My NYC Midnight Submission, 2nd challenge (Flash Fiction)

This past weekend all of NYCMidnight registrants were either excited or solemn about the second challenge in the first round of this year's Flash Fiction contest. Rankings were posted late last week and many of us in the Twitterverse were not happy, though some were. Rankings encompassed people receiving points (or not). You could get from 1-25 points. The higher the points the higher your ranking. I was in the top 15, but rated pretty low with 2 points. Those not in the top 15 received a score of 0.

That being said a low score on the first challenge doesn't necessarily remove you from the entire challenge. You can score pretty high on the second challenge and the combined score, if high enough for your group, could carry you to the next round.

Feedback I received from members was generally very complimentary and helpful. Comments from the judges noted that my science fiction piece was sci-fi all the way (score!) but a bit too political and not subtle enough (nuts!). I do like the story and as mentioned in my previous NYCMidnight post I got inspired pretty quickly and wrote it within a few hours. I'll more than likely edit it down and rework it a bit and see if I can submit to a lit mag that specializes in science fiction. We'll see. First I have to get through my growing literary and YA projects.

This challenge I received the following: genre, horror; location, aquarium; item, mouthwash. Pretty random huh?

I have to say I didn't like it at all. I've read and seen a lot of horror in my day but have yet to write any successfully.

Since the flash fiction challenge takes place from 11:59pm on Friday to 11:59pm on Sunday you can imagine being blocked may hinder your creation. While I was gung ho about my story last challenge I was completely (read: completely) blocked for this one. I wrote several drafts that I hated and the damn aquarium was getting in my way! I didn't want to utilize any animals in the aquarium as that seemed too easy. In many moments of being blocked I thought "What would Stephen King do in this situation?"

One of the contest members sent me this freaky post about a giant worm that ran rampant at an aquarium in the UK for inspiration. Did you check it out? Way creepy, no?!

In the end I wrote a piece I semi-liked. And when I was done I realized that the location prompted was not a predominant locale in the piece. I tried to rework it in the remaining time I had but it just wasn't working. So, there is an aquarium but the judges may disqualify me for not having a majority of the action inside it. Eh. I wrote and submitted and cheered my fellow writers on. Doubt I'll make it to the next round, but there's always next year.

So, here goes nothing...here's my 2nd challenge entry, First Date:

I noticed him working at the café in the Pacific Aquatic Center. I was there for a school assignment. I saw him staring at me before quickly turning away as I sketched the stingrays. He's one of those lonely, quiet boys. Keeps his head down, barely speaks, but is polite, has a nice smile even.

Our date is at the aquarium. He can get us in for free. A perk he says. When he picks me up in his beat up car he seems happy to not be wearing the prerequisite sea green shirt and hat with a copyrighted mermaid on it.

As soon as he steps out the car to get our tickets I check the glove compartment. Soap, mouthwash, toilet paper, hair gel, and deodorant spill out onto my lap. I grin when I see the bulging garbage bags in the backseat, shoes scattered on the car floor.

He isn't quiet when we have sex in the aquarium. He pushes me up against the shark tank. As marine life swims around us he presses against me, whispers in my ear that I am beautiful and lovely and all those nice words he thinks girls like to hear during.

After, I smooth my skirt and he checks the fly on his jeans. The air is musky and damp, water under our feet. He takes my hand as we wander through the makeshift sea around us. He tells me this was one of his favorite places to come as a kid. I nod as he talks about his life now that his parents are gone. Losing mine is something I'm trying to prevent. 

  He tells me he had a nice night. Kids holding balloons shaped like sea turtles and dolphins bump into us while we're in queue to exit.

“It doesn't have to end,” I say. “I live right across from here.”

He starts to shake his head but I hold his face still with my hands.

“I'll take care of you,” I assure him like I do all the others.

He whispers it seems like everything creaks once we're in the house. He holds back but I take his hand, urge him to follow me.

  He asks if I hear something, a buzzing underneath us. I almost curse under my breath at my mom working when she's supposed to be resting. I shake it off, force a grin.

“I'm on the first floor,” I whisper. Pointing upstairs I tell him, “My mom's room is up there.”

I see his shoulders lower and him relax.

I close the door behind me. Move to sit on the edge of my bed and lift my skirt a little higher, mid-thigh. The edge of his lips curl. I know he'll do whatever I want.

He clears his throat, asks if I have anything to drink. “Maybe a beer?” I tell him I have something stronger. I open the drawer beside my bed, pull out the round yellow pills, offer him one on the tip of my finger. He hesitates before taking it and swallowing. He watches me as I pretend to do the same.

I push him down on the bed, lay atop him. He's about to start in on his litany of beautiful words when I place a finger on his mouth and tell him to “shh,” just “shh.” Within minutes he's out, his limbs limp when I pick one up to make sure.

I change into my work clothes. Remove the skirt, pull on my overalls and boots. The clear poncho goes over everything. I grab my goggles and consider how heavy he'll be.

I pad down to the basement. See Mom's back hunched over as she starts the table saw. The lower torso of my previous date in front of her drained and chilled, ready for slicing.

Our packs are dwindling. Only a few crimson ones hang on the walls.

Mom coughs into her elbow. “We may have to find a bigger town,” she says without looking up.

“Yeah. Maybe a big city? No one would miss anyone then.”

“Maybe. So expensive though.” She turns to me. Her face is paler now. Her plastic apron is pristine and I remember her when she was a healthy homemaker. Before she got sick. Before Dad left. Before she stopped being a nurse. Such a shame to bloody it.

“How's this one?” she asks, motioning upstairs.

“He's nice. Homeless.”

Her lips go wide, curl up at the sides. “That's my girl.”

“He's an okay lay too.”

Her smile turns to a frown. “You know I don't like to hear that.”

“I used to hear you and yours you know.”

Mom's cheeks turn as red as the contents of our packs. She mumbles, “I hope you're at least being safe.”

I roll my eyes, put my hands on my hips. “Duh. I'm always careful,” I say.

Mom approaches me, takes off her thick gloves. Her hand shakes as she reaches to pat my cheek.

“I know you are, sweetie. I love you.”

Now my face blushes and I look away.

“You've handled this really well,” she adds.

“I had to. Dad was so chicken shit--”

She holds up a hand to silence me as she sighs.

“The cancer is spreading, sweetheart.”

I try to push her hand away but she closes in, hugs me.

“Yeah and I found someone. I'll keep finding someone until you're well. We'll hoard as many organs and blood and marrow as possible.”

I look around the basement. At the tubes, sharp metal, and machines meant to help us transfer blood. At the freeze locker emitting white smoke. At the severed head of the last guy I met, his eyes closed thankfully.

“I know,” she says into my hair. “You're so proactive. A go-getter.”

I tell her she'll be fine. I'll take care of us.

“Speaking of which, I'll go get him now.”

[© copyright 2011 Jennifer Baker-Henry]

Gluten-Free Baking Month!

Gluten-free baking month, a self-imposed title, is gone. And I'm kind of bummed about it to be honest. Gluten-free baking is something that is not as hard as you might think. The month of July encompassed me making five (the goal was six, fail) desserts that were gluten-free. Gluten-free cooking/baking is nothing new, but like most things has received wider attention because of access to the worldwide web and the information available from the medical side. Those who suffer from severe reaction to gluten in terms of digestion and absorption of nutrients have celiac disease. A friend of mine informed me she was diagnosed with it late last year. And it completely changes your way of living/eating. There are many distractors and gluten, like dairy, is everywhere!

At Book Expo this past May one of the cookbooks I scored was Gluten-Free Cookies by Luane Kohnke. And what type of Baker would I be if I didn't indulge in all types of baking? A bad one? Indeed.

I haven't had many, if any, gluten-free items outside of flourless chocolate cake or other. But here was my chance to indulge and I have to say the results were pretty darn good. Anyone who may hesitate at the thought of gluten-free should think again. Of course, anything can be bad. Gluten-filled, gluten-free, vegan or other. But it takes skill, period, to make something taste good no-matter-what. So I have to say that Ms. Kohnke did a great job with her recipes because I enjoyed them all for the most part. And once I got beyond texture it was golden!

Now, the basis for most of Luane's recipes that contain wheat flour substitute(s) are as follows: brown rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, xantham gum, and almond flour (often added at the end of sifting the first four ingredients). Now these aren't the only flour(s) you can use but these were the ones referenced most in her recipes so I stuck to the book. As Luane lists in the frontmatter of her book you can also get gluten-free flour, cornmeal, guar gum, hazelnut flour. She provides flour blend measurements in the front which is quite helpful to get a sense of balance.

Note: The one downside to gluten-free baking with these specific flour mixtures was pricing. I spent about $30+ on flour alone. A half pound of xantham gum cost more than $10 and one of the flour substitutes was equally pricey. The others like brown rice flour came in around $4+ at 2 lbs. So when doing gluten-free baking on a budget definitely do your research to see if you can easily switch out an item or two or have to really restructure a whole recipe. There are many ready-made gluten-free mixes but it's nice to make stuff from scratch every so often so you know exactly what's in your food.

I am in awe of the time and care bakers put into creating specialized cookbooks while making sure the end result tastes good.  Good job, Luane!

First up, Jam Thumbprints (actually jelly because I didn't feel like buying jam just for this recipe).

Well these are just magical cookies! Magic, I say! They are buttery (1.5 sticks to be exact) and chewy yet crispy if that's even possible.

Note: Something I noticed about gluten-free baking, at least with these recipes, is that the transport of said cookies meant you were carrying precious cargo. They were brittle, not always to the touch but not able to take shuffling, even the lightest bit, and when biting into them would crumble.

I believe the almond flour/meal I got was the element that added a granular texture to the cookies I made. And it was most apparent in these because it was my first recipe (a) and because of the fact that the cookie was butter, basically plain (b). But  none of this took away from the taste!

Next on the list, Macadamia Nut Blondies. These blondies also had white chocolate bits (gluten-free!). I had to say that the texture was quite dense. But all I tasted was sugar. And for me even that was a bit much. It was like a shot of sugar, though my co-workers did not complain. Not bad, just too sweet for my taste and that is saying something. 

Note: When baking with flour for cookies I found that I had to pre-make the dough and then chill it for at least an hour or overnight. This resulted in me searching for some quick recipes and the blondies were one of them.

Onward to Sweet Cinnamon Snickerdoodles! Again, the transport factor weighed heavily on these cause I had to transport them to Brooklyn and gave some to a friend. After stuffing said cookies in her purse (in ziplock) they became dust. Tasty dust as I was told.

For me the cinnamon permeated in these cookies. More so than in the snickerdoodles I've made using the Sweet Melissa recipe (a fave of friends). Not bad, just too cinnamony for me. But enough butter inside and tastiness that I'd make again and that guests went through the cookies in minutes. Minutes! 

And then we have Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies. I wanted to make sure to do at least one flourless recipe and ended up making these since I love peanut butter. The issue in the baking is knowing when these are done enough so that they're not too chewy but don't get burnt and firm up too much. I found a balance after the first batch and even if a recipe says wait until edges are brown that isn't necessarily par for the course. It depends on your oven and your methods. But these came out tasty. I added chocolate chips (gluten-free!) also because I just love the taste of both. The peanut butter was overwhelming in these, not a bad thing. When I make peanut butter cookies with flour there's a slight dilution of the peanut butter because of gluten and plus you don't need as much. But when they are flourless the peanut butter takes center stage and you have a mouthful of it. I barely taste the chocolate chips I put in because peanut butter had to be a diva.

And lastly we have Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. These were the pièce de résistance. Chocolate cookies with a dollop of peanut butter mixture in the middle. Much like a Reese's peanut butter cup. Everyone loved these. Chocolate and peanut butter can do no wrong. Ever! 

Two stages to this one since you pre-make and chill the dough and then right before putting the cookies in the oven you make the peanut butter mixture to put inside it. Leftover peanut butter mixture makes a nice, light flourless peanut butter cookie that I liked a bit better than the Flourless Peanut Butter Cookie recipe I used because it was not as heavy on the peanut butter and had egg whites in it which helped with density.

The chocolate powder in the cookie mix isn't too overwhelming with the chocolate and neither is the light peanut butter mixture so it's a perfect balance I think. And they come in a petite size (or were supposed to as I'm heavy handed) and are a nice treat to pop in your mouth. Good times.

Even though Gluten-Free Baking Month is over in my household I still have many of the flours left over to make more items. I'm think I may try her Chocolate Cookie Cake next.

So that was Gluten-Free Baking Month. Delicious desserts with no loss in flavor at all! I'd highly suggest using and/or testing Luane's recipes for yourself. But as noted earlier in this post if you're going to invest you might as well go full on and do so for your own Gluten-Free Baking Month! I still have leftover xantham gum if you need any.

There are many resources you can find for gluten-free baking such as Gluten Free Baking, Lauren McMillan's website, Gluten Free Baking 101, Luane's website, and a host of other sites you can find via any search engine and also on sites such as Epicurious and Food Network.

Happy Baking!