Tilapia Chimichurri

Chimichurri Sauce/Marinade:

1 bunch of Parsley (I removed only about 2 inches of the stems)

3-4 Green Onion (all of it)

¼ of a red bell pepper (I get RBP and slice it and freeze the slices that I don’t use for future use, so I used like 2 slices of frozen RBP this time)

2 T. Red Wine Vinegar

1 lemon, rind and seeds removed

½ lemon juice only

2 cloves of Garlic (I used the VM to make a paste out of whole bulbs, with out the skins of course, and add a bit of EVOO to it and put it in a glass jar in the refrigerator.  So I used about 2 t. of that) You can use more if you like more or less.

½ t. Oregano (this is a guess)

¼ t. Thyme (this is a guess)

½ t. crushed red pepper flakes (optional, or add more if you like spicier)

1 t. Salt (to your preference)

1 t. Pepper (to your preference)

Olive Oil or Avocado Oil

1lbs of Tilapia?  I am guessing here because I just used 3 fillets of what I bought since only 2 people were eating.

In your Vitamix or High Powered Blender or food processor pulse or blend(VM setting 1-2) the onion, RBP, Vinegar, lemon, Garlic, Oregano, Thyme, RPF, S&P, and about ¼ cup of oil until mostly incorporated and no big chunks.  Then add Parsley and a bit more oil and lemon juice and pulse until the parsley looks chopped up but NOT completely pulverized or blended.  Add some oil and lemon juice to the bottom of a glass jar to store in the frig and add some on top as well.  This should keep for about 2 weeks or so.  The flavors meld the longer it has had a chance to sit.

To prepare lightly brush Tilapia with avocado oil on both sides.  Heat BBQ grill to high heat and cook for  3 min on one side.  Then flip it and add some chimichurri on top and grill for another 3-5 mins.  I like my fish on the medium rare side so if you like it more well done then you should cook it longer.

 

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It's been a long time...time flies by...and all that jazz...

     So my daughter keeps reminding me every week that it have not posted a new blog, so this one goes out to her. Actually she brought me home a very good article from school called, The Trouble with Homework by Annie Murphy Paul which raises a lot of valid points on the whole homework issue and rote memorization method and how much are school kids really retaining from these types of methods.

     I had to chuckle to myself last night because I was going through my sons graded tests and homework assignments and found his spelling test from last week with 100%, A+, and a WOW!!  written on it from his teacher.  I was so happy for him and felt satisfied as a parent for drilling him every day on the week's spelling words.  The teacher as assigns 5 "challenge words" for students that want to go the extra mile to excel which he got correct as well.  She apparently asks those students to write it at the top of there paper I am guessing so she knows who attempted the words.  The reason I laughed at this point was because there at the top of my son's A+ paper was written "challin list" and her correction on top "challenge".  Obviously memorizing words for 3 days and testing on Thursday is really helping him to retain practically none of the words that he is given every week.  In fact it has become almost a sport of "how quickly can I learn these words and spit them back out to get a good grade so I don't have to worry about them anymore" for my son.  It really becomes painfully obvious when we work together on writing short essays or answers to questions and he asks me how to spell words that I know have been on previous spelling tests.  The solution to this...I am not sure yet, but I an going to work on finding out these next couple of months and do some research.  Honestly the science of learning has been a very fascinating area of study to me ever since I read the book "The Edison Gene" by Thom Hartman.  Right now I am trying to get started on read a book called "Why Boys Fail" by Richard Whitmire...Saving our Sons from the Educational System That's Leaving Them Behind.  I think as educators our homework assignment should be to find better ways for children to learn and if something isn't working them it is our responsibility to find a different, a better way.

     I do have to point out that this year in his 4th grade class the teacher sends home a "monthly packet" of about 25 pages front and page.  This packet has different kinds of activities from math, writing, social studies, reading, English, coloring, and puzzles incorporating the subjects.  If the kids complete the packet by the end of the month then they get to participate in a class party at the beginning of the next month.  If they do not complete the packet then they are sent to "study hall" at the library were the get to work on the packet.  Getting through the first month's packet was a bit rough, but once my son was able to enjoy the reward he was excited to get started on the next month packet immediately.  I am still out to lunch on how much of the information he is learning or retaining from the packet, but I love that it keeps him motivated to do some academic work after-school to avoid falling behind.  I do think it is a great thing to try so that students get away from the whole "I have homework to do tonight" and instead they can learn to be organized, pace themselves on how much or how little to do, and earn a reward at the end.  I have definitely in favor of doing things to put students in control of their learning experience, instead of pressuring them to learn.  We shall definitely see what the pros and cons are with this type of learning with time. 

I am also working on studying on the Praxis I test that I need to take in order to apply to the secondary teacher certification program as BSU.  It's been forever since I have taken an English class at the college level, so I am feeling a bit rusty and have been reading through guides to see what I am exactly up against.  My goal is to take the test by December, so I can apply for the program by Spring of next year.  Good to have goals right??

     Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are right around the corner...with it comes the cold weather.  I will be my best to keep everyone posted on my learning experience and new developments that come up.
Have a great day!!

Catching up with my blog...

     Well I really enjoyed my Spanish Conversation class that I took this summer.  I got a fantastic grade, but I learned a lot about my culture and I can't wait to take another one.  I did my oral presentation on astrology in Spanish which was really out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to do something totally different from what I normally do.  I am working on including it her on this blog but I created it in windows so I am having trouble getting a link on her to show a decent power point.  I will continue to work on this, so if you want to check it out you can.
     I was able to see some short films, but the one I really enjoyed the most was an Uruguayan short film called "El Ojo en la nuca" with one of my favorite actors Gael Garcia Bernal.  I have included the link for the first part of this film below:

We also learned about different Latin American authors, and one of my favorites was Juan Gelman who is an Argentinian author.  His letter to his grandchild was very moving to me and it is entitled "Carta abierta a mi nieto".  His story was terribly tragic, but one I was interested to learn about as it discussed a very terrible political era in Argentina called the Dirty War which lead to the formation of a group called the Mothers of the  Plaza de Mayo.  The history of this time is so interesting to me because of how shocking it was to me that this occurred close to where one of my parents is from.

I also learned about Jaoquin Salvador Lavado also known as Quino who created the cartoon Mafalda.
Here is a cute commentary with Mafalda on YouTube:

I hope to take a Spanish Lit class next semester and I am gearing up for the Praxis exam.  Hope everyone is having a great summer!!

One class down and one more to go

My final is tomorrow in my foundations of education class.  This course went by so quickly but I did learn a lot of things. My group presentation on the role of technology in education went really well.  I will be posting it as soon as I can.  Today we watched a video called "Changing Education Paradigms" that was very interesting and presented in a way that always keeps you focused with animation.  I liked it so much I am going to post it for all of my followers to watch.  This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award.  See if any of this makes sense to you as to why our educational system is always in need of reform.  Enjoy!!

Ahhh...yes....the joys of summer school

Does this sound about right?

Another quick post to let you know I am enjoying my ED CIFS class on the foundations of education.  I am learning some very cool things.  

Just got done with my own Personal Philosophy of Education, a paper that I will be posting on my portfolio.  I have a group presentation on the role of technology in schools that will be due at the end of this month, that will look awesome on my portfolio as well.  Hopefully I can convince my group to do a power point presentation to go with it.  

This class seems like it's moving so quickly.  It's done next week!!  


Does anyone have any fun Memorial Day weekend plans?  I need a break!


JoAn :)

A quick new post to let you know what is new....

     I survived my first semester at BSU.  Okay it really wasn't that bad because I only took ED TECH 202 and it was online.  Looks like I got an A in the class which is awesome!!  Here is the link for my site:
JoAn's Teaching Technology Portfolio Site
     If you find time to look at it and notice any errors like spelling, grammar, links that don't work properly please, please let me know.  There were many late night spent creating it, and I know that my thinking was probably not at its best when it was creating.  :)
     It's summer time and I just started ED-CIFS 201 which is a foundations of education course.  It is a small class which is nice and it is moving at a very quick pace which I like.  I will post more about what I am learning when I have a bit more time.  Until then keep checking back for updates in the exciting world of education.  


JoAn