Big Billy's Curry Mango Shrimp Tacos

My good friends Big Billy and Kathy, his significant other, once bought a large sailboat and pulled it on a trailer to Seattle. They were both too young to retire, but neither knew it at the time. They lived on the sailboat for two years, sometimes sailing miles from shore. Usually, they were docked in Seattle, enjoying their sea-going neighbors and the ambiance of the City.

Big Billy, a former Dallas restauranteur, was a wonderful cook. Despite the fantastic fare in the Seattle area, he couldn’t help but cook with Texas flair. He had a little charcoal grill he kept on deck and quite often prepared world-class meals for him and Kathy before they ventured out for the night to drink the local beer and listen to music in the clubs. Here is a simple recipe for one of their favorite dishes.

Big Billy’s Curry Mango Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients

• ½ lb. shrimp, large, peeled and de-veined
• ¼ cup mango chutney
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
• ½ tsp. curry powder
• 1 avocado, large, cubed
• corn tortillas

Directions

Combine mango chutney, lime juice, olive oil, ginger and curry powder in a mixing bowl. Grill shrimp over the white hot coals on the grill while heating the soft corn tortillas in a pan (don’t overcook the shrimp and just warm the tortillas). Wrap the shrimp in tortillas and drizzle mango mixture over them. Top with cubes of avocado. Enjoy.

Good with a nice Riesling, but Big Billy much preferred Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Eric'sWeb

Lost on Route 66

Tonight, I finished the last edit of Lost on Route 66, a compendium of the winning stories from Gondwana Press’ Route 66 writing contest. I have to say, I’m blown away by the results.

Many of the winners are published authors. Many teach writing. I have never been so happy than by the results of this contest. All the stories are very good, but some are no short of wonderful.

I probably read every story at least fifteen times. The poetry is incomparable and a couple of the stories make me cry every time I read them. The one thing I learned, the old road embodies almost unexplainable passion.

Will Gondwana have a second annual Route 66 writing contest? I don’t know. I have never subjected myself to so much work before, but the results, I think you will agree if you read the book, were worth it.

Eric'sWeb

Spring Oklahoma Sky

Here are a couple of recent pics. One is my pug Princess, licking sugar water from a hummingbird feeder, and a picture of the Oklahoma sky.

Eric'sWeb

Indian Tacos - a weekend recipe

My good friend and fellow University of Arkansas student Mike Howard and I visited Oklahoma City during the fall of 1973, looking for a job. The State Fair was in full swing and it was the first time I ate an Indian Taco. It wasn’t my last.

There are three things you must always eat when visiting the Oklahoma State Fair at Oklahoma City – tamales from the Little Axe Church, State Fair cinnamon rolls, and an Indian Taco. All three qualify as Oklahoma comfort food. Here is my version of Oklahoma’s famous Indian Taco.

Fry Bread
· 2 cups flour
· 4 teaspoons baking powder
· 1 tablespoon sugar
· ½ teaspoon salt
· 1 cup milk, warm

Directions

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add warm milk slowly and mix into soft dough. Roll out dough with a rolling pin, about ½ inch thick, and then cut into pieces slightly smaller than a large cast iron skillet. Fry in hot oil, flipping once, until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.

Indian Taco Filling

· 1 lb. ground beef
· Salt and pepper to taste
· ½ tablespoon cayenne pepper
· ½ tablespoon cumin, ground
· ½ tablespoon paprika
· 1 medium tomato, diced
· 1 cup lettuce, shredded
· ¼ cup ripe olives, sliced
· 4 ounces, shredded Monterey and cheddar cheese, divided
· ¼ cup sour cream
· Salsa, your favorite

Directions

In a heavy pot with a tight cover, crumble and brown ground beef with salt and pepper. Drain and add mixture of cayenne, cumin and paprika. Heat and set aside. Layer fry bread with beef, tomato, lettuce, olives, cheese, sour cream and salsa. Enjoy.

Eric'sWeb

My Dad was born in Trees City, Louisiana, just after the First World War. An honest-to-God boomtown little remains of the once bustling town. My brother Jack and I are moving my dad, a World War II vet, to the world-class veteran’s facility in Norman, Oklahoma, so I am reprising my story about my last trip to Trees City.
The last time I visited northwest Louisiana, I visited Trees City. The town was founded by the legendary oil finders Benedum and Trees. These two wildcatters had moved to north Louisiana after finding large oil fields in Oklahoma. They discovered the Trees City Field in far Northwest Louisiana.

Trees City quickly became a boomtown, complete with churches, honkytonks and a post office. During the height of the oil boom, 25,000 people lived there. Today, it is little more than a memory.

Thick trees, vines and creepers cover most of what was once a thriving city. Permanent steel towers, constructed on site for the drilling of a single oil well, still peek up through the tall trees. Even the post office is gone, located now at the Oil Museum in nearby Oil City, Louisiana.

Benedum and Trees sold their interest in the Field to Gulf Oil for a million dollars, an enormous sum of money at the time. The amount pales compared with the vast riches recovered by Gulf Oil. It doesn’t matter much now. Where roughnecks once toiled to recover Mother Nature’s dark liquid bounty, only ghosts wisping silently over Jeems Bayou still remain.

Eric'sWeb