From Blogging At Penn to Publishing 200 Gourmet Recipes For Any Budget

In continuing my "Penn Foodies" week, after yesterday's story about this restaurant entrepreneur, today I bring you a post about yet another set of Penn alumni working together. 

Great story here. Two friends (and now dating!) write blog at Penn, get approached by publisher and now have book!

Continue Reading...

Alanna Kaufman (C'08, DP, City News Editor, Kite and Key Tour Guide, Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentor) and Alex Small (C'08, DP Photo Editor) published a new book called The Frugal Foodie Cookbook: 200 Gourmet Recipes for Any Budget which features high-quality recipes at low costs, and is aimed at cooks at any skill level (or no skill level!).  The idea for the book stemmed from their food blog, Two Fat Als, which they began writing while at Penn.  Both the blog and the book include anecdotes about their experiences cooking at Penn and in Philadelphia.

How did they get started?

Per Alanna,

"After finishing our editorships at the Daily Pennsylvanian, Alex and I had a lot of free time on our hands, and we began cooking.  Though our kitchens were tiny and poorly equipped, we starting making dinner each night and recording our dishes on our blog, Two Fat Als.  The blog was designed to show other college students that it was possible to create tasty and sophisticated dishes on a low budget.  Alex has always been a great chef -- his Colombian mother and Jewish father put him to work in the kitchen at an early age -- so he taught me basics and we continued to develop our skills together. 

Cooking for the blog moved us to explore different food markets in Philadelphia (the farmers markets, the Italian market, Redding Terminal), and we would often have friends over multiple nights per week for dinner. 

After a literary agent found the blog online during our senior year and suggested that we write a book proposal, we found Adams Media and The Frugal Foodie Cookbook was born!"

Alanna and Alex's favorite meals for friends at Penn which they served pre-Walnut Walk their senior year (from their book):
Apricot Brandy Baked French Toast +/-

 

Per Alana, "The day we first heard from our literary agent was the same day as our Walnut Walk during senior week. We were hosting a huge pre-walk brunch for our friends -- we made the apricot brandy baked French toast from the book, as well as cinnamon buns and an asparagus frittata. That was one of our favorite meals for friends at Penn and everyone stuffed themselves in preparation for a long day."

And one of Alanna's favorite recipes (from their book):
Black Bean Soup +/-

 

...And this isn't the first Penn alum who wrote a blog about saving money as a student at Penn and then got discovered.  Remember THIS Penn alum whose blog got turned into a book and then was hired to write on "Scrubs"?!

Get in touch with Alex and Alanna! twofatals at gmail.com

Delicious nuggets from my "Penn Foodies" series HERE

More posts about Penn alumni authors HERE

Other money saving tips from my "Pinching PENNies" series HERE

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Her Site Will Keep Your Inner Diva Fashionable Without Breaking the Bank

For both my continuing Pinching Pennies and Website Wednesday series, I have a great site that will help you save money while maintaining your inner diva.

With her new endeavor Divas Die Poor, Mona Bijoor (College '98, Wharton MBA '05, GUIDE, West Philly Tutoring) has created a site which focuses on staying fashionable without breaking the bank. You'll find designer deals and steals, insight on the best prices for designer duds, and tips on great places to shop.

How did Mona get this idea for the site?  Per Mona,

"I grew up in a pretty cost conscious household. My parents rarely paid full price for anything—and when they did they hated it. In spite of this principle ingrained in me, I have always loved fashion and developed some pretty high-end taste.

After Penn, I went on to make good money and I spent a lot of it. Then I married someone (from Penn) who made even more money than me. So I spent mine and his. And then I went to work in the fashion industry and spent even more.  Now I have come full circle. I am back to the principles I learned at home, but not totally interested in pursuing the zen life yet. I still love fashion. I love putting together amazing outfits and decorating my home. But I am no longer interested in throwing my money out the door.

This site is my quest to find easy ways to save money while maintaining your own personal taste and style. I don't believe in adopting bizarro ideas to save money. I hope to get some of my fashionista friends to share advice on spotting great items for good value. Together we can learn how to get the things we want without breaking the bank."

Some fun articles to check out:

Top Me Off

Starsky and Clutch

Work It Out: 10 Timeless Work Essentials

If anyone out there is interested in contacting Mona about the fashion industry, she welcomes your emails. She is based in NYC and has worked for Chanel, Elie Tahari, Mimi Maternity, and Ann Taylor. She is now developing an online consignment concept for the high end.  Her email is mbijoor@gmail.com. Follow her on twitter HERE

More $$$ Saving and Job Advice from my Pinching PENNies series HERE

More Penn alumni Fashionistas

New to DT? 14 easy suggestions to get started!




Other great Website Wednesday posts

Check out who is registered on DuelingTampons.com

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She Wants You To Spend to Save a Bundle (as featured on popular morning TV show!)

As part of my Pinching PENNies series, I thought my women readers out there would appreciate some money saving advice from one of our alumni style and beauty experts, Jenn Cohn Falik (C'01, Theta).

Recently, Jenn was on a popular morning show talking about unique finds that help extend the life of some women's fashion investments. 

Check out some of the products she talked about below (these also can make some good Mothers Day gifts!):

• Bra Smart B Cup | D Cup (to help dry your bras and keep your bras lasting long)
  
• Garment Guards (to prevent sweat spots)
• The Instant Button Silver | Bronze (for the appearance that you didn't unbutton your pants for that extra room!) 
• The Invisibelt (all belt and no bulk)
• Bosom Button (the alternative to the safety pin for the ladies)
• Miss Oops - Jaks to cover up your midsection

My past posts about Jenn and her Fashion Products here

More Money Saving and Job Advice from my Pinching PENNies series HERE

New to DT? 14 easy suggestions to get started!

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He'll Have You Turn Trash Into Treasure with the Scrap Kins

Eco-advocate and illustrator, Brian Yanish (C'95, Mask and Wig, Friars) has combined his talents and passions to create The Scrap Kins, animated characters that live in a recycling center and build their world out of the things people throw away.

Over the past 2 years DT has been following Brian as he has been developing out the Scrap Kins and we are happy to report that he has not only had successful meeting with some major publishers, but his his characters will be on children's notebooks and folders in Rite Aid stores across the country in over 4900 stores!

In the recent Los Angeles news segment from above, Brian shows us how he teaches kids to use their imagination and turn household scraps into crafts.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Visit Brian's website HERE

Follow Brian on his Twitter page HERE

More from my "Pinching PENNies" series

Find out HERE how Penn has been going green!

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You'll Thank Him for Teaching You How to Make the Least of What's Left of Your Career

Jason Seiden (W ’95) will unleash your career potential and he’ll entertain you in doing so.

Jason’s latest book “How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What’s Left of Your Career” isn’t your traditional business book. ...Why you ask?

Per Jason,

“If traditional business books worked, Corporate America would be nirvana. If they were interesting, people would turn off "The Daily Show" to read them.  Look around: Corporate America is the opposite of nirvana, and 75% of Americans don't read.  Enter How to Self-Destruct: the wisdom you need, the entertainment you want. Expect to walk away feeling genuinely good about your position, feeling validated as a human, and feeling in control of what to do next.”

In addition to being an author, Jason is a consultant who helps Next Generation professionals navigate the minefield that he knows is ahead of them. How to Self-Destruct is a roadmap of that journey. He also works one-on-one with Next Gen professionals to do what he fondly refer to as "cranial/rectal extractions." ...What does this mean?

Per Jason,

"What holds people back in their careers usually isn't the challenge confronting them, it's the energy they waste stressing about the challenge in front of them. People know this.  Still, they knowingly feed their stress, embrace tunnel vision, and allow themselves to get overly emotional. We walk around with all the potential in the world, unable to use it because we've got our heads up their asses. What I do is help people regain perspective so they can get back to more success-oriented routines."

The tactics Jason sees people using to find new jobs seem almost guaranteed to result in failure. In the spirit of "How to Self-Destruct", per Jason, here are 5 easy ways to "job proof" your recession:

"1. Change your Twitter bio to read, “Looking for a job.” This is analogous to going to a bar wearing a shirt that reads, “Looking for a spouse.” We all know how this story ends. Like Van Halen said: “Jaime’s crying.”

2. Apply to millions of jobs. Why take the time to find the one job that’s right for you and put your passion into that, when you can put minimal effort into scores of applications and whiff them all?

3. Adopt a bad attitude. Because I bet interviewers just love it when candidates coming in dripping with resentment. Seriously, which is more bitter, you or your coffee? I hope it’s you.

4. Become one with the major job board. I know you like to talk about standing out. I also know that plan is super hard to execute when standing in the middle of a crowd of hundreds. Of thousands.

5. Really emphasize work/life balance. Employees: with so many people looking to replace you, it’s good to make it easy for them by announcing that you only want to work so hard for the money. Searchers: Ratchet down your chances by making the job hunt a part time endeavor!"

The list is continued, and anecdotes are provided at http://jasonseiden.com/how-to-job-proof-your-recession/

Check out the first 2 chapters of the book HERE +/- (click to expand)

How To Self Destruct Intro

Get "How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What's Left of Your Career"

More of my "Pinching PENNies" series posts

Other Penn alumni authors

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New "Pinching PENNies" Series: Advice From Our Alumni on Saving Money, Finding Jobs + More!

This week I'm launching a new series dedicated to understanding and dealing with this new economic climate.  Throughout this week, I will be posting some great tips from some our alumni on saving money, finding jobs, and even turning trash into treasure.

To start the series, off check out the video above from Wharton Professor Jeremy Siegel who places the current economic recession in a broader historical context (the above segment comes from his first lecture for Wharton's new course, The Economic and Financial Crisis: Causes, Consequences, and Policy Options.)

For continued discussion and thoughts on this topic, check out Wharton's "Hope, Greed and Fear: The Psychology behind the Financial Crisis"
Listen to the Podcast | Read the Transcription

Have advice that fits into this category for our alumni?  Send me a tweet HERE.

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