Monthly Archives: March, 2015
The Definitive Guide to Winning an Argument
Winning isn’t everything, but it sure is nice. When you don’t see eye to eye with someone, here are the best tricks for winning that argument.
Use the Microwave to Dry Your Herbs for Long-Lasting Intense Flavor
Like oysters and princes, herbs are nearly always at their best when they’re fresh. But we’ve all been there: you buy a bunch of parsley from the supermarket for those two tablespoons of garnish that you need, a week goes by, and you suddenly find yourself with a whole lot of fresh parsley that’s on its way out. What do you do? The best option is to just find a recipe that uses it, of course. You might also consider blanching and freezing it in ice cube trays.
Or you might want to dry it. Drying herbs will greatly extend their shelf life by removing any moisture that bacteria could use to survive. The downside is that it also robs fresh herbs of flavor, aroma, color, and texture. But there are ways to mitigate this loss. Your best option? The microwave. Yes, really. It’s a trick I picked up from Daniel in his holiday story about spiced nuts.
Compared to other drying methods—like hanging or using a low oven—the microwave produces the most potent dried herbs with the freshest flavor and the brightest color.
The One Thing That Can Supercharge Your Career
A few months ago I was driving with my son-in-law to the airport. This young man had just received an excellent job offer from a premier employer. As we sat in the car he asked me a very difficult question: “After all your years of teaching and coaching people across the world, what is the one thing you would tell someone that would make them more successful in their career?” It would have been much easier to list 10 things, but to focus in on just one suggestion made this a difficult question indeed. After a bit of contemplation I answered, “The ONE piece of advice I would give is this: Become an expert at asking for and acting on feedback from others.”
