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KU News: Annual summer tour of KU medicinal garden set for June 21

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From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

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Contact: Kirsten Bosnak, KU Field Station, 785-864-6267, [email protected], @KUFieldStation
Annual summer tour of KU medicinal garden set for June 21
LAWRENCE — The public is invited to the summer semiannual tour of the University of Kansas Native Medicinal Plant Garden at 6:30 p.m. June 21, on the summer solstice.
The garden, situated just east of the Lawrence Municipal Airport (directions and map), includes research plantings, a large native plant demonstration garden and the KU Community Garden. Garden pathways are ADA-compliant, and the site is open to the public dawn to dusk. This informal tour will be led by Kelly Kindscher, Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research scientist and professor in the KU Environmental Studies Program, and botanist Jennifer Moody.
The garden site, established in 2010, serves as a gateway to the KU Field Station, as it is the first of several Field Station sites on East 1600 Road in Douglas County north of Highway 40. Land for the garden was made available by KU Endowment. See the Facebook event page.
The KU Field Station, established in 1947, is managed by the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research, a KU designated research center. The core research and operations area of the Field Station, just north of Lawrence, consists of 1,650 acres, with five miles of public trails. It is a resource for KU students, faculty and staff in the sciences, arts, humanities and professional programs, as well as for visiting researchers and community members.
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KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-3256
Fax: 785-864-3339
[email protected]
http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

Wheat Scoop: Cheesy comfort food crowned champion of the 2023 National Festival of Breads

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Guest Columnist
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Kansas Wheat

Contact: Marsha Boswell, [email protected]

For audio version, visit kswheat.com.

Football fans and super hosts alike should pin or post this year’s winning recipe for the 2023 National Festival of Breads, the nation’s only amateur bread-baking competition. The invention of Gloria Piantek of West Lafayette, Indiana, the Cheese Lover’s Barbecue Bread Twists combine three types of cheese, sweet and smoky seasoning rub and crunchy smoked almonds into the perfect party snack. Add melted cheese in the middle and this dish becomes a tasty centerpiece.

“This cheesy comfort food fantasy is the perfect winner of the 2023 National Festival of Breads,” said Cindy Falk, co-chairperson of the event and nutrition educator for Kansas Wheat. “The creative ingredient combinations, the circular twisted shape and the undeniable taste made this recipe rise to the top of this year’s entries.”

The eighth NFOB was sponsored by King Arthur Baking Company® and Kansas Wheat, carrying on a proud tradition of celebrating the creativity of home baking. Additional contributions were made by Stafford County Flour Mills Company, Kansas Soybean Commission, Kansas Corn Commission, Texas Wheat, Hy Vee of Manhattan, and Manhattan Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“The National Festival of Breads celebrates the creativity of America’s home bakers,” Falk said. “Back in 1990, the Kansas Festival of Breads started as a humble, state-wide competition. After 16 years, the popularity and success of the event prompted the Kansas Wheat Commission to open it up nationwide every two years, inspiring thousands of amateur home bakers in nearly every state across the country to develop new yeast bread recipes and be rewarded for their baking skills, techniques and creativity.”

Home bakers from coast to coast put their best breads on the line as they submitted more than 200 recipes in one of four categories: Say Cheese!, Go Nuts, Wholesome & Healthy and Quick & Easy. Then, a group of culinary professionals, food marketing and baking educators sifted through the entries and judged recipes based on a set of criteria including recipe creativity and originality, ease of preparation, detailed instructions, nutritional value, eating quality, flavor and aroma.

After months of rigorous testing in the Kansas Wheat Commission Test Kitchen, four recipes emerged as the top finalists for each category. Finalists included Marian Evoniuk, from Austin, Texas, with her Mocha Coffee Pecan Babka in the Go Nuts category; Carol Adamek, from Dallas, Texas, with her Nutty Pumpkin Cranberry Dinner Rolls in the Quick & Easy category; Susan Wiebe, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her Knotty 7 Grain Rolls in the Wholesome & Healthy category; and Piantek, with her Cheese Lover’s Barbecue Bread Twists in the Say Cheese! Category. In addition to the four finalists, the judges also selected 23 Honorable Mention Awards.

Piantek was named the 2023 “Best of Breads” champion during the virtual NFOB event on June 1, 2023. The online celebration of the eighth NFOB shared stories about Piantek and her fellow finalists and their winning recipes. In addition to her overall crown, Piantek also won the People’s Choice award, based on online votes from across the country. The virtual event also announced Michele Kusma of Columbus, Ohio, as the winner of the random drawing for a Kitchen Aid Mixer.

In the spirit of sharing and breaking bread together, Piantek encouraged others to venture out of their kitchen’s comfort zone and try out something new — like her NFOB-winning Cheese Lover’s Barbecue Bread Twists.

“I’m sure you think that you would never be able to make this, but you could,” she said. “You don’t want to make this bread perfect. You want to make it the way you and your family and friends will enjoy it!”

View Piantek’s recipe — along with her tips and tricks for making this soon-to-be party favorite — and information on the other finalists and event sponsors at festivalofbreads.com.

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Written by Julia Debes for Kansas Wheat

 

 

Chocolate cake: the key to celebration

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Guest Columnist
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Amanda Miller
Columnist
Lettuce Eat Local

 

I’m not sure when the tradition started, but making my mom a chocolate cake for her birthday has been a thing for a while. It’s not a purely unselfish system by any means; while I know that that speaks celebration to her, it also does to me. A strong affinity for all things chocolate must have been passed down by genetic code, as Benson and I most assuredly inherited the trait. It can’t truly be a party without chocolate (or even a legitimate day, as far as I’m concerned). 

And because we both also like to try new things, by default it’s always a different cake. I like to keep notes on any recipes I try, which I guess would be more helpful if I ever made the recipe again, but they’re nice to come across for nostalgia sake while paging through a cookbook. Plus it helps me not make the same one twice, since I don’t always actually remember what I’ve done in the past and some cakes are just so appealing. 

On the recipes, I also like to see how both my handwriting and the baking experience required have progressed over the past two decades. Although that’s not to say it’s always been linear — sometimes in my youth, my enthusiasm pushed me beyond what should have been my technique limits, and sometimes in my “old age,” my kitchen comfort level has caused me to be too comfortable and not precise enough. 

I’d like to give you a quick rundown of a few of the different styles and flavors in which these cakes have taken shape over the years, but honestly I don’t really remember. There are usually multiple layers, and I know she doesn’t want either the cake or the frosting to be too sweet. I like accompanying flavors, like blueberries, peanut butter, coffee, or cinnamon, but extras must never overpower the dark chocolate. Aesthetics are important, which is unequivocally not my strong point, but I like trying once a year for Mom. Last year for her momentous —th party, I made two: a dark chocolate sweet potato bundt cake and a mocha brownie cheesecake. 

Living 850 miles away can complicate making her a cake on her actual birthdate, so we definitely give the timing some leeway. But I think it’s always happened eventually; even the time they visited while we were in the hospital for my husband’s surgery, I made a frozen-style cake ahead of time so we could still eat it even though I couldn’t be home to bake. But that one had spinach in it in some way, so I’m going to assume it wasn’t my best. 

My mom’s birthday is this week, and fortuitous timing had my parents, brother, and nephew visiting us last weekend! And somehow in between hiking, Strataca, games, the farmers’ market, and baby kitties, we found time to eat cake — mango chocolate mousse cake. I was both skeptical and captivated by the flavor combination when a friend had shared it with me, and knew it might be just the ticket for this fruit- and cream-loving mom. It was. Even though a couple of layers on their own had issues, together it all melded seamlessly into a luscious cake, worthy of being pulled out of the fridge until it all disappeared. 

I’m almost sad that on principle I can’t make it for her birthday again. Although nothing says I can’t just make it for a good celebration cake any day of the year. 

 

Mango Chocolate Mousse Cake

Since this has so many layers, I don’t have space here to give you all the recipes. But just do what I did and cobble a couple recipes together, and it should work out! My mousse was a little lax and sagged under the weight of the other layers, so either don’t unmold it until just before serving and/or be prepared for the slices not to be sturdy. But honestly, although it lost all semblance to a round cake, it might have been better the next day after we stuffed the leftovers in a container overnight anyway. 

Prep tips: give yourself plenty of time when making the cake, since it requires several rounds of chilling before adding more layers. 

chocolate sponge cake, baked in a springform pan

dark chocolate mousse

mango gelee layer: 2 cups mango juice mixed with ⅓ cup sugar and set with 1 T unflavored gelatin

lightly sweetened whipped cream

fresh mango slices

Bake the chocolate cake, and cool completely. Line the sides of the springform with parchment paper, and pour in the mousse; chill and allow to set fully. Next pour on the mango gelee, then chill and allow to set fully. Top with a layer of whipped cream, and garnish with mango slices. Release the springform pan, remove it and the parchment, and serve.

Dog House Days

By
Lee Pitts
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lee pitts
I love all animals with only two exceptions: rattlesnakes and cats. Rattlesnakes are deadly serpents sent by the Devil and cats are just annoying balls of fur.
As kids we went to a ranch owned by a bar buddy of my dad’s that was infested with rattlers. We went to Yale T Richardson’s ranch to cut firewood and to shoot at beer cans with a 22 rifle that my brother and I owned in partnership. It was drummed into my empty head before going to Yale T’s that rattlesnakes should be killed every chance you got. If you saw one by the side of the road you ALWAYS stopped to chop its head off with a shovel carried specifically for that purpose.
There were plenty of beer cans at Yale T’s but I remember being very disappointed that I never came face to face with a rattlesnake because I wanted to test a theory I’d heard that said if you point a rifle at a rattler you couldn’t miss because the snake will look at the end of the gun and follow it with its eerie eyes. This is supposedly why snake charmers play a clarinet-like instrument called a “pungi” because the snake will be mesmerized and follow the the musical instrument with its head. As part of my research I tried to get my sister to play her clarinet in front of one of Yale T’s rattlers but she wasn’t willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of science.
I paid for my college education by working in the dry, dusty oilfields which were known for two things: being extremely hot and harboring a sizable snake population. On my first day I was told that since we’d be working close to the “doghouse” at headquarters I could just leave my Roy Rogers lunch bucket there. The fact that someone even acknowledged my existence should have been a red flag but I was greener than a gourd and didn’t yet appreciate how mean roughnecks, roustabouts, pumpers and mechanics could be. When I opened my lunch bucket instead of finding a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a Twinkie I stared straight into the beady eyes of a coiled rattlesnake.
How was I supposed to know it was dead?
Ha, ha, Very funny guys.
Later in the week I attended my first “safety meeting” where I was handed my very own rattlesnake kit which we were instructed to carry with us at all times. Basically it was a rubber tube that when pulled apart revealed a razor sharp blade and and a suction cup with which to suck out the venom. I was told that I’d need to make a deep “X” cut through the fang marks left by the rattler. I’ve always wondered if I’d have had the courage to do such a thing, or if I’d just be a sissy and die.
I’ve lived virtually my entire life in rattlesnake country and I kill about one per year. My wife likes to garden and I’m afraid she’ll be bit by one so I gave her my rattlesnake kit and a pair of catcher’s shin guards for protection.
Because I live in California and cannot buy snake skins legally my friends often bring me rattlesnake skins which I incorporate into my leather work. One neighbor brought me a skin five feet long with the diameter of a big log with which I made him a belt and two water bottles. But before I did that I put the skin to good use.
I have an acquaintance who I think is a closet PETA member who always wants to borrow my tools that he never returns. Despite my kindness he never hesitates to tell people that I’m evil because I chop the heads off rattlesnakes. When he called up wanting to borrow a leather hole punch I harkened back to my doghouse days. I wrapped my neighbor’s huge snakeskin in a coil and placed it in a toolbox. Then when the leach arrived I acted busy and told him that the hole punch was in the toolbox on my workbench. As he opened the tool box I rattled a plastic butter container full of pebbles and as he ran out of my garage at a world record setting pace I yelled, “Hey, you forgot the hole punch.”

KU News: Researcher continues KU’s storied history in helium discovery

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Guest Columnist
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From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

Headlines

Researcher continues KU’s storied history in helium discovery
LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas lab director has been awarded $500,000 from the National Science Foundation to recycle helium from research equipment. His efforts will help ensure future generations of scientists have access to the nonrenewable gas that’s needed for many areas of research. “We’ve been using helium scientifically and for various industrial purposes for more than 100 years now,” said Justin Douglas, director of KU’s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory and lead researcher on the project. “Unfortunately, there’s only so much of it that’s trapped within the Earth’s crust that we can get to in a reasonable way.”

KU to welcome high school students in 7th annual Summer Venture in Business
LAWRENCE – The University of Kansas School of Business will host its seventh annual Summer Venture in Business program for high school students from June 11-16. The pre-college program gives 10th, 11th and 12th grade high school students from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds and/or potential first-generation college students an opportunity to explore the different business school majors. KU will welcome students from more than 40 high schools, including from Kansas and the Greater Kansas City area.

Full stories below.

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Contact: Vince Munoz, Office of Research, 785-864-2254, [email protected],
Researcher continues KU’s storied history in helium discovery

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas lab director has been awarded $500,000 from the National Science Foundation to recycle helium from research equipment. His efforts will help ensure future generations of scientists have access to the nonrenewable gas that’s needed for many areas of research.

“We’ve been using helium scientifically and for various industrial purposes for more than 100 years now,” said Justin Douglas, director of KU’s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory and lead researcher on the project. “Unfortunately, there’s only so much of it that’s trapped within the Earth’s crust that we can get to in a reasonable way.”

Helium is used in a number of important scientific instruments, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers that allow researchers to determine the structure of molecules. Douglas estimates that about 200 students, faculty and staff use these instruments at KU alone in fields ranging from chemistry and pharmacy to biology and engineering.

Helium molecules are small enough to escape Earth’s atmosphere once released into the air. Without new recycling methods like the one Douglas is developing, future scientists won’t be able to conduct the same experiments used today.

“I’ve always used these instruments, and I’ve always seen that there’s a little port in the back. As the helium evaporates, it just sort of escapes,” Douglas said. “It’s always bugged me that … we weren’t doing anything to collect it.”

Helium has a unique connection to both KU and the state of Kansas. In 1903, residents of Dexter, a small town southeast of Wichita, discovered a large well of natural gas. But attempts to light the well caused confusion when the gas would not burn.

Then-KU geology professor Erasmus Haworth heard about the mystery and brought samples back to Lawrence. Two chemistry professors, Hamilton Cady and David McFarland, began two years of research to understand the phenomenon. In December of 1905 in a laboratory in KU’s Bailey Hall, the two discovered the gas contained helium, which at the time was thought to be present only in the sun and in trace amounts of a mineral called cleveite.

In 1917 the U.S. government began funding research into potential military applications for helium due to aircraft usage in the first world war. Today helium is used in low-temperature physics, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), arc welding and more.

“At the University of Kansas, we were pioneers in the discovery of terrestrial sources of liquid helium, and I think we should be pioneers in the recovery and recycling of this precious nonrenewable resource,” Douglas said.

To capture helium from research equipment, Douglas will connect ports to a 300-cubic-foot bag. After the bag fills up, he will compress the gas into high-pressure cylinders, purify it, and convert it to liquid for scientific and industrial use.

“At some point, our grandchildren are going to need to answer important scientific questions, and they’re going to need liquid helium to do this sort of research — be it low-temperature physics, or chemistry, or engineering or pharmacy,” Douglas said. “So I think it’s really important that we do what we can to recover this resource.”

Douglas’ work exemplifies KU’s strength in research focused on earth, energy and environment, one of KU’s five strategic research themes. This area will increase understanding of the various dimensions and impacts of climate change on human and natural systems, developing new technologies and mitigation strategies with an ultimate goal of sustaining the life of the planet and its inhabitants.

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The official university Twitter account has changed to @UnivOfKansas.
Refollow @KUNews for KU News Service stories, discoveries and experts.


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Contact: Ashleigh Lee, School of Business, [email protected], @KUbschool
KU to welcome high school students in 7th annual Summer Venture in Business
LAWRENCE – The University of Kansas School of Business will host its seventh annual Summer Venture in Business program for high school students from June 11-16.
The pre-college program gives 10th, 11th and 12th grade high school students from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds and/or potential first-generation college students an opportunity to explore the different business school majors. Students stay on campus and get exposure to business topics, resources for applying to KU and tools to be successful in college and beyond at no cost to the participants. This is the first year the program will host students for an entire week rather than two sessions throughout the summer.
The 2023 cohort includes students from 40 high schools in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, South Carolina and Texas. Represented high schools include:
Kansas
1. Bishop Seabury Academy and Free State High School in Lawrence
2. Washburn Rural High School in Topeka
3. Shawnee Heights Senior High School in Tecumseh
4. De Soto High School in De Soto
5. Basehor-Linwood High School in Basehor
6. Piper High School in Piper
7. Bishop Ward High School, Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Wyandotte High School in Kansas City
8. Blue Valley North High School, Blue Valley Northwest High School, Blue Valley West High School, Shawnee Mission North High School and Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park
9. Maranatha Academy and Mill Valley High School in Shawnee
10. Olathe East High School, Olathe North High School, Olathe Northwest High School, Olathe South High School and Olathe West High School in Olathe
11. Willard M Academy (homeschooling) in Lenexa
12. Rock Creek Junior/Senior High School in St. George
13. Manhattan High School in Manhattan
14. Derby High School in Derby
15. Bishop Carroll Catholic High School and Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School in Wichita
16. Sacred Heart Junior/Senior High School in Salina

Missouri
1. Lincoln College Preparatory Academy and University Academy Charter School in Kansas City
2. William Chrisman High School in Independence
3. De Smet Jesuit High School in Creve Coeur
4. Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights
5. Rockwood Summit High School and Lutheran High School North in St. Louis

Illinois, South Carolina and Texas
1. Belleville Township High School West in Belleville, Illinois
2. Clinton High School in Clinton, South Carolina
3. Azle High School in Azle, Texas
4. St. Paul’s Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas
Dyamond Ross, pre-collegiate program coordinator for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) at the business school, will oversee program activities, which will be conducted by KU business faculty, staff and students, along with campus partners and industry professionals. The agenda includes workshops about college and career preparedness, lectures about a selection of the school’s academic majors, company tours of KPMG in Kansas City, Missouri, and Huhtamaki in De Soto, social activities and a poster presentation.
Featured sponsors of this year’s program are the Capitol Federal Foundation, Evergy, Hallmark, KPMG, Meritrust Credit Union, Network Kansas and TIAA.
The inaugural Summer Venture in Business was held in 2017 after former KU Student Body President Stephonn Alcorn and Vice President Gabby Naylor, both of whom are KU business school graduates, introduced the program in their 2016 Student Senate coalition.
More information about Summer Venture in Business can be found at business.ku.edu/svb.
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KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-3256
Fax: 785-864-3339
[email protected]
http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

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