The New Westsiders Hub
It's a digital world out there, and sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming, right? But don't let that stop you from enjoying all the great things technology has to offer. Let's start by talking about something new that you may not have heard of yet – a clever trick that's been catching people off guard lately.
The Surprise Package Scam: What You Need to Know
Imagine this: you receive a package you weren't expecting. Exciting, right? But hold on – it might not be the pleasant surprise you think it is. Here's what's happening:
- Some crafty scammers are sending out packages that people didn't order.
- These packages might have a square code on them (we call these QR codes – they're those funny-looking squares you sometimes see in ads).
- They might ask you to scan this code to "confirm" you got the package.
Here's the thing: scanning that code could take you to a bad website or put nasty software on your phone. So if you get a mystery package, it's best not to scan anything. But what’s in the package, well that's yours to keep!
What's This "Phishing" Thing?
No, we're not talking about going to the lake with a rod and reel! Phishing is when some not-so-nice folks try to trick you into giving away your personal information. They often do this by sending emails that look like they're from a company you know and trust.
How to Spot a Fishy Email
Here are some things that might make you go "Hmm, something's not quite right here":
- Lots of spelling mistakes (we all make typos, but professional companies usually double-check)
- They're asking for personal information out of the blue
- They're saying your account will be closed if you don't act NOW (trying to scare you into action)
- They want you to click on a link or download something
Is This Email Really From Who It Says It's From?
If you're not sure about an email:
- Don't click on anything in it. Not even if it looks interesting!
- Instead, open up your web browser and type in the address of the company's website yourself
- Or give the company a call using a number you know is correct (like from your last bill)
Keeping Your Personal Info Personal
Just remember:
- Real companies won't ask for sensitive stuff like passwords or credit card details through email
- It's okay to be cautious. In fact, it's smart!
Some Tricks to Watch Out For
Keep an eye out for:
- Someone calling and saying there's a problem with your computer
- Anyone claiming to be a grandchild in trouble (always double-check with other family members)
- Messages saying you've won a lottery you never entered
- People asking about your Medicare or health insurance out of nowhere
What to Do If You Think Someone's Trying to Trick You
If something feels off:
- Don't respond or click on anything
- If it's an email, you can report it as spam (there's usually a button for this in your email program)
- For weird packages, check with the delivery company
- If you think you might have accidentally shared some private info, give your bank or credit card company a call
Remember, there's no shame in asking for help. If you're not sure about something, ask a family member or a tech-savvy friend. We're all in this together!
Stay safe out there, and happy surfing!
NWS uses Evite to send out all our interest group activities, and with so many events happening, it can be hard to keep track of them through just email. Having the Evite app on your phone makes it much easier to stay organized and up-to-date.
With the Evite app, you can:
- See All Your Invitations in One Place: No more searching through your email. All your invitations will be in the app.
- Stay Informed: You’ll have quick access to important details like the time, date, and location of each event.
- Check Who's Coming: See the list of attendees for each activity.
- Get Notifications: The app will notify you when new events are posted or if any event details change.
How to Download the Evite App:
For iPhone (App Store):
- Open the App Store: Tap the blue "App Store" icon on your Home Screen.
- Search for Evite: Tap the search bar at the bottom, type "Evite," and press "Search."
- Download the App: Tap the “Get” button next to Evite. You may need to enter your Apple ID password or use your fingerprint.
- Open the App: Once downloaded, tap the Evite icon on your Home Screen and sign in or create an account.
For Android (Google Play Store):
- Open the Play Store: Tap the white "Play Store" icon on your Home Screen.
- Search for Evite: Tap the search bar, type "Evite," and press "Search."
- Download the App: Tap the “Install” button next to Evite.
- Open the App: Once it’s installed, tap the Evite icon and sign in or create an account.
How to Turn on Notifications:
Once you have the app, it's important to turn on notifications so you can see when a new Evite or message pops up immediately. This way, you’ll never miss an important update.
For iPhone:
- Go to Settings: Tap the "Settings" icon on your Home Screen.
- Find Notifications: Scroll down and tap "Notifications."
- Locate Evite: Scroll through the list of apps and tap on "Evite."
- Enable Notifications: Turn on the switch next to “Allow Notifications.” You can also customize the type of alerts you want to receive, such as banners or sounds.
For Android:
- Go to Settings: Tap the "Settings" icon on your Home Screen.
- Find Apps & Notifications: Scroll down and tap "Apps & notifications," then select "Notifications."
- Locate Evite: Find "Evite" in the list of apps and tap on it.
- Enable Notifications: Turn on the switch to allow notifications. You can also choose how the notifications appear on your screen.
By downloading the Evite app, you’ll always be just a tap away from all your upcoming club activities!
Do you have a favorite website you visit often, like the New Westsiders’ website? You can add a button to your Home Screen for quick access, just like an app. Here’s how you can do it on both iPhone and Android phones.
For iPhone:
- Open Safari: Tap the Safari app on your iPhone.
- Go to the Website: Type the website address in the search bar and press "Go."
- Tap the Share Button: Once the website loads, look for the share icon at the bottom of the screen (a square with an upward arrow) and tap it.
- Add to Home Screen: Scroll down in the menu that appears and tap "Add to Home Screen."
- Name Your Button: You can edit the name of the button if you like. Then, tap "Add" in the top right corner.
- Find the Button: The website button will now appear on your Home Screen. Tap it to go directly to the website.
For Android:
- Open Chrome: Tap the Chrome app on your Android phone.
- Go to the Website: Type the website address in the search bar and press "Go."
- Tap the Menu Button: Once the website loads, look for the three dots in the top right corner and tap them.
- Add to Home Screen: In the menu that appears, tap "Add to Home screen."
- Name Your Button: You can edit the name of the button if you like. Then, tap "Add."
- Find the Button: The website button will now appear on your Home Screen. Tap it to go directly to the website.
That’s it! Now you can easily access the New Westsiders’ website or any of your favorite websites with just one tap from your Home Screen.
April 2024 Discover took a trip to Hanco Studio, a vintage and home decor shop in Tremont.
Below is an engaging and informative presentation on vintage collecting led by shop owner, Hannah Pempus.
Here is the presentation description as told by Hannah Pempus:
In this presentation, you will learn practical tips for preserving your items through gentle cleaning and proper storage along with ways to incorporate vintage finds into modern decor. We'll discuss the hallmarks of quality craftsmanship, the historical significance of certain pieces, and how to spot popular trends that drive value. Hannah will also share insights into selling your items as well as the appraisal and authentication process for confidently assessing your items' value. Let’s learn together, share our stories, and connect over the emotional resonance of vintage things. to Hanco Studio, a vintage furniture and home decor shop in Tremont.
This shortbread was served at the Discover... Tea 101, January 2024. The shortbread served was the nut version with the addition of a teaspoon of ground-dried rosemary.
Shortbread, 10 Ways
Original Recipe from NYTimes cooking
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks, cut into 1-inch chunks)
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Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some of the crumbs start to come together, but don’t overprocess; the dough should be somewhat crumbly. (You can also mix the dough in a bowl using two knives or a pastry cutter.)
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Press dough into an even layer in an ungreased 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan, or a 9-inch pie pan. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes for the 9-inch square or pie pan, 45 to 50 minutes for the 8-inch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares, bars or wedges while still warm.
Here are nine variations for the master shortbread recipe above.
Scottish Shortbread: Use 1½ cups all-purpose flour and ½ cup white rice flour.
Tender Shortbread: Substitute confectioners' sugar for the granulated sugar, and ⅓ cup cornstarch for ⅓ cup of flour.
Vanilla Bean Shortbread: Split a vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use the back of a knife to scrape out the pulp. Pulse the pulp into the flour-sugar mixture before adding butter. Or add up to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with the butter.
Citrus Shortbread: Add 1 to 1½ teaspoons finely grated lemon, lime or orange zest with the flour. Add up to 1 teaspoon orange blossom water with the butter if desired. These are classic with poppy seeds.
Nut Shortbread: Grind ½ cup toasted nuts in the food processor with the flour before combining with remaining ingredients.
Spice or Seed Shortbread: Add up to 1 teaspoon spices, like ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or cardamom, or seeds like caraway or anise. Or add up to 3 tablespoons poppy or sesame seeds.
Brown or Maple Sugar Shortbread: Substitute ⅓ cup light or dark brown sugar or maple sugar for the granulated. This yields a slightly softer shortbread.
Cornmeal or Whole Wheat Shortbread: Substitute up to ½ cup cornmeal or whole wheat flour for ½ cup of all-purpose flour. Season with spices, seeds, citrus or rosemary if desired.
Buckwheat Shortbread: Substitute up to ⅓ cup buckwheat flour for ⅓ cup of all-purpose flour.
This cookie was served in February 2024 at the Discover... Tea 101 event
Banana Cookies
Cookies:
- ¾ cup shortening
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 2 bananas (mashed)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups flour
Icing:
- 6 Tbsp brown sugar
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 4 Tbsp cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar (may need more)
- ½ tsp vanilla
For the Cookies:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Cream shortening and sugar together. Add egg, vanilla and bananas.
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Sift together flour, salt and soda. Add to shortening mixture.
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Place by teaspoons on air-bake or parchment lined cookie sheet.
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Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
For the Icing:
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Place brown sugar, butter and cream or milk in small saucepan and bring to a boil.
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Remoe from heat, and add enough powdered sugar to make runny but spreadable. Add vanilla.
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Keep pan over warm water to keep icing soft while frosting cookies. If icing gets thick, add a little hot water.
Emma Ditmar from the Rocky River Library put on a presentation for NWS about Genealogy Research in a Zoom call on January 20, 2022. Emma Ditmar is a Reference and Genealogy Specialist and the Adult Services Librarian at the Rocky River Library.
February's Gourmet Gals was a brunch cook-along on Zoom. Alpana Dhond taught us to make Upama, an Indian breakfast. We enjoyed learning from Alpana about Indian spices and cuisines. She is a great cook and has always impressed us with her tasty dishes in the past when we could get together for Gourmet Gals. After making the Upama we all showed off our dishes and ate brunch together. If you would like to try Upama the recipe is below.
Upama
Upama is a traditional Indian breakfast made with sooji.
- Nonstick deep skillet
- wooden spatula
- 1 cup Sooji/ Cream of Wheat (origional flavor)
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- ⅓ cup frozen peas
- 2½ Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds (black or yellow)
- 1 green chili, chopped (Thai, Jalapeno, Serrano (take seeds out if you don't want heat) or ½tsp red chili powder)
- 8 chashews, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp cilanto, chopped (for ganishing)
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On low heat dry roast the Sooji for about 10 to 12 mins stirringcontinuously. Do not let it burn. After about 4 to 5 mins you will startgetting nice roasted aroma. The color of Sooji will change a littlebit. Don’t let it turn brown. After about 10/12 minutes take theroasted Sooji out in bowl or dish
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Now heat the oil in the same skillet on medium heat. When itsheated add mustard seeds. Turn the heat to low. When themustard seeds start splattering add green chili and cashewpieces. Cover the skillet for few seconds so that it doesn’t splatteron you.
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Take the cover off and then stir in chopped onion. Stir forabout 1 minutes until the onion becomes translucen
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Now addfrozen peas. Stir it and then add the roasted Sooji. Add salt andsugar and mix everything well. Now add the hot water to it. (Reserve about 1/2 cup water) Mix everything well and then coverthe skillet for about 2 mins
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Open the cover. Stir everything onceagain. Adjust the salt if needed. Add lemon juice. If you feel itlooks dry then Add the reserved water and mix well. Cover againfor a minute.
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Upama is ready. Garnish with chopped cilantro andserve.
Let’s celebrate February and indulge our love of sweets by creating an authentic Italian Tiramisu. It’s a simple recipe with no cooking required. We will follow along on zoom assembling it together. Afterward, we will have our meeting and do a little socializing, then we can eat our creations.
Tiramisu
February 2021 NWS Zoom Luncheon
- 7or 8 oz container mascarpone cheese
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup strong brewed coffee
- 1 tbsp rum ((optional) can sub 1 tsp rum extract)
- 16 Lady Fingers (Savoiardi)
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
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Pour rum and coffee into a shallow bowl.
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Separate the eggs. In one bowl, beat the yolks with sugar until fluffy, then add the mascarpone. Mix well.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form.
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Fold the eggs whites into the cheese mixture. Set aside.
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Dip 8 lady fingers in the coffee and place in the bottom of a rectangular serving dish or 8 x 8 pan. Cover with half the cheese mixture. Repeat with another layer of lady fingers then the remainder of the cheese.
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Sprinkle the cocoa powder over the top. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Gourmet Gals makes Mushroom Risotto
In January, Gourmet Gals got together virtually to cook a meal together. We gathered our ingredients and kitchen equipment. Next to our stoves we set up our laptops or tablets and logged into Zoom. We poured ourselves a glass of wine, because why not we were cooking with it, and got to work. The cooking instruction was led by our host, Pam Overly and we were able to enjoy the process and ask questions and share kitchen tips. We collaborated on other add-ins that would taste great in risotto and talked about the intimidation of a risotto dish. Turns out its pretty hard to mess up as long as you have the time and patience to make it.
Mushroom Risotto
A recipe from Chef Mark Dommen, One Market Restaurant, San Francisco, CA
- small saucepan
- Dutch oven or large sauce pan
- wooden spoon or heat safe rubber spatula
- ladle
- 1 shallot, (minced)
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 4 cups stock, (chicken or vegetable)
- 4 tbsp butter
- ½ cup dried mushrooms, (any variety you like)
- ½ cup dried sundried tomato,
- ½ cup white wine
- salt and pepper
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, (grated)
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Reconstitute the mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. Fill 2 small bowls with water and place mushrooms in one and sundried tomatoes in the other. Let them soak for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from water. Reserve the mushroom water if desired (it is a flavorful broth that can be used in the risotto in place of a ladle of broth). Roughly chop mushrooms and sundried tomatoes and set aside.
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Warm your broth. Warm the broth in a medium saucepan over low heat, which helps the risotto come together faster. If you need to skip heating the broth, make sure it’s at least at room temperature and not cold from the fridge
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Toast the rice. Heat the oil in a 10- or 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the rice and stir until every grain is coated with the oil. Add more fat if needed — this is not the time to skimp! Continue stirring the rice until the edges have turned translucent but the center is still opaque, about 2 minutes. You should also be able to smell the aroma of toasted rice. Avoid actually browning the rice here; toasting the rice is all about the aroma.
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Sweat the shallot. Make a well in the middle of the pan. Add the shallot and a pinch of salt and cook until fragrant and beginning to soften
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Deglaze the pan with wine. Deglazing the pan at this point isn't strictly necessary, but a splash of white wine will add another layer of flavor and help lift up any bits that have caramelized to the pan. Add the wine, and simmer, stirring constantly, until the wine has completely reduced and the pan is nearly dry, about 3 minutes.
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Slowly add the broth in increments, stirring in between. Begin incrementally adding the broth one 1/2 cup at a time, stirring regularly between additions. Wait until the liquid has been almost completely absorbed by the rice before adding the next ladle ;dragging your spatula through the rice should leave a dry path where the spatula was. This gradual addition of liquid is key to getting the rice to release its starch and create its own delicious sauce, so don't rush this step. Ideally, you want to use just enough broth to cook the rice and no more. Continue adding broth until the rice is al dente and the broth is creamy. Begin tasting the rice after about 12 minutes to gauge how far it has cooked. The risotto is ready when the rice is al dente (when it still has a bit of chew)and the dish has the consistency of thick porridge, 20 to 30 minutes total (you might not use up all of the broth). If you run your spatula through the risotto, the risotto will flow slowly to fill in the space.
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Finishing and serving the risotto. Stir in the mushrooms and sundried tomatoes.Add butter and parmesan cheese to enrich the risotto and make it extra-creamy. Salt andpepper to taste. Serve the risotto immediately. The longer it stands, the more thestarches will set and you'll lose the creamy silkiness. If it gets too t
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.