Sunday, October 31, 2010

Departing Denver

The ATA Conference has come to an end and as I sit waiting in Denver Airport at Southwest's ghoulishly decorated gate, I find myself reflecting upon all that I have learned over the last few days. In a profession that can often be somewhat isolating, it was wonderful to get together with like-minded individuals who understand what I do and share the same passion. The networking opportunities were abundant and invaluable, providing opportunities to learn from seasoned professionals who are more than happy to share their experience with the next generation. My to-do list for things I need to do or address once I get back home has already filled a few pages of a notebook and I'm not even done yet. Although I had done quite a bit on my website before coming to the conference, I now have tons of ideas of things I can do to further improve it. In addition to this "fun" blog, I also need to start a professional blog about translating that can be integrated into my website or hosted elsewhere. On the social media front, my wunderbartrans Twitter account needs to become more active with "value-adding content" and I need to be more active on XING and LinkedIn to connect with other translators and potential direct clients. Needless to say, there is a ton to do - all one step at a time. The plane is about to board, so I'll be posting more later. Exciting things are on the horizon - I just know it!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Greetings from the ATA in Denver

Since my last post, I've been extremely busy with work in preparation to be where I am now: at the ATA (American Translators Association) Conference in Denver. I got into Denver Tuesday afternoon and have been going non-stop ever since. Despite thinking that I had packed correctly, I arrived and after being hit by chilly winds realized that I had, in fact, neglected to bring a warm coat. Thankfully a TJmaxx is just across the street from the hotel, so I rushed over there ASAP and found a nice Columbia jacket for half price. I also picked up a couple more long sleeve shirts, since one of the ones I got at Old Navy last week proved to have a hole in the side when I got ready to put it on.

Yesterday I attended two pre-conference sessions that gave me excellent information on how to better run my business and what I have been doing "sub-optimally". The biggest "mistake" is definitely that I have been pricing myself too low and that will have to change ASAP. I also need to reach out and try to find more direct clients to make myself less dependent on agencies. I've got lots of new ideas and a lot of work ahead of me - but I am certain that I can do it. I hope to make lots of valuable contacts over the next few days to help me grow my business. Last night was the welcome reception, followed by the German Language Division open house (I got to wear my Dirndl :-) ). Today I have a few sessions with a speed networking session tonight.

If I have time I'll post more later.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

This week's Produce Box - and what I've done with it so far!

Homemade apple juice made
with 3 of the many apples
I've been collecting.
Delicious! My food
processor also has a juicer
attachment. Hot homemade
apple cider coming soon!

Contents of this week's Produce Box,
shiitake mushrooms in the brown bag.
Mixed hot peppers behind cabbage.
 This week's Produce Box contained several ingredients perfect for an Ethiopian feast! I chose Box C this week and got shiitake mushrooms, several bulbs of different garlic varieties (Chesnok, Music, Silver White), collard greens, a hot pepper mix, apples and green cabbage. Ethiopian happens to be one of my favorite cuisine and I finally happened to have essentially all the ingredients on hand (except for ginger root carrots and a couple of spices, which I got from the grocery across the street) to make two of my favorite dishes: Ethiopian collards and a cabbage-carrot-potato dish. I found a few recipes online and then used them to create my own dishes.

Here are the links to the collard recipes that I essentially combined:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gomen-Wat/Detail.aspx
http://girliegirlarmy.com/blog/20100607/ethiopian-collards-on-mini-injeras/

Basically I started out following the directions in the second link.
I cooked down the collards, drained off and saved the liquid, then chopped the collards. Then I cooked the finely chopped red onion in oil. In the food processor I chopped 4 cloves of garlic 1.5 inches of peeled ginger root, 1.5 long green chilis and 1 green bell pepper and then added them to the onion and oil in the pot. Next I added the chopped collards to the pot along with about 1 cup of the collard cooking water. Then I added the spices from both recipes: freshly ground sea salt, freshly ground pepper, turmeric, paprika, allspice along with the juice of one small lemon. I let everything continue to cook and added a bit more of the collard cooking water. It tasted amazing. I was worried that it might be too spicy because I forgot to de-seed the chilis, but it had just the right amount of spiciness. I think combining the recipes made it all the better.

Almost simultaneously I was preparing the second dish. Here I basically followed this recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ethiopian-Cabbage-Dish/Detail.aspx

The changes I made here were to double the spices (except for the salt) and I used 1 sweet potato and 3 white potatoes instead of only 5 white potatoes. I figured since there are already carrots in the recipe sweet potato would be an added bonus. It was a great choice - absolutely delicious!

I also tried making the injera bread (used the recipe on the 2nd collard recipe link), but since I didn't have teff flour (GF) I substituted sorghum flour (GF) and GF all-purpose mix and the results were ok, but not the way it is supposed to be. If I try it again I will make sure to get teff and hope it turns out right.

Homemade Ethiopian: cabbage-carrot-potato-sweet potato dish
and spicy Ethiopian collards served on my homemade attempt
at injera


The best part is that I now have tons of leftovers!

I've got a whole slew of other recipes I want to make soon, so keep posted - I'm in a cooking mood!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Yellow Squash and Mushroom Risotto (vegan and gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free)

So for those of you out there looking for some more risotto ideas, on Friday I made a yellow squash and mushroom risotto. Go back to my post for Butternut Squash Risotto and instead of using butternut squash, add in chopped yellow squash and mushrooms (I used baby bella and shiitake). This time don't use cardamom and cinnamon (good for accentuating the flavor of butternut squash, but not needed here); instead use fresh thyme like I did. Other than that all of the steps were the same. As a side I made some over baked orange and purple sweet potato bites.

Here's a picture of Friday's meal. Enjoy!

Yellow squash and mushroom risotto garnished with Crema di Balsamico and almond cheese, side of oven-baked orange and purple sweet potato bites with Arabic spices. A perfect fall meal!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Exciting Friday and weekend so far (including Dave Ramsey)

Since I usually work on the weekends, I often take Fridays off to relax a bit. With the State Fair in town and beautiful weather to lure me out, I was very tempted to spend Friday at the fair with my parents, but ended up spending the majority of the day building my business website in preparation for attending a conference later this month. So far it's coming along quite nicely: www.wunderbar-translations.com. I still have a lot to add, but think it makes a good impression for promoting my business for now. This next week one of my work-related activities will be I'll be working on vamping up my business cards to take with me to the conference. Friday afternoon I made a wonderful yellow squash and mushroom risotto (I'll post separately) and baked orange and purple sweet potatoes - yummy! Friday afternoon I went skating and had a make-up lesson since I missed Monday's class due to recuperating from a cold. For those of you who don't know, I've been figure skating off and on since I was about 5 years old, have had lessons at various times in my life and after a nearly 16 year break from lessons (only skating here and there over the years) started taking lessons again this past winter (inspired in part by the Winter Olympics). I took a summer break and am back at it again, this time with a much more challenging coach. I can still jump and spin but have a lot of bad habits to overcome.

The theme for Saturday was Dave Ramsey! He was speaking live in Raleigh today and I had purchased tickets for me and my parents back in May as soon as they went on sale. It was great hearing him speak live and definitely motivating to continue working to get out of debt. I have another blog on which I've been trying to track my efforts to get debt-free (http://creating-a-debt-free-life.blogspot.com). Now with more motivation directly from the source, I hope to strengthen my efforts and make even greater progress. Apparently some of the things I have been doing have not been in the right order, so hopefully now I can make the necessary changes to drive down my debt. Check out the other blog for more info on that.

The next highlight of this weekend comes tomorrow afternoon... more on that tomorrow or Monday.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Honey Balsamic Vinegarette (and some doting on my food processor)

There are some recipes that make it absolutely worth owning your food processor. As you have seen in previous recipes, I use if whenever I get a chance. I use mine several times a week and consider it one of the most valuable appliances in my kitchen - I loved it so much I brought it back with me from Germany since they no longer sold the same model in the US at the time. I was lucky enough to find a second used one on Ebay for my mom's house so that I can use it when I cook there and have spare parts in case I ever need them. Apparently they are now selling them in the US: my model can be found here: Braun Food Processor (Double). The single version is here: Braun Food Processor (Single). This is one food processor I would never want to live without! It is so much nicer and easier to use than a Cuisinart - you may disagree at first, but that's just because you haven't tried it yet! Regardless of which brand you have, it is highly recommended that you have a food processor if you want to make this salad dressing. I also use it when making homemade mayonnaise (recipe to come another time).


Now on to the recipe. I found this recipe (in just written form) on the Internet somewhere well over 3 years ago and have been making it ever since. My secret tips for making it as delicious as possible are to use local honey and organic chili powder. I once made it with non-organic chili powder and the extra preservatives and salt in the mix really messed up the flavor. Make sure that whatever chili powder you choose only has natural ingredients and contains no preservatives or salt. Simply Organic has a great chili powder that I have used for a while until recently running out. This time I used Earth Fare's organic chili powder which had the same ingredients as Simply Organic.

The ingredients: local honey, balsamic vinegar, Dijon
mustard, mayonnaise, chili powder, oil, salt and pepper

Measure out a little over 1/4 c.
of balsamic vinegar.

Add a little over 1/4 c. of honey.

Pour into food processor.

Add a little under 2 TBS of Dijon mustard.
 
Measure out a little over 1/4 c.
of mayonnaise.

Add about 1 TBS of chili powder

Blend together


Measure out a little over 3/4 c. of vegetable oil.
Canola oil works well and contains importantomega-3 and -6 fatty acids.

Slowly add oil to mixture while blending at a low-medium
speed.

Keep blending. The dressing will start to thicken
up and become creamy. If you want a
thicker dip, add more mayo and less oil.


Perfect dressing consistency.

Put in a jar (this recipe makes about 16 oz.)
Serve over a delicious salad - here's one I made this past spring.
It is also delicious on baked potatoes, as a dip for veggies,
and many other uses!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Today's Produce Box! October 13, 2010

This week's Produce Box arrived today with a couple of unique items. In addition to NC mountain apples, field tomatoes, potatoes and another butternut squash (thank goodness I finally depleted my reserves with the soup yesterday!), this box contained PURPLE sweet potatoes and nearly white eggplant. I'll have to be creative coming up with some yummy things over the next week or so. I've got a couple of Afghan dishes I want to try, but if you have any other vegan-friendly ideas, send them my way!

View after just opening the box



View after some slight rearrangement

Butternut Squash Soup (vegan, gluten-free, soy-free)

This recipe is my version of a recipe I found here. My version isn't much different, except that I didn't use fresh ginger because I didn't have any (powdered worked just fine) and I also didn't have fresh cilantro to garnish so I used ground coriander. I also used Crema di Balsamico to drizzle on at the end and served with corn chips.

Here's my picture by picture instructions. Enjoy!

The ingredients: 2 medium butternut squash*, garlic*,
1 extra large onion*, vegetable broth, coconut milk,
ginger, curry powder, turmeric, salt and pepper
*Denotes fresh, local ingredients from either the Produce Box
or the farmers' market


Dice onion

Add a couple tablespoons of vegetable broth to the pot
and heat.

Add chopped onion to the pot with the vegetable broth
and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes
until translucent.

Add garlic - I used about 6 cloves since I doubled the recipe.

Add 2-3 tsp. of powdered ginger or 1 TBS of
fresh chopped ginger. Saute for another minute.

Add curry powder (I used ginger curry from 1001 Gewürze),
turmeric and mix well.


Add peeled and cut butternut squash.

Add the rest of the broth (for the doubled recipe the whole container).

Mix.

Bring to a boil over high heat.

Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium.
Simmer uncovered until squash is tender
for about 10-15 minutes.

Add coconut milk (for doubled recipe the whole can)

Blend with a puree stick or in a blender in small batches.
If you don't like coconut milk and still want to keep
the recipe vegan and soy-free, you can use MimicCreme

After blending the soup should be smooth like this.

Add freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.

Stir.

Serve in bowls.

Decorate with freshly ground coriander
and Crema di Balsamico if desired.

Garnish with corn chips. You can also serve with
fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Gluten-free, dairy-free blueberry banana bread

After eating almost exclusively fresh, local fruit all summer, with the change of season there is less selection and I've had to go back to fruit from he grocery store - including bananas, which I skipped almost all summer. My first banana purchase this fall was a bunch of 6, of which I only ate 2 before the other four started browning - perfect for making banana bread. I have a recipe I found last year that I have modified somewhat to be gluten-free and dairy-free. Enjoy!


The basic ingredients: Arrowhead Mills Gluten-Free Baking Mix,
almond meal, canola oil, organic cane sugar, baking soda,
baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, cinnamon,
cloves, vanilla, ripe bananas, lemon (zested), 2 eggs,
frozen blueberries

1 3/4 cups of GF baking mix, plus a couple
tablespoons of flax seed

Pour into bowl

Add 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp of salt
Add spices: ginger, some pumpkin pie spice, cloves

Blend

1/4 c. of almond meal


Grate about 1 tsp. of lemon zest



Add almond meal and lemon zest to bowl and mix.

Puree bananas.




... until smooth

Add 1/2 cup of oil and 3/4 cup of sugar to mixer.


Blend

Add eggs (this was 2 eggs, but one had a double yolk)

Blend

Until smooth

Spoon in flour blend to egg-oil-sugar mix.

Alternate with blended banana.

Add a bit of vanilla and blend.

Add 1 c. of frozen blueberries

Blend

Pour into greased pan and bake at 350 F for 1 hr.

Should be golden when done.

Serve warm with butter or margarine. Yummy!