Video filmed at the Eiffel Tower

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I have the best job

I really do have the best job.  And if you’re ever thinking of starting your own business, I hope you have fabulous clients, like I do.

One of the exercises I have students in my business class do, is to  make a list of the characteristics of their perfect clients.

For example, here’s a sample from my list of Perfect Client Attributes.   My perfect client: Sends lots of emails, gives me feedback/suggestions, lets me know when their credit card is about to expire, lets me know when they’re going to be in Paris so we can go for WINE.

(This is my list; your list may be different!)

So tonight, I want to tell you about a few of MY perfect clients. Just for inspiration. May you have some just like these

Nancy.
She emails often. She asks for new classes, she tells me WHY she needs to learn things. She tells me specifically WHAT she’s learned. She responds to emails and she wins prizes I just mailed, this morning, a 35 euro package of food treats to Nancy that she won by participating in my One Pound at a Time class. And remember, she’s the one who asked very honestly about how to hard boil the perfect egg several years ago, and then my "Back to Basics Cooking Class" was born. Nancy rocks.

Jim.
He’s been a fan for a long time. He sends glowing emails, and he always likes my photos. He admits that he’s deleted his inbox messages and could I PLEASE resend ASAP the recipe for lemonade concentrate because he’s having a "Lemonade Crisis."  Thanks, Jim. You’re a perfect client.

Ron.
Ron has literally been around since ‘before’ One Roast Vegetable even started. He asks for more ‘male-centered’ ideas (like how to BBQ or use his smoker). He’s also the FIRST person to ask for more vegetable-heavy recipes, and thus we have One Roast Vegetable.

Rena.
She is a rock star. She cheers loudly from the sidelines and is never hesitant to say something gushingly positive. And I mean really positive. She’s a real cheerleader. Thanks!

Now I’m sorry, I didn’t want this email to turn into a competition for who is my ‘favourite’ client … because I haven’t yet listed Brenda, Ann, Lori, Vina, Leslie, Elmira, Eva, and Joy.  And then there’s Helen and Peggy and Sandra and Katharine.  I can’t stop. Should I go on? There are lots more of you

If you’re on my Everything List, then you’re automatically included

Anyway, that’s it. No photos, nothing to sell. Just a nice end-of-day email to say Thanks. (OK I know it’s 5:45 pm Eastern, but it’s 11:45 pm in Paris, and it’s end-of-day for ME!)

love,
me

Spiced Plum Compote

After my great success with peach and apricot compote, I thought I’d try again with ripe fruit from the Sunday farmers’ market. The joyous thing about compote is that you can make very small batches, no canning required, no pectin, no big production.

I bought some red and green plums (9 red, 5 green). The green ones are called Reine Claude in France and are apparently also known as Greengage according to Wikipedia. The green ones are pretty, but don’t taste very different from regular plums, so you could use all red if you can’t find any green. For the red ones, I used ‘prune plums’, because they are easier to de-pit (is that a word?).

 

My mother (by phone) warned me against making the compote using a mixture of the two colours, as she said it would result in jam the colour of ‘baby poo’ (greeny-grey?).

I decided to ignore her.  She’d say that’s nothing new.

 

 

Washing the plums in the sink.

 

 

 

Cut in half, and can then easily remove the pits. If you have pits that hang on for dear life, you’ll have to scrape them out.

 

 

 

 

No need to peel! Hooray!  Chop the fruit into chunks, not too small.

 

 

 

Put in a medium non-stick pot, and add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey. Don’t add water.

 

 

Cook over medium heat until bubbly. Then reduce heat and simmer over low heat for an additional 8-12 minutes, until the mixture is thick and you can drag a spatula through it like this:

Hmm, the colour of this looks great.  Hey Mom. I was right. Again. (How tiring it is to be my parent.)

 

Pour into a clean jar. Store in the fridge. Eat it within 2-3 weeks, or pop some in the freezer for a mid-winter treat.

 

 

I eat my compote on whole grain toast, and on my breakfast couscous with golden raisins.

~ All best, Shelley