Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Blah blah blah... Oscars. I watched with half an eye open last night. Yay for The Artist, a truly original film with some brilliant performances. I figure the rest of the blogosphere will be abuzz with Oscar-ness, so I'm bringing you this delicious blast from my past, a desert ANYONE can make in less than five minutes (prep time--it does bake for 30-40). And I did make it in less than five minutes, twice this weekend for guests my wife invited. This happens.

A lot.

Poor Man's Fruit Crisp

Ingredients:

1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 stick of butter (softened)
1 can of fruit pie filling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Dump the pie filling in an 8" x 8" square pan or 8"/9" round.
3. Mix the first three ingredients to a lumpy texture (a fork works well--just press it into the goo until it combines).
4. Drop and loosely spread the topping on the pie filling.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes until bubbly and brown. You may want to crank the temperature to 400 F for the last 5-10 minutes for a nice browned crust.

Simple. Freaking delicious.

You can always combine fresh fruit and sugar to make your own pie filling. I like to add 1/4-1/3 cup of rolled oats to the topping. It looks more healthy that way. ;)

Have a special week. 

Stew

Not the good lamb with Guinness kind, but a bit of everything in today's post...even a recipe for stew if you hold on 'till the end.

My flash story, "Policy Woes" is up at Hypersonic Tales. Sort of a science fantasy, definitely dark, and a little disturbing. I chalk this one up to a "popcorn dream" ala Joe R. Lansdale (if you don't know what I mean, read one of his short fiction collections).

Bards and Sages Quarterly is running a survey for their "best of the year". Not that you would want to vote for my entry ("Fresh Produce" in issue #2), but you might want to vote just to exercise your democratic rights. The survey can be found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7Wiaz81ynZDqQovM998ydw_3d_3d

I have a flash drive full of stories in need of homes (after some revisions). I like many of them, and think they're saleable after a little work. My problem: they don't all fit in a clear cut genre. Most of them are dark, or weird, or dark and weird, or maybe just "off kilter" a bit. Duotrope is handy when searching for specific genres, but many of these stories fall through the cracks of literary or mainstream fiction. Any suggestions for markets I might overlook?

My partner in "crime" at Strange Publications, Edward Lupak, is done with the "business". In the interest of full disclosure, his name wasn't even Ed to begin with (protecting the innocent and all that). "Ed" is a buddy of mine who offered financial and editorial support to get off the ground. His family has recently expanded by two (twins! *shakes fist at sky*), and life has become a little more "crazy". Thanks for everything, man.

Finally, a recipe for Irish Lamb and Guinness Stew (taken from http://www.gumbopages.com/food/irish/stew.html):

3 pounds lamb shoulder with a little fat, cubed
1/2 cup flour
3 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
6 stalks celery, cut into 1/2" slices
2 large yellow onions, cut into large dice
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch fresh rosemary
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 bunch fresh parsley
2 quarts lamb or beef stock, or as needed
12 ounces Guinness stout
1 cup pearl barley (optional)
2 teaspoons corn starch
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For a real Irish country touch, include the barley--cook it for 20 minutes in 3 cups of lamb or beef stock, then add when you return the meat to pot with the vegetables.

Cut off some of the parsley leaves and chop enough to make 2 tablespoons; reserve. Cut off some parsley stems, and tie them into a bundle with a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme; reserve.

Season the meat with salt and brown the meat in a little oil. Remove and reserve, and sprinkle with a little flour, shaking off excess. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery to the pan and sauté, tossing to coat with the fat. Add the Guinness and deglaze, scraping up any caramelized meat juices. Add the potatoes, return the meat to the pot (and the barley if you're using it). Add enough stock to barely cover, cook over medium heat until just boiling, then reduce heat to very low and simmer 2 - 3 hours, until the meat is tender, stirring occasionally.

Check seasonings, add salt and pepper to taste, then remove from heat, stir in parsley and the cornstarch (mixed into 4 teaspoons water) and stir. Cook over low heat for a few more minutes to thicken.

Goes well with Irish brown or white soda bread, tea and more Guinness if you like.

I might try this next weekend, provided I can find a good shoulder of lamb. (The Guinness won't be a problem).

Scooby Snacks

My four-year-old is addicted to Scooby Doo (the vintage, 1969-70 series, thank goodness). Much his mother's dismay, we've watched two or three episodes each day this summer. I thought he might like some Scooby Snacks, so I popped online for a recipe.

I know there exists a portion of the population that has made a rather spurious connection between Scooby and marijuana (aka "all natural herbs"), but evidently I'm not hip enough to realize that "Scooby Snacks" is also the name of a mixed drink. The recipe:

Scooby Snacks (1 serving)

• 1/2 oz Malibu® coconut rum
• 1/2 oz creme de bananes
• 1/2 oz Midori® melon liqueur
• 1/2 oz pineapple juice
• 1 1/2 oz whipped cream

Pour rum, creme de banane, melon liqueur and pineapple juice into a stainless steel shaker over ice. Add whipped cream, and shake; until well mixed and sufficiently chilled. Strain into an old-fashioned glass and shoot.

You can scale this for any number of servings at http://www.drinksmixer.com/. I haven't tried it yet; it looks like the kind of drink that needs a beach and copious sunshine.

For Owen's snacks, I just made a few dozen round shortbread cookies and stamped them with an 'S'--no "all natural herbs" added.

Peace.