New client that loves food as much as I do and free cookbook?

Yes please!

The book was Everyday Paleo. I’ve heard good things from my Paleo friends and often looked at it in the store but, to be completely honest, the food pics are not this book’s strong point.

I should never have let that deter me.

With a quick glance through, I picked out a huge number of recipes that I really wanted to try. This recipe was my first test run and it turned out really well.

Warning – This dish isn’t really that pretty. But I LOVE that it’s in one pot.

And that it tastes so good.

Warning Part II – The leftovers are really ugly. The kale bleeds and turns everything green.

In this case we just shut our eyes and savor.

Puerto Rican Beef

adapted from Everyday Paleo (check out her site while you’re there. She’s got a lot of great recipes – whether you’re Paleo or not.)

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef (I chose grass fed)
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 container of sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup green olives
• 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• Pinch of saffron threads (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet.
2. Add mushrooms and onions and sautee until tender.
3. Stir in all of the spices.
4. Add the kale and green olives. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the kale is wilted and tender.

I served this over my whipped sweet potatoes. She also added a few slices of avocado.

Avocado is always welcome in my home.

Enjoy!

via Someecards

I’ve mentioned my love for Pinterest before…but it bears repeating. I get so many great ideas for fashion, food, crafts (even though I’m not crafty) and many other topics. I’ve also found especially great organizing ideas through Pinterest and had many others that have sprang from the inspiration.

What I especially love about Pinterest is that I can follow my clients and really get to know what they love. One day I had a client that wasn’t sure about a particular object. I took one look and said, “You don’t like it. I’ve seen your Pinterest and that is SO not your style.” She quickly agreed and was able to let go quickly and guilt-free.

It is an addictive website, so you definitely have to watch out that it doesn’t become a major time suck. You also want to watch out for getting so many ideas that you never have the time to implement any of them and then never take action. But other than that, have at it!

Are you on Pinterest? If so, follow me. I’d love to see what you’re pinning.

Why?

The client was having a party in her home the next day and I didn’t know if we’d have time to finish. I definitely didn’t want to leave her in a hot mess if we ran out of time.

A big key to getting organized is knowing your time limits and setting realistic expectations. Most of the time, makeovers take longer than you expect.

Luckily, we finished this one in time. It helped that much of her food was already sorted. It was just a matter of fine tuning and weeding out the expired. So let’s get on with it!

Before:

As you can see, it really isn’t too much of a hot mess in there. Much of it was sorted into categories and the placement according to use was pretty good. I just tweaked things a little.

I started with the top shelf and removed anything that didn’t belong with baking items, as well as expired foods. Once that shelf was finished, I worked my way down, shelf by shelf. My client took care of the door rack before I arrived so other than a couple of fine adjustments, it was good.

After:

As you can see, tiny tweaks can make a large difference. I know my client felt it the next time she went to cook.

Total hands on time: 2 hours.

Don’t have time to pull *everything* out of your pantry to get it organized? Take it a shelf at a time. Just don’t go too long between working on shelves or you’ll lose your momentum and the shelves you fixed won’t stick.

Hey Red! My Samples Have Run Amok.

Question: It’s time to implement some sort of filing system for my samples. Melinda, you’re the profesh – should I go file folders or envelopes… And by job, color scheme, or category (business, wedding, etc.)

Answer: Yes. Yes it’s definitely time.

Perhaps even just a touch past.

No need to worry though…this will clear up in a moment.

You want to use big binders with plastic sleeves. That way it’s easy to flip through and find what you want. Divide first by occasion, then by style (modern, traditional, etc) and/or color scheme.

Alternatively, if they don’t fit in one binder then do binder by category and then by style/color in sleeves.

And send me the after photo when it’s done!

Do you have a burning question? Perhaps just a simmering one? Send it to heyred@melindamassie.com.

I’m talking a serious Princess and the Pea moment here.

While wonderful for the most comfortable night’s sleep ever, these mattresses turn standard sized night stands into wooden dwarfs.

What’s a person to do?

Install floating shelves.

This option works well because you can choose what size will best fit your needs and then place it exactly where you want your hand to reach.

It’s also easier to vacuum under.

Find yourself in a position where your bed is too tall for standard night stands? (Or just want a simpler, neater look?) Floating shelves will take care of you.

You can also use this basic recipe as a springboard for all sorts of options – stir in mascarpone, maple syrup, or cinnamon and nutmeg for something sweeter. Or take advantage of one of my fave combos – sweet and spicy – by stirring in some cayenne pepper. Heck, you could even stir in some marshmallow fluff.

Your only limits are your imagination.

Sweet Potato Puree

Ingredients

(Amounts vary according to how much you need to make. Play around with it until you find your favorite ratios.)

• sweet potato
• butter, room temperature
• cream, room temperature
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Chop sweet potato into 1 inch chunks. (Can peel first, but not totally necessary.) Place in large pot and fill with cold water until potatoes are covered by an inch. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain well.
2. Add boiled potatoes, butter, cream, salt and pepper into food processor and process until smooth. Do so in batches if necessary.
3. If adding in other ingredients, do so at this time and process until just incorporated. (I put mascarpone in almost every single time. Tastes so luxurious.)

Enjoy!

Before, all the plates and bowls were stacked on top of each other. It wasn’t a mess, but it was a minor inconvenience to get the plates or bowls on the bottom.

I know, I know. #firstworldproblems.

Still, when you can so easily, quickly and cheaply fix these minor issues, it makes it easier to tackle larger ones.

Do you have wasted space created by fixed shelves with a lot of space between them? Get thee to the store and buy yourself an extra shelf to better utilize your space.

Hey Red! Phone Tag Sucks.

Question: It feels like phone tag wastes a lot of my time. Is it?

Answer: Oh my yes. Phone tag is pretty much a time suck and so frustrating to deal with…especially in a business situation. If it will be easier to explain something through voice on voice action rather than email or text, schedule a time to talk with the person just as you would a meeting. We’re all busy. This ensures that you’ll actually get to talk to them and that you’ll both be able to focus when you do it.

Next best thing to stop wasting time while playing phone tag?

Leave a proper voice mail!

True, not everyone even checks voice mail any more, but for those of us that do, there’s nothing more frustrating than being stuck in a game of phone tag and not being able to properly respond to the need, thus continuing the tag-time-suck.

So what do I mean by a proper voice mail?

• State your name, who you’re with and phone number.
• Say what you are calling for and ask the most pertinent questions if any.
• Give the best time to call back and any possible alternatives.
• Say your name and number again.

You want your phone number and the first and last of the message. It may get garbled or the person may not have been prepared to write. Also, there’s nothing worse than having to sit through an entire message again just to get the phone number.

If someone doesn’t need to call you back if they don’t have a response, say so. One of my favorite voice mails ever was a woman that said if I don’t have the information then I don’t need to return her call. Saved us both time.

Phone tag can really waste a significant amount of your time – especially in business situations. To mitigate this, schedule important phone calls as you would meetings and leave proper voice mails so you aren’t wasting anyone’s time.

What are your favorite tips for not wasting time in phone tag?

Do you have a burning question? Perhaps just a simmering one? Send it to heyred@melindamassie.com.

So let’s just get them all out of the way in one fell swoop, shall we? This dessert is raw, unprocessed (if you choose the right ingredients), wheat free, gluten free, Paleo-esque and full of good fats. It doesn’t utilize refined sugar. The majority of the ingredients have excellent health benefits in one fashion or another. It can even be vegan if you swap the honey for maple syrup. Then, there’s my favorite part…

It tastes like cake batter.

Quite some time ago, I posted a chocolate mousse recipe that uses the unusual ingredient of avocado. I like that recipe a lot, but it always felt slightly “off” since it’s way to dense to be considered mousse.

Then I came across this recipe in Whole Living.

And it’s perfect.

And even simpler.

It is important (as with most recipes) that you choose the best ingredients for this since there are so few and so simply prepared. Do that and you can’t go wrong. I like to whip up a batch at the beginning of the week and have a spoonful or so after dinner each night.

Raw Chocolate Pudding

adapted from Whole Living.

Ingredients

• 3 avocados
• 6 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup honey (I used raw, unfiltered, local honey – yep…more foodie buzzwords!)
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• sea salt for garnish

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to food processor and processes until well blended. (I let it go for almost 10 minutes, occassionally pressing the sides down, just to make sure there are no avo bits.
2. Taste and add more honey or vanilla if necessary
3. Chill in fridge.
4. Sprinkle with sea salt and enjoy.

Yes, I know the avocado sounds wicked strange. I PROMISE you can’t tell it’s there and it makes the most beautifully creamy consistency. And make sure you garnish with the sea salt. The salt really brings out the flavors, rounds everything out and adds a touch of crunch.

What’s your favorite healthy dessert that seems strange but works?

We all knew this one would be one of my first Thursday loves, didn’t we? I do love the bubbly. Or as a local restaurant owner said after asking what I was drinking and I raised my flute, “Of course. Sparkling wine for a sparkling girl.”

These people really know how to keep ya coming back, don’t they?

I’m often asked what my favorites are and a client recently asked what my fave economical choices are. When it comes to my favorite, it’s the dear widow as seen above.

So love the Veuve. It’s never wrong and always fits.

But what about more economical choices?

There are actually quite a few that I really enjoy. Now I prefer my bubbles crisp and not too sweet. If you do too, read on. In no particular order:

• Cristalino Cava
• Rene Barbier Cava
• Barefoot Bubbly Pinot Grigio
• Cupcake Prosecco
• (Insert most proseccos here)
• And if you come across a sparkling red, jump on it. I don’t see them that often but I luuurve them.

What’s your favorite bubbly?