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This recipe is easy and quick, and a good way to feed a pile of people.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 lb. penne pasta
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tbsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp. capers
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 stick butter (8 tbsp.)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion or 2 shallots diced
• Grated parmesan cheese to taste

Directions

1. Fill a large pot halfway up with water. Add salt to taste. Cover and bring to a boil. Add penne and cook al dente.
2. Cut or break off tough ends of asparagus. Cut into angled slices, 3 or 4 per stalk, so they are shaped like the penne.
3. Dice up the onion.
4. Cut the chicken breast into thin, flat pieces. Try to cut crossways as many times as you can to get wide, long but thin slices. I can usually get at least five from each breast. It helps if the chicken is partially frozen.
5. Add 1/2 cup flour, salt and pepper to a large bowl and stir.
6. Dredge chicken slices in flour mixture until coated.
7. In a large pan, turn to medium-high and add olive oil. Once that’s hot, swirl in 2 tbsp. butter.
8. When butter is melted, add chicken slices in a single layer, covering the entire surface of the pan.
9. Brown for 3-4 minutes, turn and repeat.
10. Set aside browned slices and repeat until all chicken has been nicely browned.
11. Add 2 tbsp. butter to pan. Add onions/shallots and saute until soft. The pan should be really hot.
12. Pour in white wine to deglaze pan, scraping browned bits up.
13. Add the chicken broth and remaining butter.
14. Whisk in remaining flour. Add water/wine/butter/broth to build up a nice sauce.
15. Stir in the chicken, asparagus, and capers. Whisk remaining flour into chicken broth and remaining flour. Cover and turn heat to low.
16. Check occasionally. It’s done when the asparagus is bright, green and tender.
17. Serve with grated parm. I like red pepper flakes as well.

So psyched I won; I really busted my butt on these, and I’m glad it paid off. So happy to be involoved with such a cool project as WordPress:

http://wordpress.org/development/2008/11/the-results-of-project-icon/

In the beginning, format was king. The mere fact that we were reading something on the web made it important. It had somehow come to occupy this new medium, which in itself was novel and beautiful and confusing. Whoever put it there had to be smart, and therefore the content as well.

Then, at some point, maybe the early 2000’s, content became king. Your format is getting in the way of our content, we’d say. Enough of the tables, the flash, the jpeg-rendered text. Let us read <pre> formatted courier and be fulfilled.

Then context became king; it was more important where, when, and how readers got the content than what the content actually was. Can I read it on my iWatch? Because that’s how I read stuff nowadays. Is it RTL compatible? Pft, how dare we ignore half the world (if not more)’s readership.

Contrast is next. It’s all we have left. Is it different than what I’ve seen before? Does it stand out? In my daily sea-of-noise, what clambers to the surface, bobbing aggressively for attention like some snagged snapper float? That’s what I’ll read.

I’ve designed a ton of fonts. I’ve designed a ton of icons. I’ve designed only a few logos.

I always lump logos into the other categories, because I take the same approach to their crafting: get to the core of the symbol/s’ purpose and express it basicly, purely, and fundamentally. Then build on that solid core into something that resonates, based on feedback and outcomes.

The problem with logos is that, unlike those other categories, they demand an immediate connection to an extremely specific audience: namely, the client.

Who is the client? Good question. The client is not an anonymous user of creative output. The client is not a disconnected associate with little to go on when evaluating your work. The client is a stakeholder in your value as a professional creator. The client needs your work to “work,” because if it doesn’t, the client has problems that you’re responsible for.

And the client is always right. Which means you can’t expect them to see things the way you do. They’re paying money.

The client anticipates glitz and glamour out of the gate. They immediately compare raw sketches to a fully armoured cavalier, repleat with plate armor set in golden trim smelted with golden trim acquired from valorous raids. They want it to look Las Vegas.

This is how it goes whenever I take on a new logo project, which is why I get so stressed out whenever one lands on my doorstep. On the one hand, nothing makes me more satisfied as a graphic designer than to see my designs “in the wild;” i.e., actually used by the client and viewed by people I have never met. I see that as an enormous responsibility, that if fulfilled, validates my self confidence as a bonifide designer.

On the other hand, there have been so many cases where I’ve poured my heart and soul into something I know is perfect, only to find out that the client hates it, or worse, doesn’t even notice it before it’s even left the gate.

I guess all I can do is to try different approaches. I look at work done by insanely talented people and wonder how they evaded these trysts. I can only conclude that they didn’t evade them, but instead learned from them and evolved into producers of content that appeals to the public they’re trying to reach. That’s what I’m trying to do.

I only post recipes that I make up and are simple, easy, and cheap. I’m a terrible cook because I’m impulsive, lazy, and AADHD.
However, this one usually works:

• Half a cabbage, cut up however you like it. I sliver mine with a razor sharp Global.
• 1 TBs Sesame Oil
• 2 TBs Rice Vinegar
• 1 TBs Black Pepper
• 1 Ts Salt

Mix it all up and eat it now or wait until it gets even better.