My family loves green beans so I’m always on the hunt for new ways to cook them. Sautéing them has become my favorite method, as they turn out so tasty.

~ ~ ~

Gourmet Green Beans

1 1/2 - 2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed

2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and fresh black pepper

Option 1 - Herb Butter:

•    1/4 cup fresh herb* leaves, roughly chopped

•    1 large lemon, zested and juiced

•    2 garlic cloves, smashed

•    1 stick unsalted butter, softened

•    Salt and pepper

*Use herb of your choice such as sage, rosemary, basil, chives

In a food processor, pulse together the herbs, lemon zest and juice, and garlic. Once coarsely chopped, add the butter and pulse until combined. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Use 1/3 of the herbed butter for this recipe and freeze the rest for another use.

Option 2- Vegie Dressing:

•    2 ounces salted butter, melted

•    1 tablespoon soy sauce

•    1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Whisk all ingredients together. May double recipe if desired.

Sautéing Green Beans:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the green beans in an even layer and cook without disturbing for one minute. Add the herbed butter or vegie dressing and sauté for 1-2 more minutes or until beans are crispy and still bright green. Season with salt and fresh black pepper as needed.

Christmas in Sugar Land contains four romantic and heartwarming Christmas themed stories featuring fictional residents of Sugar Land, Texas:

THE CHRISTMAS STAR – Under the glow of a magical Christmas star, two lonely people find each other and learn that the true meaning of the holiday does indeed entail family and love.

A HOLIDAY SURPRISE – After divorcing fifteen years ago, can two mature and successful adults overcome the differences that forced them apart and then succeed together at love a second time?

CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHT – With the company of a clever puppy, a widowed freelance writer falls for a hunky landscaper as feelings of loyalty to her dead husband threaten her chance at happiness.

ROCKIN’ JINGLE BELLS – Can high school sweethearts now in their mid-thirties, a coffee café manager and a famous rock singer, overcome the dissimilarities in their lives and build a relationship based on love and trust?

This collection has additional Enriched Content that includes pictures, recipes, and author notes for each story with access or a notation to it throughout each story.

~ ~ ~

www.karensueburns.com

Many years ago I attended a Christmas Party that had a cranberry dish that I loved. I asked the person for the recipe several times through the years but she would never share! I finally found it!

~ ~ ~

Cranberry Cloud

2 cups fresh cranberries

2 cups miniature marshmallows

¾ cup sugar

2 green apples

1 cup seedless green grapes

½ cup toasted chopped walnuts

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Put cranberries in food process and pulse until they are chopped in slices.

Add cranberries, marshmallows and sugar in large plastic container and shake until mixed.

Set aside for an hour in the fridge. The sugar will turn a delightful pinkish color.

Chop the apples, slice the green grapes and toast the walnuts in oven for ten minutes at 350 degrees.

Whip the heavy whipping cream until peaks form.

Add apples, grapes, walnuts to cranberries along with the whipped cream.

Fold with rubber spatula, then chill the mixture for at least an hour.

About every fifteen minutes, turn the container over and shake a bit to mix the flavors.

That’s it. Delicious, simple to make and men like it. Enjoy!

Adopted!

In the Deep South, one of the first questions asked when meeting someone new in a small town is, “Who’s your daddy?” The answer defines you as a person. Not knowing is disheartening.

Sara McLaughlin never knew she was adopted and is stunned to realize that if she wants to find out the questions burning in her brain as to the ‘why’ she was given up at birth, and who her father might be, she has to live in her birth mother’s apartment for the next six weeks.

Grant St. Romain, attorney, is supposed to be helping, but the hunky dimpled devil is making her mind think of other things.
Can she find the truth? Or will she break her heart trying to find out the answers in Boggy Bayou, where many secrets are hidden?

~ ~ ~

http://pepper.phillips.com

Hi there!  Noony here, with another recipe for you.  Today I wanted to share something from my garden, because here in Chicago, Illinois, USA, we've had a weird summer and my Swiss chard is ready to move in the house with me!

~ ~ ~

Super Fast Swiss Chard Recipe, for those days when only a Quickie will do:

Ingredients:

1 pound (0.45 kg) Swiss chard, chopped

1 medium clove garlic, chopped or put through a garlic press

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or roasted sesame oil

salt and black pepper to taste

Optional:

6 marinated olives (my favorite are Kalamata or some of the Spanish kinds one can sometimes find in an international market)

1/2 cup (about 250 g) feta cheese

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Directions:

Mince the garlic or put it through a garlic press.

Fill a large (3 quart or 2.8 liter pot about halfway or three-quarters full with water and bring to a rapid boil.

Cut off the tougher bottom part of the chard stems.  Chop the leaves and add them to the boiling water.  Cook for three minutes.

Drain in a colander and press out the excess water with a wooden spoon (don’t use a metal one, as it will conduct heat).

Put in your serving dish and toss with the remaining ingredients.

Vanya is a sorcerer’s apprentice who finally achieves his goal, initiation as a sorcerer – only to find that he, himself, is the intended sacrifice in their ritual. When the ritual goes wrong, his master flees and he is left with the creature that his master summons.

Stranded on this side of the portal, Nash is a powerful being with only one desire – find the sorcerer who stranded him and wreak his revenge. Vanya agrees to help, and in the process, he and Nash find more than they ever bargained for: love, friendship, and belonging.

Can they protect themselves against the sorcerer’s growing power, or will he destroy all that they hold dear?

~ ~ ~

http://acatherinenoon.blogspot.com

In my book EMERALD, Caithren and Jason stop at a tavern for a meal and are served this delicious mushroom pie. It’s one of my family’s favorites—my daughter and I make it every Thanksgiving and often at other times, too. If you need to eat gluten free like I do, simply buy GF pie crust. Everything else in this recipe is naturally gluten free. For more historical recipes from my novels, visit the recipe page on my site at http://www.laurenroyal.com/3.0/bookshelf/recipes/. Enjoy!

~ ~ ~

Mushroom Pie

Original Historical Recipe:

Mushrooms of one night be the best and they be little and red within and closed at the top; and they must be peeled and then washed in hot water and parboled and if you wish to put them in a pasty add oil, cheese and spice powder.

—From The Goodman of Paris (Le Ménagier de Paris), written in 1393 and translated by Eileen Power

Modern Version:

1-½ lbs. sliced button mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-½ cups grated or shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, or a combination)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon chopped or crushed ginger (I use the kind you buy in a jar) or dry ground ginger

¼ teaspoon pepper

9″ ready-to-bake pie crust (top crust optional)

Follow the directions on the pie crust package to pre-bake the bottom crust.

Saute the mushrooms. Drain any liquid, then place in a large bowl and add olive oil, cheese, salt, pepper, and ginger. Mix well.

Place mushroom mixture in the pie shell. Add top crust if desired, and make slits with a sharp knife.

Bake at 350° F (180° C) for 35–40 minutes, or until pastry is a golden brown.

England and Scotland, 1667

Jason Chase, the Marquess of Cainewood, is out to bring a blackguard to justice when he crosses paths with a woeful Scottish lad. When the lad turns out to be a lovely Scottish lass, he realizes she must be the notorious bounty hunter Emerald MacCallum. Convinced they're after the same man and her very life may be in danger, Jason decides he must keep Emerald close…

In Caithren Leslie's view, there couldn't be enough distance between her and the handsome but overbearing Englishman. She's searching for her wayward brother, but Jason won't let a little thing like the truth interfere with his absurd conviction that she's living under an assumed identity. Mindful of the dangerous traveling conditions, Cait grudgingly accepts his protection. Until, that is, she begins to suspect that mistrust isn't the only emotion between them…and their mission for justice just might turn out to be a quest for love...

~ ~ ~

http://www.LaurenRoyal.com

I could live on cold soup and champagne all summer long!

~ ~ ~

Gazpacho

· 6 tomatoes, diced

· 2 cups tomato juice

· 1 cucumber, diced

· 1 ripe avocado, chopped

· 1 clove of garlic, minced

· 1 small red onion, diced

· ¼ cup red wine vinegar

· 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

· 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

· 6 or more drops of hot sauce to taste

· Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Puree mixture for about 15 seconds. Place in a non-metal storage container, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to blend.

Serve chilled with a dab of sour cream.

Makes about 8 cups

Sometimes one kiss can change everything.

New Year's Eve is supposed to be a night for celebration and new beginnings. For best friends Kat and Dean, it is a nightmare filled with disastrous dates and enraged ex-girlfriends!

Lucky for them, they've got each other to help laugh off the embarrassing, and downright inappropriate, moments. But then midnight rolls around and neither of them have anyone to kiss…

There's no doubt this is a night they will always remember.

The real question is whether it will be a night they want to forget…

~ ~ ~

www.LisaFoxRomance.com

Now, I have to admit, I'm late to the leafy greens party. I've always enjoyed a salad well enough as a side dish, but cooked kale, spinach, chard? Not so much. However, I recently discovered swiss chard with balsamic vinegar and I have to say I was surprised -- it's yummy!

~ ~ ~

Swiss Chard with Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients:

    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    4 cloves garlic, minced

    1 bunch Swiss chard, stalks discarded, leaves cut into wide ribbons

    1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

    salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

    Heat the olive oil on a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook until tender and aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and balsamic vinegar; cook and stir until the chard is wilted and tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

In the interest of full disclosure, I first discovered the recipe on allrecipes.com, but it has since become a favorite.

Tiger-shifter Grio has one job, locating dormant tiger-shifters and introducing them to the world of Saffron Tigers. When he finds Professor Phoenix Lamoure, he soon discovers that Headquarters got a couple of key points wrong—Phoenix isn’t actually a professor, but he is Saffron Tiger royalty, a member of the lost royal line.

Phoenix didn’t have things easy growing up. His mother spent most of her life in a mental institution, and he spent his formative years in foster care. When a stranger approaches and tries to unearth his family history, Phoenix becomes wary. And when the stranger actually kidnaps him, all bets are off!

Can Phoenix ever believe what Grio has to tell him? Or will he be forever convinced that he’s as crazy as his mother?

~ ~ ~

www.seanmichaelwrites.com

With the warmer weather finally here, I like to eat more fresh vegetables and salads. One of my favorites at the moment is broccoli salad. Here’s how I make it:

~ ~ ~

Broccoli Salad

3 cups broccoli florets

¼ cup chopped red onion

½ cup of raisins (dried cranberries work as well)

½ cup brick cheese cut into small cubes (I use marble)

½ cup mayonnaise (or salad dressing)

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

1. Combine broccoli, onion, raisins, and cheese cubes into a large bowl. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar, and sugar until smooth. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat.

3. Let sit in fridge for minimum of 10 minutes before serving.

4. Enjoy!

*Please note: Other broccoli salad recipes also include cashew, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and/or bacon.

She is desperately seeking freedom...

On the eve before her twenty-first birthday, Skylar steals a ship and escapes from the planet Rebed. She refuses to be another wife for the slimy space pirate that is her betrothed. After hearing of her brothers’ success, she applies to the 1Night Stand service on her way to Earth, hoping Madame Eve can find her a hero, to make her feel special, even if for only one night.

He is trying to fit in...

A longtime friend to Skylar’s brothers, he’s always relegated her to the look and don’t touch category. Though, Daran traveled to Earth years ago, he still struggles to fit in on the planet. When his boss suggests a blind date, he reluctantly agrees. What would happen if anyone found out about his alien ancestry?

And they are not at all meant to be together...

Has Madame Eve made a huge mistake, or will Daran tread into forbidden territory to be with the one woman he’s always wanted, and become the hero Skylar craves?

~ ~ ~

jessicasubject.com

Here's a recipe sure to please, whether you share it with a small group or a big gathering. This guacamole recipe easily doubles for twice as much fun!

~ ~ ~

Bellamy Blake's Late-Night Guacamole

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe avocados (Haas preferred)
• Freshly squeezed juice of one large lime
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• Tabasco to taste
• Roughly ½ of a medium red onion, small dice (adjust amount to taste)
• One medium tomato, seeded and diced (in a pinch, you can also use about ¾ cup of jarred salsa, but fresh is much better)
• One large clove of garlic, minced fine
• About a Tablespoon of chopped, fresh cilantro (also to taste)

Cut avocados in half and remove the seeds (one good whack with a sharp knife should help it pop right out, but be careful!). Scoop the pulp from each avocado into a large bowl (I like to use my hands for this, but a spoon works too). Discard skins. Add lime juice, salt, cumin and Tabasco. With a potato masher, work mixture to desired consistency. Note: texture is important in good guacamole. Over-mash, and you end up with baby food (eek!), but not enough, and it won't "dip" without destroying your chips. You want the chunky feel of salsa.

Add onion, tomato, garlic and cilantro. Stir gently to combine well. Let sit (for flavors to really pop) for about an hour in the fridge with light cover. Serve with tortilla chips, preferably to your friends after a late night out. Licking the bowl is optional, but encouraged.

Sharing food doesn't have to be an intimate thing between lovers—it can be what ties us together with anyone we love or care about, such as our family and friends. One of the big mantras in my house is that "Food is love", and Bellamy's guacamole in Turn Up The Heat is a prime example. As an aspiring (and closet) chef, Bellamy cooks from her heart, and in turn that makes everything she prepares into a feast for the emotions. Even late-night guacamole! Bellamy's desire to feed her friends shows how much she cares for them, and following the path of your heart is a big theme in Turn Up The Heat. Give this recipe a try, and share it with some friends (over margaritas!) to embody "food is love" in your house, too.

"It's not you."

There are only so many times a girl can hear those words before she believes that it is, in fact, very much her. Unexpectedly jilted by her locally famous boyfriend and haunted by a boss who makes Attila the Hun look like a lap dog, Bellamy Blake does what any self-respecting girl in her shoes would do. She rounds up her two best girlfriends and makes plans to get the hell out of Dodge. . .

But Bellamy's escape plan takes a nose dive on the side of rural route 164 when her transmission self-destructs, leaving her in the middle of a cell phone dead zone with nothing but her wits. Oh, and Shane Griffin, the hottest mechanic who's ever checked under her hood.

Yet this small-town man isn't all he seems. Can Shane and Bellamy prove that sometimes the most unlikely ingredients make the most deliciously sexy mix?

~ ~ ~

www.kimberlykincaid.com

This corn salad is so easy, even one of my bull riders could make it! And it’s so colorful it’s as beautiful to look at, as it is tasty. I serve it on its own as a side dish with steak or burgers, but I’ve also used the leftovers to dress up plain lettuce to create a quick and impressive tossed salad.

~ ~ ~

Corn Salad

1 can corn (drained)

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 small red onion (chopped)

1 green pepper (diced)

Juice of one fresh lime

2 TB olive oil

Salt/Pepper to taste

Dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Mix all ingredients and serve room temperature.

This ain’t their first rodeo...but there are a lot of other firsts they can experience together .

Skeeter Anderson was born to ride bulls. He bypassed college to shoot straight to the top of the elite pro tour, but lately all he can seem to do is hit the dirt. Unwilling to admit his career might be over at twenty-one, Skeeter brainstorms a bull-riding boot camp with his buddies, which will put him closer to a girl who’s caught his eye—a stock contractor’s daughter called Riley.

Riley Davis lives and breathes bulls. Since her mother’s death, she’s been her father’s business partner as well as the apple of his eye—until a coronary rips him out of her life. Now, at nineteen, she must find a way to hang onto the family business.

When Skeeter hears about Riley’s dad, he drives straight to Mississippi to lend her a hand, his buddies hot on his heels. Suddenly Riley has more help than she can shake a stick at, and an attraction to Skeeter that’s heating up by the minute...

Warning: Contains cowboy yoga, cowboys in love, and a romance that hits so hard and fast, it makes being thrown from a bull look like a friendly game of hopscotch.

~ ~ ~

www.catjohnson.net

Here’s the basic recipe that can be turned into a number of different things. After covering the hard way, now skip down—below the “creamy goodness recipe” and let’s get these suckers done the easy way, okay?

~ ~ ~

Creamy Goodness Recipe

2 tbs butter

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

2 teaspoons salt

For the finish you’ll need: Four peeled, cut, and boiled potatoes. Drain them and then add to your sauce and serve. Yum.

Now for the crib notes version of this recipe. Hey don’t judge me. I cook a big meal EVERY SINGLE day so I need some cheats. Here’s a biggie. Heheheh.

Fake Creamy Garlic Goodness Recipe

Two tbs of butter

1 can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom with roasted garlic soup

½ can of milk (if you’re skinny or having company splurge and use half and half – makes it richer) but seeing as how I’m a tad short for my weight so those extra calories are a no-no, I usually use 2% milk and it works great.

Heat it up. There’s no need to thicken it as you’re using less liquid so the soup base stays thick.

Then all you need to do is salt and pepper to taste. Here again, I will tell you that I use chicken bouillon to season, but you’re welcome to use whatever you want. Only don’t use beef bouillon because I got cocky once when the MIL was coming to dine and…well let’s just say, to this day she thinks I can’t cook. Wow, now that I think about it? That worked out well for me as she never stops by at mealtime. Maybe I should try inviting her over for breakfast and slipping some sugar in her scrambled eggs. *thinking as I twirl my handlebar mustache* Oh, right, I better finish the instructions before I start plotting. After your sauce is heated just pour over your cooked potatoes and you’re done.

Additional tips: If you don’t have time to peel and boil potatoes? Cook them with skin on in the microwave and then scoop out potato when done. Add to sauce and you’ve got creamy garlic mashed potatoes.

Don’t have potatoes, but want something on the plate that looks like ‘em? Use cauliflower instead of potatoes. Works and tastes great.

Enjoy!

She knows he’s dangerous for a woman like her.

He knows she’s perfect for a man like him.

From their first meeting, David Hollan is intrigued because Lacy Pembrook is subconsciously hiding someone. Herself. And David wants to know why. He’s patient at first. Willing to give her space, but when she breaks the rules they’ve set between them, he’s ready to hold her accountable. One way or another, he’s going to find the piece of her that’s yet to be uncovered. And when he does? He intends to own it.

Given an ultimatum after she gets caught coloring outsides the lines of their “trial” relationship, Lacy decides to fall in with David’s plans. She’ll cancel her trip and spend her vacation time at his house making up for her transgression. No sweat, right? Wrong. What she doesn’t count on is him going full-out Dom on her. She quickly learns why they call him the quiet one. He’s dead sexy, watchful and stern at the best of times, and now that he has her all to himself, each of those things are magnified tenfold.

By the time Lacy realizes that he’s completely subjugated her—by way of an emotional striptease—it’s too late. She’s bared her soul to him, so when he requests her surrender she has no choice but to give it to him. Or does she?

~ ~ ~

www.AuthorRileyMurphy.com

As a personal trainer (when I’m not writing romances), I am constantly asked for healthy recipes. And this time of year people also ask me what they can do to stay healthy during this cold and flu season. Answer to both of the above question.

~ ~ ~

BECKY’S MIRACLE SOUP

(it might look ugly, but it works)

I use fresh vegetables when available, but frozen works fine, too.

Throw together into a big stock pot or crockpot:

A bag of spinach (not the plastic bag, just the greens inside LOL)

2 zucchini, chopped not peeled

2 cups or so of green beans

2 cups or so of broccoli

1 chopped leek

1 bunch of asparagus, chopped

Any other green or white vegetable you have in your fridge

Organic vegetable stock to cover

--Bring ingredients to a boil. Simmer until very tender (about 10 minutes).

--Pour into blender in batches to puree. (Tip: put a towel over blender lid so hot veggies don’t spill through.)

The soup is good eaten as is. I keep it in an airtight container in the fridge, and warm up a mugful instead of drinking tea or coffee in the afternoon.

Variations when warming it up:

--Stir in soy milk or almond milk

--Stir in the milk and add a pinch of curry powder

If you drink a mugful or eat a bowlful every day, you’ll help strengthen your immune system to help you fight off all the crud that’s going around. And if you’re currently sick, it’ll help get you strong again (unless you’re throwing up. In that case, the look and smell of this soup will make you want to throw up more.)

Enjoy and stay healthy, my friends!

Are you confused by all the contradictory diet information out there? Do you just want a simple and easy and FUN way to lose weight and improve your diet? Do you like making lists? Well, look no further than The Checklist Diet.

No more counting points or calories. No more depriving yourself of your favorite foods. No more dealing with hunger pains, because guess what? On The Checklist Diet, if you’re hungry, you get to eat! How cool is that?

This is the last diet plan you’ll ever need, because it’s not a diet. Diets are meant go on and off of. This is a way of eating you can stick with for life because it’s so easy, it’s so basic, and it’s so fun

~ ~ ~

http://rebeccajclark.com

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

By the end of summer I’m often bored by the same old salads and start wishing for winter warmers. A curried chickpea salad is the perfect compromise. Enjoy!

~ ~ ~

INGREDIENTS:

1 can of chickpeas

1 small can of pineapple pieces

½ cup of coconut milk

¼ onion, finely chopped

1 stick of celery, chopped

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger

1 handful coconut flakes

½ or 1 teaspoon curry powder

Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

This is one of those recipes that is instantly tweaked to suit your tastes—or your family’s J You can definitely add chillies, for instance, or cherry tomatoes. The aim is to have a salad with all the flavour of a curry, but fresh and zingy.

Drain the can of chickpeas. I also rinse them in a colander under the tap. Put them in a bowl with the tomato, onion, celery and ginger. Whisk the curry powder into the coconut milk, add about 4 teaspoons of juice from the canned pineapple. Drain the tin of pineapple and add the pineapple chunks to the salad. Pour over the coconut milk dressing. Season to taste. Toss.

Refrigerate three or so hours, tossing a couple of times, so the flavours mingle and the salad is chilled. Just before serving, add the coconut flakes; that way they’ll keep their crunch.

Saul knows he crossed the line when he claimed a surprise engagement with Grace. But her hysterical denial – and the way she's avoided him ever since – has made things awkward, but it can all be worked out. The Australia Day long weekend down at her family’s beach house is the perfect time to show everyone that they’re friends, with not a broken heart between them. But can a fake engagement become life-changingly real?

10,000 word short holiday romance

~ ~ ~

http://authorjennyschwartz.com/

This is a simple, but delicious, recipe I got from a friend and tweaked a bit. It makes a huge salad, perfect for sharing! The last time I made it, I served it at a dinner for six, plus had enough leftovers for lunch for hubby and I the next two days.

~ ~ ~

Kale & Quinoa Salad

1 bunch of kale, washed and chopped

1 cup of quinoa, cooked in 2 cups of chicken broth

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup sunflower seeds

1 pkg. shredded Feta cheese

¼ cup parmesan cheese

 

Dressing (I always double this)

2 tbsp. lemon juice

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

Pinch of pepper & salt

 

Directions:

1. Cook the quinoa and chill.

2. Toss kale, quinoa, cranberries, sunflower seeds and cheese in a large bowl.

3. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Toss to coat.

Unemployed and running out of resources, Sophie LaPlante is desperate for a job, when the perfect one appears before her. A wealthy couple from Hedon Falls requires a live-in housekeeper, and Sophie is just what they’re looking for.

Jack Sullivan, a powerful CEO and Dom, is married to actress Kendra Hughes. He immediately senses submissive tendencies in his new housekeeper. His wife can never be the sub he needs, so while Kendra is away on a film shoot, he begins to train Sophie. When Kendra returns, she joins the training to explore her own Dominant desires. While their sessions were not intended to involve sex, they find themselves fighting a losing battle against their mutual attraction.

The three of them are caught up in a web of lust, guilt, and infidelity, all complicated by an ex-boyfriend who can’t leave Sophie alone.

~ ~ ~

http://michellegrahameroticromance.blogspot.ca

I like a lot of different cuisines, but when I'm in the mood for some serious comfort, I really love rustic Italian. Fitting that one of the male leads for my recent book is an Italian....

~ ~ ~

Mushroom-Leek Ragout on Penne

*This can also be served with fresh pasta and it's quite delicious--but penne is less labor intensive and also delicious. Also, if you're not a fan of vegetarian recipes, you can easily add chicken.*

Ingredients:

One pound penne pasta

2-3 leeks

one pound porcini or baby bella mushrooms

1/2 onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon thyme leaves

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flake

one can of crushed tomatoes

olive oil

Cut the leeks in half lengthwise, keeping the root mostly intact. Rinse them very, very thoroughly--leeks are incredibly full of sand! Chop them into half-moons about a quarter inch wide--it's not that important to be precise, as they cook down. Some people only use the white parts, but I am quite fond of all but the very tips of the leeks.

In a 12 to 14-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add the mushrooms and saute over high heat until browned. Add the onion, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme and red pepper flake and cook for about ten minutes. add the crushed tomatoes and allow the mixture to come up to a boil before lowering the heat.

In a big pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil with a heavy dose of salt--at least two tablespoons. When the water is at a boil, add the pasta and cook until about one minute short of the instructions. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce, letting the heat from the pan cook the pasta the last minute. You may want to reserve a little of the pasta water to add in, if the sauce gets too dense; but mostly I just don't let the pasta drain as thoroughly, and the residual water mingles with the sauce for a good texture. Serve with grated parmigiano and a glass of the wine of your choice!

When Nick Laurent’s grief over losing his wife transitions into full-blown depression, his best friend Paolo DeLuca is worried. After trying and failing to pull Nick out of his downward spiral, he decides that his girlfriend Angharad Johns can accomplish what he can’t, and convinces her to try seducing the guitarist.

Nick Laurent, missing his wife and wishing that his friends would leave him alone in his grief, is unsure of accepting a new partner in Angharad. As his feelings for her develop, Nick wonders if he’s betraying his late wife by falling for Paolo’s girlfriend.

Angharad Johns is conflicted at the idea of seeing two men at the same time. Instead of being the seducer, Angharad is seduced, and soon finds her schedule fuller than she could ever imagine. If she is going to keep this up, she has to find a way to fit both gorgeous men into her life.

~ ~ ~

www.marykpreston.blogspot.com

It’s still salad weather here in the Rockies (although it probably won’t be for much longer—September’s always a little “iffy”). Here’s a salad that involves several of my favorite things: blue cheese, walnuts, and a yummy vinaigrette.

~ ~ ~

¼ c. olive oil

2 t dry basil leaves (or fresh basil if you have it)

½ t salt

1/8 t each pepper and paprika

2 t Dijon mustard

5 t white wine vinegar

½ lb mushrooms, sliced

2 green onions (including tops), thinly sliced

2/3 c broken walnut pieces

4 oz blue cheese, coarsely crumbled

4 c bite-size pieces of romaine or butter lettuce leaves

10 cherry tomatoes, whole or halved

In a large salad-type bowl, combine oil, basil, salt, pepper, paprika, mustard and vinegar. Beat with a fork until blended. Mix mushrooms and green onions into the vinaigrette; let stand at room temperature to marinate for at least 30 minutes (longer is better—the mushrooms pick up more flavor).

Add walnut pieces, blue cheese, lettuce and cherry tomatoes and toss lightly. This is a great salad to bring to potlucks, by the way.

Once they said goodbye forever. Now they want to walk it back.

Konigsburg, Texas, Book 6

Eighteen months ago, Kit Maldonado was so over Nando Avrogado, she left Konigsburg without a backward glance. With the family restaurant in San Antonio sold out from under her, though, she’s back to manage The Rose, an exclusive resort eatery outside town.

Dealing with a stingy boss, an amorous head chef, an understaffed dining room and planning her aunt’s wedding should have kept her hands full. But she realizes she might not be as over Nando as she thought.

As the town’s new assistant chief of police, Nando’s got enough trouble without sexy Kit fanning embers he thought had long ago turned to ashes. Every time he turns around, she’s there—and it doesn’t help that everyone in town wants to see them back together.

One incendiary kiss, and there’s no denying the force of their attraction. But there’s a mysterious and oddly familiar burglar who’s been lurking around Konigsburg, someone who isn’t above a little mayhem—maybe even violence—to cover his tracks.

Product Warnings

Contains hot makeup sex, wedding madness, a hot chef, vengeful burglars, and unlawful abuse of a wedding cake.

~ ~ ~

http://www.MegBenjamin.com

I'm not the greatest of cooks, but there are a handful of things I do well and that even my fussiest child will eat. This is one of their favourites - and mine - with a dash of cream for luxury. As a note, I'm also not very accurate with my measurements, so feel free to adjust your version as necessary.

~ ~ ~

1 medium onion diced

2 large leeks (or up to 5 small)

3 large potatoes (or 5 small)

2 handfuls of lentils (split red/puy etc)

1 vegetable stock cube (or use 500mls of homemade stock instead of the water)

500mls water

300mls milk

100mls single cream

A large knob of butter

Cooking oil

1. Dice the onion, slice the leeks, and peel and chop the potatoes into approx. 1 inch cubes.

2. Melt the butter in a large soup pan (or similar) on a low heat. Then add all the chopped vegetables and stir until they're all coated in the butter/oil mix.

3. Place a lid on the pan and leave the vegetables to 'sweat' on a low heat for 5 minutes.

4. Add the water, milk, stock cube and lentils, and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce the temperature to leave it simmering gently for approx. 20 minutes, checking that the potato pieces are cooked through.

6. Use a hand blender to reduce the soup to a smooth consistency. Add additional seasoning like salt and pepper as your taste requires. Add the cream stirring steadily to prevent it splitting.

7. Suggestion - serve with cheesy or garlic bread and enjoy. :)

Outcast. Cursed. Dying. Is Keir beyond redemption?

For Keirlan de Corizi--the legendary 'Blue Demon' of Adalucien--death seems the only escape from a world where his discolored skin marks him as an oddity and condemns him to life as a pariah. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise: Tarquin Secker, a young woman who can travel the stars with a wave of her hand.

But Quin has secrets of her own. She's spent eternity searching through space and time with a strange band of companions at her back. Defying her friends' counsel, Quin risks her apparent immortality to save Keir. She offers him sanctuary and a new life on her home world, Lyagnius.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes his dormant alien powers and earns instant exile from Quin's home world, will she risk everything to stand by him again?

~ ~ ~

http://pippajay.blogspot.com/

One of my favorite aunts is a vegetarian, so I keep an eye out for new dishes I think she would enjoy. When one of my editors tweeted about a delicious vegetarian Reuben sandwich, I tweeted right back and asked her for the recipe. Since I had never cooked with tempeh, I gave this recipe a go. There was a learning curve, but it was so worth the effort. These sandwiches were stellar!

If you’d like more information on tempeh, you can check out this website.

~ ~ ~

Ingredients

Dressing:

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 cup dill pickle, minced

2 tablespoons onion, minced

2 teaspoons Sriracha

Tempeh:

6 ounces tempeh, sliced

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, crushed

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 tablespoon olive oil

Serving:

1 and 1/2 cups fresh sauerkraut

Swiss cheese

Rye bread, sliced

Instructions

1. Sauce: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill until ready to serve.

2. Tempeh: Combine the cider, soy sauce, crushed peppercorns and caraway in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir frequently.

3. When the mixture is ready to boil, add the tempeh.

4. Adjust the heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

5. Heat the olive oil until shimmering in a sauté pan over medium heat.

6. Add the tempeh and sauté until lightly crisped, around 3-4 minutes.

7. Lightly butter a frying pan and place over medium heat.

8. Assemble each sandwich as you like, then place onto the hot surface, grilling each side for about 1-2 minutes.

Additional steps: My editor suggested heating the sauerkraut with olive oil, caraway seeds, and a little caramelized onion before adding to the sandwich.

Adapted from The Curvy Carrot.

 

Hope dangles by a silken thread.

When her mother is murdered in her nest, Lourdes has one choice: she must marry before her own nest is seized. All she needs is a warrior fierce enough to protect her city and safeguard her clansmen. Such a male is Rhys the Cold.

Rhys’s clan is starving, but their taste for the Araneaean flesh makes them unwelcome dinner guests. Yet Lourdes threatens to melt the cold encasing his heart. When her sister is captured, they pursue their enemies, where she will discover if she’s worth her silk or if she’s spun the thread by which her clan will hang.

Warning: This book contains one mercenary hero with a biting fetish, one determined heroine who gets nibbled, and an answer to the age-old question, “What does dragon taste like?” Matricide and sibling rivalry are available upon request. The house special is revenge, best served cold.

~ ~ ~

http://haileyedwards.net/