Apple of my Eye

Photo from Rittman Orchards

Lots of apples look good but many don't deliver on their promise. Sinking my teeth into one that is mealy, mushy and relatively flavorless is a particular kind of disappointment. I'm always on the watch for varieties that are all an apple should be, especially this time of year when local ones are available. And I just found a new favorite at Zagara's Marketplace in Cleveland Heights.
 
Called Macoun, its creamy white flesh is crisp, juicy and sweet-tart. The pros, using the language of wine writers, describe it as "complex" and "aromatic" with "hints of berry, strawberry and spice notes." The skin splits and snaps like the casing of a properly made sausage when you bite into it. A hybrid of McIntosh, which I generally find insipid, and Jersey Blacks, an American heirloom varietal, the Macoun was developed in 1909 and named after a Canadian pomologist. It's a real all-rounder, great for eating fresh, cooking down into sauce or baking. I am definitely using them for my Thanksgiving pie this year.

Barney Taxel, Taxel Image Group

Unknown by me until now, I discovered that Macoun's have something of a cult following in various parts of the country and their seasonal arrival is eagerly anticipated. I did some asking around and learned that a few area growers have them for sale on site and at the weekly markets they attend: Sages Fruit Farm, Eddy Fruit Farm, Huffman Fruit Farm and Rittman Orchards. Keep your eyes out for these dark skinned beauties — it might be love at first bite for you too.

The 11 Markets of Christmas

Our Pinterest-obsessed world has made us covet the crafty. So head to a market this holiday season to impress your friends and family with handmade and upcycled goods and shake the hands of the makers who shaped them. With more than ten markets to choose from, you’re sure to cross a few names off your list.

Photo courtesy of Cleveland Bazaar

Heights Arts Annual Holiday Store
More than a dozen new artisans have joined the 13th annual event at Heights Arts, bringing one-of-a-kind ceramics, leather works, watercolors and more. New this year, make reservations select weekends to bring the entire family for festive workshops to create hand-stamped holiday cards or paper pinwheels. Now thru Dec. 30, 2175 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, 216-371-3457 

Rocky River Avant-Garde Art and Craft Show
Shop for a good cause by selecting items from more than 100 crafters. A portion of the proceeds from your holiday haul benefit Project Night Night, a nonprofit group that donates thousands of care packages to homeless children, each including a security blanket, book and stuffed animal. Nov. 15 & 16, $3 admission, children under 12 free, Rocky River Memorial Hall, 21016 Hilliard Blvd., Rocky River, 440-227-8794 

Cleveland Flea
Busy families and hipsters alike have two chances to browse popular flea makers and food vendors this year. Bonus: This round is indoors, so stay toasty while browsing with a cup of cocoa. Holiday Kickoff Market, Nov. 21-23, tickets available soon for Nov. 21 private event, 6555 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland; Holiday Maker Market, Dec. 12-14, tickets available soon for Dec. 12 private event, Slovenian National Home, 8653 E. 80th St., Cleveland

Collective Upcycle
Leisurely and eco-conscious shoppers, this one’s for you. This pop-up boutique of more than 30 artisans has a Rust Belt vibe by showcasing the creative repurposing of clothing, furniture, jewelry and more. On Nov. 29, the collective starts the season at Gordon Square Market and continues in Matt Zone’s old offices every Thursday, Friday and Saturday until Christmas. Nov. 29, Gordon Square Market, 6415 Detroit Ave., Cleveland; Dec. 4-20, 6501 Detroit Ave., Cleveland

Beary Merry Christmas Craft Show
This midweek market features holiday entertainment, door prizes, a Chinese raffle and handmade gifts to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure Northeast Ohio. Dec. 3 & 4, $3 admission, Normandy Party Center, 30310 Palisades Parkway, Wickliffe 

E.J. Thomas Hall Holiday Arts & Crafts Show
For nearly 30 years, the University of Akron event has showcased artisans from Ohio and throughout the country. Dec. 5-7, $4.50 admission, children under 12 enter free, E.J. Thomas Hall, 198 Hill St., Akron, 330-972-7570

Manly Mart Holiday Market
What do you get for that dude in your life? This market, presented by Crafty Mart and Cleveland Bazaar, is teeming with male vendors selling manly items your guy will love. Dec. 5 & 6, 5th Street Arcades, 530 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 

TerraVista Studios Holiday Sale
For 15 years, TerraVista Studios has opened its doors to offer silver, gold and leather jewelry, organic clay wares and handmade crochet hats. Dec. 5-7, 1400 E. 30th St.  Suite 401, Cleveland, 216-523-1387

ArtCraft Holiday Show
Located across the street from TerraVista Studios, the ArtCraft Building is hosting their 27th annual holiday sale the same weekend, turning the two warehouses into one, big holiday party. Dec. 6 & 7, 2570 Superior Ave., Cleveland, 216-407-3685

Cleveland Bazaar Holiday Show
Formerly called the Bazaar Bizarre, this annual holiday show has called 78th Street Studios home for ten years, and more than 100 crafters are ready to celebrate its anniversary and the holidays. Dec. 13 & 14, Early admission and 10th-anniversary merchandise is available with $20 ticket purchase, regular admission is free, 78th Street Studios, 1300 W 78th St., Cleveland 

Last Minute Market 
Procrastinators, challenge yourself to not wait until the very last day before Christmas to do your shopping. This last-minute event, where Screw Factory artists and other makers sell, gives you a healthy five-day lead. Dec. 20, The Lake Erie Building, 13000 Athens Ave., Lakewood

Dancer, Blogger and Activist Ragen Chastain Speaks at Step Out, Cleveland This Weekend

When Ragen Chastain became a competitive ballroom dancer in 2004, she thought she’d be judged on her skill.

Instead, a judge told her it was a waste to be so talented at her size.

A judge at one competition told Chastain she couldn’t stand to look at her because of the spaghetti straps she wore. Chastain told the judge she wouldn’t change her dress.

“I kind of realized in that moment that I wanted to be a fat dancer,” Chastain says, “but I was going to have to be a fat activist to get that done.”

Now, Chastain writes on her blog Dances with Fat about her journey as a dancer. She also speaks publicly, as she’s doing at Step Out, Cleveland, a free community event exploring the culture of dance through discussion, workshops and a party. The event starts at 11 a.m. at the Global Center for Health Innovation on Saturday and continues through Sunday. Chastain will hold a workshop session entitled, “Taking up Space: Dance for Every Body” at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Being thin is part of dance culture, which encourages women to have poor relationships with their bodies, says Chastain.

“I think it leaves out people who are amazing dancers, but they don’t have a ‘dancer’s body,’” Chastain says. “I think that the dance world ultimately suffers because it doesn’t see all of the amazing dancers who exist.”

Her workshop will explore dancers’ relationships with their bodies and dance.

“I think if you want to dance and you have a dancer’s body that you love, and respect your body that you have,” Chastain says. “And that you’re going to dance with that body and you’re going to find avenues to do that.”
By Alyssa Flynn

Reclaiming Womanhood: Laverne Cox Speaks at Case Western Reserve University

Orange is the New Black actress Laverne Cox spoke about gender issues at CWRU. Photo Credit: Ryan Zymler

From the moment Case Western Reserve University president Barbara Snyder  introduced Laverne Cox to the time the actress stepped off stage, she commanded attention. Cox delivered a speech at the campus last night. Her role as prisoner Sophia Burset on Orange is the New Black has thrust her into the national spotlight and helped her break barriers from being the first transgender person to get nominated for an Emmy to being the first transgender person to grace the cover of Time Magazine. And on Monday, she will accept a Woman of the Year award from Glamour Magazine — a publication that celebrates women of beauty and power — alongside Lupita Nyong'o, Chelsea Clinton, and Samantha Power.

"I stand before you this evening a proud African-American transgender woman," she said upon approaching the podium. "I stand before you tonight an artist, an actress, a sister and a daughter, and I believe it is important to name the various intersecting components of my multiple identities because I'm not just one thing, and neither are you."

Cox then highlighted alarming statistics to set the stage for discussing transgender issues. For example, the homicide rate in the LGBT community is highest among trans women, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects. In 2013, over 72 percent of all LGBT homicides were trans women, 67 percent of which were trans women of color.

"It is my belief that one of the biggest obstacles facing the transgender community are points of view which disavow our identities," she said, "points of view that suggest that no matter what we do, we are always and only the gender that we are assigned at birth, points of view that suggest no matter what I do, I'll never be a woman yet. Ain't I a woman?"

She went on to talk about how she was bullied growing up, often beaten by her peers while she ran home from school, and how she attempted suicide in sixth grade. She also talked about how she persevered, devoting herself to dancing and acting classes, clinging to her twin brother for emotional support, and ultimately undergoing hormone therapy and starting her transition into womanhood 16 years ago.

"As long as we live in a culture where people have to prove their womanhood or their manhood, we are not living in a culture where we are all truly free in terms of gender," she said. "We have to begin to create spaces of gender self-determination for all of our youth and all of our society."

Twinkle Twinkle Little Coffee Bar

Photo by Barney Taxel, Taxel Image Group

It makes me really happy to see a long shuttered piece of real estate return to use and come alive again, especially in my own neighborhood. Theresa's Italian Restaurant closed about 20 years ago and the space has been an empty eyesore ever since. Now the corner of Murray Hill and Edgehill is bright with lights, energy and a classy caffeinated buzz, courtesy of Kim Jenkins — founder, brewer-in-chief and true bean counter of Rising Star Coffee Roasters. After extensive renovations that left the place looking likes it's been there for years, he recently opened this second outpost. Like the original location in Hingetown, on the edge of Ohio City, only the best is good enough to pour.

Photo by Barney Taxel, Taxel Image Group

But there's more seating here, at tables and a long U-shaped bar. The look is post-industrial — exposed brick is paired with natural wood and some bold splashes of red and green paint, accented with vintage restaurant chairs. In the basement, identical signs on the men's and ladies' rooms read, "Please use the restroom that you identify closest with."

Photo by Barney Taxel, Taxel Image Group

If you're drinking-in rather than getting it to-go, coffee is presented on a little bamboo tray accompanied by a shot of sparkling water. There's pastries from Zoss the Swiss Baker, a bowl of local apples for sale and friendly, knowledgeable folk behind the counter. Coffee choices, with wine list-like descriptions, and various preparation methods require thoughtful decision making.
 
At 7 p.m. Nov. 6, the Little Italy location is hosting TNT (Thursday Night Throwdown): Dia de Muertos Edition. The featured event is a friendly competition among local baristas, but everybody's welcome to dress up, socialize and enjoy some top shelf java.

Cleveland's LGBT Community Has Momentum

Luz Pellot, Co-Chair of Gay Games 9 Party and Social Events Committees, poses in front of "Hands Across the Community," a mural sponsored by Graffiti Heart and composed of handprints of those who participated in the Games.

When 8,000 Gay Games participants came from all over the world to Cleveland in August, more than 1,300 participants from Northeast Ohio joined them. The city welcomed them with open arms and pride flags waving.

For Cleveland's LGBT community, 2014 has been a year of growth and change. This year, the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland has helped more than 530 people per month, nearly double its average from 2013.

To keep this momentum going, the LGBT Center hosted an event in the Gordon Square Arcade last night to showcase its programs and advocate for change.

With Gay Games memorabilia lining the halls of the arcade and DJ Zoe Lapin keeping the party going in the atrium, visitors mingled upstairs, Below, in the Center's space, people recorded and archived stories about how Cleveland has changed for them in the wake of the Games.

"The energy was palpable after the Gay Games," said the Center's communications coordinator, Ryan Zymler. "The queer community in Cleveland saw what it was like to have a queer-friendly city during the Gay Games. That energy is translating into wanting to make that a permanent place, as opposed to the seven days of queer paradise that we had."

During the event, activists gathered signatures to send to Cleveland City Council in support of new LGBT civil-rights measures. The activists are calling for legislation that would offer more thorough protections for gender identity and expression in the workplace, eliminate the cost difference between same-sex and opposite-sex couples in city employees' benefits, and extend non-discrimination protections to include the trans community's right to use restrooms.

Seven Strikes: Cleveland's Women's Softball Team and Silver Medal Winners: Lindsay Kimora, Kristin Kozel, Kristi Andrasik, Phyllis 'Seven' Harris, Lisa Hopps, Deidre McPherson, Jessica Lancaster, Ali Brawner, and Carey Gibbons. Photo Credit: Rachel Kalayjian

Michael and Colleen Sliwinski, Alana Jochum, Deanna Bouchahine, Nick Komives, Maggie Stark, Michelle Tomallo and Mary Zaller. Photo Credit: Rachel Kalayjian

Gail Adoseofg captures Nicole Thomas of Equality Ohio on camera for the One Word Forward photo-installation to show how Cleveland got better post-GG9.

TownHall Promises to Vanquish Franken-foods

Yesterday was Halloween and also marked the end of GMO Awareness Month. As you gobble your kids' candy bars, take a minute to ask yourself if you really know where your food is coming from. TownHall co-owner Bob George does, but only because he's been relentlessly tracking down every item in the kitchen in his mission to weed out any genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by 2015.

It's a controversial topic. Altering the genomes of plants and animals through selective breeding for desired traits (sweet corn, for example) has occurred for years. But recent genetic advances have allowed scientists to incorporate new genes directly from one species into another to improve agricultural performance. The practice has created arguments on both sides of the aisle: Supporters say GMOs will help feed an increasing world population, while opponents say it's largely untested, unregulated and potentially harmful.

"TownHall's menu is based around trying to create an anti-inflammatory diet," says George. "You can be eating clean foods — clean meats and vegetables — and a low-glycemic diet, but if you're eating GMO products, it's going to have the same effect on your intestines and your body and your mind that processed foods do."

George and his business partners understand that this switch will affect their bottom line, but the issue is important enough to them that they're steaming ahead, adding new dishes and pulling favorite menu items that don't measure up.

"People loved the pork chop I took off, but it's just like, Sorry, it doesn't fit our brand," George says. He struggled to find a suitable replacement for the pork, which is considered GMO because its feed has been genetically modified, that once starred in this dish. 

"I don't want to feed my family [GMOs]," he says. "And if I don't carry a product at my house, I'm not going to serve it at my restaurant."

Management at TownHall takes this issue so seriously that George even assigns new employees homework, asking them to watch Genetic Roulette, the movie, then having them write an essay and take a test on what they've learned. 

Curious how your own knowledge of GMOs measures up? Quiz yourself with some of TownHall's own questions (below), then read this essay by Alex Di Iori.


TownHall's Brand ID Quiz

1. Since the time GMOs were introduced into the American diet, the occurrence of food allergies has increased. (True/False)
2. Why are pesticide-producing GMO crops potentially dangerous? (A: If the pesticides produced by the plants are killing insects, they may be bad for human consumption; or B: Because the plant has been modified, the nutrition is not the same.)
3. Since the introduction of GMOs, fewer pesticides and weedkillers are used? (True/False)
4. GMOs have been linked to which disease? (A: Ebola; B: Epilepsy; C: Mad Cow Disease; D: Autism)
5. GMO crops do not have greater yield. (True/False)
6. Who paid for the testing of approved GMOs? (A: The companies that developed the GMOs; B: A non-biased, third party; C: The USDA; D: The FDA)
7. In Europe, how much did food prices increase when GMO labeling became required? (A: 2%; B: .02%; C: .002%; D: .2%)
8. Why do some experts believe the introduction of GMOs has led to an increase in food allergies? (A: They were introduced at the same time the frequency of food allergies exploded; B: There can be no other explanation; C: Since the GMO food contains foreign DNA, the body does not recognize it, and therefore, attacks it in the form of an allergic reaction; D: GMOs are being unfairly blamed for allergic reactions)
9. Most GMO crops are modified to _________. (A: Be more nutritious; B: Produce their own pesticides or be resistant to weed killer; C: Grow larger; D: Grow faster)
10. What year was GMO corn and soy introduced into the American diet? (A: 1994; B: 1996; C: 1995; D: 1997)

Post your answers in the comments. We'll post the cheat sheet once you've devoured all the Reese's peanut butter cups.

(Image courtesy of Emily Crawford)