Small Town Grocery Shopping

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The elusive arugulaI love my little Southern town but living in the sticks does make vegetarian/vegan shopping a challenge. From Walmart cashiers holding up kale or rutabaga, snapping their gum and asking, "What's this?" to produce stock boys telling me they've never heard of this "arugula" I speak of, weekly grocery shopping inevitably turns into a scavenger hunt. Here's a partial list of items from this week's list that I'll be forced to drive into Greensboro to find:

  • Bok choy
  • Thai red paste
  • Veggie beef tips
  • Arugula (Yes Virginia, it is a lettuce)
  • Red lentils
  • Dates (fresh, not boxed and covered in sugar)
  • Tempeh
  • Shredded Cheddar Rice Cheese
  • Veggie Meatballs

On the bright side, Walmart has started carrying Wasa Crackers, Maranantha Almond Butter, and Eden Organic and Muir Glen diced tomatoes. They also have tofu on a regular basis and American sliced fake-cheese. 

While we're on the subject of food, two of my friends have started food blogs. I'm a forever vegetarian and even I'll admit that the Blue Cheese Burger with Red Wine Onion Jam on my friend Andy's blog looks pretty damn good. 

My friend Nathan and his girlfriend Katie are quite the gourmet cooks and have started their own blog, Sustenance & Libation. They're big time carnivores but I feel sure with a bit of pressure from me, they'll add a "Tofu Tuesday" or some such bit sometime soon. Yup. Aaaanny day now. 

Cheers,

Dena

Why Are All The Good Ideas Taken?

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Even though I'm committed to working on my YA novel, I'm still lurking about for the next great cat book idea. I kind of don't want to write another cat book, but I'm also realistic enough to recognize that 90% of my platform as an author is based on being a cat writer. So meow-meow I go. 

I've pitched a few ideas to my agent and received the feedback that the ideas I'm generating feel "non-organic."  "It feels like you're a bit panicked and forcing out the ideas," my agent told me back in December. "Just relax. The idea will come."

You know me. I'm all about the relaxing. Yup. Not worried about not having a book idea to pitch to my editor one little bit. 

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