For the past couple of months I’ve been making soup about once a week.  It’s a nice, healthy way to eat for 24 hours.  I mostly keep it vegetarian and we just eat it all day and night, every time we get hungry, there it is on the stove and I don’t worry about refrigeration, because there’s nothing that can go bad. I want to make a point here today though, just how easy soup making is. I really measured nothing… All amounts were what I had left in my fridge and pantry.

• Olive Oil (a nice big glub)
• Salt (a couple of pinches)
• 1 package dried lentils
• 2 large yellow onions, plus half a red onion I had left over, chopped
• 8 carrots chopped (if they’re organic I don’t even peel them)
• 12 stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped
• 3 bell peppers (red, yellow and orange) seeded and chopped
• 2 cubanelle peppers, seeded and chopped
• 3 chipotle in adobe, chopped (again it was what was left, use less or more according to taste)
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 75 oz. organic vegetable broth – (Use what you have, I had two containers and a third opened in the fridge, I poured them all in)
• 2 boxes Pomi strained tomatoes

Let’s talk a bit about lentils.  I sometimes use beans in my soups and sometimes I don’t.  I find them a bit of a pain to soak overnight, I don’t usually plan my soups that far in advance.  I had never tried lentils before a couple of months ago – No, I have no idea how I’ve gotten this far without eating lentils, it just happened.  A friend was talking about them on Facebook and I was inspired to try them.  They have changed my life.  I love these tasty, little things.  You don’t have to soak them, they’re ready in 20 minutes and they’re easy.  Really, really easy… Use them if you like, leave them out if you don’t.

Prepare the lentils according to package directions, drain and set aside.

Dry the pan, heat to med/high heat, add a big glub of oil and then the onions, carrots and celery.  Add a big pinch of salt and toss and cook till they’re all soft and glossy.

Add the peppers, another pinch of salt and cook till they’re softened.  Then add the chipotles, and toss and cook until the chipotles are almost dissolved.

Add the garlic, cook until you can really smell the garlic and then add the broth.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and stir well, add the lentils, cover and allow to simmer on low until you’re ready to eat.

So easy, so good.  Spicy, satisfying, lots of vegetables, broth, tomatoes.  You will love this and you won’t miss the carbs or the meat at all.  I promise.

Yesterday was a really nice day.  My cousin and her son, whom I haven’t seen in years, came for a visit.  It was really lovely and we reminisced and laughed and maybe even cried a little together. It’s funny how life works and how you come full circle sometimes, but I digress.  I wanted to have a simple yet tasty menu that didn’t cause anyone stress, yet still be fabulous.  I bought my favorite spreads (hummus, tzatziki), some chips to dip, Jim grilled cheeseburgers with lots of ‘fixins’, and I made Greek Pasta Salad, and this. Measurements are really approximate, you can not screw this up, I promise.

• 3 packages of mozzarella pearls (if you have access to fresh buffalo mozz., by all means use it)
• about a pint each of red cherry or grape tomatoes and yellow small tomatoes, halved – or chopped tomatoes of whatever variety
• equal parts of extra virgin olive oil and dark balsamic vinegar (I used 2/3 cup of each and it was plenty)
• 2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
• coarse sea, or kosher salt
• a handful of basil, chiffonade

Combine the garlic, olive oil and vinegar in a large mixing bowl and whisk well to combine

Toss the mozzarella and tomatoes into the mixing bowl and gently toss to combine until everything is coated in the dressing

Add the basil and a big pinch of salt and again, gently toss to combine. Transfer to a non-reactive (glass is my preference) dish with a sealable lid.

Allow to marinate for at least a couple of hours.  Test for seasoning, I had to add a bit more salt.  So ridiculously easy and so delicious!

I think at this point, there isn’t anyone left who would argue against the importance of social media. More and more brands, charities, celebrities, performing artists, small business owners and individuals are trying to harness the power of social media outlets and the sheer volume of choices and ideas can be really overwhelming.

This isn’t going to be a post about which outlets, third party tools, and so called rules I follow. There are plenty of articles about those issues; rather, it’s about your “voice”. I see so many tweets and updates that are poorly written, don’t give enough information, have glaring spelling and grammatical errors, or just contain a link, usually a shortened link so that I have no idea when it will take me and it makes me want to scream or at least, ignore the message. Dont get me wrong, we all make grammatical mistakes, or send something out without thinking it through, that’s understandable. No, what I’m talking about are the companies and individuals who are operating under the assumption that just because you post something, people are obligated to act on it. Let’s get something really clear, no one owes anyone anything when it comes to social media. And if you’re not offering clear, compelling information, even the people who like you will ultimately stop sharing your information or even acting on it.

Of course the easiest way to make sure that you sound professional and approachable is to hire semone to take care of this for you.  There are plenty of people who do this (and if that’s the route you’re taking, I hope you’ll allow me to give you a quote), but if you dont have the budget for that, or are just frankly more interested in doing it yourself, than please take the time to really think about what your saying and how you’re saying it.  I’m going to break this down into a couple of examples that tend to drive me a little batty (it’s not a far drive).  Here are a couple that currently make me twitch.

1. I just posted a picture (insert link)
   while the picture might be hysterical/gorgeous/amazing/interesting/whatever there’s no way I’m clicking that link. I’m just not curious enough nor do I have the time to click every link for a picture.  Say something compelling (there’s that word again) that will interest me enough to click the link. “Check out this shot I got of the first bluebird in my garden” – while not everyone will click through, people interested in photography, birding, or gardening are far more likely to click the link.  Try posting pictures that will interest your target demographic using this rule of thumb.  You might be surprised.
2. Check Out My Site! (insert link)
   While we all can appreciate how proud you are of your website, letting people know why they should check it out will go a lot farther.  What’s in it for them?  Talk about your product, or your great interview, what you and your site have to offer, how can it help/inform/entertain me?
3. All Self Promotion All the Time
   Some experts say 1 in 10 tweets or status updates should be self promoting, others 80/20%.  I don’t really go by a definitive number, and I do broadcast all my blog posts, but I share lots of other content as well.  Every morning, I look for other bloggers’ posts and tweets and if they’ve done or said something that I found interesting or helpful, I share it.  Not only do I like to do it, but it creates goodwill. I’m of the belief that there’s enough room for everyone to enjoy success but if you’re not quite comfortable with that, find someone who is in a similar, or complimentary category and start to share their stuff. As an added bonus, I’ve made some really good friends doing that.  I also share great photographs, articles, interesting entertainment news.  And I usually keep it pretty positive
4. Unless….. unless it’s about a cause that I care deeply about.  Human equality, reproductive rights, whole food choices – maybe the other people who care about the issues that you care about are a good place to start when finding your tribe/audience/demographic
5. No Public Fighting
   While there is nothing wrong with a good, healthy, exchange of opinion, and debates are definitely a catalyst for change;  No one wants to hear that you’re fighting with you BFF, your boyfriend has cheated on you again, or whatever other drama du jour is going on. Keep your personal drama, just that, personal. Unless you actually are in high school this really isn’t good for business.
6. Show Your Personality
   Even though I believe that the drama should be kept to a bare minimum, I also feel that the people I’m most likely to follow show their personality in their sharing style.  Personally I don’t mind a little salty language, hell, a lot of salty language, but be careful about knowing your demographic.  Inserting your voice, your interests, your hidden talents and hobbies make you more interesting – I also think this is a major reason that Pinterest has taken such a hold.

In the end, I think the most important thing is to think about what your stating.  Try to make it conversational.  If writing isn’t your strong point, see if you can find someone in your organization, or a friend who can help you with this.  I’m sure that you do something really well that you can use for bartering.  After all, if you had nothing to offer, you wouldn’t be promoting yourself, right?  There are a couple of people on the planet who seem to get away with that, but hopefully that trend is almost over.

Graphic Credit: Brian Solis

I got some beautiful “ichiban” eggplant this week – but as usual, I ordered so much of it that I didn’t know what to do.  Also, I ordered what I thought were snow peas and then realized they were peas – the tough outer shell gave it away. I know they look like they might be sugar snaps, but the shell was way too tough to consider eating. So, we shelled them.

I had some local, fresh, grass fed skirt steak and I thought a stir fry would be interesting.  It was.

• 3 tablespoons Tamari (soy sauce)
• 3 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
• 1 tablespoon Fish Oil
• 1 tablespoon Honey (I would have used three)
• 2 packets Splenda (I had no idea we were out of honey, so I substituted – taste the sauce and sweeten to your liking)
• 1 big pinch red pepper flake
• 2 lbs. Japanese Eggplant washed, trimmed cut into half moons
• 1 lg. onion chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic chopped
• about an inch of fresh ginger peeled and chopped
• 1.5 lbs. skirt steak sliced into pieces appropriate for stir fry
• 1 lb. peas shelled
• oil with a high smoke point.  Safflower, peanut, whatever.  All I had was vegetable, so that’s what I used.
• a handful of cilantro chopped

The first rule of stir fry is definitely mise en place. It’s a French term, but nowhere is it more necessary than in stir fry.  All it means is “everything in it’s place”, and really it’s so important to prep all your ingredients before starting the wok. This way you know what goes where and when. Things start moving pretty fast in stir fry land.  Well, except for the eggplant, they take forever.

Combine the ingredients from the Tamari to red pepper flake in a mixing bowl or measuring cup and whisk till combined, set aside.

Preheat the wok, add some oil and when it starts to smoke, add the eggplant.  You definitely don’t want it over crowded, so have a large glass bowl ready for the cooked ingredients.  I had to do the eggplant in two batches. You definitely want it well cooked, I like it browned all over with the dark purple skin nice and shiny.

Transfer to your glass bowl, add a little more oil if necessary and add the meat. This cooks way faster than the eggplant.  Cook until it’s cooked through, but just barely.

Transfer to the bowl with the eggplant. Add another drop of oil and the onions, add some salt here too – just ’cause I always salt onions to help them sweat.  Not too much as we’ve got a lot of sodium going in here later.

cook until browned – add the garlic and ginger and when it smells amazing pour the sauce in,

quickly stir and add all the other cooked ingredients back in.  Add the peas and let them warm through, tossing all the while.

Remove from heat, add the cilantro and stir again before plating.

So easy!  Lots of steps, but every one of them doable and this is a real crowd pleaser.  The steak was out of this world, the peas were firm sort of al dente and everything just melded together so beautifully.  Definitely a keeper.  Serves 4.

I have spent so much money and so much time downloading goal and time planning apps.  You don’t even want to know how much. So, the other day when I saw this article, by the lovely Britt, that mentioned Opus Domini Mobile Pro and how close it came to the Franklin Covey planning system, I knew I had to try it.  You see, I love Franklin Covey.  The system literally changed my life. I purchased my first FC yearly planner in, I think, 2000.  I worked through all the exercises and I completely fell in love with that way of planning.  It just made sense.  Something clicked and I was able to figure out how I was blocking myself from achieving the things I really wanted.  Heck, I was better able to figure out what it was I wanted in the first place. I became a huge Covey geek and religiously followed the planning methods, quadrant theories and read all the books. I even bought the software to design and print your own forms on their specialty papers with the rounded corners so that everything matched.  I had a raspberry colored binder and even an engraved plaque for the front in case someone couldn’t figure out that the pink, geeky, very thick binder belonged to me.

When I first started to go digital, my first smart phone was a Palm.  A Treo, I believe.  I bought the FC software for desktop and the Palm and I loved it.  The planning became so second nature that I didn’t even have to buy the kits anymore.  I tweaked and adjusted everything to really fit my needs and I even started to teach other people how to do it.  (There are pages of posts that mention Franklin Covey and goal planning on ColorMePink!).

When I started using iPhone, I started searching for Franklin Covey apps and I was really disappointed at how there really weren’t any.  Maybe the company is going more towards a corporate training business model, but I really think they dropped the ball on the iPhone planning market.  Reading reviews in the iTunes store, there seem to be many people who agree with me.

In giving you all this information, it’s my hope that you’ll see just how much time went into finding an app like this.

Without even thinking about it, I downloaded the Opus Domini app. For $5.99 it was a no-brainer. Opening it for the first time was a little like coming home, if you’ll indulge my drama for a bit.

The first screen is your daily page.  Whether they be scheduled appointments and tasks, or a general list of the things you’d like to accomplish for the day, you can structure them however you like. You can even rate them according to quadrant and importance (here’s a link with a quick explanation if you’re not familiar with that), the other side of the page is for note taking, etc – I use that space for not only notes, but to record my list of gratitude for the day (five things I’m grateful for each day). Above is a weather widget, which you can turn off if you don’t like it and an inspirational quote (I love quotes). The tasks have lots of options for recurring, priority, etc.

The next tab is for Master Tasks:  Things that I have on my plate right now that I need to make sure I work on.

Next tab is Compass:  I don’t have this filled out in this screen shot because I tend to get very personal and brutally honest with this and clearly, I already share too much.  In a nut shell, there are four areas of your life that you need to focus on to get into, or maintain balance.  They are: Physical, Social, Mental, and Spiritual.  It’s so easy to let one or more of these slip, but for me, when I am paying attention to all four, I’m much better balanced, happier, on track, etc.  Running a business, being a mom and wife, whole food advocacy, meal planning, blogging, homeschooling, friendships, creative pursuits – it’s hard to keep them all in balance.  I find that the compass idea helps me tremendously.

Goals: Tangible, real, goals. I love that I can list these and then use the slider to track the progress. Looking at this, I can see how far I’ve come and how close I am to releasing my book. I can keep track of where we are in the kitchen remodel and I can gently remind myself that I’m trying to get healthier.  I like to chunk the really tough goals into smaller pieces so that I’m not overwhelmed.

Mission, Vision and Values: To me, this is the core of the planning system. Again, I started to get really personal, so I’m just sharing a portion.  My mission statement (which needs updating) will go under “Mission”, my “Vision” are the things I have my sights set on. And my “Values” are the things that are important to me.  The most effective way I’ve found to do this is by writing a clarifying statement for each value (again FC’s idea, not mine).  For example:  ”Honesty: I am impeccable with my word, honoring my commitments, yet telling the truth in a way that is never mean.”  Doing it that way really hones in on what the definition of each value really is to me. It helps me to get real with myself and sometimes things that were valuable to me in the past, are not valuable now.  Writing out that clarifying statement helps me to determine what it is that I want to be, not what I think others want me to be or what I’m supposed to be.  Make sense?

So, there it is.  I give this app 4.5 stars.  It’s not perfect, but it’s damn close. There are no syncing capabilities, I’m using this on my iPad and it would be lovely for it sync to the phone, but they promise them in the near future and the only other thing I would add is a “Have, Do, Be” checklist.  I find that to be so helpful and I have one in Evernote, but it would be nice to have it all within this app.

Great job Piso13!

Disclosure: I love the app.  No one gave me anything to say this.