Newsletter: From Darkover to Zucchini Pickles

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My dear friends, When I began this newsletter, I promised I wouldn't deluge your Inbox. I wanted to send you mindfully curated nuggets of news (and kitten photos). I suspect that under the influence of pandemic brain, I've veered too far in the opposite direction. I've run the risk of being downright taciturn. Nowadays, though, keeping in touch has become more important than ever.  So here are news and other goodies. Please let me hear from you in turn! Collaborators available for pre-order! Collaborators is all set for a release date of October 1, 2020. It will be available in a range of formats, most of which can be pre-ordered: Amazon (ebook and trade paperback) B & N (ebook, trade paperback, and hardcover/laminated cover) Kobo  and other ebook retailers...  Or ask you bookstore to order through Ingram: Trade paperback: 9781952589003 Hardcover/dust jacket: 9781952589027   `````````````````````` I'm setting up a blog tour for the week of the book's release (October 1). If you would like to review it, please let me know (which ebook format you prefer). For a limited time, it's also available through NetGalley.

What's new in the world of the Bloody Sun?   A Heat Wave in the Hellers, a collection of my own Darkover short fiction, reprint and original, continues selling well. It's available in ebook and trade paperback formats from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, other ebook retailers, and your friendly independent bookstore. It's also available through Overdrive, so if your public library subscribes, you may be able to read it there, too.  I reduced the price of the ebooks from $6.99 to $2.99 as part of #StayHomeAndRead, and plan to keep the price at that level.   ~~~~~~~ I had hoped to give your further news about release dates for The Laran Gambit (temporary title) and Arilinn (which I'm 3/4 through the first draft), but alas, the pandemic has affected publishing in many ways, so right now my editor is looking at 2022 and 2023. I'll keep you posted as the schedule firms up. Summer bounty, or -- What do I do with all the zucchini?   It is a truth universally acknowledged that everyone with a garden must therefore grow too much zucchini. (I use the term loosely for any of many varieties of summer squash -- pictured above, with the single cucumber, yellow crookneck, Romanesco/"steampunk," light yellow Clarimore, and Astia, a smallish green zucchini.  We eat it, raw and cooked, and I chop and freeze it (for soups, as the texture suffers). Zucchini egg foo young, zucchini lasagna, zucchini "ribbons" in place of pasta, what else?  Zucchini pickles! (Shown here with frozen and dried apples, and a jar of dried catnip). My family loved these, so the next batch I'll can properly in a boiling water bath. But here's a quick, easy version for you to try.   ````````````````````` Refrigerator Zucchini Pickles   1 lb zuccchini, cut or sliced as desired 1 tsp peppercorns or pickling spice 1 c white vinegar 1 c water 1 T coarse-grained salt Place the zucchini and spices in heatproof jars (I used pint canning jars). Make brine by mixing vinegar, water, and salt in a pan and boiling it to dissolve salt crystals. Pour over squash. Cover, let cool, and refrigerate at least 4 hours before enjoying. They keep in the refrigerator about a month. If they last that long. You can also use this quick method for other vegetables, like cucumbers, asparagus, green beans, cauliflower...even jalapenos. Or a mixture thereof.   Last but not least, a word from the kittens. Now almost 2 years old, (Red) Sonja takes a break from the summer heat. You'll notice that although she is a small cat (just a tad over 7 lbs) she manages to occupy two baskets. Stay cool, everyone!

 

Recipe: Vegan Sesame Noodles

This is so good, my omnivorous family loves it! It's also a very flexible recipe, so I will substitute whatever veggies I have on hand (like green beans or zucchini). Plus it doesn't result in a ton of pans to wash. Plus did I mention how yummy it is?

Sesame Noodles (serves 4)

4 oz uncooked spaghetti (I use brown rice, but any kind is fine)

4 c. bean sprouts

2 c. thinly sliced snow peas

2 T toasted sesame oil

¼ c. peanut butter

2 T soy sauce

1 T vinegar

1 T brown sugar

1 green onion, minced

1 T finely minced ginger (or ½ tsp dry)

1 clove finely minced garlic

1 c. grated carrot

• Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions. Just before done, throw in the bean sprouts and snow peas. Cook for 30 seconds, then drain everything well. Return the pasta, sprouts, and snow peas to the pot and toss with sesame oil.
• In a large bowl, whisk the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, scallion, ginger, garlic with 2 T (or more!) water. It should be thick enough to coat the noodles, but liquid enough to be easy to toss.
• Toss the spaghetti, sprouts, snow peas, and carrots with the peanut butter mixture.

Passover 5779: My Favorite Charoseth Recipe

Passover is my very favorite holiday, Jewish or secular. I love the warmth, the connection with tribal history, and so many of the phrases that remind me everyone is welcome at this table, and that until all of us are free, none of us can be. Of course, all the stories about Passovers past, like the one in college when, after all 4 obligatory glasses of wine, V called his parents in Chicago to wish them Happy Passover, so I did (mine were in California), and the L called hers -- good Southern Baptists... It was that same seder when, at the moment when we fling open the door to invite Elijah into our homes and our hearts, B stopped by, hoping to scrounge dinner. And so forth.

Then there are the foods, glorious foods! Most Ashkenazi Jews make charoseth (which represents the mortar the Hebrew slaves used to build the pyramids) from finely chopped apples, walnuts, sweet Passover wine, and a little matzoh meal (from the special kind of matzoh kosher for Passover, that has been carefully monitored to make sure there is no leavening). This concoction always set my teeth on edge. I dreaded it...until I discovered this recipe for Yemenite charoseth. It's so sweet, I can eat only a little at a time, but bursting with flavor.

Yemenite Charoseth -- about 12 servings

1 cup pitted, chopped dates (I use Medjool when I can find them)
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
1/3 cup sweet Passover wine (or fruit juice)
3 Tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tsp - 1 T ginger, either powdered dry or fresh, according to your taste
Dash - 1/2 tsp ground coriander
Dash cayenne -- optional
2 Tablespoons matzoh meal (I use brown rice or sorghum flour as it needs to be GF)

Combine the fruit and wine. Add sesame, spices, and matzoh meal until thoroughly mixed. Roll into 1" balls or serve in a mound.

L'chaim!

The image is the first Nuremberg Haggadah, circa 1449 C.E.