How I network best

I’ve been really enjoying doing some “low-key networking from my desk” over the past few months.  I’ve been slowly connecting with people (mostly through twitter) and inviting them to have a phone chat with me.

Typically on these chats I ask them two questions:

1)      What is it that you do? What is your current role? What does it mean…etc
2)      How did you get there? What was your journey?

Most of the time, this easily fills a 30 minute phone conversation with someone.

I’ve found that while as professionals there is often that huge push to go to a conference, publish in a publication, or present at a conference.  Many of us are going to these conferences to bring things back to our home campuses.  Many of us are also going just to network with other professionals.

I typically go for both reasons.  I find, however, that while at conferences I usually spend a lot of time sitting down with people and having a 1:1 chat.  I realized this past fall that I can easily do this from my desk or living room.

The upside of having good networking chats not at a conference is that there are limited conference interruptions (friends walking by saying hi…etc), I don’t have to worry about my tie being tied too tightly, and I know that I can write down their name (instead of staring awkwardly at their nametag…on their chest…) to try to remember their name at that key moment in conversation.

How do you network best? What are some tips/tools that you use?

Salad Dressings

Welcome to spring!
I say this to myself when I go to the Farmer’s Market around this time of year.  While the weather could be doing anything, it is lettuce season!  For me, this means lots of salads for lunch and dinner.  While I love all the greens, I am a dressing person.  Salad dressing that is.

For this post, I reached out to some friends to get some good salad dressing recipe ideas.

From Magdalen (borrowed from Bon Appetit — the salad was lame, the dressing was great!):

Orange/fennel/shallot salad dressing recipe

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or fennel, which is what we used)
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

Whisk orange juice, lime juice, shallot, 2 Tbsp. dill, and zest in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in remaining 1/2 cup oil; season orange vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Read More here – from Bon Appetit

From Jan Elliott:

Vinaigrette
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
6 TBS oil — extra virgin olive, or 1/2 safflower 1/2 olive
1 TBS good balsamic vinegar (Villa Manodori is great)
1 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp prepared horseradish
1″ squeeze anchovy paste
1 small clove garlic, pressed

Mix very thoroughly. Taste & adjust (often needs more olive oil or a little sweetener). Mix or shake well just before using.

From Ted Abbott:

I love sauces, mine are mostly for dipping. You could put this one on a salad if you like it hot:

To a base of a cup of mayo, add hot sauce, lemon juice, soy sauce and for ultimate flavor, oyster sauce available in Asian section. Mix until consistent.

From Laura Itzkowitz:

Honey mustard dressing has been my latest salad dressing obsession – dijon mustard, white vinegar, honey, and black pepper. I don’t measure any of them, just add as much as tastes good.

From a restaurant in Nashville we ate at a few weeks ago:

Chili-Grapefruit Vinaigrette
1 Tablespoon Grapefruit Zest
3 Tablespoons Grapefruit Juice
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
pinch of salt and sugar to taste
pinch of cayenne
1/2 cup Olive Oil or Walnut Oil

My current favorite: 

This recipe comes from The New Moosewood Cookbook.  This is the sauce for Gado gado — which is apparently an Indonesian dish.  I just love the peanut butter based sauce on my salad!

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 Tbsp (heaping) grated ginger

1 Tbsp (heaping) minced garlic – I used Green Garlic last week.

3 Tbsp brown sugar (or a bit less is ok)

11/2 cups hot water (I use a bit less ~1.15 cups)

4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp soy sauce (we use tamari)

1 tsp salt (more if the peanut butter is unsalted)

Put it all in a food processor & let it whirl!  This is where I will add the water a bit at a time to see how smooth it is.  This makes a lot of dressing – I’m sure it would be easy to cut the recipe in half.

So- those are some salad recipes.  I have not tried them all – but they all sound good.

Before I go, I should just take a moment to say — if you are an oil & vinegar person.  I still think you are doing things right.  We do an oil & balsamic reduction on our salad at least twice a week ourselves.  Sometimes simple is best!

Please post some of your favorite salad dressing recipes in the comments! I’d love to hear about what you enjoy.

Green Garlic??

This week’s summer market related post is about Green Garlic.

Yes, Green Garlic!
This is not something I have ever seen in a grocery store- but I’m sure it is sold somewhere…

At the farmer’s market this week – look for green garlic!

Ok, so what is this? It looks a bit like scallions or green onions.  Actually it is 100% not that!
Green Garlic – is actually the garlic plant harvested early.

You can actually eat almost all of the plant.  We cut the roots off and then chop the bottom white part up through the beginning of the green leaves and treat it almost like garlic or scallions.  So, we’ll toss it in a stir-fry but we’ll also eat it raw on a salad.  The green leafy parts can be used to add flavor to a stock or soup.

This week we’ve been eating our green garlic in a variety of dishes.  I’ve had it in salad (lettuce, green garlic, cilantro & oil/vinegar) and also in burgers.  When we make burgers we add minced garlic – so, instead of mincing garlic – I just chop up some green garlic & throw it into the burger mix!

The flavor of green garlic, for me, is a very light garlic-y taste.  I find it to be very refreshing – vs a raw garlic taste which can be overpowering!

So, go ask your local farmer for some green garlic!

Braising greens – what is that?

I was excited to see this morning that one of our favorite farmers (Kris & Adriane of River to River Farm in Tunnel Hill, IL) will be bringing brazing greens to the market.  In their blog they specifically mention that they are bringing a “Brazing Mix (A Mixture of 7 different varieties of Kale and Collards).”

So, what is that? What to do with it?

As many of you know, we love cooking.  We actually cook with kale and collards regularly. Here’s what we do with them.  We sauté them.  That’s it.  Sauté.

Typically this means I start by washing the greens, separating the leaves from the stalks, and loosely chopping the greens.  Meanwhile I have some oil heating in a cast iron pan (low-medium heat).  We typically use olive, but have also braised with coconut oil or canola.

To just straight up braise greens – you just toss them in the heated oil.  Let them wilt while you stir them around some.

We rarely just do straight greens.  Usually, we chop up an onion (this is added & sautéd before the greens go in), add garlic, add lemon juice, add chili powder — or a combination of these.

Serving size wise – this really depends on how many people you have & how large your greens are.  It if is just me, I’ll do 2-3 leaves of collards, 4-6 leaves of kale (lacinato is usually smaller than most — red russian is our favorite).  For more people – add more leaves!  When my partner cooks greens she cooks three times as many for just the two of us (and never have leftovers!).  If we get a bunch of kale from the farmers’ market it is usually good for 1-2 meals.

Different varieties of greens: kale (all kinds), collards, chard, dandelion greens, beet greens, spinach, turnip greens… the list goes on!

Before the photos — just some info about greens.  Many greens can be harvested and served year round.  Some varieties can over-winter (kale is sweeter after the first frost).  You can eat them pretty much whenever.  Often the flavor will change when they bolt (or start producing seed) in the spring if you overwintered them.  Greens add fiber, protein, vitamins (especially Vitamin A) and nutrients to your diet.  Here are the nutritional facts about beet greens (yes, boiled, drained, unsalted, but still greens).  For us, they are a pretty important part of my diet.  I like to eat greens at least three times per week (partner would eat them at every meal if she had her druthers).

Here are some photos of what we’ve done:

Garlic in kale

Red onion in beet greens

Rainbow swiss chard on the cutting boardA finished meal – asparagus, dandelion greens, salmon sweet potato cake, and a cannelli bean tuna salad.

So – those are some of our tricks & favorites.  Let us know how you braise greens & any favorite recipes/tricks you do!  Go get your greens!

Dal recipe

We enjoy cooking.  We love sharing recipes that we’ve found & love.  We went to a potluck on Saturday to celebrate the final Winter Farmer’s Market of the season.  The potluck was lots of fun.  It was great to hang out with some of the local growers that we had gotten to know over the past few months.

At the potluck we brought two dishes.  We got lots of positive feedback about this Dal recipe.  We originally found this Dal recipe at Epicurious, originally from Bon Appetit.  You can view that complete recipe online at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/101019?mbid=ipapp

Our version:

Red Lentil Dal
We sometimes make a double recipe (to use a full can of tomatoes) and freeze half – other times we use fresh tomatoes, or just use half of the can and save the rest for something else (it is, of course, possible to purchase smaller cans).

~2 Tbsp canola oil

1 medium onion, diced

1.5 Tbsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground cumin (plus 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds)

1 tsp ground coriander

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

optional vegetables – carrots and/or zucchini

1 cup red lentils

1 and 3/4 cups (about half of a 28 oz can) diced tomatoes

salt to taste

Heat the canola oil in a heavy saucepan (we use this) over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, curry powder, cayenne, cumin, and coriander.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and soft.  Add garlic and ginger and cook another minute or two (then add carrots and cook for a few minutes before adding zucchini), then add lentils, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 3 cups of water (or vegetable or meat broth – we used 1/2 water, and 1/2 turkey stock last time – the turkey stock was made from a Frontwords Farm turkey!).  Bring to a boil, then turn down to a strong simmer and cover halfway.  Cook for 15 minutes, or until the lentils are soft.  Taste for seasoning.

Serving suggestion is over rice, but it can also be used as a stew without rice.
We have found that if you add a small splash of apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar right before you serve it, it can really help the flavors pop!

 Leftovers are great the next few days.

Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes

We learned this recipe from my fiancée’s sister.  She adapted it from here.  We have further adapted the recipe & here it is:

Ingredients:
14.5 oz canned wild salmon (we use the Trader Joe brand)
2-3 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup ground oats
1/4 tsp salt & pepper
1 small onion
3 Tbsp ground flax
3 eggs

3 Tbsp oil for frying (coconut, olive, or canola oil is what we usually use)

Directions:
Wash, peel, & chunk the sweet potatoes.  Boil them for 15 min or until tender (can be done the day before).  ’Clean’ the fish – we debone and de-skin the type that we purchase.  In a large bowl, place the potatoes, fish, and other ingredients.  Mix together.  Form patties.  Heat pan with oil & sear cakes ~ 3 min on each side (cook first side twice).

Notes:
We sometimes do not grind the oats or flax.  We often add chia seeds.  We sometimes use red onion, white onion, yellow onion, leeks, or scallions (I really like the scallions, it depends on what’s in the fridge).  All create a joyful experience. We could use some carrots instead of some of the sweet potatoes. Using more or less sweet potato changes the texture.  More = mushier & there are more servings.  I find that when one is cooking the cakes, the pan wants to be hot enough to sear, but not hot enough to burn.  Also, I end up using more oil than I expect to keep things from sticking.  We usually cook these in our cast iron skillet.

All in all, this is a super easy recipe.  The cakes will keep covered in the fridge for a few days.  They usually do not last long around here.  So, I’m not sure how long they would stay fresh.

Daily Professional Development

I think it’s a great challenge: how do I balance doing my work on a daily basis and growing in my work on a daily basis. This is the struggle of professional development.

For some, we go to an annual or regional conference once a year, attend sessions, take notes – then come back and say “I’m going to implement change” – only to find out that the system we work in is not actually ready for any change to occur. Or, perhaps that example that was shared at the conference actually will not work well at my own campus.

I try to hit some degree of professional development daily. It does not always work – I need to be honest there. But, here are some ways I get some professional development daily:

- Twitter – While I am not super active, I am around enough to follow what is out there and to re-tweet from time to time. I’ve heard the phrase “lurking is learning” – that’s what I stick with most days.

- Reading – I read more books and articles than blogs these days. But, from time to time, there’s a blog that drops on my lap that I enjoy reading.

- Conversations! This is huge for me – two types of conversations.

• First with those at my current institution and in my department at my own level- actual face to face conversations. Typically this might start as a venting moment or a “oh my, did you hear x” conversation. Then it quickly leads to a “huh, I would have done it this way” type conversation. That’s how I learn. Getting critical (and honest) feedback from those around me.
• The other type of conversations that I enjoy are those with professional colleagues in other departments or at other institutions. This is a great way for me to gain an outside perspective or a fresh insight into any questions or struggles that I have.

- Reflecting – as an introvert, this is how I learn the best. I take time to think critically about what I do, what I’ve seen, what is occurring around me, and I think about it. Sometimes these thoughts result in blog posts, sometimes they result in good conversations with those that I supervise or co-workers, and sometimes I just say “come on Brian, you can do better!” I think this is what runners use running time to do. I don’t run that much, but when I do I am busy listening to a podcast, not reflectively thinking.

- LISTSERVs—I’ve managed to get myself onto about four different LISTSERVs. Some of them I don’t think I should be on- but some I totally should be on. While I’m not usually the “vocal LISTSERV” participant, I am always reading and often learning a lot from them!

- Facebook group – A few weeks back I was invited to join the ResLifePros Facebook group. Currently there are over 500 members of this group! Wow, that’s a lot of people with (potentially) great ideas! I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the various tools out there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ResLifePros/

So, with these ideas on ways I get professional development daily – what are some tactics you use? How do you grow as a professional?

Dealing with change: when you are not so thrilled with it…

I’m in a department that is going through change.  Similar to every other department I’ve ever worked with or for (even as an Undergrad!) – we are going through some change.  The specifics of our change don’t matter for this post.

This post is all about how you, as a professional, deal with the change.
I wrote a post a while back about Feeling Frustrated.  I also wrote about Being Solution Focused.
When I think about these two posts, it really helps me dial in to what I believe is a great way to deal with change.

To start with, I think there are multiple types of change.

First, systemic change.  This is a new state law, or the Chancellor/President of the institution has made a new decision/policy.

The fact of the matter is that you will have no control over this change.  My role is to figure out what needs to be done, figure out how to share the message with those below me, and move forward.

I think this is one of those places where people turn negative quickly.  (see the feeling frustrated post again)  For me, it’s all about figuring out how to move forward.  I do spend a little bit talking with co-workers to figure out what is going on and venting- but a lot of my energy is spent on remaining positive and figuring out what is next for me.  I have worked hard in my current role to gravitate towards other professionals who are positive about situations.  Truthfully am I frustrated!? Sure! But, if I spend my time focusing on the positive, I’ll be happier in the end.

Next up would be change from right above me.  Maybe the departmental director wants to change something, or my supervisor wants a process changed, or perhaps we have a new staffing pattern.  All of these changes are something that can really give me (or anyone else) a huge headache!

Again, for me it is all about figuring out what I can control in the situation.  Sometimes, those above me ask for my input.  Sometimes I’m just a drone in the machine making things happen.  Either way, I keep my positive stance and figure out what is the right way for me to move forward.

Change below happens all the time.  This is when one of my staff does something that changes their employment status.  This could also be when a resident does something that really changes how my day is going.  I think with stuff like this, it is important for me to look at the bigger picture.  What is me getting all upset going to do to/with/for this situation.  I might still get frustrated, but taking that moment to pause and think through the whole situation and what outcome I need to happen- before moving forward- really helps me.

Now, I don’t want to pretend like I’m all daisies and roses every day.  Those who know me will know this for sure!  I do get frustrated with the best of them!  However, I’ve really taken time to think through why I have the position I have.  Why am I doing this job.  What are the things out there that would make me want to quit my job or search for a new position.  There is a list (proverbially).

I co-presented a webinar on this basic topic in spring of 2013.  We are called it “What if I don’t like my _____?”  The whole presentation is about really taking a look at your situation and deciding what you can and cannot live with.  If you are interested in viewing the webinar, feel free to click here.  The webinar was sponsored/presented by the Professional Foundations committee of GLACUHO.

I’d love to hear others’ thoughts about how you stay positive when change happens that you are not ok with.   Hope you enjoyed the webinar!

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 3,800 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 6 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

3LeggedThing ‘Brian’ Tripod Review

As I think about it, I’ve never reviewed a piece of equipment I’ve only shared recipes. So… here goes nothing!

On August 6th I was notified that I won an online contest! I enter photography related online contests about once every other week or so. Here are the series of tweets/facebook posts that made it my way:

I was dumbfounded.

First. Here’s a link to the tripod I’m reviewing: http://www.3leggedthing.com/2gen/brianblue.html It’s actually on sale when I’m writing this review. It is called the ‘Brian’ – and yes, that’s also my name.

I’ve read a few reviews. Most of them are four sections: Unboxing, Impressions, Pros, & Cons. So, here goes!

Unboxing:
I admit it, I tracked this package several times. 3LeggedThing is based in the UK. The tripod shipped from the UK. TNT is the shipping company that took it across the ocean. I watched it sit in a storage warehouse in New York as it cleared customs (YES!). I got more and more excited until the blue and white box arrived at my house:

Pretty box yes?
I was bouncing out of my skin when it arrived. The part that blew me away (completely) is that the box printed weight was 6lbs. I knew (from my pre-arrival research) that this included the tripod, ball head, carrying case & any packaging materials. This is a LIGHT tripod!

Impressions:
This tripod is just plain fun. I actually was not the first person to open it & play with it. I let my fiancee do the honors. She loves building things. I wanted to see how easy it was to use this tripod. I had already watched youtube videos & read online reviews. She was able to set it up in no time flat.

The tripod came in a blue and black bag. Once you open it you are (warmly) greeted by the top of the head (end plate) and the legs. In the photo below you see my tripod feet have some dirt on them (I’ve been using this thing!)

When you look at the tripod like this (and first pull it out of the bag) it looks strange. But, then we quickly figured out that the legs are just folded over the center column. Very nifty design! Folded up the unit is a hair over 16 inches long. It weighs just under 3lbs.

Some basics about the tripod:
3 legs (imagine that) each one has 5 sections (4 of them are adjustable) with friction locks. The legs are a sleek matte(ish) black. The legs completely come apart (including locking mechanism) for cleaning or repair.

One of the legs came with a muffler of sorts (some sort of neoprene wrap) which signified that this is the leg that can unscrew to become a monopod. Yes, the monopod is included in the tripod! What a crazy idea!

The legs are adjustable with these neat latch things to 23, 55, and 80 degrees. You can (as with many tripods) adjust each of the legs independently. Also, the tripod ships with allen wrenches to adjust the stiffness of the legs – so they can open and close easier or harder.

The unit comes with rubber feet but can be replaced/upgraded to spikes if you are into that sort of thing.

The center column is where more amazing action is. The center column starts (bottom to top) with a hook where you can hang your heavy gear. This unscrews completely to help you reverse the tripod for upside down shots. The column extends from 11 or so up to 19 or so inches (without the extender piece that comes in the bag). The column is in two segments. Also controlled by friction dials.

Ball head is on top of this. Typical with ball heads, it has a ball. There are three dials. The one that matters the most is the one that holds the actual ball in place. This dial has a ‘locking’ mechanism on it that is pretty nifty. The head includes a dual bubble level on it.

The plate itself is pretty cool, too. Aside from having the nifty 3LT on it, the plate holder somehow has a magic way of making sure the plate will not slide out of the plate holder, while still allowing you to move it side to side! I have read that this is all part of a larger plate system that I know nothing about. So- just know that you can interchange this with something nifty. (read: more expensive than I can afford)

According to the 3LT website, ‘Brian’ fully extends (including center column fully extended & ball head on it) to 6 feet 7 inches. That’s taller than me (6’2″). I’ve only fully extended it once- just to see it done.

I have shot with the camera upside down. I was doing a neat time lapse video thing.

As you can tell, I love this tripod. I love how lightweight, durable, and intuitive the product is. I’m also thrilled that my fiancee thinks this is a fun toy to use (and so easy to put up and take down). She has used it almost more than I have!

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Easy to use
• Small

Cons:

• I sometimes want to cuddle with it
• I’ve had two technical malfunctions – an O-ring at the base of the center column was all wacky when we opened the box and the 3LT (rubber letters) on the base plate fell off. Both times I contacted customer support and they responded quickly — even sent me a new O-ring & base plate!
• Price! While I got mine for free (from the contest) the cost on this thing is prohibitive for an amateur photographer, such as myself

In conclusion, if you are in the market for a pretty fantastic tripod (even labeled a “travel tripod”) this is a great unit. I am looking forward to owning it and using it for many years. Next up for us is to travel with it on an airplane! I’m thinking that the small size will be a HUGE pro!