Month: September 2015

Jamu—Herbal Healing

JKT-NOW-cover September 7, 2015

Story & Photography by Gail G. Collins

Indonesia’s traditional healing through plants is called jamu. Myth and closely-guarded recipes cloud what has been standard, holistic care since prehistory. The theory is based in the idea that if disease comes from nature, then the cure must come from there as well. Today’s pharmaceuticals are synthetic compounds based in medicinal plants, and slowly, research is confirming what generations have long believed: jamu heals the body. A U.S. 2011 study by Virginia Tech’s Department of Food Science and Technology confirmed the soursop tree’s preventative properties, related to breast cancer. Continue reading “Jamu—Herbal Healing”

Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill

Mtn Living Mag September/October 2015

Story & Photography by Gail G. Collins

mariposa 999Latin American cuisine—it transcends national borders, yet finds its personality regionally. From South American countries like Argentina, Peru and Chile, north to Mexico, plus the Caribbean countries of Cuba and Puerto Rico, Latin food is more about cooking style and native crops than nationalities. Climate, altitude and history shaped the recipes. This means dishes evolve as one travels from the seashore to inland areas and the mountains. Maize, peppers, beans, ancient grains and Spanish-influenced rice mix with beef, chicken and pork as well as seafood in coastal locales.

Continue reading “Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill”

JASON Learning—Education through Exploration

Science Curriculum Brings Science in Real Time to Cy-Fair Classrooms

mag bar Fall 2015

When Paul Gignac was a student, science came into his classroom via satellite broadcasts and JASON Learning. An enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) was fostered through role models in those fields, who reached out to kids in real time. It was interactive learning at its motivating best. In fact, Gignac applied and was selected in 1997 as a JASON Project Student Argonaut in a science immersion camp. He credits those life-changing experiences as the impetus to earn advanced degrees and become a crocodile and dinosaur paleontologist. Gignac teaches the next generation of doctors at the University of Oklahoma, performs research in the lab and field, and acts as a STEM role model with JASON. Other former JASON learners, geochemist Katie Inderbitzen and oceanographer and archeologist Mike Brennan, also reach out to future STEM career-minded students as JASON role models. Continue reading “JASON Learning—Education through Exploration”

Passionate Principal Carra Fleming

Beck Junior High principal combines fun, high standards, and enthusiasm to help her students discover the joy of learning

Fall 2015

Some days when Principal Carra Fleming steps into the halls of Beck Junior High School, she had pink hair—and it suits her. Executive educators from another era sat tucked away in offices where kids visited only when they had misbehaved. Today’s principals greet kids as they enter schools, to build relationships focused on positive outcomes. Like Fleming, they join fundraising activities, whose high earners receive a blast of hair color spray. Continue reading “Passionate Principal Carra Fleming”