Author: Emily Gautreaux

Visit Mohonk Mountain House in New York

Did you know there’s a timeless European castle only 100 miles outside of New York City? This charming and historic resort is located in upstate New York nestled in the Hudson Valley.  Initiated in 1869, the Mohonk Mountain House was once a 10-room inn created by Albert Smiley. Travel + Leisure gives us the perfect insight. The resort continues under the operation of the Smiley family to this day. Enjoy a lakefront stay on Mohonk Lake, admire panoramic views of the Catskill Mountains, take a hike on one of many trails, or recharge in a world-class spa.

Mohonk Mountain House is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Celebrate by joining a special anniversary weekend, during which you will meet Smiley family members and learn more about the family’s history of the land. Try a sweet scoop of Mohonk Mountain Crunch ice cream, a special edition flavor created in collaboration with Jane’s Ice Cream. Looking for an interesting interactive experience? Celebrate the history and culture of the resort by downloading the Hidden Histories augmented reality app on any smartphone to make the artwork come to life throughout the hotel. Here’s a list of what to do to make your Mohonk trip the most memorable getaway yet:

Eat a Memorable Meal

 An overnight stay at Mohonk Mountain House includes three daily meals. Guests can choose from a buffet with options that are sure to please any palate. For a more luxurious and crafted experience, waltz down to the resort’s new fine dining room, known as the Surrey, and be regaled by the four-course dinner. Dress up, sip sommelier-suggested wines, and feast on dishes like seared sea scallops or braised duck ravioli.

Take a Hike at Sunrise

Rise and shine early one morning to take a tranquil hike up to the Sky Top Tower. Made of stone, this tower can be found on the Sky Top Path, taking you up a hill, past cliffside lookouts and gazebos, until you reach the tower. Get even higher by ascending the tower itself, breathing the clean mountain air and taking in the sight of multiple states.

Hit the Spa

 A sign of a good spa is the incorporation of a local element. At the Mohonk, this lavish local element can be found in the Shawangunk Grit Mineral Body Treatment. This is an 80 minute experience beginning with a soak in the tub, followed by a “Shawangunk Grit” exfoliation, and finished with a relaxing massage. The “Shawangunk Grit” is fine quartz quarried from the resort’s own cliffs. The spa also includes a fitness center, a eucalyptus steam room, an indoor heated pool, verandas, and a solarium.

Climb on the Rock Scramble

Not for the claustrophobic, the rock scramble is a trail that takes you above, below, and through rock formations of all shapes and sizes. Children and adults alike can be seen squeezing through an intricate series of rocks and boulders. Just be sure to wear comfortable shoes with a good grip!

Feel the Lake Breeze from a Boat

 The calm waters of Mohonk Lake are perfect for an afternoon of row boating, paddle boating, canoeing, or kayaking. These options are all free to guests. Here’s a tip: for a full picture (or selfie) of the castle, take a boat out into the middle of the lake for a great shot.

Relax Fireside in Your Room

Most of the rooms at Mohonk include a fully working, wood-burning fireplace. Everything needed to kindle a flame is included in the room and ready to go, but if you are in need of assistance, simply call the front desk and they will dispatch someone to start the fire for you.

See the Grounds on Horseback

 You can view the Mohonk Mountain Castle grounds from the back of an old-fashioned carriage pulled by a mule or atop a horse on a trail ride around the resort. Kids can ride a real life pony as part of the Mohonk Kids’ Club. Equestrian activities are not included with a standard overnight stay and must be reserved beforehand.

Show Off Your Moves

Live bands stop by the resort throughout the year. Grab a drink from the bar and choose your spot to listen and groove to the tunes. Similar to Olive Garden, everyone feels like family at Mohonk, so know someone may extend a hand and pull you to the dance floor. If dancing is not your forte, stay for the sports. In the winter, you can partake in outdoor winter activities like ice skating, curling, and cross-country skiing on over 30 miles of trails.

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Pork Carnitas Recipe Anyone Can Try

Looking for something for dinner, but want a little extra to freeze later? We have the perfect Pork Carnitas recipe for you posted by Recipetineats. This recipe could be used for a whole mexican fiesta or just for a quick meal. Use tortillas to make soft tacos or use hard shells to add a little crunchiness. The best part? This recipe is perfect for freezing, so have a meal for tonight and eat it again next week without having to recook it!

INGREDIENTS FOR PORK CARNITAS

  • 4 pounds of boneless, skinless pork shoulder (or butt)
  • 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3-4 teaspoons of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of pepper
  • 8 cloves of garlic, smashed
  • ¾ cup of coke (original)
  • 1 large white or brown onion, cut up into wedges
  • 2 large oranges, juiced, or ¾ cup of natural orange juice
  • Tortillas or taco shells

UTENSILS

  • 6-quart slow cooker
  • Baking sheet

DIRECTIONS TO PREPARE PORK CARNITAS

The first step is to rinse the pork and pat it dry. Place the pork into the slow cooker. Add: bay leaves, orange juice, coke, garlic, lime juice, cumin, onion, oregano, salt, and pepper. Making sure that the pork is evenly covered in all of the dry spices. Set the slow cooker to the low heat setting and cook the pork for about 8 to 10 hours. If you want it to be done quicker set the slow cooker to high heat for 5 to 6 hours. Make sure the meat is falling apart, that’s how you know it’s done.

TO CRISP ON THE OVEN

Once the pork is falling apart, remove it and shred it with two forks. Make sure to leave the liquid in the slow cooker because you will need it later on! Once the pork is pulled apart, place it on the baking sheet. Remember to spray the baking sheet with non stick spray or line the sheet with aluminium foil. Pour about 1 cup of the liquid from the slow cooker over the pork on the baking sheet.

Broil the pork for about 5 to 10 minutes on the highest heat. The meat should be golden brown and crispy on the edges.

TO CRISP ON THE STOVE TOP

In a non stick pan, add about 1 tablespoon of oil. Heat the pan on high heat and once it is hot enough, start adding the pork in batches and begin to sear it. Just before the pork starts to crisp, pour about ½ of a cup of the liquid from the slow cooker on top of the pork in the skillet. Cook until the liquid begins to reduce and the meat starts to crisp.

Remove the pork from the skillet and serve!

If you want to prepare extra to freeze for the future, make sure you stop once you pull apart the pork. Store the pork in a separate container/bag and store the juice from the slow cooker in a separate bag/container. The pork and juice can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days and it can stay in the freezer or up to 3 months.

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Violence Prevention Scholarship Begins at Tulane

The Pincus Family Foundation recently partnered with Tulane University to create a new interdisciplinary program: the Pincus Family Foundation Violence Prevention Scholarship. Tulane released the statement July 17th, 2019. The Foundation awarded Tulane University with $550,000 to establish this new, two-year graduate training program intended to train future leaders in community-focused violence prevention in New Orleans, with an emphasis on Central City. Beginning this summer, organizers will be designing the program elements and coordinating with up to 10 community partner organizations focused on child wellbeing and violence related issues. The first group of six scholars to participate in the program will begin their training in Fall 2020. Second-year students of the program will work directly with the community organizations involved in violence prevention work.

The Pincus Family Foundation was formed by Philadelphia philanthropists David and Gerry Pincus in 2005. These founders dedicated themselves to learning about the challenges faced by children worldwide and helping to address those challenges. The Foundation supports organizations and initiatives that promote children’s health, education, nutrition, recreation, safety, and the arts locally and globally. The daughter of the foundation’s founders David and Gerry Pincus graduated from Tulane’s Newcomb College in 1990. Now a Pincus Family Foundation Trustee, Leslie Pincus-Elliot explained why she and the Foundation chose to initiate this program at Tulane. “A year ago, I read ‘The 28,’ an article from The Children of Central City, a series in The Times Picayuneabout the devastating effect chronic exposure to violence has on children. Having spent four years living in New Orleans as a student of Tulane University, I felt compelled to find a way to give back to the city that had given so much to me.” Pincus-Elliot continued, “The Pincus Family Foundation is thrilled to be in partnership with Tulane’s VIolence Prevention Institute. It is our hope that the creation of this interdisciplinary program will develop tools to stem, reduce and one-day eliminate violence in communities throughout New Orleans and others like it.”

The program will be spearheaded by faculty from the Tulane Violence Prevention Institute (VPI) and its network of community partners to provide students with a two-year graduate training program. To remain consistent with the diverse representation of faculty in the VPI, the Pincus Family Foundation Violence Prevention Scholarship will integrate faculty from all schools at Tulane, notably the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, the School of Medicine, and the School of Social Work. It will be based within the Master’s in Public Health program.

Scholars in the new program will focus on building skills to collaborate with community organizations and co-develop programs designed to alleviate the effects of violence and in doing so, intercepting intergenerational transmission of violence and its health impacts. The training initiative will focus on the lives of children throughout the entirety of New Orleans, with an emphasis on Central City and areas where children are most affected by violence.

“The health of children, particularly those growing up in neighborhoods plagued by violence, is rooted not only in their individual-level experiences but also in those of their families and communities,” said Dr. Stacy Drury, Remigio Gonzalez MD Endowed Professor of Child Psychiatry. “The impact of negative experiences differs based on the developmental window in which the exposure occurs, such that younger children may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of violence. With this perspective in mind, our program will target a range of violence prevention efforts that originate through partnerships with community organizations focused on preventing violence across the lifespan.”

“The goal of the scholarship program is to provide enhanced training in the core skills needed for effective academic-community partnerships that address the far-reaching impact of violence on children and their families. . . Exposure to violence, both within the home and in the community, leaves biological, behavioral, cognitive and socio-emotional scars that alter the life course trajectory and health of youth within and across generations,” elaborated the VPI director and professor of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Catherine Taylor. She continued to say, “We want our scholars to graduate feeling prepared to collaborate with communities and existing organizations to promote child well-being in a way that centers around each community’s unique needs and is rooted in cultural humility, evidence-based practice, sustainability and rigorous evaluations.”

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A Louisiana Shrimp Festival in Delcambre

Twenty miles southwest of Lafayette, Louisiana there is a town known for an American delicacy that most of us enjoy: SHRIMP! Delcambre, Louisiana has an entire festival dedicated to these crustaceans. This year the festival is going on from August 14th- August 18th.

The original name was not the Delcambre Shrimp Festival. The Iberia Parish Shrimp Festival and Agricultural fair held the name title until 1974. It originally started as a festival to help raise money for the Delcambre Fire Department in 1950, since then it has flourished. It is now one of the top ten festivals in Louisiana! The festival is 5 days filled with entertainment, rides, and of course, food.

Shrimp is one of the most versatile foods out there so the options are endless. Shrimp dishes like shrimp sauce piquante, fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, shrimp salad and more! Do not worry if you want to go but aren’t a shrimp person; the festival offers options that are not just shrimp! Tons of delicious complimentary sides are available to purchase, as well as desserts, kid foods, and interesting Louisiana-themed dishes.  There is something for every palate and cold drinks are always available.

The 14th, 15th, and 18th dates of the festival require no entry fee. The 16th and 17th there is a $10 entry fee. There is even a bracelet offered for unlimited rides for the festival.

Shrimping has a long history in Louisiana; fishermen have taken advantage of Louisiana’s marshes and estuaries of our coastline since earliest settlement. As the size of the catch increased to meet a growing consumer demand, shrimping emerged as an important folk occupation in Louisiana during the twentieth century.

Two types of fishermen shrimp in coastal Louisiana; those who shrimp with the small vessels in the shallow bays and those with large vessels who shrimp offshore in deeper waters. The inland fishermen operate during seasons regulated by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Often, their crews are family members, and the trip may last for around 1-3 days. Many of the shrimpers who fish seasonally live in settlements along the bayous of south Louisiana and along the lower Mississippi River. Many come from a tradition of fishing and shrimping during the spring, summer and fall months, then oystering and trapping during the winter months. The ranks of shrimpers have increased as others have entered the shrimping industry. Many left city and industrial work, preferring to be their own boss. While traditionally many shrimpers in Louisiana come from a French-speaking background, Chinese, Filipino, Croatian, and Vietnamese immigrants have also entered the South Louisiana fishing industry for their livelihoods.  Larger vessels are outfitted to pursue offshore shrimp for extended periods of time and are able to work year round.

While shrimping continues as a way of life for many folks in Louisiana, changes are occurring which will affect the continuity of the shrimping tradition and the availability of shrimp. As a business, shrimping has become much more competitive, with more licenses granted now than several years ago. A steady increase in cheaper, imported shrimp from South America and Southeast Asia has greatly cut into the local fishermen’s market and pollution in the waterways are also taking their toll.

So while shrimping as a way of life and a family tradition is still present in Louisiana, many fishermen are having to relinquish this heritage. One way to support this Louisiana tradition is to opt to purchase gulf shrimp and ask that your local restaurants and grocers purchase their shrimp from local sources.

The 2019 Special Events

2019 Baby Shrimp Pageant

2019 Little & DEB Shrimp

2019 Junior and Teen Shrimp Queen Pageant

2019 Miss Shrimp Queen Pageant

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Culinary Medicine Partnership

In partnership with LSU Health New Orleans, Nicholls State University proudly announced its latest offering– a two-week course in culinary medicine beginning in the summer session of 2019. The program began July 1st. Nine third-year LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine students are enrolled. They are currently studying the possible preventative effects that nutrition can have in treating chronic diseases, as well as the crucial, fundamental culinary skills and recipes to promote good nutrition. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, eating patterns and specific foods have proven to be effective treatments in some cases of epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and acute cough.

Dr. John La Puma, the founder of ChefMD and Chef Clinic, defined culinary medicine as: an evidence-based field that blends the art of cooking with the science of nutrition. It is multidisciplinary in its way of blending art and science, which are arguably very similar in that they both take time, craft, and attention. Culinary medicine promotes the teamwork of physicians and nutrition professionals to prevent and treat patients’ illnesses by learning more about the food we eat.

“The Office of Undergraduate Medical Education is excited to offer this career planning elective to the Class of 2021. While students are taught the science of nutrition during their first and second years of medical school, the Culinary Medicine CPE gives them the opportunity to translate this into practical knowledge,” Dr. Catherine Hebert, the associate professor of clinical medicine and co-director of clinical sciences curriculum at LSU Health New Orleans stated. She continued, “It is not just about telling a patient to cut out salt and fat. It is about teaching them how to do this in a way that is realistic given the time and money constraints that we all face.”

During the course, students begin the day in the classroom. Here, they learn nutrition theory through lectures, case studies, and simulations that focus on such ailments as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, heart disease, and obesity. In the afternoon, the third-year will move from classroom to kitchen in order to learn fundamental culinary skills and related recipes from chefs and other culinary professionals. What is learned in the morning is then created in the afternoon, meaning that the nutrition content learned at the head of the day is used in relevant recipes in the afternoon. The Culinary Department Head Chef John Kozar gave the example, “Let’s say they learn about diabetes in the morning, we will work on dishes appropriate for the diabetic patient in the afternoon.”

The learning does not stop at the walls of the classroom or kitchen. Students will also take field trips to Rouses Supermarket with a Registered Dietician (RD), tour the kitchen at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, and test their new nutritional knowledge at local restaurants.

“This is an exciting opportunity for both Dietetics and the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute to have an even bigger impact on the community,” expressed Dr. Brigett Scott, associate dean of the College of Science and Technology and associate professor of dietetics. “What people eat has one of the biggest impacts on their health. Ultimately, the goal is that these future doctors will practice in Louisiana and promote the nutrition and culinary skills they learned to make an impact on the health of our community.”

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How to Spend a Day in Detroit

Detroit, Michigan has known many kinds of notoriety, from its illustrious heyday as “Motor City” and birthplace of Motown, the music label that popularized soul. Detroit’s streets were the first to see an affordable motorized vehicle with Henry Ford’s Model T, released in 1908. Half a century later in 1959, after years of working on the Ford Motor Company assembly line that dubbed it “Motor City”, Berry Gordy created Motown Records, the record label that popularized such renowned musical artists as Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and more. The Motown sound bridged the racial gap in popular music as it propelled soul music to the greater American audience.

Detroit has been discredited over the years as the motor industry market has become saturated, leading to less jobs and funding to the city overall, but the city is no lost cause. For the last decade, the city has undergone a rebirth through restoration efforts. The following are must-visit locales:

Must Stay in Detroit:

THE ALOFT DETROIT AT THE DAVID WHITNEY BUILDING

The Aloft hotel is located in the over one hundred year old David Whitney Building. In 1915, the iconic David Whitney Building was built in the iconic Neo-Renaissance style with terracotta and glazed brick facade. Recently, the building went through a major facelift — a $92 million facelift to be precise. The nearly billion dollar renovations resulted in 136 contemporary-styled rooms spanning 19 stories. The spacious lobby houses a four storey atrium and skylight, streaming daylight over marble and gold-leafing.

Must Stay in Detroit:

THE FORD ROUGE FACTORY

Motor City has over a century of history with the Fords. The city witnessed the manufacture of General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford in the Henry Ford factory. This created enough jobs to employ 10,000 of the two million citizens of Detroit. This workforce was reduced with the introduction of robotic automation on the assembly line. Today, about 3,000 people still work the production line, overseeing the smooth running of the machinery.

Although it may seem an odd tourist suggestion, watching a car created through the assembly line with the precision of human intervention is captivating. A new vehicle leaves the line every 53 seconds, averaging 1,500 trucks every day of production. The factory has an innovative 5D multisensory film as well as a display of the innovative V-8, the classic Thunderbird, and the Mustang.

THE FISHER BUILDING

Be sure to see the splendor of the Art Deco style Fisher Building. Created by architect Albert Kahn in 1928, this masterpiece of a building resides on West Grand Boulevard in midtown. It’s an ornate 30-story skyscraper that doubles as Detroit’s Largest Art Object. The exterior limestone, granite, and multiple types of marble dazzle in the sunlight. The interior houses an arcade, a theatre, intricate and distinct mosaics, hand-painted ceilings,  Art Deco chandeliers, incredible views of the city below, and the finest craftsmanship in stone, brass, and bronze. Walk-in tours are free, but it’s best to reserve a time by registering first.

HENRY FORD MUSEUM OF AMERICAN INNOVATION

Henry Ford amassed a grandiose collection of Americana since 1929. The displays include the Quadricycle, a four-wheeled motorized vehicle with bicycle tires, presidential cars, airplanes, furniture, and tractors. There is also a museum of mathematics housed within the larger Museum itself. The notorious bus in which Rosa Parks made a stand against segregation by refusing to give up her seat to a white person, leading to her arrest and consequently, the bus boycott of Montgomery, AL in 1955. These events led to a wave of protest and paved the way for the civil rights movement in the next decade. Another notable display is the very rocking chair in which President Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. A Model T, the first affordable Ford car, is taken apart and reassembled daily for the public’s viewing.

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS (DIA)

The second largest art museum in the US is the Detroit Institute of Arts. Here, you may witness Peter Brugel’s The Wedding Dance(1566), which was, in its time, controversial for depicting mixed race dancing and kissing. Diego Rivera, husband to fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, was a Mexican communist who was commissioned by Cecil Ford during the Great Depression to create a body of works in tribute to the industry and its workforce. The resulting works depicted the progression of the Ford Motor Company, highlighting the human plight in 27 panels known as the “Detroit Industry Murals.” The following famous artists’ works are included in the museum’s collection: Cezanne, Dega, Matisse, Picasso, and Van Gogh.

THE MOTOWN MUSEUM

Motown music was birthed in Hitsville USA, the nickname of the home that housed founder Berry Gordy and Berry’s recording studio, where the magic happened. Previous to his own business ventures, Gordy worked a job at the Ford Factory, which he proclaimed to be “the worst job in the world.” The clanging sounds of metal being soldered, hammered, and drilled on the assembly line would inspire the Motown sound. These sounds were repetitive and became the backbone of Motown rhythm.

Gordy began to write and produce music. He took the flow of the production line to create a music industry parallel to the factory floor: finding young, raw teenage talent, teaching them social etiquette, grooming, and dance, and releasing them into the world, turning them into stars.

2019 marks the 60th anniversary of Motown Records. On May 19th, there was a spring block party on the museum grounds with live music, food trucks, and free museum tours.

RIVERTOWN

The city lights reflect beautifully at night along the city’s five-mile riverfront walkway called the Detroit International Riverwalk. The path connects Chene Park Amphitheatre and William G Miliken State Park and Harbor. It leads visitors to the Outdoor Adventure Center. Across the water, you can see a whole other country–Canada.

Must Stay In Detroit

American cuisine is the casual but delicious food of choice in Detroit. Two must eateries are Wright & Company and Lumen Restaurant, both located in the Downtown area.

Wright & Company specializes in modern Amercan small plates, craft cocktails, wines, and craft beers. The gastro-bistro can be found on the second floor of the Wright-Kay building. Try the potato chips, scallops, crab cakes, chicken, roasted cauliflower, and beef tenderloin. Be sure to save room for a butterscotch dessert or an orange date cake.

Lumen Restaurant is a new restaurant/bar found in a building with tall windows overlooking Beacon Park. There is indoor and outdoor seating, depending on the weather. The menu is small but packed with great choices, such as the hot pretzel sticks, Wagyu beef, mac and cheese, crab chowder, charcuterie, salmon, and pasta with shrimp.

If you’re not in the Downtown area, another option is The Jolly Pumpkin in Midtown. It’s a nice lunchtime venue as well as a pizzeria. Be sure to also try the curried chips, hummus flatbreads, and a wide selection of beer.

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