oui oui! midsummer bounty

I've been feeling rather French lately. I blame the vegetables. And the weather. And Molly Wizenberg. And the fact that it's August and - let's face it - I'm wishing I was with Anna right now in Brittany, soaking in the sun, buying cute little French soaps and sea salt (Anna, please - for the love of god - please don't forget my salt) and enjoying a nightly apéro.

But mostly I think I can blame the vegetables. Between my first week of being a CSA member, my effusive love for my Farmer's Market and my darling mother's garden...well, let's just say that my produce cup runneth over. And over.

First up, ratatouille. My dear friend Anna actually turned me on to this delightful dish several years ago and I have proceeded to enjoy it yearly since. There's something very effortless about whacking up a bunch of seasonal veggies and turning them into a hearty stew-like dish...which, after sitting in the fridge waiting for me, only seems to get better and better. I had just the right ingredients from the market and mom's garden: zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, onion, garlic. I got some peppers and started rifling through cookbooks - here, at Barnes & Noble, everywhere - looking for ideas. I went back to my old standby: Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything layered and baked number. On the first day, we enjoyed it with soft cooked polenta (his with cheese and butter, mine without...detox, afterall) and a crispy rosé. I plated up two little Apilco round au gratin dishes with leftovers, sent a bag with the chef to be turned into a stew the next day, and left the rest in the fridge for nibbling. The following morning, I drained the au gratin dish a bit, dug a couple of holes and cracked two eggs into the dish. Baked those at 350 for about 13ish minutes and I had the perfect breakfast. Of course, a toasted baguette would have been the preferred accompaniment but on the no-wheat adventure, I was happily surprised by simple corn tortilla chips stepping in and doing the job nicely.

Next task, leek soup. Or at least that's where I thought I was going with this. Only serving to exacerbate my little French problem, I also picked up the new-ish paperback version of French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes, & Pleasure (Vintage) and remembered her original advice about leek soup. I think it was called "Magical Leek Soup," in fact. So I was thusly inspired. Checking out my cookbook collection - and considering the rest of my bounty - I aimed instead for a slight riff on Ina Garten's Zucchini Vichyssoise instead (from Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home. Now THIS would be the answer to my late night, no energy for cooking question. This soup is meant to be eaten either hot or cold, and I'm guessing it will not be the first time this season it will be made. It's going gangbusters on the stove right now and will fill the lunch gap nicely.

Next up, addressing the lettuce situation. Every weekend I get this wild idea that I need salad. Lots of salad. So much salad that I might explode. And, of course, I buy salad greens. But my fridge is not a salad green-friendly location. In fact, it doesn't like much of anything that prefers to be crispy and sturdy. So I'm trying an experiment. About 3/5ths of my lettuce is just fine, 4+ days later. 1/5th is dead and headed for the compost. The remaining 1/5th seems salvageable; I'm soaking it in ice water to see if the shock will stiffen it up and make it lunch-ready. Feeling a little lousy about this, but I'm trying to recover. We'll see.

Lastly, I'm drooling over Molly Wizenberg. You may know her as that Orangette blog lady, or the writer of that great book A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table for which I waited patiently (ahem) from the library while 13 other people had holds on it, and the proceeded to buzz through it in 2 days. Now, I'm torn. I love almost every one of the recipes in there. Should I scan them for my collection, or should I bite the bullet and buy the book? (Those of you who know my book situation would probably calmly advocate for the former.) It's due tomorrow, I can't renew it (lots of others waiting in line) so I need to decide quickly. In the meantime, won't you check out her blog and, in particular, her index of recipes? She's a major Francophile - which shines through nicely in her recipes - and her husband is a vegetarian.

Because really, how much inspiration do you need this time of year? Gotta go, time to blitz the vichysoisse! Au revoir!

(Update: the soup was absolutely amazing - recipe coming later today - and the lettuce snapped to like good soliders. Successful lunch all around! Now, where's that baguette...sigh.)

Back at the beginning

I'm on another adventure...this time, dealing with my health and well-being. Not unlike many other women (and men, for that matter) I have hit a point in my life where I am starting to feel the cumulative effects of many years of eating well, sitting at a desk, traveling for business, not being active enough, and trying desperately to find some sort of equilibrium in my life.

Yep, that sounds just like life, right? And add to it, in the five years past I have earned a check mark for almost everyone of those “top stressors” in life: divorce, job loss/change, moving (three times), death of a parent and – not inconsequentially – working with a couple of the least well-balanced people imaginable. Stress: been there, done that, starred in the made-for-TV movie.

As a result, I’ve seen my weight go up rather dramatically. Ok, maybe it’s not dramatic to you, but an additional 20+ lbs – though I can wear it pretty well – puts me comfortably over the edge into “not so healthy land.” Further, as I’ve started to peel away the layers of what’s really doing damage here, I have also seen some of the baseline wellness checks coming back less than perfect. And did I mention that my pants don’t fit?!?

A little more than two years ago, suffering mightily with some new fangled allergies that I hadn’t experienced before, I decided enough was enough. (And by that I mean enough Minute Clinic visits for sinus infections and definitely ENOUGH ANTIBIOTICS – I’m allergic to most of the big ones and really want to keep my usage to dire conditions.) I decided to call on a naturopath.

My initial consultation was pretty unique. I am very much an alternative medicine/holistic approach sort of girl, so the idea of this kind of assessment, diagnosis and treatment appealed to me. After hearing all of my complaints (weight gain, stuffy allergy head, poor digestion, etc) and doing some rather unconventional assessments, the first thing she did was place me on a very serious detox plan. Suspecting food allergies, we set about eliminating anything and everything that was potentially allergenic and went from there. Result: definitely wheat, maybe dairy. My naturopath also suggested to me that a periodic detox (1-2 times per year) could help keep my system functioning better.

Results were great. I was already engaged in Weight Watchers and throughout the summer lost just over 20 lbs. I felt much better. And then life took hold yet again – a serious relationship ended, a crazy job began and then during the winter, my dad passed away quickly from an aggressive form of cancer. Before you knew it, the tenuous hold I had on my own health and wellness started slipping. Five pounds became 10. I struggled through some pretty serious blues. Nothing much felt good. Ten became 20 again. All in all, 2008 was really not good for me at all. I made a painful job change the end of the year and vowed to start 2009 in a better place.

And I did. But I still hadn’t put my hands around what EXACTLY needed to happen to bring me back around to healthy and well again. The weight was killing me. After I got myself back to my fighting weight the year before, I got rid of everything that was more than a size up. I just KNEW I would never go back there again. Yet, there is precisely where I found myself.

There has been one positive and changing force that has been woven throughout all of this, and that is my passion for food and being a bit greener. Together, those pieces of me have set me on a path toward awareness and excitement for the efforts around local and organic food, and about limiting the toxins in my life. As you may know, this is not about perfection. This is about a journey and I’m happy to say that I’m well into mine. Which has helped spring me forward…

…to a new space and time. I went back to the books and studied hard. I read Jillian Michaels’ new Master Your Metabolism. I re-read Dr. Weil’s 8 Weeks to Optimum Health and Natural Health, Natural Medicine. I revisited Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. Then I went to my doctor and had a few tests run to see just where I was at. Today? Total cholesterol is a little high, but good cholesterol is great (maybe to do with all that sushi?!); triglycerides are slightly elevated; alarmingly, blood sugar is also a little higher than it should be. And I’m still kicking around a virus that has been hanging with me since late last year. So I sat back, checked all my references and put myself back on track. Combining the learnings from these books about dealing with hormone levels (insulin and cortisol, anyone?), anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory diets with my already developed knowledge for the benefits of certain kinds of foods, along with my naturopath's suggestions, I’m off like a shot.

Here’s what’s happening:

• First, another detox. I’m spending about 3 weeks this time (as long as my supplemental powder holds out) cleaning out the stuff that’s bad. YET, I’m not being insane about it either. I am not chasing a food allergy this time, I’m just trying to give my liver and a couple of other vital organs a break. Key for me is the food choices, and limiting my wine. And those are: no caffeine, no sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no meat other than fish. I’m keeping eggs this time and paying attention to the glycemic load of my fruits, veggies and rice.
• Daily exercise. We bought bikes a few weeks ago and have been enjoying trying to get out and about in our town. I’m also walking a day or two a week with friends, and as much as I can in the course of my day (it’s fab living downtown and being able to walk everywhere). And last weekend we even spent 2 hours paddling down the St. Croix in a canoe. I realized that – for me – it’s all about keeping it fresh and fun. I neeeeeed to be outside in this glorious late summer weather we’re having (it’s crazy) and I need to stay engaged and not get frustrated. We’ve signed up to do a little golf tournament next month. I’m just trying for 30-60 minutes of something or another each day.
  
• Supplements. This is where many people think I have gone ‘round the twist. But amping up my vitamins and supplements are important to my detox and also to the idea that I’m trying to kick my metabolism and immune system in the ass. I haven’t run on a healthy immune system since high school and therefore pick up and carry around every bug known to mankind. I need my immune system to rebound, shake off this virus and support me going forward. So yes, I choke down nearly 30 pills a day – everything from the standard multivitamin, fish oil, additional D, C, calcium to Astralagus and Lysine and a few other oddities. I’m also trying to take bitters again before meals…this one is less convenient but it sure is good for your digestion!
• Portioning. This is actually easy now. It’s just a decision. Eat half, add a salad.
• Cooking. I haven’t been spending quality time in my own kitchen for some time. Dating a chef means – unsurprisingly – that he doesn’t necessarily want to cook at home. He wants to go out! See what’s new! Try something different! All of which is very, very good but the by-product is that it has disconnected me from my kitchen. I’m back now.
• Shopping as local as possible. Most of you know that I’ve been helping Lee over at www.SimpleGoodandTasty.com and using that as a big fat excuse to avail myself of many more local delights than I was before. I’ve always been a HUGE farmer’s market fan and visit mine weekly. But I’ve also joined a co-op this year and taken a crack at a CSA for half the season. So I’m experimenting and feeling more inspired in my food choices.

I’m just one week in so far. I’ve lost 3 lbs. And I know my system is running – ahem – cleaner already. I’m almost through my caffeine/sugar withdrawal headaches, but feeling a little under the weather again. I know the allergens aren’t helping matters (must deal with those next), but I’m feeling like the tides are shifting.I’m in the groove now and I’m getting lots of support from those around me (much appreciated). Now we’ll just keep on in a forwardly direction to being a healthier, happier me.

Here's to wellness!

have a dream, bring a lifeboat

Wow, do I ever strongly (ahem) encourage my clients to stay on top of their content production...particularly when said content is a critical path to business development and execution of a strategic communications plan. I can see the forest, I can see the trees. I know how to help and guide. But you, gentle client, have to do the work. And then I go and do a pretty bad job at keeping up on it myself. For all of the very same reasons that my clients struggle. Life, business, busy-ness, summer, visitors, new clients, old clients. I could go on, but this is nothing new to any of us. And content development is just one of those areas that can fall off our radars. So, what's a consultant to do?

I guess I'm trying to put myself in your shoes, figurative client. And think about how I might help you through this facet of your business. There are so many "knowns" out there, so many reasonably expectable bumps in the road. And my general answer to this conundrum is two-fold:

1. Have a plan.
   
2. Anticipate the bumps.
   

You don't get into a car without fastening your seatbelt, right? You (theoretically) pay attention to the flight attendant's safety demo. If you have an allergy to bee stings, you don't leave the house on a sultry summer's evening without your trusty Epi pen. And most of the time it happens so subconciously that you don't even consider what the plan is. Mostly that's a good thing. But in other, trickier places in our lives - like our businesses - a little more cognitive, purposeful thinking helps.

So let's start at the beginning: a plan. How many entrepreneurs start businesses without a decent business plan, marketing plan, schedule to allocate their time, etc? Most of us are guilty of this...and in more than one of those categories. For whatever reason, we believe it's better to just get started than it is to plan. And believe me when I say, I'm impatient, quick-thinking, speed-talking and an Activator. I tend to jump first and measure how high that cliff was later...and not even always then. So it's one of those places where I have to work hard to impart the importance of a plan on not only my clients, but myself as well. Without at least a general map of where you are headed, it's going to be very difficult to get there.

Then we think about the glitches. I believe contingency planning is just as important as planning those basic elements of your business. What I refuse to believe is that naming and acknowledging contingencies is the same thing as opening yourself up to defeat. I appreciate those that say "failure is not an option" because I absolutely believe in the need for setting your mental energy in the right direction. But this isn't failure I'm talking about. It's the inevitable ups and downs and twists in the road that require our sharpest thinking and creativity. And it's difficult to be thoughtful and innovative when disaster (real, imagined or whatever) is at our door. Long-term planning is for stretching, big fat hairy audacious goals. Short-term planning is for tactics and contingencies, and identifying little course corrections that might be required to navigate through tricky waters.

Laying bare our fears of failure and thoughtfully addressing the "knowns" can make the unknown little surprise events much easier to manage. We aren't in crisis mode ALL THE TIME (have you ever had a job like that? I have.). We can stay level headed, we can ask for advice and brainstorming from other smart people, and we can put some switches in place should they need to be flipped.

So give it some thought. What are the top 5 things that MIGHT happen? Are they related to money, reputation, amount of work, what? What are the worst case scenarios? How would they affect your business and what ideas do you have about mitigating those impacts? Who would you call on for help? Advice? A kick in the butt? And what might you do next time to potentially avoid this situation in the future?

Create a plan. Then find the emergency hatch so you know where to find it.

bee in my small business bonnet

Small business owners – listen up. There’s no sense running around any longer pretending social media isn’t for you. This is a brand new marketing world these days. No one’s saying you have to give up the old ways in order to embrace the new. And no one’s saying you need a MySpace page. Somewhere on the continuum of traditional horses and new media ponies, there is a ride for you. But, particularly for smaller businesses, eschewing this new fangled media because you don’t understand it or see how it could work for you doesn’t make great strategic sense. At this point, I just beg you to stay open minded enough to consider the possibilities. Ok? Ok.

Sorry about this, I had a couple of frustrating conversations last week with clients that made me want to whip out my PC and start blogging on the spot. My point isn’t that traditional marketing and advertising are bad. Nor is it that only new methods of marketing will help your business. That’s not my point at all. But, let’s face it, most small businesses are operating on a limited budget and cannot afford to put all of their eggs in a single gilded basket. A well-planned, thoughtful and strategic marketing and communications plan will help ALL businesses regardless of which marketing levers you choose to pull. Whether you’re retail, B2B, a consultant – whatever – there are ways to manageably blend social media marketing into your strategic plan to help build your bottom line. But the first question always should be: where on earth are you trying to go?

A targeted consultant needs to build up “subject matter expert” cred. A retailer needs to connect with her customers and know what they want. A restaurant needs to keep track of what other restaurants are doing in their market, genre and industry. And hear this: all of these things end up generating revenue! But you can’t just pull levers and push buttons willy-nilly and expect a successful (much less repeatable) result. Nor can you pull the blanket up over your head and wait for it all to just go away, already!

Social media is so NOT on one of my potential client’s radar that she laughed out loud, rolled her eyes and informed me that Twitter was only used by 20 year olds. (Her customer is 30-55 year old women.) I hesitated. Because realistically, any single tactic is not going to work if a client is disinterested to the point of venom. I realize that just because I have consumed the sugary beverage, it doesn’t mean others are here with me.

And yet this is where I go sideways. Because I think the best small business owners are the ones with natural curiosity and a desire to learn what’s affecting them. They are willing to put a goal in place, fight for it tenaciously but then retreat and course correct when necessary. Shutting down and fighting evolution in business – and believe me folks, you could call social media one of those evolutionary points – means potentially atrophying and dying off prematurely. Like everything else in life, leading from a place of fear and lack of knowledge does not propel you to wisdom and success.

Social media, like any single platform or tool, will be neither your deliverance nor your demise. It’s not a silver bullet and it does take some time and thought to implement. So, no. Social media isn’t for everyone. Unless you want to have a direct and immediate conversation with a particular audience, that is. To me, that’s an incredibly powerful reason to dip a toe in the water and ask a few questions. Dream a little. Adapt and evolve. Grow up.