How to Make Pickled Red Onions

To make these pickled red onions,
you have to get some nice red big onions.
Use as many as you want.
One, two or many.
I think you should have two.
Then you don't have to do as much work.

Ok, peel the onions.
Next cut the ends off.
The ends of red onions sometimes look a lttle black.
Cut that part out.
Cut the onion in half.
Now slice it into thin slices.
Keep doing this till you have sliced all the onions.

If you start crying,
don't rub your eyes.
Wash your hands in cold water.
Keep the cold water running.
The crying molecules from the onion,
will be attracted to the water,
and will wash down the drain,
and somewhere downstream,
fish will be crying for no apparent reason.
But that is not your fault.
Do not feel guilty.
It is their destiny.

Before you started slicing the onions,
you should have put a pan of water on the stove.
I should have told you that.
I am truly sorry.
Cover the pan and bring it to a boil.

Now put the sliced onions in the boiling water.
They only need to be in there about a minute.
They will begin to turn pink.
Then take them out with one of those spoons with holes in it.
Or better yet use a chinese wire strainer with a bamboo handle.
Put the cooked onions in a bowl.
If your pan was small
or you had a lot of onions,
you might have to boil the onions in several batches.

Now put the onions in some mason jars.
Fill them about three quarters full.
Put one peeled and halved garlic clove in each jar.
Fill each jar about one third full with some apple cider vinegar.

Now you need to put the spices in.
I like to use the following spices.
Whole coriander seeds.
These are also called cilantro seeds.
Whole cumin seeds.
Some dried oregano.
Some dried chile flakes.
Kosher salt.
Coarse ground pepper.
Put the spices on a cutting board and roughly crush them.
Just enough to serve notice to the flavor molecules
that they have to wake up and go to work.
Put some of the spice mixture in each jar.
Also put a bay leaf in each jar.

Fill up the rest of the jar with water.
Put a lid on it.
Turn it over a couple of times to mix everything up.
Put the jars in the refridgerator.
Let it sit a day or two.
They are now ready to eat.
They will keep in the fridge for about two weeks.
If they are still there after that,
you have to ask yourself why you made them in the first place.
You are suppose to eat food that you prepare.

How do you eat them?
On pork tacos.
As a relish on hamburgers or hot dogs.
Mixed with garbanzo beans and cucumbers for a quick salad.
Out of the jar while you are watching wrestling on TV.
Eat them any way that you want to.
But do not waste them.

News

A prose poem of my was published today at http://ahappening.typepad.com/qarrtsiluni/. qarrtsiluni is an Alaskan Inuit word for sitting together in the darkness, waiting for something to burst. The theme was short shorts. Only pieces under 100 words were selected. I am grateful to the editors Beth Adams(http://www.cassandrapages.com/) and Dave Bonta( http://www.vianegativa.us/) for choosing my piece "The Cold Spot"

If the Shoe Fits

Someone dear to me likes to walk in to second hand stores, try on the used shoes and when they find the perfect pair they put their old shoes on the rack and quietly walk away.....

Someone else walked out of the desert,
looked at the City,
left his old life behind in a dumpster,
slipped on his new identity
and quietly walked away....

A third guy,
some kind of saint,
use to walk down by the river,
and when he would see a fresh body floating by,
would crawl up inside of it
and quietly walk away.....

This last guy was hard on his bodies.
He had to do a trade every so often.
You might see him down by the big rivers.
I don't know what he looks like.
An everyman I guess.
An anyone.

Grocery List

Red Apples and green ones too
Pears.....four fat ones
Purple plums
Mangoes and a bag of colima limes
Sandia y melon
Green onions
Red onions and white
Garlic and ginger
Chiles
Green and red peppers
Spinach
lechuga
Cilantro
Italian parsley
tortillas and pitas
tilapia and salmon
camerones y pulpo
Clamato juice
bolillos
lentils and garbanzos
sardines in a can
tuna in a can
can opener
red wine(no more than $7)
white wine($6)
sidra
cheese....whatever looks good
plain no fat yogurt
honey
raisins
walnuts
eggs...the brown ones
chocolate chip cookies
coffee ice cream
2 lotto tickets
5 gallons of water


This originally was published at http://unpleasanteventschedule.com.
I do not claim it to be anything other than a grocery list. I almost never use a grocery list. I just wander around the store and put stuff into the cart.

Flash of Light

The flash of light came.
It seems to always come.
From inside of me.
From outside of me.
But it always comes.

Alma Gemela

You and I were soulmates.
At least we talked of this.
I felt certain of this.
We seemed like one thought.
I could feel your presence when you were away.
I knew when your letters were waiting at my post office box.
Our souls touched at night.
I had clear dreams of you.
But now I can't feel you.
What is this thing between us?
I don't even know if I reach out for you anymore.
Where is the clarity of feelings I had for you?
I am down in this dark hole of my own sadness and fear.
One flash of light would destroy this shadow world.
I wait for this light.
I wait for this flash of light.

How to Make Caponata

First go get some vegetables.
If it is summer or early fall try a farmer's market.
If you have a garden try looking there.
Any other time go to a grocery store.
Sometimes that rich lady up the street leaves her back door unlocked.
Do not go to her house and try to sneak in.
She has a big dog and it is not worth it for a few vegatables.

Anyway this is what you need to get.
Some eggplants. Maybe 2 or 3. Nice firm purple ones.
Some zuccini. 2 or 3. Get some that are not too big.
One red onion.
Two white onions.
Two red and two green bell peppers.
Maybe a half a dozen ripe roma tomatoes.

You should have on hand the following stuff.
Extra virgen olive oil.
Red wine vinegar.
Capers. The little ones not the big ones.
Good black olives. Sicilian or Greek. With the seeds still in them.
Dried chile flakes.
Salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Oregeno.

This is an easy recipe.
Do not quit now.
You will be sorry.
Everybody else will be eating caponata.
And you, you worthless bum, will be eating coleslaw
from some deli.

OK, so wash the aforementioned vegetables.
Get out your knife.
Make sure it is sharp
I hope you don't have those never need sharpening knives.
I don't like them.
I am not going to go into it now.

Cut the ends off of the eggplant and zuccini.
Do not peel these vegeatbles.
Slice them.
Dice them.
Into cubes about a half an inch on each side.
Put a little salt on the cubes.
Then put them into a colander and let them drain any excess liquid
for maybe thirty minutes.

While they are draining,
there is something else for you to do.
You need to chop the onions and peppers.
Peel the onions.
Cut them into pieces that are about one inch square.
Please do not measure each piece of onion.
If you start to cry don't rub you eyes with your hands.
Wash your hands with cold water.
Leave the cold water running in the sink.
This will trick the crying molecules from the onion.
They will jump into the sink and die.
See these molecules are looking for wet eyeballs
and the water tricks them.
Now cut the tops off of the peppers.
Trim the insides and remove the seeds.
Cut these peppers into pieces about the same size as the onion pieces.

You have now finished the hard work.

Put a good sized skillet on the stove.
Turn the heat on medium.
Put some olive oil in the pan.
Now put the onions in the pan.
Add some salt and pepper.
Cook them until you can see thru them a little.
Do not let them get brown.
You will have a lot of vegetables to saute' here.
So relax and put a reasonable amount of vegetables in the pan at one time.
Don't let let them get crowded.
They will panic and burn themselves.
In this recipe you want the vegetables to be cooked,
but not too much.
After each vegetable has been cooked put the pieces in a bowl to be used later.
Now cook the peppers the same way you did the onions.
Next the zuccini.
Now cook the eggplant.
They will take a little more olive oil than the other vegetables.
They will need to cook a bit longer than the other vegetables.
Put the eggplant pieces in the bowl.

Ok now peel the tomatoes.
Cut them in half,
Core them and take out the seeds.
Chop them a little bit.
Saute them for a few minutes.
Put them in the big bowl.

Next get some of the olives.
Maybe twenty of them.
Take the seeds out of the olives.
The best way to do that it is to flatten the olives with something.
Your hand, the side of a chef's knife or the bottom of a pan all work.
If you use your hand make sure that it is clean.
Now take the seeds out.
I like to take each seed and put it in my mouth and chew on the little olive bits.
It is a sin to waste food.
Chop the olives.
Put them in the bowl

Put a heaping table spoon of capers in the bowl.
Put some dried chile flakes in the bowl.
How much?
I don't know how hot you like it.
You decide.
Add oregeno
A lttle mor salt and pepper.
Add some red wine vinegar.
Maybe a cup.
A little at a time.
Stir it up.

Now, put some of the mixture back in the skillet.
Turn the heat on high.
The liquid will start to evaporate.
Stir it.
The kitchen will smell like a pickle factory.
You only need to cook it for a few minutes.
Then put the cooked mixture into another big bowl.
Keep doing this till you have reheated all the vegetables.
Stir it again.
Cover it and refrigerate.
It will be ready to eat in a day or two.
Before you serve it you may need to reseason it.

Ok serve it cold.
You should be proud of yourself.
You are not a worthless bum like the people who quit are.
You are not eating coleslaw.
You are eating caponata.