I absolutely love the work I do each day; given the choice, I wouldn’t pick any other field, which feels pretty awesome after following an unexpected, winding path to get here. (When I started the blog way back in 2008, I had just graduated with a Master’s degree in Social-Personality Psychology and was working as a researcher.) If I could take on a few more big projects right now, I would in a heartbeat because lately the inspiration never stops! It seems like Eric and I discuss new ideas every week. If you’re curious, some of the ideas include: creating cooking videos, redesigning the blog, opening a cafe or juice/smoothie bar and delivery service, creating a meal plan service, writing a children’s book (seriously!), starting an apparel line, growing our recipe app, taking food photography courses, and the list goes on and on. But then reality sets in and I know my priority has to be keeping my head above water, and not biting off more than I can chew. So lately, I feel like I’m in this confusing place with my career. I’m decent at judging how much I can take on, but still find myself yearning to do more and lagging behind the speed of my dreams. This passion makes it easy to feel like there isn’t enough time in the day. Throw motherhood into the mix, and it’s even more of a juggling act; my parenting and self-employed roles are 24/7, always on call, with problems popping up just when I think things are going smoothly. There are big highs and lows, often in the same day. This is part of what makes life so rewarding though, and it fuels me to want to improve—or at least on the worst of days, to work on my patience and practice a bit more self-compassion.
As I mentioned in a recent post, Eric and I have talked a lot about whether we should take the next step and grow—such as by hiring a small team—although it feels almost as daunting as it does exciting. That said, I hired an editorial intern earlier this year, and it’s worked out very well! Part of me now realizes that a whole team of inspiring minds would be something absolutely amazing, but I guess I don’t know how to make that happen with a second baby, book, and renovations all happening this year. When is the right time, and is there ever a right time? Or, do I simply accept what I often read: that my career is destined to be in “maintenance mode” for the time being as a new parent? Do I dive in headfirst or start small and take baby steps along the way? I’ve been following the latter approach for years; even though it feels right to my practical mind, I get impatient at times.
There’s no real point to this thinking out loud today, other than to share what’s on my busy mind, and to remind myself that this journey is a work in progress. And it will always be. Maybe you are struggling with similar questions or wondering how to juggle various priorities in your life, too. We’re all doing the best we can each day, trying to make good decisions; they don’t always work out, but some will exceed our wildest expectations. It often feels like other people are doing more or growing more (a feeling that the internet seems to multiply a million times over!), but they’re probably feeling just as confused and taking it one day at a time like most. At least, that’s what I like to tell myself! Plus, I’m a firm believer that life isn’t a competition; we can build each other up to achieve success, no matter how we personally define it.
“But if you don’t have the courage let’s try to get you some. Because creative living is a path for the brave. We all know this. And we all know that when courage dies, creativity dies with it. We all know that fear is a desolate boneyard where our dreams go to desiccate in the hot sun.”
Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic (2015)
When my brain is running a mile a minute, simple meals are where it’s at. Especially in the summer. That’s why I’m so excited to share this easy salad from the Love and Lemons Cookbook. I made a few small changes (such as omitting the mozzarella, increasing the balsamic vinegar, and swapping toasted pecans for sesame seeds). This salad is right up my alley, and I think it’ll be a new favourite for you as well!
I’m a big fan of Jeanine and Jack’s blog and their simple approach to cooking with seasonal produce. You can’t help but be inspired to eat more veggies when you visit their site. Their first cookbook, Love and Lemons: An Apple-to-Zucchini Celebration of Impromptu Cooking, was released earlier this year, and it’s an absolute stunner from the design and layout to the food photography. Since the book is divided into chapters by vegetable (or fruit category like berries, citrus, and stone fruit), it provides plenty of vegetarian cooking inspiration when you just don’t know what to cook with that on-the-brink-of-death eggplant or giant bag of sweet potatoes you just impulse-bought at the store. Big congrats Jeanine and Jack!
Avocado Strawberry Caprese
Yield
Serves 2
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Meet your new favourite summer salad! This delightful combination of strawberries, avocado, basil, and tomatoes is tossed with a touch of extra-virgin olive oil, and drizzled with homemade balsamic reduction for a refreshing, lightly sweet salad that's great on a hot day. This recipe is lightly adapted from the Love and Lemons Cookbook (2016).
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup (135 g) hulled and sliced strawberries
- 1 cup (160 g) grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium ripe avocado, pitted and diced
- 1/3 cup (8 g) loosely packed basil leaves, chiffonade cut
- 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Pink Himalayan salt or fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Toasted sesame seeds or chopped pecans, for serving
Directions
- In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar to a simmer over medium heat. Once the vinegar starts to simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 6 to 10 minutes, uncovered, until the vinegar thickens, and reduces in volume by half. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, add the strawberries, tomatoes, avocado, and basil into a large shallow bowl.
- Drizzle on the oil and gently toss until the veggies are coated. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss again just briefly.
- Scatter on your desired amount of toasted seeds or nuts. Drizzle on all of the balsamic reduction.
- Serve immediately. This salad is definitely best enjoyed fresh, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for a few hours if necessary.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Just few hour ago i was thinking that, what should i prepare today for my kids. And if found your blog, now its look something which my child will love. Looking forward to try it.
I hope it’s a hit, Shalini!
I love your blog posts, your recipes, and your app. Enjoy your energy and enthusiasm. my dear. I am 76 and realize that strength and/or imagination can fail as life goes on!
I love the recipes on the app but is it possible to add recipes from your blog to them?
And would it also be possible to have a search on the app so that One could key in ingredients and have the recipe pop up?
I can Google these things but it would be so much less cumbersome if ithese suggestions could be incorporated into the app.
Thanks you for all you give us. This recipes looks lovely. Will find some basil and try it soon!
Hi Barbara, thanks so much for your lovely comment and kind words. It’s wonderful to hear you’re enjoying the app! I’m happy to let you know that I plan to keep adding recipes to it as time goes on, including even more classics from the blog (as well as exciting new dishes, too!). To search the app by key ingredient, just tap the little magnifying glass at the top of the app screen to access a search bar; from there, you can type in the ingredient you’d like to search by, and recipes using that ingredient will pop up! I hope this helps, and that if you give this salad a try, you absolutely love it. :)
I love this idea! Watermelon and strawberries are such great fruits to add in summer salads! Thanks for this, now I need to go buy some berries.
http://whenhealthymettasty.com
I totally agree, Caroline! :)
This looks so incredible! I know it’s the morning but I would totally eat that salad right now! Haha! I love that you paired strawberries and avocado! My two favorite foods!!!
Haha, I say go for it! ;) I hope you love the salad if you get a chance to try it.
The recipe looks great and I will try it! But what I wanted to comment on was Elizabeth’s Gilbert’s fantastically wonderful Big Magic. If nothing you’ve tried gets those creative juices flowing, or if you want overflowing creativity, read this book!!!!!!!
I absolutely agree, Elizabeth! it’s such a wonderful and inspiring read.
I would agree with much of the advice noted above. Considering the ‘behind the scenes” picture of many successful people I know, if the career is skyrocketing then there is only so much time for just “being” with one’s family. As working parents, we can have it all, but in my experience, not all at once (because otherwise something’s got to give, and hopefully that something is made as a mindful choice rather than inadvertant collateral damage). And this isn’t a gender-specific constraint either: Men with soaring careers have similarly constrained time to be just be available to their families. It just comes down to whether you want to just “sample/taste” the “all” in your life, or “savour” each element more thoroughly. The thing with kids is that they’re just kids for a limited timeframe, so there’s a fixed window in which to savour their childhood, whereas career activities are things that can be scaled up at any point in one’s life. The other thing that surprised me is that the leap from 1 kid to 2 kids can rock your world a bit (feeling torn between two precious creatures) – so if you’re someone for whom doing things really well is really important, I guess the short answer is it’s easier to do fewer things well. Once they hit the teen years they need more space anyway, and that frees up more mental space and time. Good luck! And thanks for all that you share. Haven’t tried this recipe yet but I will.
Angela :)
I absolutely loved reading about what has been on your mind lately, and I must say all those ideas sound fascinating (videos *wink*) and I cannot wait to see what your next move is going to be.
In saying that though, as inspirational as it is that you’re always working on moving forward in one way or another, cleverly escaping the dangers of stagnancy, I want to reassure you that it’s more than okay and sometimes even beneficial to slow down a little. After all, it’s not solely about the destination, but also -if not, even more so- about the journey. Which is exactly why going at a steadier speed or choosing the long way can turn out to be the better option, as it allows you to observe things you wouldn’t even have noticed or thought about otherwise.
Now, as always seems to be the case, I’m not quite sure if what I’m thinking and feeling, is actually what I am saying, but I do hope it makes sense to you and that you are able to grasp what I’m trying to say. Oh the joys of attempting to precisely put out what is inside.
Anyway, enough of my rambling, the last thing I would want is to rob you of valuable time. So hugs for now, and have a great Wednesday.
Oh and don’t forget: you’re pretty awesome no matter what!
Wonderful salad – thank you!
Your interest in new opportunities is wonderful. I never “slowed down” with any of my pregnancies. But I did make some pretty big decisions with pregnancy #3. I separated from my company at 20 weeks pregnant, started a new position 6 weeks before the due date, and returned to work 6 weeks after. I decided I wanted a job with zero travel (not even in the immediate area), and also with regular hours (40/week). I also transitioned out of some other industry leadership positions (I held a couple Chair/board positions). This took some effort, but was very healthy for me and my family. Once I had gotten out of most of my formal obligations, though I still did speaking at conferences, attended some events at invitation, I changed my focus to helping other folks who were working on various start-ups. I wanted to help folks out with cool ideas. I’m working with my second entrepreneur now. I give advice, help with contacts, lots of encouragement, and sometimes practical aspects related to investment, price point, etc. The good news is I can work this to my own schedule. This has been a different orientation, but one I’ve enjoyed for the last year. Investing in others is rewarding, exciting, and gives me a chance to learn about different aspects of my field. Next year, I’m going to look into anything else I’d like to do, but am taking it slow. It’s very easy to pile on one good idea/commitment after another, and so lose sight of what you really are trying to do in your life. Perhaps asking yourself what you are trying to do these next couple years – at core, not just in terms of projects – will help you focus on a theme. This will help you stay anchored as new opportunities come along, and take the sting out of saying no, if/when that happens. Good luck!
Just wanted to pop-in to say how much I love that quote by Elizabeth Gilbert…she’s a favorite ’round here. And I love reading your always thoughtful, sometimes amusing/sometimes inspriring free-form narratives. Oh, and your ambition is something to behold! (I vote for the idea of opening a vegan restaurant in the US, the Chicagoland area to be exact;) Take good care, Ange!
Thank you for sharing that quote! It was so moving and on a lighter note- that recipe looks delicious and perfect for summer!
https://thedogtribe.com/2016/06/08/garden-wedding/
Your photos are breathtaking . And the dish looks really tasty :)
Thanks for the kind words, Caroll! If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it.
I made this for my lunch today and it was A-MAZING! I couldn’t find any basil at my local grocery store, so I threw in some fresh mint instead. It was delicious and really refreshing. Thank you for the inspiration!
Mint sounds like a delicious twist, Wendi! I’m going to have to try that soon. :)
Hi Angela,
You do not need to respond to this, since I don’t want to make you any busier than you already are with all on your plate! I just want to weigh in and say that it is great that you and your husband are so ambitious, yet realistic about time and family commitments.
Your blog and app is such a huge success and brings so much to people’s lives. I’m not kidding when I tell you that it has changed my life, (and that’s coming from a cranky Bostonian). I think if I were you, I would really double down and keep working on the blog and app and recipes. Your photography is gorgeous, and I love that you have older posts explaining what you do to jazz up photos. I have never had vegan food that tastes as delicious as yours. (To be fair, I don’t frequent too many vegan blogs, though i do love a few of the Engine 2 recipes.)
While I’m dispensing unsolicited advice, I’ll add something else. My children are 15, 13, and 9, and while I feel like like is a million times easier than when they were little, there are far more schedule restraints. Once your kids are in “the system” of school and organized sports – or music or whatever, and they have friends and social obligations, your time demands are pretty significant. I say this because I always thought that things would get easier when my kids got older, and they have in some ways, but in some ways they have gotten harder. It’s just something to keep in mind when you’re doing any kind of long range planning.
Thanks and keep up your amazing work!
Christine
The advice about not starting something in your second trimester you will regret in your third is great advice, I think.
Having said that… PLEASE PLEASE start a meal plan service. OMG I would love that! I have been looking into meal planning services – working outside the home + daycare + early dinner time is not working well if I don’t have dinners prepped and ready to go – but the recipes aren’t all that appealing. A meal planning service from YOU? Yes yes yes!
Thanks for sharing the recipe and the book. I’m going to look into it for sure. Thank you for being so open with your struggles you are facing to tackle some new projects. I know it might be difficult to be on maintenance mode when you are in creative overload. It isn’t a race but I think it’s more important that you do what feels right to you. If having a small team lets you focus on what you are really good at and others take care of the rest than that can’t be a bad thing.
I just made this without the extraneous fats, so no oil and it was great!
It was just fine that way.
Thanks a ton!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
What I love about your ‘brand’ is that although it grows, your older material is always relevant. Some recipes (like mac ‘in cheeze) are part of my routine, but others (like strawberry spelt cookies) are something that I look forward to making each strawberry season. I don’t feel like I need to see new content all the time for you to keep me as a loyal fan. You’ve given me a solid foundation of recipes and information to draw on, and anything new a wonderful surprise (loving the app!). That said, I will be buying the new cookbook the day it launches.
Thanks so much for your lovely words and support Lili! It’s wonderful to hear you’re enjoying the app, and I hope you absolutely love the new cookbook when it’s launched. I’m really proud of it, and can hardly wait to share it with everyone!
Wow this looks delicious!! I wanted to ask what do you use to type up your recipe in that format? To get the ingredient section and title etc? <3
I miss your glo bars! ?
I made this for a bbq yesterday and it was so delicious, everyone enjoyed! This will be my go to summer salad….quick to make and a real stand out! Yum!
So glad it was a hit, Leslie! :)