Joan Hall's Press Kit

A Taste of Arturo's World

A TASTE OF A POST-APOCALYPTICAL WORLD
Characters' Favorite Foods
Recipes for aWorld without Supermarkets

Chorizo con juevos - Art's favorite breakfast whenever he was in San Antonio and had a chance to stop at Rosie's Place bar & grill. Dishes requiring chicken or eggs were unique at Rosie's. After all, livestock wasn't easy to keep inside a city full of predators-the kind released long ago from the zoo, four-legged with teeth and claws, or the two-legged kind that carried knives and uzis.

Oatmeal Cookies - Shanna's favorite to take on an expedition outside Cranston's Compound. Never could she leave the fortress without her dad and a company of armed guards. At an abandoned library, she'd nibble the cookies while scavenging as many books as her pack horse could carry. The others looked for machine parts and other necessities.

Sourdough Bread - Nilson's favorite. He was carrying a sourdough starter as a gift to his clan before Eddie Reeves stopped him. He darn-near forgot his gift when Shanna's life and his own went on the line.

Tofu Main Entree - Cranston's favorite for amazing visitors who thought it was meat. But rare was the visitor allowed inside Cranston's Compound by way of the drawbridge gate. Even rarer, anyone who entered by way of the secret cliff route.

Hellion Stew - Eddie Reeves's favorite, but the author hopes you'll buy the vegetables instead of marauding through a farmer's garden to steal them. More important, beef or pork replaces Eddie's choice of meat.

Rosie's Place Home-brew - Gloria's favorite, and she didn't know when to stop. More moderately appreciated by everyone else to wash down any of the above foods. But heck! There are so many variations of beer, the author recommends you choose your own at: www.brewyourownbrew.com - or buy it at the store.

Art's
Chorizo con Juevos
(Mexican sausage and eggs)
(serves about 5 people)

Chorizo is bulk pork sausage seasoned with garlic, chile powder, vinegar, salt, etc. Rosie had her own secret recipe. Unless you want to experiment with your own blend, you can buy a package (about 12 oz.) of chorizo at the store.
Remove the ground meat from the package and crumble it into a skillet. Cook over medium heat and stir until done, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add 6 to 8 eggs, well-beaten, and stir until eggs are cooked. Top with grated goat cheese if available.
Serve with fresh warm tortillas. Also frequently served with frijoles (pinto beans that may be mashed and stir fried) or with papas (potatoes that may be cut into small pieces and stir fried).

Shanna's
Oatmeal Cookies

Sift together and set aside:
1-3/4 cups flour
*1/2 tsp. baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (if available)
1/4 tsp. ground cloves (if available)
Cream together:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup honey (to taste)
Blend in:
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 tsp. vanilla (if available)
Combine dry ingredients into wet a little at a time
Add and mix well:
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped nuts (whatever is native to your area)
1 cup raisins (if available)
Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet (will spread)
Bake in 350º oven until edges begin to brown.

*Baking soda & the acid in sour milk or buttermilk, combine to create leavening.

Nilson's
Sourdough Starter & Bread
(enough for 1 loaf; you may double or triple)

Starter
Mix 1 cup warm water and 1 cup flour (not self-rising); you may "cheat" if you like by adding 1/3 package of active dry yeast as a booster. Save this living culture in a glass or crockery jar with a lid. (Plastic containers are okay too.) Leave room for expansion, and don't seal airtight. 100º temperature or higher may kill it. The old "Sourdoughs" used to keep a container of the starter on their persons to keep it "alive."
Let stand in a warm, draft-free place (80-85º) for 24 hours. If it hasn't begun fermentation by then, throw it out and start over. Once it starts, feed it every 24 hours like this: throw away half of it and add half cup each of flour and warm water.
After 2 - 3 days, it should be foamy and smell sour, which means it's ready. Stir "hooch" (liquid, beery part) into the batter part and use in the recipe.
If not using then, store in the fridge (if available) and feed it once a week (see above). Let it warm up before using.

Basic Loaf of Bread

Take starter out of the fridge and pour into a large bowl. Add another cup each of flour and warm water and leave in warm place overnight to "proof" the "sponge" (warm, fermented batter). It should be frothy and sour.
You will have some of the starter left. Put it in a clean jar and feed it as directed above, but only once a week. Now here's the recipe to make a loaf of bread.

Combine and mix well:
2 cups of sponge (warm, fermented batter)
2 tablespoons of softened butter or olive oil
4 teaspoons of honey (of sugar if you have it)
2 tsp. salt

Knead in flour until consistency is right (about 3 cups). Cover bowl with a cuptowel and allow to rise double in size, about an hour or longer. When you can poke a hole that doesn't spring back, it's ready.
Punch dough down and knead slightly. Shape it into a loaf and place on greased baking sheet or in loaf pan. Cover loaf with towel and allow to rise in a warm place again until double in size.
Bake in 350º oven for about 30-45 minutes. Bread is done when crust is brown and bottom sounds hollow when tapped with spoon. Turn loaf onto a cooling rack and cool for an hour before slicing.

Cranston's
Homemade Tofu Patties
(makes one block)

3 cups soybeans
4-1/2 tsp. sea brine (or salted water)
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 -3 beaten eggs
coating of your choice: flour or seeds or chopped nuts native to your area)

Soak beans in water overnight; drain, and grind (in electric blender if you have a generator). Put in large pot and add 2 parts water; bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Pour liquid through 2 or 3 layers of cheesecloth. Gather corners of cloth & squeeze pulp to remove excess liquid. Set pulp aside for other cooking (to mix with flour in bread; or to feed to pigs).
Sprinkle sea brine or salt water over tofu liquid as a coagulant; stir lightly. Within 20 minutes, tofu should begin to curdle. Line a block-shaped forming strainer with cloth; spoon in curdling tofu.
Cover with another cloth and top with wooden lid. Place light weight on top of lid and add more weight after an hour to gently press out excess liquid (whey). Carefully empty the resulting block of tofu into a tub of cold water and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes. Refrigerate to store if possible or use soon.
Slice 1/2 inch thick. Dip in beaten eggs. Roll in coating of your choice and cook in a lightly oiled skillet. Season to taste with whatever herbs are available.
Tofu is also good crumbled into stir fry dishes or salads.

Feed whey to the pigs-Cranston never wasted anything.

Eddie's
Hellion Stew (cleaned up)
(makes family size potful)

In a large stew pan, cook a small beef or pork roast in water until medium rare (skip the gristly stew meat and go for the good stuff). Chop meat into bite-size pieces and return to the pot liquor.
Add more water as needed and whatever coarsely-chopped vegetables you like, such as: potatoes, cabbage, corn, green beans, celery, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, squash, and onions. Also add a little crushed rice to thicken the broth.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic, chilés, and whatever herbs you have (dried, crushed Mexican oregano leaves are good). Simmer slowly for at least two hours.

Contact Joan at:

30 Wildwood Drive #21; Georgetown, TX 78633

JMUHall@aol.com

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