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Taxpayers are concerned - or at least curious - about the price tag attached to remedying our high schools' problems. In its report ''A Nation at Risk,'' the National Council on Excellence in Education recommended that graduation requirements be more strict; that colleges and universities raise their admission requirements; that the school day or year be lengthened; that better teachers be recruited, trained, rewarded, and retained; and that citizens provide the money to finance these reforms.
The final recommendation has drawn strident criticism from taxpayers who feel pinched already by local property taxes. They think federal government expenditures are more equitable.
But President Reagan, who has reluctantly abandoned his earlier promise to dismantle the federal Department of Education, nevertheless wants to restore widespread local support for education, vs. reliance on large federal expenditures.
All Democratic presidential candidates, by contrast, favor more, not less, federal spending on the public schools.
Sen. John Glenn (D) of Ohio, for instance, has proposed 25,000 merit awards of $1,000 each for exceptional teachers as part of his $4 billion education plan. He also advocates spending $3 billion on remedial courses for disadvantaged students and $250 million to double the number of magnet schools. The rest of the $4 billion would go toward teaching centers and special loans for students who expect to enter the teaching profession.
Former Vice-President Walter F. Mondale wants colleges to toughen their standards, parents and teachers to demand more from young people, and students themselves to study harder and longer. He would add $11 billion to Mr. Reagan's
To attract a new generation into teaching, Mr. Mondale favors a Teacher Corps patterned after the Peace Corps. He would apply $3 billion to restoring special help for disadvantaged students. He recommends that every community bring together parents, teachers, students, business leaders, and others to create its own commission on excellence.
Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D) of South Carolina has proposed a $14 billion plan.
Sen. Alan Cranston (D) of California has endorsed the idea of setting up merit schools where all faculty members would get bonuses.
The 20th Century Fund Task Force, after studying the role of the federal government in education, concluded it should complement local control and act as a ''firm but gentle goad'' to strike a balance between quality and equality in the schools.
Almost everyone agrees it's hard to put a price tag on education. Nor is it possible to determine, by the amount of money spent, what the resulting quality of education will be.
Alaska, for instance, outspends all other states per pupil on education, while Arkansas is close to the bottom in per-pupil expenditures. But both Ketchikan, Alaska, where the per-student cost is $5,060, and Gravette, Ark., where it is $1,285, have certified teachers, guidance counseling, sports, a yearbook, a library, audiovisual equipment, computer instruction, academic and vocational courses, dances and clubs, and also some art and music courses.
The assistant superintendent in Ketchikan, Ed McNulty, whose three children grew up in that town, says one year he decided he owed them schooling in the lower '48. ''But they made nearly straight A's in Florida, Wisconsin, and California. That was a big eye-opener to me,'' he says.''They didn't make the A's here.''
Mandel Washington, principal of Gravette High School, brags, ''On SRA (reading) scores, we're the highest in northwest Arkansas.''
But local differences in expenditures, and the whole question of money, is only one aspect of the resources issue, albeit a big one. Other key resources include:
State initiatives. Within the past five years, all 50 states have taken initiatives to strengthen schools.
Some states have focused on better administration and teaching, curriculum guidelines, or more supervision and review of schools. Others set up technical assistance services, minimum competency testing, and better relationships with parents and taxpayers. Still others set about identifying their most effective schools, with the intention of sharing the ''how to'' with other schools.
For example, in 1981, the Ohio State Board of Education prepared its own plan for school improvement (''Mission for the 80s: A Blueprint for Excellence''). Its first recommendations, for competency-based education and stiffer graduation requirements, go into effect this year. To graduate, students must complete at least three year-long units of English, two of math, two of social studies, one of science, and one-half each of health and physical education.
Ohio will require minimum competency testing as a student progresses through school. For students who fail in English composition, mathematics, or reading, schools must intervene with remedial courses, tutoring, guidance, class placement, or other corrective strategies.
Although demographics suggests that an aging population might resist any increase of taxes for school purposes, the 1983 Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools found that 39 percent of those asked were still willing to vote an increase in school taxes. Among those familiar with the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, the figure went as high as 48 percent in favor of tax increases.
Time. Like money, this is a basic resource in improving education.
''Some (schools) seem almost unaware that time is virtually the most precious learning resource they have at their disposal,'' says John L. Goodlad, author of ''A Place Called School'' (to be published next year by McGraw-Hill). ''School-to-school differences in using time create inequalities in opportunity to learn.''
Author Paul B. Salmon blames disruptive student behavior, absenteeism, tardiness, announcements and recordkeeping, bad weather (snow days), and interruptions of the class period for time loss. His booklet, ''Time on Task,'' (American Association of School Administrators, Reston, Va.), spells out how principals, teachers, and students can better manage school time.
Colleges and universities. Another resource exists in the cooperative efforts of local colleges and universities. Those in the Boston area have recently reaffirmed their intention to continue pairing with public schools. This year school superintendent Robert Spillane has asked the participating colleges and universities for help in upgrading the curriculum.
The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute works because Yale University contributes more depth in subject matter, while the New Haven teachers share the practical aspects of working with students.
Recently the presidents of Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and the Universities of Chicago, Michigan, and Wisconsin pledged to take part in joint ventures designed ''to ensure excellence'' in US public schools. They expect to help develop training courses for administrators and principals, recognize outstanding teachers, and improve teacher training courses.
Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., has established a $100,000 fund to reward four outstanding high school teachers each year with Olmsted Prizes of $1 ,000 each. The purpose of the prizes is to encourage excellence in high school teaching.
Professional organizations, private schools. On their own initiative or spurred by educational commissions, professional organizations like the National Council of Teachers of English, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and others have in recent years undertaken the revision and upgrading of high school courses in their fields, sometimes developing better texts and detailed instructors' guides to improve teaching.
Private preparatory schools have also found ways to help public high schools.For example, Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts has just completed its third season of instruction designed to strengthen math skills of inner-city students and teachers.
Corporations. Adopt-A-School and similar corporate programs donate the services of banking, business, and engineering experts to schools. This year industry leaders in Boston agreed to hire public high school graduates on the condition that they come equipped with needed working skills.
General volunteerism. School Volunteers of America matches volunteers' and retirees' talents with school needs.
Museums increasingly design and carry out hands-on learning programs for schools.
More than 95,000 Americans serve their communities as school board members. All contribute long hours. Some are subject to intense pressure as they try to sort out and reconcile the conflicting views of their constituents. Most receive no pay.
Parents in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul voluntarily teach minicourses, develop enrichment programs, tutor students, hear book reports, work in school libraries, and attend teacher-oriented in-service workshops, all without financial remuneration.
Philanthropic foundations. The Ford Foundation, in particular, has responded to needs of city high schools. In 1982 the foundation granted a total of $1 million to 50 high schools in 30 cities.
From such evidences of goodwill and support, it is possible to conclude that public high schools have a great many resources to draw on as they undertake needed areas of improvement, even if increased funding isn't forthcoming.
Recommendations from afar won't fit every high school. The real work of upgrading must start at the community level:
* Concerned citizens should learn enough about their local high school to figure out what needs to be done.
* They should hold the school board accountable for appointing a superintendent and principal who will promote a better climate for learning within the school.
* They should appreciate and adequately pay the best teachers, while calling for the retraining of those who are not performing their assignments well.
* Parents should insist upon consistent application of energy to schoolwork and students should cooperate in the educational endeavor, which is for their benefit.
Maybe it won't happen all at once, but it can begin.
One priority remains paramount: marshaling recources to strengthen America's high schools, so that today's, and tomorrow's, teen-agers can avoid past pitfalls and help create a better future.


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


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BOD QUICK NOTES - April 11, 2012April 16, 2012 Following are the "Quick Notes" from the Board of Director's meeting on April 11, 2012. These must not be considered the official Minutes until approved by the board at the May 9, 2012 meeting.
Tana Shupe, Secretary
Board of Director's Meeting
April 11, 2012
There were no requests to speak from the KCBS members.
The following KCBS members called in: Dale Newstrom, Vicki Peyton, Dawn Endraijadis, Mike McCloud, and Don Harwell
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Executive Director Carolyn Wells, Candy Weaver, Mike Budai, Mark Simmons, Tana Shupe, Randy Bigler, Mike Lake, Paul Kirk, Arlie Bragg, Jeff Stith, Steve Farrin, George Mullins, and Dave Compton.
President Candy Weaver called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
Members of the board recited the KCBS Mission and Board Pledge as follows:
MISSION: Recognizing barbeque as America's Cuisine, the Mission of the Kansas City Barbeque Society is to celebrate, teach, preserve and promote barbeque as a culinary technique, sport and art form.
BOARD PLEDGE: I accept my duties as a KCBS director to further the KCBS Mission so that truth, justice, excellence in BBQ and the American way of life may be strengthened and preserved forever.
MINUTES OF THE MEETING ON MARCH 21, 2012 - Tana Shupe:
Secretary requested that that the title of Quick Notes be changed to Minutes and approved as presented. Seconded by Randy Bigler, the Minutes passed unanimously. Format and structure of future meeting agendas was discussed.
FINANCIAL REPORT - Mark Simmons:
The finance committee moves that the financials be approved as presented. Seconded by Paul Kirk, the financial reports were unanimously approved.
MARKETING REPORT - Jeff Stith & Mike McCloud:
- Total March Sales: $2627
- Advertising sold for March: $1500
- Uploaded April Bullsheet
- Uploaded MP3 of March's BOD meeting
- KCBS Master CBJ Exam Online Go Live
- Continual Partner Programs Updates:
- Kingsford $40k Challenge
- Tyson Best Wing on the Planet
- Reser's Americas Best Potato Salad Challenge
- Smithfield Rib Super Series
- GABT 2012- Successful 1st Event @ ACM in Las Vegas, NV (estimated crowd attendance was 44,000)
- Continual Coordination and Logistics for 2012 GABT Tour
Sam's Tour
- Continual Coordination and Logistics for 2012 Tour- 4 successful events with high levels of participation in March
- Sam's National- Continual PR/Social Media Updates
- Social Media, using MMA, KCBS, and GABT Facebook and Twitter pages to promote KCBS-related events/promotion
- Facebook Timeline Redesign for KCBS and GABT
- GABT: 1843 Twitter Followers / 3,068 FB post views (doubled FB post views from February)
- KCBS: 1401 Twitter Followers / 60,454 FB post views (dramatic increase in FB post views from 38,468 views in February to over 60K in March!)
- Updated News section of KCBS website as necessary
- Bullsheet Design: Redesign for 2012 Programming Content
- Bullsheet Content: Sam's Review, Smithfield Preview, Kingsford Preview & GABT Preview
- Reser's ABPSC National Press Release
- Kingsford's $40K Challenge National Press Release
Sponsorship Activities
- 2012 Planning/ Mike will update the board on current sponsorship activities
Mike McCloud reported that the transfer of the KCBS website was successful with no problems and that the work from the MMA staff, the KCBS office staff and Mike Budai were greatly appreciated.
The report was unanimously accepted as presented.
Jeff: Also, I received a call from a team yesterday about judging at Stillwater, Oklahoma. They were disappointed that judges were 0% CBJs when the KCBS Web site reports 100%. I don't know as this needs a motion but can we have some discussion during the meeting about this issue and how it's reported on the site? The team I talked to said they probably would not have made the decision to go had they known beforehand that the organizer is not only not using CBJs but is reportedly anti-CBJ. If I need to make a motion about this during the discussion, I will do so.
Action: A statement will be placed at the top of the page on the Events section of the KCBS website stating that the CBJ % shown for contests not yet held in the current year are for the contest from the previous year.
PHILANTHROPY REPORT - Arlie Bragg:
The deadline for Grants in Aid has passed. Over 20 applications were received. Dave Compton and Arlie will be looking at them over and will come back to the board in May with recommendations. Several applications were received after the deadline, but these were postmarked prior to that date so have been accepted.
Grants for non-profit organizations are now starting to be received; committee will update the board when ready.
CBJ REPORT - Mike Lake:
The judges committee is also looking at ways and means to recognize those judges who have judged in excess of 100...200...300 events etc. Discussion has been initiated and we will be reporting back to the board when ideas or recommendations are firmly in place.
We will be also evaluating for the next 90 days, starting 1 May, the value or reception of offering first time judges, being CBJ or not, the opportunity to receive mentoring during their first event.
EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORT - Tana Shupe:
The Education Committee is researching high school culinary programs across the U.S. to encourage classes pertaining specifically to barbecue.
We are composing letters to be send to schools where these programs are held and are considering submitting press releases to media in areas where Kids Ques are held.
We are considering using the services of a videographer to film the steps taken by a successful young team as they prepare for contests with the intent to use the video as a learning tool for other young cooks.
And we are compiling a list of potential sponsors to support these teams.
The Education report was accepted as presented.
REP COMMITTEE REPORT - Mark Simmons:
The rep committee last met April 5 to discuss a number of issues. All the regular members of the committee were present.
The contest rep committee moves that the following two advisories be added to the rep forum website. The topic has already been approved by the BOD. This is to approve the wording of the advisories. Seconded by Mike Budai, the motion passed unanimously.
Question: Must a team member be present during meat inspection by the official meat inspector? Opinion: Yes, a team member shall be present during meat inspection. This requirement is to close the communication loop between the official meat inspector and cooking team. It is imperative the team is immediately advised of any issues discovered by the official meat inspector.
Question: May the competition meats leave the cook's cooking site after inspection by the official meat inspector? Opinion: Unless the re-location of the meat is authorized by the Contest Representative, Organizer, or Health Department, after inspection the contest meats must remain in the cook's cooking site until they are en route to the turn-in table.
Per the request of the BOD at the March meeting, the rep committee moves that the following guidelines for rep in training applicants be approved and posted on the website.
Qualifications to apply as a Rep-in-Training:
1. Must be an active member of KCBS for at least 3 years and have participated in at least 15 KCBS contests and classes such as a Cook, Judge, Table Captain, Organizer, Volunteer in Judging area, helper in CBJ Class, etc.
2. Must receive a referral from a current KCBS rep.
3. A need for a rep in the applicant's geographical area of the U.S. must be confirmed.
4. Must have attended a CBJ class and be a Certified BBQ Judge
5. Must complete an interview with the Rep Chair and/or Co-Chair or their designated representative. This may be conducted in person, on phone, or on video call.
6. Must participate at a KCBS sanctioned event with a KCBS BBQ Team during their Rep in Training period. Must list the team name, name of contest and the dates. (If you are a member of a KCBS Team, this requirement can be waived.)
7 Upon completion of training, return to the office a signed copy of the independent contractor agreement.
After lengthy discussion, President Candy called for a vote. The call for the vote passed unanimously. The motion to approve the guidelines was seconded by Randy Bigler, and passed with 10 ayes and one opposed.
Mark Simmons made a motion to approve the applications for the reps in training submitted to the board. Seconded by Tana Shupe, the motion passed unanimously.
Randy Bigler made a motion to approve the rep in training who had completed her training. Seconded Mike Budai, a roll call vote was requested. The vote was as follows:
(4) Ayes: Paul Kirk, Mike Lake, Randy Bigler, Mike Budai
(6) Noes: Arlie Bragg, Steve Farrin, Dave Compton, Tana Shupe, Jeff Stith, George Mullins
(1) Abstained: Mark Simmons
With 4 Ayes, 6 Noes, and one abstaining, the motion failed
For further record, and at the request of one of the members of the BOD, a map which includes the number of members, CBJ's, contests and contest reps by State was included as an attachment. Numbers are as of February 2012.
STRATEGIC PLANNING - Mark Simmons:
The strategic planning committee met April 3rd to discuss initiatives related to the strategic plan of KCBS. No motions are ready to be brought before the BOD at this time. Mark reminded board members that all committees should be working on strategic planning for their individual committee.
RULES COMMITTEE - Dave Compton:
A few of the things that we are looking at are:
A way to make sure that one team's boxes don't hit the same judging table more than once when possible.
Seeing if we can get the chicken boxes shuffled so that the first six boxes don't automatically go to the first table.
Taking a look at how to separate the competition meats from the vending meats when a team is competing and vending at the same contest.
The pork parting rule.
A way to remind Table Captains on what they are allowed to tell the judges. I think that this is already covered, it just might need a word of re-enforcement at the TC's Meeting.
An addition to the Judge's CD or at least have the Reps remind the Judges not to lick their fingers between taking samples out of the boxes.
I expect to have a more detailed report and some motions for Rules changes / additions at our next meeting in May.
The Rules Committee report was accepted as presented..
SANCTIONING REPORT - George Mullins:
The sanctioning request spreadsheet was emailed to the board by Dawn at the end of the week. Pending follow up on some details, and discussion as needed for any issues that have not been brought forward I'd ask that the report be approved as presented.
The revised sanctioning documents have been reviewed by counsel, and will be presented to the board for review and approval.
In addition to the sanctioning requests that have received attention has been given to looking at our existing sanctioning procedures, with the intent of eliminating some potential problems in the future. At this time there is nothing that has been developed to the extent that it is ready to be implemented or require board review/approval.
George reported that the organizer from the contest in Des Moines asked to move their date from July 6-7 to Sept. 21-22. With no conflicting contests on that date, Tana Shupe moved to suspend the 90-day rule in order to approve the contest at this meeting. Seconded by Candy Weaver, the motion passed unanimously. The motion made by George Mullins to approve the date change was seconded by Dave Compton and the motion passed unanimously.
George made a motion that the proposed contests be sanctioned as presented below. Seconded by Tana Shupe, the motion passed unanimously.
Tabled from March (Date Change):
July 6-7 to Sept. 21-22 Kings of BBQ 2012 Des Moines IA
Oct. 5-6 PorktoberQue Dothan AL
New Contests:
Jul 6-7 Valley Freedom Festival BBQ Competition Staunton VA
Jul 21-22 Kla Ha Ya Days Barbeque Champtionship Snohomish WA
Aug. 17-18 Birch Rum's Blues, Brews & BBQ's Birch Run MI
Oct. 12-13 Swine & Dandy Charity Cookoff Duluth GA
May 10-11 (2013)
Jiggy with the Piggy BBQ Challenge Kannapolis NC
July 27-28 Taste of Grand Rapids BBQ Championships Grand Rapids MI
Oct. 5-6 Hog Wild BBQ Festival Corinth MS
Oct. 5-6 Bucks, Broncs & BBQ Russell KS
Oct. 13-14 Big BBQ Bash Springfield TN
Oct. 27-28 Liberty Tree BBQ Fest Dalton GA
George made a motion that the board approve the revised sanctioning documents emailed to the board now that they have been reviewed and approved by counsel. Seconded by Steve Farrin, the motion passed unanimously.
BANQUET COMMITTEE REPORT - Randy Bigler:
The Banquet Committed discussed the following locations for future Banquet locations and came up with a plan. The committee asks that the recommendation be put on the agenda for the April meeting and will present it at the meeting.
2014 - 28th Anniversary Banquet - Nashville
2015 - 29th Anniversary Banquet - Indianapolis
2016 - 30th Anniversary Banquet - Kansas City
2017 - 31st Anniversary Banquet - Panama City or New Orleans (Although 2017 is beyond the years the committee set out to determine locations for, but we thought it might help if we lay a foundation of where we would like to see it go in the future. We aren't planning on locking in Panama City or New Orleans at this time, just saying that tentatively in the future, we would like to look at going to one of those locations.) President Weaver asked the committee to consider holding the meeting in Denver, CO. The committee will research this option. Mike Budai stated that he thought every other year should be held in Kansas City.
REGIONAL REPRESENTATION REPORT - George Mullins:
George reported that with the short month between meetings, a bout with the flu (beginning the day of our last meeting), unexpected travel, and attention to issues with other committees prevented him from giving this committee the attention he feels it is due. He gave the board and membership his personal apology and states that this committee assignment will become a greater priority within the next month.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE REPORT - Steve Farrin:
The membership committee has spent the last month familiarizing ourselves with the current KCBS member benefits. We have also begun work on finding new programs that will benefit all KCBS members. The following KCBS membership numbers were provided by Karrin from the KCBS office.
Number of Total Members-15949
Number of New Members-538 (258 from CBJ classes)
Number of Renewed Members-992
Number of non-renewals-11
Number of members who signed up via the website-197 (26 included family memberships)
Number of New Members from Judging classes - 258
The board is very pleased to note that our retention for members is excellent, and accepted the report as presented.
TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE REPORT - Mike Budai:
Technology Committee Members are: Carolyn Wells, Candy Weaver, George Mullins and Mike Budai
1) Posted the March 21st, 2012 board meeting MP3 on kcbs.us
2) The website hosting and server transfer was completed on 3/30/2012. The KCBS office CMS was completed on 4/5/2012.
3) The new KCBS office copier is scheduled to be installed and configured on 4/9/2012.
4) Begun work on transferring the KCBS office telephone and internet service provider to upgrade the internet service bandwidth and utilize static IPs in order to accommodate automatic website and database backups to the KCBS office server.
The technology report was accepted as presented.
KCBScore COMMITTEE REPORT - Mike Budai:
Score Committee members are: Carolyn Wells, Candy Weaver, Stephen Smith, Kevin Keeling, Steve Grinstead, Scott Grinstead and Mike Budai
The committee is currently reviewing Draft 3 of Score and plans to meet in order to review the changes implemented in this version.
There are two known issues with Draft 3 generating error messages in data entry and the report sections. The data entry message has been forwarded to InDevX. The report message will be sent this week. I have scheduled a meeting this week to define the new API.
Update on this was received April 11th. It will be reviewed for the next meeting. At that time the board should receive a copy of the program.
This report was accepted as presented.
MOTION - Tana Shupe: I move that the Conflict of Interest Statements for each board member that were made available at the February Strategic Planning Meeting be accepted.
Seconded by Paul Kirk, the motion passed unanimously.
MOTION - Steve Farrin: I move that any and all BOD members that desire access to the AccuConference recordings of past meetings be given access. Seconded by George Mullins, a roll call vote was requested. The vote was as follows:
(5) Ayes: Arlie Bragg, Dave Compton, George Mullins, Steve Farrin, Jeff Stith
(6) Noes: Mike Budai, Randy Bigler, Tana Shupe, Mark Simmons, Paul Kirk, Candy Weaver
(1) Abstained: Mike Lake
With 5 ayes, 6 noes, and one abstaining, the motion failed.
Arlie Bragg asked for discussion regarding reps asking for contests when other reps were assigned. Mark Simmons will remind reps that this is not permitted.
Steve Farrin removed his motion that all committee reports be made available to the membership on the website as this has been implemented.
MOTION - Dave Compton: That a detailed synopsis of the executive session be read into the minutes of the open meeting, excluding legal and disciplinary issues, and proprietary information - tabled pending input from legal counsel. This motion is still pending until input is received from Legal.
Candy sent a proposed Nondisclosure Agreement for board review that would be signed by all board members and office staff. Acceptance of documents is tabled until May meeting due to 72 hour rule.
MOTION: Candy Weaver - I move that the Accuconference recording of closed session meetings be discontinued and all past recordings of all KCBS meetings be discarded.
MOTION: Candy Weaver - Further, I moved that all future AccuConference recording of board meetings made be eliminated after the completion and posting of the MP3 recording of the meeting on kcbs.us Motions tabled until next month.
Randy Bigler reported that organizers have asked him what KCBS can do to help promote their contest before and after their event. Jeff Stith will research ideas and means to assist the organizers.
Discussion followed regarding who should receive the various critiques (Organizer, Contestant, and Rep). George Mullins will receive all critiques; President Weaver will assemble a list of who requests to receive the remaining critiques and report back to the board members.
Candy Weaver re MEMBER SURVEY: For consideration at 4/11 meeting, let's put together a member survey for end of May. KCBS already purchased 3 election/surveys with the January election package. The last board voted to delegate election responsibilities to the office. With that change in election management, we can collect more data on our voters. The main focus is WHERE and WHO our voters are. I believe that knowing this will be of great assistance in the regional representation efforts.
Motion - Candy Weaver: I move that we assemble and coordinate an official KCBS Member Survey to be administed by the KCBS office. Seconded by Paul Kirk, the motion passed unanimously. Candy will work with Dave Compton on a final proposal to bring it back to the board. Candy will also check to see if there will be an additional cost for the survey due to our rising membership. The demographic data collected will be made public to all members
via the website and The Bullsheet.
Just for thought and discussion, I propose the following topics/questions:
I am a ___ Judge ___ Master Judge ___ Member of a Cook Team ___ Head Cook ___ Contest Organizer ___ Contest Rep
(check all applicable)
If you are a Judge or Master Judge, what is your opinion on Comment Cards
___ I complete a comment card anytime I give a score below 6
___ I never complete a comment card
If you are a member of a cook team or a head cook, do you find:
____ Comment cards are very helpful
____ Comment cards do not provide good information
____ Comment cards just make me angry at judges
If you are a Contest Rep, your opinion of Comment Cards is:
____ I toss most of them because they are irrelevant
____ it's important to give teams the judge's feedback no matter what is said on the Comment Card
____ I believe that sorting and attaching Comment Cards is tedious and time-consuming
Candy Weaver: I move that we implement a 5-contest only ToY contest for 2012.
Sent to the members of the Board for consideration is a proposal to implement a "lower level" ToY contest. This idea and proposal originated from Dawn, the KCBS administrator for ToY. The issue was tabled until May meeting.
Paul Kirk made a motion to go into Executive Session @ 9:24 p.m. With 10 ayes and 1 opposed, the board moved into executive session to discuss the following issues:
Sanctioning issues.
Repairs of the parking lot at the KCBS office.
At 10:29 p.m. Paul Kirk made a motion to return to Open Session. Seconded by Randy Bigler, the motion passed unanimously.
Returning to Open Session, the following business was conducted:
The finance committee tabled a motion that an amount be authorized for the repair, resurface
and/or resealing of the parking lot at the KCBS office. The board will consider the motion when bids have been received.
Organizers will be updated and reminded of potential changes on State Championship designations by George Mullins.
A motion to approve the following resolution was made by George Mullins. The motion passed by a vote of 10 ayes with one abstaining.
WHEREAS, The Kansas City Barbeque Society, Inc., a Missouri nonprofit Corporation ("KCBS") has determined that it is in the best interests of KCBS, and in furtherance of the exempt purposes of KCBS, to take the following action:
RESOLVED, let it be known that in matters concerning barbeque, Michael J. Reimann of Phoenix, Arizona, is not and will not be a member, promoter, or other agent or representation of KCBS. No event organized or promoted by Mr. Reimann is or will be authorized to use KCBS' copyrighted Official Rules and Regulations Judging Procedures.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the appropriate officers of KCBS be, and they hereby are, authorized and directed, for and on behalf of KCBS, to do and perform all such acts and things as may be necessary or desirable to make the foregoing resolution effective, and any acts of such in connection with these resolutions, which acts would have been authorized by these resolutions, except that such acts were taken prior to the adoption of such resolutions, are hereby severally ratified, confirmed, approved, and adopted in all respects
At 10:33 p.m., Paul Kirk made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by Randy Bigler, the motion passed unanimously.


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17 New and Old Ways To Bring Color Into Your Home
Blogging for Apartment Therapy, I'm exposed to a lot of rooms painted in vibrant colors. I bookmark them for future reference. Who am I kidding? All that color? What if I change my mind? For everyone out there who knows exactly what I'm talking about, here are some easy, ways to dip your toe in the ocean of color...
- Pillows : This is one of the simplest, fastest and cheapest ways to bring in color. Pillows are also easy to make yourself.
- Tablecloth or runner: whether it's a hand-me-down from Grandma or a piece of fabric you picked up inexpensively, a tablecloth can add a bright note to an otherwise neutral room. Throw a matching pair over your nightstands for a quick burst of change.
- Slipcovers: From a full on slipcover to a quick reupholster, they can change the look of a whole room.
- Rugs: A rug is an easy way to add a dramatic swath of color. And, for those of you who are nervous when it comes to color, adding it to the floor is the least jarring way of bringing it in.
- Throws in a contrasting color are an inviting look tossed across a couch, a chair or over an ottoman.
- Accessories: From a collection of glassware to a large dramatic vase, accesories are an easy and inexpensive way to ad color
- Lamp Shades: are one of the most unexpected ways to add color to your home. A solid color is great but why not try a bold floral or a stripe?
- Photos and Art:: Bring in color through the art or photographs you choose or the frames they're displayed in.
- Furniture: Whether it's one striking piece in your living room or a collection of brightly colored chairs in your dining room, painting selected pieces of furniture is another way to bring color into your home.
- Bookshelves: Paint the inside of a bookcase to add a hint of color without a full commitment
- Flowers: Don't forget Mother Nature when you're deciding on ways to add color to a room. It's the easiest and most inexpensive way to add color.
- Headboard: Use paint to create the illusion of a headboard in your bedroom.
- One Wall or a Portion of a Wall: Use paint to highlight or create architectural interest in your home.
- A door: we love the look in some Swedish homes of painting each door a unique but complementary color.
- Ceiling: Like adding it to the floor, adding it to the ceiling brings in a lot of color without it being in your face.
- Moldings: The usual way is to go for a colored wall and white molding. Why not turn this idea on its head by keeping your walls white and painting your molding that color you've been eyeing in the store?
- Curtains and Shades: are a easy to way to add a big impact of color which can swapped out seasonally.


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Single phase elections on May 5 in Karnataka
Karnataka will go for a single-phase assembly elections on May 5, the Election Commission announced Wednesday.india Updated: May 02, 2013 19:37 IST
Karnataka will go for a single-phase assembly elections on May 5, the Election Commission announced Wednesday.
Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath said the counting of votes will take place May 8.
The notification for the election would be issued on April 10 and the last date of filing nominations would be April 14.
The scrutiny of nominations papers would take place on April 18, the last date for withdrawal of candidates would be April 20 and the entire poll process would be completed by May 11, Sampath said.
The term of the existing legislative assembly expires on June 3.
The total number of assembly constituencies in Karnataka is 224 with 36 seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes.
As per the final published electoral rolls, total electors in the state are 4,18,75,267.
The CEC said voters who have been issued electoral photo identity cards will be identified through these only. At present, the photo identity card coverage in Karnataka is 98.37 percent.
The polls would be conducted in all polling stations using electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The commission has already made arrangements to ensure availability of adequate number of EVMs for smooth conduct of elections, Sampath said.
Based on the commission's assessment of the law and order situation, central police forces and state armed police forces from other states will be deployed during the ensuing assembly elections.
The commission will deploy general observers in adequate numbers to ensure smooth conduct of elections. The observers will be asked to keep a close watch on every stage of the electoral process to ensure free and fair polls.
Sampath said: "To deal with paid news, a mechanism has been laid out with three-tier media certification and monitoring committee at district, state and ECI level".
All critical events will be videographed. District election officers will arrange sufficient number of video and digital cameras and camera teams for the purpose, he said.
First Published: Mar 20, 2013 15:36 IST


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There is no footage of George Orwell, no recordings of his voice, just assorted photographs, and of course, his writing, his brilliant writing, which forms the basis of this Emmy award-winning documentary George Orwell - A Life in Pictures.
This documentary recreates Orwell's life through a series of imaginary film clips, fictional archive news stories, and the sort of documentary films Orwell may have made. Chris Langham is Orwell and he brings a warmth, intelligence and humanity to the role.
Best known for his star performance in The Thick of It, and his work with Spike Milligan and The Muppets, Langham has become a controversial figure of late as he was sent to gaol in 2005 for downloading hard core child pornography. He said he did it for research, for a character he was playing on a TV series. Well, you would, wouldn't? You're not going to say it was just for the hell-of-it or, you wanted to knock one out, are you? But Langham has served his time and accepted responsibility for his actions. However, this knowledge can make this excellent documentary problematic to watch, though Langham's performance is superb, and the content of this documentary - George Orwell's writing - essential viewing.
Though this all perhaps raises a bigger question, as to whether creative works can be viewed separately from the lives of its creators? Can we read William Burroughs without considering the senseless murder of his wife, or his use of young boys for sex? Can we read Philip Larkin's poetry without thinking about his racism? Or, look at Eric Gill's vast output - from religious sculpture to typeface - without thinking he sexually abused his daughters and fucked the family pets? Unlike these reprobates, Langham has served his time, and all we can do is to be aware of what has happened, before choosing our own response to it.
Ultimately, the issue is perhaps subverted by the importance and quality of Orwell's writing, which Langham brings brilliantly to life.


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Brittany Crochet Hooks are amazing! Birch is a superior wood for this purpose, its tensile strength and stability maintains size, resists warping and allows for smoothness of finish no other needle can provide.Wood is our greatest renewable natural resource. It is environmentally friendly it's recyclable, biodegradable and durable when it is no longer needed it can be returned to the earth. All wood used by Brittany comes from strictly regulated forests or small woodland owners in the United States ensuring proper environmental logging practices and selective cutting for maximum reforestation. Please note: Brittany Birch crochet hooks labeled Size US L/8.0mm are truly Size 7.5mm.
Jimmy Beans Wool Jimmy's SmartStix Crochet Hooks Needles and Knitter's Pride Basix Crochet Hooks Needles are both similar needles: crochet and crochet g/h - US 7 (4.5mm) US size.
You may enjoy taking a look at the Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage Maid Marian Hat, and Rowan Big Wool Cardigan Bay Jacket kits all using Brittany Birch Victorian Crochet Hook Needles.
We provide endless possibilities for you including yarn, knitting gifts, needles, kits, sale yarn, free knitting patterns, and more!Jimmy Beans Wool is Your Local Yarn Store... Online!


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Mar 04 |00:00
A BlankTV Premiere Presentation:
Say Hello to the Angels - "Oh Gloria"
Band Bio:
"Angular, driven and beyond impressive, Say Hello To The Angels are rewriting the book on post-punk, and including chapters most have not yet even considered. " - Loud Fast Rules! Magazine, Winter Issue
>> Get music by Say Hello To The Angels on iTunes and Amazon NOW! <<
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In Assassin's Creed Revelations on the PC, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of his legendary mentor, Altaïr, on a journey of discovery and revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the region. In addition to Ezio's award-winning story, the acclaimed online multiplayer experience returns, refined and expanded, with more modes, more maps and more characters that allow players to test their assassin skills against others from around the world.
Super Gamer Dude
PC Games
The Assassin's Creed Revelations PC game is essentially about time travel and science fiction. In the game, you play as the assassin Ezio who travels all over Italy. There are even major real historic events in the game. The beauty and architecture is part of what makes it such a great game. You could travel around the various cities just sightseeing if you wanted. The Assassin's Creed franchise has been a work of art, and this installment is no different.
You can choose to use stealth or go in with swords swinging, part of what has made Assassin's Creed games so addictive is the fluid sword fighting. It just feels right when swinging that sword in a massive battle, and there are few companies that have mastered this as well as Ubisoft.
What's New For The Assassin's Creed Revelations PC Game?
Well, lets just say that you will find the new items for Assassin's Creed Revelations to be somewhat explosive! For example, you can choose from a large selection of bombs. Ezio has also been given a new sword, a hook blade, and lets just say that he is not shy about using it, and can perform some graphic kills when doing so. The hook blade will also come in handy for cutting the zip-lines which are all over the city. It really helps to make traveling around the city faster. On top of that, you can drop from the zip line and perform a super cool assassination.
Better Graphics Than Its Predecessors
Assassin's Creed Revelations comes with astounding graphics. Every game in this franchise has come with increasingly improved graphics, and this game is no exception. Aside from the outstanding graphics, gamers will also enjoy a great selection of soundtracks. In addition to all that, there has also been a slow motion camera added, which makes it cooler when you kill enemies.
Criticisms Of the Assassin's Creed Revelations PC Game
Despite being widely popular, there are still critics of this game. What are some of the criticisms of this game? Well, one of the criticisms is that this is simply more of the same game. Some people feel that Ubisoft is just pumping out more of the same and not doing anything truly original or new. An additional criticism is that the multiplayer map is too small. It would also have been nice if Ubisoft had spent more time on the actual single player mode and less on the multiplayer mode. One of the complaints was that the storyline was uninteresting, deteriorating and the single player game was too short.
Despite the critics, Assassin's Creed Revelations is still a massively playable game, so there has to be a reason for its popularity. People can hate the game until they are blue in the face, but the results show that there is something about this game that people love. Otherwise, they would not buy it. If you are looking to be entertained for a few hours, then Assassin's Creed Revelations can give you that.
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Nov 23, 2014


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The 2009 Awards Forum was held at Andrews University on Thursday, April 16. Held in a filled-to-capacity Howard Performing Arts Center, students and faculty were recognized for various academic, athletic and service achievements.
Following opening prayer from David Steen, professor of biology, and a musical selection by four students collectively known as Sigma 5, Provost Heather Knight offered some opening remarks. Then the recognition of scholarship and honors began.
The Southwest Michigan AIA award was presented to Justin Barker. This merit scholarship award recognizes overall excellence and leadership. The recipient is nominated by the school's faculty. The School of Architecture also commended the Urban Design Studio students for recently receiving an award from the Congress for New Urbanism. The award recognized 12 professional and academic projects as the best of "The New Urbanism."
Allen Stembridge, chair of the School of Business Administration, presented the Wall Street Journal Award to Ja–eon Hwang. This is the highest award a business student can obtain.
Keith Mattingly, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, recognized the 149 Andrews students who have been named in Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities. These students enhance the positive image of American youth. The program builds recognition of the connection between today's collegiate youth and the future leadership of our country.
The Department of Physics Excellence Awards were presented by Margarita Mattingly, chair. A memorable book, currency for a bookmark and a certificate for the Head of the Class Award, recognizing the top-ranked students in the General Physics and Physics for Scientists and Engineers sequence, went to Kendra Anderson, a pre-med student, and Jonathan Ford, an electrical and computer engineering student.
The unusual Brent Bills "Pat on the Back" Awards, meant to reward special talent, service and enthusiasm at the physics table, went to Chris Greenley and Sinclair Johnston. Each received a cash award of $500 and a certificate.
The 2009 Bruce Lee Physics Excellence Award recognizing high academic achievement was awarded to Andrew Tidwell. He also received a $1,000 award.
Two individuals, Garret Catron and Daniel Moskala, received the Virginia and Virgil Kinkade Excellence Award. It acknowledges professional potential and academic achievement and comes with a $2,000 check.
The premier award, the Paul Pelley III Physics Excellence Award, identifies and encourages continuing excellence in exceptional physics students and has a cash award of $2,000. This year the award went to Andrew Hoff.
David Jardine, director of Social Recreation & Athletics, introduced the 2009 Intramural Sportsmanship Award recipients: Mindy Hudson and Kyle Kossick. These students were chosen not only because of their talents but also because of their character.
Mary Cregan, a freshman on the Cardinal Women's Soccer team, was chosen from over 160 players at the USCAA National Tournament to receive the National All Tournament Player Award.
Terrance Millen, a senior on the men's Cardinal basketball team, who also received a bid to the USCAA National Tournament, received the National All Tournament Player Award.
The last two awards Jardine presented represent excellence within the United Sates Collegiate Athletic Association. The National All American Award is given to 10 individuals nationally based on their individual skills as a player. In an organization with well over 1,000 male athletes it truly is an honor to be selected. Sean Thorne received this award.
The All Academic Team Award is given to 10 individuals nationally, based on their performance in the classroom. Out of over 800 female athletes involved within the USCAA, Julia Straub received the National All Academic Team Award. Jardine also noted the women's basketball combined team GPA is was an outstanding 3.86.
Gunnar Lovehoiden, associate professor of engineering, was presented with the Advisor of the Year award. One student was quoted as saying, "He is a very good and encouraging person. He has the perfect personality to be an advisor."
AUSA President Isaac Lee and Lena Caesar, 2008 Teacher of the Year, presented the 2009 AUSA Teacher of the Year award to David Steen, professor of biology. Caesar said of Steen, "He is a master teacher, well-respected by both faculty and students and the ultimate embodiment of mind, heart and soul."
Sharon Prest, assistant professor of digital media & photography, along with Ron Whitehead, assistant to the president for Spiritual Life, presented an Ecology and Stewardship Award to the Village Green Preservation Society from the World Wildlife fund. They also acknowledged the $1,815 grant from the Berrien County Resource Recovery Office.
Dennis Woodland, professor of botany, who is responsible for establishing the campus arboretum, was also presented with an Ecology and Stewardship Award. One acre of rainforest was set aside in his name.
The Robert and Madeline Johnston Bible Memorization Award was presented to Susan Joshua. Every year, Joshua memorizes large portions of the Bible. To date, this mother of two has memorized over 2,500 verses.
Following a musical selection from Anointed Harmony, Frances Faehner, dean of Student Life, had all student leaders representing the 76 campus clubs, AUSA officers, resident assistants, family group leaders, ambassadors, campus ministry leaders and student missionaries stand. Addressing those students, she said, "You saw a need and you fulfilled it."
Faehner then presented Isaac Lee and Reena Dollente with the Spirit of Andrews Award. Both were selected by their peers in the Student Association.
The program booklet for the Recognition & Awards Forum recognized recipients of the DeHaan Work Excellence Award. This work excellence scholarship, sponsored by Frank and Dolly DeHaan, is given to students who demonstrate outstanding performance at the workplace in the following areas: attendance, ability to take responsibility, initiative, team player skills, human relation skills and work excellence. This year's recipients were: Terry-Ann Adjmul, Erica Baker, Leslie Baker, Brittany Blair, Kathryn Branley, Candace Brown, Christina Burden, Ben Chase, Trevor Dennis, Deanna Doran, Timothy Elliot, Mirlene Etienne, Xiang-Yu Guo, Kyle Hardesty, Andrew Helm, Mitchel Hobson, Keith Lashley, Michaela Lawrence, Clifford Lim, Krystal McKenzie, Rich Mendez, James Mutua, Brandi Myers, Raphael Nawrotzki, Stacey Ann Nicely, Nickolas Paniagua, Jason Perry, Christine Pierson, Sean Porras, Lavern Ramdatt, Michelle Roderick, Raquel Rodriguez, Anuj Saraf, Justin Seibold, Yoko Shinmyo, Lindsey Shotwell, Eric Shull, Sergio Silva, Jerome Skinner, Jessica Stotz, Christine Swanson, Andrew Tompkins, Jason Witzel and Katie Wolfer.
The following students received a Women's Advisory Scholarship: Shanter Alexander, Amanda Arthur, Jeong-A Bae, Cindel Hollancid, Nadine Isaac, Ashleigh Jardine, Polina Kadatska, Chuen Lau, Rebekah Liu, Carolyn Macomber, Maria Martinez-Hernandez, Ehren McLarty, Nina Menezes, Jackie Spencer and Maria Zambrano.
The following students were also awarded scholarships:
Volga Sharapa, the Edwin & Elsie L. Buck Scholarship
Julia Symes, the Veda Lesher Scholarship
Carrie Chao, the Ed & Cora Lugenbeal Scholarship
Nadine Plummer, the Leona G. Running Scholarship
-Written by Keri Suarez, media relations specialist, Office of Integrated Marketing & Communication


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This December when I first saw the latest Daring Baker Challenge, I was a little taken aback. Our mission, if we chose to accept it, was to make an incredibly elaborate and authentic French Yule Log recipe with Six, yes SIX elements. Each element would make a lovely dessert on its own, in my opinion. But, in this recipe we made these six separate desserts and combined them into one masterpiece of a yule log. The finished product was layers and layers of sweet cream and chocolate, and included some of my favorite things including almond praline and creme brulee. It also had lots of room for creativity, especially in the mousse and brulee layers. Although I usually only have a passing flirtation with chocolate, favoring sweets with fruit or spice flavorings, thinking of some of my chocoholic friends this holiday season (especially Archana) I decided to go all out and create a true death-by-chocolate yule log with only an exception for the almond cake (like a cross between flourless almond cake and meringues) and the creme brulee. For the creme brulee I was inspired by my DH's Norwegian heritage and my favorite recipe for a Daring Baker gluten-free Apple Danish to bake apple slices in a brown sugar-cardamom glaze and then immerse them in a rich, vanilla cardamom creme brulee base. This creme brulee ended up being one of my favorite elements of the recipe, and in the future I plan to try a lightened version in a classic individual-serving brulee with a caramelized sugar crust. I also fell in love with the classic almond praline I made for the Chocolate Praline Crisp candy layer. I wouldn't hesitate to make it, as well as the chocolate praline crisp, as candy gifts or snack for guests. This dish took us two very stressful days to make. I must admit I recruited the DH to help with some of the more challenging elements of preparing the dish, and even with two of us, it was quite a task. There were times when I was not sure the dish would ever get done. Besides the incredible richness of the ingredients that I am not accustomed to, another problem was that several elements called for gelatin. As a vegetarian, I do not use gelatin in recipes and so I needed to use a seaweed called agar agar (aka kanten) as a substitute. I've never had much luck with agar agar in the past, perhaps because I tried to use it for making vegetarian marshmallows rather than a simple jello-type dish. I tried to research it online and found some rather problematic elements. Instructions varied greatly and most directions were for agar agar powder rather than flakes. I also read that agar agar had an undesirable taste, created a rubbery texture, and didn't completely dissolve in liquid. Hmmm. I was officially scared. There wasn't much I could do about taste besides hope that the cocoa would mask any flavor. Bryanna Clark's informative page on agar agar suggested that adding starch to agar agar would soften the texture, so I added a little cornstarch slurry. I also ground up my flakes a bit in a food processor in the hopes that making it more like a powder would make it dissolve better. Then I set the poor DH over the stove and had him work with it until it started to gel. This basically entailed heating it over a stove for a while and then giving it a cool water bath. In the end it did make a glossy, smooth icing, but unfortunately this icing softens rapidly at room temperature. We also had trouble with the creme brulee being a little too frozen in contrast with the other ingredients.
We frosted the yule log the first time on Christmas Day and served some to our friends M and A as a Christmas dinner dessert after a brief chill in the freezer. They enjoyed it, but the soft texture of the frostring was a little bit disappointing. The next day we brought some over to some friends and after an overnight session in the freezer, the frosting was greatly improved. Thirty minutes in the refrigerator and it was perfect for serving. It was declared yummy by all parties, and the DH had a second helping, that bad boy.
This is an incredibly rich dish, so even half a slice seems like a full serving. As a result, we still have half of the yule left in our freezer. I'm looking forward to pulling it out and snacking on it, or sharing some with guests as the opportunity arises. I was happy to get the opportunity to make an authentic yule log dessert after our time in Japan. Oddly enough, yule logs are popular in Japan during Christmas time as part of their flirtation with French pastries and French pastry shops. However, I'd never had one before. From looking at other recipes, this recipe seems a little unusually ornate to me- some are simply sponge cake rolls with lovely frosting fillings, which sounds like a lot easier and more fun to make. However, they don't call it daring bakers for nothing, and this recipe was certainly daring. It may have been a little more daring than I wanted during the busy holiday season, but I did learn quite a bit from making this recipe, and even came out of it with some lovely elements that I would love to make again. This variation is chocoholic approved, but you could also make a less chocolate intense version. For my own taste buds, if I were to try it again I might try something like an almond biscuit with vanilla-lemon mousse, white chocolate praline crunch and a cream cheese frosting, topped with fresh strawberries. Sounds good, right? I also read about some alternative daring bakers making vegan or even raw-food versions that sound absolutely lovely. I'll try to link to some of the more unique takes on this recipe as I come across them. One of the best things about this recipe is that while it wasn't very vegan (or vegetarian, for that matter) friendly, it was VERY easy to make gluten-free, with only two very minor changes necessary that had almost no impact on the final product. Let's hear it for gluten-free-friendly Daring Baking Recipes!
This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.
The challenge rules stipulated that we MUST MAKE ALL 6 of these elements for the log:
1) Dacquoise Biscuit
2) Mousse (or whipped cream filling)
3) Ganache Insert
4) Praline (Crisp) Insert
5) Creme Brulee Insert
6) Icing
Other Alternative Bakers' Logs Close to my Heart:
Lilac Kitchen's Gluten-Free French Yule Log
My Diverse Kitchen's Vegetarian, Reduced Egg French Yule Cake
Pacific Outpost's Vegan Yule Log
*if you made a vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free version WITH RECIPE POSTED please post the link in the comments and I'll visit you and add you to my list!*
Check out my other completed Daring Baker Challenges:
GF Yule Log
GF Vegan Pizza
GF Eclairs
GF Danish
GF DF Cheesecake Pops
GF Vegan Party Cake
Intrigued? Recipes below. And keep in mind, even if you don't want to make a whole yule log, you can make parts of it for an absolutely divine and considerably lower-stress recipe.
Shared with Gluten-free Holiday Carnival
Almost Flourless Dacquoise Biscuit Almond Cake Recipe
Element #1 Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake)
Equipment: food processor (optional), 2 mixing bowls, hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment, spatula, baking pan such as a 10�x15� jelly-roll pan, parchment paper
Line your baking pan with a piece of parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray or grease with margarine or butter.
You can start with whole blanched almonds in a food processor or spice mill and grind them. Alternatively, you can buy almond meal pre-ground. Once finely ground…
Combine the almond meal and the confectioner's sugar in a food processor or bowl and blend. Put meal and sugar in a bowl and sift in your GF flour.
In a separate mixer or bowl, beat your eggs whites. Slowly add granulated sugar until the mixture is stiff.
Gently pour the almond meal mixture into the egg whites and fold in with a spatula.
Pour your batter onto your prepared, greased parchment paper and spread with icing knife or spatula into your desired shape. Make 1/3 inch tall and slightly wider than you actually need.
Bake at 350�F (180�C) for around 15 minutes or until a light golden brown.
Cool and cut as needed.
Preparation time: 10 mn + 15 mn for baking
Note: You can use the Dacquoise for the bottom of your Yule Log only, or as bottom and top layers, or if using a Yule log mold (half-pipe) to line your entire mold with the biscuit. Take care to spread the Dacquoise accordingly. Try to bake the Dacquoise the same day you assemble the log to keep it as moist as possible. If that isn't possible you can store it in the refrigerator in a gallon ziploc bag overnight.
Milk Chocolate Whipped Cream Chantilly Recipe
Milk Chocolate Whipped Cream (Chantilly):
2/3 cup (160g) heavy whipping cream
Put chocolate chips or chopped milk chocolate in a bowl with corn syrup.
Heat cream to boiling and pour over the chocolate and corn syrup. Wait 30 seconds then stir together until smooth and chocolate melts. Add the rest of the whipping cream and combine thoroughly. Cool in refrigerate and then whip.
Supposedly can be made the day before and kept in the fridge overnight, but we found it solidified and then wouldn't whip to be as nice and fluffy as we had hoped.
Dark Chocolate Ganache Recipe
Element #3 Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert:
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup � 1 Tbsp/ 135g) heavy cream
5 oz (135g) dark chocolate, finely chopped (or use dark chocolate chips)
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened
Equipment: pan, whisk. If you have plunging mixer (a vertical hand mixer used to make soups and other liquids), it comes in handy.
Preparation time: 10 min
Make caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color
While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.
Note: Because the ganache hardens as it cools, you should make it right before you intend to use it to facilitate piping it onto the log during assembly. Please be careful when caramelizing the sugar and then adding the cream. It may splatter and boil.
Praline Crisp Chocolate Crunch Insert or Candy
Element #4 Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert
Ingredients for the Praline Feuillete:
Equipment: Small saucepan, Double boiler (or one small saucepan in another), wax paper.
Preparation time: 10 mn
1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler.
2. Add the praline and the corn flakes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate.
3. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.
I believe I used 2 oz. cornflakes and it was delicious.
I made this homemade Praline Recipe:
To use in Yule log, it is best to break up this layer into chunks. For snacking, it is wonderful left in large sheets. My favorite part of the yule log, and one I'm most likely to make again, besides the creme brulee.
Apple Cardamom Creme Brulee Recipe
Element #5 Vanilla Creme Brulee Insert
Preparation time: 15mn + 1h infusing + 1h baking
Equipment: Small saucepan, mixing bowl, baking mold, wax paper
1. Heat the milk, cream, cardamom seeds, and scraped vanilla bean to just boiling. Remove from the stove and let the vanilla and cardamom infuse for about 1 hour.
1b. While milk is infusing, line a baking pan with a piece of parchment paper and bake your sliced apples, sprinkled with a mixture of cardamom and brown sugar, at 375 or so until apples are softened.
2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).
3. Pour the vanilla-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well.
4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside of your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. You will need a larger pan that your baking mold fits in to create a water bath for the brulee. Lay your baked apple slices into the mold in an even layer. Pour the cream into the mold over the apples. Place mold in larger pan and fill larger pan with at least 1 inch of water, taking care not to spill any water into the brulee. (you may wish to add water carefully into the larger pan AFTER placing it in the oven with the mold.) Bake at 300�F for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.
5. Let cool and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up and facilitate the final assembly.
For a traditional creme brulee presentation, simply use small creme brulee molds. Don't forget to use a water bath! They will probably take less time, so remove from pan as soon as they have started to solidify and are just a little wobbly in the center. Cool and then sprinkle with sugar and torch to caramelize sugar for an even, crackly crust. Delish!
*I REALLY want to lighten this brulee more. This is a lighter version than the original and it was lovely, but this is just more cream than I really like. I'm certain lower fat milk could be substituted for a lighter, delightful brulee.
Vegetarian Dark Chocolate Icing with Agar Agar Recipe
Element #6 Dark Chocolate Icing
Preparation time: 25 minutes (10mn if you don�t count softening the agar-agar)
Equipment: Small bowl, small saucepan
Soften the agar-agar in 1 tbsp. or so of cold water for 15 minutes.
Bring all of the ingredients to a boil in a pan and simmer for up to fifteen minutes.
Once yule log (or cake etc) is frosted, place it in the freezer and allow to harden overnight.
Note: Because the icing gelifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute.
This recipe originally had gelatin, but I substituted agar-agar. It was one of the first times I'd used agar-agar (although I did once unsuccessfully try to use it to make vegetarian marshmallows).
8g powdered gelatin = 1 (0.25 oz) envelope powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp Agar-Agar.
This was a first attempt, so the recipe has some kinks to be worked out. It really does need to be frozen overnight, and even then the frosting will be soft and softens quickly.
How to Assemble a French Yule Log Recipe
1) Dacquoise
2) Mousse
3) Creme Brulee Insert
4) Mousse
5) Praline/Crisp Insert
6) Mousse
7) Ganache Insert
8) Dacquoise
How To Assemble your French Yule Log
Depending on whether your mold is going to hold the assembly upside down until you unmold it or right side up, this order will be different.
1) Line your mold or pan, whatever its shape, with plastic film.
2A) Cut the Dacquoise into a shape fitting your mold and set it in there. If you are using an actual Yule mold which is in the shape of a half-pipe, you want the Dacquoise to cover the entire half-pipe portion of the mold.
If you are doing the assembly UPSIDE DOWN with TWO pieces of Dacquoise the order is:
An impressive dessert, but a little rich and time-consuming. I've been out-dared! Next time I would make a much simpler yule log more like a sponge roll. The individual parts of the log are nice by themselves, though, and I might make them again separately. Just not together.
This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand


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Minor in Creative Writing Program
Contact: Amy Sage Webb or Kevin Rabas
The Creative Writing minor is a 24-hour program of study open to all students regardless of major. Through this minor, students receive guided practice in the writing of poetry, fiction, drama, and non-fiction prose as well as an opportunity to share their work with others, in both workshops and public events. Outlets for student work include Quivira, the state's oldest campus literary magazine, and the Quivira literary club, which sponsors reading, dramatic productions, and other events.
Required Courses (15 hours)
EG280 Introduction to Creative Writing (3 hours)
EG380 Fiction Writing (3 hours) OR
EG385 Poetry Writing (3 hours)
EG580 Advanced Fiction Writing (3 hours) OR
EG585 Advanced Poetry Writing (3 hours)
EG587 Topics in Creative Writing (3 hours) OR
EG588 Studies in Creative Writing (3 hours)
EG780 Seminar in Creative Writing (3 hours)
Additional courses with a total of nine hours in English, including at least one course in 20th century literature.
Up to 9 hours of English course work may be the same for the BA degree in English and the Creative Writing minor.


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Fabulous Freebies 2009
by Erin Burt
Friday, September 4, 2009
provided by Kiplinger's Personal Finance
It's been said that the best things in life are free -- and we couldn't agree more. That's why we're back with our third annual list of our favorite freebies.
We looked for primo goods and services, no useless junk allowed. And boy, did we find 'em, from financial management and planning helps to entertainment and vacation freebies.
1. Free Video Games
If you're looking for games for the kids -- or an excuse to act like a kid yourself -- head to Kongregate.com, Popcap.com, Pogo.com and OnlineFlashGames.org for thousands of free online and downloadable games of all types.
For educational or just-for-fun games suited to young kids, check out PBSkids.org, DiscoveryKids.com, NickJr.com and Scholastic.com/kids.
2. Free Birthday Goodies
A slew of businesses will give you prime freebies on your birthday that almost make getting older worth it. For instance, anyone can get free admission to Disneyland or Disney World parks in 2009. Join the birthday club at Toys R Us and your child (younger than 10) will get a free toy or gift card every year.
If you sign up in advance to join the club at your favorite eatery, you could score free food on your birthday too. For example, you can get a free meal at Famous Dave's BBQ and free ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery and Baskin Robbins. Search the Web for "birthday freebies," then call your local restaurants to ask whether they participate in the deal.
3. Free Shipping
Special delivery! Some retailers still offer free shipping on every order, including Alyssagiftbaskets.com (special-occasion gifts), Bluenile.com (jewelry), Piperlime.com (shoes), Shopbop.com (clothes) and Zappos.com (shoes).
Many merchants offer free shipping if you can pick up the item at your local store, including Walmart.com, Payless.com and REI.com. This comes in handy for online-only items, oversize purchases or goods that have sold out at your local store. Or, look for free shipping deals when you spend a certain amount, such as orders over $25 at Amazon.com. See FreeShipping.org for more deals.
4. Free Software
For most of your computing needs, you can get free software. For word processing and spreadsheets, go to OpenOffice.org. For antivirus protection, head to AVG Free - Download Free Antivirus and Antispyware for Windows 7, Vista and XP. For free basic photo editing, check out Picasa 3: Free download from Google, or for more advanced touch-ups, try Gimp.org. And to manage your finances, use the free programs at Mint.com or Wesabe.com.
5. Free Stock Trades
At Wells Fargo, you get 100 commission-free online trades per year if your cumulative account balance is $25,000 or more (including your Wells Fargo checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, IRAs and brokerage accounts).
Also, Zecco.com offers ten free trades per month if you have $25,000 in your brokerage account.
6. Free Credit Report
By law, you're entitled to one free report once a year from each of the three main credit bureaus. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to find out what lenders can see about your credit history.
7. Free TV and Movies
Head online to watch free episodes from hundreds of TV shows -- old and current -- as well as free movies. And it's perfectly legal.
At OVGuide.com you'll find a list of TV and movie sites including Hulu.com, Veoh.com and Fancast.com, as well as individual network Web sites, such as ABC.com and CBS.com.
8. Free ATMs
A buck or two here and there may not seem like a big deal, but if you're frequenting ATMs outside your bank's network, the surcharges can add up quickly.
Get money from an ATM that belongs to a surcharge-free network. Allpoint has about 200 participating institutions and 32,000 ATMs. Money Pass has 600 members and 8,000 ATMs.
9. Free (and Risk-Free) Interest
Many banks offer free savings accounts, but they won't help your money grow. Instead, use a high-yield online savings account for your short-term savings, such as ING Direct, HSBC Direct and Emigrant Direct. They're FDIC-insured and were recently paying around 1.4%. They have no minimum-balance requirement, so you earn that rate whether you have $1 or $100,000 saved.
And consider the free interest-bearing checking accounts from ING Direct and Everbank. They're also FDIC-insured and were recently paying between 0.25% and 1.96%. (Most traditional banks' free checking accounts pay you nil.)
10. Airline Freebies
Airlines may be scaling back their perks, but some still have freebies for fliers. For instance, Southwest lets you check two bags for free, while most others charge extra for luggage. JetBlue lets you check one bag free, plus gives you access to free TV, satellite radio and all-you-can-eat snacks. Continental still serves free meals on several routes. And all kids under age 2 can fly free on your lap on any airline.
Don't forget about the free flights you can score by signing up for an airline's frequent-flier program (enrollment is also free). See the "Program Guide" at WebFlyer.com for the lowdown on each airline's rules.
11. Free Money for Grad School
On average, a year of graduate school costs $28,375 for a master's degree at a public school and $38,665 at a private school. But free money abounds, from grants and scholarships to assistantships and fellowships.
12. Free Rewards
You have to buy groceries and gas anyway, so why not use those purchases to get a little more green in your wallet? Sign up for a rewards credit card and get free money, gift certificates, airline miles or other perks. (Of course, it's only free if you pay the balance in full each month without incurring interest charges.)
When you have to make a purchase online, start at BondRewards.com to earn another cool freebie: You click on an affiliated online retailer (there are hundreds) to do your shopping as usual, and a percentage of your purchase is given back to you in your BondRewards account. You then redeem your rewards for U.S. savings bonds or cash.
13. Free Financial Advice
Not to toot our own horn (okay, maybe just a little), but Kiplinger.com is a treasure trove of free financial advice. Our tools and calculators will help you get on the right financial track.
Our expert columnists will answer your personal-finance questions. For instance, Kim Lankford answers your general financial questions, Janet Bodnar tackles family and kid topics and Knight Kiplinger advises readers on ethics and money matters.
14. Free Mobile Apps
You spent all that money on a new iPhone. Now download some free apps to help you save money and recoup the cost. For instance, the free Mint.com or Quicken apps help you track your spending and manage your money and investments on the go. AMT Hunter can help you find a surcharge-free machine near wherever you are. And iShop can help you search for the lowest price on an item before you buy.
There are plenty of other useful applications at the iTunes App Store, with free recipes, weather updates, diet help, music, games and more.
15. Free Books, Movies, & Music
If you haven't been to the public library lately, dust off your card. It's your ticket to mounds of free books, magazines, CDs and movies.
Many libraries also offer free lectures, book readings and community clubs to residents.
16. Free Online Bill Paying
Stop paying your bills by check and put their payment on autopilot. At many banks, including Bank of America, BB&T, SunTrust and Wachovia, you get free bill paying with every online checking account. (Be sure you read the fine print -- some banks may require you to maintain a certain balance in your checking account to get the freebie.)
But even if your bank doesn't give you this freebie, you can probably arrange for automatic bill paying directly with the parties sending the bills, such as your utility, credit-card, phone and mortgage companies.
17. Free Kids' Meals
Yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch -- or dinner. Kids eat free at Denny's, Lone Star Steakhouse and Roadhouse Grill every Tuesday night (and some Saturdays) with a paying adult. IHOP, Golden Corral, Marie Callender's and Chevys restaurants offer kids-eat-free deals at select locations.
You can search for eateries in your area at KidsMealDeals.com.
18. Free Digital Storage Space
With free online backup storage, you can protect your important files and photos from computer crashes, theft or natural disaster.
For instance, Spideroak.com and Myotherdrive.com each give you 2 gigabytes of free and secure digital storage space. You can also store your cherished photos and videos at sites such as Photobucket.com and Flickr.com. You can also store your pics at photo-print ordering sites such as Snapfish.com, Shutterfly.com or Walmart.com, as long as your account is active.
19. Free Tech Recycling -- With Benefits
Not only is it getting easier to keep your old electronics out of the landfill, but you may even get some free cash in exchange. Services such as BuyMyTronics.com, Gazelle.com, MyBoneyard.com and GreenPhone.com recycle or refurbish your old tech and send you a check in return. They take cameras, cell phones, MP3 players, game consoles and more.
If you can't find anyone willing to pay for your dinosaur, look for other free places to recycle. For instance, Best Buy will take many of your tech castoffs at no charge. And keep your eyes open for free e-recycling days in your city.
20. Free Capital Gains
Who wouldn't love to let their investments grow 100% tax-free? Take a pass on paying capital-gains taxes by investing in a Roth IRA. Any money you put into your Roth grows tax-free, and you won't owe Uncle Sam a dime when you cash out in retirement. It's all yours.
See 10 More Fabulous Freebies
Copyrighted, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.
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It is, in fact, a pleasant place to stop and have a quick burger and a brew, but it is also well known as being haunted!
Now let's walk into the middle room. Ah! This is the spot the ghost haunts!
My husband and I sat at the corner table and offered a toast to Dylan, not with whiskey but with Guinness. Were those glowing orbs reflected on the table Dylan's ghost eyes smiling in approval? I'd like to think so!
My post is part of Elizabeth of the The World Examining Works blog's first annual Halloween Party, and for more halloween themed blog posts join us at Theme Thursday.


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Before and After: Kerri's Country Kitchen
After living with a timber and exposed brick kitchen for what seemed like forever, Kerri decided it was time for a change. While the kitchen was in good shape structurally the space was depressingly dark. So while her husband was away for work, Kerri, armed with spray gun transformed her kitchen for less than $500. She tells us all about it below the jump.
How would you define your style? I'd describe my style as relaxed and informal. I tend to use a neutral backdrop, and add colour and texture in artwork and accessories; things that can be easily and inexpensively changed. Function is always a priority, but I like to combine contemporary pieces, natural materials, and antiques to add interest and personality. I really believe that each room should have at least one unique piece – an antique, vintage find, original artwork, or family keepsake – which sets the room apart and injects your own individuality and style.
What is your Inspiration for your kitchen? When we bought this house, we knew it needed a lot of work to get it looking the way we'd like. We live on 2 ½ acres, and although the land is beautiful the house was dark and dated. Along with the timber kitchen, we had pine cathedral ceilings, exposed brick walls and black stone floors – very dark and depressing. I knew I wanted a fresh, clean look, with lots of white, and drew on my love of Hamptons-style homes and Scandinavian interiors for inspiration.
What is your favorite element of your kitchen? I love what a difference a simple coat of paint has made to the room – it's now so light and airy, and it looks much bigger. But my favourite element came about by covering the brick island with beadboard, which totally changed the feel of the room. The dark brick screamed 80's style, and by replacing it I think I've managed to inject some charm and style into a space that was sadly lacking both. The room was functional but very tired, and with just a little paint, some new cabinet hardware, and a bit of elbow grease it now has a fresh, contemporary feel.
What is the biggest challenge of your kitchen? There were a couple of challenges in this makeover. As we plan to renovate this room completely in the not-too-distant future, I really focused on aesthetics rather than structural changes. I'd originally planned to replace the backsplash with either beadboard panelling or subway tile, but when I removed the existing laminate I found it was attached directly onto the wall studs – there was no plasterboard behind it at all! So for now the laminate will stay. I'm also considering whether to change the cut-out wall, and build some open shelving instead. My dilemma is that it opens up the kitchen to the formal living room, which is great in practical terms, but really impacts on the look of the living room. Not quite sure which way I'll go on that one yet!
What do friends say about your kitchen? Most of my friends thought I'd replaced the kitchen, or at least all of the doors – they didn't believe they were the same ones, just painted white. And without exception, everyone loves the beadboard. But the funniest reaction came from my husband, who was away for work when I decided to start my little DIY project. I thought I'd surprise him, and I think I definitely achieved that! Luckily he loves the new look, and is quite used to me doing things like this; although, I think he's always a little nervous when he travels!
What was is your proudest DIY? This room is definitely my proudest DIY, because I did everything myself. From spray painting the cabinet doors, to installing soft-close drawer runners, cutting the skirting and beadboard to size (with my latest obsession – the drop saw), this whole project was really enjoyable and so rewarding. And I've received so many emails from people saying they were too scared to paint over their wood cabinets, until they saw what a difference it made. I know some people think it's terrible to paint over timber, but my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. Paint is one of the cheapest, but most effective decorative tools you can use to update a room, and it can totally transform a space. This makeover cost less than $500, and most of that was spent on new cabinet hardware. To me, that's a whole lot of bang for your buck, and much cheaper than a new kitchen.
What was the biggest indulgence with respect to your kitchen? I haven't been indulgent at all so far, but I'm on the lookout for some new pendant lights for above the island bench, and some new stools for the breakfast bar. I think that's one of the great benefits of DIY – with the money you save by doing the work yourself, you can indulge in some great accessories to really personalise the room, and put your own individual stamp on it. Lighting is one area that can make or break a room, and it can be expensive, so I love the fact that I can shop for some beautiful, unique lights without a trace of guilt!
What is the best advice you've given or received? Definitely that preparation is key to a good result, and although the prep work is my least favourite part of any DIY project, it really is so true. Oh, and the old adage of 'measure twice, cut once' is the one rule you should never break. But really, my advice is to give it a go – what have you got to lose?
Thanks Kerri for sharing your kitchen renovation with us. You can see the whole process of updating the kitchen on Kerri's blog, Driftwood Interiors.


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