Lyn Cote's Blog, page 40
January 23, 2016
What’s wrong with…
BAR SOAP?
Yes, you read that right. What’s wrong with bar soap?
This year occasionally I’m going to post something that irritates me about what’s going on around me.
And this is the first post of that type.
So I ask you–what’s wrong with bar soap?
As a child and young woman, I used bar soap and then about a decade or more ago, suddenly body wash appeared.
Body wash is liquid soap. Now what’s my beef with liquid soap?
My beef is that when the liquid soap is done, I’m left with a plastic bottle.
When I’m done with a bar of soap, I’m left with nothing, nothing to throw away or recycle. It’s just gone!
This goes also for those plastic dispensers with anti-bacterial liquid soap by each sink. Again I’m left with a plastic bottle and pump to dispose of.
That’s my beef. Garbage, especially non-degradable garbage is a problem, a big one.
So why add to it?
Go buy a bar of soap!
Whatever brand you choose. And if you want to use liquid soap at the sink, go buy a ceramic reusable dispenser. You can find them really cheap at Walmart or Goodwill.
Just avoid the plastic bottle that goes into the garbage.
Now am I right or am I crazy?–Lyn
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January 17, 2016
Debut Author Evangeline Denmark & Using One’s Power
My guest today is debut author Evangeline Denmark. She has written an intriguing fantasy. Here’s Evangeline about her heroine Grey.
Grey Haward, the heroine of my young adult steampunk fantasy CURIO, stumbles into surprising physical strength one night when her best friend is taken prisoner. Caught off guard by her own fury and the power coursing through her veins, Grey defies the evil Chemist Council that rules her town and sets in motion events that will change not one world but two.
On the run from the council, Grey finds refuge in a strange land inside an enchanted curio cabinet. Although she lands in a posh estate under the care of beautiful and attentive porcelain people, she soon learns Curio City is far more dangerous than it first appears. As she struggles to navigate a brewing revolution and escape the reach of an obsessed ruler, Grey desperately needs to access the mysterious strength that rose when she stood up for her friend, but how can she count on something she can’t begin to explain?
In crafting Grey I wanted to avoid the stereotypical strong female character who always responds with pluck or a kick-butt attitude. Sure I wanted Grey to have those characteristics, but we humans don’t always respond the same way and neither should a fictional character. Grey doesn’t know what she’s capable of. She doesn’t know who she is or what her role is in the circumstances thrust upon her. She is vulnerable at times and protective at times. She has to trust others more than she’d like and she has to learn to trust herself.
Perhaps the hardest lesson Grey must learn is that her personal well of strength is connected to her sense of justice. Responding to the mistreatment of others with outrage and determination comes naturally to her, but standing up for herself is a bit more complicated.
There’s a certain scene in Curio that was extremely hard to write. I wanted to skip the terrifying vulnerability and get to the butt-kicking. I wanted Grey OUT of that situation, but I felt a responsibility to show the struggle, to acknowledge the pain and not gloss over it. Because brokenness and strength often arrive simultaneously, whether we know it or not. It’s not a matter of choosing one or the other, but acknowledging both as part of who we are.”–Evangeline
January 10, 2016
January 5, 2016
January 4, 2016
Author Regina Scott and her Maddie O’Rourke, Mercer Girl
My guest today is author Regina Scott and she has a heroine you’ll probably want to read more about. Here’s Regina:
one of the strongest ladies I’ve ever written
Maddie O’Rourke, the heroine for my January release, Instant Frontier Family, is one of the strongest ladies I’ve ever written in 30 odd books. She has to be. You see, although Maddie is a fictional character, she is one of Mercer’s Belles, real-life women who overcame great odds to settle the Northwest.
oo many widows and orphans
Right after the Civil War, the East Coast had too many widows and orphans, while the West Coast miners, loggers, and farmers were seriously lacking in ladies. An enterprising young man named Asa Mercer, who was the first president of the University of Washington, had a daring idea—why not bring those ladies to Seattle? In two trips, he escorted nearly 80 women to what was then Washington Territory.
Mercer had accepted money
Many of them had no intention of marrying. They’d left sorrow and economic hardships behind, called by the lure of jobs and independence on the far frontier. In fact, none were aware until well into their trip that Mercer had accepted money from certain men to secure them brides. The ladies refused the men who came to claim them, determined to forge their own paths. In the end, though, all but one eventually chose husbands. Their children went on to be statesmen, artists, and teachers, helping to make the new territory a state.
Maddie O’Rourke is a typical Mercer Girl.
She and her father escaped the Potato Famine in Ireland to settle in New York, where Mr. O’Rourke married again. Though Maddie is 16 years older than her two half-siblings, she loves them dearly. When her father and stepmother are killed in a tenement fire, Maddie steps in to raise Ciara and Aiden, but it quickly becomes apparent that she hasn’t the means to care for them. So when she hears about Asa Mercer’s promises that anyone can make a fortune in Seattle, she leaves the children with a friend and ventures into the unknown. Maddie’s cooking skills allow her to open one of the first bakeries in Seattle and begin to make a life for herself. Finally, with money saved for their passage and a lady to escort them, Maddie sends for Ciara and Aiden. And then the trouble begins.”–Regina
To purchase, click here. booksbylyncote.com.
December 27, 2015
Lyn’s Last Minute Holiday Recipe-Almond Truffles!
First, I love to cook with vintage hammered aluminum pans. They are heavy, conduct even heat and nothing ever scorches in them. I used my smallest one for this recipe!
I discovered this Nestle’s recipe card on my walk through the baking aisle this December. I made it and it’s A WINNER!
ALMOND TRUFFLES
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c evaporated milk
1/4 c white sugar
1 pkg MILK CHOCOLATE chips (11.5 oz)
1 tsp vanilla (OR 1/4 tsp almond extract-I used vanilla)
1 cup toasted chopped almonds (To toast: spread one layer of chopped almonds on a baking sheet at 350 F. for 12 minutes or till lightly golden.)
In A SMALL HEAVY WEIGHT saucepan (like my vintage hammered aluminum), mix the milk and sugar and then bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
Take off heat and stir in chocolate chips till melted and vanilla. Refrigerate for an hour. Then using a melon-baller, form into balls and roll in almonds.
DELICIOUS and only one pan dirtied! My kind of recipe!–Lyn
Here’s a photo my dh snapped a few days before Christmas. That’s me in my aqua robe and our 2 cats. You can see our tree and the outdoor porch railing lights through the sliding glass doors.
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The post Lyn’s Last Minute Holiday Recipe-Almond Truffles! appeared first on booksbylyncote.com.
December 20, 2015
Lyn Shares a Personal Photo and Review
At this time of year, I wanted to share a bit of what I’m looking at. I snapped this from our porch in mid-November this year. The lake hadn’t frozen because of milder than usual temperatures and for the same reason there was fog which froze onto the brush across the lake. And the dawn painted the trees a pink gold which reflected onto the still lake. God is quite the artist, isn’t he?
And here’s another cozy mystery you might enjoy.
December 15, 2015
December 13, 2015
Author Katy Lee AND Sweet and Salty Reindeer Noses
My guest today Love Inspired Suspense author Katy Lee is going to share a fun holiday recipe–Sweet and Salty Reindeer Noses. Get ready, This sounds like FUN! (BOOK GIVEAWAY TOO)
a cookie factory
Hello, I’m Katy Lee and I hope you brought your sweet (and salty) tooth. Tis the season to be covered in flour and chocolate as I stand among the tastiest holiday treats from my generation’s past. My kitchen has been turned into a cookie factory made from my too-numerous-to-count recipe cards that
I really should rewrite sometime. However, there is just something about an old, yellowed index card with batter stains dripped on it from previous years and family members that tells me the holidays are here.
My gift to you today is a sweet and salty recipe that is easy to make for all ages. In fact, it is the recipe we as kids would be assigned to make while my mother deep fried her snowflake cookies in the hot boiling oil. She also had a cookie factory running all day, and we were put to work…in the safe zones.
My safe and easy treat
is Sweet and Salty Reindeer Noses. They’re not only easy to make, but they cheer up your cookie plate and add a little variety from all those typical circle cookies.
I chose this treat today because my heroine in my latest Christmas book, Silent Night Pursuit, is a little like this cookie—and I don’t mean she has a red reindeer nose. I mean she’s not your typical Southern Belle.
Lacey Phillips is a race car driver.
Lacey prefers her fire-retardant racing uniform to gowns, and her hair sports a perpetual helmet head instead of the latest up-do. She’s sweet, but she can hold her own on the track as well as any of the men coming up on her right. Let’s just say, like these reindeer noses, she adds a little variety to the track…and brings a little cheer to Wade Spencer too. Trust me when I tell you, as a soldier with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, he could use it. I do hope you will check out Wade and Lacey and Wade’s service dog, Promise, as they race to escape a resurfacing past out to silence them forever.
And now for your recipe.
Mini pretzels
Hershey Kisses (milk or dark)
M & M’s (red)
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place pretzels in rows on a baking sheet, then place one Kiss in the lower center, so the upper round curves look like antlers. Place baking sheet in oven for about 3 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and immediately place an M &M on the top of each kiss and push down to press the Kiss into the pretzel. Place pan in fridge to cool, remove from pan and place in container. Keep the container in the fridge. Enjoy!”–Katy
To purchase Silent Night Pursuit, click here. http://amzn.to/1YD0QA1
BLURB
RACE AGAINST TIME
Lacey Phillips believes Captain Wade Spencer knows something about her brother’s mysterious death. So she throws caution to the wind and tracks him down on Christmas Eve looking for answers. Wade tries to turn her away—until bullets start to fly. He doesn’t want to take the stubborn beauty on his life-or-death mission to find out the truth about how Wade’s past may have cost her brother his life. But with killers lurking everywhere, he has to protect her—especially when she breaches the walls around his heart. Can Wade and his faithful service dog keep Lacey alive long enough to figure out who’s targeting them?
For more online, visit Katy at:booksbylyncote.com.
December 8, 2015
Author Jean C Gordon & Scottish Shortbread
My guest today is author Jean C Gordon is sharing her family’s Scottish Shortbread Recipe and offering one autographed copy, USA only. I’m also Scottish by heritage (a part of me at least!) and I’m eager for this recipe. Don’t forget to answer the QUESTION below to be entered into the drawing for Jean’s latest book! Here’s Jean:
Being a Lindsay on my mother’s side, as well as a Gordon by marriage,
I thought I’d share my recipe for Scottish shortbread, a family holiday favorite. The recipe dates at least back to the turn of the 20th century, probably earlier. I got the recipe the Christmas before my husband and I married when I baked shortbread as a gift for my future father-in-law. I researched recipes, wanting to bake an authentic Scottish shortbread, and concluded that one with rolled oats was the one. My father-in-law graciously accepted the gift and tried a piece. Then, he suggested I get his mother’s recipe from my mother-in-law. You’ll see that it does not contain oats.
Scotch Shortbread
(Handed down from my husband’s grandmother Agnes Gordon)
1 lb. softened butter (the salted regular butter)
1 cup white sugar
Approximately 4 cups of all-purpose (plain) white flour. (Be sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup because you might have to add a few more spoonfuls while you are missing the batter to get the right consistency.)
Mix the softened butter and sugar together with a spoon, and then add the flour one cup at a time and mix the batter with your hands until it feels ready to spread on a cookie sheet. Press the batter on the cookie sheet pan with your hands until it spreads out evenly and smoothly. (It is not necessary to use a rolling pin unless you so desire.)
Then mark the size pieces (leave the pieces on the cookie sheet!) you want with a table knife and prink each piece a couple of times with a table fork. (This lets the air circulate through each piece while the shortbread is baking.) Depending on how you make the pieces you can have 48 or more pieces on a cookie sheet.
BAKE FOR TWO HOURS (2 HOURS) IN A SLOW OVEN (224 TO 235 DEGREES DEPENDING ON YOUR OVEN). Once the shortbread looks a nice golden brown and smells heavenly, remove from the oven and let the shortbread cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Then use a table knife to cut each piece on the already marked lines but let the shortbread finish cooling on the cookie sheet.
Added by my husband’s Aunt Jean: Once the shortbread is cooled, then you can put the cookie pieces in a zip-lock bag, a tight container, or even in the freezer. These shortbread cookies keep for a long time if sealed well and even longer if frozen. They are delicious with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Enjoy this Scottish treat for holidays or anytime. Cheers!” Jean
QUESTION: Everyone has a favorite Christmas cookie. What’s yours?
For Pastor Connor Donnelly, the hero in my December Love Inspired Romance, Holiday Homecoming, it’s snickerdoodles. He can’t resist them, even when he suspects Natalie Delacroix’s mother is using a fresh-baked platter-full to lure him and Natalie together—a move Natalie quashes by sending both Connor and the cookies packing.
To purchase, click here. booksbylyncote.com.
