Borneo Bulletin Digital

SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2020

Ann Cameron Siegal

THE WASHINGTON POST - “Where

have all the lowers, vegetables and

fruits gone?” It’s a question we hope

never to ask. For many of these

plant products to exist, however,

we need pollinators such as bees.

For several years, bees have been

threatened by pesticides, habitat

loss and disease.

KidsPost

talked to three kids

working to help reverse that trend.

Bees feed on nectar and pro-

tein-rich pollen from lowering

plants, but attracting bees to his

Reston, Virginia, home wasn’t an

option for JP Mackey, 12. His dad is

allergic to bee stings, so JP and his

mom are growing native vegetables

and lowers in a nearby community

garden. Sitting on a tree stump, ob-

serving bees pollinating cucumber

plants, JP said, “We wouldn’t have

food without them.”

Since December, JP also has

raised more than USD2,700 for

Heifer International by creating and

selling “bee bracelets”. Heifer is a

charity that helps low-income peo-

ple become more self-suf icient.

JP’s family pays for his craft expens-

es, so 100 per cent of each USD30

bracelet sold at BumbleBracelets.

com provides a beehive and train-

ing for a small-scale farmer, allow-

ing them to increase crop produc-

tion and earn extra money from

honey sales.

Although most native bees are

solitary - nesting in ground tunnels

or decaying wood instead of hives -

working with honeybees allows kids

to study bees up close, often spark-

ing curiosity about other bees.

Years ago, Maia Timm invented

the term “bug-studyologist” when

asked what she wanted to be. Now

12, Maia is raising honeybees in

her Centreville, Virginia, backyard.

Wearing protective clothing, she

periodically opens hives, pulling out

each frame to check on bee health

and honey production. Each hive’s

queen bee can be seen busily laying

eggs in hexagon-shaped cells.

As she works, Maia explained

honeybee terms. “Royal jelly” is a

protein secreted by young worker

bees to feed developing bee lar-

vae. The hive’s queen “bee bread”

is protein-rich pollen mixed with

honey and bee saliva and feeds the

whole colony.

Maia recently donated a hive to

the 4H ECO club and science de-

partment at Liberty Middle School in

nearby Clifton, where she is a rising

eighth-grader. Club members will

care for the hive and educate stu-

dents about the vital role bees play in

our ecosystem and food supply, said

science teacher Donna Stebner.

For four years, Kaia Giffen, 10,

helped with her family’s beehives in

Darnestown, Maryland, frequently

asking questions. Now she enjoys

sharing her knowledge with others

“so they won’t be afraid of bees.”

Inside Maia Timm’s honeybee hive, the queen (white marking on head) lays eggs in hexagon-shaped cells. The tan

coverings are beeswax caps placed over each larva cell as the pupa stage begins. PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST

Kids are abuzz with activities to help save bees

These important pollinators have faced lost habitat, pesticides and disease.

Jason Bittel

THE WASHINGTON POST - Kids are

often taught to associate the sun

with the day and the moon and

stars with the night. Yet why does

the moon sometimes come out

during the daylight hours?

The answer is somewhat sim-

ple: The moon and stars are always

somewhere in the sky, but we can’t

always see them.

“The sun is so bright during

the day that it kind of drowns out

the light from the moon and the

stars,” said astrophysicist Chey-

enne Polius. She is president and

co-founder of the Saint Lucia Na-

tional Astronomy Association in

the Caribbean region.

During the new moon, the

moon is between the sun and the

Earth, the side of the moon that is lit

by the sun is facing away from our

planet. This means that the moon

is still up there, but we can’t see it

in the daytime, because all of the

sun’s light is getting re lected away

from us.

As the moon continues in its or-

bit around the Earth, away from the

sun, increasingly more of its sunlit

surface is visible. This is why the

moon sometimes appears as a cres-

cent or half-moon. When it’s farther

from the sun and visible above the

horizon, it’s easier to spot during

the day.

Then, halfway through its orbit,

the moon is “behind” the Earth with

respect to the sun, and we can see

the entire surface lit by the sun. This

is what’s known as a full moon, but

it’s visible only at night.

Usually, the moon travels at an

angle that still allows sunlight to

reach it when it’s behind the Earth.

But a few times in the year, it passes

behind the Earth at a precise angle

where no light can reach it. This is

what’s called a lunar eclipse.

Not only does the moon ap-

pear to change shape by way of

an optical illusion, it also appears

to move across the sky. Just as the

sun appears to “rise” and “set”, the

moon’s daily trips across the sky

are mostly created by the rotation

of the Earth.

The moon can also appear to

change colours, said Polius. When

it sits low on the horizon, there’s

more atmosphere between us and

the moon, and all of those particles

have a way of scattering certain

kinds of light, like wavelengths in

the blue spectrum. This leaves be-

hind light closer to the red spec-

trum, which is why a moon low on

the horizon can sometimes appear

more yellow or even pink than one

that is directly overhead.

But don’t be fooled, said Po-

lius. The moon is always the same

colour. It just looks different to us

under different conditions.

How was Earth’s biggest bes-

tie formed?

“The leading theory now is that

the moon used to be part of the

Earth,” said Polius.

Scientists have found evidence

to suggest that about 4.5 billion

years ago, a giant space object

about the size of Mars slammed

into the side of our planet.

The impact is thought to have

sent tons of debris into space,

where it slowly came together

to form a large, dusty ball. And

because that space ball was still

close to the Earth, it got trapped

by the Earth’s gravity and eventu-

ally settled into the orbit we take

for granted today.

So the next time you see that gi-

ant, ponderous chunk of rock crawl-

ing across the sky, look down at the

ground beneath your feet and think

about where the moon might have

come from.

The moon can appear yellow or pinkish because of particles in the

atmosphere. PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST

Moon-watching isn’t just for night owls

At a science, technology, engi-

neering and math festival last year

in nearby Gaithersburg, Kaia dem-

onstrated honey extraction and ex-

plained the “waggle dance” - a lan-

guage used by worker honeybees

to tell other workers the distance to

and direction of lowering plants.

Cornell University research-

ers found that honeybees will go

to almost any host plant for pollen

and nectar, while other bees can

be highly specialised, visiting just a

single plant species.

“If their preferred host plant

disappears, these pollen-spe-

cialist bees will likely go extinct,

as well,” said Bryan Danforth in a

Cornell online article. Danforth is

a wild-bee specialist and entomol-

ogy professor.

Kids don’t need to raise bees

to join the effort to stop this from

happening. Do research, and cre-

ate a diverse bee-friendly habitat

with native lower-producing plants

that bloom in different seasons. By

helping bees, you also help every-

one enjoy fruits and vegetables for

years to come.

WHAT ABOUT STINGS?

Kaia, JP and Maia have advice for

kids who are afraid to be near bees.

“Usually, bees aren’t aggressiveun-

less they feel threatened. Most of the

time they’re just curious,” said Kaia.

“Bees bump into you as a warn-

ing,” noted Maia.

“Stand still or slowly move away

and they usually won’t bother you,”

said JP.

Olga Massov

THE WASHINGTON POST - Risotto is renowned

as a comforting, classic Italian dish. But its rep-

utation for being fussy and high-maintenance

has prevented many a home cook from at-

tempting it at all, let alone for a weeknight din-

ner. Risotto must be suf iciently saucy but not

soupy; it requires frequent stirring for half an

hour; and needs to be eaten immediately once

ready because it starts to solidify minutes later.

When I told a neighbour I was working on

a risotto recipe, he said, “That’s what either

sinks every cooking show contestant or deliv-

ers them a win.” I can’t seem to manage my

time to include regular television-watching,

so I’ll take his word for it.

To make risotto, you need a short-grain

rice, such as arborio (most easily found),

carnaroli (often preferred by chefs and re-

ferred to as the “caviar of rice”) or vialone

nano, though Spanish bomba rice often used

for paella and sushi rice also can work well.

Short-grain rice, because of its higher starch

content, tends to absorb less liquid, and al-

lows for a creamy porridge to form. Because

you want as much starch as possible for the

creamiest result, you do not rinse the rice.

So how does one make risotto a week-

night indulgence with minimal effort?

Enter the mighty Instant Pot. While the tra-

ditional risotto recipe requires ample hands-

on time, the pressure cooker method is its

polar opposite. Saute a few ingredients for

several minutes, toast the rice, add the liquid,

seal and walk away.

Not accounting for the time it takes for the

machine to come to pressure (which can take

anywhere from ive to 10 minutes), the risotto,

once sealed, takes six minutes to cook - just

enough time to pour yourself a drink and throw

together a quick salad for a meal that balances

your carb intake with some crunchy vegetables.

You’ll ind differing opinions online and in

books on the best way to approach this expe-

dited method. Some prefer to warm up their

broth before adding it to the rice, but I’ve al-

ways used it at room temperature (or from the

fridge) and have never run into any trouble.

If you’re familiar with the traditional meth-

od of making risotto, remember that making

it in a pressure cooker means you need about

half as much broth (think four cups of broth

for about two cups of rice in the Instant Pot

versus the typical eight cups of broth for the

same amount of rice if cooked on the stove

top). The pressure cooker doesn’t allow for

evaporation, so it requires less liquid.

The Instant Pot risotto has becomemy fam-

ily’s regular go-to weeknight dinner in a pinch.

When I feel like I can’t muster much of a meal, I

throw this together and 20 minutes later we’re

sitting down for dinner. Our favourite version

is one with peas and Parmesan cheese. I use

frozen peas (because I always have a bag

on hand), and the heat of the cooked risotto

makes them warm and creamy - no defrosting

necessary - but still verdant and fresh-tasting.

If I’m feeling fancy, I swap out the peas for

a few generous pinches of saffron soaked in

a couple of tablespoons of hot water or, with

the summer upon us, render some pancetta

and stir in fresh corn cut off the cob.

In the winter months, when I need a bit

of sunshine, I upgrade my risotto with fresh

herbs, such as chervil and parsley, and spike

the whole thing with fresh lemon juice right

before serving. Even though the meal comes

together in minutes, the warm bowl feels both

nourishing and luxurious. And in the real-life

of struggle to get dinner on the table, this ri-

sotto always makes me feel like a winner.

INSTANT POT RISOTTO

Active: 25 minutes | Total: 30 minutes

Four servings

Here’s a traditional, beloved Italian dish made

in a pressure cooker in minutes with no stirring

required. The resulting risotto is every bit as

creamy as one made on the stove top but with

far less effort and time. While arborio and car-

naroli rice are most popular and traditional for

risotto, it can also be made with vialone nano,

bomba and sushi rice if you’re in a pinch.

INGREDIENTS

Three tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

One small yellow onion, inely chopped

Three medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced

One and 3/4 cups arborio or carnaroli rice

1/3 cup dry white vinegar

Two teaspoons kosher salt

Four cups chicken or vegetable broth

2/3 cup fresh or frozen peas

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Two tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Chopped fresh lat-leaf parsley, for garnish

STEPS

Set your multicooker to saute and heat two ta-

blespoons of the oil until shimmering. Add the

onion and cook, stirring, until it softens and

becomes translucent, about four minutes.

Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until aro-

matic, about one minute.

Add the remaining one tablespoon of oil

and the rice. Cook, stirring, until the rice is lightly

toasted and smells nutty, three to eight minutes.

Stir in the vinegar and salt and cook until

the vinegar has evaporated, about one min-

ute. Stir in the broth, then cover, set the steam

valve to pressure (or sealing) and turn to high.

After the cooker reaches high pressure, which

takes ive to 10 minutes, cook for six minutes.

Release the pressuremanually, then stir in the

peas, cheese and butter, if using, and continue to

stir until the risotto is creamy and thepeas are just

warmed through, about twominutes.

Taste, and adjust seasonings as needed. Di-

vide among four bowls, top with more cheese,

if using, and garnish with the parsley.

VARIATIONS

For pancetta and corn risotto:

Render four

ounces diced pancetta until crisp before

cooking the onion; substitute the kernels

from two ears of corn for the peas.

For lemon and herb risotto:

In place of peas,

stir in 1/2 cup chopped tender herbs, such as

basil, tarragon, chervil or parsley. Season to

taste with fresh lemon juice.

NUTRITION

Calories: 525; Total Fat: 15g; Saturated Fat:

4g; Cholesterol: 9mg; Sodium: 978mg; Car-

bohydrates: 81g; Dietary Fibre: 2g; Sugars:

3g; Protein: 16g.

Is there an easy way to make risotto?

Yes, in an Instant Pot

Light and atmosphere play roles in how we see our planet's largest satellite.