No cheese curd, stuff in the gravy – not quite what I can call Poutine!
Coated steak fries in flour to get a really crunchy texture.
Gravy is made from thinly sliced leftover pork chop (my mom always said, “Waste not, want not!”), jalapeno, onion, and I threw in some diced tomato along with a handful of corn and peas.
Melted shredded smoke cheddar and sharp cheddar cheeses on the potato wedges, smothered in gravy and topped with more cheese.
Make it your way, name it what you want – I call it delicious!
Bon appétit!
Throwback Thursday – A Silver Raven’s Tale
A Silver Raven’s Tale
Michelin Empyrean, a rare white raven, has lived for centuries and he’s tired of loneliness. What makes life more burdensome is increasing responsibility and leadership of socially inclined corvid shifters. Preventing his kind, ravens, and especially crows, from robbing and menacing humans who remain unaware of their existence takes its toll. When one wayward creature’s thieving antics come to his attention, Mich decides to personally take the man to task.
Terrel Slade is a crow. Practically everything he owns is stolen. His stash of pretties, and the fact he’s never been caught, makes him proud as a peacock. As much as he admires that bird’s beauty, he believes his crow is sexier. Terre is no more than an omnivorous crow shifter with a penchant for shiny objects. A cunning bird, his existence is crammed with ways to irritate his archenemy, the raven.
That’s about to change.
When Michelin halts Terrel’s lifestyle, more than sparks fly—the whole damn forest might burn to the ground.
Snippet:
“Noah didn’t do this.” Ark Betenos’ exact reaction whenever discussions about the subject arose.
“You champion him still.”
“He didn’t do this, Michelin.”
“He started what his lord and master finished.” God made Michelin immortal and unacceptable. “I’ve been left by Him to handle the mess.”
“You made the mess, Michelin. I warned you not to alter them.” Ark, head held high, eyes absent fear, continued. “I was an accident; still, I’m proud of what we are.”
“Don’t make them or be proud they exist, Ark? Which is it?” Moot point as Mich had not transformed a raven for hundreds of years and those he had made were not strong enough to recreate what Michelin wrought. Luckily, this man was his friend. “You’re always too generous. As well as correct.” Mich tapped unremittingly on his desktop. “We used to debate surpassing Noah’s years when, in fact, it appears we may live forever. Doesn’t that disturb you? Aren’t you tired and lonely?”
“I’m not lonely.” Ark had found a mate and married her in human fashion. Macy was perfect for his second in command. “You wouldn’t be if you were kinder. Christ, Michelin, they live in fear of when and where you will strike next. Your name continues to be whispered to instill fear as soon as young understand their parent’s caw. That is no way to lead.”
“I preferred taking wing yet you scolded I spent too much time flying and menacing. I leave them alone. They’re free to be…”
“What, Michelin? Most ravens barely live two hundred years. Crows less by half. Not nearly long enough to make sense of their existence. You provide no knowledge or leadership. You allow their pretense at being birds when they are; hell’s sake, Michelin, we are men.”
“Perhaps you should lead them.”
“That is your place.”
“A throne I never wanted to sit upon yet at your urging I occupy the chair. Is it not enough I gave in?” Mich steepled fingers under his chin. “Why are you here, Ark?” Back and forth of age-old wrangling disgruntled Michelin.
“On my way south, I spied a crow leaving a church. He carried a silver chalice to a loft in the city.”
“And handling that kind of weight in his beak could only mean he is infected with our anomaly.” Crows were more malicious than ravens. Thievery was ingrained in their psyche and as men, they could cause a bigger stir than a rowdy conspiracy of ravens. “Luckily the mob doesn’t survive long enough to have a true leader.” He waved his hand to silence what he knew Ark would put forth. “I know, I know. I should lead us all.” Mich hoped like hell it wasn’t the same culprit who had been corralled on numerous occasions.
“It is. As a man, he’s likely to get caught. I fear an alert human will see him take wing and raise a cry.”
“God damn larcenous crow.”
“Short of caging him for a long period; there isn’t much else to be done. Frequent warnings go unheeded.”
Standing, Mich returned to stare through window panes. “Take your mate and head south.”
“Are you sure? I can delay…”
“According to you, it’s my responsibility to handle what I’ve blamed on Noah.” Had Michelin, as a raven, returned to the ark with news of dry land instead of steadfastly refusing to go back, might he have lived a normal raven’s life? The blood. Too late now. He briefly recalled eons ago landing on a branch in an olive tree and being viciously attacked by crows. Enough! Mich thought his fate of being caught between animal and human ceased being a hindrance. An outcast, a pariah to bird flocks worldwide. Noah only assisted.
The maker of all things cursed his raven.
God also seemed to have decided crows would be Michelin’s personal crown of thorns.
#darkfantasy #drama #enemiestolovers #gay #HEA #paranormal #religerotica #shifters #travel #violence
B2R: https://books2read.com/ASilverRavensTale
AMZ: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SQHWW8S
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-silver-raven-s-tale
Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast out. – J. Hali Steele
Tasty Tuesday – Soup & Crepes
A picture speaks a thousand words. I will say — Yummy.
Use the crepe recipe you like and fill it with sweet or savory goodies you enjoy.
And, no, I did not cream carrots!!
Tip: Don’t be afraid to try something new.
Bon appétit!
Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast out. – J. Hali Steele
Tasty Tuesday
It’s an oven thing — extra heat and all that!
I baked a pie. It’s going to be delicious or not. If not, I’ll have happy birds. My birds chirp with excitement when I open the back door. Yeah, some experiments have not gone as well as others. I’m counting on my Lemon-Apple pie to be a tasty success.
I had some help from Betty (Crocker) as I don’t make pie crust from scratch. Had lemon filling leftover that I mixed with apple filling. Now, if it were autumn, I’d have used fresh apples but this time of year the cost is ridiculous and they don’t taste as good, IMHO.
From start to finish, my pie:
I finally got the lattice right! I don’t even want to cut it but I will sometime today.
TIP: Don’t be afraid to try something new — mix different flavors together!
Bon appétit!
Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast out – J. Hali Steele
Tasty Tuesday Tips
Cookies and Cream Brownie cups. Chocolate isn’t a favorite of mine, however, I occasionally get a taste for it. And it was cold this morning so a perfect time to fire up the oven.
Not much in the way of a tip today as the ingredients are store-bought. I discovered long ago that, for me, baking from scratch is not worth the extra time and mess! 
I have made these before but I changed things up a bit. I brought marmalade and apple pie filling to the brownie cup party! Betty Crocker did the biggest part (follow directions on the box). Fruit fillings are from Giant and they are not necessary to experience chocolate deliciousness.
If you know me, you know something is going to be spicy as heck, right? I always mix diced habanero peppers in my marmalade to add another dimension of flavor. I love marmalade when it has bite. With toast and butter, marmalade is… Well, that’s another story. ‘Smile’
After making a well in fresh-from-the oven brownies, I added spicy marmalade to 6; spiced apple pie filling to 6. Don’t overfill with fruit and let cool completely before adding cream frosting.
Start to finish – about 1/2 hour and you have a great dessert/snack that will satisfy youngsters and adults alike. Awesome for the holidays and for those who have a sweet tooth, these are a wonderful bite-sized addition to game time!
TIP: To get a perfect size depression in the brownies – use the bottom of a shot glass.
Bon appétit!
Growl and roar — it’s okay to let the beast out. – J. Hali Steele
Written Wednesday – Meet Cove
Cove’s Tentacles – Blood Wet & Tears 1 – Available now!
B2R: https://books2read.com/CovesTentaclesBWT1
Cove Deville knows he can’t touch alcohol without facing dire consequences. One drink thrown
in his face from a hook-up gone embarrassingly wrong and he’s trapped in a large cooler and tossed into a lake. Fresh water will have to do — better than nothing. Wrong. Discovered on the lake’s sandy shore, he’s captured by a bewildering man. Cove’s life, or what’s left of it if he doesn’t find salt water fast, is about to drastically change.
Kilson Arestes can not recall the last time he was held by another. The pain of loneliness has been so great he felt as if his heart was being shredded. Those thoughts are quickly replaced with another kind of sadness when he finds an ocean dweller who should never be in fresh water crawling from his manmade lake. Little does Kils know saving the animal will alter his undead life forever.
Will these fantastic creatures’ existence be changed for better or worse?
Excerpt:
Good God! It was the man who’d threw the beer in Cove’s face. Cove splashed into shallow water, and all eyes turned in his direction. To hell with it. Shifting, he stood to his full height and walked butt ass naked onto the shore. “Kils, dude, why?”
“I was peacefully enjoying a bite to eat at Neptune’s. Fish chowder and a crab cake. And I don’t even like fish!”
“You, at Neptune’s?” Cove perused Kilson’s body. “In that get up?”
“Fuck you.”
“Not fish chowder. You ate their famous New England clam chowder.”
“Who gives a shit, Cove. Chowder is chowder. This, this,” Kils turned to the younger of the two, “What is your name?”
“Christ, you don’t know his name?”
“How would I?” Kils frowned at Cove. “I didn’t bite him.”
“Thank God for small favors.”
“Don’t you know his name?” Kils cocked his head to the side. “You were going to fuck him.” The corners of his lips turned downward. “In the back of a Goddamn dirty ass pickup truck.”
“Lord, you did scour corners of my psyche.”
“And I didn’t find a fucking name.”
“We hadn’t gotten that far. We met, we rode — Jesus, he drove me onto your property.” Cove scowled at Kils. “Why do you have a gate if you’re not going to fence off the whole place?”
“Unfuckingbelievable! You fault me for your falling in a cooler and becoming trapped by a nameless man whom you planned to fuck?” Kilson narrowed his eyes at the man on the ground. “Teach you to pick up strangers.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Cove strode to where the man seemed to be frozen in place. “What is your name?”
Shaking like a leaf, the miscreant managed to choke out, “Evan.”
Stepping to the other guy, Cove stooped to check him over. “No broken bones or wounds.” He sighed. “From the look on his face, I’d guess he died of fear.”
“Well, I didn’t do anything to scare him.”
“What?” Cove screeched. “You yanked him miles through the atmosphere. Think maybe that could be a shock to someone’s system?”
“Hardly miles, Cove. The trip didn’t require dematerializing. I hauled them up the cliff face.”
“Please, don’t kill me,” Evan whined.
“Shut up.” Pivoting toward Evan, Kils asked, “Did you know putting an octopus in fresh water could kill it?”
“I, no I… Please! I’m sorry.”
“Stop squirming. I am not going to kill you.” Sherry colored eyes that turned red glowered at Cove. “But the kraken might.”
“Kilson! Stop. What is wrong with you? They’re humans. You can’t do stuff like this.”
“Fine. They’re your problem.” Kilson swung around to leave.
“Wait a minute. I… you should get rid of the body. And erase Evan’s memory or something.”
Kils stopped dead in his tracks and spun to face Cove. “Do I understand you want me to bite him?” He strode back to where Cove, feet planted in sand, continued to wait. “What’s in it for me?”
“Are you crazy? I don’t possess the kind of magic you do, Kils. You kidnapped them.”
“To meet a reckoning decided by you.” Kilson poked a finger in Cove’s shoulder to emphasis each word he spat. “That bastard didn’t care if you lived or died.”
Cove made note that Kils’ chest expanded way too much when he breathed.
“Evan tossed you out like trash, and the other one wondered how much the local fish market would pay for your ass.”
“I am not like you, Kilson. I’m alive, and I’m happy. That’s enough.”
“What’s it worth to you?”
“I didn’t do this.”
“Okay.” Kilson turned to leave again.
“Wait, wait! What do you want?”
“Thirty days. You. In my house. In my room. In my bed.”
“Why, Kils? Why?” Cove saw the fear in Evan’s eyes. Screw it. “I will need to get some clothes from my place.”
“I can fashion what you require.”
Cove responded with force. “I want my clothing.”
“Whatever.”
“What then?”
“When time is up, Cove, you can go.”
“You expect me to trust you?”
“Lying is not something I do.”
“I will leave, Kilson.” Cove staggered backward when he felt his kindred spirit batter his insides as if it were angry at his statement. Fuck you too! Cove backed up until water sloshed around his legs. “The minute I’m no longer your prisoner, Mister Arestes, I will leave.”
Insides roiling, Cove released his beast. His octopod didn’t immediately dive to seek asylum below. The creature displayed its extraordinary prowess. It circled the lake, tentacles gracefully unfurling and waving above water. Reaching a size never before achieved, Cove’s monster performed. Finally, diving deep, it planted all eight arms on the bottom and launched upward. A leviathan burst from the lake, streaking toward the sky. Twisting round and round, the cephalopod splayed arms outward. As it drifted slowly back toward water, his octopus forced Cove to look right at Kilson, whose face held an enigmatic smile.
You do not know what you have done, Kilson. Cove labored to bring the octopus under control but it was too late. Goddamn vampire had released Cove’s kraken.
********
Warning: This is a Razor’s Edge Monster Erotica Story. Expect limited plot and character development, and lots of paranormal heat. If you’re looking for a lengthy plot driven erotic romance, this is not it!
Content/warning: #changelingpress #darkdesire #darkfantasy #fatedmates #forcedproximity #gay #shapeshifter #tentacles #vampire
Hope you enjoyed learning a bit about Cove and Kilson, the vamp who saved him.
AMZ: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHPR3YLR
CP: https://www.changelingpress.com/cove-s-tentacles-blood-wet-tears-1-b-3557
Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast out. – J. Hali Steele
Tasty Tuesday Tips
Started picking my peppers and storing for winter. Plants did great this year and there are so many more!☺
Cut in half (leave seeds in), pack in light olive oil, and refrigerate. I’ve done this for the last 2-3 years and find they last through to spring!
Great sliced in salads, diced in soups, eggs, potatoes – anything you want to bring some heat to. A truly flavorful, spicy treat.
L to R: habanero, ghost pepper, poblano.
TIP: Oil becomes spicy and can be used for salad dressing or cooking.
Bon appétit!
Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast out. – J. Hali Steele
Throw Back Thursday (Not TBT!)
No, I don’t mean Throwback Thursday or TBT – I mean:
Throw back, like throw away Thursday.
Got a new computer about a year ago. The touch screen has fingerprints that will not go away!
I’ve searched everywhere for ideas and none of them have worked. Soft cloth, diluted vinegar, water. Nothing. I bought a couple screen cleaners, they don’t work.
My next computer will definitely have a glass screen that I can clean.
I’m throwing this computer back.
That’s all.
Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast out. – J. Hali Steele
Written Wednesday – Immortal Redeemers
I should do better with my blog. I don’t do a newsletter. My mailbox receives two – one is weekly and one is monthly and I don’t open or read either. That’s how I imagine anything I send out would be handled as I never know what to say. ‘I have a new book coming out. It’s a romance between two beings who are most likely vampires. Maybe they’re angels, demons, or bikers’. Yeah, I wouldn’t know what else to say.
If I’ve got something new coming or a freebee – it’ll be on my FB page, Instagram (when I remember I have Instagram), and Twitter though the way it’s heading, who knows how long that will last. Sigh, I may have to find another place to talk about stories, another place to forget the password to…
I suck at promotion.
Anyway, found a poem penned years ago for a story so thought I’d tell you about my nominee in the Paranormal/Urban Fantasy/Fantasy/Steampunk book category of LR Cafe’s Best of 2021:
Immortal Redeemers
A shot in the dark, redemption, taming deadly raptors.
Keeping the Redeemer’s secrets tests the strength of love and commitment.
Box set includes: Unforgivable, Unredeemable, Unhinged
B2R: https://books2read.com/ImmortalRedeemers
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RF21YGF/
Changeling Press: https://www.changelingpress.com/immortal-redeemers-box-set-immortal-redeemers-5-b-2494
#changelingpress #darkfantasy #darkdesire #hawk #interracial #mf #paranormal #romance #shapeshifter
Excerpt:
“Perfect.” Rubbing the back of his neck relieved some of Rand’s tension. “Nothing’s perfect in my life. Nola is most definitely not my woman.”
“Yeah, she is.”
“Goddamn it.”
Chance went on. “Our scent is picked up by our kind and some humans with a great affinity for animals. No mating call, sucking blood, or silly dance. Some women are cut out to be with us. Nola’s one of those.” Jerking back around, he said, “Nola doesn’t know, but now you do.”
“And when she grows old…”
“We all grow old, Rand.” Sadness laced Chance’s words. “Sooner or later, we all die.”
“Shit, man, I’m sorry.” Receiving Chance’s hawk’s mantle was the most painful experience of Rand’s life. Horrific cries caused by bone shifting and stretching the first time were impossible to stifle. Nola heard everything, and forgetting the sound would be difficult.
“For what? I gave my mantle freely.”
“Your powers?”
“I lost eternity. Hell, I’m in damn good shape, could live another fifty years.” Chance’s eyes became round, gold spread until the whites vanished. “I still get to wing my way around the world, and I’m free of all the other shit. That’s your responsibility now.”
“You won’t kill anymore?”
“Get your woman back, find the Covenant, and we may both learn something new.” Large wings spread from Chance’s back, and his body disappeared as the hawk emerged. Hopping to the rail, the creature screeched. Lifting into the sky, it soared toward the rising sun. Its shrill keen blasted Rand’s eardrums.
“Bastard!” Rand yelled. “You’ll be an ugly ass old bird.”
The hawk slipped into the clouds.
* * *
Nola had thrown the sliding doors wide before wearing a path back and forth across her apartment. A week had passed and Rand’s scent still filled every corner. Sitting at her desk, she grabbed a tattered tablet and started to write. She wrote a line, scratched it out, another line, the same thing. It went on like that for almost an hour until she was satisfied with the result. She called it Eruptions.
Storm fires build, burning deep within,
Explosions from places before untouched.
Radiant and gleaming, wet from his caress,
With him, I feel so much.
Eruptions of passion, hot and unwavering,
Only this man, who with the touch of a hand,
Can take me to the beginning.
It had been a long, long time since she wrote to forget, and this was not one of those times. More than anything, it brought Rand to mind, how she felt when he touched her, loved her. And that’s what it felt like to Nola. Love.
Shaking her head, she ripped the page from the tablet, got up and took it to the closet where it would join a hundred others. Nola opened the folding door and looked on the top shelf. The box she remembered sat far back against the wall. She stripped a shirt off its hanger and used the hook to snag the carton and pull it down. It hit the floor with a thud and poems she had written over the years tumbled onto the floor. These works never made it to print. She scooped up handfuls of papers to put back in the box, and then Nola saw it.
The Covenant.
A thick, weathered tome Grams had given her when she left the last time and told her one day she should read it. Nola believed it was an old novel and had tossed it into the box when she cleared her room out to move to Philadelphia.
Nola had it all along.
It appeared very old and the words on brown leather had all but vanished. Gingerly opening the cover, she stared at a hand-painted picture of a hawk whose colors remained vibrant. Gold eyes, brown, yellow, white and copper colored feathers adorned with thick, black bars seemed to come alive. “Beautiful,” she whispered as she brushed it with her fingertips.
She thought about her cabin, her life there.
Nola had spent her last three years in the mountains before going off to college, daydreaming about owning her own business and finding the perfect love. She penned short poems that became the beginning of her greeting card business.
Love never came.
Until now.
“I’m going home,” she proclaimed to a cold and lonely room.
* * *
Hope you enjoyed a look into the Immortal Redeemers.
Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast out. – J. Hali Steele
Tasty Tuesday Tip
Pulled out the cast iron frying pan – spicy chicken wings are on the menu.
Made an egg wash using one egg beaten with a tablespoon of water, a little salt and pepper added. Dipped wings in wash then coated with flour mixture seasoned with: a little salt, lots of garlic, lots of black and cayenne pepper, paprika, MSG (yes – I love the stuff!), and Old Bay blackened seasoning.
Refrigerated for about an hour. When I removed from fridge, did egg wash and flour again.
Cooked on medium heat turning after 10 minutes.
Twenty minutes later I’m enjoying spicy fried wings.
TIP: Mix white flour and a little white self-rising cornmeal mix. Result… Crunchy!
Bon appétit!
Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast out. – J. Hali Steele
sovereignspot 