Dear Nanowrimo,

Thanks for beating me up so bad.

Yes, I haven't been blogging because I've been nanoing.

Anyway, here's a meme

I stole this from Everything Here is Eatable

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
Unfortunately Silk Soymilk unsweetened.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
Calzones, stuffed shells, mujadara

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
I despise popcorn

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Recently, trying to make pot pie flavored calzones; they leaked in the oven.

5. Favorite pickled item?
I'm so boring, dill pickles (cucumber)

6. How do you organize your recipes?
I don't really

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
I compost some.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?
Eeek. Black plums, Romaine lettuce, and tempeh blts (notice how I worked in multiple foods on that one)

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Food and I were long at war. The first time I drank black coffee (my mother always gave it to me with milk and sugar) at about 8 was wonderful. I was like "get that milk out of my coffee."

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
Soy Delicious in Pecan Praline.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
Love the handheld blender

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
Fresh garlic. But I'm fairly addicted to basil, parsley, dill and rosemary too.

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
It was my ancient Flieschman's Yeast book (not vegan) but it somehow got thrown away. The Compassionate Cook was the first I bought for myself.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Strawberry or blackberry jam.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Calzones or carrot cake.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
I love tempeh, but I use tofu more, since I mush it into all kinds of things. I think we eat a lot of Seitan too.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Dinner

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
A blender, a wash cloth, tea, junk...

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
fruit juice popsicles, frozen Amy's dinner, frozen peas.

20. What's on your grocery list?
Undecided at this time.

21. Favorite grocery store?
MOMs

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.
I've been vegan so long I can't remember what isn't vegan...

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
I put a ton of them on reader and check them all the time.

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Unknown. I don't buy much candy, but do eat vegan chocolate chips straight from the bag.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
Veggie sushi (could have made my own, was too lazy)

26. What was your favorite food BEFORE becoming veg*n?
Food and I have had a long war, but I used to like some very disgusting things like fried chicken. When I was vegetarian, but not vegan I liked that wine cheese spread (even though I'm allergic to it).

27. Veganaise or Nayonaise?:
Veganaise changed my life and made me gain a ton of weight.

28. What is one recipe or ingredient or cooking technique that you've become familiar with in the last year that you can't imagine you ever lived without?
I haven't learned much. I want to learn to grill. I experimented and made a tofu omelete that holds together because I put corn starch in it.

29. What is your favorite veg*n cookbook?
Several are on the wish list, but I really don't have a favorite. The couple I own from way back are in boxes still and I don't use them. I mostly use a vegetarian but not vegan cookbook my friend gave me and I veganize the recipes, not because it's my favorite but because it's not boxed up.

30. Make up another question (and answer it!)
So you seem pretty lazy, exactly how lazy are you? Um, I do use meat and dairy substitutes and I'm not ashamed of it. I like an all veggie, all home made meal too, but I spend a lot of time chasing down cats. So veggie ham, I'm ok with that.
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On Nanowrimo

I thought I made up a throw away plot for a throw away story, so I could just get into the exercise and write. Sadly, in recent years I've found myself unable to write creatively. I'd sum this up in this way: Bad stuff happen, Neva sad = Neva write non-fiction, mostly essays. This is not to say I was sad all the time or anything, but I guess part of me wasn't able to write the effusive flights of fancy that once came naturally to me. Well in fact for a while I could not write at all, then the non-fiction in short form came back and was working out ok.

Now that I've gotten into the nanowrimo process (and I can't say I'm writing WELL, but I'm writing) I've found myself caring more about my plot and characters than I thought I did. This has led to a battle between me and one of my characters, a rescued fox.

This is something like what the inside of my head sounds like at the moment.

Fox: This won't do at all. How can you plan to kill the foxes? Look, just let me figure out the plot, there's a way all the foxes can live.

Me: What do you expect from me? I already killed the main character's mother. Do you think that this story can be remotely realistic if some of the foxes don't die.

Fox: Realistic sucks! Parents die all the time in fairy tales, that's just a given. I'm holding my breath until you promise that the foxes get to live.

So it looks like my story is turning away from realism and becoming a fairy tale, which is maybe what I needed anyway.