| Thousand Year Old Eggs: (serves 12) 2 cups tea, very strong black 1/3 cup salt 2 cups ashes of pine wood 2 cups ashes of charcoal 2 cups fireplace ashes 1 cup lime powder ( available at garden or hardware stores) 12 duck eggs, fresh |
| Combine tea, salt, ashes and lime. Using about 1/2 cup per egg, thickly coat each egg completely with this clay-like mixture. Line a large crock with garden soil and carefully lay coated eggs on top. Cover with more soil and place crock in a cool dark place. Allow to cure for 100 days. To remove coating, scrape eggs and rinse under running water to clean thoroughly. Crack lightly and remove shells. The white of the egg will appear a grayish, translucent color and have a gelatinous texture. The yolk, when sliced, will be a grayish-green color. Cut into wedges and serve. |
| Suicidal Country |
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| -Down a dirt road west of El Paso, behind a burning barn, Once I stumbled on a horse's bones bleaching in the sand. But, when I reached down to touch the skull underneath my hand A stream of orange lizards poured out from the bone-white mouth. That empty mouth reminded me of you and how I kissed you and I fell down to the bottom of a well. |