Catching Up

This is just a quick post to apologize to any regular readers this site may have had… The past few weeks have been very busy, and I haven’t found time to post. What have I been up to? On March 29-31 I took a couple of W students to Lipscomb University in Nashville for the Southern Literary Festival — great time, and a great festival open to all schools in the South who become members of the association. Saw a great play, written by Tina Howe and performed by Lipscomb students and local professional actors, heard readings, and went to talks about writing. I also got to enjoy some of the student 10-minute play readings performed on Saturday morning. The weather was great, too!Hot Cross Buns

The following weekend was Easter, of course, so we did the traditional hot cross buns and eggs, sandwiched between grading essays and exams. In real life, I’m an English professor, which means if I travel for a weekend, I get way behind in my classes. Worth it, but you pay…

In the midst of all of that, I’ve been working all year on our web team to redesign the MUW website. We are working with a consulting firm and have had lots of communication back and forth about what we want for a design. I’m also on the search committee for webmaster, and I’ve learned more about Joomla! than I care to know.

And I’ve been working on my class on Belgian and European poetry, drama, and art for the study abroad trip I’ll be leading to Brussels this summer. We covered Symbolism, Dada, and Surrealism last week as an introduction. There are one or two details of that trip yet to be worked out.

The other major activity has been to help my mother sell the Motorette — but that story will have to be a separate post soon. It’s been a fun and interesting ride.

Two more weeks of classes and one week of exams, then things ought to settle down for a little while. In the meantime, I’ll try to work in a post or two! Maybe a recipe or two or some thoughts on poetry.

Savory 3 Cheese, Herb, and Nut Mini Muffins

This recipe was first made for the MUW Sigma Tau Delta initiation ceremony this year. It is heavily adapted from the Basic Whole Wheat Muffin recipe in Ed Brown’s original Tassajara Bread Book, along with the Tassajara Cooking one of my original cooking bibles that I get out occasionally when I really need a basic recipe to work from or with.

1 C wheat flour

1 C white flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1 Tbs sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 olive oil

2 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary and sage (or other spices to taste)

1/2 C chopped pecans

pepper

2 eggs

2 1/2 C buttermilk

1 C each crumbled gorgonzola, grated mozzarella, and grated cheddar cheese

canola oil & corn meal

If you know me, then you know these measurements are approximate, all except the flour, which was pretty accurately measured.

Preheat oven to 400°

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Stir together well to blend and then make a well in the middle. Pour in about 1/4 C olive oil. Add two eggs and buttermilk. Stir to mix (just until blended), then add herbs, pepper, and nuts. Blend in a little. Add grated and crumbled cheeses and stir to mix together.

Spray mini muffin tins lightly with canola oil (I use a Misto sprayer, though PAM would work). Sprinkle the bottoms of the cups lightly with corn meal. Spoon batter into cups about 2/3 full (don’t fill too much — they look nicer when they don’t overflow the cup). Bake at 400° about 15 minutes  until done (test with toothpick. Makes about 4 dozen mini-muffins, if you don’t over-fill the cups. Since I had two pans, I made half a batch, washed, rinsed, and dried the pans and made the other half. They turned out very light, very savory, bite-sized muffins. I don’t know if I’d want a full-sized muffin with this recipe — might be too much. But the mini-size worked great. We’ll see how people like them at the initiation tomorrow!

Careers for English Majors

As I prepare for a presentation on career prospects for English majors (or should I say job prospects), I thought I would try out a few ideas here. Have you ever noticed that people seem to think English is an unmarketable degree? That’s been the case for as long as I can remember, but it hasn’t stopped the many English majors I’ve known from getting jobs and making a living. What those jobs are, though, can vary tremendously.

Though there isn’t an automatic career path for many English majors, the skills you develop in your English classes are actually in high demand in the workplace. The most obvious skill English majors have is the ability to write. This is usually more than just writing grammatically correct sentences and spelling words correctly — though that can be a huge benefit. Good writers understand how to craft an effective sentence, not just a correct sentence. Good writers know how to organize a paragraph clearly and concisely, and they know how to structure an essay, which can transfer into structuring anything from an email (or tweet) to a hundred page report. English majors should be good communicators, both in written and in oral form.

This can lead to jobs in many fields, though there aren’t recruitment fairs that focus on English majors. Typically, an English major has to make his or her own way. You have to knock on doors and get your resume out there. You have to be willing to start at the bottom rung and work your way up, and you might be able to do this in any field, especially if you have an interest in it.

Good jobs for English majors to consider might be working in arts agencies or museums. Sales and advertising might be worth pursuing, especially if the product you’re selling is one you’re passionate about. Consider working in a bookstore, if you love books. Technical writing doesn’t have to be about boring subjects (though it might be, and might pay the bills); it can be about subjects that you care about: the environment, music, gaming, film, social media, etc.

And don’t forget that one of the skills you’ve learned as an English major is to research. Though you may not continue doing academic research unless you go on to graduate school, your ability to formulate successful search queries, you ability to analyze and evaluate sources, and your ability to synthesize the information you have gleaned in your research and harness it to an argument, will all come in handy on a variety of jobs. And English majors are typically known to have a good work ethic, to be able to work well on a team, and to meet deadlines. Though I wouldn’t put that on my resume, you can use it to your advantage when on the job, as well as when you are looking for a job.

Carrot Loaf with Mushroom Gravy

Tonight was one of those “cook what’s in the fridge” nights. Carrots were destined to be a main ingredient, and since it turned out pretty good, I thought I’d write down what Aidan and I did.

Half an onion

One clove of garlic

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

5 carrots (give or take)

1 cup or so of bread crumbs (about 3 slices of homemade whole wear bread, cut into cubes)

diced green pepper

2 eggs

2 Tbs Yogurt

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Salt & pepper to taste

 

In a food processor, shred onion and garlic. Add bread cubes and make into crumbs. Add chopped cilantro and pulse to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and pulse. Remove the chopping blade and put on the grating blade. Grate carrots into mixture (or if your processor is small, transfer ingredients to bowl before grating carrots). Transfer all to bowl and stir in 2 eggs, yogurt, and worcester sauce. Mix well, then transfer to greased loaf pan. Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes (or until done).

If desired, make mushroom gravy to go on top. Sauté half an onion and several mushroom in butter and olive oil. Add 2 Tbs corn starch to 1/2 cup water and mix well. Add corn starch mixture to mushrooms when they have browned. Add more water, milk, worcestershire sauce, mushroom soy sauce (to darken the color), salt, and pepper to taste.

When the carrot loaf is done, cut in slices and serve with mushroom gravy on top.

1946 Motorette

When I was a kid, we had a magic green scooter that stayed in this corner of our yard outside my parents’ bedroom window. It was a place of much imagination. My brother, sister, and I would climb on it with some of the neighbor kids, pretend to flash the lights, pretend to steer, pretend it was an airplane, a space ship, a hovercraft, or any other sort of enchanted conveyance we could dream up. We took many trips without ever moving an inch. Or it was a convenient place to sit and watch the other kids play tetherball. Or it was a convenient base for tag.

Every summer, my dad would work on the engine. When I got older, I got to help him gap the spark plug, clean the connections, clean the carburetor, lubricate the cylinders, change the oil, then crank the engine until it would cough into action. The engine had a small glass bulb gas reservoir that fascinated me. Though the scooter sat outside all winter (in the fall my dad winterized it), he always got it running. Then we’d go for trips around the yard, and sometimes down the alley to the little city park down the block. Everyone got a ride, though our dog, Hector, probably didn’t ever sit still long enough to qualify as a passenger. I remember one photograph of my grandma and grandpa riding the scooter, though I don’t recall whether they actually took it for a spin or only sat in it to pose for the picture. Now and then us kids even got to drive, and I remember once or twice someone, maybe even my dad, taking a left turn a little too sharply, causing the scooter to tip up on its side. It never flipped over, but would come to rest on the bottom of the frame, and could easily be pushed back on all three wheels.

One summer, we gave it a fresh paint job and a new cover for the seat. I decorated the scooter with bunting, attached a few little flags, got a big bag of candy to throw, and drove it in the Fourth of July parade. Since my dad had kept the motorcycle license current, I was able to drive it on the street, even though I wasn’t old enough to drive a car. I was only allowed to go under 20 miles an hour and take it to, from, and along the parade route. I had a blast, driving my dad’s antique motor scooter. And that’s probably when I learned that it was a 1946 Motorette.

My dad bought it after getting out of the Navy after WWII and after he had rehabilitated from polio that he contracted on a trip to Chicago. He went to Des Moines to attend Drake University and go to law school, and he needed a cheap vehicle that could make it around campus and up and down the hills. The Motorette fit the bill exactly, or almost. He had a hand control added that would allow him to use the brake and the gas, and he modified the back end to add a Model A transmission. The Motorette’s Mercury Clutch was perfect, since it didn’t require a pedal. With the new transmission, he had more gears and could go in reverse. He also could shift gears using the gear shift lever that stuck out the back behind the driver’s seat — not real handy if you had to change gears a lot, but perfectly acceptable for his needs. Later, he when he had moved to Osage and owned a home, he modified it slightly again so he could pull a lawn mower behind it, though by the time I was old enough to remember, us kids were the more reliable lawn mowers in the family, and the scooter was in semi-retirement, only brought out for the occasional rides around the yard.

Sometime after my famous ride in the parade, we stopped starting the scooter in the summers. Eventually, it got stored in our garden shed, where it has remained for the past 20 years or more, protected from the elements and up on blocks. If I were more of a mechanic, like my dad, I would dream of getting the engine running again and taking it for a spin.

Soup and Salad (in one bowl) Recipe

One of our favorite winter meals is homemade soup. It’s so easy that it’s hard to imagine buying soup in a can. This recipe is a variation on one soup we love, a white bean and pasta soup. Virtually any combination of vegetables will do. Broth isn’t really necessary with a bean soup, just salt the water to taste (it takes more than you might think, but the sodium content will still be much lower than with processed soups). And this is vegetarian.

One bag of white beans
1/2 lb elbow macaroni or other shaped pasta
1 leek
1 large parsnip
2 carrots
black olives
crushed tomato (about 10-12 oz)
portabella mushroom
grated parmesan cheese
baby salad greens, spinach, or lettuce

Soak a bag of white beans in water over night (or in this case, I started the soak in the morning and cooked it all up in the afternoon). 6-8 hours later, drain beans and then cover with plenty of water again. Bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour or hour and a half. After half an hour or so, clean and slice the leek. (To clean, cut lengthwise down the middle and then rinse out the dirt. To slice, cut crosswise in relatively thin slices. I use all the leek unless the tops are too dry.) Sautée in a little olive oil as you cut the parsnip and carrots into relatively small pieces. Add to sautéing leek. Once the vegetables are hot and starting too cook, add to the simmering beans. Cut mushroom and add to soup with black olives and tomato. Add water as needed and continue to simmer. When about 20 minutes remain, add 8 oz. dry elbow macaroni and let cook with the soup.

Rinse your greens and spin dry. Any hardy lettuce would do, though I had some organic baby spring salad mix on hand, so I used that. If the lettuce is big, you may want to tear it into smaller pieces. Otherwise, place a handful of lettuce in each bowl and then cover with hot soup. Ours was pretty thick, since the macaroni had soaked up much of the broth and the beans helped thicken it. Top with grated parmesan cheese and more lettuce if desired. The soup cooks the lettuce slightly, but some remains crisp. Of course, the soup is fine without the salad, but if you have some lettuce or salad mix you want to use, it’s a good combination.

Support Your Local Arts

As I prepared a selection of poems to submit to the Mississippi Arts Commission for a fellowship application, I was reminded just how important state and local arts organizations can be. I think of all the cultural experiences that would go without funding if local and state arts organizations (and the NEA) didn’t exist, and I’m ever grateful that they do. In Columbus, the Arts Council has supported art, music, and literary events for years. They in turn fund the Suzuki Strings program that has been so beneficial for our son (and of which I’m currently the president).

Even if I don’t get a fellowship from the state agency (and more than likely I won’t, but who knows), I’m still grateful for the opportunity to apply. It gave me the incentive to go over the poems I’ve written in the past three years and take stock of what I’ve produced. It’s never as much as I would like, but it wasn’t hard to bring together 15-20 pages that I’m proud of. Looking at it as a group, rather than a random collection of poems in a folder on my computer, also helps bring the work together. Writing an artist’s statement helps, too.

This is all the kind of thing I’ve been talking with my students about. My creative writing class is nearing the time when they’ll turn in their midterm portfolios. We’re discussing the need for revision and strategies for getting there. I won’t be looking for perfect work yet — that’s for the final portfolio — but I do look to see whether they have a sense of where they’re headed. It feels that way with the collection of poems that might one day be a book (and a fellowship would help that happen more quickly). Looking at and reflecting on what you’ve done can inspire you to create what still needs to be written.

At the same time, my Seniors in their Senior Portfolio class, are reviewing their work from the past 3-4 years. We are discussing what they’ve written and how they might introduce it, but also what their plans are for the future. I’ve talked to some of them about sources of funding that can help them keep writing, and opportunities for writing after college, including grad school, internships, summer workshops, and artist residencies. I’ve advised them to find or create their own writers groups wherever they go. Many of those opportunities depend on funding from arts councils, commissions, and other groups. Without the support of local arts organizations, many young artists would never discover their talent or find the communities they need to sustain them during the difficult apprentice years.

Valentine Variation (Ginger Beets)

Ginger Beets and Soba Noodles This evening for Valentine’s Day, I decided to reprise the Ginger Beets recipe with a few slight variations. Mainly, I added rutabaga, chard, cilantro, and broccoli. Most of this came from our local farmer — only the broccoli was from the store. Mushroom soy sauce helps the sauce, since it is so dark. And I added peanut butter to make the sauce a little richer. Siracha sauce helps spice it up.

And what would Valentine’s day be without chocolate? We had a truffle from our favorite chocolatier in Spirit Lake, Iowa, Goodies. I discovered them one year when trying to get some good chocolate to my mother in time for the holiday. We’ve been addicted ever since, so it’s fortunate that Valentine’s day comes but once a year (and that it falls in the winter months, when we can have it shipped without dry ice and overnight mail!).

Ginger Beets and Soba Noodles

Here’s a Valentine’s Day recipe to try, if you dare. I made it the other night for fun and out of desperation, not having gotten to the store yet for supplies–but Kim and Aidan had been to the Enlow’s (formerly organic) farm. (Mississippi changed it’s regulations on how to be organically certified, so our only local grower who was certified, can now no longer afford to maintain it, even though he hasn’t changed his practices.)

Ingredients:
canola oil or other stir-fry oil
2 small red beets and tops
1 large carrot (or 2 smaller ones)
a few leaves of kale
tofu
one small onion
garlic
ginger
1 tbs sugar
curry, garam massala
soy sauce and lemon juice
siracha sauce
soba noodles (Japanese buckwheat noodles)

Sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger in a wok, then add sugar, carrots, and beets, cut into small pieces. Saute a few minutes, then add spices, tofu, lemon juice and soy sauce. Add beet tops and kale. Add other vegetables, if you wish. Add siracha sauce to taste (it’s hot).

Meanwhile, start water to boil and cook soba noodles according to directions. When finished, serve with stir-fry over noodles. Due to the beets, everything will be a deep red color, except the kale and beet tops, which remain green. Since I only used a couple relatively small beets, the beet taste wasn’t too strong. The ginger and curry spiced it up a little. Siracha sauce added to the heat (though cayenne or other hot pepper would do as well).

We enjoyed it, though it was definitely a unique experience. The flavors were good, and the red/pink color of the dish was a little much, which is why I suggest it for Valentine’s Day.

Insecure iTunes Credit

Though I hate to write this, I’ve lost a little faith in Apple, and with the world. Of course, a lot will depend on how they resolve this issue.

Yesterday, Apple sent me an email telling me that a new device had downloaded an app to an iPad from a location that appeared in Chinese (or possibly another Asian language). I checked my iTunes account, and indeed, 6 purchases had been made: one for a free app, and 5 in-app purchases, totaling 93¢ less than the amount of store credit that I had left from a gift card. I contacted Apple, and after a couple of email exchanges, they agreed to refund most of my money, minus the sales tax. I questioned them about this, and so far they haven’t issued the credit for any of the purchases. I trust they will, but perhaps they are checking up on the sales tax issue. It has been less than 24 hours since I discovered the problem. Apple was quick to respond, even working past the hours the tech support agent listed in his email.

I haven’t been phished. I am certain of that. I haven’t bought any apps other than ones from the App store that I believe are reputable. And I’m not losing my mind… well, at least this can’t be seen as evidence that I am. According to this Macworld article, this has been going on since 2010, and hundreds of people have reported similar issues.

What should you do?

Before you read further, go to Apple and change your password to a more secure one. It may not stop this from happening to you, but it might help (see that article link below for at least one instance of someone with a very secure password who had this happen).

Then, watch your iTunes account, and do check if Apple ever sends you a message about a new device you aren’t aware of. Don’t leave iTunes credit on your account. For safety’s sake, I may not keep a credit card on file in my account — at least not until I’m reassured that they can’t get at this information (mine was wiped out but hasn’t been used — I’m calling my bank, though).

I’ve had my bank card number stolen and unauthorized charges were made. The bank refunded those charges and issued me a new card. It’s sad, but that may be the cost of doing business in an electronic age. There’s no telling where they got the number (gas station, restaurant, online purchase, etc.). My bank was very good about security then, and as long as Apple stands behind its iTunes Store credit, I won’t complain. Now that I know it’s an issue, though, I wait until I know what I want to purchase before I load credit into my account, and then I’ll spend it as soon as possible.

So far, no one seems to know how hackers are getting into iTunes accounts. It seems to be only accounts that have store credit, though it’s unclear why. There have been a few reports of other abuses — credit card or PayPal information being used — and many have had their address changed or credit card information wiped out. But it all seems to start with store credit, so I’m planning to keep mine low until I hear that this problem has been solved.