Simple Pleasures

When I was a kid, I used to love weekends and breaks from school for one simple reason - I got to make my own lunch leisurely, using whatever I wanted in the kitchen. There was plenty of food since we had a family of five, so if I wanted to use part of a bell pepper, someone else could have the other part or it would go into dinner. There was none of this: 'oh, I can't eat all this food by myself so I only have a limited selection of groceries in the fridge' ordeal that comes with living alone.

Now those of you who knew me back then are probably saying, 'Wait a minute! You ate ramen for lunch! It's not like you made real food!' And that's true. I ate a lot of ramen. Something about the guilty pleasure of eating a salty soup (maybe with some chili pepper in it) on a hot Houston summer day, steaming up your face and giving yourself a little more sweat than that lovely glisten you already had...

I also made a lot of egg drop soup - after learning how easy it was to make reading through a cookbook. A little fish sauce, a little sesame oil, and all of the sudden I could make something that was foreign and exciting! I love Asian cooking, and egg drop soup opened the door for me to realize that I can make food as good as restaurant Asian food in my own kitchen - whereas before my attempts were less than stellar (I remember one occasion stir-frying ham... which is already pretty salty before you add soy sauce...)

The real epiphany came to me watching my sister and my mother: after seeing my mom add veggies to mac 'n cheese (you can do that?!) and my sister applying the same concept by adding fish sauce and sesame oil to her ramen (no way!!), I realized that boxed and prepacked foods can be a template for a meal! Shocking, right? Hey, I was like twelve at the time...

What does my little mind do? Make egg drop soup and put ramen noodles in it. Instant success! Make ramen noodles and add veggies to it. Instant success! Make egg drop soup and add veggies to it. Instant success!

And here I am, all these years later, sitting in a warm apartment on a Saturday afternoon, hoping to get some work done at some point. And what do I make for lunch? Ramen (the vegan kind) with veggies in it.

Sometimes, it's the little things in life - like waking up on your own instead of your alarm clock waking you, or having a hot cup of tea after sledding with friends - that really make your life better. No matter how crazy work is, no matter how hurt I am after a break-up, no matter how cold and miserable it is outside... going into the kitchen, looking at all this food I have, and deciding on a simple bowl of ramen just makes it all better.

:)

The New Year

Dear readers,
I have an announcement that several of you already know - I have moved to Michigan! I received several promotion offers to choose from, and ended up transferring into a supervisory position in Grand Rapids, Michigan right before Christmas. What does that mean for you? Not much. What does that mean for me? Getting rid of almost everything I own, driving across the country, freezing my butt off scraping ice and snow off the car, and drinking so much hot tea to stay warm that I need to pee every thirty minutes.

And I've also started baking again. Yup, turns out the reason why I wasn't baking in Florida was because I only bake when I'm freezing and I want to warm up the apartment via oven and myself via food. I made fudgey brownies about a week and a half ago, and today, I am attempting lemon poppy-seed quick bread. Both were premixed boxes, but any baking is better than no baking.

My move also means I have to make friends again. The more I think about it, I've always had to make and remake friends my entire life. When I was little, I went to a private daycare, then a Catholic school until second grade, then a public school, then middle school, then high school, then college across the country, then my move to NJ searching for employment, then my move to Florida for my first 'real job', and now my promotion to Michigan. So I should have good friend making skills, right?

Wrong. I spent all day trying to start conversations with people, telling my waitress to ask solo diners if they want to join my table, and even downright asking someone to be my friend. Nope. At least I know my neighbors and coworkers, so I'm not completely devoid of human interaction. In fact, I really like my neighbors and their friends, and I could probably survive without other friends for a while longer before I go crazy.

I'm also lucky in the fact I have a wonderful boyfriend who lives six hours away - which means one or two weekends a month or so I should have human interaction with a very attractive male who is interested in me and interested in spending time with me. But I don't want to rely too much on that being my only source of fun 'cause that sounds like a recipe for being overly dependent which doesn't sound super appealing to me, especially since this relationship is still quite young.

So, readers, I am gathering up the courage to go out and try to find friends again in a few hours, by myself once again. I can't say that I've ever had the courage to go into a bar by myself before, but if this will help me plant my feet better, I might be able to try it.

Why am I so nervous? Well, I am a lightweight - and when I am nervous, I drink quickly. Also, I am looking for friends, not one night stands or even a relationship (already have one of those, thanks). Girls at bars tend to be clique-y and I've never been good at integrating into those. And what if I spend all night talking to people, having some fun, and then no one exchanges numbers or makes plans to see me again, or what if I'm turned down flat asking to be friends AGAIN?!

That's what makes me uncomfortable with this idea. Plus I only go to the bar if my friends want to go, it's expensive and loud, and I'm trying to cut back on alcohol consumption.

What did I do to make friends in Florida? I went to the public market (the one here is tiny since it's winter and its too cold), I went to public yoga classes (the ones here are very expensive and I turned my living room into my own yoga studio), and I hung out with coworkers (the ones here are nice, but have families or something turns me off from getting too close to them).

So what will I end up doing tonight? Who knows. Wish me luck!
Molly V

P.S. Of course, I still love all my long-distance friends, thank you for all your support and texts and calls and Skype-ing!!!!

Re-evaluating the Vegan thing - and will still eat vegan!

So I recently ate seafood again - as sort of a re-evaluation of the vegan thing. Why? I just wanted to. You're supposed to doubt everything, right?

It was very consistent with my memory - same texture, taste, mouth-feel that I remembered. But it didn't produce the same feeling of comfort, same 'mmm this is the stuff' or 'tastes like home'. I didn't crave it anymore.

So I'm going to keep eating vegan food. Meat and cheese doesn't produce the same excitement it used to do for me, and I've now discovered that seafood, my once all-time-favorite, doesn't do that either.

I am quite happy with the fact that I was comfortable enough to question and re-evaluate the vegan decision. It's like I am able to keep in touch with myself and always know who I am, not who I chose to be.

What have you questioned lately?

A random update??

It's been almost a year since my last post - so why am I doing one now?

Good question.

You see, I had a little bit of an epiphany today. To make a long story short, I lost my purse with some very important belongings in it last night. Upon waking this morning and realizing that it was gone, I got to start the fun process of retracing my steps, going to the police station, calling all the cabs in the area on other people's phones, calling the rental car company, trying to prove who I am without a drivers license, trying to order a new DL without debit or credit cards, etc.

I am very lucky.

I have friends that will help me look, friends that will feed me when I can't buy food, friends that will drive me places, friends that will help me call, friends that will let me use their phones, and friends that have friends that will also help me do these things even though I met them yesterday.

So even though I am in the middle of what some have referred to as a 'crisis', I feel great! Sure I can live without a cell phone - I'll just make people call the hotel and be transferred to my room! Sure I can live without a rental car - I can take public transport for the rest of my trip! Sure I can live without my credit/debit cards (for a little while) - since I'm on a business trip, I'll just get my coworkers to use their comapny cards to cover my business travel expenses! Sure I can live without a license - I have my passport in my hotel room, so I can use that as my ID for getting on the plane home!

Now, I will be re-ordering all of these things, make no mistake (especially a new medical insurance card, I definitely will need that). But I think I am so incredibly lucky to do this at a time / place where I can get away with it, and going without a phone, car, etc for a few days will probably be a good experience for me.

December 23, 2011 2:13 PM

A lot of my recent posts have been food-related (understandably, food is #1 on my list of priorities), so I thought I'd switch it up a little bit this week.

At work, I've been learning not only a lot about manufacturing, the food industry, and federal regulations, but also things like how to manage people and stay valuable in a company that may not decide you are worth the paycheck. I've started compiling a notebook of these things, in hopes I can share them with other people who may be hired on in a similar position.

Many of the notes I've taken apply to other industries, so I thought I'd share a few:

- If you are organized (not just your office, but also all of your documents/drives), your coworkers will rely on you more. And your IT person will be much more willing to upgrade your software... much more....

- Get some certifications from outside companies that relate to your business. Your resume always needs to look current and up-to-date, or else you run a higher risk of being let go.

- Look at what you are doing and think, "How do we know if this isn't working properly, and what would we do if it wasn't?" Easy way to improve current practices and make sure everything that heads out your door is thorough and something you stand behind.

- If your product is cans, make sure to have working can openers. Just sayin'.

- Have a notepad/whiteboard set up where people can write down what needs to be reordered - from lab equipment to coffee creamer - and the administrative assistant will love you.

- If the policy/etc pertains to more than one department, don't make the final call. Just because you are reliable and you know you are right does not mean you have the authority to make that sort of decision. You don't want to be the name that gets cut when things go wrong.

- You are going to go through stages when you want your name on every piece of paper to show you were a part of this meeting, this program, this development. But you will also have stages when you will regret your name on that paper, whether your site had a security breach or you simply misspelled your boss's name. Be prepared for this and examine each document for the little things that will make you look bad.

- If you send a ton of emails that are very similar, consider making a template that you can just stick in, with formal phrases like "Per your request", "Attached is the following", and "Best Regards". Customers aren't going to compare your emails to see how thoughtful you were - they just want your data.

- If you are doing something for another department, make them initial/sign off on it so they know what the changes are. And tell them that they owe you one - you aren't here to do their job for them.

- Sign/inital and date everything, just in case.

- Instead of printing out everything, keep the number of hard copies to a minimum. Not only does this save paper, but it also prevents out-of-date materials from circulating and ending up in the wrong places.

- Yes, there are federal guidelines on how to make a proper flowchart. Live with it.

- If you ever email a customer, always include the customer service rep that is in charge of that order.

- 10 people in a meeting that lasts a half an hour = 5 hours of paid work. Use meetings to exchange information, generate new ideas, make decisions, solve problems, and formulate plans. Otherwise, don't make it a meeting - make it a memo or a phone call.

- Take good notes and be willing to share - instant way to be valuable to others and get favors!

- Meetings fail without purpose, focus, preparation, too many/not the right people, poor/distracted leadership, or no follow-up.

- For each meeting, write an agenda distributed in advance, so everyone knows what the meeting is about and why/how they will contribute.

- Always start meetings on time. Don't waste other people's time just because someone got caught up on a phone call or woke up late.

- Start winding up 5 minutes early so you can end on time. People get antsy if meetings go over, and you want to be that person that consistently ends on time. You can always schedule a follow-up meeting or continue the conversation in an email.

- Don't work during your vacation. People will notice that and come to rely on you to answer them even if your out-of-office message states you won't respond until you return.


And a personal tip from me - Always have something that others can tease you about (like a mad addiction to coffee)! If they can make you blush or act flustered, even for a second, they are more likely to talk to you in person (about work, among other things) than avoid you and send emails when a discussion really should have taken place.

It's the holiday season, so watch out for all drivers - they don't know what they are doing. No one is focusing 100% on the road right now.

Don't drive and drive - and call me from jail!

Thursday December 8, 2011 8:48 PM

Guilty Confession of the Day: I have recently become addicted to the dairy-free bean tacos at Taco Bell (2 of them + one small drink + tax = $3.50). They are really good with the green sauce packets, and I only feel shame after I throw away the wrappers.

If they put more veggies in it, I would be obsessed. As it is, I'm wishing Taco Bell was further away and my job didn't have days where I eat while working at my desk or just skip lunch.

So, what do you do when faced with a fast-food/junk-food addiction? Especially when it is super cheap!

Please don't dye your hair half-red and half-green for the holiday season - that does not look good.....

Sunday, December 4, 2011 8:00 PM

Sorry - it's been over a month since my last post!

I've tried out three new fake meat products - a fake burger, fake bacon, and fake beef tips.


First up - Gardein Beefless Tips, made from wheat and other grains.

I browned them in a pan with olive oil, onions, and a sprinkle of lemon juice.

The packaging had a recipe for Asian style teriyaki beef.

When the beef seemed ready, I tossed in some pasta and plated it on a tomato sauce heavily flavored with extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Very simple preparation.

The finished product was good - the 'meat' had browned nicely and had a bit of a sponge-y consistency. The taste was similar to meatloaf, and it wasn't overly salty like other fake meats. Would I buy it again? Yes, but not on a regular basis (fake meat is more of a curiosity for me than a staple).

Next up - fake bacon, made from tempeh.

I decided to go with the traditional American breakfast - 'eggs and bacon'. I scrambled up crumbled tofu with tumeric, rubbed sage, cayenne, zucchini, and mushrooms. Then I browned the bacon in the same pan after plating the tofu. I also baked some tater tots (not pictured).


The tempeh had greasy sections in it like bacon, and the texture was like partially hydrated beans squished up against each other (a bit crunchy and mushy at once). The taste was very similar to bacon, though a bit salty (I'm not sure if all bacon is that salty - I might just be out of touch with the original). Would I buy it again? No, the texture was very unappealing, and I had trouble finishing the package (2 servings) in three meals (kept pushing it to the side of my plate).

Finally - the rice burger - I got the Jerkin' Spicy.

I browned the burgers like the instructions said. Then I took some old rice, turnip greens, wild rice, and mushrooms in a pan with the burgers and made something similar to dirty rice.



I am not a fan of fake burgers, but I had really been missing Jamaican jerk flavors. I had high hopes for this baby, and luckily it did not disappoint. My only complaint - too salty. But everything else fell in place. OK, so it didn't taste like meat, but it was satisfying and flavorful. Maybe if I had eaten it on bread like an actual burger, it might not have come across so salty. Would I buy it again? Yes, but again, fake meat isn't a staple in my apartment. So it would be more frequently in my place than other fake meats, and one of the few kinds that would be a repeat visitor. But I'd rather test out other kinds and see what crazy foods are emerging in the health-centered world of chemicals and natural flavorings!