Monthly Archives: March 2013

A Passion For The Work

Subtitle: Lose The Freelancing Illusion

I get at least one email in my inbox a week from someone who wants my advice on freelancing. They read my writing or listen to my podcast or follow me on a social network and think that I have a pretty sweet, fulfilling, life that I’m generally satisfied with. That I love working the freelance life as both a consultant and writer. That my wife, who is also a freelance consultant and my business partner, does too. And, this is true. We have a pretty great life. But I think the truth of why we love it is far different than the reason others think we do.

The fact is, both my wife and I work our asses off. Heck, here it is past midnight and I’m still working. My wife is in a chair a few feet away working. I’m rarely not working. Neither is she. Even the “fun stuff” is often work related for at least one of us. As are our “vacations”. But, we do it because we love it. We love the work. It fulfills us in ways that nothing else can. And this is what I mean when I say it is not for everyone and that satisfaction others sense is not coming from a life of leisure it is coming from a love of the work.

We are both passionate people. We are passionate about every aspect of our life. We did not set out to freelance so that we could work less. We freelance so that we can work more and own every piece of it. The fact is that there really is no line for us between family, work, and play. It is all just life. A life that we build and work for and love. We work hard at every aspect of it because we love the work.

Not everyone is cut out for it. It takes not only a passion for the work but plenty of sacrifice. It means there will be no paid vacations or retirement fund matching or group healthcare plan. It means years of saving and planning and struggling and scrapping. But you will know, in those tough years, if it is for you. Because those struggles will not deter you — they will fuel you. Because, that is all part of the work too.

The farmer lays her head down at night and can’t wait to go out at daybreak and get deep into the muck and dung of her work, because she loves the land. It is what makes her a farmer.

When you love the work, the work shows you who you really are.

I’m a full-time independent writer who works hard and loves it. If my work has improved your day, please consider a free will donation of any amount.

Another Dinner Idea

As I stated earlier, even though I do a lot of the cooking for our family dinner, when it comes to searching for new things to try my wife Bethany is the queen. One of her favorite sources is a cookbook called Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach. While it is full of wonderful family-friendly recipes and ideas, it is also a wonderful read. That’s right, read. It is not only a cookbook but a memoir as well. One in which the food is a central theme that the narrative is woven through.

It has saved our mealtime conundrums many times. Most of the recipes are simple, quick, and largely designed for a busy family like the author’s. For instance, we recently had a whole meals worth of spaghetti noodles left over (because I can never figure out how to make “just enough”) just sitting in the fridge a few days old. There was also some flat leaf parsley in the crisper waiting for use. Bethany remembered that the book had just the perfect use for these — a Spaghetti Omelet. I had some doubts after having tried another similar idea in the past but I was game to give it another go. Sure enough, it turned out perfectly. So delish!

Another one from the book that we keep coming back to in ious forms is the Chicken Milanese. It is not only perfectly great following the recipe but also highly adaptable to improvisation. With a few slight changes or additions this can easily become Chicken Parmesan or even some healthy and flavorful Chicken Fingers for the kids.

And, as one would imagine from such a source, the Dinner: A Love Story blog is an equally entertaining mix of the same cookbook/memoir mashup that makes the book so great.

All of this to say that Dinner: A Love Story is another great book for the busy cook. The biggest dilemma you may face is wether it belongs on your nightstand or in the kitchen. I recommend following Bethany’s path — first the nightstand, then the kitchen.

French Lunch

I’ve tweeted it, I’ve spoken about it on my podcast, and others have given their own riffs on the idea, but I have never written it down here on my own site.

I’m talking about my favorite thing to eat for lunch. I call it French Lunch because it is always what I imagine is in the lunchbox of every hard laborer in France (I have no idea if that is, in fact, the case).

It’s pretty easy actually. Here’s what I do:

  • Grab a good fresh crusty baguette. Good bread is the foundation so spare no expense here and aim for fresh as possible. Made today? Good. Made less than an hour ago? Better!

  • Get a creamy-style cheese like Brie or Délice de Bourgogne (or, occasionally, I’ll go for something a bit more firm and nutty like Manchego depending on my mood).

  • Then a bunch of good red grapes. Sometimes I do a ripe pear if grapes are not in season or otherwise hard to find. But fruity and juicy and sweet is the goal here.

It’s very simple, requires nothing but a knife (and even that is optional if you want to go all “beast mode” about it), and zero prep. Just take it out, plate it and eat it.

I’m a full-time independent writer who works hard to bring you quality reading, ideas, and the occasional recipe here daily. If you enjoy what you read here, please consider a free will donation of any amount.