Kristin van Ogtrop's Blog, page 401

The November Book Poll Closes on Sunday

Hi, Bookies:

If you haven't yet voted for our November book, you have until 11:59 p.m. EDT this Sunday, October 24, to register your pick. RS.com associate editor Kristin Appenbrink will lead the discussion of the winner from the four books below. Which will it be? Make your choice!

What Book Should We Read in November?survey software

Day 14: Mushroom and Herb Strata

This vegetarian-friendly meal was prepared by Kristin Appenbrink, the associate editor of RealSimple.com and Home & Organizing blogger on Simply Stated. In addition to writing and editing for the site, Kristin is the voice behind Real Simple's Facebook and Twitter accounts.

 

 

I chose the Mushroom and Herb Strata because it was one of the ones in the story that was vegetarian from the start. Or ovo-lacto vegetarian, meaning it includes eggs and dairy. I'm also a huge fan of stratas. The cutting and prep takes a little bit of time, but they are still incredibly easy to put together. And, well, they almost always include cheese. Enough said right there.

 

 

When I was younger, even camoflauged with cheese you wouldn't have gotten me anywhere near this recipe because of the mushrooms. Especially if I'd seen actual dirt on the mushrooms beforehand. Now, I think it was actually one of the best parts of the recipe and the prep. Don't those mushrooms look great?!

 

 

Putting together the recipe did take me a little bit longer than the 20 minutes listed, but only because I took about 40 photos, and I kept stopping to pay more attention to the conversation I was having with my friend Vanessa, who had come over to help me photograph and enjoy the spoils.

 

 

I was really happy with how the recipe turned out. The struggle I normally have with stratas is making sure that they are cooked all the way through without burning the top. This was perfect. I did have to make one switch, which was to use a pie plate instead of an 8-inch square baking dish. It worked just fine, but there was a precarious moment transfering it from counter to oven. I also recommend a trick I learned from working at Real Simple to prevent tears when you're chopping onions: Strike a match right before you start cutting. I did it with each half and my eyes stayed completely dry.

 

Here's the final plated meal:

 

 

In place of the mixed greens, I bought baby arugula and dressed it with olive oil, white wine vinegar, and sea salt and pepper as the recipe called for. It was a perfect accompaniment. Vanessa and I both loved the dish, plus it got rave reviews from Vanessa's boyfriend who was lucky enough to snag leftovers since he had to work while we played in the kitchen. I can't wait to make this recipe again.

 

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how you liked it in the comments, and share your photos by following @RealSimpleFood on Twitter and using the hashtag #OctDinner.

 

Money Rant of the Week: A Large Cup of Coffee

This week's rant is directed mainly towards myself. Most times that I roll into my favorite coffee place and order a cup, I make a foolish financial decision. (Well, actually two, I guess, since the first one is not making my morning fix at home.) It's one that only costs me a few nickels with each cup, but as financial experts lecture time and time again, the small things can really add up.

 

So I'm admitting it here for you all to see: I am a sucker for the size upgrade. Or to put it slightly-more eloquently:

 

"Yes barista, I'd like to super size my latte."

 

 

I certainly don't need the bigger coffee. And I know that I'm doing exactly what those people-that-create-menu-pricing want me to do. But I just can't help myself. All I see is that the larger size is only around 40 cents more than the smaller drink, yet 30% bigger. I see that the price per ounce is cheaper if I go with the bigger option. So I make the argument to myself that I'm getting a better deal. And while that may be true, I'm certainly not doing my budget any favors since ultimately, I'm spending more money with each cup that I consume.

 

Unfortunately, this type of behavior spreads beyond the java beans into numerous areas of my life. I always opt for the larger option, whether it's a giant bottle of laundry detergent or the jumbo-size tub of hummus that will certainly mold before The Husband and I can consume it.

 

"Hi, my name is Ashley and I have a super sizing problem."

 

 

Do you have any financial behavior that you know is wrong, but just can't stop? Sound off below.

 

 

 

 

Imagine Working in a ROWE

What is ROWE? It's short for Results-Only Work Environment where employees are evaluated on results, not for the time they spend showing up and logging in. I've been interested in this management strategy for quite some time now, ever since I walked away from my full time gig (and the benefit package that went with it) to become president of my own company. Or more accurately, to live the freelance life.

The women (naturally) behind ROWE recognize that life is an individual experience and that no two lives are the same. ROWE, as described on their website, is not flextime or telecommuting or job-sharing. "In a Results-Only company or department, employees can do whatever they want whenever they want, as long as the work gets done. No more pointless meetings, racing to get in at 9:00 am, or begging for permission to watch your kid play soccer... You make the decisions about what you do and where you do it, every minute of every day."

Sounds good, doesn't it?

Because really, who came up with the hours for our standard work day anyway? Who decided a mom should be at the office at 8:00am when the school bus doesn't pick up her kids until 9am? How can a concerned daughter escort her dad to his weekly doctor's appointment if she's expected to be at her desk for fixed times every Monday through Friday? Clearly, not every job or industry lends itself to ROWE. I'm not sure how my father (a police officer) or my mother (an inpatient nurse) could have done it. More arrests? Save more lives?

Certainly there are some work schedules that organically allow for more flexibility: Twelve-hour days in exchange for more time off; the 3-11pm shift; part-time jobs. In my experience, nontraditional full-time schedules are often arrangements made on a case by case basis at the discretion of individual managers. As a result, some employees are seen as receiving favors while others stew quietly because they haven't been able to strike the same deal.

Earlier this month, the Office of the Chief Technology Officer in Washington, DC signed on as the first agency in that city's government to embrace ROWE. What? A city government office trying something cutting-edge? Read this interview with Bryan Spivak, the agency's Chief Technology Officer to see what he was thinking when he decided to go ROWE.

What could your company do to change its culture? Can you imagine working in a Results-Only Work Environment? Would you want to?

The Water Bottle That Does Everything Except Drink For You!

There are some problems one has that don't become apparent until a product emerges to solve it. I speak, in this instance, of the phone, ID, water bottle and key conundrum? What conundrum you ask?

I'm referring to how you can suddenly feel like a clumsy juggler at the gym, trying to clutch your keys, phone, ID card and water bottle in two hands, as you traipse from treadmill to elliptical, from the bench press to the bicep curl machine. Half the time, I end up leaving something behind. (I can't tell you how many times I've gotten to the locker room only to realize that I'd left my keys in the water holder, or that I'd taken off my earrings and forgot to retrieve them as well.)

Well, two California women were having the same problem and came up with a solution that hits shelves this month: the Sport + Store water bottle. With an eco-friendly, stainless-steel body that holds 20 fl. oz, a twist top and anti-spill cap that doubles as a key ring, and a generous storage compartment, exercisers or those who just want to travel light can really have it all AND take it with them, and still have a hand-free! It's rather of ingenious! To buy, go to www.sportandstore.com; $20.

Day 13: Asian Beef and Mango Salad

Today's recipe was prepared by editorial assistant Nykia Spradley, who frequently writes for our fashion section and is also a blogger on our Home & Organizing channel on Simply Stated.

 

 

 

If there were ever an ideal quick, carb-free meal that leaves you full and satisfied after eating, this Asian Beef and Mango Salad is it. My husband was skeptical at the thought of salad for dinner, but I assured him that the beef would make it feel like dinner and fill him up, and indeed it did. I've wracked my brain trying to come up with a post-gym dinner that wouldn't leave me sluggish or negate my workout efforts, and this is perfect.

 

 

Aside from slicing the mango and cucumbers, which can be done in advance, this meal took all of 15 minutes to prepare. Best of all, I didn't feel heavy or still hungry afterwards. The salad was delicious, it was a great combination of savory and sweet, and, although the mangos were not super sweet, it was a great balance against the beef and soy sauce. It turned out great, and now I have a quick meal to add to my recipe arsenal.

 

 

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how you liked it in the comments, and share your photos by following @RealSimpleFood on Twitter and using the hashtag #OctDinner.

 

 

Need help remembering names? There's an app for that.

It is no secret that I am terrible with names. In fact, I often joke that everyone should wear a name badge, not just at conferences or fast food establishments, but also at school, work, and soccer games. Think about how much easier life would be if, when running into a soccer mom at the grocery store, you weren't left fumbling for her name.



Enter


Starting out, I admit I was a little overwhelmed by the blank slate that I was presented with (it would probably benefit from having one sample name already entered). But I decided to give it a try last weekend at my son's soccer game, and immediately saw the potential benefits to my poor, overtaxed brain.



You start by entering a parent's name (first, last, whatever you can capture), as well as other details that will help you find the person again including categories (soccer, school, cub scouts); reference hints (coach, son's name, hair color) and any additional information you might want to keep track of (kids names, working or stay-at-home, etc). It also allows you to "tag" the listing with a location so that you can pull up a list of people you met at a certain place (such as the middle school soccer field). If you have a photo, or can take a snapshot, you can also add a picture to the record.



Trying it last weekend, I found the process of inputting the names was helpful as a device to move information into my long term memory, although figuring out how to create the entry without seeming like I'm texting or ignoring the person was a challenge.



When I find a spare moment, I'm actually planning on sitting down with the app and our school lists to enter all the people I "must" know before I see them again.



At


What do you do to remember all the names?

Guest Curator Gig on Felt & Wire Shop

It's no secret that I'm a huge stationery addict. I love cards and hand-written notes. (Kind of ironic since I'm a web editor, I guess.) And above all else, I want stationery that's well-designed.

 

(Sweet Snarky Mini Cards by Constellation & Co. $15 on Felt & Wire)

 

So, needless to say, I jumped at the chance to curate a collection over at Felt & Wire. I posted about them once before (Pretty Placecards from Timeless Paper), but they are worth checking out regularly as they are always adding new products.

 

You can check out my collection of favorite items here: "Weak in the Knees" Collection. And then click through the rest of the site and tell me what you would have put in your collection.

 

Behind the Scenes at Our Holiday Cookie Shoot

Most of you probably know that magazines work several months ahead in order to publish issues on time—so for example, our food department was testing stuffings during the summer so that you could have a fabulous selection of Thanksgiving stuffing recipes in your November issue of Real Simple. On the website, we don't work quite as far in advance, but we still need to stay ahead of the game (is it really still two weeks until Halloween? I've been thinking about it for so many weeks already, I feel like it happened a month ago).

 

Last week we had a photo shoot for our brand-new holiday cookie recipes, which you'll be able to find online starting November 1. Over two days, our crew baked, decorated, styled, and photographed 18 delicious cookies, from bars to cut-out cookies to drop cookies. And let me tell you—there's a lot of work that goes into making the photos look beautiful, much more than you can imagine. While I can't share the recipes with you in advance, I can give you a sneak peek of what went on behind the scenes.

 

 

First, the photographer and designer met with our food stylist in the test kitchen to examine each cookie. Here, they're checking out the chewy gingersnaps, made with molasses, cloves, cinnamon, and a bunch of other stuff that tastes and smells good.

 

 

Here are the almond biscotti, which are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

 

 

Aren't these beautiful? These are stained-glass cookies, and their gorgeous colored centers are much easier to create than they look (hint—you'll use a common candy to make them).

 

 

We used these colorful sheets to create different background effects for some of the cookies. The results were stunning.

 

 

The photographer took great pains to arrange the cookies to perfection, often using pins to prop them up and carefully wiping off every last smudge and crumb. Or sometimes he would artfully scatter crumbs, sugar, and sprinkles to get just the right look.

 

 

Here's how the raspberry crumble looked when it was finally camera-ready. And after some more minor adjustments, here's the final shot:

 

 

 Gorgeous, right? If only my baked goods could always look this good...

 

Are you ready for holiday baking season to begin, or is it still way too early to even start thinking about it?

 

(final image: Victor Schrager)

What To Do With Old Medals

My mother recently mailed me all of the medals I earned at debate and speech tournaments in high school. She found the 30 medals in a zip-top bag in a desk drawer and thought I'd want to have them. The funny thing is that I thought I already had them in a box of memorabilia at my house, so it was quite a surprise to get them in the mail.

I decided that I didn't need to keep all of them, especially the medals for fourth, fifth, and sixth place I earned at regular season tournaments. I photographed these 14 medals and put them in a bag to take to my local trophy shop to be recycled. The other medals, however, were more difficult to decide their fate.

A few of the medals I wasn't okay with immediately tossing were from national qualifying and state tournaments, one medal was the first medal I ever won as a novice debater, another is just a downright impressive looking medal (it's a carved lion). Looking at the 16 remaining medals, though, I can't think of a single reason to keep them except to spark memories. I'll never display them in the house, and I can't imagine anyone else wanting to display them either.

Ultimately, I decided to photograph and get rid of all of them. I sent my national qualifying and state tournament medals to my high school's historical society and recycled the rest at my local trophy store.

If you're someone who wishes to keep your medals, I recommend displaying them. Remind yourself of your accomplishments -- don't hide them in a box in a closet or basement. A shadowbox frame is perfect for these displays, and is what I would have used had the medals been more important to me (like placing in a marathon -- I would definitely display that medal).