Chris Coward

Kara's Stellar Super Easy Orange Arctic Pie (recipe)

Sometimes convenience is paramount, right? But convenience—even when it calls for such "low-rent" ingredients as Cool Whip—can still deliver the wow. As desserts go, this pie's not too, too unhealthy. All you need is one bowl and a few minutes. Little ones around? This is a great dish to make with them. If you haven't already, feel free to peruse the inspiration for "Kara's" monthly recipes: Kara in Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse, available on Amazon in paperback, e-book, Kindle Unlimited, and coming soon, audiobook. The holidays are coming, and "Kara's" adventures deliver a great gift.

Ingredients
• 8 oz. fat-free cream cheese
• 6 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed*
• 8 oz. frozen reduced-fat Cool Whip or other whipped topping, thawed
• 11 oz. can mandarin oranges in water, drained
• 8-inch reduced-fat graham cracker crust**

Directions
1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and orange juice concentrate until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.
2. Pour into cruse. Cover and freeze 4 hours or until firm.
3. Remove from freezer about 10 minutes before cutting.
4. Garnish with oranges.

* FILLINGS: Try any kind of fruit juice concentrate, e.g., orange, lemonade, limeade, or blends. Or try a frozen cocktail mix, e.g., strawberry daiquiri, mango margarita, madori sour, blue Hawaiian, or pina colada—wherever your taste buds take you.

** CRUSTS: For super speed, use a premade graham cracker or cookie crust. Or use your favorite homemade recipe. Here's mine: In a small food processor blend 1 ½ c graham cracker crumbs, ¼ c sugar, and 5 T butter until the mixture looks like wet sand. Press into pan and bake 6 ‒ 8 minutes. Allow to cool.

With all the time this recipe saves, don't forget your reading--Perpendicular Women, perhaps, on Amazon?

I don't submit to many writing contests, but some time back, I got the urge to enter a biggie: the Cygnus Award, Chanticleer International Book Award's competition for speculative fiction. On July 29, when I learned I was selected for the Cygnus Long List, I was over the moon. Today's thrill is even bigger: Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse has advanced to the SHORT List! Feel free to visit Amazon, where PW is available as paperback, e-book, and Kindle Unlimited. Watch for the announcement of its audiobook in time for the holidays. (BTW, if you like the story, a heartfelt review on Amazon or a brief comment on social media would be so appreciated.) Thank you for your ongoing well wishes. Wish me luck in the next elimination round!

Hello, foodie friends! Decades ago, my husband Al and I spent some time in Del Rio, Texas, near Laughlin Air Force base. Back then, Del Rio was a one-main-street small Texas town populated mostly by a handful of locals and various government employees.

One of the Air Force families had just returned from Asia with a handful of recipes, which they adapted for the US. (Del Rio had only one small grocery store then, which carried nothing as "exotic" as fresh ginger.) Probably to make friends as much as anything, the family decided to hold Asian cooking classes.

Of the students, I was the only person who could use chopsticks, and I was determined that Al would learn the skill, as well. I purchased a can of cashews and jokingly told Al he could eat as many as he wanted as long as he picked them up with the chopsticks. Talk about motivation! He finished the can, and he and I have enjoyed using chopsticks ever since—they really do make Asian food taste even better.

Here's one of my go-to Asian recipes from that class.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken & marinade

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (individually wrapped breasts in a bag tend to be smaller and more tender than grocery-packaged breasts in a tray)
• 1 t salt (omit if cashews are salted)
• 1 T sake or dry vermouth
• ¼ t ground ginger or ½ t fresh ginger
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Vegetables

• 3 T oil
• 1 ½ c cashews (don't burn)
• 2 peppers (green or a mixture of green and another color), cut in ½ inch cubes
• 3 - 4 green onions
• Can add other vegetables: peapods, bean sprouts, etc.

Sauce

• ¼ t MSG/accent (optional)
• ¼ T cornstarch
• ½ c water (more flavor to substitute ¼ c vermouth and ¼ c chicken broth; if other vegetables are added, consider adding more cornstarch and liquid)
• Optional: season sauce with a drop or 2 of Tabasco, 1 - 1 ½ t each sugar and white wine vinegar, 2 t dry sherry, and/or 1 T soy sauce, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix marinade ingredients.
2. Cut chicken into ½ inch cubes and mix with marinade. Soak at least 15 minutes.
3. Cut green peppers, green onions, and whatever vegetables you wish to add into ½ inch slices or cubes.
4. Heat oil and deep fry cashews to golden brown; remove from pan.
5. Add chicken and fry for a few minutes until color changes (all white, inside and outside). Remove to plate.
6. If pan is dry, heat sufficient oil to stir fry green onions and hard vegetables. If softer vegetables are desired (e.g., peapods or bean sprouts), add a few minutes after the hard vegetables.
7. Add chicken and cashews. Create a well in the middle of the pan and add the sauce ingredients. Bring the sauce to a boil and mix with the other ingredients. If needed, add more liquid.
8. Serve rice with chicken mixture on top.
9. If desired, serve with green onions and soy sauce.

Enjoy!

You may need a printer or magifying glass handy to read it, but here's a tearsheet of the article referenced in the previous blog post. Thank you, Mary Ann de Stefano, editor of The Florida Writer magazine, for sending it to me! Florida Writers Association members can see the article in all it's glory in the magazine emailed to you yesterday. FYI, this is a condensed version of the article scheduled to appear in the August issue of Village Neighbor magazine.

Florida Writers, I'm proud to say that my article, "Power," is published in the August issue of The Florida Writer magazine, hot off the press today. In it, I share an unexpected way to thrive in difficult times (in my case, long covid). There's plenty more in that issue, too. If you're an FWA member, the issue should be in your email inbox. Issues are also posted on the Florida Writers website. Thank you, Mary Ann and staff. My piece is on page 24.

At 3:55 this afternoon, the message came in. Chanticleer Book Review announced their long lists for Speculative Fiction. Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse has made the Long List for the Cygnus Award! (That's the one for science fiction.) Wow oh wow. Feel free to visit Amazon, where the book is available as paperback, e-book, and Kindle Unlimited—and if you like the story, a heartfelt review would be oh, so welcome. You're always cordially invited to visit me on chriscoward.net. Wish me luck on making Cygnus's Short List!

Two years ago today, Perpendicular Women, a "captivating narrative that combines science fiction elements, family dynamics, and profound personal dynamics" (Literary Titan) was launched. Reviewers invite you to check out its "fast-moving action and jaw-dropping twists" (BookView Review) as courageous and vulnerable protagonists travel the multiverse to heal their families and avert World War IV.

Available on Amazon as paperback, e-book, Kindle Unlimited, and (coming soon) audiobook. If you like the book, won't you leave a review? It would mean the universe.

More at chriscoward.net.

As always, may your universe treat you kindly,

Chris

July's recipe

I don't know about you, but I'm flooded with so much "information" every day, my head spins. Worse, doesn't it seem as if what's coming at us just isn't as solid as it used to be?

Take recipes. I must get a hundred recipes a day in my email inbox alone. I try maybe about five a week, and of these, maybe one in fifty may be a keeper. This, even from sources I once found reliable.

Discouraged, I go back to the tried-and-true recipes I've been collecting for decades. Many are still my go-tos, but many don't work anymore: the ingredients lack the flavor they used to have or come in package sizes that no longer correspond with the needs of the recipe. Or, the ingredients are unhealthy, such as too much butter or sugar, or fail to add what we'd like to augment in our diets, such as fresh vegetables. Or the recipe calls for a bazillion messy, time-consuming steps. It's enough to pull your hair out, right?

I'd like to help. Every month I'll be pulling out a curated recipe that has survived the gauntlet of today's changing times and needs. For July, that's courgettes au four avec tomates (baked zucchini with tomatoes), a simple, tasty, healthy, gorgeous offering that's sure to impress even the non-veggie eaters in your family. And wait'll you see it on your plate, those green and red overlapping slices of yumminess.

Kara's Stellar Courgettes Au Four Avec Tomates
(Baked zucchini with tomatoes—a vegetable recipe for vegetable haters)

Okay, this photo doesn't do the dish (or me) justice but use your imagination: under the caramelized topping of onions and peppers are alternating slices of tomatoes and zucchini, gorgeous when served. I used a pewter platter that's been in my family for generations, but a similar sized dish that'll withstand a few minutes under the broiler will do just fine.

Ingredients

·         1 zucchini, about ½ lb.

·         2 medium-sized tomatoes, about ½ lb.

·         1 medium-sized green pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped

·         1 c finely chopped onion

·         Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

·         ¼ c oil (use a little less if your like, but don't omit—needed for carmelization)

Directions
1.      If you have two ovens, preheat one to 400 degrees, one to broil. If you have one oven, preheat the broiler.

2.      Trim off the ends of the zucchini and core the tomatoes. Cut each into ten half-inch slices. Arrange them, edges slightly overlapping, alternating the zucchini with tomato.

3.      Sprinkle with green pepper, onion, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle evenly with oil.

4.      Broil about 5 minutes, being careful not to burn the vegetables on top. Remove from broiler.

5.      If you have two ovens, move the dish to the preheated 400 degree one; if not, turn off the broiler and preheat the oven. It may take a minute or two for the oven's heat to stabilize. Bake about 25 minutes, checking occasionally so that vegetables don't get too soft.

Serve hot. 4 servings.

Kara says: Even folks who don't care for vegetables love them cooked like this. Must be the caramelization and blend of flavors. So few ingredients, simple to make, and tasty.

This month's recipe is for pecan pie. But not just any pecan pie. It's a generations-old recipe from family who lived in Texas—and Texans know their pecans.

I confess I was not a particular fan of pecan pie—until I tasted this one. This recipe uses Karo syrup rather than molasses, which imparts just the right amount of sweetness without the heavy cloying quality that some pies have. It's this lightness that makes this pie a great (and easy) choice all year long.

The pie is beyond easy. Just make sure you use good quality pecans and don't overcook—the pie continues to set after you remove it from the oven.

Kara's Stellar Pecan Pie

Ingredients

·         Uncooked 9 inch pie crust (homemade or store bought)

·         4 eggs

·         1 c sugar

·         1 c light Karo syrup

·         Scant 2 T cornstarch

·         ½ t vanilla

·         1 c pecan pieces

Directions
 

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.      Break eggs into large bowl and lightly beat.

3.      Add remaining ingredients, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

4.      Pour into prepared uncooked crust. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees; cover crust when it begins to brown.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

Kara says: This recipe goes back generations. Get the best pecans you can find; using Karo syrup instead of the more traditional molasses lets the flavor of the nut shine through.

[There's always a story behind the story, right? Below is part of an article I was asked to write for Village Neighbors magazine. Many thanks to Mark Newhouse for the idea. And a huge thank you to readers who share my passion for the printed word.]

Think of that moment when your project isn't quite ready. Oh, it's close. One more step, and your dream will come true. You've devoted years to that dream. Given it your heart.

Maybe it was a college degree or a house you were fixing up. Maybe a patent for an invention. Whatever it was, that dream inspired—maybe even defined—you.

And then—

You or someone you love became blind, lost a limb, got cancer, developed PTSD. Life can be derailed in many ways, but whatever the form, you say goodbye to the degree, the home repairs, the invention.

My dream was to publish a novel, and I was on my last edit. This, after sixteen years of research, writing, and editing. Sixteen years voraciously studying the craft through workshops, critique groups, and conferences. Sixteen intense years. And the last edit was make or break.

What happened literally floored me. My legs buckled. My vision blurred. My chest constricted. Sometimes I couldn't even walk across the room. I had seizures—hundreds of them—that lasted for hours.

Not to mention brain fog. I'd sense the edge of an idea, only for it to turn to vapor, then, cruelly, tease back into my consciousness and dissipate again. Chasing it … chasing … Gone. No way to finish my book, not when words as simple as traffic or kitten eluded me.

Was I peering into the tunnel of dementia?

Turned out, I had long covid, an autoimmune disorder where the immune system consumes the very body it serves—heart, lungs, and brain. Some 65 million people worldwide have known this affliction. Many, like me, were previously healthy; many, like me, had only a mild case of covid. Long covid is different than covid and distinct for each sufferer. Some victims die; some recover in months; some, well, the jury's still out. Where did I fit in?

Long covid has no cure, but after hospitalization, I tried a slew of treatments: hyperbaric oxygen, vagus nerve stimulation, inhalers, anti-inflammatories, blood-clot medications, acupuncture, physical therapy, on and on, to no avail.

But then—

I'd have moments of clarity. Moments when I could amble from one side of the room to the other. Moments when traffic and kitten rolled off my tongue. There was one particular light-bulb moment when I recalled how the protagonist in my own book prevailed against impossible odds. Could I, like the character I'd invented, reach deep inside and do the impossible? Not using my old processes, maybe, but what if I did things differently?

If the old way doesn't work, find a new one.

So then—

I worked. Thirty seconds here, five minutes there. Over time, periods of concentration lengthened. Sometimes. But stuff got done. I worked and crashed and worked and crashed, over and over, until finally, the book was ready. The artistic process proved exhilarating, even as I chased those damned thought-ghosts. Even when all I could do was edit a single line. Just one more line.

Think of your dream. Maybe it gets derailed, maybe not. As I found out the hard way, every moment is a chance for enrichment through art. Whether you're a creator or a connoisseur; whether your joy comes from writing, painting, cinematography, or building a dollhouse; whether you're facing challenges or at the top of your game―art is power.

My long covid is in its fourth year. Maybe I'll recover. Maybe I won't. But I will focus on growing as a writer and a human.

My closing thoughts: Revel in music you love. Take in a museum. Buy a painting. Do that craft. And curl up with a book—maybe even mine.