When I lived in Towson (technically Loch Raven Blvd just within the Baltimore line), we had no TJ's.

TJs around here tend to have very tight parking lots, but I go on weekdays when I can, and I can usually find a spot. I used to hit the TJs in Lafayette on the way back from visiting my folks, and that was awesome: lots of parking, and the aisles in the shop itself were so wide! Heavenly.

Hmm. I seem to have left my phone in my sister's car. I hope I did, anyway...

We can and do bike to TJs, but that only works when we're picking up just a couple items.

Plus there is the final indignity that you have to pay a small fortune to park.

Don't get me started. bah!

I park around the corner from the TJ's in a side street and never go into their parking lot. It's about two blocks away but worth it to avoid the lot.

Basically a vegan diet, sigh.

Let me introduce you to my new crack: roasted cauliflower!

Oh, you probably already know about it. But it's so good.

I've been trying to change my diet this year and raise my exercise level (because being sedentary is so freakin' bad for your body).

I'm finding my relationship to food changing and how I understand my body's appetite.

I haven't outright excluded anything, but I eat so much less red meat, and cut out sugars (not entirely) and conscious about carbs. And really making an effort to focus on protein and healthy vegetables and making them taste good.

In short: lunch is usually Greek yogurt with diced apples and half a spoonful of honey. And it's really good.

Anyway, I've lost five pounds since the beginning of the year and I'm exercising three days a week. It's making a difference.

All the TJs in my area have awful parking, but all for different reasons. One is in Box Store Hell, another has a lot the size of a postage stamp it shares with three other stores, and the other one has a lot that does not conform with Euclidean geometry.

The thing I'm really starting to loathe about TJs (and several other grocery stores in the area) are those goddamn "Shopper in Training" carts for kids to push around. I get that they're fun for the kids, but they're not fun for those who are around kids who aren't looking where the hell they're going.

Now that I can walk normally, getting back into exercizing is on the menu.

Costco has plenty of parking but people with shopping carts vs. people circling for spots = a battle of epic proportions.

If Dante were writing today, I feel certain that one of the circles of Hell would have been a Costco parking lot. On the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Let me introduce you to my new crack: roasted cauliflower!

Salt, pepper, cumin, EVOO, in the oven at 400 until soft with crispy brown edges. Mix together 1/2 cup tahini, juice of 1 lemon, 2 garlic cloves, water to thin. Dip cauliflower in tahini sauce. Cry because you are now all out of cauliflower.

My mother just told me that kale is out and cauliflower is in.

I don't like raw cauliflower, but it's tasty in a curry, so I'll probably like it roasted. I'm putting that on my shopping list for when I'm back from NYC.

I go to the pikesville TJ's.

My favorite way to roast cauliflower is to cut it up into florets, toss with olive oil and a couple of tablespoons of capers. So easy and tasty!

My mother just told me that kale is out and cauliflower is in.

Your mother is so trendy.

healthy vegetables and making them taste good.

This is my problem. I would eat more veggies if I knew how to make them taste good. Hence broccoli with cheese on top, about which I have zero shame. And massive amounts of spinach in a smoothie. And roasted brussels sprouts, which shouldn't be as good as they are, so I suspect dark magic at work.

Beyond that, I'm kind of limited to bagged salad. Is there a how-to-make-veggies-not-taste-like-ass cookbook?