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Episode Summary
Get a behind-the-scenes look at all that goes on in the background with Wendy Stevens and ComposeCreate.com. Listen in as Amy and Wendy chat about everything from what it means to do deep work to tools they use for daily workflow and more.
Guest Bio
Wendy Stevens, M.M., NCTM is a full-time composer, advocate for understanding children, and owner of ComposeCreate.com. Her passion is to create Music Kids Love® because she believes kids are beautiful beings worthy of our respect and that they deserve piano music that is both interesting to them and beautiful no matter what level. Her music has also been published by Hal Leonard and Willis Piano Music.
Items Mentioned
Article: How to Get Creative and Stay Creative Even with Constant Distractions (Wendy Stevens)
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
Transcript
Welcome to episode 95 of The Piano Pantry Podcast and our final teacher talk episode for 2023! Can you believe it?! Time flies when you’re having fun! I’m Amy Chaplin, a piano teacher who enjoys supporting colleagues each week in this space with practical content and sharing piano teacher life in-between on Social Media. Follow Piano Pantry on Facebook or on Instagram at PianoPantryAmy.
You’re in for a real treat today, my friends, as you’re about to get a behind-the-scenes look at all that goes on in the world of Wendy Stevens, full-time composer and think tank behind the wonderful ComposeCreate.com. We chat about everything from what it means to do deep work to tools we use as part of our daily workflow and more.
Wendy and I have only met in person once. During the 2017 Music Teachers National Conference in Baltimore, we had breakfast with Christina Whitlock of the Beyond Measure podcast. I’ll have to dig up the picture this week and post it to social media for a fun little flash from the past.
Wendy is one of the most genuinely kind, gracious, and down-to-earth teachers I’ve met in this part of my life journey. I hope you enjoy our chat.
Wendy Stevens is a full-time composer, advocate for understanding children, and owner of ComposeCreate.com. Her passion is to create Music Kids Love because she believes kids are beautiful beings worthy of our respect and that they deserve piano music that is both interesting to them and beautiful no matter what level. Her music has also been published by Hal Leonard and Willis Piano Music.
Unfortunately, the interview portion content is not available for teacher talk episodes at this time.
Ugh, you guys, I hope you were as blessed by that conversation as I was. After editing the podcast last week, I was so excited about how it turned out I emailed Wendy right away with a digital high-five. LOL. Be sure and head over to ComposeCreate.com to check out all the wonderful music, articles, and support Wendy has built for us over the years.
Now, on to this week’s tiny tip!
As a Midwesterner, it is inevitable that at least one of my meals over the holidays will be accompanied by a tray of deviled eggs.
I like deviled eggs but am also picky about them, so here are my tips;
- The filling can’t be too dry, and it really needs enough mustard so you can actually taste it.
- Don’t just use mayo; add some sour cream as well. It adds a nice richness. I’ll give you my ratios in a second.
- The more filling, the better. I like to cook an extra egg, so you can have one extra yolk to richen the filling. Not only that, but it can be easy to tear the whites sometimes, so consider the extra egg white insurance. Otherwise, just chop the extra white into a salad.
- Make sure the yolk filling is not lumpy by pureeing the yolk and filling ingredients in a food processor rather than just smashing with a fork.
- Make them look pretty by either piping the filling using a plastic bag and cutting off the tip, or using a 1 T. cookie scoop.
Lastly, the ratio for MY perfect filling is four parts mayo to 2 parts sour cream and 2 parts mustard. So for 20 deviled eggs halves, I cook 11 eggs, then use 4 T mayo, 2 T sour cream, 2 T mustard (half Dijon, half yellow), then salt and a pinch of sugar. I’ve even pureed the extra egg white into the filling.
Oh, and in my perfect world, deviled eggs don’t include pickle relish. Just a nice sprinkling of flaky sea salt or maybe a few bits of well-cooked bacon.
So there you go. I hope you like my recommendation for perfect deviled eggs!
