LEILA’S EMPANADAS HANDHELD HAPPINESS

artisan empanadas in Anthem, Cave Creek and Scottsdale. Photo by Tawn Smith Photography Having moved from Brazil to Anthem in 2015, Leila Beltrame recently launched a line of authentic,

Writer Joseph J. Airdo

WWhen Leila Beltrame moved from her hometown in Brazil to Arizona in 2015, she encountered a completely different culture and a seemingly insurmountable mountain of challenges. As if learning an entirely new language did not produce enough headaches for her, Beltrame needed to essentially rebuild her business from scratch. However, overcoming obstacles and starting over were far from unfamiliar concepts for the chef, who recently launched a line of authentic, artisan empanadas in Anthem, Cave Creek and Scottsdale.

“Every time you have some challenges, you become stronger than you were,” Beltrame says. Having grown up part of a poor, farming family in southern Brazil, Beltrame witnessed first-hand the devastation of losing crops to frosts on multiple occasions.

“Sometimes the ice comes and destroys everything,” says Beltrame, noting that the process of re-planting to harvesting takes a long time.

Therefore, knowing what crops grow quickly and good practices of preserving and preparing food were of the utmost importance. Fortunately, her mother and grandmother were both experts and not only helped Beltrame’s family survive the destruction and rebuild but also instilled within her the perseverance and knowledge

Leila Beltrame (center) and her husband, Ricardo Bortolini, celebrate Leila’s Empanadas’ Homeless Engagement Lift Partnership collaboration with the nonprofit organization’s founder Dawn Marie Rapaport. Photo by Tawn Smith Photography

that she would need to succeed in her own endeavors.

They also instilled within her a love for cooking.

“I love to work with food,” Beltrame says. “It is my passion.”

Although Beltrame tried her hand at a few other things earlier in life, she always knew that cooking was her calling. She eventually dove headfirst into the food industry. When Honeywell transferred her husband, Ricardo Bortolini, to Arizona, she sold her business and accompanied him on a new adventure here in the United States.

Beltrame took a few college courses and spent some time learning English before deciding that it was time for her to re-enter the food industry. She started with something simple — chocolate, because it does not require any machines and is relatively easy to make. But her family’s empanada recipes called out to her and she shortly realized that she needed to share them with her new neighbors.

“I think that it is a nice product to have here — especially nowadays,” says Beltrame, noting that her empanadas are healthy, delicious and convenient.

For those who are unfamiliar with them, empanadas are essentially handheld pastries that are filled with either sweet or savory ingredients. Beltrame currently offers three varieties — chicken and olive, beef and apple creme brulee — all of which are baked instead of fried, which give them a lower calorie count than many other foods. Gluten-free Brazilian cheese rolls — which boast a light, crispy outer

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Every time you have some challenges, you become stronger than you were. Leila Beltrame

Chicken Empanads (Photo by Ricardo Bortolini)

Apple Creme Brulee Empanadas (Photo by Ricardo Bortolini)

layer and a scrumptious Parmesean cheese filling — are also among Beltrame’s offerings, which are available to order via her website. Beltrame’s Leila’s Empanadas line is also available at Sam’s Frozen Yogurt in Anthem, Lil Miss Butcher in Cave Creek and BUTI MVMNT Studio in Scottsdale.

“All of my recipes are from my mother and my grandmother,” Beltrame says. “I do some adjustments to some recipes but the main thing comes from them.”

Beltrame is grateful to her parents, her grandparents and her upbringing as they gifted her with so much more than just recipes.

“I had really good parents and grandparents but we were very poor,” Beltrame says. “I can remember very well in my childhood a lot of times I came home from school and we had nothing to eat. I know very well how that hurts.”

It is that knowledge and experience that encouraged Beltrame to collaborate with North Valley-based nonprofit Homeless Engagement Lift Partnership to benefit the organization’s H.E.L.P. Snackz Program that fills the hunger gap by providing meals to local students through daily afternoon nutritional snack bags.

“I know how hard it is to try to learn with an empty stomach,” Beltrame says. “Kids cannot learn anything or concentrate at school if they are not well-fed. How can you learn anything with an empty belly? I know what they feel when they come home and do not have anything to eat. I believe in feeding and treating kids well so that they will be able to create a better future for themselves and others.”

Therefore, a portion of proceeds from every order via Beltrame’s website goes to battle child hunger locally, proving that the Anthem resident has fully embraced her community and is committed to making it a healthier, happier and more delicious place.

leilasempanadas.com Instagram: @leilasempanadasaz

On the Wings of Love

Writer Joseph J. Airdo Photography by Lorenz Crespo

MMore than 30 years ago, Bob and Sam Fox founded the Cave Creek-based nonprofit raptor rescue Wild at Heart on the wings of love. “It really all starts with care and understanding,” Bob says. That is a statement that can be applied to life itself as well as everything beneath the umbrella of it, but it is especially true of the work that is done at Wild at Heart.

The nonprofit organization got its name in part because barn owls — the first creatures for which it provided care — have a heart-shaped facial disc. However, it is also a nod to the fact that we are all essentially “wild at heart.” But then there is also the fact that a lot of love, passion and heart goes into the rescue, rehabilitation and release of the more than 800 wild birds the nonprofit organization takes in each year.

It all stems from a desire to make life better — which may as well be the definition of love.

A PLACE FOR OWLS

“We had been volunteering at the [Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center] and saw a need for something that extended beyond normal working hours,” Bob says.

That was in early 1990. It was also at that time Bob’s wife Sam read “A Place for Owls” by Kay McKeever, a well-known

It is an honor to be able to do this work and to be able to treat these animals. The ability to heal them and get them back out into the wild is a great feeling. Bob Fox

owl rehabilitator in Ontario, Canada who encouraged the use of non-releasable owls as surrogate parents for displaced owlets. Inspired by the author’s success, Sam requested permission to initiate a foster parenting program at the wildlife center as soon as a “suitable” bird was found.

The arrival of a severely ill, six-week-old barn owl with permanent wing and leg injuries provided Sam with just such an opportunity. After a long and arduous journey back to health, Bob built an aviary for the owl — which the couple named Chia — in the backyard of their former residence. In 1991, Chia raised his first group of 14 displaced nestlings, thereby becoming the avian forerunner of foster parenting in Arizona.

Of course, owls and most other wild birds cannot legally be kept as pets so, in order for Chia to remain with Bob and Sam, they needed to obtain special permits from the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The couple did just that and officially founded Wild at Heart, incorporating their rehabilitation facility as a nonprofit organization and dedicating their lives to caring for the incredible creatures.

“We got immediately immersed,” Bob says. “The first year we took in about 150 birds.”

Thirty years later, Wild at Heart has expanded its care from exclusively barn owls to all other owls as well as hawks, falcons and eagles — most of which are brought in by its many dedicated volunteers. Moreover, its quantitative intake has increased exponentially.

“Last year, we took in 812 — one shy of our annual record,” says Bob, noting redtail hawks, Harris’ hawks and burrowing owls are among the many birds the facility sees. “Great horned owls have probably become the most common [birds] that come in. They are the most prolific of the raptors.”

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

The word “raptor” is derived from the Latin word “rapere” — which means “to seize.” Raptors are birds of prey that feed on live captured prey or on carrion. Although Wild at Heart’s volunteers only pick up raptors, the facility temporarily cares for songbirds, quail, baby rabbits and other critters that are brought in by local residents until they can be transferred to other rehabilitators that specialize in those species.

Wild at Heart rescues, rehabilitates and releases raptors that have been injured or orphaned; relocates displaced burrowing owls; manages species recovery programs and habitat enhancement projects; and provides educational presentations to the community.

“We try to give the community an understanding of what each individual species is about, why they are valuable and what their role in the ecology is,” Bob explains. “It is just about understanding our role in the circle of life and the importance of each component. Everything has a need and a niche and is really valuable.”

Bob says that among the many things that Wild at Heart tries to impart with its educational presentations is the dangers that careless humans pose to not just raptors but other birds and animals — both wild and domestic.

“People tend to go for the easiest solution and put out poison when they have a rodent problem or something,” he explains.”That is just really not effective. It poisons such a small percentage of rodents but many of them are then consumed by other animals and they also get poisoned. Sticky traps are another thing. They are just so inhumane.”

Bob has seen it all. Wild at Heart treats poisonings, infections, electrocutions and injuries sustained by a bird being hit by a car or having flown into a window.

After three decades, Bob has also seen his fair share of raptors whose injuries are so traumatic that there is nothing Wild at Heart — or anyone else for that matter — can do to save them.

“Many of them that come in do not survive but we are at least able to provide them with a safe and comfortable environment to pass away,” Bob says. “A lot of people go to great lengths to rescue an injured animal only to

have it come in and have to be euthanized. We try to make people feel positive about that experience, even though the end result is something that is negative.”

THE BIRDS COME FIRST

It is perhaps that experience and insight that prepared Bob for his own tragic loss last year when Sam passed away at age 73.

It has obviously been tremendously difficult, as Sam was the heart and soul of the nonprofit organization, but her husband says that he and the entire Wild at Heart team have remained focused on following her guidelines and philosophy: Do what is in the best interest of these magnificent birds.

“The birds come first,” Bob explains. “It is an honor to be able to do this work and to be able to treat these animals. The ability to heal them and get them back out into the wild is a great feeling. But it is also a feeling of responsibility to do the best that we can for them because they are an integral part of the ecosystem. There is a great need for them to be out there.”

Bob encourages the community to call Wild at Heart at 480-595-5047 for assistance with injured raptors. He also encourages donations to the nonprofit organization.

“It costs a little more than $600 per day just to feed the animals in our care,” he says. “We would not be here without the support of the community — the donors and the volunteers.”

Among the many gifts that Bob has received from his work with Wild at Heart is seeing first-hand just how caring wild creatures are.

"The fact that so many species will immediately and without question take on the care and feeding of orphans is an amazing thing,” he says. “That is really one of the main reasons that Wild at Heart got started. Such a simple thought was not that easy to accomplish but now we see that it happens so readily.”

That takeaway and the testament of love exhibited by feathered foster parents is just one more reason why Wild at Heart could not possibly have a more appropriate name than the one that Bob and Sam conceived more than three decades ago.

wildatheartraptors.org

RECIPEWhipped Goat Cheese with Bacon and Dates

Serves: 8

Writer and Photographer Francine Coles thefancypantskitchen.com

Appetizers should be easy, delicious and absolutely gorgeous. This whipped goat cheese with bacon and dates is all three and should be your go-to appetizer. I cannot envision any cocktail party without it!

Ingredients:

6 ounces raw bacon slices 12 ounces crumbled goat cheese, at room temperature 1/2 cup greek yogurt 4 tablespoons honey, divided 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling 1 tablespoon water 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt Freshly cracked black pepper 2 sprigs fresh rosemary 2 large shallots, thinly sliced 12 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar Toasted bread or crackers, for dipping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lay the bacon in one, even layer in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Bake until crisp, 18–20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine goat cheese, greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons of honey, olive oil, water, salt and a few cracks of black pepper in a food processor. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Spoon the whipped goat cheese out onto a large plate or into a shallow bowl. Set aside.

Transfer the cooked bacon onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Place the skillet — with all of the bacon drippings — over medium heat. Add rosemary sprigs and allow to fry on both sides until crisp. Transfer to the plate of bacon to drain.

Add shallots to the skillet and cook for a few minutes until caramelized and tender. Stir in dates, apple cider vinegar and remaining 2 tablespoons of honey. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for just about a minute until reduced and sticky.

Spoon the date mixture over the goat cheese. Crumble the bacon and rosemary leaves over top. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and a few more cracks of black pepper. Serve with toasted bread or crackers alongside for dipping.