Cooking Flip Out, Writing Surprises and Updates

Flipping Out in the Kitchen

I flipped a crepe on Wednesday. I was so excited that that little chef's maneuver didn't result in said crepe falling into the burner, catching fire and perhaps even exploding. I am not a food flipper. I've been avoiding it for years even as my cooking skills advanced. I am still a klutz in most parts of the house. That has been particularly true in the kitchen. As mentioned in a previous blog, my father was very wary of letting me come at him carrying hot food. (When he read that blog, he concurred and said this was still the case). But lately, Jon has been doing a lot of food flipping with his breakfast. He says no, but I think he was mocking me. He probably isn't, but it seemed that way. But I digress. I haven't told how I came to make the crepes, and what unfolded before the flip. I decided to make some short videos of my cooking for the family. I'd also decided that it was time for me to take on the crepe as my first step toward more complex doughs like puff pastry, croissants or baguettes. Naturally, I forget the liquid in the recipe. That resulted in a cloud of flour dust coming from the blender. Still, the batter came out looking right. I was really thrilled when the second crepe came out perfectly. The first one didn't, but everyone says the first one never does. When the fourth one was pulling away from the edges of the pan, I decided to risk a flip. One flick of the wrist later, I was applauding myself. I was so very tickled. Oh, and they tasted good, too. I made a raspberry and an apricot crepe for breakfast. So yummy!

Today is ground meat day. I have four kinds. Crazy, huh? Well, there is a logical explanation. I bought lamb to make a specific pasta dish a la Giada DiLaurentiis, Lamb Ragout. I also plan to stuff a couple of bell peppers with the lamb using bulgur instead of rice a la Melissa D'Arabian.I started using bulgur a while ago when I started making my own tabouleh. That reminds me that I have all the ingredients for tabouleh, so I may make that as well. The beef, pork and lamb are going to be whipped into meatballs and meatloaf for the freezer pantry. The freezer had gotten to be a bit bare. I like melanges of meat. They are great platforms for hiding all sorts of vegetation. I've taken to adding chopped spinach to meatballs along with the basil. I even add that to the marinara sauce. I also add finely diced zucchini or pureed butternut squash can go into a bolongnese sauce without a noticeable change in flavor. It's quite yummy actually. I think I might make that, too. Okay, enough with the food talk or I'll be cooking until midnight.

Writing Surprises

They weren't the bad surprise of 'Oh my hero is actually a big jerk' or 'okay, there is no way to make this plot make sense after all.' These surprises happen when a character suddenly speaks or acts in a way that was unexpected in a good way. This time it was Vincent Greven, protector of all he holds dear, in the Solders books. His irreverent moniker for Simon Molinar (Gramps) is just the beginning of how he expresses his antipathy for the Vampire. I was writing a benign scene of Rik and Vincent giving Molinar a tour of the Foundation when, out of nowhere, came this very calm observation by Vincent that the Vampire was going to test how much he could misbehave with the staff an the Benefactors in exchange for the information he carried about Delphi data and the fate of Joe McKay. When that observation proves to be correct, what follows is a quiet, calm and really deadly conversation between the Altereds and Molinar in which he finally realizes that he isn't the only killer in that building who is very much at ease with killing or permanently maiming. Vincent is very interested in seeing whether or not Simon can grow back an arm or a leg. The very calmness of how this conversation unfolds is enough to make Simon reconsider his actions and not s#%&t where he eats, or more aptly eat where he sleeps. I wasn't planning on such a conversation until much later and in an entirely different set of circumstances, but it made sense to establish the antagonism amidst the three characters immediately and it made sense that it would be Vincent taking the lead. He is very much the protector of his loved ones in this book. He's less vocal and more observant. All three men have been acting in ways I haven't expected. Simon is in a totally new element for me, writing wise, yet he is finding his own way and still being his smooth, wry self though there is a bit more sadness about him than there is in Demon Under Glass fiction. Perhaps I should be worrying that fictional characters have taken a life of their own in my head, but I find that far less terrifying than a blank page.

Updates

There are some great new videos up on DraggonTV.com. From our company, there is The Gunslinger. From The Privateers alum, Robert Lento, there are parts one and two of his very entertaining comic-adventure series Have Sword Will Travel (I'll Never Drink Again and The Vertruvian Forrest) and from Just a Spark Films, there is Without Hope. All are worth a look and a vote, if you please.

The cast interviews for Demon Under Glass should be up at some point tonight or tomorrow. Jon had to take over editing as the older program on my PC has gone crazy on me once again. The segments just need to be stitched together and rendered, so I'm optimistic that they will go up tonight rather than tomorrow.

I now have a SAG rep for the Web Series. Hopefully, I really am only a few pieces of paper away from signatory status on all projects (Demon Under Glass, 15%, Blood Oath and The Privateers). I've had over 150 applications for a production designer for the Privateers. Many of them have impressive resumes. A whole lot of people seem to be into Steam Punk.

More is happening this week.

Stay tuned.