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Archive for the ‘Reading Recipes’ Category

  • Which HUNGER GAMES Character Are You? (plus a crazy-good recipe)

    Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

    Tomorrow is HUNGER GAMESSSSSSSS!!! *toots horn and tosses glitter and cupcakes and baby unicorns around the room*

    Of course I’m going to stand in line for the midnight showing (tickets acquired, thank you my lovely Sarah Kathleen) with all the crazies. I was thinking of going as Haymitch since I’m old and sometimes grouchy when I’m up late, plus I like to throw things at people. Which means I’d be the awesomely fun person in line launching an arsenal of bread and meds at the Katniss look-a-likes. (Hmm…there’s possibility in this plan.)

    BUT…

    Alas, I cannot be Haymitch. I just took this HUNGER GAMES character quiz and, apparently, I am Cinna! (How very cool of me, I know. He was always my favorite. Even after he…you know—SPOILER CENSORED FOR THOSE WHO’VE NOT FINISHED THE SERIES—)

    So now I have to rethink my plans, because for as awesome as Cinna is, how does one “be him” in a movie line? Does one walk around fixing the braids of the Katniss look-a-likes and trying to rip off their leg hair and measure them for clothing sizes? Uh, no thanks. This…I will have to think on.

    In the meantime, I command you to rush over and take this quiz so we can see which HUNGER GAMES’ Character YOU ARE. Here’s the link:

    HUNGER GAMES CHARACTER QUIZ <—and no cheating

     

    As for the rest of you, Preciouses, I offer a pie recipe. An insanely good one that’s even better when you realize what’s in it. Or rather what’s NOT in it. It’s everything my kids (dairy-allergic) can eat, and what I (sugar-sensitive) prefer. The super sweet Vickie Motter introduced me to this amazing chocolaty pie (from Chocolate-Covered Katie’s healthy dessert blog), and now I have a slight addiction to it. (Read that as I have a serious addiction to it.) She also introduced me to this homemade, cane sugar-free, three-ingredient chocolate, which I used to make the pie (it gives a tasty coconut flavor). So if I need some sort of chocolate addiction intervention in the next few weeks, you’ll know who to blame. And while you’re at it, check out Vickie’s agenty blog space and book reviews. You’ll like her.

    No cane sugar. No dairy. No gluten if you prefer (which I don’t, so I made mine with crust :0)). But you’d never know it was missing any of those. I swear. Oh, and per Vickie’s suggestion—let the pie refrigerate for 12 hours for best flavor. I tried a slice around six hours and then after 12 just to see what she meant, and I completely agree. After 12, the tofu had absorbed the flavor all the way. Also, I added a bit more agave than the recipe calls for and used almond milk for the non-dairy milk. So…yeah. Have at it:

    THE ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE FUDGE PIE 

     

     ultimate chocolate pie photo

    Blend.

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    pie crust photo

    Fill.

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    ultimate chocolate pie

     Eat.

     

    :0)

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    Posted in Games, Genre Savvy, Reading Recipes | 18 Comments »

  • A Recipe for SERIOUSLY AMAZING (Gluten-free, Cane Sugar-free) Choc Chip Cookies

    Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

    For as often as I post dessert recipes on here, you’d think I have a serious obsession with sweets. CONFESSION: This is only a baby bit true. I love sweets, yes, and even more, I love to bake. However…I love them in small, perfect-moment doses–like when we have company over, or the kids and I are playing tea party (or I’m scared out of my wits watching “The Walking Dead”).

    But MOST of the time? I prefer anything protein (nuts or tasty guacamole) rather than the nectar of the gods. I don’t know how it is for the rest of you, but cane sugar does *slightly* weird things to me (such as taking me from relaxed to anxiety-riddled in about ½ hour flat, if I’m not careful), so I’m pretty choosy how often I indulge. And when I can, I prefer to use Agave sweetener in teeny tiny amounts, which seems to absorb slower and, thus, doesn’t jack my emotions up like a hot air balloon in a lightning storm.

    Hence, I’ve been appreciating this standby recipe for Double Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies. It happens to be both gluten free and cane sugar free (except for the dark chocolate chips *guilty smirk*), and I’ve been making them every so often over the past few months when my kids want something sweet and I want something chocolate. I’ll even be taking them on my writing retreat this weekend. ;0)

    I dare you to try them. The almond flour adds an incredible nutty flavor, and the agave sweetener and grapeseed oil keep the cookies soft. Perfect for reading (or writing) away an afternoon with tea and your latest novel find.

    Speaking of which, what is your latest novel find? Will I like it? Do I need it? And how’d you like Jonathan Maberry (yay Wolverine!) on the blog last week? Spiffy guy, yes?

    photo for sugar free, gluten free chocolate chip cookies

    Click here for the goodness: A Recipe for (gluten-free) Double Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Oh, and did I mention I’m going on a writing retreat this weekend?!! With my Word DIVAS. Prepare yourself for photos (MWAHAHAHA!). And commentary (*who me?*)… Ahem.

     :0)

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    Posted in Reading Recipes | 17 Comments »

  • A Recipe for Vodka Cake

    Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

    If the title of this cake inspires visions of your mother looking very much like Miss Hannigan (from the musical “Annie”), walking around with her hair in curlers and a cigarette in hand, demanding, “Where’s my Vodka Cake?” it’s not my fault. I didn’t invent it. Nor did I give your mother permission to walk around like that.

    Likewise, if you see the ingredients for this cake and have a hissy fit that’s it’s not *GASP* made from scratch (I totally store-bought everything), I offer no defense. I simply suggest that you hitch up your big girl panties and belly-flop into what will be the best dessert you’ve had in an uber long time. (Which, let’s face it, shouldn’t be hard seeing as it’s got gobs of chocolate and a cup of alcohol in it.)

    It’s my new favorite for parties, meetings, and book clubs. That’s actually how I stumbled upon it—my book club went for the Southern theme this month (thanks to our reading of Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help”), and since it was at my house, I needed to come up with a better-than-fabulous dessert (those ladies are hard to keep up with—they’re serious about their books, but nearly rabid about their cakes).

    So like any good book club hostess, I pulled out my recipe book for Southern funerals (which, incidentally, my mother gave me) titled “Being Dead is No Excuse, The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral,” and there within discovered this tasty gem. If you don’t own the book, I suggest you buy it. A good trove of recipes that work for both book clubs AND funerals is hard to find.

    m. christine weber recipe for chocolate vodka cake

    Did I mention this cake’s got vodka, Kahlua, and chocolate in it?

    m. christine weber vodka cake recipe

    I’ve pasted the recipe link below, but before you rush off, leave us a comment on what new book (or foodie) treasure YOU’VE been into these days. ;0)

    a recipe for vodka cake

    Here’s how you make it: A Recipe for Vodka Cake

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     Today’s mood noise? Miss Hannigan played by the fabulous Carol Burnett

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    Posted in Reading Recipes | 17 Comments »

  • A Recipe for Apple Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls (plus literary pumpkin heads)

    Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

    Close your eyes and inhale the scents of apple bits, steamy cinnamon rolls, and cream cheese frosting set out next to a foamy vanilla latte. A cozy morning breakfast, no? Especially today, when my family and I woke to the lovely autumn weather bringing its chill in from the mist-covered fields and dewy oak trees through the front windows. *le sigh* This recipe is a take-off from my standard one—just a few adjustments here and there. Try it out. Tell me how you like it. (Or maybe how you’d alter it—caramel drizzle, anyone?!) Also, scroll down and take a peek at the beautiful “literary pumpkin heads” below. They’re pretty incredible!

    Apple Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

    • 3 ½ – 4 cups flour (I did 3 cups all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat to add a nuttier flavor)
    • 1/3 cup sugar
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 2 packages yeast
    • 1 cup warm milk
    • 1/3 cup butter
    • 1 egg
    • 3 small apples chopped fine + 1 Tab butter (sauté for 1 min, then put the lid on and cook on low for 10 min until tender, turn heat off)
    • Tons of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon ;o)

    Frosting:

    • 8oz. cream cheese
    • ½ cup butter
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 2 (more or less) cups powdered sugar

    In a mixer, blend 2 cups of flour, the granulated sugar, salt, and yeast with the warm milk, butter, and egg. Beat on low speed, gradually adding the rest of the flour. Knead by hand or mixer until smooth and elastic (about 5 min.). Cover and place in a warm spot to rise for an hour-and-a-half. Pull the dough out onto a floured cutting board and roll into a 15X10-inch rectangle. Top with thin slices of butter, a good amount of brown sugar, and cinnamon (I go kinda crazy on this part–the more the merrier), and then sprinkle with the chopped, cooked apple bits. Roll it up firm and cut into 12 rounds. Place them in a buttered 13X9-inch pan, cover, and let rise in a toasty spot for 30 min (should double in size). Bake in a 350 oven for ½ hour. Let them cool for 20 min. while mixing all the frosting ingredients together. Frost and eat!

    While you’re delving in, you’ve gotta check out Flavorwire’s amazing literature-inspired Jack-O’-Lanterns. Here are a few of my favorites:

    Nice, right? Right. ;0)

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    Posted in Reading Recipes | 12 Comments »

  • A Recipe for Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie (plus Pottermore pics)

    Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

    Ahem. So, this might’ve made me do a tippy tappy happy dance:    FIRST  GLIMPSES  INSIDE  POTTERMORE   Have you seen it??? They’ve definitely got some cool stuff going on there. I’m intrigued to try it out.

    Annnnnd this might’ve made me do an even AWESOMER tippy tappy happy dance:

    PEANUT BUTTER HONEYCOMB PIE

    I know, right? I grabbed the recipe from Bon Appétit (clickety-click on over for it), and it’s now the husband’s “officially most favorite food ever.” While the original recipe doesn’t call for meringue topping, I thought it would be an excellent balance for the the peanut butter pie’s salty richness; plus, it was a great way to use up the leftover egg whites. I’m glad we added it because, well, it totally rocked. In the future, the only other thing I’d change is to eliminate the addition of salt in both the crust and filling. The pie tasted fine with the extra salt, but since I use regular butter (vs unsalted like they call for) I could’ve left it out. Needless to say, Bon Appétit, I love thee. *sigh*

    Did I mention it’s AMAZING? Um, yeah. It is.

    So. How’s YOUR week going?

    What fabulous thing are you eating (or reading)?

    ;-)

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    Posted in Reading Recipes | 14 Comments »

  • A Recipe for Chewlicious Oatmeal Cookies (plus Potter news)

    Monday, June 27th, 2011

    First things first. Ahem. My review of The Future of Us will be up next week. (Yay!  ;o))

    Secondly (and fan girl squeals are acceptable for this), did you get your tickets for HARRY POTTER?! And please tell me you’re dressing up for it. I’m planning my outfit as we speak (as well as planning to make another batch of butterbeer!). Also, if you haven’t seen J.K. Rowling’s soon-coming Pottermore website, you have to go check it out, along with Emma Watson’s lovely look on this month’s Vogue cover.

    Thirdly, if you’re the writerly type and live in California, here’s a shameless plug for the Central Coast Writers’ Conference: You should attend. Feel free to read last year’s post on Nine (only slightly creepy) Reasons to Attend a Writers’ Conference if you need more convincing. They’ve got some awesome speakers this year!

    Lastly, for all of us food-loving peeps, I made these cookies today, and I’m feeling inclined to share the recipe. They’re my favorite oatmeal cookies, especially for summer. Chewy, crispy, buttery goodness. Mm… You should try crumbling them into cinnamon ice cream.

    Before reading the recipe, though, today’s question is:  What are you most looking forward to in this final Harry Potter movie?

    A Recipe for Chewlicious Oatmeal Cookies

    1. 1 cup butter
    2. 1 cup brown sugar
    3. 1 cup granulated sugar
    4. ½ tsp salt
    5. 2 tsp vanilla extract
    6. 3 eggs
    7. 2 ½ cups flour
    8. 2 tsp baking soda
    9. 2 cups quick oats

    Cream the butter with both sugars and the salt, then beat in vanilla and eggs. Combine the flour and baking soda, and mix into the butter mixture. Add the oats until thoroughly blended. Spoon desired amounts onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 min or until barely golden (with these, underbaked is a yummy thing). Remove the cookies once cooled. They’ll be crispy around the edges, and chewy in the centers. Perfect with a cold glass of milk or in ice cream!

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    Posted in Reading Recipes | 8 Comments »

  • A Recipe for Summer Potato Salad

    Monday, May 30th, 2011

    Okay, so remember my recent interview with Chuck Sambuchino—the “How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack” guy? And then, shortly after, I posted a review of Lauren DeStefano’s dystopian novel “Wither”? Well, the week following, I came across this little piece of awesomeness on Chuck’s blog—in which DeStefano does a reverse interview with her agent, Barbara Poelle.

    Yeah…it’s hilarious.

    And since you’re already snickering at that, you can go ahead and snicker your way on through the rest of this post, seeing as it’s about the very exuberant business of food. I’ve got my favorite-ever summer potato salad recipe for you today.  Of course, as always, before you read it, you have to leave a comment telling us something. And today’s somethings are:

    *ahem*

    a) What is the number one absolute grossest thing you’ve ever eaten?

    OR

    b) What is the worst hairstyle you’ve ever had (come on, we’ve all had one…or five)?

     creamy summer potato salad

    A Recipe for Summer Potato Salad

     

    All right, don’t hate me, but you know how I always give you recipes with actual, oh, I don’t know…MEASUREMENTS and such? Well, this isn’t that kind of recipe. This is more of an “add-a-little-extra-until-it-tastes-right” type of dish passed around the family from my grandmother. If you feel like extra pickles—add ‘em. Want more olives? Add ‘em. More creamy? Pass the mayo. I make it slightly different each time, and yet it always tastes the same (meaning—AMAZING). It’s impossible to mess up.

    1. Potatoes (about 6 cooked and cubed, but not peeled… lazy cooking tip: I don’t usually boil my potatoes, I cook them in the microwave)
    2. Red onion (chopped small)
    3. Bacon (6-8 slices crisped and crumbled into dime-sized pieces)
    4. Dill pickle (1 large OR 2 small)
    5. Sliced olives (about 1/3 cup)
    6. Mustard (about ½ Tab)
    7. Mayo (start with ½ cup)
    8. Salt & Pepper

    Mix all together, tasting repeatedly for best results and blissful cooking enjoyment. My favorite way to eat this is still warm, but cold is pretty awesome as well. Enjoy!

    What’s the mood noise of the moment?  some local boys:  Still Time

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    Posted in Author Tidbits, Reading Recipes | 12 Comments »

  • What’s Your Steampunk Name? (and a yumtastic cinnamon roll recipe)

    Monday, May 2nd, 2011

    Okay, so remember my ultimate awesome plans to be a steampunked old lady in my later-life years? You know, with my gigantic bustle, and rocket-launching wristwatch, and tiny old lady corset pushing out all my old lady plumpness? (If you’ve no idea what I’m referring to or you just want to laugh at me, check the When I am Old I Shall Wear Steampunk–hot styles for pruney old ladies post. ;-) )

    Well, I’m pleased to say that I’ve officially found my steampunk old lady NAME!

    Ready for it?

    Lady Selina Hempel Hanneffy

     

     This is the name I shall go by when I’m caught jaywalking or beating up young punks with my parasol. Awesome, I know. And now YOU have to try it! Click on the Steampunk Name Generator and find your name. Then come back and tell us what it is!

    Oh, and while you’re at it, you might as well drool with me over these yumtastic cinnamon rolls that are my favorite ever. In the whole world. EVEEEEEEERRRRRR. For reals.

    A Recipe for Yumtastic Cinnamon Rolls

    • 3 ½ – 4 cups flour
    • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
    • 1tsp salt
    • 2 packages yeast
    • 1 cup warm milk
    • 1/3 cup butter
    • 1 egg
    •  Tons of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon ;o)

    Frosting:

    • 8oz. cream cheese
    • ½ cup butter
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 2 (more or less) cups powdered sugar

    In a mixer, blend 2 cups of flour, the granulated sugar, salt, and yeast with the warm milk, butter, and egg. Beat on low speed, gradually adding the rest of the flour. Knead by hand or mixer until smooth and elastic (about 5 min.). Cover and place in a warm spot to rise for an hour-and-a-half. Pull the dough out onto a floured cutting board and roll into a 15X10-inch rectangle. Top with thin slices of butter, a good amount of brown sugar, and cinnamon sprinkles (I go kinda crazy on this part–the more the merrier). Roll it up firm and cut into 12 rounds. Place them in a buttered 13X9-inch pan, cover, and let rise in a toasty spot for 30 min (should double in size). Bake in a 350 oven for ½ hour. Let them cool for 20 min. while mixing all the frosting ingredients together. Frost and eat!

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    Posted in Genre Savvy, Reading Recipes | 16 Comments »

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