Month: January 2024

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YOU AND ME AND DAVE AND FREE!

bsolutely delighted to extend a warm invitation to join us for a Current Words One-And-Done Session—an exclusive and enjoyable opportunity designed specifically for fiction and memoir writers to refine their skills in a highly supportive environment. And guess what? It comes at no cost to you!

Picture this: a virtual gathering hosted by Di and Dave (D&D), happening from 9-11 AM Pacific time on select Saturdays, and limited to just five participants. In an intimate Zoom setting, you’ll exclusively share your work with D&D along with the other participants. D&D will come prepared for a deep dive into your work, seeking out your distinctive patterns, challenges, and talents as an author.

Here’s the rundown on how to secure your spot: shoot us an email with a 450-550 word snippet of your writing at workshops@currentwords.com. Don’t forget to include your full name and the genre you’re working on (whether it’s short stories, long-form fiction, or memoir). Once you snag a spot, expect an email with exclusive instructions and the meeting URL. Prepare to join our small-group discussion via Zoom, where we’ll give your work the thoughtful attention it truly deserves.

Wondering why you should participate? Every writer has unique qualities—some that add zest to their writing, others that might slow it down. Have you ever pondered the role of an editor or what it’s like to be edited? Find answers to these questions, connect with a small group of fellow authors, and get a boost to your enthusiasm—all in a brief Saturday morning session.

Few things boost a writer’s productivity more than mingling with other authors. We’re eager to dive into your creative world, share in this enriching experience, and connect with our fellow wordsmiths.

Remember, this is completely free of charge! D&D have been extending a helping hand to fellow authors since their bi-monthly free workshop started at their home in 2017. We genuinely enjoy the company of other authors and can’t wait to explore your words, embarking on this exciting writing journey together.

To secure your spot, simply shoot an email to workshops@currentwords.com with 450-550 words of writing for our review.

We’ll then send you the first available date, followed by a Zoom link if you’re able to attend. Looking forward to seeing you at the virtual gathering!

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OMYGOSH! VOTE FOR ANTHONY!

Anthony Doyle’s story is up for story of the year at SPILLWORDS!

“Brain in a Jar” is a haunting father-and-son story that deals with who men are, and who they have to prove they are.

As you know if you read my blog, Anthony wrote the novel I published, HIBERNACULUM, and it is one of my favorite books. I published it because I was stunned by his story-telling, and I still am.

Anthony is an indie writer really trying to make it, and notice like this helps a lot.

So please, if you have a moment, give Anthony a vote!

I also made him a write-in for SPILLWORDS author of the year.

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A FEW TIMES I ATE THIS KIND A MEAL, AND I KNOW IT’S GOT A LOTTA TASTE APPEAL, ‘CAUSE I AM A HASSELBACK GIRL; YES I AM A HASSELBACK GIRL

It’s true: from my title you can tell I’m a dork.

But I love that amazing Gwen Stefani song. It’s one of those songs I could sing all day:

Gwen Stefani: Hollaback Girl

In any case… to return to the point, I am making hasselback eggplant. And, as you could see from photo #1, hasselback really just means sliced, but not all the way through.

This is something that I saw on my FB feed once: someone put tomato paste and butter on eggplant slices.

Okay, that’s three amazing things combined.

In my version I used one stick of butter with small can of paste, and seasoned as I like, and when I was mixing it, I used the food processor, and mixed cold butter right from the fridge with the rest of the ingredients so that the food prossessor blade cuts the cold butter into the tomato paste. Whenever you can use cold butter I think it’s better, that it cuts down on the greasiness of the final dish, and the food processor blade lets you do that.

First, pre-heat:

photo of my oven set at the temp 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here is what I combined in my food processor:

photo of the following ingredients: one stick salted butter one small can tomoato paste "Drizzle" Graza olive oil garam masala sun dried tomatoes in olive oil garlic powder "Sizzle" Graza olive oil pink salt in a grinder black pepper in a grinder basil (dried)

I used the “Sizzle” Graza oil to oil the pan, and I put the “Drizzle” directly in the paste mixture

I thought it was going to take about 20 minutes to roast

photo of an Alexa timer set to 20 minutes

But as I checked on it, two things became clear:
~It needed about three times as long to roast
~It needed double the sauce for the large eggplants I had.

Push the sauce down between the cut slices, and, hasselback style, do not cut the slices all the way through to the bottom. I cut a slice off the underside of my eggplants in order that they would sit nice and level. And, as you can see in the photos, I tossed those cut slices in the pan too.

I love eggplant skin, so I didn’t skin my eggplant. Just washed the outside a little and took off the grocery sticker before I sliced it into about 1/3 inch thick slices.

Push the sauce between the slices:

red sauce in a food processor with a red spatula/rubber scraper in it.
Sitting in a glass 9x12 pan in front of a piece of aluminum foil are two eggplants covered in a red sauce and whole basil leaves with a knife sticking between two of the slices to show that you should push the sauce down in.

Top with fresh basil leaves if you have any, and then cover it up tightly with foil:

The eggplants in the glass pan again, all ready to be covered in foil and put into the hot oven

After it had cooked a good bit of time (maybe 40 minutes?) I realized it needed more sauce:

Added pine nuts to my second batch of sauce, and this time only added half a stick of butter to the rest of the ingredients.

photo of an empty raw pinenuts bag

It’s not done in this photo below. When I cut a piece off, it was still very white and hard in the center of the slice. It should be very soft, spreadable, actually. So, back in it went:

an eggplant covered in the red sauce, and a piece cut to show the inside is still white and hard

Finally they had roasted long enough to be squishable:

eggplants covered in red sauce and reclined in a glass dish. They are fully cooked, very soft and mushy.
the result: the squichy eggplant spread on some crackers with shredded parm on top of the crackers and under the hot(temperature hot) eggplant to soften the cheese. It's all on a blue plastic kid's plate from Ikea that the sauce will probably stain. Should have thought of that.

Dave had some on crusty bread, and I had mine on some sort of seed crackers, and I added some parm to it. The child, the fourteen-year-old-chicken-nugget child, will not eat this. “Ewwwww!”

The thing that looks black is the piece I had cut off the bottom so the eggplant would lay flat. It is largely skin, so it is black because it is skin. I love the skin on eggplant because it’s extra … umami? Something.

I did glob a bit of tahini on top of one bite, and it tasted great, so I may process some of this into red babaganoush.

So let me hear you say, “This dish ain’t bananas, b. a. n. a. n. a. s. This dish is delicious, de li c i o u s” That rhythm doesn’t quite work, but you get the idea. 😉

Try it! Eat more vegetables! This could be a great part of one of my favorite dinners: snack dinner!

Happy and delicious weekend to you!