CANstruction® Combines Art & Community Service in Kansas City

When an affiliate of the American Institute of Architects, the Society of Design Administration, founded the CANstruction ® event 16 years ago, little did they know how enormous their effort would become. The idea behind the project was to create structures using cans and other food/beverage containers, which would later be donated to food-related charities.

Today, the global anti-hunger project takes place in 100+ cities across the nation - including Kansas City, Missouri. Participants in last year's local event used more than 33,000 pounds of food to create their inventive structures, which translated into almost 27,000 meals for Harvesters - The Community Food Network. 

On January 13, 2010, 16 teams of local architects, engineers, contractors and students created 'sculptures' in the lobby at Union Station, made from food items such as  mixed nuts and bottled water, seen in the 'igloo' above, built by students from the University of Kansas Interior Design program. Local event sponsors include Price Chopper, Focus Architecture, BRR Architecture and Henderson Engineers, Inc.

George Butler Associates worked on a structure whose design they had planned months earlier, which incorporated green beans, pinto beans, and yams, to name only a few 'ingredients.' 

Beside this representation of beverage bottles, Focus Architecture worked to create a tornado effect that included hundreds of cans of black eyed peas.

A preview party for the massive exhibiton takes place on Thursday evening, January 14 (tickets are $20), and the exhibit opens to the public, Jan. 15-Feb. 10. Visitors can vote for their favorite sculpture by making a donation to Harvesters. Judges will determine winners of Best Meal, Structural Ingenuity, Best Use of Labels, Jurors Favorite and Honorable Mention, and the winners will then participate in the national CANstruction® competition.

Visit CANstruction® at Union Station and cast a vote for your favorite.

The Buffalo Thunders - Santa Fe

The final evening of our press trip began with a tour through Buffalo Thunder Resort, located about 15 minutes north of Santa Fe.  After we toured the lobby, the spa and the indoor pool area, we visited the breathtaking Governor's Suite, bi-level accommodations with two bathrooms, an enormous living room with two-story windows and fireplace, multiple bedrooms, and exquisite art and furnishings - often made of natural materials.

Then the group assembled on a wide terrace for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, as roiling clouds that had contained their stormy contents so effectively for the past several days prepared to unleash their fury. Wind whipped across the landscape as thunder growled in the distance.

A sudden gust assaulted the terrace. Pedestal tables teetered, women held down their skirts, and guests grabbed every glass and plate they could carry. The staff ushered the crowd into an adjacent lobby, pulling the portable bar in behind them and, within minutes, the storm 'disappeared' behind thick adobe walls. The storm somehow seemed a fitting tribute to the resort where we shared our last dinner before departing for home.

Red & Blue Cobbler

Leftover cranberries and an orange sat in my fruit drawer, and I had plenty of Triple Sec but lacked other ingredients needed to make my favorite margarita. As we endured our 13th day of snow-covered ground, with more on the way (the first time that's happened in the Kansas City area for almost three decades), the idea of comfort foods sounded better and better. I'd already made rustic turkey soup** and homemade spaghetti sauce in the last 48 hours and we'd finally finished all of the holiday desserts.

So, with the help of the cranberries, orange, liqueur, and some frozen blueberries, and taking cues from a cranberry sauce recipe supplied by the Culinary Center of Kansas City* and the topping from an ancient magazine recipe, I made a sweet and satisfying cobbler that I hope you'll enjoy too.

Let me know what you think!


Red & Blue Cobbler
Makes 9 large servings

Filling:

1/4 cup orange liqueur
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
       (VOE - my original recipe called for 1/2 cup liqueur and 1/4 o.j.; I have reversed these to reduce the sweetness a bit)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons orange rind
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cranberries, after rinsing and sorting
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (thawed)
3 teaspoons cornstarch
         (VOE - I originally added the cornstarch, stirred into 1/2 cup of water, but this made the  mixture too soupy, so I've left it out here)

Topping I:

1/8 cup oatmeal
1/8 cup walnuts

Topping II:

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar

In a crockpot, stir together liqueur, orange juice, cinnamon, orange rind and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add cranberries and cook on high for one hour.

Stir in blueberries and cook on low, about five hours until all berries are soft. Stir in corn starch and let cook one more hour. Grease a square baking pan and pour berry mixture into it. Spoon off some excess liquid.

Topping I: Chop nuts and oatmeal fine, in food processor, and sprinkle over top of mixture.

Topping II: Melt butter in medium microwave-safe bowl, about 45-60 seconds. Stir in flour and brown sugar and cover bowl with lid or vented plastic wrap. Cook on high for 2-2 1/2 minutes, stirring after one minute, until slightly bubbly. Distribute mixture across a piece of foil and let cool until easy to handle; 3-5 minutes. Break up topping into small bits and sprinkle across berry and Topping I.

Refrigerate at least 6 hours or until set.


*I work part-time at the Culinary Center of Kansas City
**see this recipe at http://visualtraveler.blogspot.com/2009/09/rustic-turkey-soup.html

Klavon's Ice Cream Parlor - A Pittsburgh Landmark

When was the last time you bought a single scoop of premium ice cream for just $2.11? Or a gigantic, decadent Turtle Sundae - with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, caramel and fudge sauce, pecans, whipped cream, and a maraschino cherry, for only $4.75? Or tried a scoop of vanilla ice cream doused in thick, rich hot fudge sauce, and a handful of chopped pecans, for less than the cost of a fast food milk shake?

Locally-made Reinhold’s ice cream is what draws most people to  Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor, located in an Art Deco building near the edge of Pittsburgh’s famed Strip District. In fact, it's been a destination for lovers of old-fashioned soda fountain fare for decades.

The family-owned Klavon's actually began as a soda fountain drugstore, in 1925. You'll sit amidst mahogany shelves full of 1920s medicine bottles, a plethora of penny candy, and a marble soda fountain that transport you back in time from the moment you take a seat beside the stained glass windows full of 'Christmas' lights.

Order a tall, frosty ice cream soda, a phosphate, or the long-time Pittsburgh favorite – Large Pecan Balls. These baseball-sized scoops of vanilla ice cream arrive covered in pecans and smothered with customer’s choice of chocolate, hot fudge or hot caramel topping plus a large dollop of whipped cream.

And there's no need to leave non-ice cream fans at home. They can chow down on a gyro or souvlaki sandwich, or savor a bowl of sirloin beef vegetable soup. But, for the best of both worlds, enjoy your lunch plus ice cream, and then take a nice long walk through the neighborhood. It's an easy bet that Klavon's will quickly become a favorite place to treat yourself. 

Pink Floyd at Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

We had planned this trip for more than four months. Now my husband, Mark, and our friends - Jessa and James - were scouting the border of the field where an 'afterglow' event would take place at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. As the sun began to set we zeroed in on a Pink Floyd balloon, which became a frame of reference throughout the next two days.

 Balloons grew from nothing, with deep purple mountains in the background, sun-tipped clouds above, dozens of white tents dotting the field and hundreds of people milling about.

The evening grew chilly and the scene grew magical as one after another balloon sprang to life with rosy, otherwordly illumination. After dark, I felt like a kid in a candy store while I walked amidst them on the field. Balloons filled with air and a whooshing sound and a ghostly glow surrounded me, from giant strawberries to a Wells Fargo stagecoach, and multi-colored patchwork designs.

We then arrived near sunrise the next morning, bundled in heavy coats, scarves and gloves, to see as much balloon activity as possible. Jessa and I visited the field again - this time to watch the balloons prepare for their daylight flights. The Pink Floyd balloon slowly expanded, surrounded by a crazy quilt of color and design, as the sun rose higher.

Before long, the ever-changing kaleidoscope began its ascent, with the Pink Floyd balloon only one among many hundreds - from castles to pigs and wicked witches, interspersed with ‘traditional’ balloons in a myriad of patterns.

For the next several hours we watched, mouths gaping at the sheer beauty of this event, and vowed to return to this magical Fiesta as soon as possible.

Kansas Travel - Free State Brewing Company

It's been 20 years since Free State Brewing Company, in Lawrence, became the first legal Kansas brewery, in more than 100 years. The thriving company crafts more than 20,000 barrels of beer, annually, in its 14-barrel brewhouse, and also has its own bottling facility. And customers can watch as brewers work behind two-story floor-to-ceiling windows of this one-time trolley barn while they sip brews over lunch or dinner. 

There are plenty of choices for beer lovers. In addition to the brewery's original Ad Astra beer visitors may enjoy Copperhead Pale Ale, Ironman Imperial Stout, Oatmeal Stout, Old Backus Barleywine, Wheat State Golden, Lovejoy IPA, Old Stormy and Walloon Gold. Not sure which one to pick? Try a few samples, at $1.35 a pour, and then order a full-sized serving of your favorite.  

Free State Brewing Company also has a large menu in which many healthy and locally produced items star. Flavorful and filling black bean quesadillas come with Spanish rice with loads of cheese, sour cream and salsa.  Hand-cut fries and a dill pickle spear accompany the thick turkey bacon sandwich served on ultra-fresh foccacia bread. 

Free State Brewing Company offers great beer and good food in historic surroundings, with a clear view of the brewery. And, if you want a souvenir of your visit, they'll even sell you a T-shirt or pint glass.

Becker Vineyards in Fredericksburg, TX

Located 70 miles west of Austin and 75 miles northwest of San Antonio, Becker Vineyards, of Fredericksburg, Texas, planted their first vines in 1992 and offered their first wines three years later. Then the vineyards opened their first tasting room in 1996. Fourteen grape varieties grow across 46 acres. Becker was the first winery in the state to make Viognier or Malbec.

With the third largest production yield in Texas, Becker crafted 56,000 cases of wine during 2006, and 65,000 in 2008. And the culinary world has taken notice. These wines have been praised in Food & Wine, Wine Spectator, Saveur and Decanter magazines, to name a few.

Owners and founders, Richard and Bunny Becker won't pour a wine they’re not proud of, and Richard believes that winemakers are like artists. Winemaker, Russell Smith, worked in Napa for nine years and then with other vineyards and wineries in Texas, and award-winning wines line a long display shelf in the winery's front lobby.

Becker Vineyards uses premium French and American oak  barrels for aging and only use each barrel twice. The winery rarely adds sugar or fruit concentrate to their wine; they also tell grape growers when to pick the grapes and what level of sugar goals are required. Visitors can find their favorite vintage while enjoying samples in the large new tasting room.

But more than grapes grow on Becker Vineyards acreage. Lavender fills a three-acre field behind the winery and infuses body care and other products with its heavenly scent, including Lavender Comfrey Salve, lotion, sea salt scrub, eye pillows, candles, room spray, sachets and bookmarks. Finally, each May, visitors can enjoy the annual Lavender Festival. The two-day event features cooking demonstrations, speakers, a luncheon and, of course, acres of fully blooming lavendar.

Wine lovers - and lavender lovers - will find a lot to like about Becker Vineyards.