Writing Process Blog Tour

I am excited that Pavithra from EatLiveBurp tagged me to continue this Writing Process Blog Tour.  Pavithra is an amazing blogger who posts vegetarian and often vegan recipes.  Although I first started following her blog because of the authentic Indian recipes, I never know what unexpected delight I might find on her page.  Coconut Cream Pie Energy Bites, anyone?  Every single recipe I’ve tried from EatLiveBurp has turned out perfectly.

As part of the blog tour, I was asked to answer four questions and tag two other bloggers to continue the tour.

What am I working on at the moment?

Right now I am working on finding more time in my busy schedule to post!

Summer (and the resulting boom in fresh vegetables) has made me think a lot about food and growing up in the American South.  Everyone thinks of Southern food as very unhealthy, Paula Deen-type cooking.  Fried, greasy, and seasoned with pork. But I remember eating lots of vegetable dishes as a child.  Pinto beans and black eyed peas often subbed for meat.  Sweets were fresh fruit with milk and sugar, homemade preserves eaten with a spoon straight from the jar, or fresh fruit baked into cobblers (pies).  And my family almost never ate pork. So I am working on a little series for the summer focusing on Southern vegan food, reviewing some cookbooks and sharing recipes and memories.  Of course I’ll still be doing product and restaurant reviews and some Frugal Friday features.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

There are so many great blogs out there!

I try to make my blog very accessible to everyone and take a laid-back approach to veganism.  I’m not going to say you can’t read my blog if you’re not vegan.  I don’t post pictures of slaughterhouses or go into all the health reasons for becoming vegan – if you’ve found my blog you probably already know that.  I just try to post great recipes and advice on how to make your vegan lifestyle easy and fun.

I’m also a practical vegan.  I realize that not every new vegan can afford to give their pantry and closet a total makeover. I realize that we sometimes have to go, for family or work reasons, to restaurants that would not be our first choice.  I realize that many new vegans may not yet have developed ninja cooking skills, and that cashews, although great for making creamy bases and cheese substitutes, may be more of an occasional cooking splurge than a daily ingredient.  So I’ll review the Olive Garden as well as Bean Vegan Cuisine.  And most of the recipes I share are fairly simple and inexpensive.

I tell the truth.  There are many vegans who believe they must support every vegan product, restaurant, or endeavor out there.  I don’t do the vegan lockstep.  If something isn’t good, I’ll say so.  It doesn’t do our cause any good if someone tries some horrible vegan food and then gets scared away because they think all vegan food tastes like that.

Also, where else are you gonna find a blog that has pictures of dogs wearing shoes?

Or jeans?

Why do I write what I do?

Several years ago I wanted to start a blog but was unsure what to blog about.  At the time I was giving vegan cooking lessons, running a vegetarian/vegan meetup group, and my friends were always coming to me for advice.  Suddenly, it was so obvious!

How does my writing process work?

Ideas are no problem!  I have a long list of ideas and a number of half-written posts.  I came up with two more ideas just today.  Then, when I get really bored, I often start composing a post in my head.  (Unless it’s a recipe, in which case I’ll be making notes while I cook to be sure I don’t leave anything out.)  Finally, I’ll sit down in front of my computer and let all the words out!  I always feel calmer once the words are out of my head!

Now it’s time to tag two more bloggers:

The Gluten Free Treadmill.  Laura is an extremely prolific blogger who writes about running, training, grad school, and finding balance.  She also posts vegan recipes which are also (duh) gluten-free.

BetterNotBroken.  BetterNotBroken (subtitled The War On Terror Begins In The Home) is written by a woman who survived mental, emotional, and physical abuse from her ex-husband.  Some of her blog posts are absolutely chilling to read as you recognize signs of manipulation in your own life (from lovers, family, frenemies).  Yet she maintains a sense of humor, and I often burst out laughing.

Tagged as: vegan, Writing, Writing Process Blog Tour