Spring is here at Arizona Science Center. There are events and happenings available for every audience throughout March. From Dogs!, to Science that looks a lot like magic – guests will have access to all the standard Science Center exhibits, and the opportunity to experience exciting new additions and special events. This month will inspire every inner scientist and create experiences attendees are sure to remember.
Activities For All Ages
Dogs! A Science Tail – Dogs! A Science Tail is a fun, interactive glimpse into the world of our canine friends. Guests can discover life from a dog’s point of view in the Science Center’s newest exhibition.
APS Solar Month – March 1-31 – Investigate the Sun during APS Solar Month! During the entire month of March, experience solar science in a whole new light. Guests can enjoy dazzling demonstrations and hands-on activities, from constructing solar houses to creating solar art!
Impossible Science – March 4-19 | 10:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m. Daily – Take a journey with Jason Latimer, World Champion of Magic and the Curator of Impossible Science, Jason Latimer makes the impossible possible through STEM!
Astronomy Week – March 20-26 – Explore the universe at Arizona Science Center’s Spring Astronomy Week! Celebrate the Spring Equinox with out-of-this-world activations all week long. On Friday, March 24 from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., bring the whole family to our FREE Family Astronomy Night in front of Arizona Science Center in Heritage Square.
Inspiring Curious Minds Through Science
CAMP INNOVATION – March 13-17 | 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. – CAMP INNOVATION is back for Spring Break and many grades are already sold out! Campers in grades 1-2 will be attending Dogs! A Science Camp, while campers in grades 3-6 will be exploring Impossible Science!
CREATE at Arizona Science Center® – Kids ages 8 – 12 can join weekly rotating mini workshops throughout March. Using different laser-cut designs, they’ll be able to assemble a bark-worthy bookend inspired by Dogs! A Science Tail!
21+ Only
Science With a Twist – March 17 | 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. Magic and dogs come together to make for a paws-itively magical evening! Guests 21 and over can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Impossible Science LIVE, Dogs! A Science Tail and themed cocktails.
Playing in the Irene P. Flinn Giant Screen Theater and the Dorrance Planetarium
Fixed: The Science/Fiction Of Human Enhancement – Complimentary Film Screening included with general admission – March 26 | 1:00 p.m. From botox to bionic limbs, the human body is more “upgradeable” than ever! The award-winning documentary, Fixed: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancement, explores the social impact of human biotechnologies. Haunting and humorous, Fixed rethinks “disability” and “normalcy” by exploring technologies that promise to change our bodies and minds forever.
Expedition: Solar System – Daily showings at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Grab your space helmets, Arizona—It’s time for the ultimate road trip, across all of space, and to the outer edges of our solar system. Journey with us as we go out into the far reaches of our Solar System. During this 45-minute presentation, we’ll explore volcanoes and craters, ice and storms, hundreds of billions of stars, and so much more. Seated under the 60-foot NanoSeam dome, Expedition: Solar System is the ultimate cosmic exploration experience.
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About Arizona Science Center Located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona Science Center features more than 300 hands-on exhibits, a state-of-the-art planetarium, a five-story giant-screen theater, live demonstrations, traveling exhibitions, and exciting science programs. The Center offers programs for all ages, including Science on Wheels, CAMP INNOVATION, Teen programs, Professional Development, and adults’ night out: Science With A Twist. Whether onsite or at your location–get ready to embark on a hands-on STEM learning journey you’ll never forget. To learn more or to reserve tickets, visit azscience.org or call 602.716.2000.
I still remember the lard we used during my high school cooking class — big cases of off-white clumpy fat that looked and smelled unappetizing but turned our pie dough and biscuits into luscious tasting triumphs. So I couldn’t resist a cookbook with lard in the first word of its title. And it didn’t disappoint.
“Lard: The Lost Art of Cooking With Your Grandmother’s Secret Ingredient” (Andrew McMeel) offers 150 sweet and savory recipes, beautiful photos and fond anecdotes from cooks nationwide about an ingredient once frowned upon and now (doesn’t this always happen) purported as healthy in some ways as it contains only 54 percent of the saturated fat found in butter and is free of trans fats when rendered with care.
And, of course, as I found out long ago in junior year cooking class, lard is the secret to turning out such marvels as southern fried chicken, green tomato pie and intriguingly the much more sophisticated Beef Wellington.
The recipes were culled from the archives of Grit, a bi-monthly magazine that’s a paean to rural traditional and values featuring articles like “Modern Day Barn Raising” and “Beyond Iceberg: Heirloom Lettuce Varieties.”
Founded 130 years ago, the names of the recipes found in the cookbook — Sand Hill Plum Dumplings, corn pone, World War II Cake with Basic Buttercream Frosting and Hot Cross Buns — read like a time capsule. And though lard figures into everyone, it often plays a small part, maybe just a tablespoon like that used in Old Fashioned Green Beans.
“Lard makes awesome fried chicken,” says Hank Will, Grit’s editor-in-chief who holds a doctorate in lipid chemistry and molecular biology from the University of Chicago and was a college professor for 16 years before quitting to farm full time. “If you look at lard, it’s very similar to butter. What we did is vilify it.”
Will, who still farms part time, renders his own lard from the pigs he raises. He doesn’t spread it on a piece of bread for lunch like his grandfather did back in North Dakota, but he and his wife use it for baking and cooking.
He blames lard’s demise on the industrial food industry. And indeed, reading about the development of Crisco, the first hydrogenated — the process of turning liquids into solids — shortening shows how advertising and testimonials helped convince a nation that hydrogenated shortening was good and lard was bad. Common wisdom became that unsaturated fats or trans fats of hydrogenated vegetable oils were better than saturated fats found in butter and lard.
Though scientific studies indicated even back in the late 1950s that trans fats weren’t all that good and might be the reason for an increase in coronary heart disease, it took 30 more years for it to finally be established.
And so by returning to lard, Will believes we’re not only returning to a traditional “real food” that improves the taste of what we eat but also is better for us.
But even a lardophile like Will doesn’t recommend gobbling up a lot of lard. It is a fat after all, but like butter healthier than trans-fat.
“Butter and lard are both animal fats — lard from pigs and butter is mostly from cows,” says Corinne Powell, former extension educator Consumer and Family Sciences at the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service Lake County. “If you read the labels you’ll see a lot of hydrogenated fats in baked goods because it lengthens their shelf life.”
According to Powell, many companies put labels on the front of their products saying no trans fats but that doesn’t mean there’s no fat in it and therefore, it’s important to read the list of ingredients.
“Fat is a good source of energy and it provides satiety,” she says, “which is that feeling of being full.”
Alas, we can’t just run out and buy a container of lard at the local grocery store.
“Most lard at the grocery store is hydrogenated,” says Will. “But artisan meat producers and farmers markets should have lard that hasn’t been hydrogenated.”
And though Powell notes that all fats, including lard, have a lot of calories she has tasted its goodness too.
“Lard is usually considered to be the best to use for pie crusts — it has a good flavor and makes flaky pie crusts,” she says. “I’ve judged pie crusts at fairs and the best usually have lard.”
Old-Fashioned Green Beans
1 tablespoon lard
12 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1-1/2 cups water
2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
DIRECTIONS: In a large skillet, melt the lard over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry, stirring frequently, 5 to 7 minutes, until browned. Add the sugar and water; stir and mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the beans and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 50 to 60 minutes, until the beans are soft and all the liquid has been absorbed. Serve immediately.
Crab Cakes
1 (6.5-ounce) can crabmeat, drained
½ cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped green onion (white and green parts)
Salt and black pepper
Lard, for frying
DIRECTIONS: In a large bowl, place the crabmeat, bread crumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and onion. Season with salt and pepper; mix well. Shape into 4 equal-sized patties. (If more moisture is needed to form patties, add a dash of melted lard.) In a large skillet, heat the lard over medium-high heat. Fry the patties 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings.
Strawberry Soda Pop Cake
3/4 cup lard, softened, plus more for greasing the pans
3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour, plus more for dusting the pans
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (7-ounce) bottle strawberry soda pop
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten
Frosting:
2 tablespoons lard, softened
Pinch of salt
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 (12-ounce) bottle or can strawberry soda pop
DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease two 9-inch cake pans with lard; dust lightly with flour and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the lard and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on low speed. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add the flour mixture and the strawberry pop to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in the nuts; fold in the egg whites. Distribute the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. To prepare the frosting, combine the lard, salt, confectioners’ sugar, and just enough strawberry pop to moisten the mixture; blend well until smooth and creamy. To frost the cake, place one cake layer on a cake stand and frost, using an offset spatula. Position the second layer atop the first and repeat.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Pie Crust
3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
1-¼ cups lard, cold and coarsely chopped
1 egg
5-½ tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vinegar
DIRECTIONS: In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the lard until the mixture is very fine. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, water, and vinegar. Make a small well in the flour mixture and add the liquid; mix just until the dough comes together in a ball. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and flatten into disks; wrap individually in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling. To make a double-crust pie with a solid top crust, roll out 2 disks of dough about 1 inch larger than the pie plate. Fit one crust into the bottom of the pie plate. Fill the pie with the desired filling; slightly moisten the edge of the bottom crust. Take the second crust, fold it in half, gently place it over the pie filling, and unfold, centering it on the pie plate; press the edges into the bottom crust to seal. Trim the excess dough to leave and overhang of about ¾ inch. Crimp or flute the edges with your fingers. To allow steam to escape, gently prick the top crust with a fork several times or slash vents with a sharp knife.
Makes 4 single or 2 (9-inch) double crusts.
Grandma’s Homemade Biscuits
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon lard, cold and coarsely chopped, plus more for greasing the pan
2-½ cups all-purpose unbleached flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon salted butter, melted (optional)
DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with lard and set aside. Place 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, and the salt in a large mixing bowl; whisk together. Using a pastry blender, work the lard into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and stir. On a sheet of wax paper, sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of flour. Turn the dough mixture onto the wax paper and knead for 5 minutes. Roll out the dough to a 1-inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter; alternatively, drop the dough using a large spoon and pat down onto the prepared baking sheet spaced 1 inch apart. For color, brush the biscuits with melted butter, if desired. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
Makes 1 dozen.
Henrietta’s Spicy Fried Chicken
1 to 2 teaspoons black pepper
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
1 (2-½ to 3-½ pound) frying chicken, cut up into 8 pieces
¼ cup all-purpose unbleached flour
2-¼ teaspoons garlic salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon celery salt
Lard, for frying
DIRECTIONS: In a large bowl, combine the black pepper, poultry seasoning, paprika, cayenne, and dry mustard. Dredge the chicken pieces in the spices. In a paper or plastic bag, combine the flour, garlic salt, salt, and celery salt; shake to mix. Add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. Heat the lard to 340 degrees and 2 inches deep in an electric skillet or on medium heat in a large cast-iron skillet. Add the chicken pieces and fry for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. Increase the heat to 355ºF for an electric skillet or medium-high for a regular skillet. Fry for an additional 5 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink at the bone. Remove the chicken from the fat and drain on paper towels.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
SOURCE: “Lard: The Lost Art of Cooking With Your Grandmother’s Secret Ingredient”
“Ladies of the Lights” Presentation by Michigan Maritime Expert Dianna Stampfler Showcases Female Keepers of Michigan’s Historic Beacons
“Ladies of the Lights” Presentation Showcases Female Keepers of Michigan’s Historic Beacons
Michigan lighthouse historian and author Dianna Stampfler has announced a series of presentations of her popular “Ladies of the Lights” in honor of Women’s History Month. This program, which includes readings from newspapers and autobiographies, as well as countless historic photos, sheds light on the dedicated women who served at lights around the state dating back as early as the 1830s.
These were women before their time, taking on the romantic yet dangerous and physically demanding job of tending to the lighthouses that protected the Great Lakes shoreline. Given this was also a government job, their involvement was even more unique. In all, nearly 50 women have been identified who excelled in this profession over the years.
One of the most notable was Elizabeth (Whitney) VanRiper Williams who took over the St. James Harbor Light on Beaver Island after her husband, Clement, died while attempting to rescue the crew of a ship sinking in the harbor. She later became the first keeper of the Little Traverse Lighthouse in Harbor Springs, retiring after a combined 44 years of service.
There is also Julia (Tobey) Braun Way who outlived two husband keepers at the Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse in Bay City, and some say who still haunts the place today. Anastasia Truckey served as the interim keeper at the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse in the 1860s while her husband, Nelson, was off serving in the Civil War. Mary Terry served 18 years before she died in a fire at the Sand Point Lighthouse in Escanaba in 1886 – her death still shrouded in mystery 137 years later.
Stampfler has been researching Great Lakes lighthouses for more than 25 years and is the author of Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses (2019) and Death and Lighthouses on the Great Lakes (2022) both from The History Press. She has penned countless articles and been interviewed extensively about the lighthouses and their keepers. She is also the president of Promote Michigan.
On Monday, March 6, Nothing Bundt Cakes is giving away one free OREO Cookies & Cream Bundtlet (mini bundt cakes) to the first 111 guests at each/the bakery in Phoenix at 1:11pm local time in celebration of OREO’s 111th birthday.
This newest flavor is the result of the Nothing Bundt Cakes® and OREO® brands joining together to create their new LTO Cookies & Cream flavor, available in all signature sizes.
OREO Cookies & Cream features Nothing Bundt Cakes’ classic white cake baked with OREO cookie pieces and crowned with Nothing Bundt Cakes’ signature cream cheese frosting.
“We couldn’t think of a sweeter partnership than bringing together our recipe with the iconic OREO cookie,” said Nothing Bundt Cakes Chief Marketing Officer Angie Eckelkamp. “We know our guests will enjoy two favorite treats in one as they celebrate their special moments or those ‘just because’ times with our exciting new featured flavor.”
In honor of the new partnership, guests will have a chance to win one of 10 gift cards in a giveaway on the Nothing Bundt Cakes Instagram page on Feb. 6, the day the flavor launches. That day, followers who comment and tag a friend on a specific Instagram post will be entered to win a $100 Nothing Bundt Cakes gift card plus a variety of OREO and Nothing Bundt Cakes merchandise.
Nothing Bundt Cakes will also help celebrate OREO’s 111th birthday with a cake giveaway at all locations across North America. On Monday, March 6, at 1:11 p.m. local time, the first 111 guests at each bakery will receive a free OREO Cookies & Cream Bundtlet, the brand’s individually packaged miniature Bundt Cake.
Nothing Bundt Cakes offers bite-sized Bundtinis®, miniature Bundtlets, Bundtlet Towers, 8- and 10-inch Bundt Cakes and Tiered Bundt Cakes in nine flavors in addition to rotating Featured Flavors and a gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookie flavor, available at select bakeries. Guests can add festive and unique decorations and toppers to their cakes for a variety of occasions, and bakeries also offer retail items, including party supplies, décor and gifts.
To find the nearest bakery and to order online for pickup or delivery, visit www.nothingbundtcakes.com.
About Nothing Bundt Cakes®
Dallas-based Nothing Bundt Cakes was founded in Las Vegas in 1997 by Dena Tripp and Debbie Shwetz. It has grown to become the nation’s largest specialty cake company, with nearly 500 franchised and corporate bakeries in 40-plus states and Canada. Bakeries offer handcrafted Bundt Cakes in a variety of flavors and sizes, such as bite-sized Bundtinis®, miniature Bundtlets and 8- and 10-inch Bundt Cakes, plus decorations and gift options for many occasions. Nothing Bundt Cakes is committed to building a team of bakery owners and employees who embody the joy-filled brand, resulting in industry accolades including Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 List, Inc. 5000’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies, Franchise Business Review’s Franchise Hall of Fame and, for eight years running, Franchise Times’ “Fast and Serious.” For more information about Nothing Bundt Cakes, visit nothingbundtcakes.com/. To learn more about franchising opportunities, visit https://www.nothingbundtcakes.com/franchise-opportunities/.
About OREO® OREO® is the world’s favorite cookie, available in more than 100 countries around the globe. Over 60 billion OREO® cookies are sold each year with more than 20 billion of those cookies sold in the U.S. annually. An estimated 500 billion OREO® cookies have been sold since the first OREO® biscuit was developed in 1912. For more information, follow OREO® on Facebook/OREOUnitedStates, Twitter @OREO or on Instagram @OREO.
Early on Maria Loi learned to appreciate the bounty of her Greek homeland. She foraged for the aromatic oregano which, caressed by the sunshine, grew wild and flavorful in the nearby mountains. With her grandfather, she harvested the black honey they found in forests that had stood, almost untouched, from ancient times.
In Thermo, the small village in southeastern Greece where she grew up, Loi cooked from her parents and grandparents, not sparing in the use of the golden oil pressed from olives after they had ripened under the hot sun. She raised both vegetables and chickens, and cooked the freshest of fish that came from the waters around her home. Loi’s passion for the foods of her country which she shared in her 36 cookbooks earned her the title of Ambassador of Greek Gastronomy an honor awarded by the Chef’s Club of Greece.
Now Loi, now chef/owner of two restaurants– the award-winning Loi Estiatorio in Manhattan and Kouzina Loi in the port town of Nafpaktos in Western Greece, is takes us further into the culinary treasures of Greek cooking in her 13-part national public television series The Life of Loi: Mediterranean Secrets which premiered on December 31.
The ever enthusiastic Loi takes us on a series of adventures–island hopping from Athens to Naxos to Evia, exploring the olive groves that produce the olive oil she so values as essential to our health, visiting a mushroom farm on Evia Island, cooking on a boat moored in the beautiful Aegean Sea, and in the kitchen of her Manhattan restaurant.
Beyond using the best ingredients from her native country, Loi is also about easily accessible recipes. She certainly makes it look like a breeze on her TV series. But beyond authenticity and ease, Loi is all about healthy eating.
It started, she says, when her grandfather fed her two tablespoons of olive oil—Greek olive oil of course—not that stuff from Italy or Spain–every morning and a teaspoon of black honey every night–the honey she and her grandfather had harvested together.
“He told us the olive oil would flush out the toxins from our body and the honey would kill the germs from our day,” she says.
It’s become such a mantra that patrons seeing her at Loi Estiatorio confide they’re taking their daily dose of olive oil just like she recommends. Her staff has lost weight following her Greek dieta or diet (think Mediterranean but the Greeks really invented it she tells me) and she is healthy as a horse.
“Of course you should always talk to your doctor,” she says with a broad smile, most likely because she believes that any doctor would back up her claims. “Even the FDA has adopted now that we have to do two tablespoons of olive oil every day.”
After a quick search, I find that Loi is correct. According to WebMD, the FDA has approved a new qualified health claim for olive oil based on studies showing that consuming about two tablespoons of olive oil a day may reduce the risk of heart disease.
This, of course, is not news to Loi who has learned from the land and her ancestors about the wonders of eating.
Oh, and not only does she cook and consume olive oil, but she also puts some on her hair at night and shampoos in the morning. Her hair looks great and so does she. Obviously I should put olive oil on my grocery list.
Named one of the top Women Makers by Whole Foods Market and one of the best female owned and operated brands/suppliers with whom Whole Foods Market works, Loi was also selected as one of the Top Women in Food Service & Hospitality and is called the “Julia Child of Greece.”
With her distinctive blonde bob, oversized dark rimmed glasses, wide smile and engaging, friendly manner, Loi comes across as my new best friend. This after an hour Zoom chat. That’s how easily she connects.
Or at least that’s the impression I get after spending an hour chatting on Zoom.
“Oh these are great questions,” she tells me, looking over the list I’d sent her publicist a few days prior to the virtual interview.
“Oh thank you, that makes me feel so good,” she says, when I tell her that after watching her cook on the terrace of the historic Hotel Grande Bretagne, a luxury hotel in Athens that overlooks the Acropolis that I am totally ready to buy every one of her 36 cookbooks and learn to make the dishes of her native country.
“I feel healthy already,” I say, after listening to her extoll the virtues of eggplants, tomatoes, and especially Greek feta.
But when we talk about feta, she becomes much more serious. Loi doesn’t like the idea of us buying inferior ingredients. You can buy feta crumbles in the grocery store to sprinkle over your salad but don’t say that to Loi who is repulsed by the idea. Greek feta, made from either sheep or goat milk or a mixture of the two is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product as is Champagne (France), spaetzle and sauerkraut (Germany), and such cheeses as Parmesan and Asiago (Italy). PDOs are products that are produced, processed and prepared in a specific geographical area, using the recognized know-how of local producers and ingredients from the region concerned.
“People say they’re buying feta and you know what it is,” Loi asked. But she doesn’t stop long enough for me to answer. “It’s cow’s milk. It’s not feta, it’s just white cheese. Feta comes from Greece because the climate affects the soil, and the production is unique.”
I silently swear to myself that I will never buy anything but Greek feta again. It’s not a hard promise to make. I remember my Aunt Daneise, who was Greek and a great cook, making sure that she always had a block of feta sitting in its liquid so that it didn’t dry out. It glistened when she took it out and cut it into slices which by the way, Loi tells me, is what feta means in Greek—slice. Who knew?
I ask Loi which of her cookbooks she would recommend to readers who want to cook Greek but she says she really doesn’t want to sound like she’s plugging her products. The same goes with her line of foods that includes (and I only know this because I went online and looked) olive oil, black honey, wild thyme and flower honey as well as Greek pastas, and smoked eggplant. There are jars of such items as her Feta-Yogurt Pougi—a concoction that can be served hot or cold and used as a spread, dip, or sauce and her Garlic Potato Dip (Skordalia in Greek), a vegan product that not only is a dip but can also be used for marinating and sautéing.
“How can I make suggestions to readers if you won’t give me some ideas?” I ask. I finally get her to talk about “The Greek Diet,” one of her cookbooks. Oh and she did mention that she’s working on another cookbook that will be out soon. Yes, really. I think that will be number 37.
But what Loi wants to talk about are her charities.
According to Total Food Service’s digital magazine, Loi has become one of the nation’s leading chefs, philanthropists, brand creators and ambassadors. During the pandemic, she turned her Manhattan restaurant into a soup kitchen, feeding the homeless and also prepared thousands of meals for first responders and patients at many area hospitals. She co-founded the Elpida Foundation to help fight childhood cancer. Her Loukoumi Make A Difference inspires kids to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.
I ask Loi if she’s having as much fun as it looks like she is on her show.
The answer is yes and it boils down to this.
“I’m passionate and driven,” she says. “If you’re not, what is there?”
To view recipes featured in the series and more, visit Chef Loi’s social media platforms @ChefMariaLoi (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter).
The following recipes are courtesy of Maria Loi.
Garides Me Kritharaki / Shrimp with Orzo
Serves 2
“This quick and easy take on a Greek classic will have dinner on the table in 20 minutes, from start to finish,” says Maria Loi. “The timeless flavors of tomato, lemon, oregano, and olive oil paired with the delicate sweetness of the shrimp are married perfectly with the tart, creaminess of the feta garnish.”
8 ounces orzo pasta
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
12 cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 pieces of shrimp, peeled and deveined
Dry Greek oregano, to taste
Feta cheese, for garnish
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Add orzo to a large pot of salted boiling water, and allow to cook for 7 to 9 minutes, until desired texture. Strain, and reserve.
While orzo is cooking, add the chopped onions, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 7 cherry tomatoes to an oven safe dish, season with salt to taste, and stir to combine. Add shrimp on top of the mixture, and top with the remaining 5 cherry tomatoes: season with pepper and Greek oregano, and top with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Bake for 4-5 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink and opaque, and tomatoes have a slight char.
Serve over a bed of orzo, topped with crumbled feta and dressed with olive oil.
Greek Honey Cheesecake (Melopita) – from The Greek Diet Cookbook
“Melopita translates as ‘honey pie,’ but this dish is my healthy version of a ricotta-style cheesecake,” writes Maria Loi in the introduction to this recipe from “The Greek Diet Cookbook.” “Light and fresh with a hint of lemon, this cake has the perfect tang from the yogurt. Drizzle with some honey to keep it classic.”
Serves 16
Olive oil, for the pan
1 pound anthotyro (ricotta cheese)
1 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1⁄2 cup Greek honey, plus more for garnish
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1⁄4 cup sugar
Ground cinnamon, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil, line it with a round of parchment paper, and lightly oil the paper.
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, yogurt, eggs, 1⁄2 cup honey, lemon zest, flour, and sugar. Beat thoroughly, either with an electric mixer or a whisk.
Pour the batter into the pan and gently rap it against a hard surface to release any air bubbles.
Bake the melopita for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling sets. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool. Refrigerate the cake for 2 or 3 hours.
Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan and release the sides. Invert the cake onto a serving plate.
Carefully remove the bottom of the cake pan and the parchment paper.
Serve the cake sprinkled with some cinnamon and drizzled with a little honey.
Based on a similar article that appeared in the Herald Palladium.
Detroit is America’s best city for pizza, with low prices and the highest online search activity for pizza. Jump to section👇
Americans think New York is the best pizza city, with 41% listing it among their top five pizza cities. Los Angeles (40%) ranks No. 2, and Chicago ranks No. 3 (35%). 👇
Americans are the least impressed with Oklahoma City, Providence, Rhode Island, and Columbus, Ohio — just 2% consider them top five pizza cities.
But here’s the surprise. Phoenix isthe 4th-best pizza city in the country, rising 38 spots up the rankings from 2022.
A large pepperoni pizza in Phoenix costs $19.33 — compared to New York City, where the average cost of a large pepperoni pizza is $35.08 — the most expensive out of all 50 cities studied.
Phoenix has a pizza passion score of 73 out of 100 based on 25 pizza-related Google search terms, compared to the national average pizza passion score of 65.
How the metrics work.
In all, listwithclever.com used multiple metrics, weighted in the following manner:
4x: Pizza reputation (survey of 1,000 Americans)
4x: Online search activity for 25 pizza-related terms (“pizza passion”)
2x: Average price of a large cheese pizza
1x: Average price of a large pepperoni pizza
1x: Average Yelp rating for pizza restaurants
1x: Rate of pizza restaurants per 100,000 residents
And what are the best pizza places in the Phoenix area. According to Top Pizza 52, an Italian organization that ranks the best pizza throughout the world, are;
As part of a weekend-long Walloon Lake Writer’s Retreat Weekend at Hotel Walloon, the public is invited to a FREE event – A Lakeside Chat with Author John Patrick Hemingway – on Friday, April 14 at the Talcott Event Venue in downtown Walloon Lake. Doors will open at 7pm with a cash bar featuring a Pilar’s Rum Hemingway Daiquiri (see recipe below), along with select wine and beer; the discussion will begin at 7:30pm and a book signing will follow.
Throughout the weekend, the Canadian/American writer and journalist will lead writers in a series of workshops, readings and other creative exercises meant to inspire personal storytelling. Last year’s inaugural Writer’s Retreat was led by Ernest’s great granddaughter (and John’s niece), Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, author of Ernest’s Way.
In addition to his memoir, John Hemingway has published a number of short stories in magazines and literary reviews such at The Saturday Evening Post and Provincetown Arts and has also written for many fishing and hunting magazines such as Showboats International and Ducks Unlimited. His first novel, Bacchanalia: A Pamplona Story(2019), takes place in Spain during the Fiesta de San Fermín, a nine-day event that was made famous in the1920s by the publication of his grandfather’s work The Sun Also Rises.
Ernest Hemingway was just three months old when he made his first trip from his hometown of Oak Park, IL to Walloon Lake where his parents – Clarence and Grace (Hall) – had purchased property along the North Shore. Ernest spent time every summer until 1921 at the family’s beloved Windemere cottage there, the simple cottage still owned by descendants today. The woods and waters in and around Walloon Lake shaped Hemingway’s life in many ways and it was a place he always held dear to his heart. It was here that his 1972 posthumously published book, The Nick Adams Stories, is primarily set.
To inquire about availability for the “Walloon Lake Writer’s Retreat ” please contact Hotel Walloon at 231-535-5000.
Laurel Glen Vineyard, a thousand feet up the slopes of Sonoma Mountain, has long been considered one of the iconic Cabernet vineyards of California. Originally planted as Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1960’s, the present-day vineyard was developed in the 1970’s by Sonoma wine pioneer Patrick Campbell. In 2011, Bettina Sichel, a veteran of the California wine industry, became the steward of Laurel Glen Vineyard after purchasing the iconic estate from founder Patrick Campbell.
During her 20-plus-year career, she has worked with some of the finest producers of Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1998, Sichel helped launch Quintessa and went on to develop its reputation and profile distribution over the next decade as director of sales and marketing. The daughter of Peter M.F. Sichel, the man responsible for making his family’s Blue Nun a household name in America, Bettina is the fifth generation of the Sichel family to work in the wine business.
Katie Bundschu is the first female winemaker in her six-generation California wine family and just opened the doors to Abbot’s Passage Winery + Mercantile, challenging conventional expectations while honoring process and history. Katie says, “For me, winemaking is a journey full of history & heritage. I’ve always kept my family’s story and process close to my heart. I knew we could create something different in Abbot’s Passage—something based on my point-of-view and perspective. As the first female winemaker in our six-generation California wine family, I felt I could add a new dimension to the Bundschu legacy. I understood the rules before choosing to break them, and more than 150 years after our family’s first harvest, Abbot’s Passage was born. My vision was a winery dedicated to creating distinctive wine blends that both honor process and challenge conventional expectations.”
Jamie Benziger: Benziger Winery
Growing up between her family’s two Sonoma wineries, it’s no surprise that Jamie Benziger is blazing her own trail in the wine industry. She interned in marketing with Gundlach Bundschu Winery during school, but it wasn’t until her first harvest working the lab at Benziger that Jamie realized her heart was really in winemaking.
In December 2017, her father Joe retired and Jamie took the reins as winemaker. As the second-generation winemaker at Imagery, Jamie has been on a roll. Not only was she named the 2019 Best Woman Winemaker in the International Women’s Wine Competition, but she was also included on Wine Enthusiast’s list of 40 Under 40 Tastemakers.
Dalia Ceja & Amelia Moran: Ceja Winery
The Ceja Family …. But mother and daughter,Amelia Morán and Dalia Ceja, are key to the winery’s success. Amelia serves as president and has been recognized for one first after another. Her husband, Pedro, began his winemaking odyssey picking grapes for Robert Mondavi and in 1980 they created Ceja Vineyards together.
The California Legislature honored her as “Woman of the Year” in 2005 for “breaking the glass ceiling in a very competitive business,” as the first Mexican American woman ever to be elected president of a winery. In 2009, Dalia brought her expertise to Ceja Vineyards as the Marketing Director, “a lot of minority wineries are developing their own style,” she says. “For us, it’s been about family and taking wine to a new level.” And for Dalia, being a Ceja means being part of that evolution, which includes promoting awareness of authentic Mexican cuisine and its subtle, complex flavors—the perfect companion for pairings that yield a new wine experience.
Prema Behan: Three Sticks Winery
Prema Behan is the co-founder and General Manager of Three Sticks Wines. She began working for Three Sticks Wines founder Bill Price III in 2000 in an administrative position at Texas Pacific Group (TPG). Soon Prema found herself working closely with Price, his family, and TPG’s Director of Operations.
Her work there doubled as business school: she witnessed TPG’s rapid growth and global expansion, as well as from her experience closely assisting Price in his pursuits. Behan became an essential part of Price’s team and began helping manage his winery operations. She has been involved in Three Sticks Wines from its founding and has built relationships with the winery’s allocation list as it grew from Price’s friends and family to include a growing number of Pinot-savvy consumers.
Katie Madigan: St. Francis Winery & Vineyards
Katie Madigan, the winemaker at St. Francis Winery & Vineyards, has been crafting their popular Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays since 2011. She started at the winery while studying chemistry at U.C. Santa Barbara, helping out during harvest, and came back a full-time lab tech at St. Francis and began studying Enology & Viticulture at UC Davis. As a St. Francis Winemaker, Katie continues St. Francis’ long tradition of creating high-quality wines from Sonoma County grapes.
She oversees production of St. Francis Winery’s top-selling Zinfandels, Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays as well as many of our other popular white wines. In 2015, Katie was awarded “Best Woman Winemaker” by the International Women’s Wine Competition. She also won Zinfandel Producer of the Year in 2014 and 2015 at the California Zinfandel Championship.
