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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The National Auto Sport Association and the California Highway Patrol are bringing back to Lake County their popular Teen Car Control Clinic.
The clinic will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, in Lakeport at the parking lot at the Lakeside Family Fun Center in the Vista Point Shopping Center on Lakeport Boulevard. Each student will drive his or her own car throughout the day.
This is a unique opportunity for permitted and licensed drivers to practice hands-on driving skills throughout the day.
Essentially, every participant is coached through exercises that teach car control in all types of situations, from backing through cones, to parallel parking to slalom driving forward through cones, hard braking exercises, turning under hard braking, and many say the most fun is the figure eight on the skid pad.
The final exercise is the two wheels off exercise simulating dropping two wheels off the pavement during highway driving. That exercise is done at slower speeds but the training helps instill the proper techniques to follow should it happen at highway speeds.
The feedback from our previous two events in Lake County has been over the top. Parents and students alike wonder if it's going to be worth the small cost – $99 per student with scholarships available – but once into the program just an hour or so, wonder turns to smiles. Anxiety about the unknown becomes grins and thumbs up.
Parents are encouraged to cheerlead and some have signed up for the next event so they can practice these life-saving drills themselves.
Lunch – cheeseburger, chips and soda – will be made available by the Family Fun Center for a special of $5.50.
For more information visit www.nasacarcontrol.org or contact Officer Kory Reynolds at the CHP at 707-279-0103 or Lake County resident and National Auto Sport Association coach Eric Wheaton at 707-535-9148.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Yesterday I sipped a warm pumpkin latte while watching leaves swirl through windy air, both harbingers of autumn.
Yes, despite our recent Indian summer, fall is knocking at our door. It’s waiting at the threshold. And when the chill arrives, my thoughts always turn to soup: big pots of comforting steamy liquid, full of flavorful ingredients, its hearty aroma caressing my nostrils.
Do I sound overly romantic? I admit that I do. Soup has captured my heart. A good broth is like a canvas; it inspires my creativity, and all year I look forward to the time when I can begin my “soup du jour” seasonal art series.
One of my favorite soups is a hearty cabbage-caraway concoction, so it’s no surprise that when the weather turns cold, the caraway comes out of the spice cupboard.
You may know caraway from seeded rye bread. But it’s much more than that.
It flavors things as diverse as cookies, coleslaw and beef stew. It’s used in marinades, as a pickling spice (including for corned beef), in cakes, and to season carrots, pork, duck and sauerkraut.
Root vegetables of all types love it, as do sausages, hearty noodle dishes and strong cheeses. It blends well with coriander, cumin, onions and thyme, and can hold up to such strong flavors as juniper berries and lavender.
And caraway seeds don’t lend their unique flavor to food alone. Alcoholic beverages are flavored with it, such as the Norwegian liquor Aquavit and a liqueur called Kummel that’s made in Germany.
It’s beloved in the cuisines of England, Austria, Germany, Hungary (think goulash), Scandinavia and throughout Eastern Europe. Outside of Europe, caraway can be found in Moroccan, Indonesian, and Indian condiments and foods.
This hearty plant native to Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa is used as an herb (its leaves can be added to salads, soups, and stews), a spice (in the form of its seeds), and in some parts of the world, its parsnip-like taproot is used for food.
Caraway’s flavor characteristics include hints of anise and dill. It’s warm, spicy and slightly sharp, with a bit of a tang and a somewhat nutty flavor.
Some confuse caraway seeds with fennel seeds, and while related, they’re not the same. Fennel has a more pronounced licorice flavor.
Other seeds that share common visual characteristics are cumin, aniseed and dill, and, along with celery seeds, these all contain subtle similarities in flavor.
To muddle matters more, caraway is sometimes called meridian fennel or Roman or Persian cumin.
Caraway has a long history with mankind. Evidence of the seed has been found among food remnants of the Mesolithic (mid Stone Age) era, suggesting it’s been in use for more than 5,000 years.
It’s the first condiment in recorded history, having been mentioned in the medical papyrus of Thebes in 1552 B.C.
In later years, it was mentioned in a twelfth century German medical work, as well as in “The Form of Cury,” a 1390 cookbook documenting Roman and English foods, written by Richard II’s chef.
In Elizabethan times, caraway seeds were part of the tea service, eaten plain to sweeten the breath.
In addition to its culinary uses, caraway has long been used medicinally to relieve flatulence and indigestion. Crushed seeds make a tonic for digestive upset when steeped in water or milk.
Like most seeds, caraway will retain its flavor much longer – up to a year - when stored whole rather than crushed. An airtight container kept in a cool, dry, dark place is best.
If you garden, caraway is a good companion planting, hiding the scent of nearby crops from pests. In addition, it attracts predatory wasps and flies that will devour plant-damaging insects.
A biennial plant, it produces leaves only in its first year and seeds (technically, fruits) in the second, which are ready to harvest when they turn brown.
The leaves when young have a taste reminiscent of dill.
If you happen to read Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” you may notice that Squire Shallow invites Falstaff to “a pippin and a dish of caraway.”
As evidenced by this line, caraway was popular in Shakespeare’s time, and this tradition of serving roast apples with a little saucer full of caraway still exists at Trinity College in Cambridge.
According to Jeff Cox, Sonoma County restaurant critic and organic food proponent, adding caraway seeds to the boiling liquid for cabbage can reduce some of its strong smell. If that’s true, then the soup below should smell nothing but delicious!
Enjoy the burgeoning autumn weather, and have a happy Sunday! Most of all, I hope you’ll have a chance to savor some soup.
Red cabbage soup with apples and caraway
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion (any color), finely diced
3 medium apples (tart), peeled, cored and thinly sliced
4 cups chopped red cabbage
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 ½ quarts vegetable or beef stock
2 cups dry red wine
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey, agave nectar, or brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional garnish: sour cream, chopped fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley
Heat olive oil in large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until golden, about five minutes. Reduce heat to medium.
Add apples and sauté until tender, about four minutes. Add cabbage and sauté until beginning to soften, about six minutes. Add caraway seeds and stir one minute.
Add broth, wine, vinegar, and honey, agave nectar or brown sugar. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot, and simmer about 30 minutes.
Uncover and simmer until cabbage is very tender, about 30 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, ladle into bowls and, if desired, top with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with fresh dill and/or parsley.
Makes about six servings.
Esther Oertel, a freelance writer, cooking teacher, and speaker, is passionate about local produce and all foods in the vegetable kingdom. She welcomes your questions and comments and may be reached at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Want a new friend with personality who will always be glad to see you?
The county’s animal shelter has a group of big and little dogs that would be great companions for your family.
Thanks to Lake County Animal Care and Control’s new veterinary clinic, many of the animals offered for adoption already are spayed or neutered and ready to go home with their new families.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
Labrador Retriever-beagle
This female Labrador Retriever-beagle mix is 8 months old.
She weighs 28 pounds, has a short black coat and has not yet been altered.
She’s in kennel No. 4, ID No. 34315.
Labrador Retriever-beagle
This female Labrador Retriever-beagle mix is of undetermined age.
She weighs nearly 37 pounds, has a short black coat and is not yet spayed.
Find her in kennel No. 5, ID No. 34314.
Male dachshund-Chihuahua mix
This male dachshund-Chihuahua mix is just over 2 years old.
He has a short black coat. It was not reported if he was altered yet or not.
He’s in kennel No. 6, ID No. 34206.
Male Chihuahua mix
This male Chihuahua mix is 3 years old.
He has a short red coat, weighs 5 pounds and has been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 10b, ID No. 34439.
‘Shadow’
“Shadow” is a 6-month-old female Chihuahua mix.
She has a short black coat and floppy ears, and is not yet altered.
Shadow is in kennel No. 12, ID No. 34344.
Chocolate lab mix
This male chocolate Labrador Retriever mix is 4 years old.
He has a short coat, weighs nearly 79 pounds and has been neutered.
He’s in kennel No. 13, ID No. 34415.
Yorkie-Chihuahua mix
This male Yorkshire Terrier-Chihuahua mix is 10 months old.
He has a long tan coat, weighs 6 pounds and has been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 14b, ID No. 34484.
Border collie mix
This male border collie mix is 4 years old.
He has one blue and one brown eye, a short black and white coat, and he weighs 58 pounds. He has not yet been neutered.
Find him in kennel No. 17, ID No. 34516.
Pit bull terrier mix
This female pit bull terrier mix is 6 years old.
She has a short black coat and weighs 61 pounds. It was not reported if she had yet been altered.
She’s in kennel No. 27, ID No. 34514.
Adoptable dogs also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dogs_and_Puppies.htm or at www.petfinder.com .
Please note: Dogs listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.
To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
A dying star is refusing to go quietly into the night, as seen in this combined infrared and ultraviolet view from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), which NASA has lent to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
In death, the star's dusty outer layers are unraveling into space, glowing from the intense ultraviolet radiation being pumped out by the hot stellar core.
This object, called the Helix nebula, lies 650 light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius.
Also known by the catalog number NGC 7293, it is a typical example of a class of objects called planetary nebulae.
Discovered in the 18th century, these cosmic works of art were erroneously named for their resemblance to gas-giant planets.
Planetary nebulae are actually the remains of stars that once looked a lot like our sun.
These stars spend most of their lives turning hydrogen into helium in massive runaway nuclear fusion reactions in their cores.
In fact, this process of fusion provides all the light and heat that we get from our sun. Our sun will blossom into a planetary nebula when it dies in about five billion years.
When the hydrogen fuel for the fusion reaction runs out, the star turns to helium for a fuel source, burning it into an even heavier mix of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen.
Eventually, the helium will also be exhausted, and the star dies, puffing off its outer gaseous layers and leaving behind the tiny, hot, dense core, called a white dwarf.
The white dwarf is about the size of Earth, but has a mass very close to that of the original star; in fact, a teaspoon of a white dwarf would weigh as much as a few elephants!
The intense ultraviolet radiation from the white dwarf heats up the expelled layers of gas, which shine brightly in the infrared. GALEX has picked out the ultraviolet light pouring out of this system, shown throughout the nebula in blue, while Spitzer has snagged the detailed infrared signature of the dust and gas in red, yellow and green.
Where red Spitzer and blue GALEX data combine in the middle, the nebula appears pink. A portion of the extended field beyond the nebula, which was not observed by Spitzer, is from NASA's all-sky Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The white dwarf star itself is a tiny white pinprick right at the center of the nebula.
More information about Spitzer is online at http://spitzer.caltech.edu and www.nasa.gov/spitzer . More information about GALEX is at www.galex.caltech.edu .