Tiki Torches and Fireflies

This spring has been absolutely crazy in Oklahoma. It snowed in April, and we’ve had two F5 tornados like the world has never seen before.

Marilyn and I live on an acre of land in the southeast corner of Edmond, Oklahoma. It’s almost rural. From my front porch, I’ve seen deer, coyotes, hawks—well you get the picture. Our house was built in 1975 and our large swimming pool is anything but modern. My hot tub is a fiberglass antique, covered by a gazebo my step-son Shane built. We get our water from a well. The water is wonderful, except it is loaded with calcium. My step-daughter Shannon spent two days this week cleaning the calcium deposits off my hot tub. Tonight, my three dogs and I tried it out.

As I mentioned, the weather has been crazy this spring. I usually take my first dip in the pool in April, sometimes March. Tonight, already late in June, I took my first plunge of the year. The dogs, my two pugs and English bulldog, loved it. They can’t swim but they loved licking pool water off my head, neck, and back. Following Shannon’s labors, the hot tub felt wonderful.

After a stint in the hot water, I plunged back into the pool. Sitting on the steps in shallow water, I soaked in the stars, flame from Tiki torches and fireflies lighting up the night. I couldn’t have been happier when I finally came inside and pulled off my wet swimming trunks decorated with surfboards, sailboats, and paeans to places like Florida and Waikiki Beach.

I’ve been to Florida and Waikiki. Tonight, I wouldn’t have traded either for my backyard pool, hot tub, and three faithful dogs. It made me think. It isn’t where you’ve been in life, it’s where you are right now that counts.

Eric'sWeb

Bertram Picou's Spicy Tomato Sauce - a weekend recipe

Except for occasional help from his on again, off again girlfriend Shirley, Bertram Picou relies mostly on himself to manage his French Quarter bar. Every now and then, he grows tired of tourists and locals, and shuts the doors for some R and R, usually cooking something just for himself. Sometimes, his friend Wyatt Thomas becomes the lucky recipient of his cooking prowess.

Bertram might lug his charcoal grill upstairs to Wyatt’s room, grilling on the balcony overlooking Chartres as they listen to the sounds of boats on the river, and cacophony on Bourbon Street. When Wyatt gets very lucky, Bertram, drinking shots of Cuervo as he cooks, will grill up his Andouille Fired Oysters, topping them with his spicy tomato sauce.

Here’s the recipe for Bertram’s own spicy tomato sauce. It’s a great sweet and sour sauce that goes perfectly with broiled and baked fish, and, oh yes, Andouille Fired Oysters. Stay tuned for Bertram’s Andouille Fired Oyster recipe. Meantime, here’s the recipe for his spicy tomato sauce.

Bertram’s Spicy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

·         1 onion, thinly sliced

·         2 Tbs. butter

·         2 tomatoes, fresh, finely chopped

·         2 lemons, juiced

·         1 ½ Tbs. sugar

·         ½ tsp. mustard, dry

·         salt, to taste 

Directions 

Sauté onion in butter and then stir in tomatoes. Add lemon juice, salt, and mustard, and then simmer for a few minutes.

 

Check out more of Bertram and Wyatt in the French Quarter mysteries Big Easy, City of Spirits, and Primal Creatures.

Eric'sWeb

Happy Mother's Day

There’s a biker’s bar in Oklahoma City that’s also a restaurant and off-track betting facility. Marilyn and I like going there on Friday’s to eat Oklahoma comfort food (chicken fries, steak fingers, fried okra and cream gravy, etc.) and bet on the ponies. That’s where we were yesterday along with friends J.R. and Carol.


I’m not a great handicapper and almost always lose more than I win. I like wagering on names and lost six bucks in last week’s Kentucky Derby betting on Itsmyluckyday. It wasn’t! I think he finished sixth. Yesterday was no different. I was losing more than winning when the horses for the next race at Woodbine (we were watching races at several tracks so I’m not sure which one) showed the horses for the next race. The name of one of the horses was Mavis Road.

Mavis Road is a street in Ontario, Canada. Mavis was also my mother’s first name. One of the track pundits picked Mavis Road as a possible strong contender. It didn’t matter to me. Even with the odds at 22-1 that Mavis Road would win, I would have bet on the horse because it had the same name as my mother. Mavis Road didn’t win the race. It did come in second place and I won almost thirty bucks on a six dollar bet.

Do I believe my mom had anything to do with my success in the race? You bet I do. My mother, like almost everyone else’s on the face of the earth, was the single most important person in my life. Even from the grave I feel she’s still close by; always lending a helping hand. Thanks Mom, for reminding me you’re still with me, and HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY.

Eric'sWeb

Werewolves in South Louisiana

Eric Wilder pens his third novel in the French Quarter Mystery Series. Garden District residents are unaware that one of their neighbors has kept a rougarou (Cajun werewolf) frozen in their basement freezer for forty years. When a killer hurricane takes direct aim at New Orleans, Wyatt Thomas, the French Quarter’s favorite sleuth, is called into action. Before the hurricane strikes, Wyatt and N.O.P.D. Homicide detective Tony Nicosia must deal with the thawing rougarou, and solve two heinous murders at a monastery in the secluded, south Louisiana wetlands. Primal Creatures is the third novel in the Wyatt Thomas French Quarter Mystery Series that includes Big Easy, and City of Spirits. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Eric'sWeb

Christmas Doves

There was some snow, though more ice here in Edmond, America on Christmas day. Marilyn, as usual, fed everyone, including the birds. Here is a pic of a pair of Christmas doves that helped us celebrate the holidays.
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Mayan Doomsday 2012

Ceremonial Black Cup

Ancient Mayans seemed to think the world—at least as we know it—would end on December 21, 2012. The time for the predicted disaster has come and gone. The Mayans, like many of the ancients, were accomplished astronomers. Perhaps a slight adjustment in the universe occurred since the prediction. Maybe we’ll never know.

A similar civilization existed in the Midwestern part of the United States, from settlements near the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. These early Americans built large villages along the main rivers beginning around 800 A.D., though there were humans in the area as long as 8000 years ago. The Spiro Mounds in eastern Oklahoma is but one of these settlements.

Thousands of artifacts have been collected at the Spiro Mounds, including intricately engraved seashells. Anthropologists call the early Americans that populated these settlements Mississippians. One of the artifacts found at Spiro, and at other Mississippian settlements, was the black cup. During rituals, Mississippians would drink strong, highly caffeinated teas from the black cup until they vomited, ridding their bodies of evil and facilitating the ability to predict the future.

In my book,  Morning Mist of Blood, gumshoe detective Buck McDivit meets Esme, a mystic, healer, and possibly the last of the Mississippians. With her assistance, he takes a dream walk, visiting the Great Spirit in his cabin. Together, they puff a cloud blower and drink from the black cup until Buck gains insight into the mystery he is trying to solve.

It’s December 21, 2012, and the world hasn’t ended. It doesn’t mean the ancient Mayans, Incas and Mississippians didn’t have considerable knowledge about the world as we know it. It simply means the asteroids, or whatever celestial objects were supposed to collide with our planet became somehow shunted by a millisecond or so.

Many of the heavenly secrets discovered by the ancients are lost to us forever. I’m planning a trip to Spiro during the spring equinox to communicate with the spirits and try to solve a few mysteries. Meanwhile, I’ll take a puff from my cloud blower and slug another shot of strong coffee from my black cup. Maybe by midnight, I'll have a few predictions of my own, to make.

Eric'sWeb

Aunt Carmol's Southern Tomato Soup - a weekend recipe

I visited New Orleans for the first time in the fifties. My Aunt Carmol was a school teacher and gave brother Jack and me daily guided tours of the city while we were there. Aunt Carmol was also a wonderful cook, and especially liked preparing and serving authentic Creole dishes. Jack and I loved Aunt Carmol’s Southern Tomato Soup. Try it. I’ll bet you will too.

Ingredients

• 2 quarts tomatoes
• 1 cucumber, peeled and cut small
• 1 onion, large, sliced
• 1 dozen okra, sliced
• 1 ham bone, large
• 1 Tbsp flour
• Salt to taste
• Cayenne to taste
• 3 pats butter

Directions

Cook tomatoes in three pints of water for 10 minutes. Drain and save the water. Press tomatoes through a sieve. Add cucumber, onion, okra, hambone, and the saved water to the tomatoes. Simmer for 3 hours. Combine flour with cold water to form a paste. Add to soup before serving, along with salt, cayenne, and butter.

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