Relax with Adel's Recipe for Cactus Pear Margaritas

By Halie Rosenberg/Adel Aschenbrener

Picture it: You have just spent the day hiking Joshua Tree and writing beautifully. The desert sun is setting, and in your hand, is an icy margarita made by Writing Pad's genius Executive Chef, Adel Aschenbrener. You sip from it, so happy that you've given this gift of writing and relaxation to yourself. In your short stay, you have accomplished so much great work. The story ideas that you once struggled to express, now flow easily into your notebook. You close your eyes, content with the knowledge that the only thing left to do today is make your way through a wonderful dinner and fall into bed.

What is the best part about this dream? It can be yours, simply by signing up for the Writing Pad High Desert Retreat! Call 323-333-2954 or email marilyn@writingpad.com to sign up before it is full. Only 2 spots are left!

And to tide you over until October, Adel has been gracious enough to share her fabulous margarita recipe that she plans to make in 29 Palms. Thanks, Adel!

Cactus Pear Margaritas (Serves 4)
Tart, refreshing, and perfect for beating the heat, this hot-pink libation pays homage to the ultimate desert survivor - the humble cactus.

8 oz. 100% agave silver or blanco tequila (Adel likes Herradura and El Tesoro)
8 large or 12 small fresh limes
2 oz. agave nectar
2 oz. cactus pear juice (also called prickly pear juice)
plenty of ice

Halve the limes and juice them into a cocktail shaker or large glass (if
you roll the limes firmly under your palms against the counter or
microwave them for 20 seconds before juicing, you'll get more juice). Add
the juiced limes to the shaker along with the tequila, agave, cactus pear
juice, and a couple handfuls of ice. Muddle the limes and other
ingredients together for a minute or two to extract the flavorful oils.
Shake or stir for another minute, then strain over ice into 4 cocktail
glasses.

And if that didn't make you drool, then check out Adel's sumptuous sample dinner menu for the retreat. It will certainly inspire the best writing you've ever done!

Sample Dinner Menu
grilled marinated steak
roasted potatoes with jalapeno butter
nopales salad
cornbread
local fresh fruit tart for dessert

(vegetarian options available)

Hope to see you at the retreat!

Recipe For Delicious and Fun Writing

By Amy Robinson and Marilyn Friedman

Oh, hello, dahlings! Thank you for joining us at the Writing Pad Blog. Help yourself to the decadent chocolate treats and make yourself at home. Enjoy the flickering candles, beautiful flowers, and kick off your shoes. Now let’s get playful AND productive with our writing selves. (No inner-critics are allowed inside our cozy little clubhouse, only bite sized chocolate rewards and praise.)
We have been having a great time here! We’ve settled into Writing Pad’s new beautiful, safe downtown LA location. The city views from our loft are boosting inspiration levels. 2009 has been full of fun classes, delicious food, cool people, and pens scribbling on the page.
Maybe you attended Marilyn’s “Erotic Writing Workshop” in February? That was some sassy prose! Wasn’t the Spiked Chili Stiletto Hot Chocolate the best thing you’ve ever tasted? Or maybe you’ve heard about Aaron Henne’s fantastic five session classes of “So You Wanna Be A Writer” and “Finishing School?” Aaron’s awesome prompts have us writing daily: come rain, shine or crazy work-day! And Adel Aschenbrener’s yummy savory appetizers like tortilla soup with avocado, limon, crema, queso fresco, and cilantro and desserts like tres leches cake with mango passionfruit sauce keep us coming back for more fun writing work- outs in class every week.
Or perhaps you’ve heard about Tim Grierson’s phenomenal one-day Movie Club classes where we use movies to inspire our writing and sharpen our craft? We had so much fun using “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” to inspire “From Crazy Love To Crazy Good Writing” tales. It was a delicious blast, especially with Adel’s out of this world Portugese eggs and Chocolate/Orange scones to tantalize our tongues and our imaginations.

You must join us on Sunday, April 19th! We’ll be getting jiggy with our natural selves (even those of us who have to dig deep under highlights and nipple rings) with the “Write the Road Less Traveled: Writing Pad Nature Walk” workshop, taught by our very own nature girl, Amy Robinson. Now you don’t have to choose between exercise, getting outdoors or writing. We wrap them all up for you in one tidy little day hike, decadent eco-friendly picnic and writing package!
We’ll keep you up to date about the inner workings of the Pad at http://www.writingpad.com, but now it’s time for you to go write something! Here is your free writing prompt:

Make a list of things that relax you/calm you down when you are really stressed out.
Pick one and describe it for 10 minutes in great detail including at least 2 of the 5 senses (Smell, Taste, Sound, Touch, or Sight--extra credit if you do a detailed job without using the sense of sight). Just have fun and reward yourself with your favorite treat afterwards!