June 13, 2011

1. What was/is your background toward business before you started your own (family of entrepreneurs, paper route, raising bunnies, school, classes, etc.)?
I am 23 and have always been a journalist since I was 13. I used to ask media places employing adults if I could write/work for them. I really wanted to cover politics! Weird for a girl that age, huh? It’s like guys asking a lot of girls to a dance and one says yes. I asked a lot, and some said yes. I always worked when I was young plus I hung around adults more than kids while a teenager. I learned a lot about Illinois politics at that time and now apply it to my own life aspirations. The big lesson in how Illinois politics is different than anywhere else is people are more willing to do whatever it takes to get elected, approach goals wildly and place more emphasis on personally connecting with voters. I saw how people managed money wisely, spoke their minds and took great career risks. I loved how they worked media like it was Hollywood. You know why the greatest, most famous people come from Illinois, right? We’re not afraid of seeking power, success and acclaim despite everyone else around us telling us we “aren’t ready.” The most recent example: then-Senator Barack Obama was told he wasn’t ready to run for president. It’s a good thing he listened to Senator Durbin telling him to run over 98 percent of naysayers saying he hadn’t a chance with the Clinton legacy. We do things unconventionally, charmingly, glamourously, shamelessly, intelligently and passionately because real ambition should never be frowned upon by society. Outside of social settings, we’re sneaky and at times, absolute scumbags when we have to be. We learn at a young age to recognize when we are being used or ripped off by those in business arrangements. I call my own shots with my work. People think I am stupid. I get called a “bimbo” a lot behind my back especially by women. I believe they assume everyone is stupid, although my stature, build and the fact I am a 23 year old girl make it worse. We all should be wonderful, kind, caring individuals outside business and cut-throat, evil a–holes when it comes to business. Additionally…. ….the movie Chicago has a song where the lawyer sings, “How can they see with sequins in their eyes? Razzle dazzle them, and they’ll never catch wise.” He is going to win the jury by unconventional oddness, theatrics, charisma, etc. We’re well known for that cliche but it’s true. We recognize how image, charm and flamboyant eye candy win everything including elections…or whatever your business happens to be. You can’t succeed in anything, not even computer programming, without throwing glitter out, going above boring expectations in say, your Flash programming. Be different and wild!

2. What do you do, describe when you realized you wanted to start your business and how did you start it?
It didn’t take me long to see my business is actually myself. I am a print journalist, chef, model, blogger and singer, currently doing all I can in the food category to succeed. I’m not a Jack of all Trades, Master of None. I do what I know, not like I’m playing pro hockey or doing cardiology. Everything I do is stuff I enjoyed in high school for fun and have experience with or training since I was very young. I am a freelance print journalist writing about business, politics and features. Sometimes I write guest blogs elsewhere. I am a prolific cook and it paid off, as my cookbooks tend to chart on Amazon and Amazon UK – I write for people the way I like good food close to my heart, not saying, “All of you are ignorant with food and therefore, the masses should eat junk.” I am soon producing videos for my cooking blog, BigBadSexyCooking.com, which I am going to extend into an iTunes video podcast and onto YouTube. I am an editorial/beauty model. Originally, I was signed exclusively to one NYC agency at 21 when I was seeking journalism work, but now I negotiate my own deals when possible and work non-exclusively. I release music tracks for fun and as a form of enjoyable work also. My first album was a crazy, experimental 60′s done in present times CD and I did a disco EP with another guy. My second album I am near done with has a lot more of my own version of FutureSex/LoveSounds and Prince and me, as I always wanted to sing men’s music versus women’s since junior high. I have four blogs – richarde.info, myfemininestyle.com, bigbadsexycooking.com and the one on my main website at justrichar.de – and host a blogtalkradio show. I’m all about working the Internet to my greatest advantage in things related to my work. One day I will talk about politics. Then, I’m singing a Rihanna tune in an audio blog for fun. The Internet is the best free publicity you craft yourself. People like prejudging someone or making up stories about you to be mean. By being myself, people can see apart from business, I am a sweet girl. I know by being out there more, people can see what I am like in all aspects of my personality as I’m not just a Jeopardy dork but I am not Miss Goody Two Shoes either. I am both! I hate being pigeonholed by people. I am silly, goofy, smart, ditzy, crafty, lazy, a workaholic and so much as we all are, but people act like we are one-dimensional. I want people to know I am a real person beyond stamping my name on some cookbooks. In the future, near or who knows when, I want to develop products like cookwares, denim skirts and makeup. Most definitely, I will use Macs for development, web design and online promotion. I use Macs down to creating e-cookbooks for Amazon and Barnes & Noble, plus I do print cookbook layout and cover design on my laptop. All my journalism writing is done off a Mac. It’s endless.

3. When and how did you get introduced to the Mac?
I went to the University of Texas at Austin. Michael Dell donates lots of Dell systems there. But the Mac is what impressed me so much. I had never regularly used one before I went to UT. It turned on in 10 seconds! I was stuck then. My PCs usually took 10 minutes at worst! On breaks between classes, I played on the computer lab Macs, which at UT are three or more for each block at my huge campus, like crazy! I was always practicing on writing music or editing videos when I wasn’t doing schoolwork for my next classes. I loved being able to cut and edit. Editing on a Mac is so clean. I also program off my Mac. My ultimate goal is to create games for the iPad and iPhone as well as a personal app, but I haven’t reached that point yet. Other systems follow. Apple is the trendsetter. We design so much around the Mac system or “log on using your iPad.” I actually just worked my food blog to have an iPad specific format for those users.

4. What Mac solutions do you currently use (think Adobe, iWork, smart folders, GarageBand, ZumoDrive, Open Source Software)?
GarageBand, Grab, iWork, Adobe, LogicPro, iMovie/Final Cut Pro (soon…will add videos on bigbadsexycooking.com and YouTube in late May/early June so by then that should be applicable!) A lot!

5. Give me your current perspective on marketing, sales, and running a business and how a Mac helps keep things running smoothly?
First, realize if you aren’t part of a company, it doesn’t mean not to run your name like a company. I don’t care if you’re a male model, doctor, surfer or motivational speaker. You are more than a “personal brand,” as some put it. That phrase to me means the successful, somewhat locally known, grandpa street vendor. He’s successful, but no KFC. You want to utilize technology and life like a corporation. You must act like the people running MTV Networks or KFC with your own work. Lady Gaga came out of nowhere applying this philosophy. I am basically now reaping its benefits just about four to six months after I started my new web presence goal. I love the interaction the Internet brings me with real people, its ability to shape my destiny; how that correlates to technology. Clearly, I aim to make money of my own on my own. Why outsource it? Windows users constantly hire Mac people to do simple work, or work they could do if they ever picked up a book for once. And if I’m going to hire a company to do something I cannot, they ought to do it on quality technology not ancient PCs. A Mac is like a really good car. You don’t need to do much and as long as you maintain it, the cost pays for itself in time. PC laptops for sale when I bought my MacBook are now obsolete. You can design whatever you need on a Mac for your marketing. Obviously I am a staff of one. If I had more people, say a restaurant, I might have someone manning PR, web design, management and accounting all on Macs. I wouldn’t ship out those services through firms when a Mac enables me to do it myself. Finally, understand while it is great interning for free once or twice, don’t spend your life being exploited to work for free. Do it only promoting products or if you see some incentive for your business growth. Remember that working for others as for example, a secretary is fine. You need to earn a living. But use money made as a secretary to start your own business. Working to better another company doesn’t empower you. Unless of course, you are joining a new idea with a friend as a business partner. Only take jobs like that in your post-secretary future. Don’t limit yourself and always seek improvement! And learn html, tech stuff and whatever you think is confined to geek territory because tech knowledge is powerful!

6. Looking back from today, what has been the most significant things you’ve learned?
Don’t trust people you get bad vibes from because they ARE bad for you. Don’t pretend to be fine out of respect to anyone. Always beware of how people will react, especially in an era when people regularly go to work coming off cocaine lows and snap like mad. Believe you are always right with the possibility of learning and admitting your mistakes. Don’t let someone else’s making fun of you, whether in print or behind your back, hurt you. Change with the times. If the kids demand you get on the “new Twitter” whatever it is in 15 years, do it. Take pride in your appearance, but don’t become so stuffy weird you look unhuman. Let down your guard at times and show your human emotions or go makeupless for once. Be nice unless someone wants to take advantage of you. Ask for help or work straight out because nobody can ever do you a favor using ESP. (If you CAN read minds, please begin a Vegas hotel act. I swear, it will be a lucrative choice.) Being yourself is amazing and your greatest asset. My big issue is I don’t have patience, yet I see, hmmm, everyone is right telling me things happen for those who wait and the typical “things happen for a reason.” I am so happy my life fell into place where I got so unafraid of what people thought of me and became myself…and started publishing my recipes I’ve been hiding forever!

7. (Entrepreneurs were asked to ask and answer their own question here) Should I listen to people in the industry?
Yes and no. Successful people within industries are lovely. However, they are dinosaurs. They don’t catch up to new generations. Pop culture marketing is a great example here too, as always. Record companies turned away most of the “greats” we know – Elvis, Britney, the Beatles, Red Hot Chilli Peppers – under the same excuse. Each artist or band was “too different.” They wanted artists similar to what the industry sought, not change. They didn’t anticipate girls, as in people who buy records, would love the Beatles. Companies don’t see certain things. You should ask people outside your industry, “I’m designing shoes. What hurts your feet at track meets?” Or “What do you like in copy paper at the office?” I’ve asked the journalist and jock, neither whatsoever in modeling, “Why do brands hire girls like Adriana Lima, and what can I do that she does blended with my own look/personality so it works?” Not copying the competition but using their own medicine to be better than them. I learned that from politicians as a teen.

8. What would you tell others about starting their own business?
Trust your first instincts. Always ask people for advice nonstop. Everyone tells you something different. Half of it may be useless, another portion things you already know and boom, a small bit hits you as useful. Look for inspiration through backhanded compliments and negativity when someone trash talks you. You may think, “I’m not doing that, but I should be.” In my case, I am the shyest, most boring person ever at times, and I’ve been called a “bitch,” “self-promoter,” “piece of work” by a married reporter who wanted to date me and I didn’t agree with it, etc. I had people trashing me a lot and still do. To me, I thought, “What? I’m not promoting myself at all! I ought to promote my work now and do cookbooks and yeah, promote that then!” More so, “I shouldn’t let some fat guy who’s a mean, fakey pretending to be nice, ‘piece of work’ himself run my life’s course through his gossiping. If I’m good enough to get someone some attention who normally doesn’t have it and make him get noticed based on my ‘bimbo appeal,’ I should use that to better myself, getting myself attention for my work.” And, “I should be a bitch. I don’t speak my mind enough because I’m always worried of what people will think.” Because really, we see movies and do things as someone promoted it. I need to promote my cooking. Be well mannered. No more. Niceness doesn’t do anything when you are being ripped off by a modeling agent withholding your earnings for eight months, lying to you that you backowe her, nor does it work when you paid for a service and the person doesn’t fulfill the request. In other words, be nice until your heart says, “Let’s do it.”

9. What do you wish you had learned at home or in school (High school, college)?
Encouragement. At school, teachers talk to students with this mentality like, “Wonderful. When she grows up, it’s cute, but she is going to see she has to be a doctor or lawyer.” I don’t. Doing so would make me unhappy. I would rather have tried and failed than been miserable never trying. Besides, one failure isn’t permanent. You try a lot. I was told a lot at school I was too silly or my dreams were unrealistic. What is so wrong with that? And about being silly? My childhood ended when I was about 14. For a kid who was going to college while in high school, gone a lot and working, I wasn’t a kid much and teachers gave me cold stares and lecturing when I was silly? Some college professors mistreated me. This is so sad! My greatest ideas today come when I act like the kid I never was. I don’t have a lot of imagination but one minute I’m thinking like a little kid again and I say, “Wow!”

10. Any last questions/comments?
Yes! Please encourage women and young girls to embrace technology. I cannot believe how society brings down women to either the bookworm stereotype or Baywatch girl. Nobody ever makes a show about hot corporate programmers going surfing on weekends with massive cleavage and hair extensions. Why not? It says smart girls aren’t pretty with more makeup on and pretty girls aren’t smart. This is really on a greater, exaggerated level. In daily life though, we see women in high school planning on being hairdressers, actresses, mechanics and so on with emphasis on learning craft. Good, fine. As a successful mechanic though or hairdresser, you need to know technology and be Internet savvy. So the actress girl says, “I’m taking lessons. I got headshots. Some guy made me a lousy website.” She doesn’t see she can channel her creativity through her site, nor that Tweeting goes beyond “acting blah blah” talk. The mechanic girl doesn’t start a website to drive business to her shop. Hairdresser girl plays up her bimbo role, neglecting her web prescence. She doesn’t have 200 hair color jobs on a website. She doesn’t start a hair salon with her inheritance. She parties and shops and fine, but she should learn other skills between drinking and shopping! Men however do the right things – exactly why men are so much more successful than young women. Young women also don’t start businesses or view themselves as such. They don’t try until 32 or so. Why not? So to be an entrepeneur or success story, you need to be over 40 now? It’s stupid.

BIO: Chef Richárde (Krystle Nicole Russin, “Nicole” one on one) has a website, justrichar.de.

Website: http://www.justrichar.de

Twitter: @justricharde

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.macstartup.com/3675/monday-motivations-for-macstartups-2/

April 20, 2011

We recently had a chance to interview Krystle Nicole Russin. She’s the author of “The Non-Diet Real Cookbook.” She also happens to be a model. So TSB Magazine figured she would be the perfect woman to share some secrets about how to get yourself into the kitchen, what to cook for a girl on a date, and what foods are orgasmic for her.

1. What do you think scares men most about “the kitchen”? Do you think this fear is justified?
Mainly, the cliché goes cooking is only for grandmas, housewives and really overweight, angry chef guys who throw stuff at their busboys. I blame it on pop culture and society. I watch tons of movies, and not in a single one have I ever witnessed a leading man cook for a woman so he will steal nuclear secrets out of her. We wind up realizing there are days when nothing is in the refrigerator but a few things and milk. You run out to buy food, but buying food costs too much and costs more than cooking for yourself. Cooking your own food is also healthier because it has fewer preservatives, lard and disguised fats. This is why people now eat hamburgers but gain weight, whereas in the 1950s, you wouldn’t have. Most restaurants, unless you eat at a fine hotel or five star dining experiences, use really fattening, preserved foods. Your scrambled eggs come out of a Bisquick looking thing at IHOP type places. I hope you know Wendy’s doesn’t use farm fresh organic beef. Sorry. But you also believe in the tooth fairy if that’s true.

The additional benefit is Jessica Alba types, or whoever you consider to be of her caliber, usually go for guys who do different things other than flash their money to take them to fancy restaurants and do something like actually cook for them. It’s a really nice gesture and a skill not everyone thinks of providing. Money cannot make up for class. I really hate to quote the inferior but catchy Autotuned song by Countess LuAnn off Real Housewives of New York – who seems like she didn’t need the Autotune with her naturally sexy, husky voice – but yes, money doesn’t buy you class. People expect to take someone to Le Cirque like it means something. It does for a romantic anniversary celebration, but it’s certainly not impressive when you first meet someone. I additionally emphasize good table manners. Please do not chow down French fries like a hog, then proceed to talking with your mouth full of food, followed by picking the remaining fries stuck in your teeth with your hands.

I hate when someone flaunts like, “Check out my solid gold encrusted cell phone.” True story. A male friend did that once over some phone only he and few others had purchased for obvious reasons, because who wants a solid gold phone that’s obsolete in a year? I get a new phone all the time! It was a move that sort of made him get this creepy, slick, 1960’s Bond movie character feel, and he’s European anyway on top of that to worsen the Bond comparison matters. I wanted to kindly remind him, “You’re naturally funny. You don’t need the phone to show people you meet.” And yes, his phone is obsolete now.

But back to cooking. People of both genders are scared from a fear of the unknown, which was my problem. Once I received help in my cooking class, I didn’t mind. I really liked it! I would suggest getting a friend to come over, experienced or not, who will watch you. Someone else’s presence will make you feel better. In my high school cooking class, we cooked in groups of four people. Each person was in charge of something. I think that’s a perfect way to have fun learning. Your friend Todd mixes the cookies, Jim does the second batter step, you arrange them on the sheet, someone else bakes and checks on them, etc. Plus it’s a great way to make fun of your friend if the cookies turn out poorly. “Todd the dork screwed up the batter so that’s why our cookies suck. He’s a loser. Get out of my house, Todd! You can’t cook and the three of us can.”

2. What are some good “types” of meals for guys to begin learning with?
Simple things they can’t mess up, yet still help them develop the skill. Sandwiches and messy tofu dishes are great. They’re meant to look sloppy. Hence why we call one major staple the “sloppy Joe.” It was probably named after some guy who never cooked well, but he practiced making the most of it on a great tasting sandwich so girls drove to his restaurant in bunches, and he got laid all the time as a result. I’m assuming away, of course. But just remember, friends, that could be you if you cook for someone. [Intentional wink.]

You need to practice basically flavoring the food, being unafraid of the fire and watching it. After this, lightly grease a burger bun and flip it on the skillet. You will in time feel more confident in yourself. Practice on eggs. You get a whole box so if you mess up two out of that, it isn’t as expensive as messing up a $30 steak cut. You would be surprised how many good dishes you can make from eggs, ground meat, tofu or a combination – and yes, I know it’s wrong, but try a little vegetarian tofu in an omelet with ground beef and tomatoes. Right there, you have a severe muscle building protein dish for the gym. After that, build up to cookies. In my cookie book, I explain how everything has the same start and cookies only vary by toppings, just like pizza.

3. As a guy who knows NOTHING about proper use of seasonings and stuff, how can a guy figure all of this out?
You should avoid seasoning anything strictly according to some recipes asking to spice directly on, say the chicken. Mix up the rub or sauce in a bowl first. Alter it if you want more or less. Sample a small bit of sauce on a piece of bread. Only when you agree it has the right taste do you cook the food in it. I write lots of recipes this way so people won’t mess up their food over hating the marinade, sauce or rub. Don’t be ashamed if you dislike some Food Network guy’s sauce recipe because this is your meal. And frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn … and neither should you.

A lot of these famous celebrity chefs cook for extreme foodies who want hard boiled pheasant eggs surrounded by Gruyere cheese encrusted carrots in ginger sauce overlapped by spicy, breaded eel slices, or PTA moms on the go who splatter a bunch of junk on a plate and call it food. (Come to think of it, I made that first dish up off the top of my head and it does seem like it would be good if I could pull it off.) However, most people aren’t picky foodies, nor should hardworking moms on the go be forced to eat absolute livestock feed crap because that’s how the food industry views their client bases.

As much as I love fancy or exotic foodie type dishes at restaurants, they don’t make me happy. And you should realize when you read some famous, mainstream chef’s recipe for Roasted Chicken a la Voulez Vous Coucher avec Moi whatever, she doesn’t care about you as a person. She probably didn’t write the recipe either. Her underpaid recipe developers did, and they threw together something that made sense technically, but who really cares! We get out of this dump workplace when the clock strikes five o’clock. This truly sucks because I write all my own material and I like to throw in things I would like to eat myself. I don’t have a team of developers guessing what people like. To give you the perfect example, look what the Barefoot Contessa chef did with the little kid dying of cancer asking to meet her. Now, I definitely buy that Ina Garten is a brilliant chef and a busy lady as she claimed in denying to cook with the child all the different times the Make-a-Wish Foundation contacted her. But this was a kid with cancer whose dream was to cook with her, and she flat out denied him the chance until it got exposed on the Internet and she was humiliated. Of course, now, she wants to cook with him and called him up. I cannot stand how these people are practically created as star chefs by their fans buying their stuff, and Ina Garten’s books typically run $35 or more, but they refuse to be grateful for it.

I love Midwestern style stuff, essentially that’s Irish food and soul food, so that’s what I make. Sometimes, what I enjoy isn’t originally Midwestern but bleeds into food I like, so I write my own version of recipes about those foods. I sometimes ask for help when I don’t know how to make something and come up with my own version of it. I don’t want to say anyone should eat a certain way due to assuming someone should live a lifestyle of some sort, because I don’t eat country food all the time, nor do I eat fancy food all the time. I eat organic and vegetarian and whatnot most days, but yesterday, I ate a Snickers bar and for the first time in my life, tried this Mike and Ike’s candy. It was astonishing. Simply astonishing in its flavor.

The food industry is so ignorant with how it approaches men and women and people according to gender or income tax brackets. And to be fully honest, I don’t like a lot of the really mean people in it. I’ve had women in the culinary industry look down at me because I don’t fit the mold of some cheesy young woman making boring food. I don’t give a flying, um, word that rhymes with rubber duck, about being a good role model to middle America. I do in terms of not doing drugs, looking too anorexic though I am a size double 00 build or going off the deep end so young girls won’t look at me and say they too should do drugs and starve themselves, but I can safely tell you, I am from Illinois, which is technically what people call “Middle America,” and we sure don’t act like corporate types assume we do there as young women! In my free time, I prefer ripped miniskirts, Chanel bags, tanning and rock chick, retro eyeliner to how magazines think everyone there likes “the cheap look for less” or “dressing conservatively” and especially in food, everyone kind of looks like a librarian. Wow! That means I must not be a nice girl with some sense of morals? I shouldn’t be ostracized by women from the food industry over it and I hope real people appreciate I am like them.

4. What kinds of dishes are good for a guy to prepare for a girl who is coming over on a date?
You should ask her what she likes in a subtle way when you realize you want to date her, but you met ten minutes ago and still have her talking excitedly. Bring up food somehow by mentioning anything you like or you ate somewhere last weekend with your cousin. Once you have a feel of the food she likes, change the subject, keep talking and set the date but make it something like a picnic or a relaxing public place where you can bring her food you cooked. She will be amazed at your effort and it will mean all the more because you made what she likes. For a more complicated girl’s request, you can cheat by buying good restaurant fried chicken and biscuits if she loves that and you are too scared right now, but you will make fresh vegetable sides, mashed potatoes, juice drinks and cookies. I constantly emphasize cookies because unlike French chocolate desserts, if you are inexperienced, they are harder to mess up. A word about cheating: do something to the food like adding a slight bit more spice or herbs so she will never go to the same restaurant by chance and know you did it. Avoid using cookies straight out of the tube. Make your own batter, which is really easy. And never make the food “special” like high content “special brownies” kind of stuff to get her in bed with you, not unless you want to cause a horrible first impression. She will know what you did. Bad. Bad. Bad.

5. Which type of food is “orgasmic” for you?
I really love simple food. I also eat vegetarian when I don’t try my own food recipes. I love the same food I have loved humongously since I was eating out with friends at restaurants as a younger girl but now in their vegetarian forms: soup, avocados, homemade bread baskets, potatoes, peanuts, grilled cheese sandwiches or quesadillas made with gourmet cheese, burgers, breakfast foods, fruit and BBQ. Soup is really hard to mess up, actually. Make me that.

Actually, I’m so obsessed with gourmet soup that I love having it delivered from places, or someone goes to get it for me, and really, soup has nearly every important food group in one bowl! I am a big fan of this one little restaurant serving gourmet tomato bisque with a rye, wheat and assorted selections bread basket, and I finish it with a crème brulee. I don’t need anything else. Cook me that. I also love lentil soup a lot and soup paired with grilled cheese.

If someone can make me a good vegetarian meal in general, I am happy. Really, someone can show up with tofu and vegetables in peanut whiskey sauce, an avocado ready to cut, a baked potato and a room temperature diet soda without ice or lemon garnishes. That would make my day because it shows my date knows what I like. I also love fancy hotel style pastas, which are really easy to make as long as you have good ingredients. You can do anything with noodles pending your vegetables are fresh and the cheese unique. I want someone to make me feel like I’m ordering room service or carryout!

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.tsbmag.com/2011/04/20/cooking-on-dates-and-orgasmic-food-with-krystle-nicole-russin/

March 28, 2011

From Guest Blogger Krystle Nicole Russin, cookbook author of I Love You, Milkshake!

As a child, I remember getting excited about milk shakes in general. More importantly, when it came time in Illinois ticking around St. Patrick’s Day, I got more excited. Sure, people go crazy turning the Chicago River green. I cared about the mint green milk shakes served by Hardee’s and some area restaurants. My favorite color is also green, so you can imagine how happy my mom was once she saw the green shake shut up a little seven-year-old kid for a bit.

Now that I am grown up – I like thinking I am “grown up” in some sense of the phrase at times – I still love milk shakes. The problem is, I see most people don’t. I can’t figure out the underlying reason as to why people grow out of milk shakes after a certain age. I suppose fearing the havoc it can do on a girl’s body has something to do with one crowd, but then again, many women of all sizes partake in eating equally fattening desserts. Men probably think it’s a little wimpy sounding. George Clooney doesn’t order kiddie shakes in his romantic movies. I always felt making a good milk shake was as romantic as cheesecake and red wine.

My point in putting all this across is I just recently published an e-book available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, “I Love You Milkshake!” all about encouraging people to try shakes again with over 140 ideas. “Who cares?!” YOU DO! I’m sharing a few recipes with you.

First, here is a great example of how you can impress a gorgeous lady with a fine shake involving ingredients typically found in fancy desserts:

COGNAC CHOCOLATE MILK SHAKE
1 cup milk • 3 scoops vanilla ice cream • 1 tbsp sugar • 2 cups cognac • ½ cup pitted cherries • 1 cup Ferro Rocher chocolate pieces • 1 tbsp truffle oil

Or a Tiramisu-style shake could do the trick:

TIRAMISU MILK SHAKE
1 cup milk • 3 scoops vanilla ice cream • 1 tbsp sugar • ½ cup chocolate Nestle Quik or Ovaltine • ½ cup dry coffee • 1 tsp vanilla • 1-1½ cups angel food cake

A great non-alcoholic option may be what works for you:

FRUITY MASCARPONE CHEESE MILK SHAKE
1 cup milk • 3 scoops vanilla ice cream • 1 tbsp sugar • ½ cup Mascarpone cheese • 1 cup apricots sliced • ½ cup peaches sliced • 1 cup chocolate chips • ½ cup graham crackers smashed

Or perhaps you want a full on, Asian-style beer shake:

JAPANESE BEER MILK SHAKE
1 cup milk • 3 scoops vanilla ice cream • 1 tbsp sugar • 2 cups Godiva chocolate pieces • ¼ cup sesame seeds • 1 tbsp fresh ginger • ¼ cup coconut shavings • ½ cup white rice • ½ cup Sapporo

Make sure to crush, smash, chop or do your thing with any ingredients prior to blending them. You want to protect your blender as much as possible. Also use each shake ingredient as garnish ideas. Be as creative as you can!

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.mrfoodblog.com/milkshakes-all-grown-up/

March 2, 2011

At 23 years old, Krystle Nicole Russin (Nicole to her friends) personifies confidence and ambition. Originally born in Illinois, Russin is a UT Austin alum and currently splits her career between here, her adopted hometown, and New York City. In NYC she also moonlights as a journalist and model. She’s a one-woman media storm.

“My most current project is a cookbook, which is kinda contradictory to everything else,” Russin laughs from her parents’ Austin home. “I don’t mind that, though. Since I was a kid I’ve had a list of things I wanted to do. It’s not stuff like go to the Grand Canyon, because I have no interest in that. It’s a list of accomplishments. I’ve always loved cooking and wanted to incorporate that into my career. But I’m not moving away from music career.”

Russin describes the book as “a womens’ cookbook.” It’s a guideline for readers to eat whatever they want and still remain the same dress size. That sounds like too much to promise, but Nicole says it is possible if you “eat a mix of healthy and unhealthy food. You have to prioritize yourself, but there are no diet foods in the book. This plan is not a diet, it’s however I and people I know eat. People think they can eat whatever they want and not have a strong foundation, but you have to focus on the food pyramid.”

Russin just wants to emphasize that the as-yet untitled tome is not a diet book but rather a recipe list with an intro laying out the author’s eating philosophy. “I’m going to publish it myself,” Russin announces. “I’m editing it right now. I’ll make it available online and then maybe get it into food-oriented places – magazines and book stores.”

That do-it-yourself initiative is what defines Krystle from the moment you speak to her. Her drive is almost intimidating in its sharpness and focus. Even this interview was implemented by Russin herself reaching out to AME offices.

Russin’s most recent major release was a double album (of course it is) called Sex Appeal, Love, Confessions. Beyond even that is a “part 3″ called My Other Half. Russin’s compositions are a melange of contemporary R&B, robust 70′s-soul revivalism, storytelling singer/songwriter lyricism and just a dash of psychedelic posturing for good measure. Lead single “I Need a Man” would fit on the dance floor at the Speakeasy, but the fuzzy, erratic keyboards, paranoid strings, defiant percussion and Russin’s possessed performance make it far more interesting and harrowing “dance music” than what Ke$ha can provide.

“I’ve done music since I was a kid,” Russin explains. “I used to watch Britney Spears on MTV. And I still like her, but I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. At the same time I have influences like Janis Joplin. I love that she went to UT, and she was honest. I saw a special on Ovation where she was on a talk show in the ’60′s. She said she writes as stuff comes out of her; she doesn’t write for anyone. I like that; nowadays people write songs to be picked up by P. Diddy. She would be mortified if she saw the state of music today. The lyrics would mortify her, they don’t make any sense now.”

Joplin’s often-sad real life story hits home for Nicole. “It’s ironic, because I love makeup and have a dream of my own makeup line, but she refused to wear makeup in public appearances. She didn’t care what people thought of her physically because she was such a good artist. I mean, people wear makeup to go to the grocery store in the morning.”

Russin goes on to add that she is wary about the prospect of Oscar-nominated redhead Amy Adams playing Joplin for an in-production biopic of the singer’s life because she has difficulty seeing the gritty, troubled soul of Janis inside Adams’ Enchanted princess screen presence.

If you haven’t guessed it yet, Russin tries to handle a lot of different projects at once. Almost simultaneously as the many parts of Sex Appeal, Love and Confessions found their way onto iTunes, Nicole was off on an experimental electronic EP with composer Dmitry Tursunov. “The electonic thing is totally different from the first album, and the next one will be different again,” Krystle says.

“Dmitry is a professional Russian tennis player,” says Nicole. “He has hour-long mixtapes of beats. He’s a frustrated DJ; he’s been doing it since he was 13, 14 years old. He’s got these outrageous statements, like David Guetta is too mainstream, how everything is too mainstream. He loves to say that. He also loves house and techno and lives in America but has ties to Russia, where his parents are. Imagine a California guy with a slight Russian accent. I re-made his beats into my own electronica using lyrics I knew I had heard from him. The things I remember he said out loud, I put in the song. My favorite is “2 Man Show,” which is a Timbaland cover. We went out to a diner around Halloween and told him I was gonna do this to your songs, and he wasn’t sure. I just kept teasing him as a friend. I kept telling him I was gonna do it. When it happened I wrote him an e-mail.”

Who else inspires Russin to have such cajones? “I like Madonna, I love her in how she changes from year to year. That was what I was trying to do Sex Appeals, Love, Confessions Pt. 1 and 2 – which is a long title for a first album. Someone in New York told me as a suggestion, ‘you should do something different, mix different styles that don’t normally go together.’ Something like a song in a 60’s style with Lady Gaga synthesizers and a hip-hop beat. It doesn’t make any sense but it’s fun.”

Russin continues, “I try to sing something similar to what Janis did – to sound scratchy. I ate spicy food before, and it does affect your voice. I can get a dry, raspy voice. Whiskey works really well, too. If you want to sound like Amy Winehouse you can drink and get that low.”

Laughing, Nicole adds “If you want to sing well, I recommend drinking a lot.”

Sex Appeal, Love, Confessions was released in the summertime of 2010. Krystle Nicole Russin hasn’t actually performed officially yet though, which is unusual. But she’s put her considerable networking skills to work in media-saturated Austin by being a constant presence on the downtown music scene. “I can walk out any day of the week and see a show,” she gushes. “That’s what’s amazing in Austin. You can see any genre, you don’t know what you’ll walk into.”

Russin will record whenever and wherever. She feels as comfortable outside on a terrace in Manhattan as she does in a professional recording studio. “The side of the kitchen, wherever,” she says. “You would think it would hurt the sound quality, but you can sometimes get it clearer with a professional mic in your grandma’s bedroom, or have it be at least as good as a professional recording studio. If you want to record at 4 AM you can do it.”

Russin, as mentioned previously, has much more on her plate than her budding music career. She graduated early from UT after attending community college with a degree in government/pre-law. She also used her college years to add some experience to her journalism pursuits.

“UT has the best of both worlds,” Russin remembers. “Academically it has everything you can want and dream of; the equipment is incredible. There is Apple software in the computer labs. When I had time I would go play with the video software and learn so much. And when you’re not studying pre-law there’s also this excellent pool with palm trees and a sound system and drinks. Like a fancy Beverly Hills pool on your campus.”

Russin goes on, “Actually I had done journalism since I was a kid, I wanted truly to be a star journalist but there were other things I wanted to do. To be a professional journalist you have to focus on it full-time, you cannot sing or do anything else. Currently I’m a freelance business writer in New York for the New York Daily News, which not a lot of people have heard of but it’s where Spider-Man works. There are some things I wish I could write about and things I could live without in journalism, but you have to do different things to get where you want to be. I never said ‘I don’t want to do journalism,’ and I never said I wanted to quit, either. “

While Russin is an accomplished pop composer, she insists that the truly important thing to know how to do is orchestrate and produce the music after its written. “A lot of people don’t know how to do that.”

Krystle’s music is written in both collaborative and in solo settings. Jenny, a girlfriend who lives in another state, is probably Russin’s main collaborator despite having never actually written in same room with Nicole.

“I tell her an idea I have – about cheating, say – and pull up a song about a cheating experience and we e-mail back and forth,” Russin says. “There is one great thing she contributed. In one of the songs, I’m saying ‘it’s not my fault that I’m better than you, you suck as a woman.’ The woman is basically living a lie.”

Nicole writes lyrics and music on her blackberry in her free time. “I had a situation where I was modeling and the people were so slow, I’m waiting and my hair looks like a pineapple. I was taking notes in my blackberry.”

Sometimes Russin has what she calls a “background” for a song before a finished song is in place. “I had a demo where all I could think to say is ‘who has a case of gingivitis?’ and then I substituted later,” she remembers. “I will come out and finish it later. That’s why they’re called demos. Often Jenny writes me back with ‘fill these in,’ and it reminds me of Madlibs. You can be honest and no one knows what you’re talking about.”

“I’ve been told I’m not going anywhere because you have to focus on one thing,” Nicole reveals “I got a little bit pissed about that. This guy said to pick and choose what you take, and I’m just not gonna take that advice. I’m not going to do anything I want to do if I narrow myself to one thing. I don’t want to be a sour person sitting at a desk because I didn’t try something I wanted to do.”

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://austinme2000.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/atx-renaissance-woman-krystle-nicole-russin-speaks-with-ame/

Meatballs go meatless with this simple recipe from Krystle Nicole Russin, author of The Non-Diet Real Cookbook: Easy Recipes to Stay Skinny Eating Anything You Want and Learn How to Cook!

Tofu Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 package tofu garlic cloves (1 to 3 according to taste) herbs of preference 2 cups (vegan if possible) bread crumbs 1 onion chopped salt 2 tbsp olive oil

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients in bowl. Blend with fork and hands. Bake in oven at 450 about 20-35 min.

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
 http://www.tinygreenmom.com/2011/01/tofu-meatballs/

January 6, 2011

Creating the perfect party platter is all about variety: a variety of foods to suit a variety of guests. Follow these expert tips to create an crowd-pleasing platter that will have guests coming back for more!

KNOW YOUR GUESTS
“It’s important to take all of your guests’ preferences and tastes in account,” says Irene St. Onge of 212-EVENTS, a catering and event company in New York City. “There should be at least one thing everyone will like.”

MIX IT UP
“You want to get all the core food groups,” says Krystle Nicole Russin, author of The Non-Diet Real Cookbook: Easy Recipes to Stay Skinny Eating Anything You Want and Learn How to Cook! Yummy examples include: a dairy-based dip with vegetables or even fried okra, mini meat or grilled cheese fajitas, sandwiches with cheese and sour cream and veggie toppings and several fruit-based dessert options, such as strawberry shortcake and ice cream with fruit and syrup.

TRADITIONAL WITH A TWIST
St. Onge likes to offer one item two ways. She pleases some guests with classic beef-rice-cabbage pigs-in-a-blanket and offers up this fun twist “for the foodie crowd.”

Piggy-back dates are made by taking pitted dried dates, stuffing them with goat cheese and wrapping them with prosciutto or bacon. After roasting for about 15 minutes, drizzle with some quality balsamic vinegar.

Buffalo wings with blue cheese and celery make up another classic big-game appetizer, but not everyone likes theirs the same way. ”I like to have two separate batches: one mild and one hot,” says St. Onge. “I also serve extra hot sauce on the side for people who like theirs really fiery. If you know you’re party crowd is hot for wings, consider a party platter that includes nothing else: mild wings, hot wings, garlic wings, honey wings… you get the picture.”

Think veggies. When talking about the big game, vegetables aren’t the first things that come to mind, but some of your guests may be vegetarians. “A crudité option is easy to put together,” says St. Onge, and it’s extra-special with an easy herb dip by that combines 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 garlic clove, some lemon juice, fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Delish! So what makes a party platter perfect? The perfect platter is one that best suits your guests.

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/822043/creating-the-perfect-party-platter

January 6, 2011

Your party guests will enjoy sampling these tasty dips while watching the big game. Try one or more of the top 5 for your next gathering.

CHEESE DIP, OF COURSE
Cheese dip is a given, but you can change it up to make it a little less predictable, says Krystle Nicole Russin, author of The Non-Diet Real Cookbook: Easy Recipes to Stay Skinny Eating Anything You Want and Learn How to Cook!

Add a bit of jalapeno and spices to melted American cheese for a Mexican-flavored dip melt organic cheese in the microwave and add a touch of garlic mix together two or three cheeses — even goat cheese throw in some toasted croutons or bread crumbs for a different texture mix in ground turkey or beef and salsa for a chunky dip Serve cheese dip with cooked or uncooked veggies — especially mushrooms, says Russin. “Or improve those tired old chicken wings with one of these dips!”

ARTICHOKE DIP
“This is the absolute best artichoke dip,” says Irene St. Onge of 212-EVENTS, a NYC catering and event company. 3 cans unseasoned artichokes, drained 4 cups regular mayonnaise 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 cup breadcrumbs Mix all ingredients together and add salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes until bubbly and brown on top. Serve with fresh carrots, celery, crackers and small pieces of bread or toast.

GUACAMOLE DIP
Sure, you can buy guacamole dip, but it tastes so much better when you make it yourself.

4 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and mashed
2 tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp onion, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately with nacho chips. Substitutions: Use chunky salsa instead of tomatoes. Use lime instead of lemon (both contain acid that keeps the avocados from turning dark).

HOT CRAB DIP
Hot crab dip is great for onion or garlic crackers, Italian toast, celery and much more!

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp mayonnaise
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 6-ounce cans crabmeat
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp hot sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
paprika, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients (except paprika) in a medium bowl. Transfer mix to a shallow 9×13 baking dish. Garnish with paprika. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

SEVEN-LAYER DIP
This beloved dip can be made ahead of time, so it’s perfect for parties!

1 9-ounce can bean dip
1/4 cup taco sauce
8-ounce container lite sour cream
1 6-ounce container guacamole dip
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
2 tbsp olives, sliced and pitted
2/3 cup tomatoes, chopped and seeded

Combine bean dip and taco sauce and spread a 1/4-inch thick layer on a serving platter. In this order, layer sour cream, guacamole dip, cheese, green onions and olives. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Sprinkle the dip with chopped tomato and serve with tortilla chips!

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/822044/top-5-party-dips-and-spreads-for-the-big-game

January 6, 2011

Throwing a party for the big game? Serve bite-sized refreshments your guests can eat while they watch. But instead of settling for the same old stand-bys, try these fun little ideas.

Anything you eat can be small, says Krystle Nicole Russin, author of The Non-Diet Real Cookbook: Easy Recipes to Stay Skinny Eating Anything You Want and Learn How to Cook! It’s an entirely new way to look at party food. Don’t do typical appetizer fare. Instead, suggests Russin, replicate the entree-type dishes you love at family gatherings, only smaller!

SANDWICHES
Make little sandwiches: cut bread into smaller pieces, add cheese and small toppings and seal with a toothpick. Voila! It’s a mini sandwich!

SOUP
Make a soup, but divide it into small containers, says Russin. Add the soup to kid-sized plastic cups, add a teaspoon of sour cream and decorate with a tiny mint leaf. It redefines the notion of a cup of soup!

SALAD
Make a salad by putting your favorite dressing in small cups like those used in the dentist’s office. Alternate layers of baby tomatoes, cheese cubes, ham, boiled egg. Guests can enjoy their baby salad with toothpicks!

TACOS
Make soft tacos. Guests love this game-time favorite, but tacos can be messy. Divide a regular soft shell taco into quarters or halves and stuff! Your little tacos will be a big hit!

Dawn Sandomeno and Elizabeth Mascali, owners of Party Blueprints and authors of Plan to Party, suggest serving everthing “tailgate style.” Guests can enjoy the food in front of the television. ”These simple yet stylish recipes can be prepared right before game time and will tackle the biggest of appetites,” say Sandomeno and Mascali.

PIZZA
Top flatbread with sliced mushrooms, garlic, basil and mozzarella cheese. Bake. Cut into four-inch bite-sized slices and serve!

SKEWERS
Greek salad skewers are fun and delicious. Alternate feta cheese cubes with cucumbers, tomatoes and olives. Drizzle olive oil over skewers, sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper to taste, and serve!

Portion sizes are small, so food quality should be big, says Russin. ”This is the moment to cook your mini Kobe beef burgers, top-grade smoked pork and other first-rate foods. Don’t skimp on quality because this is a time to celebrate.” Game on!

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/822046/bite-sized-party-food

January 6, 2011

You don’t want to slave over the stove while your guests enjoy the big game. Prepare party food ahead of time and put the slow cooker to work. Crockpot foods are tender, delicious and virtually impossible to overcook!

When it comes to slow cooking, traditional dishes like pot roast, stews and casseroles never fail. You can take this no-fail concept and make it your own. ”Aim to go different with your traditional food,” suggests Krystle Nicole Russin, author of The Non-Diet Real Cookbook: Easy Recipes to Stay Skinny Eating Anything You Want and Learn How to Cook!

Add Indian spice to your roast. Substitute venison for beef. Or go vegetarian and replace the meat with extra sauce, rice, veggies, herbs and so on, says Russin. “The possibilities are endless!” Try Russin’s simple pulled pork recipe:

Pulled pork sandwiches
3 pounds pork shoulder meat
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp mustard
1 cup vinegar
salt, pepper and paprika to taste

Add ingredients to slow cooker, cover and simmer on low for 6-8 hours. Stir every 30-45 minutes. Remove pork when tender and drain fat from the bottom of the pot. Use forks to pull apart the pork and return it to the slow cooker to keep warm. Serve with seeded hamburger buns.

Tacos are another great party food but not if they require you to stand guard over a skillet of ground beef. Try this easy slow cooker recipe instead:

Shredded beef tacos
2 pounds London broil
1/4 cup vinegar
3 beef boullion cubes
1 tbsp cumin
2 cups water
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper

Place beef in the slow cooker. Puree remaining ingredients in a blender and pour over meat. Cook, covered, on low for 6-8 hours or until beef easily pulls apart. Remove meat from slow cooker and shred it with two forks. Return shredded beef to the slow cooker and keep warm. Serve with hard or soft taco shells and traditional taco toppings.

Pull out a second crockpot and make dessert ahead of time, too. Your guests will appreciate the option of helping themselves… just in case they want seconds (or thirds)! This delicious recipe takes just three steps.

Crock pot apple pie
8 tart apples, peeled and sliced
1-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp real vanilla
1/2 Bisquick
1 cup Bisquick
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp cold butter

Toss apples with cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg and add to lightly greased crockpot. In a bowl, combine milk, softened butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and 1/2 cup Bisquick. Spoon over apples. Combine 1 cup Bisquick and brown sugar. Cut cold butter into mixture until crumbly. Sprinkle over apple mixture and cook, covered, on low for 6-7 hours or until apples are soft. Serve in bowls with optional vanilla ice cream and/or caramel.

VIEW ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/822049/easy-slow-cooker-party-recipes

December 19, 2010

Hi Nicole and welcome to Read A Review!
Thanks. I’m happy to chat with you!

Could you tell my visitors a little bit about your book?
There are a lot of diet cookbooks out there, so what makes yours different? My book isn’t actually a diet book, which is the cool part. It’s a regular recipe book written with an introduction explaining how to eat properly and be rebellious the right way when you want to cheat on your healthy habits. I don’t make an effort to cook disgusting, exceedingly low calorie paper waste imitating food like most diet books. I teach you how our emphasis ought to be the importance of natural ingredients, learning how to order at restaurants and knowinghow to cook normal food for yourself. Many people are middle aged and cannot cook for themselves, living off takeout and frozen junk food. Cooking your own food is relaxing, happy, exciting and fun. It heals whatever troubles you.

Food truly brings people together. Sometimes, I’ll look back and think, “What do I really have in common with that person?” Why did or do we ever talk nonstop about anything? I realize half the time I talk with people not about life stuff, movies, sports and that, we’re talking about food. Someone went to an amazing restaurant out of town. We’ll talk about it. Someone grills fish with his family. I just ate here. We just had BBQ somewhere years ago and remember how good Stubb’s BBQ is, recollecting on good times. It’s that kind of food that makes people feel really great.

I dream of cooking for my own family one day, always have. I knew I wanted to leave something for people in terms of valuable knowledge. People sometimes make fun of me to the point of ridiculousness or make up dumb rumors about me. I feel like saying, “What do you want me to do?! Give up my life forever and sell drugs for a living?! Gosh!” When it’s not people saying mean, untrue things about me, people want to say I look bad, I don’t do this or that in work. There’s always something supposedly wrong with me. Truth be told, I don’t know when I am going to die. I feel like I have an idea but it’s uncertain. I always have in the back of my head this feeling like, what if I died sometime soon in a tragic moment? What if something bad happened to me and I leave nothing, absolutely nothing of a legacy left for people and all people ever say about me is something untrue, or that I’m this airhead who doesn’t do anything of intellectual value?

A cookbook is not a huge legacy, I know that, but it is something I feel like I ought to leave for people. Women and men should not go through bad self esteem issues and feel unworthy of eating. Food is precious. It’s breathtakingly gorgeous sometimes, so much so I’ll often photograph it on my Blackberry when I order a decadent dessert. I am so obsessed with food. I’m in love with it and I want everyone to share my love for it. Food has to be one of the few things I love so much in life. I actually cried when I wrote my cookbook at times because I was so stressed about stuff and it made me feel better that I knew I wrote an excellent soup recipe rather than being a waste to society. I think all the time if only someone were to read my cookbook and enjoy my food as an alternative to eating disorders, cutting, crying or whatever their personal issue is, it makes me feel really good. I’m not a cutter, but that’s an example. I, like everyone else, have my own issues going on and mean stuff that’s been said and done to me and I can’t do anything about it but cook my heart away. It definitely helps.

How did you get the idea to write The Non-Diet Real Cookbook?
Several things. I was, firstly, disgusted how whenever I go out, I see women eating the most horrific food, not eating their dinners at restaurants or plain old throwing up while I use the restroom. I’m talking women nearly six feet tall picking on a 375-calorie salad. Women don’t eat anymore and stay the same size! Come on! I went to a family acquaintance’s apartment once. The woman had laxatives in her bathroom regularly every time I visited. It’s sick.

Men, on the other hand, eat normally just alternating how they eat, when, what foods they consume and so on. Men don’t freak out nor do experts tell men to cut out every food from their lives as they recommend women. I was telling someone earlier today, look, if you order Popeye’s fried chicken, which is frozen, fast food and fried in disgusting, ancient Roman ruins’ grease, sure you’ll get fat. Buy a fresh chicken, make your own chicken fingers, cut up homemade potato wedges and do biscuits at your own house instead. It’s all based on real food with fewer fat calories and more vitamins and nutrients.

Farmers for years have cooked real food. Same goes for people with private chefs or eating out at high end establishments. You don’t see them looking obese for the most part. They eat cheese and fatty foods in moderation, all home cooked. Earlier, you can eat a quick breakfast and at lunch, a salad or cup of soup. Don’t stress yourself eating too little of portions with huge calories. Natural food is always lighter. I want food to stop being about social divisions. Too many cookbooks assume they’re made for the rich, poor, white, black, Middle America, sophisticated. People can be broke and want French food or rich and eat soul food. I write recipes for everyone. In fact, the Midwestern recipes I grew up eating are based on Irish and African-American food.

Have you ever struggled with your weight?
No, not other than a few bloating issues from (well necessary) allergy medications a few times, but when I was 21, I really wanted to change my body. I mean, before thinking about modeling, I wanted to do it for myself. People always made comments about me being so small “but your butt is huge.” I used to get asked if I had butt implants by another person, and a guy, who for some reason I have yet to understand why I valued his opinion, used to say he always looked at how huge my butt was. It really bothered me. I know he meant it as a great compliment, but I never wanted to have an old Hollywood hourglass shape. Not that it’s bad. Beyoncé looks amazingly, unexplainably hot, but again, that’s Beyoncé and I’m not her. My butt just looked big ugly, not voluptuous!

I pretty much just don’t want it for myself. I wanted to look awesome in expensive, tight pants, look good in cheap teen clothes like Rue21, Macy’s juniors department skirts and that sort and wear cute dresses right off the rack, no alterations! I wanted to have a Barbie doll look, not a J.Lo body. I asked some jocks how I could get rid of it and, in doing some crazy looking exercises at the gym about two months, including this weird looking sideways jogging over objects one guy usually trains with, shaved it off. I now am basically really petite for the most part, with a bit of top heavyness in a petite way. So I have the Barbieish shape I wanted, fit in clothes like I wanted and all by not having liposuction – simply doing weird stuff at the gym did it forever. It’s great! I used to think as a teen I would one day need to have liposuction on that area. I’m relieved to say the least.

Did you come up with all of the recipes in the book? There are over 300 of them, correct?
Exactly 300. I didn’t arrive there on purpose, which is hysterical. I thought I’d have 302 or something. Almost all of them are mine. I credited the people who submitted their own recipes. I included my high school cooking teacher’s wonderful, home style recipes also. I am so proud of being from the Midwest. I wanted to share that with people who don’t know about our food.

Do you use any of these recipes and if so, which are some of your favorites? I’d probably choose all the desserts! haha
Yes and no. I eat vegetarian food now so clearly, I’m not going to eat a steak. I really love my black bean mushroom burgers. They actually taste like meat burgers, complete with protein. I really did sample all the meatrecipes and attempt to write the best meat recipes from foods I loved before I ate vegetarian. On Monday, I cooked a soup from my own book. It felt really good because unlike times I reference Joy of Cooking, I had to find my own recipe! Since I worked on my cookbook, I never read another cookbook but my own. I tried so hard like you have no idea to make myrecipes easy to follow and faster than usual. When I ate fish, I loved the fried catfish recipe. I never felt bloated or anything bad either since it’s natural. That was my teacher’s recipe, actually, and one so, amazingly, entirely, quintessentially Midwestern.

Could you share a recipe with my visitors? I’m sure they’d love a sample.
I guess being the holidays and me in the spirit of giving, here’s an eggnog recipe. I love it. If you don’t like 2 percent milk, you have my permission to go with whole milk. Remember, it’s OK to eat fattening egg nog if it’s in moderation.

EGG NOG
Divide 3 eggs into 3 yolks and 3 egg whites. In bowl, beat egg whites and 1 tsp vanilla. On stove, boil egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, 3½ cups 2 percent milk, ½ cup sugar, 1 tsp nutmeg (optional), ½ tsp vanilla and ¼ tsp cinnamon (optional) about 2-4 min. Remove into bowl. Pour egg whites into main mixture. Beat or blend as best as possible.

You’re going to have to buy my book for the rest! It includes chicken, turkey, a fancy turkey sauce, cookies, quick cheesecake, steak Diane, lomo saltado, plenty of soups, country and high end fish recipes. Egg drop soup, egg foo young, potatoes both country and fancy styles, a bit of Tex-Mex, soul food mac and cheese, French cuisine and a whole variety to choose from! It’s also a bit cheaper than competitors. Mine is cheaper and though not very elaborate, the content is better. Think of it this way. Most cookbooks are like the men’s magazines sold at rural truck stops. People like them at first for the pretty pictures, but get bored after ten minutes. My book is like Newsweek or The New York Times. Sure, it’s skinnier than the other cookbooks, empty on the sexy food photo shoots, but it has real recipe content and lifestyle advice that lasts a lifetime.

I read that you’re also a singer and model besides an author. That certainly sounds exciting! Would you like to share with us a little about those career paths? How long have you been in each one and what are some of your most memorable projects? What are some of your goals?
I really love modeling hair because hairdressers are perfectionists. Makeup people often just say, “Who cares? It’ll be airbrushed.” Hair people are obsessive. They want this crazy look. They’ll ask me for ideas. They ask how my hair goes and its texture. They want to know how I feel about going outrageous with my hair in a photo. “Are you willing to try this?” Yes, I always am. I am always up for experimentation in any part of my life! I love when I have had tall, ridiculous hair up to the ceiling or Medieval hair. A family member saw me in a hair magazine a few months ago and remembered how I had this psychotic hair! I loved it! I loved that she remembered, because usually people don’t remember much but the fact they saw photographs!

I have modeled professionally since getting an NYC agency to rep me in early 2009. I mainly model hair and makeup and this area called “beauty.” You do stuff from halfway up. I never wanted to do commercial print, which typically gets offered to girls under 5’9”. It doesn’t appeal to me. Really, if I wanted to be like the Progressive car commercial girl, I would have done so in another lifetime. Modeling is different than trying to make it in say, banking, because it’s your image. In journalism, I would never in a million years object to an editor’s suggestions. Editors are the most brilliant people in existence for a reason. They know how to improve your work and ask you lots of questions with the right intentions. Modeling or anything entertainment is the polar opposite. People just want to use you.

In modeling, you should always exercise your right to an opinion once you’re established with an agency after a few months to object, “I’m not doing that crap!” and specify what you want to do. I’m not letting anyone chop off my hair into a pixie for hardly any money. Nor am I going to let myself be exploited unless I allow it. Also, I know when I am being ripped off, used and that stuff. I’m not stupid! Nudity is not cool with me unless something is edgy, thought provoking, shocking or wild.

Furthermore, I will not be the cheesy, smiling, all-American type of girl either because I’m not that in real life. Yes, really, I am really super sweet and nice in my day to day existence. I am probably the kind of girl who will be down for you at every moment, the nice girl with the Midwestern values and all that stuff. For example, if I were married, I would protect my husband and stand behind him at all times no matter what he did, unless he’s hurting me physically. I want whoever I marry to be my best friend I can share anything with and we’ll be there for each other. When someone is friendly with me, I will help them out and say, get them a birthday gift they genuinely love. So don’t get what I’m about to say…well…don’t misinterpret my meaning here.

Yes, in modeling, I don’t want to be a fake and rather, I want to model the kind of clothing I actually wear in real life. Also, both extremes of my personality: the super sweet girl who wants to be princess-like and the one who wants to be a bitchy tough chick. I want to be the kind of model wearing kick ass runway boots and hardcore makeup or switch easily to couture gowns and romance and sweetness. I dream of modeling Chanel tweed suits and their sexy fedoras, high fashion in big campaigns. If alternate realities exist, I want to do every piece of work Adriana Lima and Gisele Bundchen ever got with their big campaigns. I want work tall women get, not this nonsense and constantly work towards that. Kate Moss is older and still at it. I have a good two to three years to keep trying and only accepting work I deem fit. I’d love to do a full campaign for Juicy Couture. I love their clothes. Chanel because I’m obsessed with it. You get the point.

Musically? As a kid, I took music. Thank my parents for that. I loved singing by myself but always felt so shy that I never sang in front of others much. I was afraid they’d say I have a bad voice. I sang whispery and nervous. Growing up, I used to admire work by Timbaland, Missy Elliot, Max Martin and all the power producers. Right now, Dr. Luke does a lot of this style of work. I used to wish all the time as a teen, “When I’m not doing journalism or other goals, I wish I can produce music when I grow up.” Since junior high, I’ve loved playing with synthesizers and producing on my computer for fun.

In college, one time I went out to a rock show downtown and met a band’s lead singer. He told me, “Release your own stuff on your own.” I was too scared to do it though. Years later, I moved to New York and met someone else who said the same thing with an emphasis on how managers try to use you and don’t go for a band – bands are a means of splitting up money and yes, it’s possible to be in a famous band and not have earned much from your songs. Go solo. Take insane risks and succeed eventually. Release an album despite being a journalist because nobody else lives your life. So I did and am proud I did. My first album was insanely full of risks. I tried to make it 1960’s and 70’s style but using modern production and people now tell me they really like it. It reminds them of Lou Reed and Andy Warhol’s Factory style band music. I also worked with Dmitry Tursunov’s beats mixing them up a bit for a slightly disco electronica EP. We got really dramatic, down to how the microphones would sound scratchy and how I’d pronounce things differently. I am so happy especially with my “Break the Ice” cover where I get to scream belt like some out of control disco woman.

Long term goals? Huh…modeling, I want to do as I said the super big campaigns where you become the one name girl. Well, in my case, I go by KNR, so I’d want people to say “I love KNR in her last ad!” That they love my work and I love it, and that I love how they love my work because I put in so much effort, right? Musically, I want to release as much as I can throughout my lifetime and sing beautifully and rough. I want to one day, sing in a movie and also sing opera in a movie as well, like full, gorgeous vibrato because I know I can if I practice enough. Of course, I no matter what, want to do journalism all my life intensely.

Super long term from now, I want to make movies. I also dreamed of this as a kid. I remember how I’m so mixed up about my feelings sometimes and unsure, “Why do I feel this way? This doesn’t make sense! I cannot like this person because I’m not like this!” One day, I was goofing around in the library at junior high on my break. I researched the Carmen opera script and read about my favorite old classical song, “Habanera.” I liked it a lot for its catchiness, but I never understood why. I read the translation of the whole opera obsessively. It’s all about this girl who says you can’t make love what you want. Love, infatuation, those things make you feel ways you can’t explain. You like someone because you just do. You can do things you always said you never would because you just do for no reason and no matter what, it’s OK because that’s how love and life go. I knew then, right there, the day I make movies, I’m doing them all leading up to so I can produce my own version of Carmen on the big screen in my 30s or 40s the way I see it.

My version is totally different because it’s based on my life and other people’s stories. I want my own Carmen story to relate to every single person who watches it, whether they’re straight, gay, bisexual or somewhere questionable, old, young, American, foreign, whatever and love her and hate her and relate to this character so much because she is like a real person, just like they are, who’s acted impulsively or based on her feelings rather than thinking what is best for her long term. She basically risks it all in her life in the original opera and winds up murdered out of one man’s obsession with her – because he can’t love her nobody else should – but she lived the way she wanted to live admirably. I guess my favorite lesson from the opera was she’s a bit different than me. I grew up fine in Illinois in an OK lifestyle and went to college, and you know the rest of my life, but Carmen was this tragically poor girl in old Spain. Yet, she didn’t care. She approached guys she wanted to date with this attitude, “I don’t care that I’m a poor, uneducated gypsy girl. I can get any man I ever want in life because I can.”

I like to say I have that same attitude. I can date or choose not to date any single person I want in life, regardless of them being a regular nobody or famous or loaded rich or whatever, because I can. At the end of the day, some ugly hag is probably more famous than I am, but I’m younger and smarter than her. I know my strengths and weaknesses. I know what I’m doing. There’s not one reason right now why someone would turn me down unless someone doesn’t like me and vice versa, which then I’d say “like I care” and move on with my life. I hate people saying they can’t date some idiot loser because he’s on ESPN and they’re just unknown girls. Screw that idea. You can date anyone you want and actually, in my experience, nobody’s ever turned me down. They’re intrigued that I don’t act submissive like most girls and realize, yes I look pretty hot in a skirt. I know, using that as an example, surely I don’t have much of a curvy waistline, but I have excellent muscle tone in my legs and work it. I can put on weight or lose weight and still look good in a skirt. Inside, I know how to hold a conversation. I’m not some idiot most guys expect to be. So yeah, I have that going for me. My face isn’t all that hot, actually rather boyish if I have a bun and no makeup, but my eyes stand out really well with makeup. You get the point. Every man or woman should play up their strengths, and I mean that to succeed, beyond love and dating. Look good and try to be your best inside to succeed professionally.

Right. Ignore the hideous senior citizens who claim I’m after them! They’re a bunch of liars, haha!

What new projects do you have in the works?
Well, I’m constantly trying to write about policy issues, media discussion and such in journalism, tennis, sports, you name it. I blog. I regularly keep active in writing. I am also trying to work on a new sound for my next album. It may wind up an EP. Who knows. But I want it to be like early 90’s dance Madonna. I love Madonna. I think people rip her down and say she’s untalented, but who cares? She can hold a note well and she surely knows that intelligence outlasts anything. I really admire Aaron Brown’s old news work, so I’d love to imitate his style for journalism. He did news that was actually news. Now, it’s all YouTube stupidity replayed as news. I really want to get started next summer or fall working on a makeup line with all my effort and if I totally fail, well big deal. I’ll have tried. I really want to create products and be a good role model for girls and young people in general. Not in this cheesy way like so many are. I don’t want to say, “Look at me! I’m so prissy! I’m this nice Christian woman!” Because seriously, the most Christian people are the ones who don’t flaunt it for money. I don’t need to be in the newspaper for doing good deeds. I just want to be the girl who’s saying, “I never compromised myself. I tried really hard to do what I wanted and maybe, yeah, I failed here and there along the way, but I wound up doing really well in the end. I don’t give in to stupid body image ideals because I know I will never be curvaceous enough, tall enough, sexy enough and so on. I don’t need to try to be sexy because someone out there will find me sexy just being who I naturally am. And you know, I’m not the most beautiful girl who ever lived, but I’m the smartest girl, and I sure know how to present myself well physically and intelligently.” That’s hopefully good enough for people. Whoever doesn’t like it can go dissect a donkey. I’m really good at cooking, music, journalism and writing beyond journalism. I try hard and do a good job at everything due to effort. I really love everything I do.

Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you on my blog, Nicole. I hope to have you back soon. Good luck with your cookbook and your many career paths!

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://readareview.blogspot.com/2010/12/author-interview-krystle-nicole-russin.html

December 19, 2010

Krystle Nicole Russin, an experienced journalist, has created a cookbook that combines a mixture of simple, easy meals that anyone can eat. Russin says her goal for this cookbook is to remind and encourage people that “Food is meant to be eaten!” Besides being a writer, Russin is also a model and interviews various people on her blog, krystlenicolerussin.com. Russin has published work in The New York Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, Our Town, The State Journal Register, Play Tennis Florida Magazine, Freedoms Journal Magazine, The Heartland Institute, and many other places. She’s also worked with television, radio, and new media. The book, The Non-Diet Real Cookbook: Easy Recipes to Stay Skinny Eating Anything You Want and Learn How to Cook!, provides about 300 recipes that feature country home cooking, dessert, as well as exotic and fancy cuisine.

What is the inspiration for the non-diet, real angle of this cookbook?
It’s all about teaching people you can eat without sacrificing who you are. You want to eat macaroni and cheese and get wasted drunk next weekend at your friend’s party? Go for it! Do so and keep in mind that today, you have to eat healthy so your body can handle the additional calories. You also need to learn about eating healthy, balancing yourself right, creating the right food foundation, eating natural foods versus plastic, fabricated, fast food trash and learning how to cook on your own. Order differently at restaurants. Remember what portions are and what recommended portions are for you each day. Learn how to cheat on your healthy diet wisely. Don’t go off eating diet food junk. That’s not any better – it’s going to be overprocessed. Do you really want to eat Autotuned food? No. McDonald’s meals are like Ke$ha songs, good, tasty, catchy fun. They’re not going to fill you up forever and are too high on caloric values. Cook your own double hamburger at home. Cook everything from scratch. Exercise a bit naturally by walking your dog for 20 minutes. Life is meant to be lived. Don’t listen to so-called experts who get paid to brainwash you otherwise. They too don’t follow their own rules. I explain all about balancing everything at the beginning before I get to the recipes. It all becomes relatively easy for you after a week or so.

Are there any family recipes?
Yes. I asked my great uncle if he could help me out with his personal recipes. He contributed two Peruvian style recipes I would have never gotten correctly had I attempted them on my own. He’s so precise with them. We tried one a few days ago for fun. It was excellent, like we were out at a fine Peruvian tablecloth restaurant. Other than that, a lot of it is mainly me trying to replicate things as I remember eating them from growing up or dining out in different cities. I’m influenced by everything, every culture, every means of life. A lot of my food is based on things I grew up loving or wanting to try. I knew I wanted to have a cookbook all about embracing people of every age, culture, background and preference and writing a special cookbook for people. I didn’t want people to feel like they were writing a term paper thesis whenever they practiced my recipes. Everything is simplified down. Cooking isn’t a process but a pleasure as a result.

Did family/friends help with taste-testing?
You bet. I used so many people as guinea pigs. Sometimes, it would be someone I don’t know well! I’d go up to some hotel staff person, “Hey, I’m working on my cookbook. Would you mind trying this dessert?” Or a doorman at the building. My family members. Neighbors. People I barely knew and some I knew sort of well. I asked everyone, everywhere I went, to try my food and be honest, “Is this good? What do you think?” It helped tremendously. Luckily, I’m not the kind of person to poison my food. Can you believe how willing people are to sample a stranger’s food! Haha. It’s sort of like the Snow White witch offering you, “Sweetie, take my poisoned apple!” OK. I do believe part of the reason people agree to eat my food is because I don’t have a witch mole on my nose with a big, black hair rolling out of it. I must look really sweet for people to agree, and not just that, to be so nice in helping me with their opinions!

Which recipe is the most delicious?
I really have no idea. I think they’re all good. That’s like asking James Cameron if Titanic or Avatar is a better film of his. Each is so different and beautifully shot and written! Same deal here. All of my recipes are written with my heart’s content, and if not by me, contributed by someone who genuinely loved his or her individual recipe. I love all my food equally. However, I have a soft spot for my vegan and vegetarian recipes, as I eat vegetarian now.

Is there a “quick & easy” section?
Everything in my cookbook is easy and quick, with exceptions. I say exceptions meaning they’re easy to follow and understand, just not quick. Most people should do fine unless they’re watching Days of Our Lives the whole time and stuff catches fire. My book was written for people who are very impatient because I’m very impatient. If I don’t get my food on time, I complain about it and ask, “Why aren’t you giving me my bread basket? I’ve been waiting here with a friend about half an hour!”

What are some of the more traditional recipes?
Most of everything is very traditional. I don’t really cook a lot of fusion cuisine. The only alteration I have made is I don’t cook something that uses an outrageous amount of bacon or totally unnecessary, artery-clogging fats. I want people to focus on using healthy fats. It’s fine to eat cheese if you don’t dump a wheel of Brie cheese in your food. That sort of thing. Eat steak, but don’t eat a steak as big as half your body. Eat one or two cookies and put them away. My recipes are all over the place, but mainly my goal was to include a mix of fine cooking found at five star eateries with Midwestern home cooking styles influenced by the Irish and soul food. I can’t help but throw alcohol in my food. Alcohol is awesome. I love the taste of intense, hard whiskey. You can make the most of it in cooking everyday food and it’s actually nearly healthy! Everything that’s made from scratch, almost anyway, is very nutritious and rich in vitamins.

Do you have a holiday section?
Not really. I have food that can be considered holiday food though. For example, people can cook a turkey with a corresponding fancy hotel style cranberry sauce over it, stuffing and dessert, served with eggnog. But I really didn’t want to call something holiday food. Subconsciously, that gives people the idea you can’t eat it other times of the year. People should eat anything they want throughout the year if it makes them happy!

Any good suggestions for Valentine’s Day recipes? (or New Year’s Day?)
It depends who you are cooking for. A woman cooking for a man could definitely make him something hearty yet healthy. Really, men love to eat and place taste above cutesy serving displays. I would suggest something like calamari with a cup of soup, a salad with one of my dressings and a main course of potatoes, green beans and say, a steak or my St. Louis style ribs. On the other hand, a man cooking for a woman should go for something a little more delicate, like my pears in vanilla served with my frozen grapes and champagne, salad, zucchini lasagna, and perhaps my super fast, light cheesecake. With both, you could buy bread and serve a pre-course bread dish: either pan con tomate or toasted bread with my French restaurant style bread dip. For a really casual dinner, say someone doesn’t like the whole candlelight outside experience, you could go with bag o’ pork, which is a really neat Irish inspired recipe shaking pork chops with herbs and beer in a plastic Ziplock bag before you cook them. Really, people can cook anything, but the fact it was homemade for a special occasion, served on pretty plates just for you is what makes a Valentine’s Day special. Stay in! Don’t go out to a restaurant! Cook for someone. All of this, I want to add, is easy to make. It just sounds hard.

What is your favorite food?
This is a hard one to pinpoint. I feel really happy whenever I find a restaurant where nobody bothers me. I love sitting somewhere, where I can be reading, text messaging a friend a few thousands of miles away about what we both did today, enjoying myself and nobody is telling me what to eat. Sometimes, people are really weird. I remember once a person I didn’t know very well, when I dined with a group of people, took away my plate and gave me a slice of an apple appetizer. I got disgusted. I much prefer eating alone for this reason. Let’s see. I’m by myself relaxing. Or it could be perhaps I am not doing anything at all. My mind can go blank. I will be at a restaurant chilling with my diet soda refills nonstop and gourmet bread basket. I get thrilled to learn a place has those two things. Also, I get really happy when I don’t get sick at a restaurant! I get so sick easily due to stomach problems at restaurants. Basically, I either throw up or it goes out the other way. I tend to eat simple food for this reason. So anyway, the moment I see, “Hmm! I don’t get sick with this food!” I return to the same places week after week forever. If I’m not eating there every two weeks, I will have someone pick up my food or the place drops it off for me. I love eating good food so much when I’m alone, enjoying my own company. I don’t like eating at restaurants where there’s a lot of yelling and noise. I like hanging out, low to moderate levels of noise, seeing lots of people, knowing nothing bad will ever happen to me if I eat somewhere. For example, say I like a restaurant somewhere. If it’s really dark and creepy, I probably won’t lounge around there, but if it’s a well lit spot in a place full of people, be it a tacky but good diner nearby or the Plaza, I will eat there. I also love Irish places. I’m not crazy in my beliefs in this either. I’ve gone out to restaurants, and I mean with more than one person here, and had bad experiences with creepy perverts hitting on me and odd stuff. I know if I go eat at a fancy hotel or the mall or a diner or Saks or anyplace really public, nothing will ever happen to me and I feel safe. Of course, the food has to be pretty good also!

What is your favorite meal to make?
I like eating soups, quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches and burgers. I always did. Now that I eat vegetarian, I still eat them but in their vegetarian forms. I am really happy to say that every person who tries my black bean mushroom burger recipe loves it. People always make this sickened face like, “Ewww! I have to eat your veggie burgers!?” They try them and say they’re incredible, like the real deal. That makes me really excited. Whenever I have made them, I eat probably three burgers in a row. They’re that good. They also have as many nutrients and as much protein as beef, I believe, in fewer calories.

What was the most disastrous recipe attempt?
The day I was messing with a soup recipe, I tried adding arugula thrown in a food processor into my cauliflower cheese soup. The first day, it tasted like this exotic fusion cuisine. I loved it. The next day, I drank a spoon of the soup, disgusted. It was like…imagining how to put this into words…chalk, horseradish sauce, cheddar and gasoline. Needless to say, I stuck with the original version.

Do you have any food allergy or dietary-needs specific recipes?
Unless you are allergic to nuts or dairy products, which you can switch out, everything should be fine. I have really bad stomach issues so I wrote everything really basic. I don’t use any crazy products here that would intensify someone’s IBS, acid reflux or things I have dealt with. For diabetics, you don’t eat dessert but everything else should be fine. I do know some diabetics eat dessert in moderation. In that case, someone could sample the light cheesecake. I have some fruit ideas that people could eat for dessert. Really, my book is more a cookbook full of food with a few scattered dessert recipes. Most books are half dessert, half real food. Again, my emphasis here is that real food should be so good, there’s no need for you to make dessert the main course. It’s there if you want it.

Where do you see this cookbook in someone’s home?
Hopefully next to Julia Child’s work. I would love to see it being given away to young men or young women unsure of themselves, next to Lauren Conrad’s L.A. Candy novel for a girl’s birthday, for instance. I could definitely though see it as a gift to someone the way you’d give away Chicken Soup for the Soul books. It’s very inspirational to me. I don’t say this lightly. Writing this book really helped me feel better about myself. It helps me see that maybe I cannot solve stuff out right now, but for the next 20 minutes, I am cooking this dish. I am going to finish cooking it and concentrate on accomplishing that goal. Cooking is so therapeutic. It’s great for people coping with stress, illness, returning from surgery, depression, divorce, poverty, bad grades, broken families, unemployment, self-esteem issues or whatever bugs you. You don’t need to be rich, famous, beautiful, sexy or anything to cook a good meal. You don’t need to have studied in Paris. You pretty much need to focus and have fun with it. You can sing Rihanna songs at the top of your lungs in the kitchen if you feel like it. I sure have. I like watching Fuse music videos while I cook. It helps you forget about everything wrong in life for a moment while you disappear into a different reality. It makes you feel powerful and beautiful. Everyone treats me like I’m this moron, stupid, worthless piece of trash. Whenever I make myself a meal or cook for a visitor, I am truly happy and feel that I am not whatever people make fun of about me or spread rumors about. I am accomplishing something special to me.

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://21argylesocks.com/2010/12/19/krystle-nicole-russin-says-food-is-meant-to-be-eaten/

December 16, 2010

This post will feature Krystle Nicole Russin, author of The Non-Diet Real Cookbook: Easy Recipes to Stay Skinny Eating Anything You Want and Learn How to Cook! I’ve asked her a few questions about herself and her book. Enjoy.

1. Tell me about yourself. What is your background?
I am 23 years old, although sometimes I think I’m 15 when I wake up in the mornings. I have been involved with mainly print journalism since I was in 8th grade, writing everything from business and politics to sports, fashion and blogging for publications, as well as a bit of TV work here and there. I have modeled professionally since early 2009 and am also a singer who enjoys changing music styles with each release. I grew up in Illinois, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007 and have lived in Austin and Manhattan. I sure have found my way around the culinary world, let’s put it that way, from living in such varied cities.

2. What prompted you to write this cookbook?
I knew my whole life I wanted to write a cookbook and someday, besides journalism-related TV gigs, host a TV cooking show. I used to watch Food Network in its early days thinking I always wanted to do that but was so afraid I wouldn’t cook well. As a teenager, I never cooked anything. I warmed up frozens or ate out for dinner with other people when I got out of school. One day, I was talking with my high school guidance counselor in 10th grade about credits I needed to graduate early from high school. I didn’t want to take a class I thought would be boring. She asked me about my interests other than journalism and things like that, so I explained about cooking shows. “But…I’m too scared to cook…” I said, probably frowning and frustrated as usual back then. She said I should sign up because it would help me gain confidence in cooking and that would transfer to other parts of my life. I am so glad I took that class.

When I moved to New York, besides trying to get signed by a modeling agency and seeking freelance writing work, I asked lots of people if they would publish my cookbook. Nobody wanted to work with me. People who did respond to me acted baffled. “Why do…YOU…want to publish a cookbook?” “A girl like you….” I remember one guy practically yelled at me! It was really weird. People offered instead for me to pitch sleazier projects, which I was really disinterested in doing. (Unless it’s some cool, edgy, shock style like Madonna’s “Sex” coffeetable book….haha!) I knew they really meant women who publish cookbooks must either be chefs or fit a certain stereotypical criteria. I don’t look, act, feel or relate to Rachael Ray, Paula Deen or any of the big name women in the cookbook industry, nor do I think they want to be me. Publishers get so wrapped up in the cookbook author’s image that they don’t want to sell good cookbooks, so I decided to publish it myself. I knew I wanted a cookbook that would teach people about traditional Americana recipes and food they found eating out. I wanted something that spoke to people who have money and those who don’t have a penny to their names – all I saw everywhere was this clear division of cookbooks speaking to one or the other. Nobody told me to publish a cookbook. This is something I did to make myself happy.

3. Who can benefit the most from purchasing this cookbook?
Everyone of every age, male or female. It’s hard to believe, I know, but cooking makes you feel like you accomplish something each time you do it. Cooking at home takes your mind off whatever bothers you. It helps heal your life drama, whether that is a scared woman facing life after divorce, an older man losing his wife in retirement years, a young man or woman struggling with gay issues, students stressed out alone at college and unsure how to eat, women in bad communities who cannot escape hard life, people working on farms, women the world believes have it all because of money and really have broken homes, etc. There’s so much people can’t go around talking about. Cooking good food is for moments when you can’t talk to someone and let it out.

4. What results can I expect to achieve from purchasing this cookbook?
Years ago, my friend lost a great deal of weight by balancing out his food. I noticed other men who were doing the same, however they wanted to balance their good and bad eating moments, looked really good also, whereas women take advice that tells them limit this, don’t eat that. I noticed most women practically starve to death and either don’t lose any weight or lose a bunch and regain more back. To me, it’s ridiculous that certain women follow these horrific home meal plans and things of that nature and remain a size 6. Not that a size 6 is large, but that according to the food they eat, they really ought to be 80 pounds, since the food they eat looks like gross baby food and, the worst part, some of these women eat fewer than 800 calories a day on a regular basis, or binge and purge! Besides wanting to write a cookbook, I didn’t want to write a separate diet book because really, I am not in the health industry. However, I do know what works, what the food pyramid recommends and what has worked with people I know, so I wrote a few introductory chapters explaining people can eat what they want assuming it is actual food versus fast food, frozens, etc. and if they know how to do it. I explain the six or so different ways people can learn how to balance their eating in detail. I either wear a double zero to zero dress size – perfectly fine according to my height, I should add – and I don’t reduce myself to carrot sticks all day. I eat the way people did back in the 1940s, before all these crazy food-like substances existed.

5. What makes this cookbook different from other cookbooks already on the market?
I am from Illinois. Not a single cookbook available shows people how to cook Midwestern food. There are Southern cookbooks, Asian ones, Latin and many others but not a single, good Midwestern-influenced cookbook. Food in the Illinois region is actually derived from Irish and African-American cooking styles, with a bit of Eastern European and German here and there. There’s a lot of alcohol in the food, cheese with moderation, corn, stuff like that. However, besides cooking the “feel good” type food, I wanted to include things both fancy and ethnic restaurants had so people won’t be forced to eat out all the time. I include a lot of good soup recipes, a very special candy mint crème brulee, egg foo young, lomo saltado, French olive oil bread dip, caviar serving directions and things normally not found in cookbooks. Like I said, most cookbooks are ignorantly written. I know people who don’t have much money still want to eat fine food on special occasions or for no reason at all, just as people with money want to eat comfort food most days. People can literally find it all in my cookbook.

6. I already have a cookbook that teaches me how to eat healthy. Why should I buy yours?
My cookbook shows people how to eat healthy with the expectation people want to eat unhealthy food some of the time. Every other diet lifestyle cookbook out there puts people on a diet or restricts you somehow. My book is more about balancing out good and bad foods realistically the way people live. Some books are brand extensions telling you a few recipes with a reminder to order their gross frozen food products. I want people to cook at home and go out to restaurants like they usually do, having learned how to order off the menu correctly, eat at lunchtime, etc. I place a great importance on fresh, real ingredients.

7. I have special dietary needs. Can I eat the foods in this book?
Yes. I usually get sick at restaurants – think Ben Stiller and his IBS in Along Came Polly when he ate spicy food! – so I made every recipe something I can eat without running to the bathroom. The worst feeling ever has to be throwing up not because I want to on some psycho bulimic diet, but because I am sick with the kitchen’s old grease, over-processed products and everything they used. For one thing, I eat vegetarian food now, which helps a lot, and in learning how to eat vegetarian food correctly, cleanly, I was able to write better, cleaner, healthier meat-based recipes. People with health concerns can switch up the amount of cheese, for example, in a recipe, but because I don’t use crazy amounts of cholesterol for the most part, and if I do have fats in there they are based on natural ingredients, you will be better off than eating frozen meals. You would be surprised how much of the food in cheap to mid-scale restaurants is frozen junk. It’s so sad to me people have to go to upscale restaurants for real food these days.

8. Do you have to be a world class chef to follow the recipes in this book?
No. Everything is easy to follow. I graduated early from college and all that brainiac cheesyness that will sound great if I ever go on Jeopardy, but I used to hate schoolwork so much. Reading cookbooks, I noticed they make me feel like I’m back in school struggling to pay attention to my homework. I think, “Who gives a care what the history of turkey is!? I want to know straight up, right now how to cook it! Grrrr! All these bullet points below! Steps! This isn’t an essay question!” I like to say some people can cook, some people can write, but I’m the only writer with a cookbook for a reason! I get right to the point, AP journalism style! I edited everything so it’s easy for people to understand.

9. I have food allergies. Are there recipes in here that I can eat?
Yes. My cookbook uses very basic ingredients. I can’t think of anything people would have issues with in it other than peanuts or lactose products. In those cases, you can use soy milk/fake dairy products and substitute/eliminate the nuts.

10. What does it take to publish a book?
You have to know what you want to publish. I also recommend people stay true to their hearts when writing any kind of book. Actually, for doing anything in life. I recommend people study up on layout, editing and so forth so they will have the necessary skills rather than hiring outside help. If possible, design your own book cover. Shoot your own photos. Get involved in every part of the process firsthand. I know if I had been with a publishing house, they would probably want me in a bikini, in mud, in a spray tan, posing by a muscle car to get people to buy my book, assuming that’s what girls who aren’t Paula Deen should do. I knew instead I wanted to show people my book is worth buying for its content so I didn’t go that route. My food is really good, I don’t mind using my photo to sell products of my own in the future – I’d sure be up for some shock value cooking on a muscle car thing for a Maxim shoot! – but I wouldn’t want that for this book. It’s…well…cooking is pretty sexy on its own! Which brings me to my final bit here about why people should buy my book. A man or woman can look a certain way, take you out, wine you, dine you and whatever you want. Leo DiCaprio or someone like him can have me at hello, to paraphrase Tom Cruise’s line, but the day he shows up at my door with a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup he made for me, I will know I met the one. Something about cooking for someone else means more than going out to a restaurant. If people buy my book, they will learn how to make such a variety of cooking that they will be ready to impress the one.

VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.learnsmallbusiness.com/1655/interview-with-krystle-nicole-russin/