Cooking With Mom

For those who know me are well aware that I do not cook or even barbecue.  My wife does the cooking and the barbecuing. Yes I know, it is so unTexan. 

In fact when I move to Prince Wiliam County, VA, my wife cooked and froze several simple meals like spaghetti.  When the family came to visit, my wife cooked several servings of chili (winter is around the corner).  She would have prepared a more diverse selection for me, but my freezer is small.

Over Christmas I learned to cook a very tasty (and easy). It is Mujadara, a Lebanese dish of rice, lentils, and onions. I mixed Mujadara with Leban (plain yogurt). Leban is somewhat sour, but that is what I was raised on. 

My mother is an excellent cook. She makes the most delicious Lebanese food and desserts.

While visiting my parents in Midland, I got a cooking lesson.  She is a patient teacher and made learning fun. Measurements are used but are not exact.  I know the difference in green and brown lentils and adapting a recipe. In this case the every recipe called for several cups of water, she suggested using half broth and mix it with water. 

A side note. My sister also is a very good cook. My mother used to say she always knew when my sister was cooking, she called our mother several times.  I used to laugh at that and wonder how hard can it be to cook. Now I completely understand.  More on this later.

Back to the post. We read several recipes, discussed each one, measured, prepped, cooked, combined and feasted.  It was very enjoyable. What did I learn - I stirred the onions too much. I did not add enough olive oil when I sauteed the onions, I moved the rice (a definite no), how to see if the liquid boiled out of the lentils and rice, and the importance of tasting, and using smell as a barometer of seasoning.

Trivia:  Why do you wash the lentils?  Not so much because it is dirty, but more so to look for small pebbles.  I remember doing this years ago.

My entree? It was pretty good.

Now I am back home. I decide to cook Mujadara. First I go to the store.  I call my mother twice, to help me find where I should look for lentils and frozen onions.  Yes, I know, but I looked where I thought frozen onions would be.  Oh, why did I call her? Have you ever tried to find an employee to ask a question to in a discount grocery store?

That night I start to cook Mujadara.  I read the recipe or recipes (I had two to look at).  Before I even turn a burner on, two calls to my mother.  I start to cook, two more calls to my mother.  She is very patient.  One call to my sister, she is shocked I am cooking and delighted to help.

Final result - a very tasty and healthy meal. Next week another Lebanese dish and numerous calls to my mother before, during, and after I start cooking.

Texting: A New Application

Did you like my play on words?  Okay, I tried.

Well, on to the post.  Most of us that have smart phones also text. We text to our spouse, kids, etc. It is easy and does not require an immediate response.  It is not the most important function of a smart phone to most adults.  Especially when we see our kids text like it is the end of the world. 

This is a different kind of post.  During the Christmas break my alma mater, Texas Christian University (TCU), played in the Poinsettia Bowl on December 21, 2011.  TCU played Louisiana Tech. My father (also a TCU grad) and I watched the game.  We talked throughout the game. He was much calmer than I was.

This is not about the game itself, TCU won 31 to 24.  It is about reconnecting with old friends and technology.

I decided to text two of my frat brothers during the game.  We texted during the entire game.  Yes, my fingers were slow and I missed a key play or two, but it was fun.  My parents could not quite understand.  Texting is foreign to them. 

In fact, we exchanged over 80 texts during the game. What made it very unique is at times it felt like the three of us were watching the game and sitting in the same section.  It was amazing how we agreed on the referee calls, shared in the team triumphs and disappointments.  Both of my friends were far more perceptive than I was. I really enjoyed it.

My suggestion to my friends that enjoy watching their alma mater football games and enjoyed attending games with frat brothers or sorority sisters, text during a game. Simply put, it is fun. Just be sure your phone is charged.

A Key Ingredient

Today I was reading Business Week on my Kindle and ran across an interesting book review.  The link will be posted further in the blog. 

The book is by Tom Mueller and is titled Extra Virginity:
The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. The first and sentences really got my attention.  It is: "We Americans are latecomers to the romance of olive oil. Only in recent decades have we embraced it as an aspirational foodstuff, something with which we might dress our microgreens or anoint our grilled branzino."

I grew up in Midland, TX. Those of you who know me know I am half Lebanese. My mother is also Lebanese.  We grew up with Lebanese cooking. 

It just jolted me because I cannot ever remember our home not having olive oil and fresh garlic.  I grew up with all the Lebanese foods and the oil/lemon salad dressing also put on Tabouli.  Given how much Arabic food we had as meals, I was surprised more people did not.  Of course I was very young then.

When my kids were in school years ago my wife cooked an entire Lebanese meal for all kids to expose them to the cuisine.  I would talk about Lebanese traditions as the kids tried (or not) the various foods. You get a real feel for who has an open mind at an early age.

I really do not have much more to add, except my romance for olive oil and Lebanese food started when I was very young and continues to this day.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/book-review-extra-virginity-by-tom-mueller-12082011.html

Personal Branding

First, my thanks to Eric Canada with Blane Canada for highlighting this helpful article in Inc magazine.

The article is by Ms. Marla Tabaka. She writes a column under the heading of “The Successful Soloist.”  The title of her latest column is “What is YOUR Personal Brand?”  The story is geared to small business owners and entrepreneurs.  However, it offers several parallels to economic development and the professional economic developer.

She interviews Dan Schawbel and they do an excellent job highlighting the importance of cultivating your personal brand.  The examples are on point. Mr. Schawbel offers several options like social media, blogs, resumes, etc.  The best takeaways:

• Personal branding is how we market our self to others.
• A successful career is in part built on your reputation, size/strength of network (think Rolodex, LinkedIn, Twitter, and to a lesser extent Facebook) and your contributions.
• The suggested steps in creating a personal brand are concrete and achievable.  However, it takes considerable work.
• Perhaps the best point of all: if you don’t brand yourself first, then someone else will brand you. 

As economic developers, we especially understand the importance of the last bullet.  We want to tell our story before someone else does, and gets it wrong.

I suggest all economic developers read this article and give it some thought.  Ask yourself these questions:

• What have you recently done about increasing the value of your personal brand?
• What are you currently doing to increase the value of your personal brand?
• Do you have a plan to increase the value of your personal brand?
• What venues will you use to increase the value of your personal brand?
• Why did you choose these particular venues?
• Are your venues of choice somewhat integrated?

Again, I am very grateful to Eric Canada for posting this on Twitter.

The link is:  http://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/what-is-your-personal-brand.html

Reflections on Numerous Events I Attended Over the Years and (Easy) Distractions

Over the years and in every job I have held, a part of my job responsibility included attending meetings, conferences, and events.  These venues offer excellent networking opportunities.  In addition, it is an activity I generally enjoy because I usually discover a few helpful and useful tidbits.  And table discussions can also be interesting.  Almost without fail I meet a couple of intriguing people.  It can be an excellent learning opportunity.

Lately as I reflect on the numerous and varied events I have attended over the years, it occurred to me as I look around many participants are on a Blackberry, iPad, or Smartphone.  Some attendees are so addicted they are on an electronic device during presentations, networking opportunities, and lunch. So why leave the office?  Oh, I forgot, with their electronic device they have their office with them.

In fact it can be so bad with alot people on an electronic device it appears that very few are actually listening.  The impression I get is that a speaker is talking to an empty room or to his children.  Both are listening with the same lack of attentiveness. A general rule, I have found that during a question and answer session if no one asks a question, then the audience just wants the speaker away from the microphone.

From the reflections of the electronic devices that I can see it often appears that people are reading news or something else not necessarily work related.  On a positive note, I have not seen anyone play a game like Angrybirds, at least not yet. Even if it is work related, how many emails and/or texts must be answered immediately? If you do this (and I do) be honest as you think about it. Yes, over 95 percent of the texts and emails received can be answered a couple of hours later.

I bring this up for a reason.  These electronic devices allow us not to pay attention and tune out a somewhat boring speaker who may actually be offering unique thoughts or data.  We welcome the interruption from an email or text.  It is just so easy and for some addictive (Crackberry addicts).  Before you even ask, yes, I am guilty too. When a speaker is boring or way off the topic as presented in the program, I check my Blackberry once, twice or several times seeking a retreat from an ill prepared speaker or a presentation that is not much use to me.  And yes, you are right, that is somewhat unfair.

I know, I am disrespectful.  Generally, a speaker deserves my attention.  The exception is when the speaker veers completely off the topic.  In thinking about it, I remember hearing outstanding speakers that kept the attention of the entire audience. One was former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.  She spoke for over one hour, without any notes, and kept the audience engaged.  I suspect it is because she knew her audience and she did not talk down to us. Other speakers similar to her were Ronald Reagan, William F. Buckley, Paul Volcker, Ray Hutchison (old Texans may remember him), and Gary Hart.  Of course now that I think about it, no smartphones existed then. But I bet the outcome would be the same. You may have a couple of people tweeting, but that is another blog.

However, this brings up another point.  On a personal note, when I am asked to speak I do my own presentation and I try to stick to the agreed upon topic or work with the organization to change the topic.  If my Powerpoint was unavailable, I still could give the presentation because I wrote it and practiced it. As a former high school debater, I learned voice inflection.

This is where I think part of the fault lays with the speaker.  First, he may not have actually prepared his remarks or Powerpoint. Second, he may be a very bland speaker.  Again be honest, how many times have you had a speaker simply read the Powerpoint slides.  NOTHING is more boring. Frankly, I think the speaker does a disservice to himself and insults his audience.  I am not asking for a Lord Laurence Olivier performance, but some voice inflection and gestures are welcome.  Far too many speakers use Powerpoint as a crutch, it allows them to do a minimal amount of work.  Most of the time it certainly shows.  However, I think it comes down to this, it takes much more work on the part of the audience to listen to a bland speaker, even if he is on topic and providing valuable data and insights. 

In fairness to various speakers, I once read a poll that said the biggest fear of most people is the death of a loved one. The second biggest fear? Speaking in front of an audience. 

Now that I think about it, perhaps I should not be surprised that so many members of an audience look at their Blackberry, iPad or Smartphone. I did it. And I will probably continue to do so.  Even though I know it is rude and shows some degree of laziness.  As an audience member perhaps I should be more understanding of a speaker. I must remember that for some speakers it is more work to get the value from their presentation.  And, perhaps the speaker should give greater thought and effort to his audience.  We both deserve better.