Lily's Oyster Stew - a weekend recipe

Oyster stew is a Louisiana staple, but is prepared and eaten everywhere the succulent sea creature is found. Like gumbo, there are many variations, some heartier than others. Here is one of Lily’s versions. The recipe is included in Lily's Little Cajun Cookbook, now available in ebook format on Smashwords.com.


Lily’s Oyster Stew

Ingredients

1 stick butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely diced

2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, plus more to taste

2 pints oysters (with liquor), drained and liquor reserved

1 quart seafood stock

1 10-ounce can of tomatoes, pureed

1 quart half-and-half

¼ cup white wine or brandy

Garlic croutons

Directions

In a large 2-gallon stockpot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion and carrot and cook, stirring constantly, until onions are translucent. Add 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning and stir to combine. Add oyster liquor, seafood stock and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes. Add half-and-half and bring back to a simmer. Add oysters and cook until their edges begin to curl. Add wine or brandy and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately in hot soup bowls garnished with croutons, green onions, parsley and paprika.

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Odors, Shadows and Mist

The weather in central Oklahoma has been stormy lately, one series thunderous tempests after the other racing through and leaving paths of destruction. I awoke to a rainstorm this morning. By three, the weather was hot, muggy and sunny.

The combination didn’t last for long. Yet another storm front moved through the area, bringing with it high winds and golf ball-sized hail. It quickly passed, doing no damage in my neighborhood, but it postponed my afternoon walk.

A fragile mist hung in the air as I finally started up the road. Elevated humidity carried lingering odors with it, mostly in moist pockets settling in low spots. They reminded me of the months I had spent in the boonies of Vietnam, shielded from the elements by only a poncho liner and sheet of plastic. After living outdoors for so long, my senses became more acute. They stayed that way long after I returned to the States.

Once, Anne, Ray, Kathy and I were sitting outside by their pool. “It’s going to rain,” I said.

“I don’t know what you’re smoking, Pard, but there isn’t a cloud in the sky,” Ray said.

Within five minutes, gentle rain began soaking the cement around the pool causing Ray, Anne and Kathy to stare at me, wide-eyed.

“I could smell it coming,” I explained.

I wasn’t lying. My sense of smell was more acute than others. After living many years now in heated and air conditioned houses, that particular talent has disappeared. Still, as I plodded up the blacktop through my neighborhood, the odors carried by the mist—someone’s septic tank, the fetid smell of damp earth and grass, a dead animal—brought back memories.

It was almost dark as I rounded the last bend and started up the gentle hill to my house. Shadows cast by a darkened sky and surrounding trees formed eerie patterns on the damp and broken asphalt road. A tiny crescent moon and one bright star shined dimly through an open spot in the thick layer of clouds. It was a night perfect for wispy ghosts playing in shadowy mists. The thought crossed my mind as I shut the front door behind me.

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Route 66 Revisited In New Book by Gondwana Press

Edmond, OK, May 10, 2010 — Gondwana Press LLC announces the publication of Lost on Route 66—Tales from the Mother Road.

Lost on Route 66 is a compendium of short stories, essays and poetry about the Mother Road Route 66. Eighteen authors from three countries and many states contributed to the book, and there is a foreword by

r. r. bryan, author of All the Angels and Saints. Katelyn Bohl and Eric Wilder edited the manuscript.

The book, according to Editor Eric Wilder, contains works mostly by previously published authors, many of whom teach writing at the elementary to collegiate level. “The quality of the submissions blew me away,” Wilder said. “Some of the stories and poetry are so powerful that they brought me to tears.”

About Gondwana Press LLC

Founded in 2006, Gondwana Press is an Oklahoma publisher seeking to expand the bounds of both knowledge and entertainment.

Lost on Route 66—Tales from the Mother Road, ISBN 978-0-9791165-1-3, is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and most web-based bookstores and at Gondwana Press. For more information, contact publisher Gary Pittenger at 405-341-0076, or email him at gapitt@sbcglobal.net.

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Houston and Dallas Snow Pictures

My friend Mickey and I were in Houston in February for NAPE, the big winter oil show held every year. The biggest recorded snowstorm in the history of Dallas occurred while we were there and we had to drive through it on the way back to Oklahoma. It's April now. Spring has sprung and I am happy.

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Camera Freak

Glancing through my closet just now, I noticed a box I had brought from my parent’s house during my last visit there. When I opened it, I found it contained a Kodak Brownie, circa 1950s, in pristine condition. Best as I remember, it was the first camera I ever owned. My Mom and Dad had bought it for me. It wouldn’t be my last.

Last month, I purchased a fixed-lens Nikon L100. I already have a Nikon S210 that I love, but I wanted something with a longer lens and faster shutter so that I can capture birds and butterflies in flight. The L100 has a 15 x optical zoom but, as yet, I have been unsuccessful in my attempts. The L100, by all counts, is my ninth digital camera.

Which is the best? They were all good but I really like my Nikon S210. It is compact and versatile and I keep it with me wherever I go. I know, it’s been replaced by a newer, faster model, but I’m too poor to upgrade every six months.

Before going digital, I owned more 35 mm cameras than I can count. My first was a Yashica, my last a Canon. I loved them all but none could match the ease and sophistication of digital. I spent much of my tour of duty in Vietnam without a camera but did have a half-frame the size of a cigarette case toward the end of my time there. I can’t remember the make, but it took exceptional pictures, many of which I still have. Maybe it was a Minolta.

My first fixed-lens single lens reflex was a Kowa (I know, I don’t think they make them anymore). My first interchangeable lens single lens reflex was a Minolta SRT101. It took gorgeous photos. How many cameras have I owned? I’d say easily a hundred. Will I own more before I die? Yes, unless I die tomorrow, and I have my fingers crossed that that won’t happen.

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Gondwanaland by Arvis Tatom

An entertaining video from youtube.

Readers and Writers Web Site

As all of you aspiring authors know, few publishers accept direct submissions from authors anymore. Such direct submissions used to go to a place that editors called the “slush pile.” Readers “mined” these slush piles, hoping to find the next great author. A talent-spotting reader discovered author Philip Roth this way when part of his slush pile submission grew into Goodbye, Columbus.

Because of copyright infringement fears, slush piles are largely gone. Publishers now rely on agents to act as go-betweens. As every author that has ever tried to secure an agent knows, it is all but impossible to do so and the lack of an agent prevents many wonderful writers from ever being published. A new website founded by editors from the publisher Harper Collins seeks to remedy this industry shortcoming.

The new site is Authonomy and it brings together talented, undiscovered writers and avid readers. Authors upload entire books that are free to read and comment on. Harper Collins has even published some of the books discovered in the site’s “slush pile."

I uploaded my novel Prairie Sunset to the site. If you are either writer, reader or - like me - both, I urge you to check out the site. While you are there, please take a look at Prairie Sunset.

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