I am green to writing and a new blogger, and when notified I was a recipient of the Kreativ Blogger Award thought it was a poke, like on Facebook.
Pleased by the recognition, I graciously accepted and immediately sent a thank you to Christine Speno of Words,etc. For some unknown reason, Christine has taken me under her wing and gladly meets with me to discuss various how to subjects.
For those of you that have been following me for a while, you know that I sometimes go off in different directions with content for this blog. I usually stay focused on words and writing or freelance strategies, but once in a while I like to explore the not so obvious paths of communication.
So today I’m going back to an area I’ve visited before – food.
Cooking, eating, or sharing a meal are all great ways to communicate with nature, our inner creativity and our friends or family. So I can’t resist the urge to share with you something I put together a few days ago for dinner. It’s based on a dish I enjoyed at a St. Augustine Beach spot – Mango Mango’s. This great spot offer a touch of the islands to every dish they serve.
Here’s my version of brown rice, peppers and mango. In addition to the whole grain benefits of the rice, it also peps up your metabolism with hot peppers.
Photo by Words Etc.
Christine’s Spicy Brown Rice Pilaf with Mango and Peppers
February 16, 2012
One cup organic brown rice (I like Gourmet House brand that I get in the Publix organic food section)
2 ½ cups water
1 tsp. salt (optional)
¼ tsp. Mrs. Dash Chipotle Seasoning (or to your taste)
¼ cup each green and sweet red or orange pepper
½ jalapeno pepper chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
½ medium-sized mango, chopped
Grape seed oil
Cook rice in rice cooker or on stove top with water, salt, Mrs. Dash, and a dash or two of olive oil. Cook ahead of time if desired so rice dries out a bit.
When ready to prepare, coat medium sized skillet with grape seed oil. I use grape seed oil because it has a higher cooking temp tolerance than olive oil. Add peppers and sauté until peppers are soft. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two more.
Add cooked rice, adding a little more oil if necessary. Stir gently. Add mango and stir again. Serve with a wedge of lime. Delicious!!
We also serve with my homemade sweet plum sauce. (I’m not sharing that just yet, but stay tuned!) You can make this dish as mild or hot as you like. Just adjust the Mrs. Dash or jalapeno use. Just remember the heat of the peppers is good for your metabolism and helps you burn more calories!
A side of fresh strawberries and mango is a perfect accompaniment. Now my vegetarian friends (it qualifies as vegan) will enjoy this as a main dish, but it’s also a great side.
Enjoy! And here’s a little Calypso music to entertain you while you fix this dish……
STOP HERE IF YOU’RE VEGETARIAN!
We had it with Chicken medallions that were sprinkled with Chipotle Mrs. Dash. I have an Armatale pan that works great on the grill and is perfect for sauteing just about anything on the grill. Any grill-safe pan will work, but be sure to check out the link if you’ve never heard of these pans. They are extremely versatile and well worth the investment.
Start by warming some grape seed oil in a pan on the grill, then add the medallions and saute, turning once to keep a nice brown. At the very end I add just a touch of dry white wine (optional) and continue sauteing for just a few minutes.
As always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your comments!
I have been nominated for the Kreativ Blogger Award by Christine Speno. It is an honor to be nominated and I apologize profusely for my negligence in posting on the topic.
To accept the award, one must post ten things that their readers may not know about them as well as listing six blogs that they think are outstanding and deserve nomination as well.
Last weekend I became the recipient of the Kreativ Blogger Award, my first blog award, and I’m very excited about the recognition.
First, I need to thank Christine Speno, who had nominated me for this award. Christine has an impressive background in writing and editing. Her blog, Words Etc. (Exploring communication on all levels,) is a great source of information for writing (including a section specific to resume writing.) She also offers inspiration, motivation and encouragement.
Thanks to Jeff Swesky and April Hawks for accepting their Kreativ Blogger awards. I am sharing their posts here. Please click on the "reblogged" link to read their entire posts on their blogs. Thanks for participating!
The Key Accomplishments section is an important component of your resume
Photo credit: Words Etc
Keep this section close to the top of your resume so it is one of the first things the reviewer sees. Be sure to make this section eye-grabbing by adding some color and putting in a text box of one type or another. This key accomplishments area is also easy to edit without interfering with the main body of the resume so you can adjust for different uses or jobs.
So just what are key accomplishments?
These may consist of some exceptional or unique roles you filled or goals that you met
Think about things for which your boss or manager complimented you.
Did you receive awards or commendations?
These are great places to start. I suggest you identify one major key accomplishment for each job as this shows a consistent level of growth and expertise in your given area or areas. And be sure to add metrics that apply. For instance, instead of:
increased sales consistently
give a percentage like this:
increased sales in 2011 by 30% from the previous year
You may also consider adding a graphic to increase the strength of this statement, like a bar graph or a chart. This is especially useful when demonstrating your success in sales or revenue accomplishments.
Also remember to tailor your key accomplishments to fit the particular job posting. For instance, if your background has been in sales and you want to transition more into management, demonstrate some accomplishments that make you a good candidate for management. Have you managed budgets, motivated others, developed new strategies? All of these fit well into a management role. This is extremely important if you are transitioning career fields, but if you look carefully at each part of your past jobs, you’ll be able to identify points that demonstrate your strengths. And that’s what it is really about – your strengths and why you are the best candidate for the position.
Remember it’s about what you can offer the company. So get busy and compile those key accomplishments and make sure they are part of your resume today.
Watch for more tips soon. And if I can help you with building or revising your resume, visit http://www.wordsetc.info or leave me a comment here!
Those of us who are self-employed or working virtually may have a particular hard job of staying on task. This is especially true if you work from a home office. I know for me, I have to set boundaries so that I don’t let distractions interfere with my work schedule. So here are some ideas to keep you from going crazy while working from home.
Are you staying on target when you work from home?
Here is a post I did as a guest for Sherry Zander of Writing4Effect back in July of last year. I hope you'll enjoy it! Click on the link above to Sherry's blog to read the full post. Thanks for reading....
I’m very excited to be the recipient of a Kreativ Blogger Award.
As this is my first blogging award, I consider it an honor and a great step forward. 17 months of blogging has finally paid off. People know I’m out here!!
Thanks so much to Pete Denton of Pete Denton – Writer for nominating me. Be sure to check out Pete’s blog. He has lots of interesting and exciting ideas on his blog as he takes us through his adventures in writing. He also offers some great book reviews.
Being recognized as a Kreativ Blogger has opened up my exposure to new readers and followers. I hope that those I nominate will embrace this opportunityand accept the challenge to share more about themselves as well as identify other blogs that they think stand out!
The guidelines for the award are
list six blogs that the recipient thinks are outstanding and deserving of the award
share ten things that your readers may not know know about you
I have had lots of fun exploring other blogs. And here are my nominations!
As for the 10 things about me that my readers may not know, here you go:
I grew up in Chicago
I love to garden
I have three beautiful daughters and an amazing husband that are all the lifeblood of my life
I took piano lessons for years (but don’t play very well now)
I like to make veggie chili
I like to dream up new ways to cook tofu
In spite of 5 & 6 above, I am not a vegetarian (although one of my nominees is trying to convert me!)
I created an amazing Hot Pepper relish in the summer of 2011 (peppers from my garden, of course!)
I collect wine corks
I am two classes and a thesis away from earning my Master’s in English/Tech Writing (No, it just won’t happen.)
And there you have it: my 6 nominees and some little-known facts about this blogger.
Be sure to visit the blogs of my nominees. Although all bloggers love traffic and new followers, it is the comments that keep us motivated to keep on plugging away. So please leave comments when you visit. Who knows, you could be the next nominee.
Thanks again to Pete and his great blog Pete Denton – Writer for nominating me as a Kreativ Blogger. Please visit him!
