Watch pauses - writing tip

Watch pauses. In general there are three kinds of pauses. You can hyphenate within a word to indicate the speaker is using an accent, when one word modifies the other, or for emphasis. A hyphen is a very short pause and can also be used to indicate the speaker is talking-very-fast or running-his-words-together, if you hyphenate words that would otherwise have a space between them. An em dash (—) is named for the old typesetter's measure, because it is one em long. It is a short pause, or indicates an interruption or a change of thought. If you don't have a font with an em dash, you can indicate it in a manuscript by typing two hyphens (--) side by side with no spaces at the end. The third pause indicator is the ellipses (. . .) typed as three dots with spaces between, but not at the ends, and it indicates a longer pause than an em dash. Quite a long pause, long enough to count to three, though not as long as, "five minutes later." Also when you use ellipses to indicate a pause and they come at the end of a sentence or in a place where other punctuation might be appropriate, the three ellipses dots should be followed by the appropriate punctuation, a period, comma, or even a question mark.

Maine Potato Candy - Recipe

Nina’s “Writer Who Has a Day Job” Variation on Classic Maine Potato Candy for Busy People

Mix thoroughly:
2/3 cup mashed potatoes (without butter, salt, or anything else added)
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 large package shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla

Butter a 9 x 9 inch baking pan, and spread mixture in it evenly. Then melt in a quart-sized microwave-proof bowl (or on the stove in a double boiler) 1 large package of semisweet chocolate chips, with 1 stick of butter or margarine. Spread evenly over the potato mixture, and then chill for about 15 minutes. “Mark” the chocolate (which hardens quickly) with a knife so you can cut it more easily later. Chill until firm, several hours at least, before cutting into small pieces (these are very rich!). Keep refrigerated until ready to use, and refrigerate the uneaten pieces if you have any…but you won’t.

Catching up

Corrections have been made in the print file for Barbara Garro's FROM JESUS TO HEAVE WITH LOVE, and continue on Erin Aslin's THROUGH THE CLOUDS.

Meanwhile, for those of you who have written with concern, my health continues to improve now that I'm no longer taking the medicine that was making me sick.

arline

Accept and Except - writing tip

Watch accept and except. Accept means you agree with something. Except means you disagree, or that something is an “exception” rather than the “usual.”

Green Beans with Sesame Seeds - recipe

Ray Morand’s Green Beans with Sesame Seeds*
(Saya-ingen no Goma-ae)

½ lb. green beans, washed and trimmed
4 cups boiling water
2 tsp salt

Sesame Dressing:
4 Tbsp. black sesame seeds
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. light colored soy sauce

In saucepan boil water with salt, add beans and cook over high heat. Rinse and run under cold water to retain color and crispness. Drain and cut into 2 or 3 pieces. Set aside.
Grind seeds using mortar and pestle or coffee grinder. Add sugar and soy sauce and mix well. Add to beans and toss lightly. Serve in small bowls.

Contributor’s Note: I have served this cold and hot. Guests liked it both ways.

Then and Than - writing tip

Then and than are use incorrectly often. They are not the same.

They are very close, but are two different words, with different meanings. Then is used when you describe another time – as in That was then, this is now. Than is used for comparisons, as when something is different than something else.

Fresh Tomato Soup - recipe

Barbara J. Cooper’s Fresh Tomato Soup

6 tomatoes, skinned
4 tbs butter
4 tbs flour
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbs fresh parsley
1 tbs fresh basil
salt/pepper/red pepper

Melt butter and cook onion until soft. Add skinned tomatoes and garlic. Add flour, blend well. Then add chicken broth and whisk well. It will thicken slightly. Simmer about 20 minutes. Either put in blender or use hand blender just a few seconds -- salt and pepper to taste. Add cream, parsley and basil. Serve with dollop of sour cream. You may enhance tomato taste by adding 2-3 tbs tomato paste.

Contributed by Barbara J. and Grover C. Cooper.