Author: Emily Gautreaux

Louisiana Disaster Recovery Alliance

Louisiana is known for many things, southern hospitality being one of the main ones. The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Alliance is a Louisiana based consortium. It is made up of private, corporate, and community foundations and donors. It was founded to help with the issues of disaster recovery. It was also founded to help the levels of vulnerability and risks of repeating events be reduced.

This “first-of-its-kind” partnership has taken a different approach. This public-private takes a step back and focuses on the way long-term solutions that will help re-establish communities that are resilient and sustainable to the area. The organization has been functioning for 12 years.

Over those years Louisiana’s communities have experienced events that have drastically impacted those communities. In the past, Louisiana’s philanthropic foundations were often split which made it harder for foundations to work together during tragic events. However, after the floods of 2016, foundations were more willing to work together to help the community get back on its’ feet. On their website the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Alliance says it “was created to support cross-sector collaborative efforts and communication, share knowledge and resources with the goal of improving recovery outcomes and increasing the resilience of Louisiana residents and communities.”

The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Alliance uses its platform to not only help but also educate people on the impacts of disasters in the state. Investing into communities and using resources from multiple sectors, the LDRA also helps its partners as well. Over 170,000 dollars worth of grants were awarded on October 20, 2017 to help communities in Louisiana.

The Board of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Alliance is made up of:

  • Lori Jill Bertman- Board President
  • Flozell Daniels Jr.- Board Vice President
  • Mark Stewart- Board Secretary and Treasurer
  • Kristi Gustavson
  • Michael Tipton
  • Advisory Board
  • Christy Wallace Slater
  • Bob Ottenhoff

The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Alliance includes a section on their website including some of the Funders of the Alliance:

Some of the partners that are agencies of the State of Louisiana include:

For more Louisiana related articles, click here.

 

Glass Domed Train in the Rocky Mountains

A train ride is quite the cathartic experience. It allows for a swift rate of travel without sacrificing the opportunity to witness a scenic view. If you ever find yourself in Western Canada, you should arrange for a train ride through Rocky Mountaineer’s GoldLeaf Service.

These train rail cars are glass-domed, which allows passengers to have not only a side-view, but also an overhead-view. These full-domed cars are especially convenient when riding through the breathtaking mountain ranges characteristic of Western Canada. If passengers need a break from sitting or a little fresh air, they can step out to their rail car’s external viewing platform. To add to the sense of luxury, passengers are also treated to breakfast and lunch prepared gourmet chefs during the day, and fine wines and cheeses in the afternoon.

After a long day of traveling, passengers can jump off of the train and into a bed at one of Rocky Mountaineer’s hotels. Similar to the GoldLeaf rail cars, these hotels offer stunning views and total relaxation.

GoldLeaf Service is owned by a Canadian rail-tour company called Rocky Mountaineer. Rocky Mountaineer has already added four new carriages to its convoy but is planning to add three more in 2020. The four that have been recently added will follow a two-day route called “First Passage to the West,” spanning from Vancouver to either Lake Louise or Banff and another two-day route from Vancouver to Jasper, called “Journey through the Clouds.”

The First Passage through the West route is recommended to those with a love for history. A highlight of this train route is that it passes by Craigellachie, which is the location where the ‘Last Spike’ to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway, thus connecting Canada from East to West. This route also travels across the Continental Divide, through the famous Spiral Tunnels, and past the Hoodoos, formations which – according to legend – are people who have been transformed into pillars through way of witchcraft. If you aren’t that concerned about history, the plethora of mountain views still make this route enjoyable.

The scenic Journey through the Clouds route travels through valleys, the Coast Mountains range, and the Fraser Canyon. The route flows along the Fraser River and passes by the Albreda Glacier and a 300-foot waterfall called Pyramid Falls. Other featured sights are Hell’s Gate, a 108-foot wide ravine (double the size of Niagara Falls), and an 812-foot long truss arch bridge called Cisco Crossing.

The GoldLeaf rail cars were designed and constructed by Stadler– a 75-year-old rail car company rooted in Switzerland. Stadler takes pride in its traditional Swiss values and the fact that the company is 90 percent family-owned. They assert their passion for producing trains that require low maintenance, are energy efficient, and that live up to all of their customers’ wishes and expectations. These passions obviously manifest in the GoldLeaf rail cars, which each hold 72 passengers and feature heated, reclining seats – it is no wonder that these rail cars make history as Rocky Mountaineer’s biggest capital investment.

In a statement about GoldLeaf Service, the president and chief executive officer of Rocky Mountaineer, Steve Sammut says, “We were intentional in designing these new cars to offer the same exemplary guest comfort across the entire fleet, while also making numerous engineering enhancements behind the scenes that reflect our goal of constantly enhancing both the experience and efficiency of our service.”

For more travel related news and information, click here.

 

Tulane Research: Fighting the Epidemic

Researchers stemming from various areas of study at Tulane University have been crucial factors in the effort to combat contagious disease epidemics around the world. In the exhibit OutBreak: Epidemics in a Connected World, the extensive efforts of the researchers are chronicled. The exhibit, which is co-sponsored by The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, is a part of the Smithsonian’s Outbreak project. As the world’s population increases, interactions between humans, animals, and the environment also increases. Hence, this project aims to increase awareness of human, animal, and environmental components that influence contagious disease epidemics. By gathering global partners to work together, the project aspires to stop outbreaks before they even have the chance to occur. The diseases featured in the Outbreak exhibit include cancer, the common cold, Ebola, HIV, leprosy, and Yellow Fever.

In response to the exhibit, vice president of research, Dr. Laura Levy, says, “From its inception, Tulane has been a leader in the fight against infectious diseases. This is an opportunity to share that story with those who may not be familiar with some of the groundbreaking advances that have happened right here in New Orleans at Tulane.”

The exhibit begins with the history of Tulane University, which was founded in 1834 by seven doctors who yearned to fight the spread of Yellow Fever, malaria, and smallpox. From that premise, the university went on to be a center of innovative research for issues of global contagion. Some of the most prevalent breakthroughs affiliated with the university are the discovery of the linkage of cigarette smoking to lung cancer, the development of tests to guarantee the safety of polio and measles vaccines, and the isolation of the common cold virus by Dr. William J. Mogabgab in 1955. The development of the first single-lens binocular microscope is also linked to Tulane. With the development of this microscope came the first documented study of cholera.

Some of the more modern-day research at the university includes the study of gene therapy in primates to assist children with genetic disorders, the development of an improved diagnostic test for Lyme disease, and continued research of diseases such as HIV and Ebola. Consequently, when the Ebola epidemic emerged in Sierra Leone, Tulane researches were of the first to respond.

The exhibit’s research was led primarily by Sally Baker, a MD/PhD graduate student in the School of Medicine. As a young ambassador for the American Society of Microbiology, she collaborated with the Office of Communications and Marketing at Tulane to put the exhibit together. When asked about the basis of the exhibit, Baker said, “Today, we continue to struggle with epidemics, such as the current measles outbreak. I thought it was important to highlight some of the work that Tulane has done in the field of infectious disease, particularly working to develop better vaccines and prevent outbreaks. We wanted to bring that knowledge to the public in an exhibit.”

Tulane University’s Outbreak exhibit is described as a regional version of a larger-scale endeavor. In 2018 – the 100thanniversary of 1918’s Great Influenza pandemic – The Smithsonian unveiled a national Outbreak exhibit in Washington, D.C. This national exhibit spans at 4,250 square feet and will remain open until February of 2021. The exhibit is fueled by the premise of the connectivity of virus and seeks to maintain that in order to suppress outbreaks, people from several different fields must band together to carry out “coordinated detective work.”

Tulane’sOutBreak: Epidemics in a Connected Worldopened on May 1 and will run until July 31, 2019. The exhibit is free-of-charge and is located in the Diboll Gallery of the Tidewater Building, 1440 Canal Street.

For more education related information, click here.

 

Father’s Day Recipes To Wow Dad

It is summer, which means Father’s Day is approaching. What better way to thank dad than with a delicious home cooked meal. One that can fill his belly. Julie’s Eats and Treats has one of the best collections of over 40 recipes for Father’s Day. Here are two dad filling recipes; one for the oven and one for the grill.

Father’s Day Three Meat Pizza Ring

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup of chopped pepperoni
  • ½ cup of diced Canadian bacon
  • 1 pound of Italian Sausage
  • Two 8 ounce tubes of crescent rolls (refrigerated)
  • One 15 ounce can of pizza sauce, divided in half
  • One ½ cup of shredded pizza cheese
  • Two garlic cloves, crushed

INSTRUCTIONS

The oven will need to preheat to 375 degrees. Take a large skillet and place it on the stove on medium heat. Cook the garlic and the sausage until the sausage is fully cooked (no more pink). Once cooked, drain the grease out of the pan. Add ½ cup of pizza sauce, Canadian Bacon, 1 cup of pizza cheese, and pepperoni into the pan. This is what will be considered the filling in the ring.

Separate the crescent roll dough into the triangles and place them on a 14 inch ungreased pizza pan. Overlapping the wide ends with the points on the outside. There should be a 4 inch opening in the middle of the pan. Press down on the overlapping part of the dough to make sure it is sealed. You don’t want any of the filling falling out of the bottom.

Take the mixture from the pan and spoon it onto the wipe part of the dough. Take the points and fold them over to make the ring. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes. The cresent rolls should be golden brown. The remaining cheese can be used to sprinkle on the top. The extra pizza sauce should be served with the roll.

What dad wouldn’t feel appreciated on Father’s Day with a delicious twist on a classic favorite?

 Sriracha Chicken Bacon Ranch Skewers For Dad

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Take the BBQ sauce, the bacon ranch dressing, Sriracha sauce, and chili powder and combine them together. Place the chicken strips in a resealable gallon bag, and pour the mixture in the bag. Make sure the mixture coats the chicken strips evenly. Let this sit in the refrigerator for two hours or more. This can be prepared in advance which will make it easier to just throw on the grill.

After the two hours, or when you are ready to cook the chicken, remove it from the bag and put the bacon strip on the chicken, at the top. Take a metal or wooden skewer and thread it through the chicken and bacon. Grill the skewers over medium heat for about 10 to 14 minutes, make sure they are covered. Once the chicken is no longer pink and fully cooked, remove it from the grill and serve. Make sure to flip the chicken while it is grilling so it cooks evenly.

Not seeing what you’d like for the perfect Father’s Day meal? For more delicious recipes, click here.

Louisiana and Its Hidden Surprises

Louisiana is full of adventure. It is, after all, Sportsman’s Paradise. We have everything from fishing and hunting to festivals and great food. There is never a dull moment in this beautiful state. You just have to know where to look. Movoto Blog recently posted 27 Crazy Things You Never Knew Existed In Louisiana. Here are three of those 27 with more information to plan you next trip around Louisiana.

The Abita Mystery House, it is also known as the UCM Museum. This museum is less than an hour away from New Orleans, in Abita Springs, Louisiana. It is a roadside attraction, created by the Louisiana artist John Preble, consisting of different exhibits he put together himself. Click here for an entire list.

The Museum is made up of over 50,000 objects that were found and recycled. The worlds Preble created are what any visitor visiting Louisiana wants to see, a haunted Southern plantation, a jazz funeral, and even a rhythm and blues dance hall. There is a general store and even a comb collection. The Museum is located in the historic district of Abita Springs.  The best part is that admission is only $3.

Avery Island, Louisiana not only offers the amazing opportunity to explore the factory that makes the famous McIlhenny Family Tabasco, but it also offers the beautiful Jungle Gardens. This outside attraction has a little something for everyone. The garden offers a variety of different attractions.  A large Buddha statue, is one of the main areas that visitors visit. The statue itself was found in a Manhattan warehouse and was sent by railroad in 1936 to the founder of Jungle Gardens, Mr. Ned. A shrine was created for the statue and is visited by local Buddhists who often use the area for a place of worship.

Another attraction within the Jungle Gardens is an area known as “Bird City”.  In the 1890s the egret population was beginning to fall due to plume hunters killing them to sell for their feathers. Mr. Ned raised and released 8 birds and 6 returned with their mates. Creating their nest, this was the beginning of Bird City. It was estimated that one hundred thousand birds were nesting in 1911. Imagine the amount now.

Jungle Gardens does not only host an array of birds; several different species of wildlife also wander the grounds. This area is perfect for bird watching, and Avery Island Jungle Gardens offers its own Bird Tour. You might even get a glimpse of a deer or alligator. The grounds alone are an eye full, but who wouldn’t love to see a deer grazing the grass. Over sixty-four different types of bamboo are also planted around and in Jungle Gardens.

Have you ever heard of a MudFest? Well Louisiana has exactly that. Located in Colfax, Louisiana with over three hundred acres .  The fest is open for three days, and visitors can enjoy an entire weekend dedicated to mud riding.  You do not even need something to ride, just pull up a chair and watch. Click here for admission prices. If you aren’t a fan of big crowds, you can check it out for non-event weekends and pay a much smaller admission.

For more Louisiana related articles, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Louisiana Oyster Trail

The Louisiana Bed and Breakfast Association posted an article talking about theLouisiana Oyster Trail. Oysters offer a lot more than most of us originally think. Not only do they offer health benefits for the environment but they also offer health benefits for humans. Oysters are high in omega 3 fatty acids, iron, protein, and other minerals and vitamins. They are low in cholesterol, fat and calories. They can even help improve energy levels and immune function. Plus, increase bone strength, tissue repair, and even help reduce blood pressure. All of this power in a little shell; and let’s not forget about the pearl making part. Oysters are one of the most versatile dishes out there and Louisiana is ready to show it’s visitors the options.

The valves alone in the oysters could cleanse the entire ecosystem; over 50 gallons of water can be filtered by them. And the place to find the best oysters around? Right here in Louisiana, named the number one producer to be exact. It is said that the Gulf of Mexico produces some of the best oysters in the world. Due to the Mississippi River flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, it lowers the salt content in the water. This actually changes the texture and taste of the oyster. This low salt content also makes the oysters have a creamy like taste and even their size is larger.

In 2012, the Louisiana Oyster Trail was created so everyone, even the locals, could experience the Louisiana oyster. Starting in Jefferson Parish and the surrounding areas, going as far as the Gulf of Mexico, this trail offers an unlimited amount of oysters cooked different ways. As of right now there are 22 restaurants who are involved with the trail. The oysters are served in multiple different ways. The classic half shell raw oysters, or try them grilled. You can also get them in a chowder, pickled, fried, deviled, creamed, and even pan roasted. This Trail gives it’s guest the most diverse oyster experience.

What about half fried shrimp and half fried oysters? Try the  Acme Oyster House’s Peace Maker. They offer raw and chargrilled oysters, meaning there is something for everyone. Or what about an oyster sandwich? Cafe 615 Home of Da Wabbit not only has an oyster sandwich but they also have a dish called Brochette Oysters. This consists of fried oysters that are wrapped in bacon and they are served with their remoulade sauce, that is house made.

The Boulevard American Bistro serves what is known as their Boulevard Oysters. Crystal aioli and creamed spinach on top of crispy oysters. Looking for larger portions? Check out Deanie’s Seafood Restaurant, also famous for their Creole dressing. Deanie’s has even won the Certificate of Excellence six years in a year on Tripadvisor. Want something a little more classy? The Restaurant des Families is a creole cottage. Try one of their Louisiana oyster platters.

The oyster trail is the ultimate way to fully experience the oysters Louisiana has to offer, while also exploring Louisiana’s culinary history.

Click here to download the Oyster Trail brochure. Click here to follow the Trail’s Facebook.

For more Louisiana related articles, click here.