Thesouthernweekend.com recently published an article about “The Grand Canyon of the South” which, before that, we had
never heard about. Upon further research, we realized that the word needs
to get out about this breathtaking beauty of a US attraction!
The Palo Duro Canyon (“palo duro” is spanish for “hard wood”) is one of America’s most
beautiful natural attractions out there, though it is little known. This
may because it’s older, bigger brother The Grand Canyon gets all the attention. The Palo Duro Canyon should not be
overlooked. It’s the 2nd largest canyon in the US, about 120 miles long,
up to 20 miles wide in areas, and boasts over 40 miles of scenic views and
hikes. Its elevation at the rim is 3500 feet above sea level and it’s
only about a 30 minute drive from Amarillo, nestled in the heart of the Texas
panhandle. In comparison, The Grand Canyon, is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide,
and 6,000 ft. deep.
Palo Duro Canyon was formed by water erosion from the Red River. The water
deepens the canyon by moving sediment downstream and wind and water erosion
gradually widen the canyon. Humans have resided in the canyon for approximately
12,000 years. Early settlers were nomadic tribes that hunted mammoth and other
large game animals. Later, various Indian tribes lived in the canyon until
1874. The State Park surrounding the canyon opened on in 1934 and contains over
29k acres of gorgeous scenery. Palo Duro Canyon State park is an excellent
outdoor classroom. School groups from across Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico
visit the park each year. Park staff offers guided educational programs (by
reservation only) for school and special interest groups. There is also a Junior Ranger program available for children ages 4-12. There are activities they must
complete and have signed by a ranger before they can receive a sleeve patch at
the Visitor Center or Park Headquarters. The activity brochure can be requested
at the Visitor Center or Park Headquarters.
The park offers a variety of activities
such as hiking, road biking, mountain biking, a scenic drive, camping,
picnicking, wildlife and wildflower viewing, backpacking, and horseback riding.
Many flock to the area for unique bird watching experiences. There is a
Wildlife Viewing Blind located behind the Palo Duro Trading Post that provides a quiet place to watch birds. A water feature is in
place along with feeders. Photos are posted on the walls for those who need
help with identification though, any of the trails throughout the park have the
potential to be excellent bird watching spots.
Summertime temperatures can be brutal in the canyon. Temperatures often range from the 90s to 115 degrees. It is always advisable to engage in activities in the morning or late evening due to the high heat. Make sure you and everyone in your party stays hydrated and does not overextend themselves physically. Do not attempt the very long trails in the high heat of the day. For those unable or unwilling to view the canyon by foot or horseback, there is a scenic drive of about 16 miles that takes you to the floor of the canyon and that features beautiful views of the scenery.
The park also allows special events
though they must be reserved, scheduled, and approved by the park ranger.
The park has been a breathtaking venue for many “I Dos” as it offers
awe-inspiring views and scenic spots to exchange vows.
LSU recently announced the lineup for the 7th annual TedX event being held March 23,
2019 at the LSU Union theater. Never heard of TedX? A TEDx event is a
local gathering where live TED-like talks and videos previously recorded at TED
conferences are shared with a community. TEDx events are fully planned and
coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis. Launched in
2013, TEDxLSU is an intellectual
and creative experience that brings local, regional, and statewide communities
together in a way that enables them to imagine the possibilities, spur
discussion and dialogue, and generate big ideas that will move the state of
Louisiana forward. TEDxLSU participants, speakers, volunteers, and organizers
come from all walks of life–business, non-profits, art, education, technology,
and more. TEDxLSU—like all TEDx events—is not organized for political
reasons, monetary reward, or personal gain. Everyone associated with TEDxLSU
does so because they believe in the power of ideas to ignite progress. TEDxLSU
is financially supported by ticket sales and in-kind community partnerships.
All funds generated through TEDxLSU go directly into sustaining the program.
Check out Ted for more info and interesting
talks on any and everything from politics to religion to self help and
inspirational stories. Ted materials are frequently used in educational
settings such as K-12 and graduate level schools all over the world. Check out
the TED free app on your phone or tablet!
Shortly after TEDxLSU 2018, the
organizers gathered to start the process of planning for the 2019 event. They
spent months reflecting on every detail of the 2018 event and planning for the
2019 event. During the collaborative planning process, the organizers all
agreed on just one thing: the ideas featured on the TEDxLSU stage and
experiences the attendees shared needed to shed light on topics that would spur
conversation and action in our community. That led to the 2019 theme: ILLUMINATE.
Illumination is a reciprocal process; what to you is fully illuminated can be
only a spark of an idea to another person. To spread that idea, we take care to
illuminate our own knowledge for others, and to receive and spread the spark of
knowledge that those around us offer.
But it’s bigger than that- the
organizers attempt to take stock of where we are as a growing community and as
local members of a global experience and we try to find a singular element that
anchors us. From there we begin to discuss all the different ways this
word manifests, and it becomes bigger than its definition. The theme becomes a
lens through which we can challenge ourselves to make life better.
The speakers and performers for the
2019 TEDxLSU event are:
Brandon Ballengée Andrea Eastin Reagan Errera Hayley Johnson & Sarah Simms LadyBEAST Lori Latrice Martin Juan Martinez Sara Reardon Emma Schachner Clay Tucker Rolanda Wilkerson Nalo Zidan
These people are clothing designers,
ecologists, educators, paleontologists, fire-breathers, and everything in
between. Reserve your seat in order to expand your horizons, open your mind to another
bubble of life, to be… ILLUMINATED.
Tickets range in price from $25.00-$65.00.
There are discounts available for students, educators and early birds.
The Washington Post once published an article containing the Top 10 favorite recipes of their readers and surprisingly, several sauce recipes made the list! A good sauce, whether it be a marinade, dipping sauce, glaze, or even gravy, can turn your meal from a zero to a hero, offering layers of complexity, perfect pairings working as foils for their complement, juxtaposing eccentric flavors, and making a meal a masterpiece. In other words- you could have a terrible piece of meat but with the right sauce, your dinner guests will still rave about your chefdom.
Read on to find out how to up your
cooking game with just a few ingredients, 2 minutes time, and a whisk.
1. Stir Fry Sauce
Salty, tangy and lightly spicy, this is
a great sauce to have in your repertoire when you need to pull together a fast
meal out of whatever’s in the refrigerator. Toss it with leftover rice or
noodles, vegetables and any kind of protein for an impromptu dish of fried rice
or lo mein, or use it as a marinade for chicken, beef or tofu.
There are so many variations to this sauce staple- add it to Basic Coconut
Curry Sauce with some Cashew Cream. Add a squirt of lime juice and
Sriracha to give it a Thai-inspired flavor. Substitute it for that packet of
dried seasoning the next time you mix up a late-night bowl of ramen.
Dredge some leftover fried chicken in it for your own version of General
Tso chicken.
INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce 1/2 cup no-salt-added vegetable broth 1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar 1 teaspoon vinegar 2 teaspoons ground ginger 2 cloves garlic, minced
DIRECTIONS Combine the soy sauce, broth, honey or agave nectar, vinegar, ginger and garlic
in a mason jar. Seal and shake well, until incorporated. Use right away, or
refrigerate for up to 4 weeks.
2. Roasted Red Pepper
Tahini Sauce
The flavor of this roasted red pepper
tahini dressing is seriously delicious and even better, you know every
ingredient in it when you make it at home. Check out how easy this dressing is
to make…All you need is a food processor or a blender, tahini, roasted red
peppers, garlic, lemon, olive oil, honey and sea salt. Simply add all the
ingredients to your blender or food processor and blend until mixed. This
dressing is delicious on anything: salads, tossed with veggies, as a marinade
for the meat of your choice, even spread on a sandwich or wrap.
INGREDIENTS
¼ C tahini juice of 1 medium lemon ½ C roasted red peppers ¼ C good quality olive oil 2 tsp honey kosher salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
Using a food processor or high speed blender add all ingredients except for salt. Process on high until
smooth. Season with kosher salt to taste. Store in an airtight container in the
fridge for 7-10 days.
3. Horseradish Sauce
The zesty flavor of horseradish is a
perfect complement to any steak or other beef dish. This Horseradish Sauce is
cool and creamy with just enough kick, and it helps balance and enhance the
richness of the meat. It is very easy to make – just mix all of the
ingredients in a bowl. But it’s best served chilled so be sure to prepare this
sauce in advance – while your prime rib cooks – and refrigerate it until ready
to serve.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup well-drained prepared horseradish ½ cup sour cream ½ cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce Few drops Tabasco sauce
DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients in a bowl until
well blended. Refrigerate until chilled.
Louisiana Travel has compiled a list of their Top 10 Louisiana chefs and the list is nothing to blink your eyes at. Louisiana is known for our unique foods and exquisite restaurants that rank in the upper echelon of the entire world, so to make it among the best of the best is a true honor. We wanted to give homage to the chefs that make it all possible. Chefs are the behind-the-scenes magic makers with complex palates that require creative, out-the-box thinking, and maintenance of close-knit, local relationships with food distributors, farmers, and the like. Their job descriptions are varied and far-reaching, including being business savvy, working well under pressure, managing line cooks and servers, hobnobbing with local entrepreneurs and business owners, all while creating the next best dish for the customer. It’s harder to remain a chef than to become one- the industry’s cutthroat competitive nature is made even more difficult by the sheer rate of restaurants popping up every year, every month. Only the good ones survive, and we have compiled a list of the Top 2 Louisiana chefs that have stood the test of time.
1. Emeril Lagasse
Emeril is probably one of the most
widely known Louisiana chefs as his resume includes Television Personality and
even Author. Chef Emeril Lagasse’s passion for food was ignited as a
young boy growing up in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts, where he
spent time in the kitchen with his mother, Hilda. As a teenager, he worked at a
Portuguese bakery where he mastered the art of bread and pastry baking. After high
school, Lagasse turned down a full scholarship to the New England
Conservatory of Music to pursue his dream
of becoming a chef. He earned a degree from the respected culinary institution, Johnson and Wales
University, and later received
an honorary doctorate degree. Wanting to broaden his culinary horizons, Lagasse
then traveled to France where he honed his skills and learned the art of
classic French cuisine. Returning to the United States, Lagasse practiced his
art in fine restaurants in New York, Boston and Philadelphia until a job offer
from Dick and Ella Brennan lured the young chef to New Orleans, where Lagasse
helmed the kitchen for nearly eight years at their legendary restaurant, Commander’s Palace.
In 1990, Lagasse set out on his own, opening Emeril’s Restaurant in New Orleans’ Warehouse District. Two years later, he opened NOLA Restaurant in the French Quarter. In 1995, Emeril brought his “New New
Orleans” cooking to Las Vegas and opened Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House, located in the MGM Grand Hotel. In 1998, Lagasse opened Emeril’s Delmonico in New Orleans’ historic Garden District. He opened two
restaurants in 1999 including Emeril’s Orlando at Universal Studios CityWalk and Delmonico Steakhouse in the Venetian Resort, Hotel &
Casino in Las Vegas. He later opened his
first restaurant in the Northeast, Emeril’s Chop House on May 22, 2009 at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in
Pennsylvania, and Lagasse’s Stadium, a restaurant and sports entertainment venue opened on September,
25 2009 at The Palazzo. He opened his first-ever burger restaurant, Burgers And
More by Emeril, in 2009 at the Sands Bethlehem. In 2016, Lagasse opened Emeril’s Fish House, making this the third restaurant by Emeril at the Sands
Bethlehem. Currently, Lagasse is the chef-proprietor of 12 restaurants in New
Orleans, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miramar Beach and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Lagasse’s 11th restaurant, Meril, opened in New
Orleans in September 2016. Most recently he opened his 12th restaurant, Emeril’s Coastal Italian, in Miramar Beach, Florida.
2. John Folse
Chef John Folse, born in St. James
Parish in 1946, learned early that the secrets of Cajun cooking lay in the
unique ingredients of Louisiana’s swamp floor pantry. Folse seasoned these raw
ingredients with his passion for Louisiana culture and cuisine, and from his
cast iron pots emerged Chef John Folse & Company.
When Folse opened Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant in 1978 in Donaldsonville, he set out to market his
restaurant by taking “a taste of Louisiana” worldwide. He traveled all over the
world bringing tastes of Louisiana with him. He introduced Louisiana’s
indigenous cuisine to Japan in 1985, Beijing in 1986 and Hong Kong and Paris in
1987. In 1988, Folse made international headlines with the opening of “Lafitte’s Landing East” in Moscow during the Presidential Summit between Ronald Reagan
and Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1989, Folse was the first non-Italian chef to create
the Vatican State Dinner in Rome.
The international success of Folse’s cornerstone property, Lafitte’s Landing
Restaurant, spawned the incorporation of several other Chef John Folse &
Company properties. White Oak Plantation in 1986 established Folse’s catering and events management
division. Chef John Folse & Company Publishing, since 1989, has produced 9 cookbooks in his Cajun and
Creole series, plus a novel, two children’s books and a religious memoir by
other authors. “A Taste of Louisiana” is Folse’s international television
series produced by Louisiana Public Broadcasting since 1990. The Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., opened in
October 1994 and is dedicated to the preservation of Louisiana’s rich culinary
and cultural heritage. In 2014 a brand new facility was built for the
program.
In August 1996, Folse expanded his professional repertoire and began
broadcasting his radio cooking talk show, “Stirrin’ It Up” which eventually
turned into a television cooking segment.
The bakery division was launched in 1996 to create specialty desserts, pastries
and savories. In October 1998, a fire destroyed the 200-year-old Viala Plantation, which housed Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant, and in May 1999 Folse
opened his former Donaldsonville home as Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant at
Bittersweet Plantation offering fine dining and bed and breakfast
accommodations. In the year 2000, Folse incorporated Digi-Tek Productions, a
full service digital recording studio.
Folse has received numerous national and international accolades including but
not limited to: In 1987, the Louisiana Restaurant Association named him
“Louisiana Restaurateur of the Year.” In 1989, Nation’s Restaurant News
inducted Lafitte’s Landing Restaurant into its “Fine Dining Hall of Fame.” In
1990, the American Culinary Federation (ACF) named Folse the “National Chef of
the Year.” In 1995, Folse was one of 50 people recognized in Nation’s
Restaurant News’ “Profiles of Power.” In 1999, the Research Chefs Association
(RCA) named Chef John Folse & Company “Pioneers in Culinology”
because of the efforts of Folse and his culinary research team. In 2001, Folse
was elected to RCA’s Board of Directors and served as RCA president from
2005-2007. In 2006, Folse was inducted into National Restaurant Association
Educational Foundation’s College of Diplomates. In 2007, Folse served as
the American Judge for the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France.
In August 2010, Folse announced his partnership with Chef Rick Tramonto and the
formation of Home on the Range: Folse Tramonto Restaurant Development, LLC.
Their first joint venture, Restaurant R’evolution, opened in June of 2012 at 777 Bienville St. at the Royal Sonesta
Hotel in New Orleans. Restaurant R’evolution offers modern, imaginative
reinterpretations of classic Cajun and Creole cuisine.
More than thirty years of culinary excellence later, Folse is still adding
ingredients to the corporate gumbo he calls Chef John Folse & Company,
which is as diverse as the Louisiana landscape, and he would not want it any
other way.
Tulane University PR department
recently released exciting news. Elaine Horn-Ranney and Parastoo Khoshakhlagh, former Tulane
biomedical engineering graduate students, came up with a great idea while
working in a Tulane University lab several years ago, and as they say, if you
are a Tulane student and have a great idea, there is no telling how far you can
take it. Their idea was for a gel-based patch to help repair damaged
eardrums without surgery. Horn-Ranney and Khoshakhlagh were determined to take
their idea as far as they could go but they never expected their idea to go as
far as 240 miles above Earth to the International Space Station. It’s called
Tympanogen, and Horn-Ranney, her husband Dr. Jesse Ranney, and Khoshakhlagh
launched it in 2014. Initially, the gel patch was designed to repair chronic
perforations in the tympanic membrane of the ear for which the only treatment
currently for tears in the tympanic membrane is surgery, which is costly.
Tympanogen, Inc. develops innovative ear, nose, and throat devices based on
proprietary gel technology. The first product, Perf-Fix™, will transform traditional
tympanoplasty procedures into a quick office visit. Perf-Fix can be
applied in an office setting within 10 minutes, without general anesthesia or
margin freshening. This gel patch encourages regeneration of the full tympanic
membrane structure at the same high success rates of traditional tympanoplasty. Tympanogen’s Perf-Fix gel delivers drugs to the wound site and forms a barrier that lets the
body to heal around it. “The ultimate goal is to develop a space-filling
wound dressing that can deliver drugs directly to the wound site as opposed to
a patient getting a lot of systemic antibiotics,” says Horn-Ranney. “Basically,
all of the resources we needed on campus were available to us,” Horn-Ranney
says. The company is still developing its original product for eardrum repair
and hopes to test it in clinical trials within the next two years.
They never expected what happened next.
Horn-Ranney explains what happened after securing some funding for their
research.
“So just having that little bit of
money to do that initial study within the environment that we needed was
everything. The company wouldn’t have happened without it.”Tympanogen worked
with mentors at the A.B. Freeman School of Business and the New Orleans
Bioinnovation Center to hit the nation’s business plan competition circuit.
They won $84,000. They took top prize in the 2014 Tulane Business Model
Competition, placed second at the International Business Model Competition and fifth in the Rice Business Plan Competition, scoring the NASA Earth/Space Human Health &
Performance Innovation Cash Prize. As winners of the NASA award, they
were invited to one of the agency’s symposiums. “It was a very small gathering
of scientists and astronauts. We were the only team who had won (NASA’s) award
at Rice to ever attend this symposium,” Horn-Ranney says. “They were very
appreciative, and they introduced us to the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages projects aboard the International
Space Station.”Tympanogen applied for a CASIS grant to develop Perf-Fix for
wound care and won a $210,000 award for the space station project. “That’s how
we ended up designing this material to not just explore the basic science
aspects of what happens in microgravity, but also to take the data that we
collect and start making something that’s useful for people on earth as well.”
Fellow NASA scientists and researchers,
who are always looking for ways to improve space technology, saw Tympanogen and
lights began to go off. They decided to test the gel technology in microgravity
to see if it had potential to be useful in space expeditions. “Since no one
else has ever looked at this sort of phenomenon in microgravity conditions, we
are starting at the very beginning,” Horn-Ranney says. Tympanogen’s leap into
space began with a small step into Tulane’s Office of Technology Transfer and
Intellectual Property Development seven years ago. The office gave them a
$20,000 pilot grant to conduct animal studies that showed the gel could work as
designed. They used the data to launch their company. The office helped them
apply for a patent and introduced them to resources throughout Tulane to help
them develop their innovation into a biotech venture.
On Dec. 5, NASA launched into space
on the SpaceX Dragon Cargo Ship to run experiments to see how the gel used in their patch works
in microgravity with hopes that, if all goes well, the technology could be
expanded to one day help astronauts on expeditions as well as soldiers in
combat. On the space station, astronauts release the gel into other
liquids to see how it reacts in microgravity and how well the drugs within the
gel flow into other types of liquid. They will run concurrent experiments on
earth to compare how the materials react differently in space.
John Christie, executive director of the Office of
Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Development, says he couldn’t be prouder of the company’s success.
Horn-Ranney and Khoshakhlagh watched the SpaceX launch in person at the
Kennedy Space Center. The two friends and business partners embraced as the
rocket soared beyond view, leaving behind a billowing trail of smoke high above
the clouds.
“We were just standing there watching it, and I couldn’t believe that we had
actually done it. We sent something into space!” she says. “It was emotional
for us not just for what we had accomplished, but what we had accomplished
together.”
Tympanogen founders are giddy with
excitement to go over the results of the space expedition and are excited to
see where that data will lead them.
For more education related news and
information, click here.
Tulane recently revealed that professor’s were traveling to Puerto Rico in order to obtain
vital information related to disaster recovery as it relates to Hurricane Victims
from Hurricane Maria. Hurricane Maria is regarded as the worst natural
disaster on record to affect Puerto Rico, and is also the deadliest Atlantic
hurricane since Jeanne in 2004. As of 28 August 2018, 3,057 people were
estimated to have been killed by the hurricane: an estimated 2,975 in Puerto
Rico. Hurricane Maria battered the island with tornado-force winds. Massive
rains brought catastrophic flooding, washing out bridges and inundating entire
neighborhoods. The island’s infrastructure, already shaky, was devastated.
Power and running water were cut off for most of the population. Toilets
couldn’t flush; there was no water for showers, baths, or washing clothes.
People had to rely on bottled water, but supplies were limited. Phone lines and
internet were obsolete. Recovery efforts were delayed because airports were
shut down. Useless electric stoves had to be replaced with propane ones.
Without refrigeration, food rotted and vital medicines spoiled. Most can only
imagine what this sort of devastation does to a human’s mental state. It
was collective trauma for an entire population and the consequences of such
trauma can linger for decades, following generations even when the memory of
the actual hurricane has faded.
New Orleans is no stranger to the
aftermath of Hurricane devastation. Maybe that is why Tulane developed
their Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy (DRLA) which equips students with an interdisciplinary view
of the challenges and best practice approaches to leadership in the disaster
resilience and humanitarian aid fields to prepare them for careers in areas
such as nonprofit leadership, disaster risk and recovery, grass-root
development, and more. DRLA Director Reggie Ferreira and Charles Figley,
director of the Tulane Trauma Institute, traveled to Puerto Rico at the invitation of the Foundation for Puerto Rico, a nonprofit organization that promotes economic and social
development. Together, Figley and Ferreira are working with the foundation to
assess Puerto Rico’s need for disaster mental health research and services, and
to train NGO leaders in disaster resilience leadership, share lessons learned
from Katrina and other major disasters, and help local universities develop
disaster resilience and trauma courses and programs. One of the main
goals of the visit is to develop a comprehensive and collaborative resilience
consortium in partnership with the Foundation for Puerto Rico. “Resilience is
the ability to grow and withstand the most severe of circumstances,” Ferreira
said. “The aim of the consortium will be to share resources and provide a path
forward for mental health in Puerto Rico post-Maria.” On their agenda while in
Puerto Rico is to also attend a memorial service for disaster victims. “The
response to our visit has been amazing,” said Ferreira, who has been visiting
Puerto Rico regularly since April. “The folks here have been very open and
appreciative of our assistance. They are especially interested to learn more
about New Orleans and disaster recovery as it relates to Hurricane Katrina.”
Hopefully, this visit helps leaders in
disaster recovery transmit vital information to students, institutions, and
volunteers that will help make future assistance not only more valuable but
more time sensitive. These efforts could potentially save thousands of
lives impacted by natural disasters in the US and beyond.
To read more about education related
news and information, click here.
