My Thirty-Third May

I feel as if I've barely blogged this month. I feel just slightly as if I've barely been conscious this month, actually, especially during that week and a half of non-stop rain and gloom. At the same time, I can't believe how much I've gotten done. I turned thirty-two on the second, and so far the thirty-third May of my life has been…all over the place.

As the month started, I'd just thrown in the towel on a third failed Blaze proposal, eyeballs-deep in a weird mix of frustrated / discouraged and liberated / hopeful. Two weeks after hearing I needed to put that last proposal out of its misery, I'd started and finished the next proposal (synopsis and first three chapters) and sent it off to my intrepid editor. I got a call about it just this past Friday while I was waiting in the train station—I'd gone into Boston for a physical and to get my possibly stress-fractured shin x-rayed. My editor wanted to see some deeper emotional insight in both the hero and heroine's initial opening POV scenes, and a stronger first couple paragraphs. Um, period.

Period?

Period! No changes requested on the spartan synopsis. No issues with either characters' conflicts or motivations. Nothing wrong with the hook, the setting, the premise. For reals?

Apparently, for reals. When I had what I'd cautiously hoped was a light bulb moment, chatting with senior Blaze editor Brenda Chin at the New England RWA conference, I prayed things might go this way. The last three proposals have missed the mark flagrantly and unsalvageably, though I thrashed and struggled as much as anyone could, trying to force them to work. Then at conference I finally gave myself permission to quit overthinking and overworking, overguessing the details of the overwrought plot, when I'm simply not an up-front plotter. I got the green light to explore a workable hook, and did just that, 100% chart-, graph-, and fourteen-page synopsis-free. It may not have scored a resounding, revisionless acceptance, but the writing process felt infinitely more organic and intuitive that the last few efforts, and I'm not surprised it garnered far fewer editorial misgivings.

This morning I finished (I hope) addressing my editor's concerns with the opening chapters, and sent the revised proposal back out into the ether. And she's encouraged me to keep working on the subsequent chapters, which can't be a bad sign. So keep those fingers crossed, if they haven't grown arthritic and mangled with your unwavering empathy. Maybe I'll have extra-good news to share soon. Maybe I'll even manage to make my second Blaze sale within a year of the first… For those with Doomsday clocks at the ready, set them to July 12.

May was also the month of no meat. This experiment, of all the Discipline Year self-imposed challenges I've yet tackled, was far and away the easiest and the most fun. The only temptations came during family barbecues, and I resisted with little angst. Otherwise I had a blast rediscovering an interest in cooking. I always enjoy cooking, but in the past year or two I'd gotten to a point where I simply recycled the same half-dozen dinner standards over and over. Meat-Free May was a great excuse to try out new dishes. In fact tonight I'm making that African stew again, so my repertoire of regulars has expanded! And of course, my life will no longer be complete without tempeh making the occasional appearance.

I didn't lose or gain any weight, so no revelations on that front.

My husband suspects that, in part, my unnaturally long blue spell (nearly two weeks' funk) in the latter half of the month could be linked to the decreased protein intake. I'll buy it. It was also rainy and I had PMS and was dealing with stupid social media melodrama angst and was uncertain about my proposal, but I rarely stay bummed that long without something else going on, so perhaps he's on to something.

Still, I'm in no rush to bring the meat back. I'll be excited to order seafood at my favorite restaurants once more, and it'll be nice to toss chicken in with the stir-fry, but I haven't missed meat all that much. Doesn't hurt that I have a broad-palated partner with West Coast ideals, either. The entire household went veggie this month, at least at home. Thanks, manfriend!

Next month was supposed to be No Java June, when I go coffee-free (if not caffeine free—tea was to still be kosher) but I think I'll switch it up. All things going well, I may be on deadline, and that is not the time to volunteer for chemical withdrawal. So I'm likely going to swap June and July and go sugar-free for the next month. Anyhow, more on that tomorrow.

Despite the possible stress fracture, which is keeping me from running, May has been a great month for exercise. Lovely spring temperatures for my daily walks, plus we've been cycling a couple times, hiking even more, and at long last I got my shit together and rearranged my room, making it yoga-friendly again. Unless you're talking to someone who's practiced and enjoyed yoga themselves, it's hard to say how powerful and awesome it is without sounding like a self-satisfied hippie-dippy douchebag. So I won't ramble, but since I got back to hardcore stretching before bedtime in the last week or so, I've slept better, felt better, blah blah blah. Go yoga.

Back to work! Hoping to finish my evil conjoined erotica-writing twin's edits quickly, so I'll have time to indulge in a beer and last night's Bachelorette episode before chores call me to wifely duty. Enjoy the final day of May! Or if you're already in June when you read this, don't tell me what happens. I hate spoilers.

Recipe: Marinated Tempeh Sandwiches

My thanks to my Twitter pal Ruthie Knox for the basis of this recipe. If you're not familiar with tempeh (pronounced "tem-pay") here's what Wikipedia has to say about it: Tempeh is a traditional soy product originally from Indonesia. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form, similar to a very firm vegetarian burger patty.

Photo credit to ifood.tv

For the "meat" of the sandwich you'll need:

1 8 oz. package tempeh (available in many major grocery and natural food stores)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup water
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
dash chili powder

Plus your choice of toasted sliced bread, hamburger roll, wrap, etc.

Plus your choice of condiments.* I recommend:

ripe avocado, sliced
cheddar cheese, sliced
brown mustard
sprouts
tender greens (I like baby spinach)
oven-roasted tomatoes from that pesto quinoa recipe
any other thing you fancy

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. To prepare the tempeh: cut into fish-stick-sized slices, cutting diagonally for maximum surface area. (I got about 18 slices out of my package.)

3. Create a marinade by mixing soy sauce, water, and spices in a medium baking dish. Add tempeh slices, coating with marinade and arranging so each slice is equally submerged in the dish.

4. Bake uncovered for 8 minutes.

5. Drain excess marinade and serve slices on your choice of toasted bread with whatever condiments float your boat.

6. Store extra tempeh in fridge for future sammiches.

* The manfriend and I did a taste test this evening, and the winning combo was toasted sprouted bread with the marinated tempeh, avocado, a bit of cheddar, roasted tomatoes and pesto. A lot of garnish, but it really worked—cool avocado, hot spices, sweet tomatoes, savory pesto, sharp cheese. Nom.

Recipe: African Stew (bastardized)

Thanks to my cousin for the recommendation! I've adapted this excellent recipe, meant for a slow-cooker, for a regular old stew pot. It's vegan-friendly and only requires one pot and a cutting board! Serves 4–6, depending on appetites.

1. Overnight, soak:

• 1 cup dried kidney or red beans

…in a stew pot. The next day, drain soaked beans and re-cover with water. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmering for 60–90 minutes, or until soft. Drain.

2. While beans are cooking, chop the onion and garlic, peel and cut the sweet potatoes, chop the pepper, and grate the ginger from Step 4.

3. In the stew pot, combine:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

…and sautée for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add to pot:

• 3 cups peeled sweet potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1½ cups vegetable broth
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• ½ cup water
• ½ tsp ginger (powdered or grated fresh)
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilis

…and bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for an hour, or until veggies are soft.

5. When ready to serve, stir in:

• 3 tbsp creamy natural peanut butter

6. Serve in bowls, topping with:

• 1 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts
• 1 wedge lime for squeezing

Recipe: Pesto Quinoa with Tofu

This recipe was based on Heather's Quinoa Recipe from the 101 Cookbooks blog—thanks to my faithful beta reader Amy for the suggestion!

Wow, my first new recipe in ages…inspired by the necessity that Meat-Free May be an excuse to try new things, instead of just removing the animal bits from my usual dinner standards. This recipe has a lot of steps, but it's not too tricky. Took me 45 minutes to prep and cook. Serves 2–3.

There is a reason I'm not a food photographer.

You'll need:

½ cup grape tomatoes (a dozen or so)

1 tsp olive oil

½ tsp brown sugar

few shakes salt
- - - -
½ cup brown rice
½ cup quinoa
- - - -
1½ cups firm tofu, cut into cubes
½ tsp olive oil
salt
1 shallot, finely chopped
½ cup corn
1 cup spinach, finely chopped
⅓ cup pepitas (or pumpkin seeds)
½ cup pesto

1. Roast the cherry tomatoes: heat oven to 350°. Slice tomatoes into halves. Mix 1 tsp olive oil with ½ tsp brown sugar and a few shakes of salt. Toss tomatoes thoroughly in mixture then lay them all cut-side-up in a baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes, until they're shrunken and sweet.

2. While tomatoes are baking, prepare the grains by bringing the rice and 2 cups water to a boil, then reduce to simmering. Cook rice for fifteen minutes then add quinoa and cook for another ten minutes, until grains are tender. Drain any excess water.

3. Also while the tomatoes bake and the grains simmer, brown the tofu: pan-fry the cubes in olive oil until they're golden brown, then set aside.

4. In a large pan or skillet, heat olive oil, salt, and shallot over medium high heat, stirring for two minutes. Stir in the prepared rice and quinoa, corn, spinach, and pepitas, and cook until hot and sizzling. Add salt to taste.

5. Remove pan from heat and thoroughly stir in pesto, then gently fold in the browned tofu. Serve topped with roasted tomatoes.

Meat-Free May

Thank fucking Christ, April is over and I can swear again! We all knew No #$%@&! April wasn't about me simply not swearing, but rather catching myself when I inevitably did, and so there had to be a punishment for failure, as failure was a foregone conclusion. I promised to pony up one dollar per swear and said I'd donate it to charity at the end of the experiment. The grand total came to $59, so that's basically two accidental swears per day…doesn't sound so bad, yet I can't believe I ever thought I'd have to enforce a $25 minimum. I decided to round it up to a tidy $75, which I just this morning donated to the ACLU. Kind of a weird choice, giving my punishment fees for uttering certain words to an organization that's so into protecting such rights as freedom of speech, but there you go.

And now onward to May, the Discipline Year month during which I can't eat meat (including no eggs or seafood…why do people not seem to count fish as animals?) I'm keeping dairy, at least for now…I may or may not have given myself a stress fracture, so I'll take all the calcium I can get. Plus I love my half and half. If I get ambitious in the second half of the month, perhaps I'll try to finish May off the vegan way.

My birthday is tomorrow, and I was loathe to miss out on my annual baked scallop dinner, so the manfriend and I did that last weekend. Check. This afternoon we're heading to our cousins' place to watch the Celtics (go Ray!) kick off their second round of the NBA playoffs against the Heat, and I'll get to watch everyone eating barbecued chicken—charred just the way I like it by the he-cousin—while I fill up on corn and salad.

But charred chicken denial aside, I think it'll actually be a fun month. Great excuse to try new foods and recipes and expand my dinner repertoire.

Just for kicks, I thought I'd weigh myself before and after the experiment, to see if I either a) lose weight from eating more veggies or b) puff up from eating tons of carbohydrates. As of this morning, I'm a very typical-of-me 142.2 pounds. I'll let you know of any shocking fluctuations at the end of the month. Meanwhile, if you've got any kick-ass vegetarian recipes, feel free to send them my way!