I admit it. I found this recipe when I had a pound of ground beef and was too lazy to go to the market for hamburger buns. When it turned out to be delicious, I was doubly happy, because Becca Chen, the heroine of my book, Across the Line, has a café that specializes in soups and a daily offering of lettuce cups. I hope you like this one as much as I do.

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Asian Beef Lettuce Cups

16ish Boston Bibb, butter, or iceberg lettuce leaves

1 pound ground beef

1 tablespoon oil

1 large onion, chopped

¼ cup hoisin sauce (found in Asian section of the market)

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon ground ginger (or you can use a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger)

a couple dashes of Sriracha or other hot sauce

1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Rinse and pat dry the lettuce leaves.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef and cooking oil in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease; transfer beef to a bowl. Cook and stir onion in the same skillet used for beef until slightly tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir hoisin sauce, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and hot sauce into onions. Add water chestnuts, green onions, sesame oil, and cooked beef; cook and stir until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.

Spoon some of the filling into the lettuce cups and enjoy! This would probably make a wonderful salad, too. I found myself wanting a higher lettuce to meat ratio. This would also be yummy with white rice and some steamed veggies.

Calder Griffin needs to get back in shape. Sidelined last season by a knee injury, he's determined to return to the San Diego Barracudas and play the best hockey of his career. This might even be the year he gets out of his talented older brother's shadow.

For months, Becca Chen has poured her energy into Cups, the restaurant she owns, desperate to prove to her parents that she can succeed in the career of her choice, not theirs. But after she spends a five-hour plane ride flirting with charming, magic-on-the-ice Calder, she tells herself she needs a fling.

Becca and Calder can't keep their hands off each other, but they know the relationship can't last. They live on opposite coasts, and they're both too devoted to their careers. All they have to do is prevent their feelings from crossing the line from lust to love...

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The bread pudding which is posted here and the pecan pie (posted on my webpage today) figure in the first seduction scene of The Caretaker’s Lady, my spicy new release from Liquid Silver Books. Read the blurb that follows the recipe to meet John and Cathy, then check out the excerpt at ritabay.com to see how the meal and seduction progresses.

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Rita Bay’s Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

3 Cups bread cut in one-inch cubes

2 Cups milk

3 eggs

1 Tbl vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

4 Tbl margarine, melted

1/2 C raisins (soaked in water with a little bourbon added)

1/2 C pecans (I soak the pecans with the raisins)

Directions: Heat oven to 350°. Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter. Beat until well-mixed. Stir in raisins and pecans. Fold in bread cubes and set aside for ten minutes to allow cubes to soak up the liquid. Pour into buttered baking dish and bake for 45 minutes.

Sauce: Boil one stick margarine and one cup white sugar in saucepan until dissolved. Remove from stove and stir in a half-cup of whipping cream (can substitute a half-cup of vanilla ice cream) and a half-cup of bourbon. Serve over warm bread pudding.

Pass the grits and call me y’all. Jasmine Bloom, queen of the bodice rippers for three decades, never thought she would become a victim of writer’s block. When family stress causes Cathy Morrow, who writes as Jasmine Bloom, to miss a deadline, Blaylock Publishing accepts a mysterious invitation for Cathy to visit The Mountain Ridge Resort to revive her muse.

Divorced for two decades with three grown children and two grandsons living in her home, Cathy can’t find the inspiration she needs to write the sizzling-hot romances that gained her fame and fortune. At the resort, Cathy meets a hot maintenance worker who warms the cool nights. Will she be content to role-play his favorite scorching-hot love scenes from her novels then return home to her dull routine?

The caretaker’s job at the resort allows billionaire John Murdock to live the life he loves in the Blue Ridge Mountains and keep a centuries-old family vow. When Cathy Morrow arrives at the resort, she lights a fire he’d banked years ago. Will she look beyond his white hair and menial job to appreciate what he offers—passion with the prospect for love?

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Much of the inspiration for the food in the Mistress of Fortune series comes from a 17^th century book by Hannah Wolley called The Queen-Like Closet or Rich Cabinet. It’s a collection of recipes, menus and household hints that 17^th century women used to run their households.

As you’ll see, baking in the 17^th century was somewhat less precise--and does that seem like a lot of sugar and flour to you? Still, I can almost smell the warm scent of freshly baked biscuits when I read this recipe!

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The Best Biscuit Cakes (as made by a 17^th century housewife)

Ingredients:

4 new laid eggs
2 spoonfuls rose-water
1 pound sugar

1 pound fine flour

Put 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks into large bowl and beat them very well. Add the rose-water and sugar and beat for one hour. Add the flour and beat them together for a good while, then put them upon plates rubbed over with butter and set them into the oven as fast as you can. Have a care not to bake them too much.

London, 1679

Isabel, Lady Wilde, mistress of King Charles II, has made a good living disguised as fortune teller Mistress Ruby, counseling London’s elite. But after the murder of one of her customers, business has taken a downturn and Isabel is on the verge of accepting the king’s offer to move into the palace.

Isabel’s plans are interrupted when a beggar girl named Susanna shows up at her home, claiming to be her niece. Isabel always believed that her older brother, Adam, died alone during the plague. When Susanna reveals that Adam was actually murdered, Isabel is compelled to take up an impossible task: discover the truth about her brother’s death, twelve years after it happened.

Isabel’s investigation leads her through the gamut of London society, from bear-bating matches and brothels to the realm of wealthy bankers. But as she uncovers her brother’s dark secrets, Isabel begins to wonder whether the past is better left buried—especially when uncovering the truth could lead to her own funeral.

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http://hollywest.com

My pie crusts aren’t as good as the ones Bridget eventually learns to make (I use mostly store bought crusts these days) but I can still make a mean pie. I love this pie filling recipe not only because it’s absolutely delicious, but also because it came to me from my mother. Every time I make it from the rhubarb growing in my garden, I think of her.

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Rhubarb Pie Filling

2 ½ cups rhubarb

1 cup raisins (optional)

1/3 cup flour

1 cup sugar

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup sweet heavy cream or whipping cream

1 egg

Mix all ingredients together and pour into unbaked pie shell. Cover with more pastry. Bake at 350 degrees F in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour or until fruit is soft and pastry is lightly browned. Makes one pie.

Bridget Grant is back in Paradise. Paradise, North Dakota, that is.

She’s swallowed her pride and moved back to her hometown with her daughter after her divorce and the loss of her catering company. Now she’s trying to navigate the strained relationships she’d left behind – including her first love, Jack Davison.

Jack never forgot Bridget, or the day she left town – and him. When Bridget caters a lunch at Jack’s tourist ranch, old flames reignite. They have more in common than ever – Jack’s also a single parent. Though they both try to keep things casual, Bridget, Jack and their girls are starting to look a lot like a family.

But Bridget’s only planning to stay in Paradise until she’s saved enough to relaunch her business. Jack’s invested too much in his ranch to leave. And with their daughters involved both have a lot more at stake than heartbreak. How can they risk falling in love?

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http://www.janarichards.com

http://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor

This time of year my children and grandchildren all come home to celebrate the Jewish New Year. The celebration wouldn't be complete without some traditional food. My recipe is Noodle Pudding. Many ethic groups have a pasta and cheese dish. Mine is from Eastern Europe.

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Mom's Noodle Pudding

Ingredients – Serves 6

½ lb thin noodles, cooked and drained

½ lb cottage cheese

½ pint dairy sour cream

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter at room temperature

2 eggs

1/3 cup of sugar

1 cup of milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon-sugar to garnish

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Turn warm, drained noodles into a bowl and add cottage cheese, sour cream, and butter. Mix well.

3. Pour into well-greased 1 ½ qt glass baking dish.

4. Beat eggs well. Beat in sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour evenly, over noodle mixture in baking dish.

5. Sprinkle top with cinnamon-sugar.

6. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven for 1 hour.

Note: This is a short story anthology

Timeless Treasures: Stories of the Heart
A special wish of hope, strength, and love brings five couples what they treasure most in this heartwarming collection of short stories.

Ruth A. Casie ~ Whispers on the Wind

A newly minted knight plans to secure his place in his adoptive family through marriage. But the fates have other plans for him. Will he be willing to give up the life he’s always wanted to be with the woman he loves?

Lita Harris ~ Trusting Kindness

Former lovers are reunited one winter night on a boardwalk at the Jersey Shore. Will a common cause reignite their passion or extinguish it forever?

Emma Kaye ~ Losing Patience

When a wish sends a man back in time, can he save the woman he loves, or is he doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past?

Nicole S. Patrick ~ The Colors of Courage

Can a midnight kiss on New Year’s Eve lead a US Marine and struggling artist toward more than they’d ever dreamed of for the future?

Julie Rowe ~ Medal of Honor
When a Chicago surgeon is informed her homeless father has been murdered, she’s shocked to discover he won the Medal of Honor years ago in Vietnam. Now the killer has her in his sights, but the detective on the case has no intention of letting anyone hurt her. Ever.

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www.RuthACasie.com
www.TimelessScribesPublishing.com

Annie’s Soup Kitchen is known for its blueberry muffins. On a visit there many years ago, I picked up their recipe and made a few changes. These muffins aren’t overly sweet, so they’re delicious with fresh fruit or eggs (or both) for breakfast or with a bowl of vegetable soup for lunch or dinner.

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Blueberry Muffins

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

A pinch of salt (⅛ teaspoon)

1 teaspoon soda

Mix dry ingredients together.

3 eggs beaten until frothy (The original recipe reads “beaten till stiff”, but I can never get mine stiff.)

½ cup sugar

1 ounce melted butter (cooled)

2 cups non-fat Greek yogurt

1 ½ cups blueberries (or more)

Add sugar to eggs gradually as you mix.

Fold butter and yogurt into egg mixture.

Fold liquid into dry (do not overmix).

Add blueberries. Fold gently. The batter will be thick!

Coat muffin pans. I use melted butter, but you can use your favorite oil or non-stick spray. I use two different sizes of muffin pans. One makes 6 large muffins and the other makes 12 regular size muffins, so I end up with 18 muffins. Fill the large muffins about halfway. Fill the medium muffins to the top.

Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes. THEN lower temperature to 300°F and bake for 15 more minutes.

Astrophysicist Meredith Burke’s professional life is perfect. Her personal life is another story. Years ago, a ménage with the man she loved and his roommate left her with a broken heart and a secret. She hasn’t trusted anyone since, but when she meets rugged hunting guide Charlie Connor she figures she doesn’t need to. He’s got “one night stand” written all over him.

After one night with Meredith, Charlie needs more. She’s intoxicating, and shockingly willing to give him total control of her body. When she agrees to spend an entire week with him at the lodge where he works, it’s more than he’d hoped for. But Blaine Bridges, Charlie’s best friend and boss, has his own secrets.

Blaine hasn’t seen Meredith since that disastrous encounter eight years ago, but he still has feelings for her. Now she's dating his best friend, the man he wants for himself. When Meredith invites him to join in their naughty play, his pleasure is all-consuming. But will the secrets they all hold close destroy a beautiful beginning or bring these three lovers closer than they ever imagined?

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http://www.samanthaannking.com/

Hello romance lovers! We all know falling in love isn’t easy. That is, unless you’re falling for my favorite slow cooker Italian beef. Looking for a meal as flavorful as your favorite hero? Give this a taste:

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Slow Cooker Italian Beef

Ingredients (about 10 servings)

3 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon onion salt

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 bay leaf

1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix (Make it ZESTY!)

1 (3-5 pound) rump roast

Directions

1. Combine water with salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, onion salt, parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf, and salad dressing mix in a saucepan. Stir well, and bring to a boil.

2. Place roast in slow cooker, and pour salad dressing mixture over the meat.

3. Cover, and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours, or on High for 4 to 5 hours. When done, remove bay leaf, and shred meat with a fork.

4. Serve on fresh hoagie rolls.

As the nights turn cool and you’re looking for a little something to warm you from the inside out, give this recipe a shot. You can’t go wrong.

Of course, I said the same thing to the hero and heroine in my latest release, The Last First Date….

First date number forty-eight comes to a screeching halt for detective Langley Sheppard when his date lifts a pack of gum from the local convenience store. But things start looking up when he encounters spunky damsel in distress Jessica Vickers, who's stranded in the store parking lot. Now Lang is about to discover that on a night when everything goes wrong, falling for Jessica feels spectacularly right.

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