Broadly Speaking: Faith and Fear

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Welcome to the very first Broadly Speaking edition of the Broad Pod.  Broadly Speaking brings you interviews and insights from women writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror - and all the realms in between.  Keeping with the Broad Pod's theme of Faith and Fear, Broadly Speaking will chat with Jennifer Pelland, Morven Westfield, and Gail Z. Martin about how they've used faith and fear in their writing, advice on how to do it well, and even how selling and marketing can be affected.  Join host Trish Wooldridge for some true tales of women's adventures in writing!

  
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Foodie Friday: Leftover Asparagus

Did you know how cool asparagus is?

Or, are you one of those people who aren't quite sure what to do with it or how to make the most of this veggie?

I'm back to writing food trade articles, and one of the things with the articles is that their purpose is for merchandising/marketing.  But, when I research, I get so much more information than that.  So, why not share?

Some nifty facts:

Asparagus is part of the lily family, so it acts more like flowers than vegetables.

Related to it's flowery lineage, it can grow up to 2 inches after it's been cut.  So, if you purchase it from the grocery store and keep it in your fridge on a moist pad or in shallow water, you may end up with more than you bought!

Also, because it acts like a flower, you want to make sure that you don't let water sit on the tips because then they will rot – like floral blooms would when left wet.

Purple asparagus can be eaten raw because it has a higher sugar count than green and white asparagus.

Cooking tips:

As most cooking shows and magazines will tell you, you really don't want to eat the bottom third to half, so you should cut and discard that.  The easiest way to find out where you should cut, bend a few slightly until they break.  That break point can be a guide for where to cut the rest of the asparagus.

Thick asparagus is really good for grilling.  Toss it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder, and cook either on the second rack or with indirect heat. 

Thinner asparagus is better if you just braise it or sauté it. 

Another trick for cooking asparagus is to have a tall, narrow pan and stand up the asparagus so that only the base is in the water, you'll get a more even texture because the woodier stalks need the more direct boiling while the tender tops can cook in the more delicate steam.

A Recipe-ish:

One thing a lot of people don't think of using asparagus for is pesto.  Add braised white or green asparagus, or even raw purple, or even a combination, to a basic pesto mix-and-match.

Nuts:

Choose 1/2 cup toasted:

pine nuts

shelled pistachios

walnuts

Herbs:

Choose a good handful of fresh:

Basil

Cilantro

Parsley

Acid:

Choose:

A good drizzle of white balsamic vinegar

A good drizzle of white wine vinegar

Juice and zest of one lemon

Vegetable (optional):

Choose:

1 cup chopped asparagus (blanched white and/or green, raw purple)

1 cup spinach

1 cup sun-dried tomato

1 cup roasted red pepper

Add that to a minimum of 6 cloves garlic (Personally, I'll use up to half a head of garlic) and a few table spoons of grated parmesan, romano, and/or asiago cheeses in a food processor.  As you process the ingredients, add extra virgin olive oil until you get the pesto to a consistency and flavor you like.  Then, just toss it with your favorite pasta and enjoy!

* some facts and tips provided by Cherie Watte Angulo of the California Asparagus Commission and Julia Inestroza of Gourmet Trading Company; photo courtesy of California Asparagus Commission.

Horses for Fantasy Writers: Food and Hay

I'm at another cross-roads in horse ownership, so I'm taking the issue and turning it into a useful blog post for writers!  If you're writing anything with horses or horse-like creatures, grab your saddle and get comfy.

Some background:

When I moved Calico to the current boarding situation, I knew that the boarding was dependent on hay.  The family put aside enough hay from what they could have sold so that all the horses would have sufficient hay for the winter. 

Now, as I approach the last month covered in our boarding contract, a count of bales says that I cannot continue the contract as it is.

I need to find another source for hay and possibly need to change locations until the next cut of hay is available.

What does this mean for writers?

Well, in what is probably my 0 novel, I had my characters riding horses all over an alternate history UK with little thought at all to the food situation.

I got around a few things by creating a fantasy horse that was a mixed breed of unicorn and human horse… but really, there was a whole lot of poor - what am I saying? - there was no planning involved.  I am ashamed when I look back at it.

If you're going to have your heroes on horseback, or if you're going to have them board their horses at an inn, or if they are demanding quarter at someone's house, or if they're on a "very small" farm - and use horses for ploughing…

Well, these horses need to eat!

What do horses eat?  Mostly grass and hay, and often additional grains.

Great! You might think.  If we're traveling, the horses can eat grass when we eat. 

Is there plenty of grass - not scrub, not trees, not rocks, not desert, but GRASS - at every single place you stop?  Have you calculated at least two additional stops during the day besides overnight camping, with about two hours where the horses are untacked and grazing?

Now, if you've got donkeys, you can get away with harsher climates and scrubby weeds.  Mules are about the same… but I don't see a lot of heroes galloping off on a donkey or a mule.  They likely have a fancy horse of some sort.  (I won't go into steeds/stallions, mares and geldings… there is another great article on that here by Mary K. Wilson - who discusses more food issues.)

Onto the hay issue.  Hay takes up a whole friggen lot of space, first of all.  Your average bale - which is compacted - is usually 14 inches by 18 inches by 50 inches.  The average, working, horse will go through about one of these a day.  A larger, very hard working horse (what most farmers or knights or heroes will have) may go through up to two or three a day!  So, for a month, you'd need about 30 of these things per horse, at minimum. 

(There are also larger bales, like round bales, that are stored outside for large herds of horses - but they mold and rot in rainy areas and if they don't get eaten quickly.  In a desert setting, however, that's an option.)

Where do you keep them?

Well, if you're stationary, your barn will likely have a hay loft (or you may have a separate building to store hay and grain if you're not a poor farmer or peasant and can afford it.) 

But, in a properly rural, temperate setting (where you've got a seasonal change), you're going to have to stock hay for the winter and spring months.  Why?

Well, hay doesn't get harvested until about July.  (I learned this yesterday.)  I thought - and I probably wasn't alone - that hay could be harvested, say… around May or so.  I knew there was multiple cuttings of hay… some fields get up to three harvests in a year.

However, those three (and often only two) harvests need to last for an entire year.  If you run out in February… well, your horse starves to death.  Unlike current culture, where I have the opportunity to call several farms in the area that grow hay as a business, in a high fantasy setting, your characters will have had to plan their hay rations for the whole year - looking at what they needed, what they could produce, and what they could trade.

Hell, even in a contemporary setting, you have to consider your food resources.  I am!

If your 5-person adventure party shows up with their 6 horses (really, you need at least one extra horse to carry supplies!  I promise you.  At least one extra, if not two.) and needs to stay at this poor farmers' or peasants' cottage to rest their battle injuries, you'll be using possibly a month's worth of your hosts' resources in just a few days.  (Of course, the human rations are also affected - but that's a little more flexible because one of your heroes might be able to go hunting, right?  Too bad horses don't eat meat.)  If it's winter or spring, there may no way for your hosts to recover that lost feed - leaving them suffering months later when they cannot feed the animals they depend on to survive.

During times of war, if the peasants or poor have to quarter troops, the same suffering happens.  The lasting effects of using other people's resources is hardly covered in fiction and media - but it's what would happen.  How good are your "good guys" if they don't realize this?  (On the other hand, what a handy way to show how "bad" your "bad guys" are!)

An addendum to this, which I know I need to research (and have no excuse not to have done so because the "research" requires just chatting with the people I board with!) is how much land is needed to grow the hay.  If you're mapping villages, fiefs, farms, and countrysides, you need to know how much is farmland, and what is grown where.  SOME one in your maps - if not many some ones - ought to have fields and fields of hay! 

Because, your lords and nobles and reigning leaders will be collecting portions for taxes (they certainly aren't farming!)  Your merchants who use any horse-drawn carriages will be purchasing it (and needing places to store it - consider this in your city settings!).  The farmers, of course, will need it for their own animals. 

As for me, well, I'll continue to keep you posted on Calico, of course, and share the many lessons I'm learning because she's in my life.

Happy writing!  (And riding!)

*Photos: Calico by Kim of HIllview Stables; Bella and Blanca by BSER Volunteer Colleen; Hayley, Cassandra by BSER Volunteer Jane Derosier.

News! News! News!

Oh what a Manic Monday this is!

Three - count 'em THREE - deadlines this week!  Oh, and a car appointment.  And a Skype conference for the newest Broad Universe podcast: Broadly Speaking!

And some horse time!

Anyway, some Important Stuff You Should Know!

Keep your eye on the Bad-Ass Faeries Official Website.  :)  There's some nifty free stuff there, like wallpaper and fiction!  In fact, watch for a fun little flash by Christy and me starring Cameron and Roy from our "Party Crashers" short story in Just Plain Bad!

xx

I am now the proud editor of an anthology along with the fabulous Kate Kaynak!

We even have an official Call for Submissions.  :)  Here it is:

Call for Submissions for the anthology UnCONventional

We're looking for stories that take place at fantasy/sci-fi conventions or other gatherings in which the convention/conference itself is just the cover for something supernatural or fantastic. Imagine time travelers using a steampunk con to cover their attempt to open a portal to return to their own times, werewolves holding a beauty pageant at a dog show, or vampires holding a treaty summit at Dragon*Con.

Suggested Length: 3,000-7,000 words. Up to 10,000 words is possible, but it will be a HARD sell.

Due Date: July 1st, 2011

Editors: Kate Kaynak and Trisha Wooldridge

Submission Guidelines: Please email your submissions to us at: editor@SpencerHillPress.com.
Put your story into the BODY of the email (no attachments, please!) and put "UnCONventional" in your subject line along with the title of your story. Legalese: We can only accept previously unpublished stories. Please do not used licensed characters or any trademarked or copyright-protected material without written permission in advance of submission (This is NOT the place for fanfic). Contributor compensation will include a $10 advance paid upon publication, a contributor copy of the paper version, a royalty percentage split between all contributors, and, of course, bragging rights. Stories should be appropriate for adult and teen readers (age 14 and up); please, no explicit sex or graphic violence!

Visit the publisher at:  http://www.site.spencerhillpress.com/Submissions.html

xx

I'm also blogging with the Worcester Bloggers!

Ok, so I've got a whole one post up, but more will come.  I promise.  Many will be pretty horse pictures.  Other stuff will be food-related.  :)  I'll try to keep it all fun!

xx

I'm looking for advertising for the Bay State Equine Rescue Wine, Beer & Liquor tasting booklet.  :)  Get your products in front of eating and drinking horse lovers!  Contact me for rates and details. 

Advertise AND save horses. :)  You know you want to!  And you know I'll be begging you again in 4 months for the Blogathon if you don't.  <3

xx

Next Manic Monday's post will be the first ever Broadly Speaking podcast.  It will feature interviews with Gail Z. Martin, Jennifer Pelland, and Morven Westfield about the writing in regards to Faith and Fear. 

It will be cool!

Tune in. :)

xx

It is very cold in MA and my feet are only finally warming up entirely after a day of hanging out with horses.  A stomped-upon foot feels painfully strange as it gains more and more feeling.  The same for a poor typing hand that was squished between a door and a horse butt.  That is me; and I am Tired. 

So, that's all the news your getting. 

Happy Monday!

Fantasy Friday I (because I'm sure there will be more)

After a horrific drive to my chiropractor appointment during Snopacalypse 3 of the past 2 weeks, I decided to wait for the state of Massachusetts to get its Commonwealth butt in gear to actually plow and sand the roads.  So, I pulled into Sturbridge Coffee House and wrote another scene and a half of Kelpie over breakfast and coffee.  When the sun came out, I noticed the lamppost and path through the woods directly in front of my car.

Which is where I wish I could tell you was where I lost all my time.

Alas, no.  It was work.  And snow removal (note how short the lamppost looks.  Yeah, snow.).  And a minor diversion into Volume Two of Skin-Horse, which I bought at Arisia.

And a conference call about a cool new editing/educating opportunity.

And calls for the dried fruit & nut article I'm working on.

That is why my blog is posting at, like, 11PM at night.

But it's here!

And it will be short(ish).  Because I still have sh*t to do!

Some briefs:

Great write-up of Arisia here, which specifically mentions the wonderfully well-run "Take Back the Sci-Fi" panel.

Every other panel was also a great time.  As I mentioned on my schedule, I had some amazing panelists behind the tables with me.  I was on 10 panels… and I'm so not ready to recap them all.  The Broad Universe reading went well, and our party was fantastic… full almost all night with lots of compliments on the food. :)  (I put together tea party like snacks: mini sandwiches (salmon mousse, cucumber, pomegranate sweet pepper), prosciutto-wrapped figs with goat cheese, prosciutto-wrapped melon, Danielle's fabulous hummus (with people coming back just for that!) … and yeah, Yay Broad Universe Party!

Also, Whee-Yay-Squee for the Pi-Con party which was happening right across the hall from the Broad Universe party. 

And now that the website says it, I can "Officially" announce that I am the Guest of Awesome at Pi-Con this year!  Wooooooooooo!!!  It's true!  The Interwebz provez it!  You will here more of me saying why else you need to come to the convention - trust me!

(Here's me at the Pi-Con party with Nchanter and Mike who does programming! - Thanks Justine for the camera, and Scott for taking the pic!)

Also, special thanks to Danielle, Roxanne, Justine Graykin, Kate Kaynak, and Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert for helping me out with both the party and covering table hours when everyone in Broad Universe was otherwise engaged. 

You are all made of WIN!!

And now, I must return to work!

Happy weekend. :)

Pretty Snow Pictures

… because I'm still getting my sh*t together after Arisia.

Which, I have to say, was a fabulous convention - as I've always found it.  I was on an excellent choice of panels with brilliant panelists; the Broad Universe party was hopping; and I had some really fun roommates to pass the precious down time with!

And then I came home to 200+ new emails in my inbox, a text from my editor who did not receive the review I sent on Thursday, a sink of dishes (because I was running late in food prep the day we left) and five loads of laundry (because that's normal after a convention.)

Oh.  And a snowstorm.

So, here's adorable pictures of Calico and Nylis from the LAST blizzard that hit just before we left for Arisia.

We'll return to our regularly scheduled blog on Friday!

Dis here snow? It sux and gotta go.  Nao. kthxbai!

Can you stop taking pictures, Kim, and DO SOMETHING about this?

The Husband-of-Awesome wants to share the snowday fun with Nylis! Let's see what happens.

Face scratching must be attended to, no matter how deep the snow.

I hate you! I hate snow! I will destroy you all!

Knee deep in snow, I am STILL beautiful!

PS - Thank you Kim at Hillview Farm & Stables for the pictures of Calico!

January Broad Pod: Faith and Fear

Bupodcast1 - 11Rev by Mel Graykin  
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BUpodcast1-11rev.mp3 (6830 KB)

Welcome to the BroadPod.  This month is hosted by Justine Graykin, freelance philosopher and science fiction author, among other things.  In this offering for January 2011, we bring you tales of Faith and Fear.  Readers Larissa Niec, Kim Vandervort, Kathryn Hinds, Rin Kintujo, and Phoebe Wray, question hallowed beliefs and probe the depths of anxiety, from the mythic to the medical.  Hold onto your amulet!

As you listen, you can also subscribe to the podcast via itunes by dragging it into your playlist. Subscribe and spread the word - so that more women's voices can be heard across the globe.

The BroadPod is brought to you by Broad Universe, an international, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, celebrating, and honoring women who write science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

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