Write Something Scary

When they found Charles, he was slumped to the floor, looking up into a pale light, his eyes dilated like the eyes of a dog; the narrow passageway glistened in the moist dark.

Where was the light coming from? From a gentle harbor.

Charles shifted, and rose up from the floor. His features were like one who had been imprisoned in the earth, living for a time a worm. He moved closer to his friends. He seemed ravenous, so they receded until he said, “Don’t you want to know what I have seen?”

I have seen everything.

Write about Bologna Sandwiches

Some Song Lyrics

Youth I understood
Doing well was doing good
Even if we played hard
And cracked our heads in the yard
No one died
Nor was meant to die
And we unlaced our stitches
And ate bologna sandwiches

…

And I’m cashing in my riches
For bologna sandwiches

Debunk a Myth

I made a trial mirror
Before it fell in two,
And afterward
I made another clear,
But only through
The closest side
To my own eyes;
It works perfectly for spies,
And now I look the millionaire.

Write a Recipe

Hot Cold Fresh Soup

This soup is perfect for punishing your children on a dreary Sunday morning in late fall.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the Hot:
2 cups leeks
4 cups new potatoes
4 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 bouquet garni (see p. 44)

For the Cold:
2 cups butternut squash
1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
½ cup sage, roughly chopped
Cinnamon

For the Fresh:
½ cup cilantro
1 cup tomato, diced
½ cup scallion, sliced thin

1. Simmer the ingredients for the hot and the ingredients for the cold in two separate pots until the potatoes and the squash are both tender, about 45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the fresh.
3. When the butternut squash soup is done cooking, chill it in the refrigerator for half an hour. Put it in a blender, and puree until smooth.
4. Ladle the potato-leek soup into four bowls. Spoon some of the butternut squash soup into the middle of the potato-leek soup. Garnish each soup with the cilantro, tomato, and scallion.
5. Serve with salt, pepper, and butter.