Beef Stew

(I can't/won't credit this recipe to any one source because I pieced together so many recipes, comments, and suggestions that I don't think this recipe will look anything like what may have published to begin with! But I definitely started with one recipe from epicurious.com and one from How to Cook Everything to get me going.)

1 1/2 lb stew beef, cut into 1" pieces (can go up to 2 or 3 lbs if you want to be extra beefy)
3/4 c. flour seasoned with s&p for dredging
4-6T olive oil, divided
6 large garlic cloves, one crushed and 5 minced
1 large onion, chopped into rought 1/2" pieces
4 carrots, chopped into 1/2" thick rounds
3 stalks celery, cut into 1/2" thick slices
8 oz container sliced mushrooms
4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
2 c. red wine
2 T balsamic vinegar
5 c beef stock (we really like this brand that does naturals and organics)
2-3 T tomato paste
1-2 t dried thyme
1/4 c Worchestershire sauce
salt & pepper
1 c frozen corn
1 c frozen peas

Heat 2-4T oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Toss in whole crushed garlic clove and brown quickly on all sides to flavor oil. Remove and discard garlic. Dredge about half of the beef in the flour mixture and add to pan; saute until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to plate. Dredge and brown 2nd batch of meat. Remove to plate.

Add remainder of oil to the pan, saute onions, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic. Add mushrooms. When onions are starting to look translucent, begin building the base for the stew: add red wine and balsamic vinegar and keep the heat high to deglaze the pan, bring to boil for about 5-10 minutes or until the volume is reduced almost to 1/2. Then add salt & pepper, thyme, tomato paste, Worsestershire sauce, and the beef stock. Add browned beef. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes the mixture should still be quite soupy; if it's not add a bit more beef stock. Add the potatoes and cook another 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add peas & corn in the last 5 minutes.

Not surprisingly, this stew is best 1-2 days after cooking so if you have time, cook ahead and simply reheat slowly.


Trixie's Tips: for the first and second serving, make sure to have plenty of crusty bread (we had a freshly baked rosemary ciabatta one night...so delish), or make the cute Pillsbury Grands Biscuits...easy and yummy. For the third serving, try scooping the stew out over mashed potatoes.
This dish loves red wine and dark beer as an accompaniment. In fact, if you get really excited, replace the red wine IN the dish with a pint of Guinness to Irish-up your stew.

everything changes

I’ve been trying to figure out how to “restart” myself after the events of the past 3 weeks. There’s an odd reality I’m facing.  And without being overly dramatic, I think I can say with all certainty that this event, accident, loss, trauma has literally changed everything.

I have spent much of the past 2-3 years resetting my concept of what my life is all about.  What is meaningful and important.  What is relevant and valuable.  And who I really am in this world.  In a weird way, I’m proud of myself for that.  Because my old way of living and loving wasn’t working so well.  I was unhappy at work and stumbling along with my personal relationships.  I knew I was off track, but I didn’t yet know how to find my path.  These past years have really allowed me to grow into who I am and figure out how I want to show up to the world.  But more intimately, I’ve also grasped the importance of those I love, and I’ve carved out a co-existence that felt right.  In the wake of tragedy, I can say that I’m happy with where I’m headed.  Because had all of this happened even 3 years ago, I believe I might have reflected on myself with words like lost, unfulfilled, disappointed, without purpose.

Three weeks ago, a lightening bolt created a crack in our lives.  A fissure.  A permanent void.  And while this loss is intensely personal to some, I’m starting to see this as more than just people who left us too soon.  It’s about the enormity of life and the ridiculously simple power of love.  It’s about living a life of purpose, and one without regret.  It’s about remembering that we have only this day to live well, love deeply and act accordingly.  With life growing more complex by the day, we’re reminded of the basics.  This is a very good reminder, hidden in a cloud of literal heartbreak.

I can’t begin to capture all that I have learned in the past 3 weeks.  But I can try to articulate a few of the important lessons that have jumped out at me.  Let’s face it, writing helps me process.  For me, these lessons are around four key things:  faith, humanity, purpose, impact.

Faith
I’m speaking here of both the practical and theological versions of the word faith.  For me, these became very intertwined with recent events.  I have often thought about and used the word faith when it comes to explaining one’s ability to make ridiculous leaps (transitioning from employee to small business owner in a troubled economy to, oh, just grab one off the top of my head) or to just trust in the small decisions we make every day.  Faith helps us trust ourselves and others.  It’s helps us rely on instinct and experience.  It drives us to accept the unseen & believed, along with the seen & proven - in business, in love, in friendship, in everything.

My own spiritual faith is a convoluted thing.  But it’s uniquely mine and I accept it.  And more than ever, I’m interested in learning more.  Exploring a few unturned stones.  Understanding the complexities in a new way.  I don’t always understand your way of accepting a higher power into your life, but I am inspired by it.  I’m grooving with it.  Be it God, Allah, Buddha or whomsoever you choose, there are so many comforting similarities between religions.  But I’ve come to realize that - for me - religion itself isn’t really the point.  It’s more about connecting to a force greater than me and attempting to understand the purpose and extent of my very existence.  Ok, that’s a bit much, I realize.  So take it as the mental wanderings of a woman with a number of questions.  A ready student.

Humanity
Human beings are amazing things.  Biologically, soulfully, theoretically and practically amazing.  We don’t experience enough the love that is possible between and among people, do we?  The reminder has been bittersweet, of course, but I have never been more grateful to experience the power of humans to genuinely care for one another.  It’s amazing to think that as my heart is breaking, it is also so full of warmth and energy because of how others have shown up - for me, for my friend, for those lost, and for each other.  Again, sometimes this is intensely personal - about my heart and my experience.  But it’s also about the collective - our hearts, our experiences.  We each have the ability to simply be human, to connect and to love.

Purpose
As a business consultant, I have a keen focus on strategic planning.  I intentionally work with a segment of business that oftentimes struggles with that higher-level visioning, namely entrepreneurs.  But the one thing that (I believe) successful businesses of all sizes have in common is a specific, focused, stated purpose for being.  It’s the start of your mission, vision, values and priorities.  It’s the guiding principle for how you go about your business day to day.  I resonate so strongly with this that I’m certain I drive people crazy sometimes.  But if you’re going into business just to make money, you’re probably going to struggle at some point in your evolution.

As people, we’re not so different.  But how many people do you know have a stated purpose for their lives?  Ok, maybe you just don’t know they have it but, really, you’d probably pick up on it, right?  It would permeate their behaviors, interactions, and how they go about their business from day to day.  You would probably sense it in the air when they’re around.

My friend Luke lived a life of purpose - both personally and professionally.  And I now know how deeply that purpose impacted everything and every single person around him.  I’m inspired by this example.  My purpose is just there - on the tip of my tongue.  But feeling more apparent by the day.

Impact
What we do impacts others.  That’s simple enough.  So how do you want your interactions and your very existence on this earth to matter to others?  I’ve thought a lot about this in the past few years and I think it’s such a key driver for me.  I’ve made some uncomfortable decisions because I knew that saying yes would have led me in the wrong direction.  The impact I want to have on others, on life, on this world is bigger than that. 

So maybe this event hasn’t changed everything, after all.  Despite the still-inconceivable loss, I am fortified by this experience.  I am placing a higher value on these above items; I think I knew them before, but now I truly know.  I believe in my soul, my cells, my brain, my fingertips.  Every part of me believes.  And with that, I suppose, everything changes.

trixie's yummy chili

I have made this chili so many times and I swear to you it's the best chili I have ever had. Yea, super humble pie, huh? ;) Anyway, this is not a traditional Texas chili in that it has beans and happy stuff like that.  This one isn't time consuming or difficult to make but somehow manages to have that nice complexity of spices that makes chili so much fun. I hope you enjoy it!

1 lb ground beef
onion, 1/2 - 3/4" dice
green pepper, 1/2 - 3/4" dice
evoo
5 cloves garlic, minced
1T+ cumin
2T+ chili powder (I love Penzey's Medium Hot)
1/2 - 1t cinnamon (again, Penzey's Vietnamese is sharp and zippy for this dish)
1T dried oregano
1 can cannellini beans, drained and well rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and will rinsed
28oz can chopped tomatoes
small can niblets corn (or you can use 1c frozen corn too)
20-24oz tomato juice
3c beef stock or water (I highly recommend the beef stock for this...yum!)

Use a big ol soup pot for this recipe - it's got some volume to it, but if you start in a big enough pot, you'll only need to dirty up one pan. Ok so start by browning the beef, almost 100% cooked through. Drain the beef on paper toweling and set aside. Add a few tablespoons of evoo to the pan and over med-high heat, saute the onions and green peppers until they start to soften. After about 7-10 minutes when the onions are not quite translucent, add the garlic. You don't want a ton of oil in the pan here but just enough to keep things from drying out; add more if you need to. A little browning in the pan is just fine. Once the garlic smells nummy and the onions are soft you can move on. Now, if you have some nice brown goodies in the pan, I'd start by deglazing with just a bit of the stock or some wine - maybe 1/4c and scrape up the bits on the bottom (these ingredients are not in the list above but you can just wing it or skip it.) Then, once the stock is totally reduced and the onion mix is basically dry again, add the spices. Stir them constantly while you're doing this - you're looking for toasty spices, not burnt ones. After about a minute or so, go ahead and add the remainder of the ingredients. If your tomatoes are whole, chop them up in the pan as you go (or mangle them by hand, that works too).

Once all of this gets in the pan, throw a lid on it until you get a nice bubble working. Check the seasoning but don't get too carried away adding heat (spice heat, that is) just yet...taste for salt and call it good for now. Reduce the heat to simmer and check now and then to make sure you still have a slow bubble going on. This wants to cook for at least an hour but optimally 90 minutes. Recheck for salt and now you can gauge the spicy factor too. If you can get your hands on that nice medium spicy chili powder, you'll find this to be a good level of heat but not too zippy for us self-proclaimed spice wimps.

This is sooo good topped with a good white Irish cheddar (shredded), sour cream, crunched up tortilla chips, chopped red onion, etc. Also highly recommend this with trixie's cornbread too, of course!

trixie's cornbread

Not sure how this recipe came to be but I started researching cornbread a couple of years ago looking for the PERFECT one - didn't find it so I experimented until I got what I was looking for: a somewhat sweet cornbread to stand up to my spicy chili (this one has maple syrup!), very moist and flecked with actual corn. It's so easy to make.

Preheat oven to 375.

2 1/3c yellow cornmeal
1c flour
2-3T sugar
4t baking powder
1 1/4t salt
can creamed corn
1/2c cold butter, cut into 1/4" pcs
4 eggs
3/4c REAL maple syrup
1 1/3c buttermilk

This is a great place to use your food processor if you have one. If not, no worries. I forgot I actually own one now and made my last batch by hand...so it's really no big deal.

You'll want two bowls to start with. And spray or otherwise lube up a 9x13" pan. Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Then crumble in the butter cubes. If you have the food proc, give it 20-30 seconds of short pulses to get the butter all broken up into the dry ingredients - it will start to look and feel a little like damp sand and will hold together when you grab some of it. If you're doing this by hand, wash those mitts and get them in there. (Or you can also start the process with a pastry cutter thingie too, but it won't take you all the way to the end. Forks can also work but in my experience, it's a pain in the arse and your hands work better.) Basically you want to take the bits of butter and get them all coated with the cornmeal mix. Then sort of smoosh them between your fingers while you bring in more of the dry mix. The idea is to incorporate most of the butter and get it really small in there but don't worry if it's not totally blended. Get as close as you can. By hand, this will take a good 5 or so minutes of handling. Then just sort of check the mix by rubbing it between your palms while still adding dry mix. Make sure the butter bits are pretty teeny and well distributed.

In the second bowl, whisk up the wet ingredients. The idea here is just to get things well-incorporated and make sure the eggs are broken up. Add the creamed corn to this mix as well. Then you can just add wet to dry and stir until JUST combined. Don't go overboard or the bread won't rise correctly. Be gentle!

Throw all of this in your oiled pan and bake:
9 x 13" should take around 45 minutes
9 x 9" probably will take about 45 minutes as well, as they'll be thicker.
Either way, you're looking for a nice browned edge that's pulling away from the edge of the pan and when you insert a toothpick into the center, it comes out clean.

Voila!

trixie's tip:

Maple Butter: this one is so easy...but makes the cornbread so happy. Take a stick (or 1/2 stick, whatever) of room temperature butter and whip together with a few tablespoons of the maple syrup. If you have a nice flaky sea salt, add in a teaspoon of that as well. If your butter is already salted, you may want to skip this. In the end, it's an excellent sweet and salty happening on top of your cornbread. Apple butter is also highly recommended here!

finding my own way forward, 1 year later

(also know as: rejiggering, repackaging, reworking, revisiting, reminding)

This summer, I marked my first full year of independent consulting.  Though I started my business back in 2001, I have either worked full-time or under contract nearly all of those years in between.  Oh and I was gainfully, blissfully unemployed here and there too. But once I "decided" (aka, due to the realities of today's marketplace), I ventured out on my own last year, full time, all in, committed.

I often have people ask, How did you get started? and the truth is, I took an "it takes a village" + "modified shotgun" approach.  I knew that I had some marketable skills.  And I knew that the market I wanted to serve could use these skills.  So wrapping up my team, I set out on learning as much about this process as I could.  I really didn't want to take a bunch of missteps early on, and I needed some real life perspective from people who were out there making it happen.

But beyond that, I wasn't exactly sure how to package my services. I did a lot of reading and decided that an hourly rate wasn't for me, selfishly, because I didn't WANT to track hours!!  I did so much of that as a contractor and frankly I didn't think it served my clients.  I decided, better to just set a project fee and deliverables and go with that.  Everyone knows what they're getting into and what they're getting out of it.  Just seemed sensible.  I assumed that I'd probably take a beating on my actual hourly rate early on because I just didn't know how to estimate my time yet.  I knew that I'd build that into the learning process.  I knew I'd take some clients that maybe didn't completely line up, but I also knew that if I focused on the things I'm passionate about - namely, entrepreneurs, women and food - and employed a fair amount of patience and faith, I'd end up in the right place.

All of this turned out to be true.  I gained amazing clients - not even a clunker in the bunch.  Sure, I might be running on minimum wage rates with some of them, but heck, I didn't even care.  I was learning so much about what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, how long it would take and what I'd need to invest to get the job done.  It was a perfect experiment all around.

So, since the late summer, I've spent some time looking back at my business plan and assessing where I was in my own strategy - this elusive thing that I help my clients with on a daily basis.  How was *I* doing against my stated goals: revenue (by project, by month, by hour), clients (type and number), margin, turn time, etc. And using the knowledge of the past year, I set about creating an improved vision.  No, I didn't decide to turn everything on its ear.  But I did decide that I needed to shift a few things, repackage a few other things and reassess my own expectations a bit.

Here's what I learned:

• It takes twice as long to do a project than I thought - both in actual hours, and in duration of engagement.  Why?  Because entrepreneurs need coaching.  And without setting expectations about how that coaching would occur, I spent too much time coaching and not enough time doing.  Next, because I wasn't my client's only priority, and they weren't my only client, general things took longer than I thought.  Also, adding in other complementary services - key to my offering - added another layer of time and complexity.  I know better now.
• I revel in strategy work.  Sure, I love some of the tactical stuff too.  But sitting down with my entrepreneurs and talking with them about their future of the business and then turning that into solid documentation of how to proceed, where to go, what to do and who to take along for the ride?  Pure bliss.  I even like creating financial models.  Go figure.
• Coaching is fun, and inevitable.  Twice in a day last week - the very same day - two completely unrelated people articulated my work with entrepreneurs as "you're like a business life coach."  Huh.  Never exactly thought of it that way, but it's so true. The entrepreneur is the business, and the business is the entrepreneur (even if you have a staff of 12).  Getting all of the goals, identity issues, self-fulfilling trouble spots, needs and keys to success down on paper - aka, recognized and articulated - is such an invigorating process for clients.  Once they see the vision, understand the journey and can see themselves walking down the path to success?  Electrifying.
• Entrepreneurs want RIGHT NOW ACTION, but have no time.  The duration issue is as relevant for them as it is for me.

And here's what I decided:

• I'm going to repackage and offer a more diverse selection of services, based on the client need.  Some may need a longer-duration project; but some may need a one day intensive launch.  Some may want a 6-month small group seminar,  some may need one-on-one coaching.  Some may need strategy, others may need tactics.  And I can wrap these all up in different services and not only meet or exceed the client expectations, but also keep my own head on.
• I'm going to set better expectations on client:consultant interaction so everyone understands what they're in for.  Pricing and deliverables aren't enough to keep things clear and manageable.
• I'm going to lean heavily toward strategy (though that's not at all different from where I'm at today), and I'm going to make it my focus.
• I'm going to update my identity statement, key messages, audiences, website and marketing collateral.  Evolve or die, people.

And though it's easy to see how cumbersome and time-consuming this business/self work can be, I've also learned that it's critical.  Every business needs a health check once a year.  I'm going to give that to myself so that I can give better to my clients.  Does this sound familiar, entrepreneurs?  We are our businesses, our businesses are our lives.  Our health - in business and in life - is all we really have.  And that's a glorious thing to be responsible for.  Carry on.

spiced rub for pork chops

Or really, I suppose you can use this on just about any pork-related product.  It's so good!  You don't need to buy the Northwood Fire mix if you have all of the components; just mix up your own version.  But it has just the right amount of smoke and heat in its prefab state, so makes the whole process easier.  Then we amped up the garlic and added extra salts to get a good crust going on the grill pan.  The smoked salt is just so divine, but the chocolate salt is key - gives a depth of flavor without adding a whole chocolate-y thing; just enough to get your tastebuds interested.

1/2 t Northwoods Fire seasoning mix (Penzey's mix of coarse flake salt, paprika, chipotle pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, rosemary & garlic)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t dry mustard
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/2 t smoked salt (from Golden Fig)
1 t chocolate salt (from Golden Fig)
1/2 t dried aleppo pepper

Makes enough to generously rub down 4 pork chops.

fig berry jam

I went to the Minnesota State Fair this weekend and watched a presentation by Laurie of Golden Fig - one of the best local foods purveyors (and manufacturers, actually) in the area.  She was showing simple recipes for fun, fresh food on a stick.  But what got me was the beautiful fresh figs she had - and they were on sale at Whole Foods.  I drove straight from the fair to pick up 2 pints to play around with.  Then I set about finding a recipe for fig jam.  

Two days later, I saw Laurie again at the St. Paul Farmer's Market taste testing some of her mixes and flavored sugars.  The cherry cardamom sugar caught my attention and voila!  The flavor components of my Fig Berry Jam were born. Thanks for 2x the inspiration, Laurie!

1.5 lbs fresh mission figs
1/4 lb dried cherries
1/2 c honey (get good, sweet, local honey - I used wildflower)
1/4 t cardamom
1/4 t white pepper
1/2 t kosher salt
zest and juice of 2 small lemons
3/4 c St Croix Valley raspberry infusion wine (I just happened to have this,  if you don't, just use red wine)
6 cardamom pods, cracked with the flat side of your knife
1 T amaretto

Heat 1/2c of the wine and the cardamom pods over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced by half or more. Strain out the seeds and pods; set reduction aside.

Wash & stem figs and chop into rough 1/2" pieces.  In a large stock pot or saucepan, mix together all ingredients except for the last 1/4 c raspberry wine and amaretto.  Bring to boil and reduce heat to maintain a nice bubbling simmer.  Cook 30-40 minutes until cherries are well plumped and figs are cooked through. Add remaining wine and amaretto just at the end.  Taste and re-season, if necessary.

Turn off heat and let mixture sit for 10 minutes.  Pour into food processor and pulse until you get the desired texture.  (I like mine with a bit of body, but pretty well pureed).

You can just bottle this up, can using the boiling process, or freeze.  Makes about 25-27oz of jam.

Trixie's tips:

• Enjoy with a cheese plate with goat cheese, manchego, marcona almonds and a pool of honey to smear on flatbread, crackers or toasted baguette.
• We also rolled about a tablespoon each jam and goat cheese into a crepe for brunch. Yum and yum.
• This will also stand in beautifully for your normal breakfast jam on toast.
• Lastly, warm this jam with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and serve over super dark chocolate ice cream.  Alternatively, crush a few meringue cookies, layer with this warm jam mixture and just a bit of heavy cream (whipped or not, doesn't matter).

cooking away

While spring is my favorite season (blooming flowers, first signs of local produce, and the hope of warm sunny days after months of snow), fall is my favorite cooking season.  Flush with veggies and starting to crave jeans & sweatshirts, I can't think of anything I want to do more than cook.

Beyond that, cooking is also my way of decompressing and dealing with my over-active brain.  The mindless chopping and peeling and fussing are the perfect balm for my anxiety.  Plus, I'm not so bad at it so the results tend to be as enjoyable as the process.

This weekend, full of summer and the fair and weddings and otherwise over-committed days, I found myself longing for my kitchen.  So I've spent the better part of the past 24 hours in full-on cooking, baking and exercising my kitchen modes.  Thankfully my better half is an avid and enthusiastic cleaner upper and is the organized, recovery to my cook-and-destroy.  So he's been a great partner in my maniacal cooking fest.  Plus, he loves food and loves to cook himself so he's a truly willing participant.

Other benefits of my weekend onslaught included inspiration for our Christmas gift planning (we're doing all-homemade gifts this year - together) and making productive use of the abundant farmer's market. But mostly it tweaked the creative side of my brain which, quite frankly, feels as if it's been dormant for a few weeks.  Rushing through life headlong gives me that "just subsisting" vibe.  And that makes me even more anxious.  Riff on this recipe.  Tweak that spice mix.  Dream up a delicious cocktail.  And enjoy it all with the one I love.  Cooking is just good therapy all around.

I'll be posting recipes as I get a few moments here (I actually wrote them down for a change!) and taking a break here and there to, well, eat.  Therapy you can devour.  Delicious.

Sigh

Way too many conversations going on in the comments section of this blog. While that would normally be a fantastic thing, in this case it's a bizarre collection of Chinese-looking characters that are clearly not intended for me. On. Every. Post. So alas, I've put comments on lockdown until further notice.

a giant leap forward

The past few weeks have been a jumble.  Summer, a little travel, an illness requiring medication, lots of sleep and gallons of water to try to reinflate me to my usual form, some events, a ton of board work and some still-developing shaping and reshaping of my work life.  It's been nuts.  Part of me knows that when I get too crazy and have too many plates spinning, the inevitability of some sort of unintended slowdown lurks just behind me ready to whack me over the head with one of those precious plates.  It's been this way my entire life, and especially in the past 10 years or so.  I have learned to be better in tune with myself and my limitations, but let's face it, I still go too fast, in too many directions, all at once.  It's just how I'm wired.

I've been working on refining my existence as a consultant and what that means for how I work. And part of this process has made me sit myself down and figure out all this running around.  It's too much.  I love my Segnavia Creative clients and spending time with them is one of the most beneficial parts of how I engage.  But I'm doing it too much - I am simply not funded to travel all over town and sit with whomsoever I'd like, as much as I'd like to believe that I am.  I have recently engaged with my first (as yet, potential) client out of state.  Which begs the question: If I can do that, can't I do this other stuff differently?  Better?  Do I really need to meet with everyone, so often, all the time, all over the place?  Do I need to be one more car on the road?

Which brings me back full circle to a dream that I started poking around last summer - could I live without a car?  There are lots of reasons why this is a crazy thought.  A car is mobility!  Flexibility!  Freedom!  Heck, a car is pretty much expected, is it not?  A car is one of the first noticeable outward signs of success - is it a nice car?  A clean car?  A cared for car?  A car is one of the most obvious external indications of who we are, what our personalities are, what our style is.  We're weird Americans, aren't we?  A car is an indicator of my personal worth or success?  Who the hell decided that?

As I continue on my own personal journey toward building and living this best life (for me), I have come to realize that I don't want a car.  I don't want the entanglement, I don't want the expense and I don't want the parking hassles.  (This summer construction season is grating on me, without doubt...let's see how I feel at 10 degrees and no seat heaters, eh?)  Because while cars are all of the things noted above, they're also many not-so-good things.  A car is expensive!  A car requires maintenance!  A car bears a heavy "green" load!  And let's face it, my bike is way cuter.

I've done a lot of research.  I've crunched the numbers.  I've played with the bus schedule - mapping things and timing things, to and fro.  I've thought about running errands and hauling stuff.  But the reality for me is that I'm ubermobile without a car.  I live and work in my downtown loft and can easily access all the bus lines (2-3 blocks), several HourCars (3-4 blocks), there's a Budget rental on the corner, I have my bike (which can go on the bus too!) and for that matter, I am perfectly capable of calling a cab in an emergency.  I listed out all the pros and cons of the car-free lifestyle I was considering.  And the end result was that I was happier with the list of pros.  I'm pro bike, pro public transportation, pro eco, pro shoe leather, pro car share.  I'm also pro being better organized, focused and thoughtful about where I'm going and how.  And I'm pro $700 each month to do other, more interesting things with.  Yea, I'm definitely pro that.

So I've done it.  As of noon yesterday, I am no longer a car owner.  I am car-free.  I am free.

And I'm exhilarated by possibility.  I fully recognize that there's a fair amount of test driving and trial and error that are going to happen here.  I know that some days taking the bus or arranging a car are going to feel like a pain in the ass.  But having the ability to choose,and the flexibility that comes with not having that car payment?  That's pretty fantastic.  And it's one more step towards creating the life that I want for myself.  One big step, actually...in very comfortable shoes.

best. line. ever.

Watching Dan Ho Show - have you ever seen this insanity?  It's a really sweet "life improvement" show on Fit TV (stop laughing; my cable is limited) with this nutty guy from Guam.  I love it!

"We tend to save our best things for some "what-if-a-cation."  Phft, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.  And when I do, I want them to say 'Great boots.'"

smoky spanish gazpacho

I actually started with a recipe and then abandoned all sense of order and made up my own.  In the end, I decided that this gazpacho was maybe the best one I'd ever made.  Smoky, spicy and yet balanced with the acidity and sweetness of the watermelon.  These measurements are rough, but you'll get there by tasting and adjusting both as you make it, and again after it's chilled.  Here's sorta how it went down.

In a food processor, combine the following ingredients.  You're creating a soup base with part and the rest is being set aside to stir in afterward.  You'll end up with a nice base and just enough chunk and crunch.

7 ripe Minnesota-grown, vine-ripened tomatoes - cut these in quarters and pull out the gooey, seedy part; chop about 2 tomatoes into 1/4" dice and set those aside
2-3 garlic cloves - chopped roughly
1/2 - 1 whole large red onion - about 1/4 of the total onion should be cut into 1/4" dice and set aside with the tomatoes 

1 large hothouse/English cucumber - peel this just a bit and cut 1/3 of the total cuke into 1/4" dice; set aside
24oz tomato juice
1 small or 1/2 of one large jalapeno pepper - seeded and minced (all of this goes in the food processor); add more if you like it super zippy
1/4 of a whole watermelon - dice about 1c of this and set aside
1T smoked Spanish paprika - I love the Penzey's brand for this
1/4c Sherry or red wine vinegar
2-3T good Spanish olive oil - or you can use any kind, just make sure it's fruity and delicious right out of the bottle since there's not going to be any cooking or infusing going on.
1t kosher salt

Zip this all together in the food processor until pretty smooth and chunk-free, and then pour into a large bowl or container that will fit in the fridge.  A metal bowl will help cool things quickly if you're in a hurry.  Then stir in the diced tomatoes, onion, watermelon, cucumber and
1 yellow pepper - 1/4" dice

Taste and adjust the salt and paprika, if needed.  Add more vinegar if you need that bite.  But don't go too crazy.  Flavors will meld and change as the soup chills, so re-season just before you serve too.

Chill this for a good couple of hours. Then, mmmm. Enjoy!

happy, happy monday

I know this is going to sound like workplace kool-aid of a hallucinogenic sort, but I have come to really love Mondays.  In my still-new world of independent consulting, I have been testing and trying and balancing.  I've been time managing and retrofitting my week.  I've been sorting.  Culling out the unnecessary and unmanageable.  All while maintaining a sense of an integrated, reasonable life as a whole.  And sometimes this journey isn't smooth.

I don't get all excited about typical work hours - or even days, anymore.  I work either when necessary or when inspired.  So if that's 9pm on a Sunday evening, or 6am on a Tuesday morning - or any random time in between - so be it.  And if I need to scoot out for groceries, a client meeting, happy hour with an old friend, my precious time at the gym, well then I do that too.  I work when my clients need me (or need something from me) and I work when my brain is on and the productive juices are flowing.  If I'm stuck or having a less-than-creative day, I stick to billing or financial models.  Or I go for a bike ride to reset.  And when I'm "on" I try to stay in the groove and follow it.  Which doesn't always work out.

But I've also found that my fondness for working with small, entrepreneurial clients has necessarily led to engaging with more of them simultaneously.  So I'm learning to develop that fine balance between rainmaking, base touching, networking, info gathering, relationship managing...and actually doing the work.

I won't say that all that old "traditional corporate workplace" mentality has bled out of me yet, but in the past 10 years I've worked for companies that have started to realize the importance of flexibility and adaptability in our jobs.  With all the travel, conference calls with folks in other countries, and other whacky things in today's work world, we either get integrated or go lose our minds.  And the other key?  I think many company leaders - including me, in my tiny little company - have learned that productivity doesn't directly correlate to a 40+ hour work week.  You don't get 8 quality hours out of an employee every day just because they "show up for work."  You get quality, creative output when workers are energized and ready to work.  Oh and whether I'm working for me or for someone else, 4 hours of meetings a day talking about the work doesn't offset the actual work that still needs to get done!

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for dedicated work time and dedicated personal time.  It's just that I've come to believe - at least for me - that these times don't necessarily have to be scripted and consistent.  On the other hand...

...recently I've come to adopt Mondays as my revered and fiercely-guarded "productivity days."  And I've found this exponentially important as summer has hit and our weekends are as rushed and busy as our weekdays.  Otherwise we end up arriving at Monday, feeling as if we need a vacation from our weekends!  So I've blocked my calendar and started focusing on what's most important for setting up a solid week.

Mondays now look like this:

• 7ish - wake up, throw in a load of laundry, put on the kettle and deal with the dishes that were ignored yesterday
• tea, email, google reader, review social media for myself and clients, switch laundry
• SHINY OBJECT: reorganize junk drawer, sort through mail and take out the recycling
• 9ish - Starting to really wake up and get going.  Refocus on the week ahead, aka go Post-It crazy.  My technique includes:
• Post-It Calendar - one section for each: clients, boards, bus dev/ops, and personal.  This calendar is a giant pad where each week gets ripped off at the end of the week.
• Post-In Notes - one standard-sized note for each client, stuck all over my desk underneath the Calendar
• I review my Outlook calendar for the week and note on my Post-It calendar the appointments I already have scheduled - client meetings, networking, social, gym.
• I sort through my notes & emails from the previous week, jotting down all the to-dos - by client - on their sticky note. Then I assign these tasks to a day  the calendar when I know I can sit and do.  
• Sometimes I just do the work quickly while I'm jotting it down, giving myself that oh-so-satisfying checked off item.
• (I've just found that this system works best for me, as most time management techniques fail miserably in my world.  I've figured out that I'm way too ADD, multi-tasking, free-association, and overscheduled for something much more complicated.)
• 10ish - more laundry, email, a smoothie.  But by this time, I'm hitting the productivity apex.  So I'm starting to dig into client projects like crazy.
• 5ish - by this time I've done the rest of the laundry, given a light buff to the bathrooms and the kitchen, eaten something resembling lunch (though around 3pm so it's starting to feel a little dinner-ish), and been horribly hard-working with my client deliverables.  I'm truly in "the zone" at this time and am running at full stride.
• If I don't get wrapped back into my client projects, I'll take time to walk over to the studio for a 6:45pm yoga class.  But honestly, the past 2 weeks I've completely missed it.  At 7pm I look at the clock and realize I've blown right through the start of the class.  Bummer, but I value the uninterrupted productivity on this one day so I SCHEDULE the workouts on the other days.  Again, it's about finding a system that works.
• And then sometime around 9pm, I grab a glass of wine and maybe either watch a Law & Order re-run or take my Kindle to bed and am asleep by 11.

And you see what's missing?  No meetings, no clients and - if I've done it properly - no leaving the house, with the possible beneficial exception of going to yoga.  Just a good solid 12 hours of being industrious, productive and effective.  Sure, I go to sleep at the end of the day with the all-day-at-the-computer stiffness in my shoulders and neck, but that's okay.  It's worth it to me to carve out this day of work - for all aspects of my life - in order to stay dedicated and present.

I have actually started to look forward to Mondays now.  What a difference it can make when you joyfully anticipate settling in and being successful in your efforts.  It brings a whole new definition to workplace productivity - one that I've defined for myself and one that I can continue to edit and refine and adapt.  And I will...because I just realized I need a half hour for blogging...

perfect buttermilk dressing

Ok, well it's possible that this ISN'T perfect but I made it for the first time today and really believe it to be true.  I'm generally not a fan of creamy dressings at all, but this one ended up having just the right tartness to cut through any heavy feel.  It's quick to make and full of nummy flavor and will probably be dressing my market greens for the months to come.

Having never made this before, I found a couple of recipes that sounded interesting and riffed on them.  But I will say that this is shaping up to be one of those recipes that you can modify to your heart's desire.  The other typical herb is tarragon (though I'm not a huge fan myself) but I also saw a version with lots of fresh basil that sounded delish. I actually measured it all this time!

1 small shallot, finely minced

1 garlic clove, minced and then mashed into a paste with a bit of salt (use the flat edge of your knife blade and just work it around on the cutting board)

1-2T cider vinegar

1/4 t white pepper
1/4-1/2t salt, if you didn't get too crazy with your garlic paste; taste first and adjust later

1/4 t dry mustard powder

1/2 c. low fat buttermilk, well shaken

1T mayo (I love the eggy Japanese mayo that you can get from Asian markets)

2T sour cream (though I only had Mexican crema and went with that instead)

1T dried or 3T fresh chopped chives

Let the shallot and garlic mingle in the bottom of your bowl with the cider vinegar to "bloom" for 5 min or so while you get the rest of the stuff together.   Add the rest, whisk together.

Or, use a jam jar and shake everything together while dancing around the kitchen.

Particularly if you're using dried chives, try to let this dressing sit for 10 min or so once it's mixed, just to let them soften and let the rest of the flavors come together.

You really only need about 2-3T of dressing per LARGE serving of greens; the idea is lightly dressed not swimming in goo.  I served this (to myself!) with a leek & goat cheese frittata and a crispy glass of white wine and thought myself quite fortunate.

reconnecting

I’m not sure how it happened, but I lost touch with my food.

I didn’t put two and two together until I was giving myself a stern talking to about why my food cravings intensified and my will-power crashed proportionately. It would have been easy to slip into that mode where I beat myself up and make excuses, but the reality is, I just lost my way for a bit. And I was trying to put my finger on how, where and why that happened.

I love food. I love reading about it, eating it, cooking it, taking illicit iPhone photos of it, twittering about it, sharing it and writing about it.  I truly – in the most basic sense of the word - honor food.  Which is why it's so perplexing when I recognized some iffy eating behaviors that had taken over my life.  So what happened?  Well, generally speaking, life happened.  But along with the usual and expected effects of a too-busy, too-frenzied, too-blessedly-full life, I completely lost touch with food.

When I'm disconnected in the food department my fridge is empty and my visits to the co-op are further apart.  My kitchen stays clean, sure.  But it's a little sad and lifeless too.

When I'm connected I spend more time thinking about food.  I devour my Bon Apetit and Cooking Light magazines (ahem, amongst several others in the cooking vein).  I'm watching more of my favorite Food Network shows.  I'm picking up fresh veggies and experimenting with new grains.  The kitchen is humming.  People are dropping in after last-minute invites to nosh.  It's fantastic and it feeds my soul.

What happens, I think, is that the further I slide away from these engaged habits and connected practices, the less mindful I become about what moves from my fork to my mouth.  Even the effort of cooking (a practice which I really do enjoy) becomes less enticing.  Then I revert - as so many people do - to eating more packaged and what I call "quick fix" foods.  I'm pretty well-wired now to keep these foods organic and unprocessed as much as possible.  But when I'm on my 6th day of living on cereal and almond milk and nothing green has passed my lips, well then.  Houston, we have a problem.

So I've chosen to go back and dabble more.  Play mad scientist.  Try some new things that I normally wouldn't attempt.  I've turned May into "mostly vegan May" and am cooking out of my two new-ish cookbooks:  The Conscious Cook and The Kind Diet.  I made a somewhat scary (read: $140) trip to the co-op and have visited the St. Paul Farmer's Market.  I'm digging out the past few months of my cooking magazines and revisiting them, looking for inspiration.  And most importantly, I've invited a few people round for dinner, cocktails, brunch.  An excuse to cook and maybe even wow people a bit always inspires me to attempt new things.  And I can't wait to see how the month plays out. 

Also, stay tuned for vegan, vegetarian and unabashed meat recipes as I experiment through out the month.  And please, share your knowledge.  If you have some other great ideas for inspiration, recipes, mindful food habits, anything...please comment. 

Happy nibbling!

my mom's jello salad

A holiday food ritual in our home, a requirement really.  This was the one and only dish that could make my mom happy when she was a kid.  If she was too warm, too cold, under the weather or just simply blue, this molded jello happiness turned her around.  Not surprisingly, it works the same way today.

1 package red jello (raspberry is our preference)
1 package yellow jello (ok, lemon)
(let it be noted here that you don't want to mess with the sugar-free versions; just stick to the tried and true)
4 oz cream cheese (low fat is ok, but none of this nonfat business) - room temperature
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
crushed pineapple; drained

Dissolve red jello in 1c boiling water.  Pour into mold; chill for a few minutes - watching carefully.  When it's just starting to thicken (but before you actually have to break up jello chunks), add pineapple and mix in gently.  If you're using a metal mold, this will only take 10ish minutes.  If it gets away from you, you're sorta screwed so keep an eye on things.

Dissolve lemon jello in 1c boiling water.  Cool to slightly chilled (in fridge or freezer).

In mixer, whip cream into firm whipped cream  Then, add thickened lemon jello and cream cheese and whip until light and well-mixed.  Some small lumps may occur - don't stress it.

Pour yellow base into mold (red should be firmly set by now) and chill until ready to serve.  Needs about an hour to really set up.

Unmold by lowering mold into a shallow sink of warm (not hot!) water for a few seconds and then inverting the mold onto a serving plate.  Shake a bit to release the suction and the jello should slide right out.

Slice, enjoy.

and olé to you

I'm a ridiculously huge fan of Elizabeth Gilbert - she of the Eat, Pray, Love fame and untold other pieces of writing genius.  What I love most about her writing style (and that of another of my all-time favorites, Martha Beck) is that their voice - their personal, wonderous, unique sounding voice - comes through so resoundingly in their words.  For me, this is what I strive for when writing.  Either for myself or for my clients, it's my sincerest goal to have that honest, true voice speak through my words.  Sometimes it's professional, branded and on-message.  Sometimes it's funny, forthright and a tad sassy.  Regardless, I always hope that I can bring the voice through the message so that it connects and resonates with the people to whom it's directed.

I love how Liz talks here about this insane idea of creative genius, spreading out the love/blame for the quality of writing and just continuing the work regardless.  Olé indeed.

pretty as a picture

This is a bit of an aside, but as I've written about the fact that I office from home and live in a smallish footprint loft, my home and work lives are gorgeously intertwined.  Ok, not always so gorgeous (see piles of paper in the post before this...which I'm still working to banish to their rightful files: dropfile, circular file or recycling pile).  But I'm working on it.

This weekend I was gifted with a beautiful photo - framed and all - and I think it's going to stay right here next to me on my desk.  My fella is taking his photography to very lovely places lately and this particular one just screams spring to me.  Plus, it's pink.  And that's just how I am.

a little spring clean up

Fully 2 1/2 months of the year have passed us by already...how did THAT happen!?  More and more over the past 3 weeks, I've realized how completely disorganized my life has become.  While embarking on serious relationships with both my health and a new fella (old fella, well, it's a long story) - which are both going amazingly well and feeding my spirit - I have completely lost the rest of my way.  Sure, there's an issue of balance going on here but there's also the (wonderful) issue of being busier than ever with Segnavia Creative.  So, this is me not complaining...well, maybe just a bit.

If nothing else, the past few weeks have made me step back, look intently at how I'm spending my time and then hone in on how to be more productive and less frenetic.  Instead of taking things as they come (my natural and slightly procrastinating state of being), I need to find a way to get more proactive.  Gain some semblance of control.  You know, if that's possible.

And there's no denying that spring is the time to consider things such as organization, fresh starts, clean ups, clear outs and generally making life a bit tidier.  And since this is a blog that's about my work/life integration, you can bet my entire world is fair game.  Here's what I'm thinking about:

• Generally detoxing my home.  I wrote about this for Simple, Good, and Tasty (a website about local, sustainable, organic and fair trade food and the people who love it) back in January which you can read here:  kitchen, bath/laundry, rest of the house.  And I'm happy to say, I've taken a lot of these steps including reducing the number of non-homemade cleaners I use around here, adding plants to the house, using up old candles to make a complete switch to all-soy, getting organized (a bit more about that in a second), and re-enlisting many things around the house to serve new & improved purposes instead of just buying new.  There's constantly room for improvement, but I'm feeling good about just getting started.
• Putting better organizing systems in place, which inevitably has to start with some purging, recycling and an honest consideration of what my needs are.  I know there are a bunch of things that either aren't working or weren't well set up when I re-launched my business last year.  And you know, you just feel like, "Eh, I'm not that busy.  I'll figure out a "real" system once I have more to organize."  So many flaws in that logic, I can barely type it without blushing.  So I'm re-dedicating my dining room as my office (no really, this was an intentional decision last year as I realized that I honestly hated working in my office...and quite frankly, everyone gathers around the kitchen island to eat, anyway) and finding better systems for sorting out business operations,  typical home stuff and an awful lot of recipes.  My curse and my joy.
• Being more and more paper-free.  I sit on two boards and, let me tell you, we produce a lot of paper.  As the boards are becoming more dedicated to sending out digital versions of our minutes, agendas, and other materials, I'm just going to haul my laptop in and read through things on screen.  It's not brain surgery, but it does make life a bit less complicated when all of these theories align to keep the paper down.
• Treating my body to a regular cleanse and also a shift in my eating habits.  I started off the year with a month-long detox; I'll probably continue to do that detox once or twice a year because it's my old standby.  I know it works for me, and I know I can choose it without feeling deprived.  Next, I'm test-driving a 3-5 day juice cleanse from Organic Avenue in NYC.  Well, I wish I lived in NYC because you can just buzz over there and pick up your day's worth of juices, shakes and food to line up with whichever cleanse you've chosen.  But from spring thaw-y Minnesota, I'm going to follow the version publicized by Gwyneth Paltrow in her GOOP newsletter.  (Sure.  She's always going to have that air of "my life is infinitely better than yours" but I think that's mostly because her's probably IS better than mine.  And 99% of other humans as well!  But I can't hate her because she's talented, happily partnered and raising beautiful children, fit & healthy, drop-dead gorgeous and connected.  I (*gushes*) sort of love her even more for it.)  Anyway, she was kind enough to use her connections to get a download on the program, the recipes and after I read this NYT piece about another woman who gave it a go, I decided I'd try it too.   I'm only on Day 2 so I'll spare you any half-baked reviews at this point.  If you get real excited, you can follow Organic Avenue on Twitter here.
• Carving out time to write.  This is one of my true passions and is also an area that needs practice and refinement.  I get that - first and foremost - from just sitting down and writing.  This blog, my personal blog, whatever.  I also get it from writing for my clients (Simple, Good, and Tasty being my biggest blogging commitment at the moment).  But I'm also hungry for feedback, so I have a couple of classes in mind from The Loft in Minneapolis.

Most of all, I'm looking forward to spring.  It's - by far - my favorite season and the continuation of my January 1st fresh start is warmly welcomed.  I can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings.