Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2019)
C4 EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE East Oregonian Saturday, June 8, 2019 AP Photo, File There are a wide variety of museums, monuments and landmarks in Washington, D.C. And if visitors to the nation’s capital venture a little farther, the region offers even more attractions to explore. Explore Washington, D.C., in the summer Associated Press WASHINGTON — With an abun- dance of museums, monuments and landmarks, it’s always a great time to visit Washington, D.C. And if you ven- ture a little farther, the region offers even more attractions. The Smithsonian Institution’s muse- ums are a terrific source of fascinat- ing and wide-ranging exhibits. With free admission, visiting at least one is a must-see on any vacation in our nation’s capital. Shows on display through the sum- mer include “Superheroes,” at the National Museum of American History, featuring comic books, memorabilia, costumes and props, including George Reeves’ Superman costume from the 1950s television series. At the National Museum of African American History and Culture, you can see books that were part of singer Ella Fitzgerald’s personal library. At the Natural History Museum, you can check out an exhibit of stunning nature photography. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, established in 1967, is a cultural high- light of the summer in Washington, cov- ering a different location or topic every year. This year’s festival, which takes place June 29-30 on the National Mall, focuses AP Photo, File Shows on display through the summer include “Superheroes,” at the National Muse- um of American History, above, featuring comic books, memorabilia, costumes and props, including George Reeves’ Superman costume from the 1950s television series. on the power of music to entertain, edu- cate, inspire and build community. Per- formances will take place both days, including a June 30 concert honoring the legacy of folksinger Pete Seeger. Washington’s International Spy Museum reopened in May in a new and larger location, with videos, arti- facts, interactive games and gadgets that portray the history — and tricks — of espionage. This is your last chance to visit the Newseum, which is closing at the end of 2019. Test your skills in the NBC News Interactive Newsroom, see how newspa- pers covered historic events, learn about the challenges journalists face around the world and check out exhibits like “First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets.” Georgetown is known for its restau- rants, boutiques and nightlife. But this neighborhood of cobblestone streets and historic homes is also one of the most beautiful parts of Washington. You can get a glimpse of its rich his- tory by touring the Tudor Place mansion and gardens. Built by a granddaughter of Martha Washington and completed in 1816, Tudor Place is one of the nation’s few historic urban estates that still fea- tures most of its original landscape. For a break from the city, rent a car and take a day trip to National Harbor, Maryland. It’s about a 20-minute drive south of Washington. The resort along the Potomac River offers more than 160 shops and 40 restaurants, in addition to entertainment like the MGM National Harbor casino. This summer’s special events include the Universoul Circus, which performs daily from June 20 to July 28. To get out on the water, rent a kayak or pad- dle board. Take a spin on the Capi- tal Wheel, whose gondola cars lift pas- sengers 180 feet in the air for stunning views. National Harbor’s location on the east side of the Potomac also makes it a great place to catch the sunset. Kelp has been touted as the new kale, but it has been slow to catch on Kelp grows in large underwater forests, looks like green lasagna noodles By ALAN YU Oregon Public Broadcasting PORTLAND — A few years ago, many news sto- ries announced that “kelp is the new kale.” That the global seaweed harvest is worth more than lemons and limes. That it’s the “next great food craze,” and that it will be “everywhere by the next decade.” Where are we now? Kelp is a type of seaweed that grows in large under- water forests, and looks a little like green lasagna noo- dles with curly edges. Seaweed farming has a lot going for it: It doesn’t require any fertilizer, can actually be used as fertil- izer, helps fight climate change, and cleans up ocean water by taking in nitrogen compounds. It’s also a nutri- tious sea vegetable — rich in vitamins C and K, and min- erals like iron and calcium. But now, the growing industry in the U.S. needs to build infrastructure, and to change people’s tastes on a larger scale. Bren Smith is a leading advocate for what he calls restorative ocean farming — growing seaweed along- side shellfish like mussels and oysters, which absorb carbon dioxide and nitrogen compounds, protect shore- lines from storm surges, and rebuild marine ecosys- tems. He co-founded a non- profit called GreenWave to promote the movement and train aspiring farmers. “The momentum’s been unbelievable … we have requests to start farms in every coastal state in North America, 20 countries around the world,” Smith says. Smith’s farm is just off the coast of Connecticut, on the Long Island Sound. There are now farms up and down the New England coast, with more getting started in California and the Pacific Northwest. “We’re growing, and people are eating it,” Smith says. “This isn’t like a cute little Brooklyn bee farm project creating nice lit- tle bottles of honey at the farmers market … there are hundreds of thousands of pounds being produced and sold at this point.” Kelp can be used as a pasta substitute, as noo- dles, sautéed with butter and mushrooms, or ground into Photo courtesy of GreenWave Bren Smith is a seaweed farmer and co-founder of Green- Wave, a nonprofit that supports and trains ocean farmers. powder to use as seasoning. High-end restaurants have also used seaweed as a side vegetable and on cookies. However, some indus- try specialists say growing seaweed has become per- haps too popular. Anoushka Concepcion is an assistant extension educator with the Connecticut Sea Grant; she works with seafood pro- ducers and researchers and answers questions about the latest technology and trends. “The idea sort of took off before all the practical chal- lenges could be addressed,” Concepcion says. “Farm- ers are finding it difficult now just to get rid of their seaweed.” She explains that the sea- food business usually works like this: Oysters and clams are sold right off a boat to a dealer, who sells them to restaurants. “Dealers are not buying seaweed yet, because there’s no established market on their end,” Concepcion says. On the other side of the country in Alaska, farm- ers also have no problem growing seaweed, the prob- lem is what to do with it once it’s harvested, says Gary Freitag, a marine advi- sory agent at the Alaska Sea Grant who works closely with the state’s marine resources industries. He says Alaska has about five seaweed farms, and he gets around 20 calls a month from people inter- ested in starting their own. But now the industry needs to address questions like: Does the market want fro- zen seaweed, dried sea- weed, or other products? Can they process seaweed using existing facilities for salmon and other fish? Do they have enough trucks and transport hardware if the industry takes off ? “I think in 10 years it will be a fairly substantial indus- try up here, but now it’s just going to be very small and experimental,” Freitag says. “We just don’t know how to solve all these … bottle- necks (that inhibit further growth).” Smith of GreenWave says that “expectations [for how quickly seaweed would take off] have been set way too high. This is an exciting, scalable, replicable thing that can be a true climate solution, but it’s going to be really hard work.” Smith says the seaweed business is past the startup phase. But aside from infra- structure, there’s another big challenge: How do they get more people to eat it? That could take some time, says Jet Tila, a celeb- rity chef who specializes in pan-Asian cuisine. He has used seaweed in many Jap- anese and Chinese dishes in his restaurants, but when asked to make it the star of a plate in a challenge on the show Iron Chef, he found it difficult. “Seaweed is not a center- of-the-plate ingredient tradi- tionally,” Tila says. “It lacks fat. It has savoriness, [but] it lacks the protein feeling from meat, so it was really difficult to pair it into some- thing to try and make it the star of the show.” He explains that kelp has a distinct, strong ocean fla- vor; and an unfamiliar, slip- pery, dense texture — fea- tures that can take time for Americans to get used to. He works in large-scale cor- porate food service, and says seaweed will be mainstream if it becomes the center of the plate in those settings. “You’re still in the ear- ly-adopting phase, I don’t think we’re even close to the middle,” Tila says. “It’s going to be, in my opinion, quite a few years.”