WHO IS EUGENE HOFFMEYER?

Sorry to be late getting back to you, but I fell and cracked my elbow in July, which adventure held me up in writing this blog post. I had hoped that the difficulty produced by the crack in raising hand to mouth would have some effect on summer efforts to look presentable in the bikini, but no such luck. The left hand takes over remarkably well for that activity.

The title of this blog represents the feedback coming in on Book I, along with, “I couldn’t put it down!” and “Hurry up and write Book II!” (FYI: Book II, In Those Dazzling Days of Elvis, is with the publisher! I’ll let you know when it is coming out as soon as I get a launch date. Thanks for your interest and enthusiasm.)

Now to the question at hand. Who is that charming dilbert you met in Book I known as Eugene Hoffmeyer? In fact, who are all the characters?  Weekly, since the book came out I’ve been getting emails and calls from people asking who so-and-so character is, or saying they know who a certain character is in real life. So far no one has been right about any of them.

I am now going to reveal the truth about all the characters, who they really represent: Believe it or not, each and every one of them is a “Fig Newton” of my imagination, except for Elvis Presley. Naturally, a writer draws on his or her life experiences, and sometimes a writer will create a memoir or an autobiography. In those types of literature you will find “real” people as characters. Except for the dates and locations of Elvis’s concerts, television appearances, recordings, and film making, which were thoroughly researched, In Those First Bright Days of Elvis is entirely fiction. All of Elvis’s letters to Julie are also fiction.

The characters were created by taking recognizable human traits and molding them into types you will find everywhere, such as “the dreamboat,” the “alcoholic,” the “leader of the in-crowd,” the “dilbert(s),” etc. I wrote this book hoping that people everywhere would see someone they recognized in the characters.

Every writer has had a father and mother at some time or other. Many have had siblings. Elementary, right? However I have heard that one of the biggest sources of conflict in families occurs when a writer-member of the family includes a generic parent or sibling and the real person mistakes that character for himself or /herself and takes offense.

That said, Eugene Hoffmeyer and all the others are still a figment of my imagination, based on characteristics of many people I have known. But you are entirely free to see in them whomever you perceive. After all, that’s part of the fun!

Recipes for the month:

Fish cakes for weight loss

Ingredients:

One pound of cod fish

1 can of sardines packed in water, drained

1 egg

2 finely chopped scallions

1 TBSP capers, drained

½ TBSP dill weed

Salt and pepper to taste

1 TBSP grated parmesan cheese

1 slice of Trader Joe’s sprouted wheat bread, 4 net carbs, toasted and made into crumbs in the food processer.

Cooking directions:

Cook cod in water to cover in a frying pan until it flakes easily. Drain and crumble in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add sardines, egg, scallions, capers, and dill weed. Use hands to mix thoroughly and form into two cakes. Mix parmesan cheese with bread crumbs and coat fish cakes with the mixture. Chill in frig for at least one hour. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Place cakes on sheet and spray them with non-stick spray. Bake in 425 oven for 30 minutes turning after 15. Serve hot or cold.

OLD TIMEY CHICKEN AND SLICKER DUMPLINGS

From my grandmother’s kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

1 stewing hen

2 qt. water

½ tsp. pepper

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

1 beaten egg

Broth to make a stiff dough.

Directions:

Stew chicken until tender in 1 qt. of the water in large pot with 1 tsp. of the salt and ½ tsp. pepper. Cool, bone, and cut into bite-sized pieces, reserving cooking liquid.

Add 1 qt. water to cooking liquid (broth) and heat to simmering.

Mix egg with 1 cup of the broth and add to pot. (I put the egg in a cup and beat it slightly before adding the broth a spoonful at a time if it is hot, so as not to cook the egg.)

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in medium mixing bowl.

Starting with ½ cup, add some of the broth, a little at a time, to make a stiff dough. Use more if needed.

Roll very thin on floured board.

Cut into one inch squares, and drop into simmering broth.

Cook 20 min. Add chicken and serve.

That’s all for now, folks! Happy autumn!