Did you know you can find Plated Meal Kits at the Grocery Store?

Recently, I was enjoying the option of being able to skip a trip to the grocery store by ordering my groceries online.  Seriously, what a treat!  As I was ordering I saw that my local Jewel carries Plated meals, and thought I'd give it a try.  If you are like me, you like to try new recipes and are happy for the convenience of getting a box containing everything you need along with detailed instructions.   Yesterday I made the Gnocchi Pomodoro.  I had one slight hiccup with my meal prep.  The yellow squash in the meal kit was not fresh. Lucky for me, I had garden fresh zucchini ready to use.  If I hadn't, I would have contacted Plated to see if I could get a replacement meal because the yellow squash shouldn't have had brown slimy spots. 

You get a bi-fold in the kit showing the included ingredients and step-by-step instructions with pictures.

Here is my good looking zucchini 

The instructions were easy to follow and the meal came together quickly.  The kit included a small amount of sugar to add to sauce, I chose not to use it as the sauce had  a nice rich flavor.

 I love a skillet filled with a colorful meal and this meal definitely fit that criteria.

Behold!  The finished product.  The meal claims to be for two people but I got three decent sized servings. If you threw in one more squash or zucchini or some mushrooms, you could feel a family of four from this kit.

Will I buy more from Plated?  Yes, but in the future I'll be sure to buy it when I am at the store and can see the meal and judge the freshness of the produce. (FWIW this isn't an ad, I paid for the meal and just felt like writing about it.)

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How's the book going?

Thanks for asking!  I spent a few days thinking I should start back at the beginning of my book and read through what I have written and work on finding continuity errors. I sort of started on this work, but now I'm back in the frame of mind that I should just keep on writing until I get to the end and then begin to work through what I have written to do major editing and revising.

 I did spend some time make a detailed floor plan of my main character's condo- not really necessary- what I should be doing is make a map of the town where my book takes place so I have that to refer to when I am placing people and places.

Have a great day!
xoxo

Have you heard this podcast already?

Happy Sunday!!  In case you missed it, you need to know that I love podcasts.  And I love to share my favorites with anyone who will listen or read me so check these out and subscribe! 

You may not realize there are a few companies that produce a wide variety of podcasts, there are Slate, Panopoly and Gimlet. 

Today I thought I'd share a couple from Gimlet Media since they recently sent me an email promoting their two-day podcast festival.  I would totally be there except it's in Brooklyn and alas, I am not.

My two favorite podcasts from Gimlet are Sandra and Uncivil.

Sandra is fictional and one of the voices is Kristen Wiig.  It's a comedy, revolving around an imaginary system like Alexa but called Sandra and the main character works in a call center as a Sandra, when you say Hey Sandra and ask a question about birds, then your answer comes from this call center employee.  An interesting and fun story unfolds as the voice behind Sandra tries to make a life for herself away from Ex. 

 Uncivil is entirely different than Sandra.  It is an incredibly enlightening podcast showcasing the stories from the Civil War and Reconstruction that you've never heard before-- and you should.  It's history that informs who America is today.  Does that sound dry?  Trust me this podcast is nothing like you remember of U.S. History in school.  Everyone should listen to this insightful series. You can also follow the creators on Facebook and Twitter where they share books highlighted in the series. 

Uncivil won a Peabody Award in 2017,  you *know* this is really good stuff for your ear holes.
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On the writing front: A friend is reading the first chapter of my book.  She is an English major; I hope I have not made it too chockful of grammerical and capitalization errors. Currently, I have crossed the bridge into chapter 14!! and I accidently introduced a new character and my protagonist is now going on her first date in for-eveh! I don't see them together long term, he was really just supposed to impart some information to the protagonist , but now who knows what is going to happen next.

Gardening at Night

Not really but it is the song title of a good REM song that was released 26 years ago.




Me and the Man have been gardening by day.  Last weekend it was cloudy and the temps didn't get above 55,  and this weekend we are in the 90s!  Look, one thing Chicago weather  can be counted on for is its unpredictability.  This however is beyond the typical fluctuations.

 I hope my plants aren't too upset about being planted in this heat.  Some people think you can communicate with plants, I don't see any harm in talking to them so if you seem me mumbling in the garden , I'm just trying to raise happy plants. I haven't had a backyard garden in eight years, so I want generous plants that provide us with tasty yields of cherry tomatoes, squash, and orange heirloom peppers.

On writing, I am closing in on a scene that will take place in a local library.  I need to go visit the library so I can refresh myself with the layout and general vibe. However, I don't see myself making it over there until next Friday at the soonest.  What I have decided is the best course of action for me is to keep writing daily and not wait until I actually go  the library. I can add in details and switch things around as necessary after my visit. Otherwise, I'll use my upcoming library field trip as an excuse to skip writing for the next week. I'm quickly learning writing is much easier if I write something, anything daily, versus saving up until that magic moment when I have "extra time".  I know myself well enough to understand that I am incredibly good at finding other things I *must* do instead of writing!

Happy Tuesday!
xoxo