This weekend I had the great opportunity to present at the Leadership Alliance National Symposium with my fellow NYU SURP members, along with students from a number of other summer programs.
Spreads sandwich!
The weekend started off nicely, with a trip to Spreads Sandwich Shop. A student in my friend’s lab had claimed that the sandwich he had at Spreads was “the best sandwich of his [admittedly only sixteen-year-old] life,” so we obviously had to check this place out. It turns out that he was not exaggerating – or at least not exaggerating much! My friend, Anita, and I each got the croissant and egg sandwich, as suggested, and it was FANTASTIC. With an egg, gruyere, and truffle spread, this croissant sandwich was fall-apart, melt-in-your-mouth incredible. Duly sated, we headed back to our apartments, grabbed our stuff, and got on the bus to Hartford, CT, where the conference was to take place.
Business cards provided by LANS
The conference overall was awesome! The accommodations were lovely, and we were each given personalized business cards (to use for networking) and a portfolio case at check-in. The food was excellent – perhaps a little too excellent, and a little too much of it, if anything. The speakers were great – especially that first night. Leadership Alliance’s focus is on helping underrepresented and disadvantaged individuals become leaders and gain access to research fields and opportunities. As such, the feel of the conference was much more inclusive and community-centered than many I have been to, and the stories of some of the people, now professors/researchers at elite institutions, who were guided by Leadership Alliance programs, were incredible.
I gave an oral presentation, and got to watch many of my colleagues do the same. I also got to chat with students in many other programs and from many other schools, about their research experiences and future plans.
On Sunday, after a recruiting fair and acquiring a number of free pens and other conference spoils, we headed back to NYC.
As we enter the last week, I definitely want to make the most of it, and thus may end up eating out a little more than usual. But as I’ve been trying to keep costs down, and use up all of my food, I’ve been continuing to try some new recipes. Today I’d like to share a simple one with you for roasting beets! I think a lot of people are rather averse to beets without even having really tried them, but I think they’re quite delicious when they are cooked well (which doesn’t mean cooked complicatedly).
- 2 medium-sized beets
- 2-3 TB Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp salt or garlic salt
- 4-5 fresh basil leaves (optional)
- Heat the oven to 450ºF.
- Cover baking sheet with tinfoil.
- Slice of tops and bottoms of beets. Then slice beets into approximately 1/8-inch-thick slices.
- Drizzle beets with olive oil and salt. (I personally like garlic salt, but some people think that’s a weird flavor with the beets.)
- Lay out beets in a single layer.
- Optionally, shred basil leaves and sprinkle over beet slices (I think this is an excellent combo).
- Roast for 20-25 minutes, until they look slightly shrunken and son.
- If you like your beet slices crisper, cut them thinner, and/or leave them in the oven for a bit longer.
- Remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy!
Have a happy Monday everyone!
If you like beets, I bet you would like the fresh beet salad I make. Your grandfather loved it.
https://abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/salmon-beet-salad-michael-symon
Ooh yes! I will have to try that, thanks!