Archive for December, 2009
Recipe: Southwestern Pasta
This meal is so delicious, so healthy, and technically if you eliminate the cheese, is vegan as well!
I know it’s not the best photo, but take my word for it, super delicious! Oh and you will dirty three pots/pans and one very large bowl but it’s worth it.
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet onion, large dice
- 1 large red bell pepper, large dice
- 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained (15oz generally)
- 3 ripe avocados, diced
- 1 bag of frozen corn (1lb)
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 1 TBSP cumin
- 1 can of diced tomatoes, (28oz)
- 1 box of dried penne (1lb)
- 1 block of sharp cheddar cheese (8oz, eliminate this to make the dish vegan!), cubed
- 4 limes
- 1 TBSP oil (I personally use olive but vegetable is fine)
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Start by boiling the water for the pasta, make sure you salt your water VERY well as this is your only chance to really season the pasta. Once your water is boiling like crazy, drop your pasta in, give it a stir, and cook for 8-10min until it’s done but not mushy, still has some texture to it.
In a separate skillet, add the oil, cumin, and the frozen corn. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, until the corn is soft and slightly caramelized.
In a large pot, add the beans, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, avocado, garlic, corn/cumin mixture, and diced tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for around 5-10minutes, just to heat through.
Dump the cooked pasta and vegetable mixture into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the cubed cheese, the juice of the 4 limes, and any additional salt/pepper that it may need.
This is super quick to make, affordable, can be made vegan by eliminating the cheese, or made more hearty by adding diced chicken breast. Very delicious and kid friendly (my oldest son loved it and said it was “delicious!”), we make this recipe often!
archived under: Recipes
Answers to Your Questions {Part Two}
I have so many questions to answer still, so I am going to address some of the smaller ones yet again before tackling the larger ones.
Future Entries
- How I do my comments page
- The plugins I use and why I love them
#1 From Caity
Second, I was wondering if you would share about your links page. Do you set it up via WordPress somehow or did you code it yourself? I love how it is set up and I have seen other people set it up similarly.
I do not use the built in WordPress bookmarks feature, I may do it soon but right now I hand-code the links page. To set it up like that I use the same technique as the Three Column Footer tutorial. I use two div’s instead of three and have them in an unordered list. I styled the list with CSS so that I could add the checkmark on the visited links. The CSS I use for the checkmarks is as follows:
#linkspage a:visited:after {
content: "\2713 ";
padding-left: 10px;
font-size:18px;
font-weight:bold; color: #3f3b30;
}
#2 From Dez
How do you get your alternating comments to be rounded? Would it ever annoy you if I suddenly asked you for CSS help on twitter?
LOL it would NOT annoy me if you asked for CSS help on Twitter. I love to help people out!
As for the rounded comments I know a lot of people wonder about that. It’s quite simple and uses a bit of CSS3. To any element you want rounded (does not work on images), just add this to your CSS!
.round {
background-color: #e5e2d8;
border-radius:6px;
-webkit-border-radius:6px;
-moz-border-radius:6px;
}
That’s all for round two. I will try and get up the entries about my comments page and plugins this week. If you have any specific questions related to those two topics, feel free to leave it in the comments!
archived under: Q&A
Answers to Your Questions {Part One}
Since some of the questions asked on my entry, Q&A: WordPress, Blogging, and More, are small enough that they do not require a full blog entry, I thought I would answer a few of them right away!
#1 From Damita
I would like to know how you added an image to the footer of your RSS and how you do the stay up to date bit
I use a plugin for adding information to the bottom of my rss feed. It’s called Rss Footer and is very simple to set up and use. However you can go overboard and really turn your feed into something annoying with too much unneeded stuff crammed into the bottom of your feed. So proceed with minimalism in mind.
As for my “Stay up to Date” area, it’s simply doing the same technique as my tutorial shows for doing a basic three column footer, except I customized it with a wider width and only did two columns. I went through and added the Sociable plugin to the left side and added my twitter and rss links to the right. I used two plugins to display the twitter follower count and the rss subscriber count (you have to be using FeedBurner.
#2 From Lisa Marie
I absolutely love how you get yours and the kidlet’s eyes to pop in your photos. I’ve always wanted to know how to do that. I know it’s probably not so easy with brown eyes, but I’d like to try. What’s the trick that everyone is so not willing to share?
Personally I try not to do TOO much to the eyes when processing from RAW to JPG. Having a lot of natural light helps. In photoshop a way to brighten/lighten the eyes is to either dodge the iris or use an overlay layer set to 75% and use white for the color and a round brush and again, “paint” over the iris only. I also suggest the Pioneer Woman’s Photoshop Actions which has an eye action to make it a bit faster.
#3 From Maya
How do I add the Google Reader to a WP.com account? I’d love for people to be able to follow my blog that way. And, can I change from a 2 column to a 3 column format without totally destroying my blog?
You do not add Google Reader TO your site, however a good idea is to have in a nice bold area (perhaps with an image) a link to your RSS feed for people to add/discover/subscribe to using google reader. In WP.com example, generally it’s http://username.wordpress.com/feed.
Yes you CAN change from a two column to a three column design quite easily. In your WP.com dashboard go to Appearance -> Themes and in the search box enter the name of the three column theme you would like to use or preview. I would suggest: Twenty-eight Thirteen and Grid Focus.
I will try to answer more of your questions later this week!
archived under: Q&A
How to do a Basic 3-Column Footer
The first question I am answering (from the blog entry, Q&A: WordPress, Blogging, and More), comes from Dayze. The question is as follows:
I really like the layout of your site; it’s simple but pretty :) I’m always finding alternate ways to make a 3-columned footer so I hope you can share
Now you can do this one of two ways. The first would be using floats to just float each column next to each other (which is what I will be sharing), or what I am currently using is absolute positioning (granted I have room for a 4th column but not sure what I want down there yet).
Float Method
Add this code to your CSS (cascading style sheet):
.floatleft {float: left; margin: 0 20px 0 0; width: 200px;}
.clear {clear:both}
Add this code to your footer:
<div class="floatleft"> <h3>Heading</h3> All sorts of awesome footer goodness </div>
Of course you can change the width, the margins, etc. Add that chunk of code three times or less… or more… depending on how many columns you want. Once you finish adding all your divs, add this last div and it should be all awesome!
<div class="clear"></div>
This technique works for a three column blog design, for a large header/sidebar, whatever you want to have multiple columns.
I would appreciate your feedback on this tutorial!
archived under: Q&A
Q&A: WordPress, Blogging, and More
Surely the first of many Question and Answer posts I will do in the days to come!
Lately I’ve been getting a lot of comments, tweets, emails about how I do things around OSN and thought perhaps I should open the floor if you will, so that I can not only help YOU, but maybe share some stuff that you didn’t think about!
Ask as many questions as you want specific to WordPress, blogging, design, CSS, XHTML, coding, plugins, photography, etc. I will do my best to answer your questions, share tips/techniques, plugins I use and how I’ve tweaked them on Friday. The more questions you ask, the better!
archived under: Q&A
A Father
I feel so much love for my family.
I couldn’t ask for a better father for my boys. My oldest son has taken to calling his bio-father by his first name and calling Keith his “real daddy”.
Sometimes, I realize how lucky I really am.
For those who have children, how is their relationship with their father?
If you do not have children, how is your own relationship with your father?
archived under: Photography
5 Ways to Improve Your Blog
On the advice of Lisa Marie, who said I should share my wisdom, here are 5 ways you can improve your blog!
These are steps I’ve personally done to not only improve the appearance of my blog, make it reader friendly, but also encourage interaction as well.
1. Use WordPress
I can not stress this enough! WordPress is an amazing FREE publishing platform that is so easy to use, customize, and ENJOY that there is no reason to use anything else! I recently made the switch from Expression Engine and I’ve not looked back once. I will touch on various plugins throughout this entry.
Suggested Plugins
- WP-Typography: helps your text display properly
- WordPress Mobile Pack: I have a blackberry and it takes FOREVER to load “normal” sites. PLEASE get a mobile version! You could also use Mobify in which I was featured.
- Defensio: I’ve found this to be a lot better at eliminating spam than Akismet.
2. Create your OWN design
I know I’ve mentioned this before, however it’s worth talking about again. Stop using free themes! A website with your own created images or NO graphics (pure CSS) is a hell of a lot better than a free theme that is seen all over the web. Using a free theme (that countless others are using or have used) lump you in with strangers, it doesn’t stand out visually, and does not create a memorable experience.
When I say “create your own design”, I mean that literally. From scratch. Taking a theme and changing a color or a few images is still using a pre-made theme that you did not design, create, or have any control over.
For me, I really enjoy sites where they have a specific header/entry/sidebar/footer type of design. Especially the footer. Otherwise it just looks as if something is missing.
Also, as an aside, get your own domain name and webhosting! It really helps! I am not fond of blogspot blogs because generally to comment you need a google or blogspot account which I feel I shouldn’t have to do to comment on ONE specific entry in a sea of blogs and having your OWN domain and hosting gives you ultimate control.
Layout and Basic Design
- How to Blog: Design Style Guide
- Digging into WordPress
- Better Living Through XHTML
- Blog Design and Layout
Inspiration and Resources
- 51 Amazing and Inspiring Blog Designs
- 50 New Beautiful Blog Designs
- 40 Creative Blog Footer Designs
- 72 Sets of Free Social Bookmark Icons
3. Use Photographs
Of course I would suggest this, but it’s been proven time and time again, readers are visual and nothing screams visual like a photo! I highly suggest taking the shots yourself, contrary to false popular belief, you do not need a fancy expensive camera to take good photos.
I generally try to take a photo that pertains to the entry I am about to write OR fit the entry around photos I’ve already shot recently.
I use for most of my shots my Nikon D50, 50mm f/1.8 lens, my Sigma 105mm lens, and lots of natural light.
Photography Resources
4. Write for Your Readers
When I say this, I mean it literally. If you want a personal diary, turn off the comments, make the blog private, or get rid of an online blog and go to paper.
Find a subject you’re strong in. Focus on a niche. Most people are not going to stay for long if your entry isn’t engaging to them. I tend to write about subjects that I am knowledgable in, for the most part anyway! My passions are attachment parenting, photography, and cooking, so I try to focus the majority of my entries around those three topics.
Post frequently! I aim to write an entry every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. A blog that goes weeks or even months without an entry is not one I will check up on or care about.
Resources
5. Improve Your Relations
At the end of the day, the majority of bloggers do so for the feedback, to be heard. You need to make it easy for people to comment on the entry you worked so hard on!
I try so hard to respond to each and every single comment, every email, every tweet… you get the point. Nothing drives me crazy than commenting frequently on someones blog only to be ignored time and time again. I feel unheard, a bit silly for thinking the person would even CARE that I put time and effort into reading and commenting on their entry, and generally I stop commenting after awhile.
How to Connect
- Get rid of CAPTCHA. If I have to take yet MORE time to just fill out a form, I usually will give up. I don’t want to answer asinine questions such as “what is four plus five” only to be rejected when I answer “9” because it wasn’t in word format.
- Respond to comments! Like I mentioned before, this is HUGE to me. Take the time to respond to comments via your blog entry, or email. Show respect that someone took time out of their day to not only stop by your blog, but read your entry, think about it, and come up with a well written response.
- Go and comment on other blogs in your niche! If you want people to connect with you, you need to take that first shaky step. Read some entries, leave some well thought out comments, perhaps link to them on your link page or sidebar, follow a new person on twitter, make some connections yourself!
- Make sure you link to your RSS feed often so people can use their favorite reader to stay updated
- Add a subscribe to comments option so people can participate in the conversation
Promote Yourself
- Use a tool such as TwitterFeed to automatically send a tweet when you’ve updated your blog
- Offer to guest post on other blogs
- Participate in blog carnivals, weekly meme’s, etc
Useful WordPress Plugins
- TweetMeme: I love this plugin, it enables readers to quickly and easily retweet your post without having to go to Twitter directly.
- Crosspost to LiveJournal: a lot of my readers come from LiveJournal so I enabled crossposting which encourages them to come back to OSN and comment on my entry
- CommentLuv: when a person comments on your entry, it enables the them to select their most current entry to display and link to below their comment
I suggest using a good statistic software such as Google Analytics or Reinvigorate. It will give you a much more accurate measurement of visits, referrals, etc.
If you would like me to expand on any subject or explain what I’ve done around OSN, feel free to ask in the comments. Also, please share what you’ve done to improve your blog!
archived under: Web
Winner of the Cookbook Giveaway
Congrats to Melodie for winning the cookbook giveaway! I will be sure and email you right now so we can mail the awesome book to you ASAP.
archived under: Snippets
{The Pioneer Woman Cooks} Cookbook Giveaway!
Just in time for Christmas/Yule, I went out and got TWO copies of The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. One for myself naturally, and one copy for YOU!
The author is Ree Drummond who has a very popular blog ranging from the typical blog entry to specific sections for food, homeschooling (yay for homeschooling!), and photography (another Nikon user too!).
Ever since Keith and I started menu planning, we rarely eat out anymore (even today we originally were going to have Chipotle for a late lunch but then decided to make taco salads at home), so to find a cookbook that not only has awesome recipes, but has gorgeous photographs and awesome stories as well really helps us when it comes to finding delicious recipes to try!
All you have to do to win this awesome book is enter! I will choose the winner randomly so the more times you enter, the better chance you have of winning! You must comment to be entered initially, all the other methods are to boost your chances!
How to Enter:
Leave a comment: let me know what your favorite cookbook/food blog is and why!
Link to OSN: a text link, or you could always make me a cool button lol, leave a new comment (which also helps your chances!) if you’ve done so!
Twitter: Follow me on Twitter and send a tweet that says: I just entered to win ‘The Pioneer Woman Cooks’ cookbook, from @starrymom and you can too! Go to http://bit.ly/6kqQjQ and enter! Come back and leave a new comment that links to that twitter status!
Blog: write a blog entry about the giveaway! Make sure to come back and leave a new comment if you’ve done so!
The giveaway will end Sunday, December 13th, 2009, at 11:59p CST.
archived under: Web
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