Summer 2015
Fourteen-year veteran Principal Martha Strother inspires her students to “do whatever it takes” to overcome the odds and graduate. The kids sport wristbands with the motto, reminding them to be victorious over difficulties.
Superintendent of Schools Rick Berry’s vision for Windfern High School of Choice (WHS) grew from his son’s lackluster performance in a typical, massive high school. In 1995, WHS opened in a re-purposed administration center as a small campus school for juniors and seniors with limited class sizes and individualized education. The school is designed for, “bright, able children, whose native intelligence isn’t showing up in standard settings,” Strother says. Continue reading “Martha Strother Leads Students to Success”
May 11, 2015
May/June 2015
In the streets of Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, one can eat a nourishing meal from a cart at any time of the day or night. And often the meal on offer remains consistent despite the hour. Vietnamese food is full of garden goodies, meat or seafood, bone broth and rice in one form or another. It’s not complex, but the joy is in its simple, recognizable, and raw components. Pho, a noodle soup with unlimited add-ins, and banh mi, a tender, tasty sandwich, are the trendier trademarks, yet there is larger menu to explore among this healthy cuisine. 
On a recent foodie tour through New York City with our son, who works in the restaurant industry, we wandered into Mario Batali’s Eataly. The conglomeration of corner shops under one roof, if you will—from pasta and sweets to fish and meats—contains hundreds of thousands of imported Italian products. While putting a damper on eating local, such a display does invoke a yearning for tomato sauce. In fact, the celebrity chef believes making red sauce should be the first lesson of every kitchen novice. And yes, his recipe employs canned tomatoes. Shocking, I know. “It’s simple, it’s delicious … it almost hurts,” Batali summed in the introduction. 
Spring 2015
February 2015, Issue #134
Chicken and waffles is as 
American as apple pie. But after digging into this sweet and savory combo, full of Southern comfort and mama, you probably won’t have room for the pie. Nevertheless, Field House Chicken & Waffles Restaurant offers a decadent maple bacon cupcake moist enough to tempt you to go for it. Owners Ryan Field and Brian Terpay opened the down-home eatery—the only “southern-styled, tried and true” in town—across from their other project, Taverna, which opened more than five years ago. 
As the cold creeps in, it’s time for winter warmers. Soup is a top pick for nutrition, variety and comfort reasons. Dietary standards urge us to eat eight servings of veg daily, and blending them into a soup helps us to reach that goal. And when pureed, it also fools the finicky eater. Tossing leftovers and the odd vegetables into the slow cooker clears out the fridge and creates one-of-a-kind meals. Then, add lean protein and beans for extra fiber and cook them in the pot to retain the ingredients’ full potential.