- (Makes about 3 1/2 cups)
- 1/4 cup dried Mexican oregano*
- 1/4 cup corn oil or light olive oil
- 5 dried chipotle chiles*, stemmed, seeded, and deveined (wear rubber gloves)
- 5 ancho chiles*, seeded and deveined (wear rubber gloves)
- The key to this recipe is frying the chiles in a nice hot oil without scorching them!
- 25 garlic cloves
- 1 1/2 cups coarse salt
- * available at Mexican markets and some specialty produce markets
- In a small heavy skillet dry-roast oregano over moderate heat, shaking skillet occasionally, until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes, and transfer to a small bowl. Cool oregano completely and in an electric coffee/spice grinder grind fine. In a heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and, using tongs, fry chiles, 1 to 2 at a time, turning them, until puffed and just beginning to brown, about 10 seconds. (Do not let chiles burn or rub will be bitter.) Transfer chiles as fried to paper towels to drain and cool until crisp. Wearing rubber gloves, break chiles into pieces and in coffee/spice grinder grind fine in batches (I use a mini-cuisinart). In a food processor grind oregano and chiles with garlic and salt until mixture is a shaggy, saltlike consistency. If mixture seems moist, on a large baking sheet spread it into a thin, even layer and dry in middle of an oven set at lowest temperature until no longer moist, about 1 hour. Wearing rubber gloves, break up any lumps with your fingers.
(Chipotle rub keeps in an airtight container, chilled, 6 months. Rub may need to be re-ground prior to the next use.
1/2 bottle good quality pinot noir
Peruvian Potato Dumplings with Tomato & Chile Mole Ragout
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Chopped garlic (1-2 cloves, to taste)
2 cups heirloom tomatoes or 1 8-oz. can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
Dash balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sliced sweet Mayan onion
Dash of red wine
2 T. unsweetened chocolate powder
Dash cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
Potato Dumplings:
1 pound Peruvian purple potatoes
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup flour
3 eggs
1 T. roasted garlic, mashed
Saute the garlic with olive oil and toss the heirloom tomatoes until heated through, approximately 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Toss in 1/4 cup of the fresh basil before serving dish.
Peel and dice the potatoes and place in a small bowl. Blanch the potatoes lightly in salted water and rinse in ice water to keep the color. (Cooling step is very important!)
Lightly mash the potatoes and let cool until warm, not hot. Mix the cooled, cooked potatoes with the flour, eggs, and roasted garlic. Form mixture into a dough. Roll into easy, pleasy balls (free-form is da bomb!)
Cook the dumplings in boiling water. Cook for approximately 2 minutes or until fat and light as clouds. Using a slotted spoon, remove the dumplings and top with the ragout -- garnish with roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds).
Discussion Topic: What are your most dangerous and delicious wishes as an eroticist, as a writer? What is your Holy Grail as an artist?
My dangerous wish is to write the things I have trouble saying. The things that I feel but perhaps don't understand -- from that place that maybe isn't very pretty. I also hope to transcend genre (in both humor and erotica) and somehow -- I don't really know how yet -- tap into my creative energy as a way to keep the universe weird and real and full of light and eventually reach out across the abyss to people who have no idea where my passion lies. There shouldn't be fences in wide open spaces -- or sidewalks either.
Host: Donna George Storey
Monday, February 2—Salad
Host: Emerald
Tuesday, February 3—Dessert
Host: Sommer Marsden
Wednesday, February 4—Petit Fours and Truffles
Host: Nikki Magennis
44 comments:
Wow Kirsten! I absolutely loved your reading. It calls to mind beat poetry.
And I’m honored to keep the beat, tapping out rhythms on that glowing moon.
But I’ll have to stop soon. Your meat course is very tempting. Lovely contrasts.
I love the desert for contrast that life on it embodies. The plenty of the oasis amidst the stark landscape. The creatures that thrive in the desert are fascinating for their adaptations to survive the sparse environs.
If one of the desert creatures reaches the oasis, will it go back out on the desert?
My life as a writer has to strike a balance between a nine to five job, handy when the bills come due, and my passion for writing, handy to keep me from going absolutely batty from the ideas in my head. I suppose it is sort of like the balance of desert an oasis.
Which is which?
When I write I’m exploring places I’ve been in relation to places I dream of. The writer in me is gypsy soul, enjoying where it is, always ready to pack up and go somewhere new. Divided between the safety of what is and the risks of what might be.
I go to dark, forbidden places, and view them in contrast to blinding light. I go to bright places, then focus on the shadows.
I think I understand your dangerous wish. Perhaps it is very similar to my own.
Maybe we are lizards, dancing naked with the high heat of the day, finding respite from bitter dry chill of the night, dancing with the plenty of the oasis.
Craig, how beautiful and eloquent.
Kirsten, how fiery and vibrant and alive I find your course offering to be! Thank you!
And an amazing question you posed for our discussion. It strikes me that the way I want to be as an artist is exactly the way I want to be in life. Which is as awake as possible. All I aim for is to be as conscious and awake as I can every moment so that the Universe may come through me as will serve. As an artist, that means that during the artistically creative process I want to be open to what the Universe wants to offer through me. (Again, this is what I want in life as well.) What that often means, basically, is I want to relax the ego part of me so that what is real may come through.
I am going to leave that at that for now, but I will be back later to try the magnificent-looking/sounding food. It smells fantastic!! Thanks again!
Why thank you, Emerald.
Likewise, I'm sure, milady!
Oh my goodness I just listened to your reading -- how DELIGHTFUL and beautiful!!! Thank you so much for doing that!! Wow! (Lol that I was eating a pickle. ;) And how did you know that I was already famished, indeed?!)
Beautiful, Kirsten. :) Thank you so much.
(Okay, I really am running off now. Back later!)
Yippeee! I know the Ventures music in that video says "Walk, Don't Run" ... but I can't help it. I'm naked-in-a-good-way without my socks, running around stuffing dumplings in my mouth.
This is just a quick visit—I have a bigass deadline today!—but I will absofuckinglutely be back later, with wishes and anything else I can find. Helia says please save her a place, too!!
P.S. Next spamword up: biones
Steve Austin was from Ojai, wasn't he! (More importantly to me back in the day: Jaime Sommers was from Ojai!)
Good morning! This is so fun. I find myself wishing we were really in that big tent (and taking a nice easy dip!).
Craig and Emerald, your comments are so inspiring. "Gypsy soul" indeed Craig. Like a wanderlust of the mind. Awake and conscious and listening to the universe. That's so cool Emerald.
Jeremy, good luck with your bigass deadline. Give it a good smack and get back here!
Kirsten, this is so wonderful! I only have time for a quick dip in the springs (ah, brings back memories) but I will be back later for more. Much more.
One of my favorite Edward Abbey quotes - I keep A Voice Crying in the Wilderness (Vox Clamintis in Deserto): Notes From a Secret Journal nearby, is "Poetry - even bad poetry - may be our final hope."
The food smells delicious, the company grand, the water enticing, but alas, I must go work up an appetite. I will be back later and while I'm wandering among the lovely rocks out here in the desert, I will contemplate your question.
oh, and wonderful work on that reading Kirsten!
I say we just rub that Pinot sauce on your body and let you walk around the table. Dangerous & delicious wishes? To give others permission to live out their dreams and fantasies, secure in the knowledge that they are safe and not alone. My ultimate goal, as a writer/artist, is to screw off the lid, open the jar, and let the fireflies free! On the shopping list for the weekend: Torii Mor & orgasmic chocolate!
What a fun and exciting writer you are! You lead me around corners, and there are constant surprises...
good morning, i managed to chew through the restraints to get here. I love your photos. The moon is a big hit in our house. The pool picture is really cool. Although, I have to admit, I'd want to be in the water. Not up top :)
My dangerous wish as a writer (erotica and otherwise) is to pull my head out of my ass. To not quetion myself so much. To have faith in my abilities and myself and who I am and how I put it down on paper. To not obsess that I am never good enough or liked. Pretty much the way I want to be in my life is how I want to be in my writing. So far, I'm still on the journey and have not reached the actual destination yet. But I'll keep trying.
My holy grail is to see the book that is under consideration published. It may sound snooty patootie (so be it) but I want a paper book. A book on a shelf that is mine. I"m not greedy. ONe will do if that is all the Universe sees fit to give me talent-wise. I think ebooks are the wave of the future, but I have dreamed of paper books since I was a little girl, I'm too old to change now. That is my holy grail. one measly paperback :)
so who's the cook on the grill? another fab picture. is that you? and the wine, that is for me, yes? I need it.
Where is the paprika toenail polish? I was promised a pedicure.
XOXO
Sommer
Hi Robin, what a great quote -- I believe that, I do! Poetry is important.
BAK -- drenched in pinot, eh? Why not. I've always wanted to do the grape stomping in Italy. I'll need another feast for that! Let the fireflies free -- yes!!!
Hi Sommer,I like how Craig S. puts that fearlessness -- "use the force," he says. "Use the force!" Wanting a book of your own isn't outdated. It's awesome. I don't think we'll ever lose our desire or our need for books, for that tactile experience of holding the words in our hands.
Yep, that's me at the grill, trying to look warm on an ice-covered patio nowhere near the Mojave Desert :)
-is not ashamed to say she's drooling on everyone too hard to speak at the moment-
Kirsten,
I'm filled with every compelling emotion under the full desert moon right now.
Your words are gorgeous, rich and flavorful like this mmmmm...incredible plate I'm about to taste. And your voice is so charming and delightful. You are truly a gift to us all. I'm a bit teary-eyed because I already like you so much and then when you do something like this...well, my cup of tequila runneth over, my friend. I'm so proud of you!
...wiping tears away with Jeremy's ass cheeks....
Dangerous Wish:
It's the mental make-up of people I find so interesting. Their own psychological inner workings. I mostly enjoy writing about what I like to call the rub, or a character's hot spot...that thing that pushes them up against their self-imposed boundaries - pain, disgust, fear, in order to experience pleasure that shakes their souls. It's dangerous territory though, because I think there are lots of people (generally not artists) that aren't ready to see that side of themselves. I keep trying though.
Holy Grail: To continue to push up against my own boundaries and explore all that life has to offer. I'd also like to be an inspiration to others - to offer an open door, actually a no door policy for hungry minds.
Speaking of hungry...I know everyone hasn't made it here yet, but I'm ready seconds, please, Kirsten. This is magnificant!!
...wiping tears away with Jeremy's ass cheeks....
This is probably the first time I've ever been glad to be caught without a handkerchief. ; )
Zipping in for a quick dip and sip of Zin before heading back out into the desert. Ahhhh, that water is so nice and warm.
another Edward Abbey quote (you got me started Kirsten, look out, hahaha)
"I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay."
Okay, time to dry off again - where is Jermey???
so early and too much Zin for me already?
Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy - not at all jermey. Guess I'll have to dry myself off.
I'm going to take this slooowly and enjoy every wonderful morsel of this feast for each of the six (I typed "sex" first) senses--although this gathering is making me suspect we possess a few more senses that haven't yet been named.
Let me start first with the enchanting aural pleasure of your tale. A passing on of the magic of the oral tradition is perfect for this desert setting and I loved the pictures that your lovely voice painted on the canvas of my brain--Jeremy in the coconut bra, rainbow-finned Emerald, Craig drumming the moon.... Browned butter--how did you know I could wax eloquent on that topic, the bravery required, for far too long?
Especially if the wine is flowing. Temptation Zin is a seductive name, but I'm going to try some of that Torii Mor (torii means "gate of the gods" in Japanese). What better way to get to know someone, get inside them, than to taste their favorite food or wine?
I do feel boundaries softening, possibilities blooming. It's probably the effect of sitting in this hot spring with so much slippery, warm flesh around me, the intoxicating incense of spices, the warm murmurings of so many talented writers.
I'll be back very soon with my insatiable dreams, again so appropriate in this land of dreamcatchers....
Hi Kirsten! It's beautiful here! I'm in awe of the setting, and of your beautiful preparations - and of the smell of the meat!
I can only pop in for a minute now - with a little luck, I may make it back to eat and take part in the discussion later in the day. Have a wonderful time, everyone!
Oh my god, Blogger ate my comment! FRuck, Kirsten, you made the internet hungry!
That's a damn shame 'cause I'd worked out the meaning of life, love and the universe in it and now it's forgotten.
Anyway, this feast is phenomenal, I love your film - tho I'm running between houseguests today so I'll have to watch it in two halves - and the food looks incredible. Dumplings, oh my god!
Now I'm going to lie on my back on the sand, ignore the guests and stare at the beautiful desert stars ...
Oh my goodness! All of this popping in and out is just how I envision Bohemian rhapsody in the desert!
Neve, you're the sweetest. I'm glad I made you uh, moist, and that Jeremy's bare ass was handy! "Push up against my own boundaries and explore all that life has to offer." -- I'll drink and dance and eat and soak to that!
Sommer, manicures and pedicures and rub-downs are in the little thatched roof hut across the way, next to the bucket of Tecate and Corona. There are lots of colors too -- paprika just happens to be my favorite. How did you know Neve?
Donna, I would love to take you to the Torii Mor winery -- there is a beautiful Japanese garden at the tasting room up in the green, green rolling hills of Oregon wine country.
Nikki -- I'm so sorry, but the idea of making the internet hungry makes me tingle all over. Damn that blogger for eating your comment, but the stars have been waiting for you, so gaze away!
I'm back again. I can't stay away. All this glorious meat, the wine. And the great company. I'm in desert heaven.
BTW: BAK, thanks for the massage. I guess I really needed that... I don't smoke, but I thought I saw a peace pipe around here earlier....
I also wanted to mention that Craig's comments resonated with me. I think we all have other jobs we keep in balance besides our love of writing. Some of us have families we take care of, or jobs that are financially necessary, or both. I never looked at my paying the bills job as an enriching my writing life, but maybe it does. It's a part of me, my experiences. Thanks Craig.
Mmm, that Pinot is good. My tongue's a little looser, and while I wait in line to be massaged with Pinot-cherry-chipotle sauce (I'll bet it's very tingly), I'll attempt an offering to our discussion.
My "dangerous" wishes as a writer versus the sensible ones to get my name out there in a variety of venues and maintain a reputation as a writer who is reliable and easy-to-work-with--I don't quite know where to begin. I'm insatiable. I want everything that everyone else mentioned. I want to sleep with every man and woman alive--not with my body but with my words. I want to change the way humankind views sex, not as a dirty thing we have to feel ashamed of, but a part of our humanity to explore and celebrate. I want to heal the body-mind split that has plagued Western culture since forever.
And then, when I'm finished, I'll have another dish of those dumplings with mole!
Hello again. Enough running in the desert - time to relax with more Zin (we once got a gift box of all three, Temptation Zin, Sin Zin and Redemption Zin) and tackle the question of the moment. So far everyone's answers have been inspiring.
My most dangerous & delicious wishes as an eroticist & writer?
My wish is to write, with no fear, what words, images, thoughts, feelings, and story lines are in my head - just clamoring to be let out. If someone else reads what I write and enjoys it, in whatever way seems appropriate, all the better. Sex is such a huge part of life - as a writer it seems ridiculous to ignore it as a topic. My holy grail? A book, a real hold in your hands book.
I liked what Donna had to say - "I want to change the way humankind views sex, not as a dirty thing we have to feel ashamed of, but a part of our humanity to explore and celebrate." I've experienced first-hand what shame can do to screw things up. No fun at all.
Sommer - "Pretty much the way I want to be in my life is how I want to be in my writing." Yes!
A funny thing is happening with me - now that I've stopped fighting the desire to write down all those dangerous and delicious things that have been spinning around in my head, I seem more comfortable in my skin. It seems to flow both ways.
Ah, smell those spices - is it time to eat?
Ahhh that massage was just what I needed!
Donna -- you say it so beautifully -- "heal the body-mind split" and it is such a plague too.
Robin -- your comment gives me goosebumps and gilashivers. "A funny thing is happening with me - now that I've stopped fighting the desire to write down all those dangerous and delicious things that have been spinning around in my head, I seem more comfortable in my skin. It seems to flow both ways."
Isn't that glorious! Hooray & heck yeah!
The spices do smell good. Don't hold back. It's always time to eat!
Wow what a neat conversation seems to be going on here.
BadAssKona said
"To give others permission to live out their dreams and fantasies, secure in the knowledge that they are safe and not alone."
Love that! Beautiful.
Sommer -- as they say, the journey is the destination....
Lol @ Shanna!
Neve said
“I mostly enjoy writing about what I like to call the rub, or a character's hot spot...that thing that pushes them up against their self-imposed boundaries - pain, disgust, fear, in order to experience pleasure that shakes their souls.”
That’s interesting because I just read your story at Oysters and Chocolate, Skinny Man, and I really felt that in it.
Donna said
“this gathering is making me suspect we possess a few more senses that haven't yet been named.”
That seemed to me such understated loveliness! Jeez, Donna, that whole comment was a seductive, melodic piece in itself!!
Donna said
“I want to change the way humankind views sex, not as a dirty thing we have to feel ashamed of, but a part of our humanity to explore and celebrate. I want to heal the body-mind split that has plagued Western culture”
Amen!!!
Now I’m going to gaze at stars with Nikki for a while. I don't remember the last time I looked at stars in the desert, and it sounds stupendous.
Kirsten, thank you again for the splendid hosting!
[Turns in aformentioned bigass deadline project with 20 minutes to spare. Grabs bottle of whatever and does a brief rendition of the Charleston, followed by the easy bits of Dick Van Dyke's rooftop dance from Mary Poppins. Wonders if that counts as "burlesque," since he's doing it in the nude.]
Jeremy! Woot! Would that be Mary Cherry Poppins? Burlesque in the nude? Sure, why not? Out here pretty much anything goes.
Well feasters, I'm heading to the airport to catch a flight to the fabulous tropical paradise of Boise, Idaho. Well, we'll have to heat the place up to steamy levels with our enthusiasm, but still.
Thank you all so much for sharing your dangerous thoughts. What an incredible day. I love you all!
--KM
Oh, and I'll be checking back this evening. Eat! Frolic! Gaze! Keep sharing your dangerous dreams, please!
LOL @ Jeremy!!
Congratulations, Jeremy! That must feel good to finish up your project. It's definitely time to drink and dance and maybe design some pasties. Anything is burlesque if you have at least one set of pasties pasted somewhere!
I'll take over "womaning" the grill while you're in the air, Kirsten. And I'll try not to let things get TOO wild, although Jeremy's capering is pretty contagious....
Would that be Mary Cherry Poppins?
LOL.
Actually, "Dick Van Dyke and the Chimney Sweepers" could be a pretty nifty burlesque act in and of itself.
nice chimney sweep you have there Jeremy ;-)
As I'm looking back over the secrets and insights shared here, I really do recognize so much of it. Craig's gypsy soul, testing out what might have been. Sommer's desire to transcend being liked or acclaimed (which only imprisons our spirit and stymies our creativity). Emerald's wish to be fully awake--which is how writing "in the zone" makes me feel.
I think I need to make a lits of these delicious wishes for sustenance on my "book promotion" business days. I could use them!
Mind you—and in all seriousness—I should be careful about that word dyke, as I am not a lesbian myself and I understand it's one of those words that could be "iffy" when not used by a self-defining member of the group described. In my little scenario above, I was imagining a self-definining burlesque artist using it, and no disrespect intended, obviously.
I couldn’t stay away. Donna, you look lovely “womaning” the grill. Will you toss on a couple more chops? In the meanwhile, I’ll shove a fresh bone between my big paws and gnaw on.
DeDe came along, but she is so absorbed in devouring such a lovely preparation of her favorite meat of all time, Lamb, and the great conversation around her, that she’s just sitting and taking it all in.
So many of the comments here resonate, but Donna, your comment in particular hit the nail on the head. My objective is not to write good stories with the sex left in, it’s to write good stories where sex and sensuality is a focus of the plot. Sex is a powerful part of life, and an important means of expression.
It’s time we, as a society, stopped avoiding it.
Oh wow, oh wow, I'm finally catching up here ... listening to the audio file! Oh wow, oh wow!!!
Isn't the audio awesome, Jeremy?
I started my day listening to that. I got totally absorbed in it!
nice chimney sweep you have there Jeremy ;-)
[Blushes] Aw, shucks. This old thing?
What a feast for the senses. I don't eat meat but had no trouble with the mole dumplings. Then, suddenly, I found myself licking the computer screen from corner to corner whilst listening to your read your marvelous tale -- loved the cameo appearances of your fellow eroticists. :-) I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do when I call Apple tech support about my now-flavorful display.
Sommer speaks for me, practically word-for-word, in the wish department, right down to the desire to publish one physical book. Also, I'd like to spend more time writing, which really is the only thing that gives me pleasure, and less time on spin and worrying.
Thank you for the luscious offering. You are a vivid colorist, a magician with words and images.
Would you believe my verification word is patio????
So much to comment on, now that I've been able to really dig my naked heels into the sand and take it all in ...
Kirsten, you are incredible. You're like one of those fabled characters—Peter Pan, the Wizard of Oz, et al.—gone right. That is, your magic is legit and the wonders you show us are not illusory.
What a unique, indescribably fantastic treasure you've created in that audio file. It is so rich, on so many levels. You know, kind of like your writing. ; )
Other remarks:
I've almost got that "Cunning Gila" anagram worked out. Once I get my tongue around the unscrambled word, I'll be looking for that hot spring to spring.
Peruvian purple potatoes! (I just wanted to say that.)
Emerald said:
I am going to leave that at that for now
Your "that at that" makes a nice complement to your "that that that" of last week! : )
You all have such healthy perspectives and such wisdom. Your heads are really screwed on right, people. (Not to mention other body parts.) What a privilege it is to know all of you!
I do seem to be all about the "that"s lately, don't I?!
Congrats, Jeremy, on meeting your deadline. :)
I feel the same way that it is a privilege to be acquainted with all of you. Thanks everyone.
What a treat to get back from a long hard day's work and be magically whisked away to this amazing party, a feast for all the senses.
I loved loved loved your reading, Kirsten, from the folk tale bookends to each of our cameos. That transported me more than anything--to this virtual campfire surrounded by brilliant people who shine brighter than the fire. Virtual, but all of you make it tangible and awaken my senses.
I want to go to the alternate universe where we didn't wreck the desert and Bettie Page can pull a pupfish out from between her legs!
Having just barely dipped my toes into the erotica world, and struggled with a love/hate relationship with writing long before, perhaps my dangerous wish is to give over more of myself to writing--to commit. To release the fear of an endless time-consuming apprenticeship, and trust that eventually the words will flow and not glop out like cold mashed potatoes (not Peruvian purple potatoes, either).
And my Holy Grail as an artist is finding a way to do justice to the visions and thoughts which swirl in my head and evaporate so easily.
I'm so honored to be part of this group! Thanks again, Kirsten, for a truly magical evening.
Well said, Helia, we are at a: virtual campfire surrounded by brilliant people who shine brighter than the fire.
I don't think this is just the Pinot talking!
Committing to writing is a scary thing. It will take more out of you than you can imagine--as strange as that sounds. But the richness and rewards are really worth it, and it's so exciting to have you join us here to howl at the moon ;-).
And yes, I'll say again that Kirsten's reading was truly magical and reminds us of the power of the spoken word.
Wow! Wow! Thank you all so much! Oh my goodness, I am going to save this conversation forever. Such rich, wise, thoughtful, wonderful words. Thank you too for taking time to listen to the little story I recorded. I was really nervous about it, but now I'm glad I went for it.
I am so honored to have hosted all of you amazing people. Having fun here in Idaho, but I'm ready to hit the road again and go see what Donna's cooked up!!!
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