Funky Foods

Today I’m premiering my new blogging format—Topical Tuesdays. Every Tuesday I’ll blog about different topic. Some suggested by readers, some thought of by me, some inspired by news articles. From the insightful to the ridiculous. The sky’s the limit. Have a suggestion? Give me a shout.

Today’s topic was suggested by Kaylee over at eHarlequin. She asks—Would you eat a tomato that isn’t red?

On first thought… Probably not.

I’m not what you would call an adventurous eater. Ask my husband. When we go out to eat, he always predicts what I’m going to order. Depending on the menu, it’s either a chicken or salmon dish. Unless they offer pork chops! I’m a bit more flexible with Italian and Chinese food, but not much. I still have my faves and I rarely stray.

I grew up in rural Indiana. I’m a meat and potatoes gal. When I was a kid, seafood meant fried fish sticks or Starkist canned tuna. I wasn’t even aware that people ate things like crab, lobster and oysters. Who knows? Maybe I’d like them if I tried them, but I can’t get past the ick factor. With crabs and lobsters, it’s that I see their shells, which makes me view them as living beings. Can’t go there. With oysters and clams, it’s the consistency. They look slimy. Double ick. For that same reason I don’t like the mushrooms they use in Chinese food. Plus those slimy mushrooms sort of look like mini dog penises. (Did I say that out loud?)

As far as vegetables, I grew up on corn, greens beans, peas, beets, and tomatoes. If not for my husband, I never would have tried asparagus or lima beans—which it turns out I love. He also turned me on to all sorts of leafy veggies like spinach, escarole, arugula . . . To think I used to only eat iceberg lettuce! Not to mention iceburg lettuce has practically zero nutritional value.

Anyway, back to tomatoes. I love tomatoes. Jersey tomatoes. Beefsteak tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes. Red tomatoes.

I think there are yellow tomatoes, though I’ve never had one. Green tomatoes are just immature tomatoes. I think. It never occurred to me to eat a tomato that wasn’t ripe. I’ve heard of Fried Green Tomatoes, but I always thought they sounded sort of gross. That said, last night I looked up a recipe…

(From Southern Food)
Ingredients:
· 4 to 6 green tomatoes
· salt and pepper
· cornmeal
· bacon grease or vegetable oil



Preparation:
Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 - 1/2-inch slices. Salt and pepper them to taste. Dip in meal and fry in hot grease or oil about 3 minutes or until golden on bottom. Gently turn and fry the other side. Serve as a side dish - delicious with breakfast!


Hmm. Yum? Maybe. I have to admit I am now intrigued. So, yes. I guess I would try a tomato that wasn’t red.

What about you? Would you try or have you ever tried a tomato that wasn’t red? Are you adventurous or picky when it comes to food?

Babe Alert

It's Sunday. That means I'm blogging over at Babes in Bookland. This week's topic: Reality TV. (Warning: I am not a fan.)

Pre-New Years Itch

I've got ants in my pants. Actually, it's more like a pre-New Year itch. Gearing up for 2009. For the release of Evie Ever After as well as completing two more new new books for HQN. These past two weeks my brain has been churning on a promotion plan for EEA. It's been churning on my overall presence on the web. I recently gave my website a slight overhaul. I'm currently revamping this blog to a once a week feature called "Topical Tuesdays" where I'll be blogging on a variety of subjects, many suggested by you!

Due to Bloggers' ever-changing functions, in order to upload a new template, I now need to delete every widget on this site (of which there are many) and then create them over from scratch. I just dropped by to say I won't be posting for awhile... not until I've made all these changes. Could take me the weekend. Could take me a week. Or, considering I also need to spend mucho time on my WIP, could take longer. So bear with me.

Now onto a rambling update.

Much is going on in my life. Work at the library is good. I've been concentrating on several different projects--organizing efforts mostly. A co-worker asked: "Are you this organized at home?" I laughed. If only.

Thursday, Steve and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. He gifted me with a beautiful rose quartz heart locket and I presented him with a work of art by a mutual friend. We were both thrilled. :) Plus we had a romantic dinner followed by a movie and champagne. A splendid evening with the prince of my dreams!

This morning I entered Everybody Loves Evie in RWA's RITA contest. Wish me luck!

Last week my boss okayed all of my vaca time for 2009. I'm still dancing on air. For the first time in a very long time, I'll be attending RWA National. And in addition to that, I get to attend BEA and the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention... PLUS indulge in an awesome adventure with my sister, Barb. (More on that later)

I've been terribly distracted lately. Too much on my mind. Too many ideas. I can't even seem to focus enough to return emails. How awful is that? I promise I'll get over it and soon. Like I said, I think it's some sort of pre-New Year itch. I just need to do some scratching.

See you soon....

UPDATE: Er, as you can see, I've made some major progress. Guess how I spent the last eight hours? And I still have more to do. Tinkering and uploading more to my blogroll and such. So... still a WIP.

More later!

Dear Diary,

I know. I know. I've been away forever. I also owe countless people replies to emails. I'm a horrible person. Well, not horrible really. Overwhelmed.

Although I have fallen behind in correspondance, I have reached various others goals. For instance... attending to and turning in line edits for Evie Ever After. And proofing a chapter excerpt for my upcoming book, Out of Eden. I also brainstormed the heck out of Out of Eden with my CP, Cyndi. I'm happy to say we worked past my block and I'm currently jamming on that quirky tale.

I also spent the last few days revamping my website. Please do check it out when you have a chance.

Today I took a vaca day from the library to attend NAIBA, a tradeshow for Independent Booksellers. Today I mingled with fellow published writers as well as booksellers and librarians. Today I felt like an author. It was ... fabulous.

In addition to signing several of my own books for booksellers, I picked up assorted books by fellow authors. Some for me, some for my husband, some for my neice, nephew, and sister, and some for the library I work for. There was an overwhelming presence of Children's books, Young Adult and Non-fiction. Not so much genre fiction. And no romance outside of the booth I signed with. Yet booksellers gobbled up our books like McDonalds fries.

Huh.

Where was I? Ah, yes. My absence. So anyway, I've been mega busy with various aspects of my writing career in addition to spreading my wings at the library. I'm learning more about cataloguing. That's right. Me. The techno-goober. :)

In addition to revamping my website, a new blog is in the works. I'll be using all of your fabulous topic suggestions as a springboard for my new venue. Stay tuned for: Topical Tuesdays.

That's it for now. Just checking in to say: I'm alive!

Enough about me. What's new with you?

***

WRITING: Turned in line edits for EEA. Revised first few chaps of Out of Eden. Revamped website. Created promo material.
RECREATION: Does surfing for new blog templates count?
EXERCISE: Does typing count?
DIET: I haven't weighed myself in two weeks. Crap.
MOOD: Determined.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you've got something to say." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Dear Diary,

I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Once a week posts. It's not just the time crunch thing, although that is a huge factor. It's a lack of inspiration. Quite honestly, my life isn't all that interesting. That's not to say I don't have a few funny and infuriating moments to share from my day job at the library, but I won't share those because, well, it could get me fired. And I like my job, I really do.

As for voicing my religious or political views--not going there. Besides, like a friend's kid once said, opinions are like buttholes. Everybody has one.

So that leaves my writing life. I'm not going to post about craft, because my process is insane. I'm not going to share snarky thoughts about the biz. Not my style. I seem to whine a lot about being overwhelmed. I hate that I do that, because I have truly never been happier than I am now. I am grateful to be overwhelmed. I don't mind working hard. I'm a work-a-holic anyway. Of course I could always post about my dogs and cat. They're always getting into something, or puking up something, or doing something funny or infuriating. Now they're interesting!

Still, posting every day or even every two days is a time and creative suck. I need to channel my creativity into my books. I'm not out to win any blogging awards, but I sure do want to entertain readers. With my stories.

I've been here before. The old to-blog-or-not-to-blog funk. I don't want to go away but I don't want to bore readers either. Today I had to write a post for the group blog I belong to--Babes In Bookland. I write one post a week, every Sunday. Every week we're given a topic. Sometimes it pertains to writing, sometimes--like this week--on life in general. The topic provides me with inspiration. I'm considering taking the same approach here. Posting one day a week (the same day every week) on pre-determined topics. Of course, that means I need a list of topics. A long list. A varied list. This is where you, my oh-so-imaginative readers, can help.

Give me a topic. Any topic.

What's your favorite color and why?
How would you reinvent a career?
Boots vs Clogs
What's your typical day like?
If you could meet any famous person--dead or alive--who would it be?
Thoughts or advice on self-promotion

You get the idea. Topics on writing or every day life.

From the practical to the ridiculous, I'm open to all ideas.

Let the games, er, list begin. Save me from my boring self. Suggest a topic. I beg you.

*hint* If you're looking for some fuel, skim my bio.

*******************
WRITING: Working on the 'line edits' for Evie Ever After. One step closer to being a real book!
RECREATION: Last night Steve and I had pizza and beer with old friends. Great fun!
EXERCISE: Here's the thing.... once I got out of the routine, I lost my drive! Dang! Just have to get past these line edits....
DIET: At least I'm staying pretty true to Weight Watchers and holding stead at 15 pounds lost. Not that I wouldn't love to lose another five...
MOOD: Good
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity." --Louis Pasteur