Happy Apple Season!

I love the autumn season because it means an abundance of delicious apples fresh from the orchard, which means lots of cooking and baking with apples. Below are a few of the apple recipes I've used recently with suggestions on ways to improve or just enjoy!

Simple Stuff
Grilled Cheese with apples: I use fresh sourdough bread from the bakery, slices of monterey jack cheese, and slice up any sweet apples I have on hand to make a delicious grilled sandwich for a quick dinner.

Apple Spinach salad: Another easy one for lunch or to accompany dinner, just mix spinach, chopped walnuts, slices of your favorite apple, and poppy seed dressing.

Entertaining
Cheddar and Hard Cider fondue: I make this when I have large get togethers with friends (I usually double the recipe and use two fondue pots). We prefer to use Strongbow or Woodchuck hard cider, Jim Beam, and instead of the gruyere cheese (which can be expensive) we use a mix of swiss, fontina, and/or emmentaler. For dipping: apple sausage, apple slices, and potatoes.

Dinner
Braised Pork and Apple Stew: Very simple, the only thing I change is cutting up the vegetables a little smaller so it's easier to eat when served. Perfect for a chilly autumn day.

Chicken with Apple, Onion, and Cider Sauce: I increased the amount of chicken breasts to 6 (because I had more people to serve), but kept the amounts used for the sauce because it made an adequate amount for six people. I also sprinkled my chicken with fresh rosemary before baking. One thing I would be sure to check is that your apples aren't getting too done; mine ended up a bit mushy because I left them on the stove too long while the chicken was finishing in the oven.

Apple Ginger Pork Chops: I like this better than the chicken recipe above because it's got a little more flavor. I used Haralson apples instead of Granny Smith because I had Haralsons on hand, and I also used boneless pork chops and skipped the raisins. For even more apple flavor, I would use a light apple wine to deglaze the pan.

Desserts
Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping and Brown Sugar Glaze: Soooo goooood! I added more apples than the recipe calls for (per user comments on the website) and also boiled the glaze mixture for a few minutes to dissolve the sugar granules (also per user comments). Fantastic warm, but also good the next day with vanilla ice cream.

The Apple Lady's Apple Cake: aka Gateau aux Pommes de la Reine des Pommes. I first made this for French class food day in high school. While it was good, it is definitely better warm right out of the oven. The reason I bought a spring form pan.

Drink
Hot Apple Cider with Rum: A delicious way to warm up in the evening. I don't typically garnish with cinnamon sticks, but it is delicious either way. Put all the ingredients (minus the orange, I don't like the texture it adds to the drink) in a crock pot and let it warm during dinner so you have a warm after-dinner drink ready to go. 

Finally, I have to give a shout out to Pine Tree Apple Orchard. Without them I wouldn't have dozens of apples to cook and bake with, nor would I have their scrumptous apple turnovers stocked for the months of September, October, and November. If you live in Minnesota, you have to check them out.

Happy Apple Season!

My Personal Responsibility Pledge

A few weeks ago, in a rage, I wanted to write a post about personal responsibility and people’s apparent lack of it. Without getting too much into my rant: I believe older folks sometimes have a negative image of younger generations because we don’t take responsibility for our actions and we don’t learn from our mistakes (this is a generalization, I know plenty who do both). We’ve also come to expect a lot of things in our life. We expect to be given an education, we expect to be given freedom, and we expect to be treated fairly and righteously. We take these things for granted.

Now, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t expect some basic rights, but I feel there’s a lot of expectation and not a lot of giving. Sure some people are all about giving back to Mother Earth, volunteering their time, etc. But that’s not the giving I’m talking about. Younger generations need to start forming a sense of personal responsibility. You have a responsibility to yourself to take charge of your life and not rely on someone else to be there when you fall.

Personal responsibility doesn’t mean shutting out the world around you, and it doesn’t mean being selfish. You can be socially responsible while still accepting responsibilities for actions in your personal life as well. I attended a political event back in September put on by the Young Americans for Liberty where they showed an “I Pledge” video. I jotted a few notes during the video and some things that stood out for me:

“I pledge to remember the price of liberty is responsibility”

“I pledge to remember that wanting to keep your own money isn’t greed and spending other people’s money isn’t compassion”

So partially inspired by my fit of rage a few weeks back and also by the Young American’s for Liberty I Pledge video, the following is my personal responsibility pledge (or what I pledge to do to take charge of my own life and to give and not just receive or expect):

1. I pledge to work hard and make myself financially independent, to pursue my dream and never accept hand outs, bail outs, or any other form of public money
2. I pledge to open an emergency medical account to cover the unexpected, never to rely on others for my own well being
3. I pledge to start saving for the future with my first real pay check and continue to save so that I won’t leach off the fruits of another man’s labor
4. I pledge to live within or below my means so that I will never have to rely on others to fund my independence
5. I pledge to shop sales, cut coupons, and be a responsible, savvy consumer
6. I pledge to own my mistakes and apologize to those affected by them
7. I pledge to value experiences over material items
8. I pledge to contribute to my children’s education, both academic and otherwise
9. I pledge to cook and eat healthily whenever possible, to never blame others for the choices I make about my nutrition and well-being
10. I pledge to read and be an informed citizen of the world
11. I pledge to vote and make informed decisions on candidates, to have an open mind and listen to others, and to form my own opinion and think for myself
12. I pledge to be a lifelong learner, to never find myself without the skills to transition into new industries or more advanced positions in my own
13. I pledge to take seriously the freedoms I am given and act responsibly in order to retain those freedoms
14. I pledge to honor and support those charged with defending and maintaining my freedom and safety, never to take for granted the service they provide
15. I pledge to set a responsible and strong example for my children so they might come to pledge their own personal responsibilities one day, to lead by example
16. I pledge to set up a major purchases savings account, to never spontaneously make a major purchase, and ensure I am prepared to handle the expense
17. I pledge to expect the unexpected and plan accordingly, never turning to others for a solution or quick-fix
18. I pledge to act with common sense, never blaming others for mistakes or misfortunes I could have prevented or eased
19. I pledge to not feel sorry for myself or my situation, but rather to take charge and be the change I want in my life
20. I pledge to respect life, wisdom, and knowledge, and to never endanger, mock, or eschew the sanctity and greatness of each

I encourage all Gen Y’ers and even those younger to reflect on what you want to do in order to take responsibility for your life, to give and not just receive. It is becoming increasingly difficult to expect anything, so think about it now and stop to taking liberty for granted.

And I will close with another snippet from the Young American’s for Liberty video:

 “I will not live for the sake of another man nor ask another man to live for mine”

Comfort Food: Shepherd's Pie

Last night was Guy Fawkes Night. For those unfamiliar with British history, in what is known as the Gun Powder Plot, Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the English Parliament on the Fifth of November back in the 1600s, but failed. All over the UK and other parts of the world, people celebrate the capture of Guy Fawkes by lighting bonfires, fireworks, and, in some cases, burning effigies of Guy. Now, being Catholic, I don't necessarily agree with burning his effigy, as Guy was a Catholic trying to burn down the Protestant-run Parliament, but I can appreciate a good bonfire and fireworks. I also had the opportunity to celebrate bonfire night in Scotland a few years ago, and I've got to say there's nothing like watching fireworks and seeing a huge bonfire lit in the valleys of Arthur's Seat.

To reminisce on my time in Scotland, I occasionally make a very bland, very comforting meal like those I used to indulge on while abroad. However, I make a point to spice it up a bit, because it's really quite tasteless otherwise. Yesterday, in honor of Guy Fawkes Night, I made a shepherd's pie that was a combination of this recipe from YumSugar and this one from Delish. And here is my recipe:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add half a small onion chopped up in small pieces, 2 cloves of garlic minced, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 5-7 minutes, until onions are more or less translucent. Add one package of frozen veggies plus 1/4 to 1/2 of another package to the pan (I used a combo pack of corn, peas, carrots, and green beans, but you can include any kind of veggie you like). Stir and cook for another minute or two. Transfer everything to a 9x13 baking dish/casserole (you want a shallow dish so the layers aren't too thick).

2. In the same pan you cooked the veggies in, brown 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef until no pink remains. While it's browning, season with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (depends on your own taste). Once fully browned, drain. Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons (or more if you like) Worcestershire sauce, about 3/4 of a small can of tomato paste, and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme into the beef. In a small bowl mix 1 1/2 cups beef broth and 1 tablespoon flour, pour into pan with beef mixture and boil for 1 minute or until the sauce thickens slightly. Spread the beef over the veggies in the baking dish.

3. In a bowl, mix one and a half packages of Bob Evans (or similar) refrigerated mashed potatoes with a few handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese (make it as cheesy as you want). Spread the potato mixture over the beef and vegeatables, making sure to cover the entire baking dish.

4. Bake the shepherd's pie at 425 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes start to brown and the sides are bubbly.

If you want to spice it up even more, season the ground beef with cayenne pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon).

Enjoy!

One Step Closer to Finding Your Passion

When I started this blog, one of my original ideas for a post was “finding my passion” because I had gone through (and continue to go through) the process and had a lot of great information on the topic. Recently, I’ve been reading several posts about passion that have inspired (read: reminded) me to share my knowledge. See posts by GuruGilbert, Blake Sunshine, and Rohit Bhargava.

Now, on to the good stuff: how do I find my passion?

Flashback to May 2008. I was a fresh graduate, moving back to my home state, looking for a job, but unsure of what kinds of jobs to be looking for. It seemed obvious: I majored in public communication and was president of my school’s PRSSA, I should apply for positions at public relations agencies. Wrong. I tried that strategy for several months, and during that time came to realize that writing press releases and doing media relations was the last thing I wanted to do. Career crisis this early in my career? Yikes. But after a brief period of panic and feeling completely hopeless, I followed some advice from one of my mentors: figure out what you’re passionate about and pursue it.

So I Googled “finding my passion” and started to read everything I could find about the topic. And here is my process:

Part 1: Standard Assessments
1a. Take personality and career interests tests. There are tons of free online assessments that will help you discover things about yourself. The following are some of the tests I took:

Testing Room: This site offers a Career Interests Profiler, Career Values Scale, and Personality Index. Free mini-assessment for each.

LiveCareer: Evaluates your occupational interests, work style, workplace personality, values, knowledge and skills. I found the workplace personality section very useful because it gives you top 5 traits and descriptions (i.e. my first trait was Conventional/Organizer: enjoy supervising others in jobs where rules and tasks are well defined, show careful attention to detail, are organized, follow instructions well, etc.).

Keirsy Temperament Sorter II: This site has lots of different assessments. Great resources for understanding your personality type and overviews of their 4 temperaments: Guardians, Idealists, Artisans, and Rationals.

CareerPerfect: A very simple assessment that helps you understand your work preference. Four characteristics: Focuser (self-starter), Relater (enthusiastic), Integrator (finisher), and Operator (detailer). Each characteristic has brief descriptions of your work style, managing style, values, etc.

1b. From the test results, highlight traits you feel most resonate with your own self-concept and organize similar results into 10 or so personality traits. For example, the results of my assessments often came back with the following overarching themes: organizer, attentive, investigative, enthusiastic, and traditional. Under each of those personality themes, I listed other traits and work style preferences to get a better sense of the whole picture.

Part 2: Personal Evaluation
Now that you’ve evaluated yourself using “standardized” tests, do a little self-evaluation. When answering these questions, write down everything that comes to mind even if you think it’s not pertinent to your career life. The goal is to get as much information about your self on paper so you can step back and see connections.

2a. Take stock of your interests:

• What are ten things I really like to do?
• What activities or experiences feel most meaningful to me? 
• What types of things energize you?
• What activities, subjects, or causes have you been deeply involved with?
• At what times in my life have I felt most passionate or alive?

2b. Take stock of your strengths:

• What are my five greatest strengths at work?
• What are the skills that come naturally to you without much thought or effort?
• What are some areas in which your family and friends consider you an expert?
• What are the types of things that people ask you for help with?

2c. Take stock of you values:

• What would your ideal company value?
• What’s you ideal working environment?
• What values are you not willing to compromise?
• Who are two people I truly admire in business and why?

Part 3: Write a “Me statement”
Now that you’ve evaluated yourself on several levels, start matching your interests with your personality traits. Are there common themes? Do certain personality traits match up with particular interests? You’ll be surprised at the connections. It's also helpful to go over your “results” with a mentor or close friend to get a fresh perspective.

One way to express your career purpose and values is a Me Statement. Here you want to describe your past experience, summarize that experience with 3-5 strengths you possess, and include a statement about your current situation. It’s kind of like a miniature cover letter. I use a version of a Me Statement on my LinkedIn page and other personal profiles:

I am trained in writing, but a natural planner, and always searching for more information. I seek opportunities where I can utilize and expand my skills in strategic planning, ideally working in a marketing AND communications environment. I am an analytical thinker and believe research is key to delivering success. I also have a keen eye for detail that has helped me succeed in a variety of roles and environments.

As a public communications graduate of American University, I participated and led the school's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, serving as a Regional Activity committee member and president. For the past five years I have been an intern with a variety of organizations, from non-profits to corporations and agencies, performing a wide-range of tasks in brand development, event planning, promotions, and research. Following my May 2008 graduation, I moved back to my home state - Minnesota - and I am eager to continue growing in my marketing communications career in the Twin Cities.

Final Thoughts:
The step-by-step process I’ve listed above is by no means a sure fire way to finding your passion or your career. It includes useful steps and evaluations in helping you discover what you're passionate about, but every person is going to find their passion in their own way. I hope the tools and questions above are not the end to your search, but the beginning – the foundation stone to building a successful and passionate career. The point of all the evaluations and the exercise of writing a me statement is to help you define your self and discover potential careers.

Also, don’t feel like every test result or answer to your personal evaluation is pertinent to your career. I love college basketball – it’s something that gets me excited and energized – but a career in sports marketing communications is not for me because it doesn’t fit my work style and values. I found that once I got all this information down and started to draw connections between the different areas, I was able to better define my career aspirations, which is super helpful in explaining them to other people and in job applications. Remember: research, evaluate, and ask questions before deciding on your career.

I’m going to finish this post by saying that I apologize for lack of citations; I’ve gathered a lot of this info over the past couple of years and often forget or lose where it came from in the process. Googling “finding my passion” turns up a lot of good info, so I might start there if you are looking for resources beyond those that I’ve provided. Good luck passion seekers!

Emotional "Reality"

What is it about reality television that just sucks you in and doesn’t let you stop watching until the very end?

I’ve been sucked into many a reality television show unknowingly at first and become a loyal watcher of a handful of reality dramas. I’ve even been channel surfing and stopped on a reality show I’ve never watched before and been completely drawn into a weigh-in or a rose ceremony or a beauty queen crowning for people whose names and stories I know nothing about. People I shouldn’t think twice about take over my TV screen. What’s up with that?

I’m a loyal So You Think You Can Dance watcher (I don’t think I’ve missed but a handful of episodes from over five seasons). Tonight, as I watched the Top 20 dancers being announced for this season’s show, I felt myself unconsciously smiling with a dancer who got emotional when the judges announced he would be in the Top 20. And when a dancer got that look of disappointment for not making the show, I, too felt a little sad. I can understand feeling happy or sad further into the season because I spent weeks emotionally invested in the show and feel attached to certain contestants. But I hardly know anything about any of the dancers this early on in the season.

Another, even stranger example: The other day I started watching The Biggest Loser. I’ve never watched the show in my life, and there I was saying a little “Yeah!” in my head when one of the contestants lost five pounds and another fifteen. What is it about these reality shows that makes them so fascinating that someone would tune-in for a brief moment and feel unwarranted emotion for a reality star?

I don’t believe it’s that I can relate to all these reality contestants. But I do think there’s some satisfaction in sharing in their joy and sadness. I watched So You Think You Can Dance this evening to see who was going to be on the show for the next couple of months. I went into the viewing experience pretty passively, but found myself feeling happy and sad as if I was the dancer on stage learning the fate of my career in reality television.

So do I want to live vicariously through reality television? No. I definitely have no desire to ride around in an RV with drunken co-eds or eat creepy crawlies or even be crowned Miss I’ve Never Heard of This Small Town but What the Heck I Love Any Kind of Be-Jeweled Headgear. But it is nice to sit down, flip on the TV, and lose myself in the suspense and emotion of “reality.”

On the job hunt: Amanda’s List of Useful Tips

It’s hunting season here in Minnesota, but I’m not much of an outdoorsy kind of girl. I am, however, on the job hunt. While I’m no expert, I’ve found some activities are more useful than others, and I’d like to share that information with fellow job hunters.

There are millions of lists online – everything from finding a job, interviewing, writing thank you notes, etc. is available in someone’s list of skills, pointers, and myths. It can be argued that adding another list to the pile is just going to confuse the already overwhelmed job hunter. But I like to get different perspectives and judge which pieces of information are most useful for my own situation (you can’t expect one list to have every bit of information you ever wanted to know on it).

So here it goes… My list of useful tips for job hunters. I engage in some form of the following activities each time I approach a new job hunt (and some even when I’m not actively applying for jobs):

• I’ve already discussed setting up a job search schedule, so I won’t rehash that information here. Just know it’s important to research open positions, research your industry, network, use social media, do personal branding, and engage in personal activities (I cook and read almost every day) to varying degrees throughout your week.
• (Re)-evaluate my passions and career direction: using some of the tools mentioned below and some personal inventories of my interests and skills, I take a look at what I’m doing, what I want to be doing, and how I can make it all happen.
• Get in contact with my network: I have mentors and people in the industry that I go to when I’m in transition (a nice way to say unemployed). To some of these contacts I simply write a quick e-mail to let them know the situation and politely ask them to pass along any opportunities they might know of. The other contacts I meet-up with or engage in on-going e-mail conversation to get ideas and/or help in furthering my career. Past supervisors and professors love to hear how you’re doing and to help out where they can, so don’t hesitate to remain in contact with them.
• Research, research, research: Being that I’m towards the beginning of my career, I’m always looking for more information on the industry and companies in my metropolitan area. I have spreadsheets for different types of companies (agencies, non-profit, corporations) that list information like company size, major clients, values and mission statements, hiring process, and my connections to the company. I also set-up Google alerts on companies that I am interested in working for so I can stay on top of what’s going on with their businesses and/or clients. This is really helpful when you actually get an interview somewhere because you’ve been following the company and already have a base to work from when preparing questions for the interview. 
  
• Informational interviews: This step sort of combines the last two – reach out to your network and see if they have contacts who would be willing to meet with you and discuss the industry and their companies so you can build your research file (and your network). I love learning about people’s experiences because it gives a personal perspective on business. Googling informational interview questions turns up lots of results if you’re at a loss for things to ask. I like informational interviews over networking events because it’s one-on-one and you learn a lot more quality information. It’s my preference, but extroverts may find networking events better suit their personalities.

Finally, there’s the obvious applying for open positions, follow-up, interviewing, and writing thank-you notes. I won’t get in detail here because these are pretty basic activities, but my best advice is to be positive and gracious throughout the hiring process. Even if you’re not a good fit for the position or company, being friendly and leaving a good impression on people can help out in the future. Marketing communications communities are small (at least in markets outside of New York and LA), so chances are a good impression will carry itself into conversations down the road (and likewise so will a bad impression).

I’m going to tack the following links below because my list is neither comprehensive nor the be-all end-all of job-hunting lists. These are lists and resources I find useful in my own job hunt:

20 Steps to Successful Job Hunting: I just found this list today. I especially like the author’s advice to Recount Your Successes. Being unemployed is stressful and can be depressing, so be sure to think about the good things. Give yourself a pep talk! And do this early on in the hunt. Don’t wait until you’re feeling down to pump yourself up.

Six Steps for First-Time Job Hunters: An older list I referred to back when I first started job-hunting after graduation, this is pretty basic, practical information. It serves a nice reminder. I especially like that the first step is pinpointing your direction. It is important to focus and think outside your logical “I majored in X so I’m going to work in X industry as an X-er.” With most liberal arts degrees, you can major in X and end of working in B industry as an Z-er – it’s about matching your skills and your passion(s).

Going along with the last item, here is a useful start on finding a career direction. This is a very comprehensive exercise with really great, thought-provoking questions. Changed my career outlook.

Finally, Wet Feet has tons of lists for job hunters at all stages of their career lives. I reference information here all the time.

Take from this list what you find helpful, re-tool and integrate it to fit your own situation, and keep refining your search to make it successful.

Happy Job Hunting!

Riding the bus to the end of the line

I love lists. Every kind of list. And when I find a good tip in a list, I want to share it. So here is my latest favorite list tid-bit:

Ride the bus to the end of the line.

I found this travel related tip in Real Simple magazine (also see the full list on their website). The author points out that this isn’t safe or advisable everywhere, but even taking the local bus a few stops outside your set travel area or “area of familiarity” is fun.

The picture at the beginning of this post is from a time when I took the bus to the end of the line (or pretty close to the end). Doesn’t it just scream “endless possibilities”? I studied abroad in Scotland during college and I made it point to travel throughout the country as much as my academic schedule and bank account allowed me. Some of my favorite adventures happened when I just got on the bus and saw where it took me. This particular picture is from a beautiful Friday afternoon that took my flatmate and me to the edge of Edinburgh on the shores of the Firth of Forth. We packed a lunch, grabbed our cameras, and let the bus lead us to the edges of the city we were living in for a semester. The firth was gorgeous and the houses, monuments, side streets, and people we saw along the way were a whole new side of Edinburgh we never would have known had we not took an afternoon adventure.

Edinburgh is an amazing city, and I highly recommend spending a week or two there if you get the chance (plus you have fairly easy access to other cities and towns in Scotland by train and bus). I loved that I had the chance to explore this city over the course of four months. Much of that exploration was by way of the local bus system and walking. Looking back on the experience makes me want to explore the Twin Cities more than I have in the past – to be a tourist in my hometown. I’m the type of person that likes to know where I’m going and I almost always try to memorize the route I’m going to take to get there. But I think I’ll heed the travel advice above and spend an afternoon seeing where the bus (or maybe my car, I don’t always trust Metro Transit beyond getting downtown and back) takes me. Maybe I’ll discover a new part of the cities I never knew existed. Stay tuned…

Even if you can’t make it across the pond, try riding to the end of the bus line in your city. Get out of your familiarity zone! You will not regret it (especially if you happen to find a beautiful spot to relax, clear your mind of life’s crises, and enjoy the view).