Home » Archives for May 2015
Posted by
yanti on Sunday, May 31, 2015
What a rainy weekend! It kind of ruined all of our original weekend plans. If you live in Columbus, hopefully you were still able to have some fun... maybe some adventures from this list? Unfortunately, much of our weekend was spent inside because of said rain... but the upcoming weekends will be outside, rain or shine... let's get this summer started! ;)
In between getting rained on, we headed over to Inniswood Metropark where their meticulously maintained gardens are a perfect place for shutterbugs capturing nature or using it as a background for family or wedding photos. The rose garden is just starting to bloom while the trees gave some relief when it started to rain again. Afterwards, we made a stop at Hoover dam on the way back home where we had planned to get our kayak and paddle board out on the water if it wasn't for the rain.
Our CSA deliveries have started for this summer which means lots of spinach, spring onion, strawberry, and feta salads! Such a simple salad and I look forward to them every Spring. Even after three or more weeks in a row. I always keep a vegetable garden, which varies in successfulness, so having a CSA really does keep our meal planning more seasonal.
I'm not quite sure how this week is going to go yet, either very busy or slightly laid back. I do know that at the end of it, I'll be heading to visit some cows at Snowville's open house. Hoping for blue skies and lots of samples! ;) Any way, here is the meal plan knowing that it could be a pretty lofty dream...
greek quesadillasmexican stuffed shellscheesy couscous casserolepasta puttanescagrilled cheese
More about → Weekly Menu
Posted by
yanti on Thursday, May 28, 2015
Every year, around this time, I see so many of y'all's gorgeous graduation pictures, and it reminds me of my own post-grad experiences!
Graduating is so, so exciting! But once it's over, it can be so, so scary if you don't really have anything lined up right away.
Welcome to adulthood.
Not to sound discouraging at all, but I'm learning that it really is just so typical that things in the "real world" don't always work out the way they did in school.
5 Things Recent Grads Should Know
School is like this nice little bubble, where you plan your life one semester at a time. You receive explicit instructions and rubrics. You know that if you follow those instructions and rubrics, you will pass. Then you move on to the next semester and start it all over!
The "real world" is so different. All the promise and hope and opportunity and potential that you felt at graduation gets wiped away when you start applying... and applying... and applying for jobs and hear nothing.
It can be pretty overwhelming and it can definitely be a discouraging time of life for lots of people! Don't worry! It's not just you!
Here are the biggest complaints crises problems questions that Post-Grad Students have and advice for dealing with them!
How can I get 3-5 years experience if every job requires 3-5 years experience?
The experience thing can be so ridiculous and tricky. I know that when I first finished undergrad, literally every job description I read "required" 3-5 years of experience. Queue all the tears. HOWEVER, something that I've learned is that this is just standard language for employers. It doesn't mean that they won't actually look at your resume (or even hire) you if you don't have that much experience, it's just what they would prefer.
Bottom Line: If you see that, and you're otherwise qualified for the job, then GO FOR IT!
How many jobs should I apply to before I can officially feel discouraged?
I think I actually Googled this exact phrase earlier this year. I started applying for teaching positions in Nashville in December (waaaaayy too early) so by the time actual teacher hiring season came around, I was pretty burnt out. The answer Google gave me is about 20 jobs, btw. So, if you're 4 applications in and you haven't heard anything back, keep on going! You're nowhere near eligible for the "maybe I'll live with my parents forever" attitude yet! Bottom Line: If you've applied to 20+ jobs, just keep swimming. Less than that? Try harder.
I'm overqualified and under experienced... what can I do about that?
This is the saddest part of it all. Even with a degree, you'll probably still have to start at the bottom, financially and title-wise. The good news!? (yes, there is some!) Once you find a company you love, and you start at the bottom, and you show up on time and work hard every day, you will have a killer advantage at working your way up! Most companies would much rather to hire someone they already know than to bring in someone from the outside.
Bottom Line: Start at the bottom of the job you want and work your way up from there!
Should I have been paying attention to LinkedIn this whole time?
Technically, yes. But if you ignored all of those LinkedIn requests and things while you were in college, no worries! LinkedIn is a pretty easy thing to build up quickly. Just import your contacts from your Gmail and Facebook accounts and you're halfway there! There are step-by-step instructions that make it easy to understand what's going on in that little society of connections and endorsements. So, you'll be fine! Plus, it's not a make or break type deal.
Bottom Line: Spruce up your account, add your favorite professors, and get active!
Why did I choose the major I chose and what can I do now?
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Your major does not permanently lock you into one profession for the rest of your life! Do you have a huge advantage over other people if you just happened to major in your life calling? Absolutely! But most of us didn't find that calling at age 18 and that's ok. Hopefully, you chose a major that you were interested in studying. Maybe it was a skill you wanted to acquire. And maybe you love it or hate it now. NBD.
Bottom Line: Most Americans work outside of their major. Just call yourself "well-rounded".
For many of us, post-grad is the first time in our lives that everything isn't neatly planned out, and that can be a little overwhelming! Remember to think of the uncertainty as a big adventure! Reframe your anxiety about the future into excitement and enjoy this adventure!
Are you a recent post-grad or have you passed that season of your life? What have you experienced so far? Do you have any questions or answers to add to this?!
Posted by
yanti on Tuesday, May 26, 2015
This vegetable dish is a perfect side dish for your meat or seafood dishes, it is very easy to prepare and tastes really good. So I hope that your next meal you will prepare this to your loved ones :-) .
Ingredients:5 Potatoes (sliced to your desired size)3 carrots (sliced to your desired size)1 head broccoli1/2 cup buttersalt and pepper to taste
Procedure:1. Boil separately the potatoes, carrots and broccoli until tender. ( I did mine for potatoes 12 minutes, for carrots 8 minutes for broccoli 2 minutes) the doneness of the vegetables depend upon your taste.2. In a pan melt the butter, when it's hot put the vegetables ( if it's a lot you can cook it in 2 batches) increase the heat to attain a nice brown color and toss the veggies every now and then to cook evenly, sprinkle with salt and pepper according to your taste and continue cooking until done.3. Now you have a delicious buttered veggies, serve it and enjoy.
More about → Quick Buttered Veggies
Posted by
yanti on Monday, May 25, 2015
The unofficial start of summer has come and I am so ready for it! Grilling, camping, getting out on the water, ice cream, gardening... all of my favorites rolled up into one season. And what a way to kick it off than a beautiful three-day weekend!
With no sign of rain, we had the top off the jeep and it really felt like summer. Then supporting Jeni's reopening was delicious... can't tell you how many times I thought "wish I could get some Jeni's" during the few weeks it was unavailable... but it made this bowl taste even sweeter. :)
Had a pretty bad sweet tooth this weekend as we made a pit stop at Pattycake Bakery while strolling around Clintonville. Their chocolate chip cookies are sooo good, definitely best in Columbus!
Went to Blackhand Gorge for a little hike to break in my new Keens (yay, REI anniversary sale!). Quite the adventure with part of the trail being closed, then Google Maps taking us down a one lane gravel road to nowhere, and then getting lost in the woods for a bit. It's always nice to unplug though, if only for a few hours.
Of course, all of this wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the men and women that fight for our freedom. As the common Memorial Day saying goes... all gave some, some gave all. And for those people, we remember them this weekend.
This week's menu...parmesan crusted chicken and steamed broccolipan fried ravioli and caprese saladfish tacosshrimp po' boys coq au riesling and asparagus
More about → Weekly Menu
Posted by
yanti on Sunday, May 24, 2015
Posted by
yanti on Thursday, May 21, 2015
Ingredients for 6 servings:1/2 kilo pirit3 cloves garlic ( crushed)thumb size ginger ( sliced)1 onion (sliced)1 onion ( sliced)2 cups coconut milk1/4 teaspoon ground pepper3 finger chili (siling haba)salt to taste
Procedure:1. Saut� the ginger, garlic and onion, then add 1 cup coconut milk, salt, ground pepper then bring to a boil and simmer for a minute.2. Add the fish then simmer until cooked, add the rest of the coconut milk and chili, simmer for a minute then turn off the heat.3. Serve hot with rice and enjoy.
Posted by
yanti on Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Simply cooked with herbs.
Ingredients for 2 servings:1/4 kilo shrimps ( de-shelled )1/2 teaspoon oregano flakes1 bay leaf /laurel3 basil leaves3 mint leavessalt and pepper to taste
Procedure:1. Chop finely or Pound together the oregano, mint, basil and laurel, then sprinkle the de-shelled shrimps with the herbs and add salt and pepper both sides until done then serve on a bed of salad.
More about → Herbed Shrimps
Posted by
yanti on Monday, May 18, 2015
Despite my reputation at work, I actually don't bake that often. Baking from scratch requires quite a few ingredients and I hate going to the grocery store for just one or two items (even though I can walk to it). So when Wholly Wholesome asked me to review their products, I gravitated toward the premade pie crusts since I have had those tarts from Europe in my thoughts (chocolate tarts in Rome and raspberry tarts in Paris).
Wholly Wholesome is a all natural, organic baked goods brand. Many of their products are also gluten-free. As such, they are normally in your grocer's freezer section which is great because you can always have some pie crusts or pizza dough stocked up and just pull it out of the freezer the night before. You can find Wholly Wholesome in Whole Foods, select Kroger stores, and many other organic grocers (use their store locator).
So this tart... using a pie crust... it is sooo easy! Only five ingredients! Starting with your Wholly Wholesome flaky pie crust, which is perfectly buttery. Then the Nutella ganache... yes, Nutella ganache... drool! Topped with juicy raspberries which are $0.99 at Kroger so I bought all of them. :) Totally rich and dreamy... and barely any work at all (thanks to Wholly Wholesome). You have to try this recipe!Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Sunday, May 17, 2015
I can't believe another week (and weekend) has flown by! The heat and humidity have kept me a little out of the kitchen the past few days opting for some delicious local restaurant patios (in between rain storms). But it will be cooling down a bit this week leading up to the unofficial start to summer... although it certainly feels like summer has started already! :)
This weekend was Race for the Cure in Columbus, which is the largest in the country! While it raises lots of awareness and brings everyone together, it always seems to fall short of reaching its fundraising goal. If you would like to help them reach that goal, please donate here. We have all been impacted in some way by cancer, let's find a cure...
After the race (well, walk), we met up at North Market, basically the best food court/grocery market ever. Perfect for a range of dietary restrictions and tastes. :) I went to Hot Chicken Takeover and went with "warm" this time after having a very mild "mild" at Crew Stadium (I mean, Mapfre Stadium). Oh man, they weren't lying when they said it's hotter than your normal medium! Good thing I had some waffles to tone it down for my sensitive taste buds! Grabbed some Pistacia Vera and Destination Donuts on the way out... you know, to treat myself for all of that walking. ;)
On tap for this week, this is the plan...lamb burgers and saladveggie calzonesfish tacosgrilled cheese and capreseveggie sushi
More about → Weekly Menu
Posted by
yanti on Saturday, May 16, 2015
This easy to prepare and budget friendly recipe will surely make your loved ones satisfied.A perfect appetizer. Try it.
Ingredients 6-8 servings:1 kilo potato (diced)1/4 kilo carrots (diced)3 hard boiled eggs ( diced)1/4 cup parsley ( chopped)1 cup mayonaise1 cup all purpose creamsalt and pepper to taste
Procedure:1. Boil the carrots and potatoes until soft (around 8-10 minutes) drain after boiling and set aside until cool.2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients, then chill and serve.
Posted by
yanti
A few months ago, I posted on how to get an insane amount of things done in a single day.
Sound familiar? (noooo, we never overbook ourselves, right?!).
In that post, I mention ditching all of our fancy, cute to-do lists for a single page of notebook paper and really just going crazy writing down all of the stuff we need to accomplish. Don�t worry. I am NOT talking about throwing out your adorable planner!
I�m just talking about using this system for those crazy busy days/weeks when a simple planner isn�t enough.
Because my life has calmed down a little (a LOT) since finishing grad school, I'm kind of using a "weekly" to-do list these days <pictured above>. In fact, this is the actual one that I�m using right now! It�s still color-coded because I'm working on balancing out my life but if you want to really simplify your system, you can just use one pen for the whole thing!
This one is in the front of the little notebook that I use to supplement my May Designs Planner because I'm a compulsive list maker. #cantstopwontstop
If you're feeling overwhelmed by all you need to get done in ONE day, here's an 8-step tutorial on how I would suggest organizing that:
1 | Get a plain piece of notebook paper
2 | Write down hourly or half-hour intervals to the left of the red line
3 | To the right of the red line, write down any scheduled or time-related tasks
4 | Now look at the time you have left, start writing your other tasks down
5 | As you write down the tasks, make sure you go high-priority to low-priority
6 | When you start a project or task, highlight it in yellow (if you want)
7 | When you finish it, cross it out or use a different colored highlighter
8 | I usually keep this list out on my desk so it�s easily accessed and updated!
(I have a grueling Saturday morning planned up there, huh? Don't judge! I just used today as a layout example!)
It�s not the world�s fanciest system, and it�s certainly not very Instagram worthy, but it is effective. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is just to do less. (I completely stole that from my husband, by the way. He probably tells me to �do less� on a daily basis).
Maybe one day I'll start listening. :)
Posted by
yanti
Scotch egg, originated in London in 1738. It's my friend from London who told me about this recipe. After we talked about the Scotch egg, I was so eager to make it, because I can imagine how easy it is. I tried some and it was a success! Here is how to do it. I made mine into Filipino version by adding calamansi juice
Ingredients:
3 hard boiled eggs (remove the shell)300 grams ground beef2 tablespoons flour1 beaten egg1 cup bread crumbs 2 calamansi
salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:1.Combine the ground beef, flour, calamansi juice salt and pepper. Mix it well.2.Divide the meat mixture into three parts . Wrap each egg.3.Make sure that the coating is even all around the egg.4.Roll it in beaten egg then on bread crumbs.5. Deep Fry it until golden brown.6. Cut it into halves and serve it with your favorite side dish.
This is great for family gatherings because it is easy to prepare and so affordable.
You can replace ground beef with ground pork if you want.
Posted by
yanti
I think everybody loves fried chicken (that's my opinion). I belong to a big family and fried chicken is one of the favorites, buying it from KFC, McDonalds or Jollibee, will be too expensive if we will order 50 pieces for family gatherings. The cheapest way is to buy chicken meat and cook it. Here is my family's traditional way of cooking it.
Ingredients:
1 kilo chicken1 lemon or 5 calamansi2 tablespoons Nestle Cream1 egg ( beaten)1 cup flour1/2 cup cornstarchsalt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
1. Mix the chicken, lemon, salt and pepper. Marinate for 15 minutes.2. Put the all purpose cream, mix well3. Add the beaten egg, mix well4. Roll over the breading.5. Deep fry it until golden brown.6. Serve it hot.For Breading:
Mix the flour and cornstarch.
Posted by
yanti on Monday, May 11, 2015
Hope you had a great Mother's Day weekend and enjoyed the beautiful early summer weather we had! I don't ever remember a May quite this warm, but I'm certainly not complaining!
Since the weather got me in the summer mood, I went ahead and planted my summer garden. This is the first year I won't have tomatoes in my garden, which is the most common vegetable (well, fruit) grown in home gardens. So it will be mainly peppers and squash this year. Some lettuce, beans, and herbs will fill in the rest of the space. Oh and can't forget the strawberries which are already starting to fruit in my reclaimed wood container boxes.
After eating out quite a bit for Columbus Beer Week last week, there are a couple dinners I didn't make, so they are returning to the meal plan this week. So without further ado...
spring salad
More about → Weekly Menu
