Time to finalize the guest list for the party, but who to invite?   There are always a few “must asks” including “BF’s, BFF’s and BFBF’s” to name a few.  But will that really guarantee a great party?  No Way!  The best party throwers know that a few select guests will take their party from Decent to Off The Charts! 

So who are these dream party goers?

Answer: The ones who always come with the right ‘tude!

Those special people that everyone loves to be around. Think Greta and Chuck.  It just happens that these two party goers are a couple, but they were on every guest list long before they met.  Why?  Because they always bring their “A” game.  That invigorating positivity that makes everyone in their company feel good.

In simple terms, they are fun.

But it’s more complicated than that.

They are charming, charismatic, good looking, easy going and always ready to laugh.  They are seemingly always in a good mood.  And they NEVER say anything the least bit offensive!  About ANYBODY! Or ANYTHING!  REALLY!  Notwithstanding, they don’t judge others at the party who do!  They just gracefully wander off to get a drink or say “hello” to someone else.  Subtle – but powerful!

Meanwhile, it seems like they know everybody and if you ask, everybody will tell you that  they are their best friends.  Why? Because they always appear interested in whatever you have to say and they never disagree, not even for the sake of a good old DE-bate! (see note above about gracefully wandering off)…

Of course, such perfection could grow old and tiresome…  Let’s face it, they won’t be the most memorable guests and they’ll never end up on youtube, but if you can get them to your party, they will always make it a great event.  And that takes a lot of the pressure off of you!

Rebecca, Maddie, and Milly in the WJCU studio.

Like every Tuesday night, the “twelve to two crew” and I were sitting in the WJCU radio studio getting ready for our weekly show – “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Jackie, one of my co-hosts, had attended a John Carroll study abroad informational session earlier that day. London, Australia, and Ireland were only some of the options mentioned; she paused to remember – “oh yeah, and they talked about this thing on a cruise ship.”

That caught my attention.

The next day, I was glued to my computer screen researching this cruise ship study abroad program. Why settle for one country? With Semester at Sea (SAS), I could visit 14!

And so I worked towards my goal. I applied for the program and all the financial aid that they had to offer; SAS awards over $4 million in scholarships for need and merit grants alone. The program not only stresses the importance of culture, but expands knowledge of cultural differences by requiring a Global Studies class for every participant. In addition to Global Studies, I’m taking Irish Literature and Film, Introductory Astronomy and World Religions.

The MV Explorer

The MV Explorer accommodates over 2,000 students each year. SAS calls it their personal “floating university.” We study while we’re being transported from country to country and, while we’re in port, we have the opportunity to explore by either going on SAS-sponsored trips or finding new things to do on our own.

For the 111th Semester at Sea trip, this is the first time that they are using this particular route.

The Father Matthew Bridge in Dublin, Ireland

Soon enough, I’ll be docking in Tema, Ghana and assisting SAS alumnus deliver toothbrushes to the Freedom Center. In London, I’ll be spending 3 days with Milly, a foreign exchange student that spent a year at John Carroll. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to check out some classic Irish pubs in Dublin and witness the breathtaking landscapes that I saw in a book my mom bought me when I was little. Since we’re allowed to travel from Antwerp, Belgium, I get to see Anna, another foreign exchange student, in Germany. I’m looking forward to making friends and going on crazy adventures together which might include trying some local cuisine like Brazilian churrasco (chicken hearts)…if we don’t get too intimidated.

Aside from planning trips, sending out my passport to get visas for Ghana and Brazil, booking my flights, and buying books, I had to visit the traveler’s clinic to get my yellow fever vaccination.

One of my best friends, Jaclyn, came with me for moral support. I was glad she was there when they handed me a side effects list that included “death,” “severe brain damage,” and “organ failure.” Once my initial freak out had passed, we walked into the consultation room where I received the vaccination. The doctor began playing an informational video while she snuck around to her Wonder Woman lunchbox to get the loaded needle. Having survived that, maybe now I’ll have the courage to cage dive with sharks in South Africa.

For 107 days, I get to be cruising on the coolest campus in the world. As the SAS employees say – the world will be my campus!

*More information can be found at semesteratsea.org

~Rebecca~

This is an international program meaning SAS accepts students from around the world! There’s a special Facebook group for every voyage, so I took a look at the colleges everyone attended. In case you’re interested, here are a small portion of the schools that accept Semester at Sea credit:

University of Virginia (Academic Sponsor of Semester at Sea)
John Carroll University
The Ohio State University
Case Western Reserve University
Baldwin Wallace University
Kent State University
St. Mary’s College of California
University of San Diego
University of South Carolina
Stanford University
Southern Methodist University
University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Colorado
Tufts University
University of New Hampshire
Vanderbilt University
Elon University
Lawrence University
Rollins CollegeCurry College
Western Kentucky University
Bentley University
New York University
Rutgers University
Wheelock College
Loyola University Chicago
Elizabethtown College

We are all guilty of over-extending ourselves at times, but just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat healthily. Some of the best “on the go” snacks are high in nutrients. For someone like me that loves fresh fruit, smoothies are the perfect snack to grab on my way out the door.

Prep time for smoothies is pretty minimal (5 minutes tops!) You can use a blender or food processor to combine all of your ingredients together into one delicious drink.

For my smoothie, I used:

½ raw beet

½ banana

½ orange

¼ apple

1 tsp honey

6 oz. yogurt

This makes 1-2 servings depending on the size of your glass. To be honest, I was shocked at how good it tasted. I coaxed my grandma into trying it too and she loved it!

You can use any combination of the ingredients above and you can substitute a non-dairy product or even ice cubes for the yogurt.   Smoothies are forgiving and can be tweaked until they taste just right. The beets not only add a bright pop of color, but a surprisingly satisfying sweetness.  What a great way to start or end your day!

~Rebecca~

Rebecca Under the Influence of the Beet

So why not try it as a makeup?  Red beets provide a green alternative to the usual chemical dies found in commercial products and  can be unbelievably simple to apply.  For a light pink to deeper red lip stain, simply rub a raw slice of beet across your lips.  The color is safe and healthy and will last for several hours.

Want to create a more traditional lip gloss?  Simply mix beet juice with a small amount of olive oil and a touch of powdered sugar to thicken the mixture.  Other “recipes” call for melted beeswax and a mixture of castor oil and sesame oil all whipped together before introducing the beet juice. This recipe can be put in a container and used over time.

Beautiful, practical, healthy, easy and affordable.  Oh – and of course – tasty!  Get ready to kiss your old lipstick good bye!

The Otherworldly Beet

I know what you’re thinking…beet cupcakes?! Sounds pretty crazy, huh? For a beet hater like myself, I’ll openly admit to my skepticism. To me, beets are sickeningly sweet, but when they’re baked into pretty little treats, they can actually taste amazing!

You’ve probably passed beets in the supermarket without giving them the time of day and I can’t really blame you, but what you might not know is that beets are actually an incredibly healthy food – super foods in their own right. Joining garlic, green tea and flaxseed, beets can help prevent cancer. They have no trans fat, no saturated fat, are low in calories, and are a great source of iron.

The perfect beet is hard to come by; it should be deep red with roots extending from the bulb. Crisp greens are also a good indicator that your beets are fresh. You’re going to cut these off for your cupcakes (trust me, I tried it, they’re disgusting in cupcake batter and frosting batter.)

Follow the steps to make beet puree  from the beet margarita recipe (Beet Week Day 3). In a nutshell, you’ll be roasting 3-4 beets wrapped in foil at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. Unwrap, run under cold water and peel the skins off…they come off extremely easily.

Cut the beets into quarters (maybe smaller depending on the size of your beets), and put them in the food processor or blender.

3-4 beets will yield about a cup of beet puree. Set this aside.

Here’s your Beet Cupcake Recipe:

½ C Sugar

1 ½ C Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

½ C Butter (1 stick)
2 eggs

½ C Milk

2 tsp Vanilla

1 C Beet Puree

Depending on how big your cupcake pan is, this recipe creates about 12 cupcakes.

First, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl (sugar, flour, baking powder). Cream the butter in a mixer; if you don’t have access to a mixer, soften the butter in the microwave for 10 seconds and use a spoon to soften it up for your cake batter.

Whisk your eggs in a separate bowl and add the milk and vanilla to it. Slowly add the dry mix to the wet mix and stir continually.

Once your batter is nice and creamy, fold (mix) in the beet puree.

Use a ladle or spoon to portion your batter into your cupcake pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

And remember, a cupcake is nothing without frosting.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting recipe:

½ C Butter (1 stick)

8 oz Cream Cheese (1 package)

1 C Powdered Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla

Cream the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer until malleable. Add the powdered sugar in SLOWLY; you don’t want it to splash back in your face. Finally, add in the vanilla and let the mixer go for 30 seconds or so. It sometimes helps if you take a rubber spatula and scrape down the sides so all of the deliciousness is contained.

I realize not everyone has pastry bags to pipe out their frosting (I’m lucky; my mom’s a chef!) Be resourceful though…plastic freezer bags can act as pastry bags. Put the icing in the bag using a rubber spatula.

Zip the plastic bag shut and squeeze the frosting down to one end. Hold the bag in a diamond shape so one of the tips is pointing down like this:

…and snip the tip off! Once your cupcakes are cooled, you can make them look pretty.

I bought all of my beets from local farmer’s markets. You might have one near you too! If you’ve never been to a farmer’s market, it’s a really cool place where you can buy fresh fruit, vegetables, and other goods to support your local farms.  As an added bonus, the  produce is usually much cheaper and fresher at farmer’s markets.  In Cleveland, (as in other places – see below* for a sampling) you can find them listed on one site: localfoodcleveland.org.

Enjoy your beet cupcakes! Please comment with pictures of your own cupcakes or other beet concoctions (:

-Rebecca-

*Many states, regions and cities have sites listing farmers markets- here are a few examples.

California

New York City

Chicago

Denver

Minneapolis/St. Paul

ps – during our experimentation with different recipes, we also tried these cupcakes with a canned chocolate frosting.  We found this to be a respectable (and tasty) alternative.

We first discovered this margarita at Light Bistro  in the trendy Ohio City  in Cleveland, Ohio.  There were two of us – one a beet lover and one – well – not so much.  The consensus?  DELICIOUS!  Sweet and Tangy and smooth as could be.  This could be a game changer for folks who’ve always hated beets.

Beet Margarita Recipe

1.5 oz Tequilla (they used Jose Cuervo – but we love Leyenda del Milagro Select Barrel Reserve Silver)

.5 oz Triple Sec

1 oz Roses Lime Juice

.5 oz Lemon Juice (increase/decrease lime and lemon juice to taste)

.5 oz Roasted Beet Puree (see recipe below)

Mix ingredients in a shaker with ice and pour directly into a martini glass.

Note:  Other recipes call for orange juice, cilantro syrup, muddled oranges and agave nectar.  Some use a salted rim and some a sugared rim.  Some serve the margarita in a traditional glass over ice.   Be brave – be bold – be beetiful!

Roasted Beet Puree

Preaheat oven to 400 degrees

Using Fresh Beets:

Remove greens (cut them off close to the beet)

Wash beets to remove any loose dirt

Wrap each beet in foil and place in 400 degree oven

Cook beets for 45 minutes

Remove the foil wrapped beets and let them cool to the touch by running them under cold water.  Skin should peel off easily.

Discard skins and use a food processor or blender to puree the beets (as smooth as you can get them).

If you are adverse to beets, be sure to use cheese cloth or a chinois strainer to drain juice and avoid beet particles in your cocktail.  If you’re a beet lover, you might enjoy the little bit of thickness from the puree, especially if you are pouring your margarita over ice.

Follow recipe above and mix, pour and drink.  BEETlicious!