Categories
Food & Beverage

The Perfect Churro Bread

This recipe is delicious and only uses eight ingredients to make. It’s very easy to make and perfect for on the go! Also, it is vegan we have used this recipe in my family for many years and everyone loves it from adults to children once it is served, it is gone quicker than baking time. A warm aroma slowly begins to fill the kitchen. The scent is comforting and inviting, drawing you closer to the oven as you anticipate the finished product.

Below is the steps & ingredients:

You will need:

Brown Sugar ( can substitute with coconut sugar)

Ground Cinnamon

All Purpose Flour

Baking Powder

Salt

Unsweetened Applesauce

Dairy-Free Milk ( I love Oat)

Canola Oil ( can substitute with coconut oil)

Let’s Begin!

To begin this recipe start by preheating your oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Add to the bowl flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar and mix everything together creating the batter:

Next, in a large bowl combine applesauce, non dairy milk and canola oil:

Mix all together in the bowl:

In a small bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon creating the spice crumble.

Grease your cake pan.

Layer your cake pan by pouring half the batter into the pan, then half the crumble. Then, the remaining batter and the rest of the crumble. 

Take a knife and put it into the batter until you touch the bottom of the pan. Mix the crumble through the batter from left to right to create a marble like effect with the crumble.

Bake the bread for 15-20 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

The end product is a masterpiece. It will make you melt and feel warm inside and out it is so good!

Enjoy & Eat Warm!

Categories
Local Business Spotlight

Funky & Fun at Throwback Junction

Walking into Throwback Junction I was met by co-owner Colette Prokopow sitting behind the counter made of reclaimed wood and metal with a countertop embellished with beer caps encased in epoxy. Perfect for her and partner Randy Lewis’ vintage shop with that seemingly has something for everyone. “Our merchandise pulls from the 60s,70s,80s,90s and Y2K.” says Prokopow,

“I personally like to be able to readily see things and not dig through racks,” she said. Apparent from the organized neat garment racks whose clothes were so pristine they belied their age.

And, not all the products are vintage actually. Some are carefully crafted and “picked with intention” from garage sales and then there are new items, such as the very popular band tees.

They have games, cassettes, vinyls, stickers, patches, sunglasses, jewelry and shoes.

 There is a men’s section which isn’t seen in many vintage shops and children’s items such as a very cool toddler Grateful Dead sweatshirt. Another thing that sets the shop apart is their dressing rooms—a wonderful addition that takes the guesswork out of sizing.

“We want a fun and funky vibe,” says Prokopow, as sounds from Nirvana play throughout the store. “We’ve held some events in the store—live music and comedy so far.”

They will celebrate their first year of business on July first and it has gone better than expected.

She and business partner Lewis’ met through an acquaintance. Lewis had owned a different Throwback Junction in the Valley and closed shop due to the Covid crisis. Prokopow knew she wanted a vintage store—had been a thrifter since she was a teenager—and had just resigned from a 20 plus year career. It was an uncanny meeting for the both of them. Lewis is still working as a teacher but spends time in the shop as well as bringing his knowledge of the business. I asked Prokopow what advise she would give to Ventura College students who have a passion to start their own. “Do your research,” she quickly replies. She did hers online and followed other vintage shops that she liked to see what they were up to. “Also, know your product and pricing is key.”

 They both knew they wanted a Main Street downtown Ventura location and looked at several vacant stores before just the right one opened up. Main Street rents can be pricey, but they found a building that was owned by the church next door and landed a reasonable deal.

Prior to opening the shop, Prokopow had been doing pop up events like fairs and craft shows and had developed a following. On May 6, they have reserved a booth at the Oxnard Spring Vintage Craft Fair at the Oxnard Historic Farm Park. She posts on social media twice a week and uses every opportunity to make their presence known. “Oh yes, and we’re dog friendly,” she says with a smile.   Throwback Junction offers a 15 percent discount to VC students when they show their student ID.

They are open seven days a week 11-7 Monday through Friday and Saturday and Sunday 10-7.

Short video tour of the store
Categories
Business

Podcast With Professor Nick Norris

In this episode, I was able to interview Professor Nick Norris and talk about the social media program. We talked about different topics, for example, the impact of social media, and why social media is important in today’s modern world. How marketing strategies have changed now and how there are many tools that are accessible to anyone now. Also, we were able to talk a bit about who is Professor Nick Norris.

Categories
Student Life at VC

Dolores Huerta Speaks at VC Diversity Festival

It’s not very often that Ventura College gets paid a visit from a legend in American civil rights history. However, fortunately for us, this was the case last week at the VC Campus as a part of the annual Diversity in Culture festival. On April 13th, at the center of VC’s campus, civil rights activist Dolores Huerta was welcomed to the outdoor stage to address the community of Ventura.

The Diversity in Culture website gives a brief bio of the iconic activist:
“Dolores Huerta is a celebrated Latina, labor leader, activist, and community organizer. She has worked for civil rights and social justice for over 50 years. In 1962 sheet and Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers Union. She served as vice president and played a crucial role in many of the union’s accomplishments for four decades”.

If you remember the campaign slogan, “Yes, we can!” used by President Obama in the 2008 election, you may have heard the original Spanish version, “Sí, se puede!”. Huerta was the one who coined the phrase in 1972 when told by people in Arizona that she could not get the farm workers to organize there. Her response to people saying –originally in Spanish– “you can’t do that here”, was “Yes, we can!”. This phrase became a staple of the Latinx community and is still used to this day as we continue to fight for equity for all.

During her time speaking at the VC festival, she encouraged us to keep our heads up despite the current political state of this country, which has left many Americans discouraged. Still, at 93 years old, Huerta continues her activism and doesn’t plan to stop any time soon. One of her biggest pieces of advice to listeners was to VOTE! She reminded us to stay politically informed, vote, and get everyone we know to vote. This is one of the greatest ways we can use our voice to make the change we want.

At the end of her speech, a handful of VC students and club leaders were able to conduct a Q&A with Huerta. Here, she told more about her early life and her years spent organizing. One piece of advice that she gave especially stuck out to me. It was her urge for us to be patient. Huerta told about the tireless hours going house-to-house of the farm workers and explained to them her and Chavez’s goal. This required a huge amount of patience, however, this work is what ultimately led to the great success of the United Farm Workers campaign.

Lastly, at the end of her Q&A, attendees got the chance to do a quick meet and greet with Huerta and stop by her merch table to get some items. We here at VC and the city of Ventura are so lucky to have had the opportunity to have her in our presence. Especially since so many residents of Ventura County have strong ties to the farmworker community. This is an event that we will remember for a lifetime.

*All photos used in this article are property of the author.

Categories
Student Life at VC

Danza Azteca Xochipilli

Diversity in Culture Festival

Live Dance

The Traditional Aztec dance performance presenting the Culture, Color, Spirit, and Rhythms of Native MesoAmerican Culture. Danza Azteca Xochipilli performance will introduce our special quest, Dolores Huerta including the close out of Dolores Huerta event with a special performance.

I loved seeing the Danza Azteca Xochipilli dance for Dolores Huerta. She is one of the most influential labor activists of the 20th century and a leader of the Chicano Civil rights movement, this is why we celebrate Diversity in culture Festival.
The Danza Azteca Xochipilli welcoming and blessing Dolores Huerta. It was a honor to feel apart of this day by capturing this moment I will forever cherish I hope one day I can share this story.

Closing

Thank you Ventura College for opening your community, I always look forward to this event! I hope you all enjoyed this post as much has I did, I hope you all get a chance to join us next year. Thank you Dolores Huerta for all that you did and still doing for our people. I’m happy to witness this moment and to be up close capturing this, making history.

Socials down below..

Danza Azteca Xochipilli

Ventura College

VC Social Brand

Elena De La Mora

Categories
Student Life at VC

The Ventura College DREAM Department

DREAM is the acronym for Drafting, Rapid prototyping, Engineering, Architecture and Manufacturing

This department has instructors with real world experience, and many years of helping student reach their educational goals, right here at Ventura college. Talking with these instructors can give students a sense of direction in their career choices

There are classes that introduce 3D design software to student, like AutoCAD, Revit, and SolidWorks. These 3D design and engineering applications are standards in the Drafting, Rapid prototyping, Engineering, Architecture and Manufacturing industries.

Once students are introduced to different 3D CAD Computer Assisted Design applications, they can choose to continue in one or more fields offered and continue learning their choice of design and engineering software.

The DREAM Department also features wide format printers, Laser cutter, Waterjet cutter, CNC machines, 3D printers and other power and hand tools available to student to learn to work with this equipment to complete their assignments.

The DREAM Department is unique among Community colleges.

Experienced, enthusiastic, well informed, insightful instructional staff and a well-equipped learning and design, shape and assembly, environment. Not surprisingly, learning to operate the different 3D CAD applications and exporting to 2D and 3D semi-automated shaping equipment, allows students to discover that by going through the certificate, transfer and degree programs they can design anything.

The motto in this department is “We are here to make you a success” 

See your counselor and come by the department located in the 1st floor of the MCE building, on the VC campus. Speak to Ralph Fernandez and any one of the other instructors in that department.

Categories
Student Life at VC

Dolores Huerta: A Motivator

I attended the Diversity in Culture event this week and I heard Ms. Dolores Huerta speak. I would like to start off by introducing her and some of her achievements. Dolores Huerta is a civil rights activist and American labor leader, a mom, a teacher, a leader and so much more. Dolores has worked with Cesar Chavez, and she is also the co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association. Dolores also has an organization named the Dolores Huerta foundation, her foundation aims to inspire and organize communities to find their voice and rise up and volunteer and to also build up volunteer organizations to be empowered and encouraged to make and pursue social justice. The foundation also focuses on work involved in civic engagement, education equity, along with LGBTQIA+ equality, and safety and health . 

I had the opportunity to hear Dolores speak about a multitude of topics such as the ones listed above plus women’s rights, the labor movement, Black Lives Matters, racism and other issues as well. Dolores Huerta has experienced a lot and she had a lot of knowledge to share with us at the Diversity in Culture event. She spoke about her work alongside Cesar Chavez, and their work together to fight for the rights of the farm workers to receive the right compensation for their work, access to restrooms, the right to unionize, etc. Dolores stressed the idea that we are all one human race, one family, and that regardless of the color we are, our eyes, our hair, we are the human race — homosapians. We must participate to help and support each other and different cultures.

After Dolores’ speech, I interviewed the president of the Anthropology club, Kimberly Ramos. The first question I asked her was, Why did you attend the event? 

She explained that the organizer of the event was planned by the anthropology club advisor named Gigi, and she also looked forward to hearing Dolores speak and also promoting the anthropology club.  I then asked her, How was your experience hearing Dolores speak? She stated that she had been wanting to hear Dolores speak for a long time but never got the chance too, so finally being able to hear Dolores made an impact on her. She also expressed how the speech made her feel motivated and driven to organize and participate more In her community. The next question I asked her was, was there anything that she said that spoke out to you? Again she pointed out how Dolores engaged her to get more active in the community, and also the message that we can start with small changes in our community and work our way up.  Lastly, I asked her, What was your favorite part of the event? Kimberly stated that her favorite part of the event was when Dolores actually started speaking, because there was a lot of build up before she started speaking. 

Dolores Huerta is an amazing and empowering woman. She has accomplished so many great achievements and fought so hard for everyone’s rights, and she continues to do as she gets older. She had made such a strong impact on people everywhere and continued to engage in communities that need help, and to push us and motivate us to make change. Change starts with us. 

Categories
Arts & Entertainment

A look into VC Ceramics

With Deanna Pini

Ceramics Professor Deanna Pini is a lifelong artist and elegant potter. During our interview, Deanna talked about more than just how she got into ceramics and the joys it beings her, but also about the touching, heart-warming stories she’s see along with the craft.

Deanna got into ceramics when she saw a potter at a local county fair and was mesmerized by how he could take something that was just dirt and earth and turn it into something beautiful. Deanna taught herself ceramics for the first three years: reading books, sitting in on classes and gong into ceramics studio once a week. Deanna had future teachers and fellow potters who helped her think differently about ceramics in ways that only helped her improve.

When Deanna is selling her pottery, she made an agreement with herself: “Any pot that is there, I would be able to give away to someone who really wanted it.” Deanna has held on to this for years and is something she loves to live by. Deanna tells in the interview several touching stories she’s seen through working with the class, fellow potters, and selling her pieces.

One main lesson Deanna has learned from working with clay is “you need to learn to let go, the clay it will do things you don’t expect. You could work so hard, and when it’s drying it could start to crack, or it could go in the kin and the glaze comes out different than you expected. So it’s really a lesson in letting go. It’s not so precious that if you destroy something on the wheel, you can re-wedge it and do it again. I think there’s a real spiritual element to ceramics, unlike some of the other arts.”

One thing that Deanna loves most about ceramics is “the surprises that come along, staying open to a sense of wonder and the people who come along who just wanna talk or ask about the pots or if you could make something special for them.”

The entire 11 minute talk with Professor Deanna Pini is up now on Anchor.fm. Give it a quick listen and hear more about this amazingly talented and genuinely kind professor.

Categories
Sports & Leisure

Katey Mulville: Standout Announces Transfer

Katey Mulville #10 is a standout indoor and beach volleyball here at Ventura College. Just recently she announced she would be continuing her beach volleyball journey at a D1 school, CSU Bakersfield. The 6’0 kill generator provides a strong block in beach volleyball and can move great on defense. Being a student athlete about to transfer to a Division 1 school means that you have a pretty busy schedule, but Katey was still able to find time to answer some questions I had for her.

Question 1: “What was the biggest factor when you chose to commit to CSU Bakersfield?”

Answer 1: “The biggest factor for me was getting the chance to actually go and visit the girls and the campus. Going on the visit gave me a true perspective of how their program is ran, getting to watch them conduct a practice. I got to experience the leadership and sisterhood that the program has. I also got to experience the campus life while walking around and felt super welcomed by every person or faculty that I got to meet. 

Question 2: About 6 years ago when you started playing in high school did you think you’d commit to a D1 school?

Answer 2: I would have NEVER thought I’d commit to playing at a D1 school. I started playing volleyball for fun and then it completely sprouted into a love or passion. Also starting in high school is actually quite a late start for most people that go anywhere after high school. I’m extremely lucky to have been apart of some great programs from high school, to one club team, and an awesome junior college crew. High school Katey would be so proud. 

Question 3: What do you think the biggest adjustment will be playing at CSU Bakersfield?

Answer 3: The biggest adjustment for playing at CSUB would definitely be the level of playing and time commitment. Since it’s a D1 school the level of play is obviously higher so that will be a daily challenge to continue to expand as a player to reach higher levels. And time commitment is similar to my junior college schedule except for the D1 has strength training as a priority even during season so that will be an adjustment for time management on a day to day and physical challenge.

As Katey prepares to take a huge step in her playing career it’s evident that all of the hard work she has consistently put in over the years is paying off.

Categories
Arts & Entertainment

2023 Annual Student Art Show

Image from Ventura College’s New Media Gallery

This coming Thursday, April 20, 2023, Ventura College will be hosting an opening of their annual Student Art Show featuring works from students during their year at VC (Fall 22/Spring 23).  The event will take place between 6:30pm – 8:30pm, during which attendees will have the opportunity to view the art pieces in the New Media Gallery and Gallery 2 at Ventura College Main Campus.

The following has been taken from the Ventura College Events page:

“This exhibition honors the work of current and recent Ventura College students. The artworks are produced in various media including: painting, drawing, ceramics, design, illustration, and photography. This juried exhibition offers many students the opportunity to have their work viewed outside of the classroom with awards of cash prizes, including the $1,000 Best in Show/President’s Award.”

VC Social had the opportunity to interview Monica Furmanski, the assistant professor of photography. She has been involved with the annual student show since 2007, which was when she first started at Ventura College. 

She informed us that the opening event will start with a ceremony that includes awards given to certain participants and a reception to follow. We also asked her some more in depth questions about her past students and her opinion on the show.

Monica Furmanski, Professor at Ventura College

Q: How do you think the Annual Student Art Show benefits the students/college?

Monica: “There are benefits for both the students and the college. For students, it’s an opportunity to exhibit their artwork in a professional gallery space, where people from the community and campus can see their work. Students get to experience what it’s like to exhibit their work and to be a part of the experience. The college benefits by showing off what our students are creating and making in the art department. A lot of what happens in the art department is in the classroom, and when we have a student show the college community gets to see what our creative students are doing. “

Q: Do you have any students that become full-time artists or make a career out of their craft?

Monica: “I do! I have had students go on to study at different universities, specifically in the arts and photography. Other students have gone on to pursue careers in the arts or they are using the skills that they developed at Ventura College to assist them in non-art careers.”

Q: What can viewers expect at the show?

Monica: “Viewers can expect a beautiful collection of art and photography created by our VC students! There will be painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, ceramics…there will be lot of art!”

We want to thank Monica for her time and on behalf of VC Social we wish good luck to those who have entered their artwork into the show and hope their future career in the arts is prosperous.

All works of art will be on display April 20th – May 4th.

You can find more information about the New Media Gallery here. 

Check out Ventura College’s various social media to keep up to date on what is happening on campus:

Ventura College

https://www.instagram.com/venturacollegeofficial/

Ventura College Main Campus New Media Gallery

https://www.instagram.com/new_media_gallery/