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Audrey JoAnn | Content and Copy Writer

Compelling Copy for Female Founders

Lots in Ramen

January 26, 2016

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Nothing makes me much happier than eating rich, indulgent ramen soup—not the kind that comes in styrofoam cups, either, but the stuff that’s homemade with a poached egg to top it off. But up until a few months ago, I was certain I did not have half the culinary skill to make a batch of that kind of ramen on my own. It looks so complicated! What even is a poached egg? How do you get the complex flavors just right?

And then, as usual, Pinterest swooped in and saved my life with this recipe I found . Let me be clear from the get-go: this recipe is so easy. Time-consuming, yes, but not difficult at all. And I am a whiner when it comes to difficult tasks, so you can go ahead and trust me on this. I’ve thrown in a few of my own tweaks (including way more Sriracha sauce than the original recipe calls for and jalapeños to up the spice factor even more, because I’m a rebel like that), but all in all, this is one of my absolute favorite comfort meals. Plus, it makes enough to feed a small tribe—or me for, like, a week and a half.

So, go ‘head with your gourmet self, and cook this up to impress all the ramen-adoring people in your life like I do. Go on. I dare you.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp. sesame oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, diced
  • 1 inch of ginger root, diced
  • 2 c. green onions, sliced
  • 1 tsp. curry powder
  • 1 tsp. coriander
  • 1/2 c. Sriracha
  • 6 c. vegetable broth
  • 4 c. water
  • 12 oz. dry udon noodles
  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil
  • 2 c. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 red bell peppers, sliced
  • 2 jalapeños, sliced
  • 1 c. steamed spinach
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 c. white vinegar
  • 1/2 c. cilantro, chopped

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Directions:

Heat sesame oil in large soup pot. Sauté garlic, ginger, and half of the green onions for 3-4 minutes. Add curry, coriander, and Sriracha and cook for 1 more minute.

Stir in vegetable broth and water. Let simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes.

Add the noodles and cook until softened, about 7-8 minutes. They absorb liquid–quick–so add more water if they soak it up too fast.

In a large sauce pan, sauté the mushrooms, red pepper, and jalapeños in coconut oil over medium-high heat until supertender.

To poach the eggs, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add vinegar and continue stirring in a swift circular motion while maintaining a slow boil. (The water circulating in this circular motion will help keep the egg from dropping to the bottom and sticking to the pot.) As the water is still spinning, crack an egg into the pot. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Repeat for all eggs.

To serve: ladle noodles and broth into a bowl. Top with sautéed veggies, steamed spinach, a poached egg, fresh green onion, and cilantro.

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3 Comments in Food, Health

Hearty Vegetable Lager Soup

December 30, 2015

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Hi! I’m back! I hope you had the merriest Christmas and are ready for a joyous New Year. I took a little week-and-a-half hiatus from Freckles and Figs while I was at home in Las Vegas spending time with family: learning to play Hearts, climbing through Calico Basin and Red Rock National Park, running errands with my always-busy mom, playing ball with and brushing the snarly fur of my old Border Collie Charlie, seeing the Beatles Love (best Cirque du Soleil show ever), playing Blackjack with my boyfriend and family, and eating. Always eating.

My mom likes to say she’s a “horrible” cook, but while I was home, I don’t think I was never not full, from king crab legs dipped in lemon-butter for Christmas Eve supper, to spicy tortilla soup (two versions: one for meat eaters and one for veggies, like me) complete with sour cream, chives, and shredded cheese, to scrambled eggs with green onion and sundried tomatoes with sides of fruit salad and caramel pecan rolls to feed eight. Okay – fine, the rolls were actually made by my grandma, who also insists she isn’t skilled in the kitchen, which I’d like her to argue to anyone after they’ve tasted these rolls.

It was too good of eating all week, and it was a lovely, much-needed break from work and deadlines and daily stresses. Those things were promptly replaced with lots of red wine, laughter, and schedule-less days. Happy is a feeling I’m not short of right now, even though I missed seeing a few familiar faces at home and I’m missing home now more than ever. The holidays always seem to bring about bitter-sweetness, whether they are dipped in drama and family debacle or they are made into beautiful capsules of celebration and conversation. No matter what, I always leave sad to be leaving. That’s just home, isn’t it? Anyway, nothing leaves acute homesickness at bay better than a hearty, comfort-food recipe.

Enter this chunky, flavorful, filling vegetable-lager soup. I’m on a serious soup kick right now. Usually, I can opt for a simple tomato soup from Trader Joe’s, but occasionally I need something beefier, sans the beef. You know what I mean. This one – which I made up by simply deciding I wanted to throw together a stew that had lots of vegetables, some pasta, and a beer in it and hitting the grocery store with only those items in mind – does the trick. It’s easy and warms the stomach and soul. Give it a taste!

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Beggar girl.

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Ingredients:

2 tbsp. butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 carrot sticks, peeled and chopped

5 small gold potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 head of celery, chopped

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Fresh rosemary

Fresh thyme

3 c. cooked wheat rotini

32 fl. oz. vegetable broth

12 oz. lager (I used Dallas-based Lakewood Lager)

3 to 4 c. chopped kale

1 leek root, chopped

Directions:

Saute the onion and garlic in the butter until cooked through (about 4 minutes). Add in the carrots, potatoes, and celery. Saute for another 5-or-so minutes. Add salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary.

Stir in the pasta, followed by the broth and the lager. Mix ingredients together and let the mixture set on medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add in the kale and leek; let simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes (until potatoes are cooked through).

Serve with shaved parmesan and garlic toast.

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Welcome! I'm Audrey, and I adore connecting with female founders and telling their stories in a way that matters & lasts for years to come.

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audskelton

The secret to describing your coaching service, pr The secret to describing your coaching service, product, offer, course, etc. online = talking about the amazing end result your thing will provide buyers. That’s it. 

Never ever ever *lead* with:

✖️You get 50 pages of content!
✖️ There’s over 10 hours of video instruction!
✖️ A free workbook comes with!
✖️ You’ll be added to my private FB group!
✖️ 12 modules waiting for you!
✖️ ... or anything regarding the FEATURES of your product/service. 

(And especially don’t list every single feature as the full caption, please for the love of Pete. 🥱) Think of those items as the fine print. Logical buyers maaaay be interested, but most people care way more about what your offer can change or improve for them. What specific result will it give them? What will it make them feel, help them achieve, allow them to excel at??

The logistical details can go at the bottom of your sales page—and honestly, just totally remove them from your social posts and CTAs.

Trust me... *I know how valuable those detail pieces feel and SEEM from your perspective as the creator* because it shows the hard work and effort you put into your offer. But talking about how much content is inside your product doesn’t mean ANYTHING unless people understand what that content can do for them. So always, aaaalways lead with that.

*steps off soapbox* 

Side note, this picture is from forever ago and is making me majorly ready to cut my hair again. 😂 Should I go for the mom chop?! ✂️
The absolute loves of my life. 🤎 Can’t wait t The absolute loves of my life. 🤎 Can’t wait to see what these two peas in a pod get into for years and years to come.
Our little buddy turned 3 months old yesterday and Our little buddy turned 3 months old yesterday and I can hardly believe it. These few months have simultaneously flown by and felt like a year. Wallace has grown so much and even though you always hear parents say stop growing so fast, I feel almost the opposite. I feel such pride with each new roll he develops, the strength his neck is gaining, and his belly that just keeps expanding. Is this weird?! Regardless, it’s been my greatest joy to watch him grow and his personality begin to emerge. The way he smiles and chuckles when we quack or say “WHOA!” The rapid-fire kicks he does when he has room to sprawl out. His love for walks and disdain for car rides. 🥴 It’s all so fun and special and new (for all of us!), and I wouldn’t trade a moment for anything in the world. 🤎
Jesus’s return is the most precious miracle of m Jesus’s return is the most precious miracle of miracles... but the fact that we’re all facing the camera and even (kind of) smiling in this SELF-TIMER pic is a pretty close second. 😆🥲 Happy Easter and sending you so much love and joy! 🤎
Everything is temporary. It’s been my mantra thr Everything is temporary. It’s been my mantra through the hardest and sweetest moments these past few months, and even more so as I ease back into work this week.

It’s all temporary. The good, the bad, the big emotions, the tenderest moments, the hard days, the beautiful days, the teeny socks, the endless emails, the nap strikes, the stacked deadline weeks, the sweet bonding of nursing.

None of it will be around forever, and even though I probably won’t have my schedule figured out for a long, long time, that doesn’t mean these days of just getting by and praying it all works out aren’t important.

They’ll be gritty, cobbled-together, and messy. But they’re mine. I get to craft these days however I want to, with the sweetest babe on my hip and my honey in our back office chasing his own dream, and that’s a beautiful thing.
Vacations hit different with a baby, that is for s Vacations hit different with a baby, that is for sure. 🤪 The days revolve around naps and feedings, and afternoons that we once would have spent taking 4-mile hikes or sitting on a patio at a brewery are now spent reading, playing cards, and listening to Kacey Musgraves and Tom Petty in our Airbnb while Wally snoozes. It’s not worse, but it’s a different pace than I’m used to and that’s okay. In fact, it’s probably more needed than I realize as I wrap up my maternity leave and get back to work in a couple days. Grateful for these slow days and sweet memories with my loves. Now... we just have to make the 4-hour drive home tomorrow with a dog and baby who both hate the car. 🤣 (PS... I’m sharing more thoughts about how I feel heading back to work in this week’s newsletter that goes out Friday—you can sign up to get emails from me with copywriting tips, business anecdotes, and some life updates too in the link in my bio! ☺️) #babysfirstvacation #laketahoe
flannels + chunky sweaters + squishy babies + gorg flannels + chunky sweaters + squishy babies + gorgeous views = my aesthetic forever and ever. 😍
When I was little, I said I wanted 4 kids, just li When I was little, I said I wanted 4 kids, just like my own family. I wanted a girl, boy and girl twins, and a boy. (‘Cause you can totally plan those things. 🥴)

Then, my parents got divorced and in my angsty teenager-ness, I was like, “Nope, nevermind. I’m good with no kids thanks!”

I didn’t want the pressure of raising someone and somehow damaging or disappointing them. And I was skeptical that a couple could stay together and happily raise a family.

When John and I started dating, he was so confident in us and our future. I’d never met a guy who a) pursued me so openly and consistently and b) made me feel valued in every area of my life. Career, relationship, family, health, faith.

When we went on our first camping trip about a year into dating, we were having one of those deep, wine-fueled campfire chats that seem extra important and lovely. I asked him how he knew he first loved me.

He was so good at always complimenting my drive and ambition, or how I looked regardless of whether I was dressed up or grungy after a workout. I figured it would be a combination of those sorts of things, but he surprised me when he said, “Because I know you’ll be a good mom.”

Uhhhh, what? I was like, “... But you know I’m not even sure I want to be a mom. How can you see that?”

He said in the way I so deeply care for others and myself. He had this unwavering belief that we could build a family, and he wanted this girl who spent a lot of years feeling broken to lead it alongside him.

I know this doesn’t sound very “progressive,” but his faith in me being a good mom healed a part of me in so many ways.

I always knew I was driven. I knew I could build a career and life I loved. But I didn’t believe I could build a family that lasted. Or at least, I was scared to think what might happen if I tried.

Wallace is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me. He made me the mom that John believed I could be more than five years ago.

I don’t know if you ever necessarily feel “good” at being a parent, because every day is filled with mistakes & learning curves, but I will say that it’s the most immediately natural I’ve felt in any role I’ve stepped into, ever.
Would it be too much to gallery wall an entire hou Would it be too much to gallery wall an entire house? Asking for a friend.

Newborn family photos by my talented, sweet friend @jilliangoulding. She is too good! 🤍
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