Eric Wilder's Blog, page 15

New French Quarter Mystery - coming in December

When hired by a movie producer New Orleans detective Wyatt Thomas travels to a remote, south Louisiana monastery to investigate the death of a popular actor. Was the killing the result of a magic spell, a voodoo curse, or was the victim torn apart by a rougarou—a Cajun werewolf? As a major hurricane looms just offshore, Wyatt races to solve the mystery while trying to avoid the same fate as the actor.  Primal Creatures is the third novel in the Wyatt Thomas French Quarter Mystery series that includes Big Easyand City of Spirits. Read it in December.Eric'sWeb

Oklahoma Flowering Vine - pics

 







Edmond is the third largest city in Oklahoma. Though mostly urban, there are many wooded creeks and undeveloped areas. My office is near such a creek and undeveloped, wooded area. Last week there were eight wild turkeys outside my office. There is a vine growing near the parking lot that flowers abundantly any time it rains (rare during the past two years of drought conditions here in Oklahoma.) They are bigger than morning glories and look like moonflowers, except they bloom during the day. These flowers were likely planted by some early settler, fifty, maybe a hundred years ago. Maybe someone that left for California on Route 66 during the Dust Bowl days. Does anyone know what they are?

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Mama Mulate's Spicy Avocado Bisque - a weekend recipe

Mama likes avocados, cold soups, and an occasional nip of gin. It’s understandable why she likes this recipe. What’s not to like?

Ingredients

• 2 avocados
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup grapefruit juice
• 1 jigger gin
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp paprika
• 4 cups jellied chicken consommé
• Grapefruit slices for garnish

Directions

Peel and deseed avocados. Force pulp through a fine sieve. Add grapefruit juice and cream to avocado pulp, and then puree. Add salt, pepper, chili powder, and paprika. Combine gin, jellied chicken consommé, and pureed mixture. Blend until smooth. Chill soup in the refrigerator before serving, and then serve in chilled cups garnished with grapefruit slices.

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Ghost sex - an erotic, Halloween Short Story

Kindred Spirits Damp fog, rolling in from the north, cloaked the restaurant parking lot with ghostly fingers, the red neon sign above the doorway looking like blood pulsing from an open wound. The illusion exacerbated my ever-deepening depression resulting from a recent divorce, and caused me to reconsider going to a bar for a drink.
There are two Shrimper’s restaurants in town, one on the lake, and one adjacent to a large graveyard. The waiters and bartenders call the restaurant on the lake, Shrimper’s Lakeside, the one by the graveyard, Shrimper’s Graveside. They were both Cajun restaurants with wonderful ambience and nice bars at which to sit, drink and kibbitz with strangers. A giant orange moon peeked through a layer of damp cotton clouds. Middle of the week, the parking lot was empty as I headed for the entrance of Graveside. It didn’t matter because I only wanted to commiserate with a tall glass of beer.The joint was empty, except for a young woman drinking alone at the bar. She smiled when I pulled up a stool beside her. To say there was an instant attraction would be understating a fact. Her slinky white sleeveless dress had ridden up over her knees, revealing black mesh hose and shapely legs. Her high-heels were red, matching the color of her lips, begging to be kissed. She had dark eyes so limpid, you could go swimming in them. I only had to look once to know I was ready to take the plunge. Smiling again, she stroked a strand of her short brunette hair highlighting gold ringlets dangling from perfect earlobes.The bartender’s words shattered my momentary fantasy.“How’s it going tonight?”“Couldn’t be better,” I answered, awash in a testosterone dream induced by the gorgeous woman on the barstool beside me.“Your regular?” he asked.“I must be coming here too often, but yes and a drink on my tab for whatever this lovely lady is having.”“Why thank you,” she said. “Mind if my girlfriend joins us?” She motioned to the blonde, blue-eyed bombshell that had walked up behind us without me seeing her. “This is Kathy. And you are?”“Eric,” I said, trying not to stammer. Turning toward the bartender still waiting for me to finish my order, I added, “Mark, please bring drinks for both of these beautiful ladies.”Kathy was dressed almost identically to Marsha, except her slinky dress was black, with matching red high-heels. Her lips were also blood red, as were the nails on both her hands and feet. The two women inflamed my senses and I could almost smell pheromones oozing from their bodies. I felt like a male dog must feel when he encounters a bitch in heat. In this case, two bitches.Sliding off my stool, I let Kathy sit by her friend and moved to the one next to it.“You sit in the middle, Eric. I can talk to Marcia any old time.”I was suddenly surrounded by a gorgeous brunette and beautiful blonde. Before long, one held my left arm the other my right.Marcia and Kathy were both gorgeous, one dark, the other all flashes of reflected light every time she smiled and shook her blonde mane. Marcia was also smiling, but hers like a Siamese cat stalking a bird in the backyard. After two tall English ales, I began to wonder if I was the bird.Both girls laughed but neither answered when I said, “What do you two do for a living? No one else sitting at the bar except the three of us. Neither girl seemed to mind. I didn’t. They soon went to the ladies room and I took the opportunity to ask Mark about them.“You know these two?”“I’ve seen them before.”“They seem very friendly.”“They always are.”“Do they ever come in with anyone else?”Mark scratched his forehead. “Not that I can remember.”“You think they’re hookers?” I asked, beginning to feel the meeting with the two females was a little too easy.“I’ve never seen them leave with anyone. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen them leave at all.”“What do you mean?”“I mean they just sort of disappear.”“They walk their tab?”“No, someone always buys them drinks.”“Hmm!” I said.The two gorgeous females returned before I could ask Mark more questions.“Did you miss us?” Marcia asked.“Yes,” I said, forgetting my questions as the two lovely ladies grabbed my arms again, drawing ever closer.“It’s a full moon tonight,” Kathy said.“A beautiful full moon,” Marcia added.Kathy put her arms around my neck, drawing so close, I could almost touch her red puffy lips with my own. “Would you like to come outside with us?”“Sure. Mark, can you hold my tab for me? I’ll be back.”Mark was polishing a glass and only smiled and nodded. There were few cars in the parking lot, Tuesday not a big night for visiting clubs and restaurants. A full yellow Oklahoma moon cast an ephemeral glow on us as I followed the two young women out of Shrimper’s Graveside. Kathy stopped beside a silver Corvette.“Gorgeous car,” she said, backing against the curving hood.She opened her arms wide and I grabbed her, wrapping her in my arms. We were soon lying on the hood of the Corvette, Kathy’s skirt hiked up over her waist and my pants down to my ankles. To say we had sex on the hood of the Corvette would lessen the event. What we had was more than sex it was an experience not to be forgotten. Marcia finally broke my enraptured spell.“Wow! I haven’t seen a show like that in a long time. You two okay?”Kathy grinned. “I don’t know what’s burning hotter my pussy, or my ass smashed against the blistering hood of this Corvette.Pulling up my pants, I tucked my shirt in, cinched my belt and then glanced around the dark parking lot to see if anyone other than Marcia had witnessed our bawdy performance.
“You go, girl,” Marcia said, giving Kathy a big hug. “Next time, it’s my turn.”“Is this your car?” I asked Marcia.She just grinned. “We walked.”I glanced around the dark parking lot lit only by a few street lamps, not remembering any nearby houses or apartments.“Can I drive you home?” I asked.“You can walk with us if you want,” Kathy said, readjusting her blouse and short skirt.I followed them to the entrance to the adjacent graveyard.“Spirits are out tonight,” Marcia said, squeezing my hand.“Have you ever seen a ghost?” Kathy said.“Why do you ask?”“Just curious. Would you like to see a ghost?”“I don’t like being frightened.”“All ghosts aren’t frightening,” Marcia said. “Come with us. Maybe we’ll see some.”“I don’t know. Sounds sorta creepy.”“You aren’t scared, are you?”I didn’t have a chance to answer. They each grabbed one of my hands and led me through the opened wrought iron entrance to the graveyard, fairly dancing as we raced to the top of a gentle hill surrounded by polished gravestones. We stopped at an ornate crypt constructed of polished marble. The stone face of the crypt appeared blue and alive as it reflected muted light from the full moon. Marcia took both of my hands and pulled me toward the grave.“It’s my turn.”Kathy watched as Marcia lay on the ground in front of the polished headstone, pulling me on top of her. A strange and erotic force had taken control of my loins and I was powerless to resist. We were soon rolling atop the grave site in the throes of moonstruck lust. Unlike my normal self, I howled like a banshee when I came, trying to catch my breath and glancing up at the moon as a wisp of cloud passed slowly in front of it.Kathy joined us, rolling on the ground, laughing and hugging both of us, unmindful of Marcia’s large exposed breasts that seemed to glow in the muted moonlight.“Close your eyes and count to ten before you open them,” Marcia said.I opened my eyes on the count of ten, finding myself alone, my pants and underwear down below my knees. Pulling up my pants, I called their names, not really expecting them to answer. They didn’t.I left the graveyard, returning alone to Shrimper’s. Mark handed me another drink.“Where are the two ladies?”“They went home,” I answered.***
I returned to the parking lot of Shrimper’s the next day. The main entrance was locked and I entered the graveyard through a maintenance gate. A gentle rain had fallen just before dawn and a rolling mist hung over the damp ground and polished gravestones. I climbed the little hill to the grave site where I had last seen Marcia and Kathy, and I had a start when I read the inscription on the gravestone where we had engaged in wild, unbridled sex.I stared at the inscription for minutes, trying to determine if I was dreaming, or just crazy. Marcia Hanson, the inscription said. Died too soon in a tragic car accident. Born July 6, 1967. Died October 31, 1991. The adjacent gravestone was a twin to the one I was looking at and I got the shock of my life when I read the inscription. It also said, Died too soon in a tragic car accident. Kathy Benson, Born November 10, 1969, died October 31, 1991.To say my heart skipped a beat is an understatement. I walked away, only to return and reread the inscriptions. As I stood there, staring at the polished gravestones, gently rain began falling, evaporating almost as soon as it touched my shoulders. Turning toward the maintenance entrance, I walked slowly away, wondering if I would believe my own memories tomorrow.
EndEric'sWeb
 

Big Billy's Cajun Catfish Fingers with Terrebonne Dipping Sauce - a weekend recipe

Big Billy wasn’t a Cajun but he enjoyed cooking like one. He got this recipe from a Terrebonne Parish cousin, adding the beer to the batter to add his own personal touch. Enjoy.

Cajun Catfish Fingers

Ingredients

• 4 large catfish fillets cut into 1-inch strips
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 8 oz beer
• Dash Cajun hot sauce
• Peanut oil for frying

Directions

Add 1 cup of flour, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to a shallow bowl and mix well. Add beer, 2nd cup of flour, and dash of Cajun hot sauce in a second shallow bowl and mix well. Dredge catfish fingers in flour mixture, and then beer batter. Fill a cast iron skillet with peanut oil. Fry fingers in a single layer until they are golden brown and flake easily—2 to 4 minutes on each side. Drain on a brown paper bag

Terrebonne Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup stone ground grainy mustard
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp honey
• ½ Tbsp lemon juice
• Dash Cajun hot sauce

Directions

Combine ingredients and mix until well blended. Chill until ready to serve.

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Wild Urban Turkeys - Edmond, Oklahoma

My office backs up to a wooded creek, eroded into Permian sandstone to a depth of about ten feet. With the persistant Oklahoma drought the creek is mostly dry, though pools of water exist along its route. This creek and ten acres of undeveloped property nearby is the home for many wild animals. Yesterday, eight wild turkeys were pecking around outside the office. They looked well fed and I suspect someone in the neighborhood is putting out food for them.

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Bulldog and Pugs - a pic

Oscar, Princess, and ScooterThese three love to pose.

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Papa Hemingway's Cold Cucumber Soup - a recipe

I found this on the web. A recipe from Hemingway's mother. Papa Hemingway's Cold Cucumber Soup. Check it out!

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Unlikely Celebrity Cookbooks

I found this interesting article at Abebooks. Lucille Ball? Will Rogers? Yes, they had cookbooks and you won't believe how many others. Check out this article at Unlikely Celebrity Cookbooks.

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Avery Island Pelicans and Michoud Sunset

A couple of great pics by brother-in-law Dennis Seal. For a couple of stories about Dennis, check out Lily's Little Cajun Cookbook. Eric'sWeb