooms if possible.

HOW TO IDENTIFY MORELS cap has pits and ridges or honeycomb like exterior

entire interior is hollow

cap is connected at base

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COOKING MORELS Sauteing mushrooms is one of the simplest ways to cook morels. This recipe is extremely flexible so feel free to add your own seasonings or spices.

1. Clean the mushrooms using a salt water soak or an airtight bag and rinse.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and olive oil, and a clove of garlic in a pan over medium heat.

Sam Streathern ’21 poses with his morels

Up close photo of a morel, Sam Streathern ’21found

In Iowa, the prime time to hunt for morels is from early April to mid-May and some students have been hunting since the start. Tom Stevens ’20, started because he saw videos of mushroom hunting on Youtube, and it quickly became a hobby. “I thought it was cool. I like the uncertainty of it.

You don’t know where the morels will be besides in the woods. It’s like searching for a lost treasure.”

Sam Strathearn ’21, forages for a different reason. “Foraging has helped me learn and appreciate the complex natural processes that plants undergo to produce food. It gives me an excuse to be in nature and explore the places that often get overlooked as just forests.”

Foraging mainly consists of wandering around wooded areas keeping an eye open for any morels. Stevens passes the time by “walking my dog through random areas of wood. Sometimes I stumble upon morels.”

When foraging, make sure to always bring a knife and bag to carry

the morels. Once a morel is spotted, it must be cut at the base to ensure the root remains intact and can grow again in future seasons. Morels should be eaten as soon as possible because of their perishability. To delay spoiling, store the morels in a paper bag in the fridge and only wash before cooking. Many people freeze or dehydrate their morels, to preserve them for even longer. Once ready to eat, Morels should always be washed as insects live inside the hollow center. By putting morels in an airtight bag or saltwater for a couple of hours and then rinsing, the insects will be drawn out of the mushroom. Additionally, make sure to cook morels as cooking removes Hydrazine, a poisonous compound found in small amounts in morels.

While this process may seem daunting, through morel hunting, Sophia Strathearn ‘21 has found a new love. She said, “before hunting, I wasn’t even a big fan of mushrooms but now that I’ve eaten morels I’m sold.”

3. Once pan is hot, add morels, being careful not to overcrowd.

4. Turn occasionally until golden brown.

5. Sauted morels are extremely veritile. You can add these to dishes such as pasta or use it as a side for steak. You can even just eat them by themseleves.

6. Enjoy!

MAKE YOUR OWN STARTER

Having a sourdough starter has become more popular as people have more free time at home and grocery stores are running out of yeast. Making and maintaining a starter is not as complicated as it might seem. A sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that is fermented by airborne yeast: a substance filled with microorganisms that can be used in place of active dry yeast in various baked goods.

Come along with me as we harness the power of wild yeast.

BY LAURA NELSON

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DAY ONE:

Let’s start off easy: Mix together 1 cup (113 g) whole wheat flour (or whole rye flour if you have that) and ½ cup (113 g) room temperature water.

Cover the container (leave space for the starter to expand) loosely, so that air can reach your stuff. Let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours Why use whole wheat? You can use all-purpose from the jump if that’s what you have but it will take longer for the starter to be ripe and ready to use.

DAY TWO:

Feed your starter: Measure out about ½ cup (113 g) of starter and discard the rest. Mix the 1/2 cup of starter with 1 cup (113 g) all-purpose flour (you can also keep using whole wheat or rye, it’ll just impact how the starter tastes later) and ½ cup (113 g) room temperature water until uniform. Then wait about 12 hours. You don’t have to be exact on the timing here. If you feed it when you wake up and then before you go to bed you should be good (unless your sleep schedule is trash. Let this be a wake-up call). Your starter will be: Basically the same.

Might smell a bit weird, like rancid old canned corn DAY THREE:

Today you are going to repeat what you did yesterday: 2 feedings 12 hours apart. Your starter will be: A little more active. It might smell a little yogurt-y and more fermented than yesterday. You may see a few bubbles, but only before you feed it DAY FOUR

Same as yesterday. If you feel these days are becoming a blur, remember that spring break was weeks ago.

Today you could probably use the discard for cake or crackers (something that doesn’t need as much leavening as bread or other yeast-based things) if

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WHAT SHOULD MY STARTER LOOK LIKE? DAY TWO

DAY THREE

DAY FOUR

you see bubbling. Your starter will be: Maybe a bit more elastic and liquid because gluten is developing. Mine smelled really sour and nasty this day.

There were lots of small bubbles.

DAY FIVE:

Same thing. 2 feedings, 12 hours, ½ cup starter to 1 cup all-purpose to ½ cup water. Switch it up today.

Sit in a different chair or stir the starter with the opposite hand or something.

You can probably bake something with the discard today, but I would keep it in the more quick bread range (usually leavened by baking powder or baking soda). Your starter will be: About doubled in size by the end of this day. There should be lots of bubbles (ranging in size) and a tangy smell.

DAY 6 AND ON:

This is it. We are very close to having a ripe starter. Keep doing feedings like you have been. Eventually you will know your starter is ready. It will smell more yeasty and like sourdough bread, there will be lots of bubbles (sometimes you can see bubbles as they appear) and it should have an elastic, slime-like texture. When that happens, it’s time for the final feeding.

FINAL FEEDING

Feed your starter one more time, then put it in a container where it has plenty of room to expand. Cover the container loosely and put it in the fridge. Remember what day it is.

DAY FIVE

And that’s it! From now on, your starter only needs to be fed once a week. At this point, the starter is pretty hard to kill and is ready to be used in whatever you want. Sourdough is kind of like life right now. Do what you can and then just wait. Don’t throw it out yet.

HOW TO USE YOUR DISCARD: I don’t like throwing out the discard either, but you have to so that the starter has room to grow. You can use your discard in recipes like bread, waffles, and cake. However, at this stage, there isn’t enough yeast for the starter to be effective as a leavener. You can compost it or put it in its own container to get 2 starters. But that’s a lot of responsibility so I usually compost it or make food.

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WHAT TYPE OF QUARANTINER ARE YOU? Take the quiz to find out.

1. How many classes are you taking a grade for?

a. All of them, I need that high GPA

b. Only the ones with my friends

c. Only the ones I care about

d. None of them, online school sucks 2. Which Netflix Shows are you watching?

a. “Sex Education”

b. “The Good Place”

c. “Outer Banks”

d. “Avatar: The last Airbender” 3. What’s your most used app?

a. Twitter

b. Instagram

c. Youtube

d. TikTok 4. Are you exercising?

a. Everyday

c. If I have time

c. Does walking count?

d. Yoga 5. Are you seeing your friends?

a. Through zoom

b. Yea but 6 feet apart

c. Of course, why wouldn’t I be?

d. No If you answered mostly A’s you are “The Scholar”

If you answered mostly B’s you are “The Creator”

Whether you like it or not quarantine hasn’t stopped your school grind. You’re striving for the 4.0 and completing online school as best you can. Some of your favorite activities include finally finishing all of your homework and muting video and audio during zoom meetings. Covid-19 may have affected life in many ways, but you have been keeping on keeping on.

You love arts and crafts, and now with quarantine you have time to do it all. You’re having fun letting loose all of your creative energy.

Some of your favorite activities include baking, making art, and letting your creative side run wild. You’re becoming calm by finding ways to express yourself.

6. What are you looking forward to the most once quarantine is over?

a. Having a routine again

b. Having life back to normal

c. Sharing new hobbies/discoveries

d. Seeing my friends again 7. How are you getting along with your family?

a. Bad. They keep walking in on my zoom meetings

b. Okay, I guess

c. Get me out of here

d. I rarely see them, I’m always in my room 8. Any new hobbies?

a. I wish, I have too much schoolwork

b. Just baking

c. Morel mushroom hunting

d. No, I’m just chillin’ 9. Most recent nightmare?

a. I went on zoom and was completely naked

b. Taking the ap test except I had no head

c. Mauled by a chipmunk downtown

d. I was at a restaurant but there were no chairs 10. What time are you waking up every day?

a. The same time I wake up normally for school

b. Before noon

c. Depends on what time I fell asleep

d. My schedule is fluid If you answered mostly C’s If you answered mostly D’s you are “The Explorer” you are “The Viber”

Though quarantine you finally have time to do what you love: trying new things.

Whether it be learning about new topics or finding new hobbies, you now have time for it all. Some of your favorite activities include watching youtube videos about obscure topics, going on long walks, and reading random books off your shelves. For you time to burn means time to learn.

Quarantine has you unbothered. You’re spending your time chilling out and relaxing while taking a long needed break. Some of your favorite activities include binge watching shows, sleeping, contemplating your existence, and selfcare.

The world is crazy right now and you’re taking time for yourself.