Day Four and Day Five of the Year-End Project

Commenting has been light.... have I bored the tears out of you yet?



Chapter Two was more of a bear than I had expected - this is where I am wading into unfamiliar waters, both in setting and time, and the characters are a reach for me. Finding something in them I could connect with, and then using that to fill them out, emotionally and mentally, occasionally fetched me up against a brick wall. J in particular - such a vastly different life than any I could imagine, being a male of a certain class and culture. And then I have to square all the actions and reactions with the events and mores of their time, and....

Well, there was a lot of fiddly bits.

Next book, the entire world is utterly made up, so nobody can tell me I did it wrong (someone will, anyway).


“Oh, it is so art,” she replied instead, with the tone of someone continuing a longstanding argument. “You simply do not believe that anything not carved from marble can be a masterpiece.”


became

“Oh, it is indeed art.” Elizabeth was clearly slipping back into a longstanding argument. “You simply do not believe that anything not carved from marble or painted in oil may be a masterpiece.”

There was also a lot of research: I watched two different 2-hour documentaries today, one touching on the general theme, and the other touching on the time period, and took so many notes and crammed my brain so full it's a wonder nothing's 'sploded yet.

And oh, there are so many bits I want to share, but too many of them are too close to the heart of the story, and I'm not quite ready to share that yet. But this, this bit made me laugh when I first wrote it, and it makes me laugh now. Poul and Charles amuse me so, the poor dears...

His co-worker stared at him. “Poul, do you even listen to yourself any more?”
“Never when I’m on the job. That’s how I make it home every night. You should try it.”


15,000 words tweaked and revised, and that's Part I. Running behind, but still in the running. Onward to part II....

Cider-Braised Short Ribs with Sauteed Greens

as usual, this was taken from several different recipes and stitched together. All measurements approximated (I tend to measure quickly, if at all)


1 lb boneless short ribs (or 2 lb with bones, estimated)
2 C apple cider
1/4 cup honey (I prefer a strong honey like chestnut, but it's to taste. You can also use sorghum)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp hot smoked paprika
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
salt and white pepper

Mix all the ingredients together, and marinate the ribs 10-12 hours.

Heat the oven to 350. Remove the ribs from the marinade and pat them dry, seasoning with salt and pepper. Reserve the marinade. Toss some oil in a deep skillet and brown the ribs to a golden crust (about 4 min each side once the pan is hot). Add back the marinade and place the skillet, covered, into the oven for 3-4 hours. Check it regularly, make sure that it stays at a very gentle simmer, neither more nor less. Adjust the heat as needed. Let cool slightly, and
serve over braised greens (or grains), with a dollop of the sauce.

Serves 2. You're not going to have leftovers.