Blogging by Numbers: How to Create Headlines That Get Retweeted There is an art and science to getting blog posts to travel like wildfire. This post will look at both, based on number crunching with 281 posts, 39,000+ comments, and almost 2,000,000 click-throughs via my Twitter profile and Facebook fan page in the last six months. Here’s what I’ve found to work well… The Art In this context, more than anything else, the “art” is coming up with good headlines. I presented the above slide to a Fortune 100 company that wanted to encourage employees to blog. Just invite a few friends to dinner, look at the graphic, and follow the instructions. Into trapeze or German techno? “How German Techno Can Make You a Better Agile Programmer” “5 Principles of Flying Trapeze for Better Hiring Decisions” See how that works? Once you’ve had a bit of practice, it’s oftentimes easier — and more scalable — to imitate what works elsewhere. The Science The “science” is borrowing headlines or testing them. How do you know if you have a good headline? How do you learn what works?
Sticky Lemon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze Recipes They are modeled after the classic cinnamon roll, and partially inspired by this bread, with a buttery yeast dough flecked with nutmeg and lemon. But inside each roll is a rich filling of sugar and lemon that bakes into gooey, oozey sweet-tart deliciousness. The cream cheese glaze puts it over the top, with more lemon tartness and not too much sweetness. The final word on them comes from my mother, who looked at me, wide-eyed, over the brunch table, and said, solemnly, "This is the best thing I ever put in my mouth." Sticky Lemon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze Makes 12 large breakfast rolls Lemons, for dough, filling, glaze, and garnish3 large lemons, at room temperature For the sticky lemon filling:1 cup sugar1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger For the lemon cream cheese glaze:4 ounces cream cheese, softened1 cup powdered sugar Prepare the lemons:Zest and juice the lemons. Divide the juice into two equal parts, and set aside. Make the dough: Make the filling:
Make Your Own Salad Dressing Bottled salad dressings are my pet peeve — the majority of them are full of sodium, sugar and other preservatives. Whether you like a vinaigrette or the creamy stuff, you only need a few simple ingredients (and a couple minutes) to make some yourself. Dressing Basics There are endless rows of bottled dressings at the grocery store. To ensure you’re getting real ingredients, homemade is the way to go, but watch those portions. A Simple Vinaigrette Just join some sort of acid, oil and flavorings and — ta-da! For a basic vinaigrette, combine one part acid to two parts oil, but that’s not mandatory. RECIPE: Simple Salad Dressing Creamier Choices Mayo or sour cream make for creamy dressings but the calories coming from fat pile up. RECIPES: Ranch Dressing and Green Goddess Dressing Another Favorite: Honey Mustard This recipe below doesn’t use oil so it’s low in fat and calories. Creamy Honey Mustard DressingMakes 3/4 cup Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine.
Orange Blossom Frescas – A beverage for the Morning After I know this is a strange day to post about a refreshing, cold beverage, being we’re in a midst of a Snow Advisory but I’ve been drinking Orange Blossoms with Cranberry and Mint all day long and it’s just too good not to share. I started making Infused Waters out of necessity. Being a poor college student and wanting some variety in my daily menu, I just took fresh fruit and picked some mint that was growing wild on campus and let it ferment for a few hours in ice cold water. But you can make it more complicated by adding several different fruits or herbs. Sometimes I like to add a tsp or so of Rose Water to give the beverage a delicious fragrance. If you’re serving this to a group of people, have a few pitchers infusing in the refrigerator for refills. I must have refilled this same glass 8 or 9 times and look…no residue at all! Infused waters work out very well for large gatherings, wedding or baby showers, birthdays and 4th of July. Slice orange into sections and remove pits.
Sticky Balsamic Ribs OK, Folks. No joke, these are the best ribs ever!! I always look at reader reviews when I choose a recipe. They help me decide whether a recipe is worth it, or not. Begin with some fresh rosemary. Finely chop 2 tablespoons worth & put it in a mixing bowl. 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar & 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper {I cut back on this a bit, as I was serving this to kids}. Next, peel 8 cloves of garlic. Mince them up & add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt {right on top of the garlic}. Add this to the mixing bowl, along with a 1/2 tablespoon of kosher salt & 1/2 teaspoon pepper and stir everything up. Next, you will need 4 racks of baby back pork ribs. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover tightly with foil & roast the ribs until the meat is very tender, about 1 3/4 hours. Add 1 cup of water to the pan & using a wooden spoon, scrape up all the brown bits. Brush the ribs with some more glaze & serve.Adapted from Gourmet magazine, July 2009Serves 4-5
Go ahead, take a shot of salad dressing. | DesignHER Momma I got my first taste of this salad dressing when a dear friend brought it over with a meal she had made for my crew right after Nola was born. From the moment the heavenly concoction hit my lips, I wanted to drink it right out of it’s re-purposed glass bottle. Since asking begging her for the recipe, I’ve probably made it weekly. And I make it for everyone I know. So it’s time. What you will need: 2-3 garlic cloves, grated. 1/2 tsp. dry mustard 1/2 tsp. ground pepper 1 tsp. sea salt 1/2 lemon, squeezed (I use this squeezer 2 tablespoons tarragon wine vinegar 1/2 cup olive oil Freshly grated Parmesan cheese Mash the salt n’ peppa! Then, whisk in the tarragon white wine vinegar, lemon and oil: Take a good ole’ shot of the heavenly mixture (go state!) And store it in a salad dressing shaker , in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. You guys, I’ve just given you a gift. Did I mention that you have to garnish the salad with copious amounts of freshly grated Parmesan cheese? Comments comments
10 Things to Do When There Is Too Much on You Posted in Balanced Lifestyle, Balanced Mind and Soul | May 12, 2010 | 25 Comments This post was written by Anastasiya. Follow me on Twitter or StumbleUpon and keep your life balanced! Do you sometimes feel that you are running round like a squirrel in a cage? Once you are finished with one project there is already another one waiting for you. You get through one deadline but the next one is already knocking on the door. There is nothing wrong with being busy but if you overdo it then you feel completely out of balance. When you feel overwhelmed with everything around you it is time to stop and think. So when you feel that you are just too busy and have no time for yourself then it is time to stop and think. Live according to your life priorities. Now there is just one more tip I can give you. Keep it balanced!
Sweet-Tea Ribs with Lemony Potato Salad Recipe : Food Network Kitchens Directions Empty 3 tea bags into a bowl and combine the loose tea with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Grate in the orange zest. Pat the ribs dry and trim the membrane from the underside. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a pot of salted water; bring to a simmer and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the ribs from the oven and increase the temperature to 450. When the remaining liquid in the saucepan is syrupy, add lemon juice to taste. Photograph by Stephanie Foley Courtesy Food Network Magazine
spinach artichoke dip recipe spinach artichoke dip a few of you asked for the spinach artichoke dip recipe from my last post, and as you demand, so i deliver. this dip is incredibly tasty, really easy to make and even works for people who proclaim to not like artichokes (like me). anything with spinach and artichokes instantly classes up a party, and your friends will think you spent a lot more time on it than you did. enjoy! spinach artichoke dip 2 cups parmesan cheese 10oz box frozen spinach, thawed 14oz can artichoke hearts, drained 2/3 cup sour cream 1 cup cream cheese 1/3 cup mayonnaise 2 tsp garlic, minced 1. 2.
Nature Sounds Carb Menus For 12 Days - High-Fiber Low-Carb Menus These 12 days of menus are suggestions to get you started on a healthy low-carb diet. They each fulfill a full day's requirements for vitamins (except in most cases vitamin D), minerals (except, in some cases, calcium), and fiber. They range between 20 and 50 grams of net carb (total carb minus fiber) and from 1500 to 1700 calories. If you are eating more calories, but want to keep the carbs the same, add protein and/or fat. 1. Photo © Heiko Martin This menu illustrates a principle I found when when creating these menus - that it takes about 30-40 daily grams of net carbohyrate to make it easy to obtain all the essential nutrients. 2. Photo © William Mahar You'll see that a lot of these menus have flax meal in them. 4. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images This high-protein, low-carb day requires no cooking, and includes a fast-food lunch. 5. Photo © Ruben Joye This menu includes some fruit and yogurt, and has 40 grams of net carbohydrate. 6. Image Courtesy of Pricegrabber 7. John Burwell 8. 9.