January 3, 2009
Mike's Chocolate Espresso Chili Recipe
I left a tweet on Twitter today, after starting my chili recipe in a crock pot at work:
I got 14 YES responses to my tweet, from @daveseah @heathercore @y0mbo @Lukas_Sparks @skyhawke @nathanziarek @chrisbowler @lancehill @jesselavery @drewwells @lencioni @jennaddenda @gnumadic and @freds4hb so by popular demand, here's my crock pot recipe for Mike's Chocolate Espresso Chili:
INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef (ground round)
2 14-oz cans of chili beans (w/ chili seasoning optional)
2 14-oz cans of diced tomatoes
2 8-oz cans of tomato sauce
1 16-oz jar of chunky salsa
1 white onion, diced
1 milk chocolate bar (43g)
2 1.5-oz shots of espresso
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground paprika
DIRECTIONS
1. Brown the ground beef and onion in large skillet and drain.
2. In a crock pot, combine the ground beef and onions, beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, chocolate bar, espresso, chili powder and paprika.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours (or on high for 4 hours if you need it sooner). Stir occasionally.
4. Serve. I like chili with cheddar cheese, corn chips and sour cream on top.
I've found the chocolate makes the chili a little sweet, the espresso adds a bit of smoky richness and the paprika becomes a subtly smooth taste that blends in nicely.
The crock pot makes this one easy to make and kinda forget until it's time to eat, especially handy if you need something ready to eat on a cold day after work.
Nathan Ziarek has generated nutrition values if you're curious. To reduce calories/fat, swap out the beef for chicken or veggie crumblers.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and let me know how you like it.
Enjoy!
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December 21, 2008
The Little Extra Things Add Value
I just had my car fixed at Sippl's Auto Service, my local garage. They replaced the alternator, serpentine belt and belt tensioner, and even threw in repair of a ground wire that needed updating.
I was very pleased with the work, but the little thing that most impressed me was a repair they made on a plastic wiring cover under my dashboard they didn't mention.
That stinkin' plastic cover had been bugging me for weeks — I tried fixing the attachment pin, tried duct tape and yet it still fell down at my feet. Arggg!
But my garage fixed it with a new attachment pin, and didn't mention it. This little extra detail impressed me. Why? Because it showed that the mechanic cared enough to do this one little extra thing for me, his customer.
That's why I continue to take my cars to Sippl's — because these little extra details are a consistent thing they do, and I really appreciate it.
Giving a Little Extra = Value
I've been noticing when others give a little more like the example above, and am adapting this to my personal and professional life. It's not easy, because when I'm busy, the temptation is to do as little as I can get away with. But I've never found "as little as you can get away with" a good long-term solution. Eventually, it shows.In my experience, giving a little more than expected does work. For a little additional cost, in time, or something extra delivered, I've found it builds trust and enhances my reputation as someone who cares about those I choose to work with.
Every day I ask how I can improve in this area. Some days I'm better at it and on some days I fail. But the point is to constantly try adding value by doing just a little beyond the expectation. I aim to keep improving at this every day.
Here's the question to consider — how in your professional and personal life, can you give a little bit more than expected? Is there a little thing you can do that isn't necessarily much more effort but communicates that you care?
When you find these little things, do them!
The little extra things add value.
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December 19, 2008
Bullfrog Touch Logo & iPhone UI Design
In May 2008, Jon Trainer of Outer Level software came to me with a then confidential project — designing an icon and a UI screen for a top secret iPhone native application called Bullfrog Touch.
I've worked with Jon for years — designing the Outer Level logo, and creating an icon for LicenseKeeper, so I was happy to help translate his popular Mac OS X app Bullfrog to the iPhone.
Bullfrog Touch Logo Design
The first challenge was creating a new logo for the Bullfrog Touch application. I needed to incorporate the existing Mac OS X Bullfrog cartoon icon, created by Jordan Langille and adapt it to the iPhone. With the bullfrog icon on the left I chose Arial Rounded Bold for the Bullfrog font, applying a bright green glow in Fireworks.
In the open space to the top-right of the Bullfrog text, TOUCH fit perfectly. I stayed with Arial Rounded Bold in all caps, adding jumbled alignments to visually suggest a bullfrog's jumping action and for a bit of contrast.
Bullfrog Touch Score Screen UI Design
Next challenge Jon needed help with visually was the scores screen. Jon had a rough idea of what he wanted, provided in a mockup screenshot I could use for reference:
Using Jon's sample as a rough starting point, I began researching screens on my iPod touch and online, to see how Apple and other developers had dealt with UI elements, fonts, colors, sizing and so on. After the research phase, I built a mockup in Fireworks, right on top of Jon's original sample screenshot:
My goal was to make the scores screen clear, easy to read and use, while maintaining look and feel of the new logo into the UI design.
Jon was happy with the results, using the mockup and exported files as a reference for the final application UI. The colors and button styles and some of the elements were changed, resized and tweaked, but are still pretty close to my mockup.
Here's my original mockup next to the the final Bullfrog Touch scores screen:
Conclusion? That was fun, I want to do it again!
It was an interesting and enjoyable challenge working with Jon on this iPhone UI design project. I look forward to helping others on future iPhone app projects to keep exploring this fascinating new UI design space.Bullfrog Touch was chosen as one of the best iPhone/iPod touch games to give as a gift, in the TidBITS Gift Guide 2008
Jon Trainer has a post about the design process on his company blog.
Thanks Jon!
Rohdesign is the site of designer Mike Rohde, who writes about design, sketching, writing, mobile computing, technology, travel, cycling, books, music and more.
