Heidi Hormel's Blog, page 11

#TBT for Sept. 25: The Maggie Wagon

The Maggie Wagon, circa 1973

 

 

My mother owned an arts & crafts store for nearly 20 years. During that time she had two Maggie Wagons (VW vans). She used them to haul merchandise from distributors because she could get better deals. My memory of these vehicles: They were ice-cube in the winter because the motors were in the rear of these vans — we carried and used blankets to stay warm on long trips!

“My” contest back in 2014

Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write contest is back for 2014. I’m not the only author who found her way into the published column thru this amazing, hectic, and nail-biting contest … and for readers it’s a huge free for all … and by free, I mean free. As part of the contest, the top entries post their entire manuscript. If you read my entire manuscript last year and you read the book that comes out in June, there will definitely be changes … for the better. It’s interesting sometimes to see how the sausage is made.

The Call (aka the book(s) sold)

Last Tuesday, Aug. 19, I received a note from the fantabulous Dana Hopkins, assistant editor/editorial assistant, Blaze and American Romance, that she and Senior Editor Kathleen Scheibling were discussing my books (The Surgeon and The Cowgirl, which made it to the Top 10 of So You Think You Can Write, and a second cowgirl book, The Lawyer and the Cowgirl – of course these are working titles!).

Friends and I took out our secret decoder rings (think Little Orphan Annie from A Christmas Story) to decipher what this might mean. No clear conclusion.

Fortunately for me, I had a ton of fun things planned for the week, including a lunch-time tea on Thursday with my sister-in-law and two friends to look at pictures from a tea tour we’d taken in northern England and the Lake District. I turned off my phone – only polite thing to do.

After I got home, I needed to get work done (I’m a self-employed writer/editor) before going off to rehearse for Barefoot in the Park (more fun distractions). A quick email check. There was one from Dana asking to set up a time to “chat” – no need for a decoder ring. That had to me THE CALL, right?

Then I noticed three missed calls from … Canada. Yikes! I redialed twice but hung up – cold feet worse than asking a guy out on Sadie Hawkins day (Google it – it’s a thing).

I emailed Dana back and said I was available (I didn’t add exclamation points or anything) and moments later the phone rang. I said: This must be Dana 

She told me … who knows what … I eventually heard two-book contract … my brain totally stopped working and my mouth went on auto-pilot. I did ask questions – they may even have been intelligent questions.

Then, I got off the phone and danced around my office, much to the annoyance of the cat. Back to the computer to email everyone I know, followed by days of calling friends and family!

Finding a home for my cowgirls at Harlequin American Romance is particularly sweet because The Surgeon and The Cowgirl was started just after my mother passed away four years ago. I like to think of this book as hers.

Nearly there

A little more than 24 hours remain in the So You Think You Can Write contest and voting. It’s been a fast 13 days and the 9 after the end of the contest will be torture. The announcement of the winner — who will receive a publishing contract happens on Dec. 4. So I’m working on my cowgirl zen and with that in mind, I’m going to concentrate on this picture (I’m in the bright top). This pic was taken years ago at a ranch between Scottsdale and Carefree. Feel the heat, hear the shush of the wind, and the far call of a cactus wren. Ooom!

Staying on the Pa. Dutch food theme

I was in college before I figured out that the whole world did not eat bright pink eggs — aka pickled red beet eggs. They were on the salad bar at the college I attended and I was the only one in our group who knew what they were. There were only wrinkled noses from the other women.

I like these eggs fresh, but knew a true “Dutchman” who loved them after they’d been in the red beet juice for a week and the eggs actually start to become rubbery. What can I say? It takes all kinds.

Recently, I saw a recipe for these eggs from Alton Brown and while I know he’s not PA Dutch, I thought that it looked like a good recipe, so here you go:

Pickled Beets

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Prep Time: 30 min
Inactive Prep Time: 3 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 2 (1-quart) jars





Ingredients

Roasted Beets, recipe follows
1 large red onion, frenched
1 cup tarragon wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water

Directions

Remove the skin from the Roasted Beets and slice thinly.  Arrange in 1-quart jars alternating layers with the onion. In a small pot boil the rest of the ingredients and pour over the beets. Tightly lid the jars and place in the refrigerator for 3 to 7 days before serving.

Roasted Beets:

6 medium beets, cleaned with 1-inch stem remaining
2 large shallots, peeled
2 sprigs rosemary
2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl toss all of the ingredients. Place into a foil pouch and roast in the oven for 40 minutes.

 

My recipe, you ask? Heat equal amounts of vinegar and sugar in a pan (add pickling spice to be fancy) then pull from heat, add a couple of cans of beets. Then plop in peeled hard boiled eggs making sure the juice covers the eggs. Put in the refrigerator and let the sit for hours before eating.

By the way, I’ve been told Old Bay is good to sprinkle on the these eggs and they make pretty and tasty deviled eggs.