After I got married, my MIL introduced me to pumpkin bread. Oh my, it’s so good, a perfect side to my favorite cup of coffee and the story I’m writing. I make double batches because it freezes so well. For this, I use real pumpkin.

~ ~ ~

Mrs. Maylee’s Pumpkin Bread

Makes two loaves

Sift together:

3 cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon ginger

In a bigger bowl beat together:

16 oz. can pumpkin

¾ cup canola oil

2 ¼ cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until well blended. Spray non-stick loaf pans with cooking spray and fill with the batter. Bake for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaf.

Jane thinks she’s ready to take the risks her business and love life desperately need. Rob’s still punishing himself for a broken relationship that wasn’t meant to last. When the pair let an opportunity pass them by, fate steps in and throws them back together.

An evening of pitch black unrestrained passion at Club Blind opens her eyes to life’s possibilities. Now, if they don’t fight past their personal demons, they might never truly discover what they need most. If they can open their hearts, it might lead them directly to each other where they can discover their truth. If not, they may forever stay in the blind.

~ ~ ~

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

At this time of year everyone's thoughts turn to …pumpkins! Some people focus on carving them but I prefer to eat them. J

I recently tried this recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins and they are delicious. I don't have time to spend hours in the kitchen as I'm usually busy writing, so I can assure you they are quick and easy to make. Enjoy!

~ ~ ~

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients

MUFFINS

1 15 oz can pumpkin

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

TOPING

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk (The white can be added to the muffin mixture.)

3 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In bowl one put the pumpkin, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon until well mixed.

In bowl two put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix with a fork.

Add the contents of bowl two to bowl one gradually, mixing well with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended.

For the toping, mix together the cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

Grease a standard sized muffin tin.

Evenly distribute the muffin mixture between the twelve cups.

Add a small spoonful of the cream-cheese mix to the top of each muffin and swirl in with a skewer.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees, turning the tin halfway through cooking.

Store in an airtight container. Lasts for two to three days.

First in a Christmas trilogy set in Naples and the Amalfi coast 

Desperate to forget her controlling ex fiancé and have a fresh start, Claire goes to Italy to write about how the Italians celebrate Christmas. Leo has his own troubled past to overcome, but when he rescues Claire from the rain and takes her home to meet his daughter, the magical Italian Christmas offers them both a second chance at happiness.

~ ~ ~

www.helenscotttaylor.co.uk

 https://www.facebook.com/HelenScottTaylorAuthor

Most banana nut breads are too sweet for my taste, so I adapted this recipe from Muffins & Quick Breads (Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library). It’s delicious for breakfast with eggs, bacon or fruit or for a snack with a cup of tea or coffee.

It freezes well, so I often double the recipe.

~ ~ ~

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, room temperature

½ cup sugar

1 cup mashed ripe banana (2 large bananas)

2 eggs

½ cup pecans

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Grease and flour 1 medium loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar.

Beat in the banana.

Beat in the eggs. Don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled. It’s not. It’s just really moist!

Stir in the nuts.

Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Spread in the loaf pan. Bake until a thin wooden skewer (aka a toothpick) inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Book two of Lovers and Friends

Tyler Coil doesn't do men. But it's harder to remember that each time he visits his best friend, gorgeous Landon Burke. As a political reporter, Ty is good at reading people, and he can tell the lust is mutual. But giving in to it could mean alienating his ultra-conservative family.

Landon never desired a man badly enough to explore that side of his sexuality—until he met Ty. He's waited four long years for a sign that Ty wants him too, and he can't deny his needs much longer. So when a career opportunity arises out-of-state, Landon wonders if maybe it's time to move on.

Then Ty crashes at Landon's while working on a story—and a searing kiss ignites a night of mind-blowing sex that's better than their most erotic fantasies. Forced to face his feelings, Ty must decide if love is worth the risk after all—before he loses Landon forever.

~ ~ ~

http://www.samanthaannking.com/

This is a slight adaptation of an awesome muffin recipe—simply titled “Bettina's Cakes”—from one of the most awesome cookbooks ever published in English—“A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband With Bettina's Best Recipes”—written by Louise Weaver and Helen LeCron and published in early 1917. It's an interesting take on spice cakes from an even earlier era when chemical leavening wasn't completely understood or trusted, which as given makes eight muffins, but I've successfully doubled and tripled it to make larger batches, and it scales just fine.

~ ~ ~

Bettina's Cakes

Recipe:

Measure out 1/3 cup of milk, and add to this one-half tablespoon vinegar. Stir and let sit.

Preheat your oven to 350F / 175C.

Grease your muffin tin.

Melt two tablespoons of butter.

In a mixing bowl, stir together:

1 cup flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon powdered cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

a pinch of salt

Add to this one egg and the sour milk, stir everything together and beat with a wooden spoon for one minute. Pour in the melted butter, and beat for two minutes more.

Fill muffin cups half full—it should half-fill eight normal-sized cups, neatly fitting in a normal twelve-hole muffin tin without using the corners—and bake for about twenty minutes. They're done when they pull away from the sides of the cups.

Rebecca always hurts the ones she loves. Except, okay, she didn't even like Emily and she only broke the other girl's nosetwice, but, still. Eager—nay, desperate—to make amends for these accidental injuries, she reluctantly agreed to drive her victim on a road trip over an extended weekend, shortly before they both graduate from high school. All she wanted was forgiveness, an easing of her troubled conscience. Never could Rebecca have guessed that her tall, quiet classmate was into women—or that she's exactly Emily's type...

~ ~ ~

www.mendacities.net

Hi all! This is an old recipe, from back in the day when quiche was cool, but it’s still yummy.

~ ~ ~

SPINACH AND FETA QUICHE

2 pie crusts, frozen or homemade

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 c. cottage cheese

6 green onions, sliced (tops too)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. dry basil

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

4 eggs

1/2 c. milk

Prepare crusts and bake (frozen pre-made works fine). Squeeze moisture out of spinach, set aside.

In a blender or food processor, mix feta cheese, cottage cheese, green onions, oil, basil, pepper and garlic salt until smooth. Add eggs and milk. Blend well. Pour into bowl and add spinach. Pour into baked pastry shells. Bake at 350 degrees until knife inserted in center comes clean, 30-45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Serves 6.

There are no skeletons in her closet…only ghosts

Rose Ramos was a reference librarian, until she inherited her grandmother’s house—and the family talent for connecting with the other side…

Moving into the lovely Victorian in San Antonio’s King William District is a dream come true for Rose—and also a nightmare. That’s the only explanation she has for the man hovering above her bed. But Skag is a ghost who’s been part of Rose’s family for generations. And now he’s all hers.

When Evan Delwin, a reporter out to debunk the city’s newest celebrity, posts an ad looking for a research assistant to investigate a famous medium making his home in San Antonio, Skag suggests that Rose apply for the job. Delving into the dark side has its own dangers for Rose—including trying to resist Delwin’s manly charms. But as the investigation draws them closer together, the deadly currents surrounding the medium threaten to destroy them all…

~ ~ ~

Medium Rare will be released by Berkley InterMix on August 20. Check my Facebook page for giveaways and updates. You can find more information on the King William District and my Texas romances at

http://www.MegBenjamin.com

I kept seeing this combination on Pinterest and couldn’t resist. I love lemon, love yogurt and had blueberries I needed to use up. This version totally worked for me.

~ ~ ~

Muffins:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup lemon flavored Greek yogurt 
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce)
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen could probably substitute)
Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In another bowl, mix together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Be careful not to overmix the batter! Very gently, mix the blueberries into the batter.
Pour the batter into the greased muffin tins and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing. Let almost completely cool before topping with the glaze.
To make the lemon glaze, in a bowl whisk together the confectioners sugar and the lemon juice. The mixture might be thick but should be spreadable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice (or water) if it’s too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each muffin.
There's something inside of him, some dormant part that's been awakened. And now it wants to be set free...
Something's wrong with Sebastian Kent. Already considered an outsider in the vampire community as a half-vampire, half-something else, he’ll do everything in his power to hide his weakness. But when sickness strikes, he has no choice but to turn to a human for help—a woman whose touch provides his only relief.
Alice Bowman is hiding her own illness, one that has left her homeless. When she comes to Bast’s aid, she doesn’t expect to be thrust into the world of vampires. But he offers her refuge and a job researching his family history in the hope of finding a clue to his mysterious affliction. She can’t resist his offer of protection—and the chance to spend more time with the man who arouses her every desire.
But as Bast and Alice’s hunger for each other grows, so does the power of Bast’s unexplained half. And soon his unknown past and her uncertain future threaten to keep them apart forever….

~ ~ ~

www.deecarney.com

twitter.com/dee_carney

pinterest.com/deecarney