Jack was loafing around the park when he met Phoebe. They then loafed together and chatted about why the sky is blue.
Annie loafs around the local coffee shop on the weekends with her best gal pals after yoga class.
July 01, 2008
Loafing
Loafing: The act of fluid, casual relaxation accompanied by interesting people and/or subject matter.
Jack was loafing around the park when he met Phoebe. They then loafed together and chatted about why the sky is blue.
Annie loafs around the local coffee shop on the weekends with her best gal pals after yoga class.
Jack was loafing around the park when he met Phoebe. They then loafed together and chatted about why the sky is blue.
Annie loafs around the local coffee shop on the weekends with her best gal pals after yoga class.
June 25, 2008
Lighten Your Loaf
Summer is here and it's time to turn your winter meat into a summer treat. Check out this summer meatloaf recipe and let me know how it is. Oh and send pictures of your results!
Compare and Contrast Your Company to Meatloaf
New jobs spark many emotions, curiosity's and "OMG did I make the right decisions," which I call "job-bers remorse." If you're like me you expect a lot out of your job, get bored quickly are always looking for the next best thing and just can't, for the life of you, figure out how to determine whether or not a job is right for you. How do you select a company? How do you say yes to a position? What trade-offs are right for you (there is ALWAYS something)?
Obviously, I am no expert on selecting jobs based on my history of dissatisfaction, searching, switching, going back for more, ongoing interviews, etc., but what I will say is this: Your company AND your job have a lot more in common with meatloaf than you may think.
1. Meatloaf is made with a shape in mind, companies are too--everything from the exterior of your building to the type of toilets in the restrooms was constructed to fit a certain shape. The term "shape" here refers to the attitude, aura and energy as well as the walls themselves.
2. Meatloaf is made of a variety of ingredients and you hope they work well together, but sometimes the mixture and the "baked together" nature turns out better than you expected, perhaps a little more volatile than you anticipated, just right or OMG I did NOT expect that (good or bad). This is similar to hiring. You think you have a master plan in place for the "culture" you want to build and the "type" of personality that is equipped for the job and while they may all be amazing individually, the combination is extraordinarily unpredictable.
3. Meatloaf can be EXTREMELY bland and dry or can be unbelievably flavorful and juicy--think about your company in this light...it's the same.
4. Meatloaf has a smell and I guarantee right around 12:30pm your office does to and it's shockingly similar to the smell of ye ole loaf. It's that smell of cooked togetherness totally overheated in the corporate microwave. YUM and VARMIT.
So there are just a few reasons to believe that, while you may think you hate meatloaf, it's part of your life whether you know it, like it or not so get over it and go get some.
Obviously, I am no expert on selecting jobs based on my history of dissatisfaction, searching, switching, going back for more, ongoing interviews, etc., but what I will say is this: Your company AND your job have a lot more in common with meatloaf than you may think.
1. Meatloaf is made with a shape in mind, companies are too--everything from the exterior of your building to the type of toilets in the restrooms was constructed to fit a certain shape. The term "shape" here refers to the attitude, aura and energy as well as the walls themselves.
2. Meatloaf is made of a variety of ingredients and you hope they work well together, but sometimes the mixture and the "baked together" nature turns out better than you expected, perhaps a little more volatile than you anticipated, just right or OMG I did NOT expect that (good or bad). This is similar to hiring. You think you have a master plan in place for the "culture" you want to build and the "type" of personality that is equipped for the job and while they may all be amazing individually, the combination is extraordinarily unpredictable.
3. Meatloaf can be EXTREMELY bland and dry or can be unbelievably flavorful and juicy--think about your company in this light...it's the same.
4. Meatloaf has a smell and I guarantee right around 12:30pm your office does to and it's shockingly similar to the smell of ye ole loaf. It's that smell of cooked togetherness totally overheated in the corporate microwave. YUM and VARMIT.
So there are just a few reasons to believe that, while you may think you hate meatloaf, it's part of your life whether you know it, like it or not so get over it and go get some.
February 24, 2008
If meatloaf was...
a shoe, it'd be called a meatloafer. I wish I could just whip up a new pair of shoes like I can whip up a meatloaf. Just imagine what you could do with them and they'd be completely recyclable.
Which brings me to another "if meatloaf was..." If meatloaf was music it would be a mix tape (not a CD and NOT an iPod playlist). No, if meatloaf were musical it would be a throwback to the good old days where you couldn't just skip around from song to the other. You had to actually fast forward and hope you wouldn't overrun the next song by too much; to high school when your boyfriend/girlfriend would drop a tape filled with Bryan Adams, Barry White and Boyz-2-Men in your locker before second period. And while I'm not the most sentimental soul on the earth there is a little piece of me that yearns for that certain innocence mix tapes infuse into an industry that changes faster than we can truly keep up with. Mix tapes were a sign of change, a way for us to combine our favorites and add more value to the sounds we enjoy without corrupting the real listening experience. Everything cooked together, building from one song to the next, not just a drag and drop into your burn box on your MacBook. Change is good, I realize and I'd be lost without my iPod and MacBook, but as we look to what's now and what's next, let's not forget how really unbelievably, amazingly great some of the "old" stuff was.
Meatloaf, like a mix tape, is an expression of who you are. You think about what you want to put in based on where you want it to end up and the taste you want it to leave in your mouth. So next time you open a bottle of Syrah and start mixing your meatloaf turn on that dusty tape player you know is still in your attic and listen to yourself. I bet you've never sounded so good.
p.s. visit Listen to the Music Play for some amazing song suggestions of up-and-coming sounds mixed with the classics we all know and love.
Which brings me to another "if meatloaf was..." If meatloaf was music it would be a mix tape (not a CD and NOT an iPod playlist). No, if meatloaf were musical it would be a throwback to the good old days where you couldn't just skip around from song to the other. You had to actually fast forward and hope you wouldn't overrun the next song by too much; to high school when your boyfriend/girlfriend would drop a tape filled with Bryan Adams, Barry White and Boyz-2-Men in your locker before second period. And while I'm not the most sentimental soul on the earth there is a little piece of me that yearns for that certain innocence mix tapes infuse into an industry that changes faster than we can truly keep up with. Mix tapes were a sign of change, a way for us to combine our favorites and add more value to the sounds we enjoy without corrupting the real listening experience. Everything cooked together, building from one song to the next, not just a drag and drop into your burn box on your MacBook. Change is good, I realize and I'd be lost without my iPod and MacBook, but as we look to what's now and what's next, let's not forget how really unbelievably, amazingly great some of the "old" stuff was.
Meatloaf, like a mix tape, is an expression of who you are. You think about what you want to put in based on where you want it to end up and the taste you want it to leave in your mouth. So next time you open a bottle of Syrah and start mixing your meatloaf turn on that dusty tape player you know is still in your attic and listen to yourself. I bet you've never sounded so good.
p.s. visit Listen to the Music Play for some amazing song suggestions of up-and-coming sounds mixed with the classics we all know and love.
February 17, 2008
Feelin' Good
When I think "comfort food" I think "pull-it-out-of-the-oven-and-stick-it-to-my-butt-food." So it "bums" me out when everyone categorizes meatloaf as comfort food. If you derive comfort from it that’s fantastic, “butt” let’s all make a pact to call it “feel-good” food.
February 16, 2008
Meatloaferize
My guess is that you probably think of meatloaf as your main dish—right? But what if you didn’t? What if you started to think of it as a meal accessory? Like, dare I say, a slice of bread? Imagine if your baked glazed eggplant was accompanied by a thin slice of meatloaf or even served on top of it.
Or if your special nutty sour cream mashed potatoes were the main event and small pieces of different types of meatloaf garnished them. Suddenly, your potatoes are complemented by pepper, THEN rosemary, THEN sage!
Think of all it can do for your tomato soup. You’ve spent all afternoon mixing tomato paste, fresh veggies, cream, your special blend of herbs and that secret ingredient you’ll never tell anyone about (or opening a can), but in the end all it really looks like is—soup. Serve it with a side of meatloaf and see what happens.
Or if your special nutty sour cream mashed potatoes were the main event and small pieces of different types of meatloaf garnished them. Suddenly, your potatoes are complemented by pepper, THEN rosemary, THEN sage!
Think of all it can do for your tomato soup. You’ve spent all afternoon mixing tomato paste, fresh veggies, cream, your special blend of herbs and that secret ingredient you’ll never tell anyone about (or opening a can), but in the end all it really looks like is—soup. Serve it with a side of meatloaf and see what happens.
February 13, 2008
You give loaf a bad name
I'd like to say I can't figure out why meatloaf has a bad name, but I used to hate it myself. All you have to do is look at it closely. A bunch of random stuff ground up and mushed together in the shape of a loaf. But if you step away from it for a minute (or close your eyes) you may see it in a new light.
It's one of the few foods you can put all your favorite ingredients into without worrying about proportions (for the most part) and yield a decent end result. It goes with almost all veggie side dishes and you have the flexibility to shape it into whatever you want--a fish, a heart, a high-five. Think about it--it's art, really.
It took me 20-ish years to come to this realization. I can remember being afraid of it. I associated it with cafeterias at homes for the elderly, hospitals and that terrible cooking smell that lingered and penetrated my grandparents house. You know the one, you walk in and, at first, it smells good. Then before you know it you're walking out drenched in food smell; it's inflitrated your hair and every stitch of your clothing. Now, I blame the onions mostly and a lack of good ventilation, but by God, it's a terrible thing. I would request alternate meal options and sometimes not eat at all (save for a few frosted strawberry Pop-Tarts) until one day I decided to try it.
And, look at me now, clearing its name one post at a time. All I ask is that the next time you're looking for a meal idea, consider it (and then let me know how it goes).
Loaves of love,
Jennie
It's one of the few foods you can put all your favorite ingredients into without worrying about proportions (for the most part) and yield a decent end result. It goes with almost all veggie side dishes and you have the flexibility to shape it into whatever you want--a fish, a heart, a high-five. Think about it--it's art, really.
It took me 20-ish years to come to this realization. I can remember being afraid of it. I associated it with cafeterias at homes for the elderly, hospitals and that terrible cooking smell that lingered and penetrated my grandparents house. You know the one, you walk in and, at first, it smells good. Then before you know it you're walking out drenched in food smell; it's inflitrated your hair and every stitch of your clothing. Now, I blame the onions mostly and a lack of good ventilation, but by God, it's a terrible thing. I would request alternate meal options and sometimes not eat at all (save for a few frosted strawberry Pop-Tarts) until one day I decided to try it.
And, look at me now, clearing its name one post at a time. All I ask is that the next time you're looking for a meal idea, consider it (and then let me know how it goes).
Loaves of love,
Jennie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
