This is my first time participating in the Paper Chef event, so like an idiot, I misread the instructions a little. I’ll explain about that a little later. Paper Chef #22 – Slow Edition, hosted by Tomatilla, asks us to create a dish out of the featured ingredients, a la Iron Chef. For an amateur like me, it’s a daunting task. While I’m great at following recipes, and even winging it from time to time, creativity isn’t really my forte (at least not yet). To take four random ingredients and create a dish that tastes good? Wow, tall order. OK – here’s where I screwed up. I misread the instructions to read that we had to use at least three of the four ingredients listed. Oops, I left out one. My solution to that small problem is below, although it isn’t in the picture.
This months four ingredients were quite diverse – barberries (never heard of them, but luckily we were able to substitute another berry), pumpkin, spinach (good luck, I still haven’t found any fresh locally – but again, we were able to substitute any green), and slow.
Excuse the bluriness of the picture, my camera wasn’t quite cooperating with me with this salad, for some reason. This salad is inspired by the mixed baby greens salad at Pastaria at the North Market, and the dressing for the salad was based in part on Emeril’s Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette – I like my dressing sweeter than the recipe calls for, so I used 4 tablespoons of brown sugar rather than 2 teaspoons.
To make the salad, toss baby greens (there’s ingredient #1), with thinly sliced onions, goat cheese, blueberries (ingredient #2), and top it with the balsamic vinaigrette (ingredient #3 – qualifies as slow because it’s aged balsamic, and also because you have to incorporate the oil slowly so it emulsifies the dressing). As I mentioned, I forgot #4 – but I’d incorporate it by tossing some salted pumpkin seeds into the mix for a little crunch. 
So there you have it – a salad. Simple, but effective. If you’d like to make it more like Pastaria’s version, you can also add a handful of golden raisins as well.
Nashville school board bows to parents of low achievers
January 25, 2004 | Matt Gouras, The Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The school honor roll, a time-honored system for rewarding A students, has become an apparent source of embarrassment for some underachievers.
As a result, all Nashville schools have stopped posting honor rolls, and some are also considering a ban on hanging good work in the hallways – all at the advice of school lawyers.
After a few parents complained their children might be ridiculed for not making the list, Nashville school system lawyers warned that state privacy laws forbid releasing any academic information, good or bad, without permission.
Some schools have since put a stop to academic pep rallies. Others think they may have to cancel spelling bees. And now schools across the state may follow Nashville’s lead.
The change has upset many parents who want their children recognized for hard work.
“This is as backward as it gets,” said Miriam Mimms, who has a son at Meigs Magnet School and helps run the parent-teacher association. “There has to be a way to come back from the rigidity.” The problem appears unique to Tennessee, since most states follow federal student-privacy guidelines, which allow the release of such things as honor rolls, U.S. Department of Education officials said. go to web site blocked games at school
But Nashville school lawyers based their decision last month on a state privacy law dating back to the 1970s – a law that’s not always followed because no one challenged the honor roll status quo.
School officials are developing permission slips to give parents of the Nashville district’s 69,000 students the option of having their children’s work recognized. They hope to get clearance before the next grading cycle – in about six weeks at some schools.
Until then, school principals are left trying to figure out what they can and can’t do.
Sandy Johnson, chief instructional officer for the Nashville schools, says the restrictions go “far beyond the honor roll.” “It’s for anything having to do with grades and attendance or anything normally reserved just for the student or parent,” she said.
Getting parents to sign permission slips won’t help protect students from being left out, but at least it will comply with the law, school officials said. this web site blocked games at school
In Knoxville, school district spokesman Russ Oaks said they do not think posting good information about a student violates state law. He said they put such information in the same category as sports statistics.
But some school systems already get parents to sign a release before student information is made public. Others think it might be a good idea to get rid of the honor roll altogether, as Principal Steven Baum did at Julia Green Elementary in Nashville.
“The rationale was, if there are some children that always make it and others that always don’t make it, there is a very subtle message that was sent,” he said. “I also understand right to privacy is the legal issue for the new century.” Baum thinks spelling bees and other publicly graded events are leftovers from the days of ranking and sorting students.
“I discourage competitive games at school,” he said. “They just don’t fit my worldview of what a school should be.” Parents at most schools, though, have been close to outrage over the new rule.
“So far, what we’ve heard parents say is, ‘This is crazy; spend your time doing other things,’” said Teresa Dennis, principal at Percy Priest Elementary School. “It does seem really silly.” A similar issue over student privacy went to the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago, when some parents objected to students grading each other’s work. The court sided with tradition in that case, ruling the long-standing practice of teachers asking students to swap papers and grade them in class does not violate federal privacy law.
“It’s not always clear what falls into [the privacy laws],” says Naomi E. Gittins, an attorney with the National School Boards Association. “Schools often take a more cautious route.” On the Net:
Metro Nashville Public Schools, www.mnps.org Matt Gouras, The Associated Press
October 21st, 2006 at 1:40 pm
Lovely salad – and I think the pumpkin seeds are a great solution to the pumpkin thing!
October 21st, 2006 at 10:17 pm
Sounds tasty! Blueberries in a salad, always yummy.
October 22nd, 2006 at 10:06 pm
Paper Chef 22 Winner has been announced. Your salad looks delicious and was a great entry.
December 26th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
[...] We tried something new this year – a tradition that my family is starting in lieu of the usual turkey or ham on Christmas. Starting this year, we’re going to do a different ethnic feast each year. This year? Italian. We had bread and dipping oil from Bravo, Mixed Baby Greens Salad with Balsamic Dressing, Insalata Caprese (made with Campari tomatoes, since they are the only tomatoes you can buy in December that taste like tomatoes!), Italian Wedding Soup (no pic or recipe yet, I’m making another batch tonight and will post the results tomorrow), trays of Meat and Cheese ravioli and meatballs from Carfagna’s, and a Strawberries and Cream cake from Whole Foods. If there’s one thing I learned from the Thanksgiving Day fiasco, it’s that I don’t have to make every little thing from scratch to serve up an excellent meal. [...]
February 3rd, 2007 at 1:39 pm
[...] The third course was a mixed baby greens salad purchased from Pastaria, although you can find the recipe for a copycat of it here, in my archives. [...]