Luanna Stewart's Blog, page 9

Wine Wednesday - August 16

​Many moons ago our good friends, Janet and Ron, told us of a regular feature in their weekly menu planning – namely, Wine Wednesday. Supper is wine, of course, and two or three appetizers. Both my hubby and I thought this was freakin’ brilliant and we adopted the ritual. And, man, is it so much fun! And not just because of the wine. I love cooking and I love trying new recipes. Making a meal of appetizers is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Ha!
 
For this Wine Wednesday I’m—actually, I’m attending the wedding of my oldest friend. She’s getting married for the first time! How cool is that? There will be wine, joy, tears, and dancing.
 
Do you have the same supper on a particular day? Turkey Tuesday? Salmon Saturday?  I know lots of people eat pizza on Fridays, as do we.
 
Cheers!

Maudlin Monday - Aug 14

​Wow, what a weekend! Of doing absolutely nothing!
 
Not strictly true but it feels that way. Do you ever feel like you’re spinning your wheels? I kept adding things to my to-do list.
 
I did cross off a few items. Starting this blog on Saturday was a huge accomplishment for this Luddite. I also sent out a newsy newsletter. (The tab that’ll take you to the sign-up form is right up there in the header thingie under Contact. Or click here.) And I did promotional stuff for Love & Mayhem. I was featured in a book spotlight at Romantic Historical Reviews, complete with a contest. (Here’s the link if you wanna take a gander and enter to win a copy of the ebook.) The thrill of seeing your book being touted on the web never gets old. I even got some editing done on the third book in the series, but not as much as I should have.
 
Ugh, those “shoulds” can be a downer, can’t they?
 
The biggest downer was not getting the old washing machine in this old house to work. It filled, it agitated, it drained, but it didn’t spin. I wonder if that puddle of old grease on the floor under the machine was a clue. So I’m spending a good portion of this morning at the laundromat. Double ugh!
 
I hope you all had a satisfying weekend. Did you do anything fun? Exciting? Different?
 
Fear not, Monday comes only once a week.
 
Cheers!

time to turn over a new leaf

​Press the re-start button. Get back on the wagon.
 
Three ways to say the same thing – start blogging on a regular schedule, and stick with it! All sorts of social media professionals, particularly those in the writing world, say that blogging is a fabulous way to build readership. For the blog, and hopefully for my books.
 
On many occasions as I go about my less-than-scintillating day I think “oh, I could write a blog post about this”. An interesting insect in the garden, a new recipe I just made that was o-m-g-the-best-thing-I’ve-ever-eaten-ever, my latest knitting project of which I’m quite proud. But by the time I get to the laptop the urge to write a few paragraphs has trickled away. (Also, I’m tech challenged and find messing around with my “super easy” website platform to be punishing.)
 
But, I’m a grownup, relatively intelligent, and I can learn new things. And practice makes perfect. (Take that as a warning that the first few, or many, posts will be less than perfect.) (Which makes me cringe – you’ll think less of me if a picture is off centre, or if there’s a typo in the text. Gaaaaahhhhh!!!!!)
 
Another thing the experts suggest is having a regular schedule, with regular topics on certain days. Also, don’t try to do too much. Blogging every day at this point will lead to failure because I’ll feel pressured, I’ll inevitably miss a few days, I’ll feel like a loser, and I’ll give up.
 
So, back to the schedule. Way way way back in the October 10th spread of my bullet journal, (see? I’ve been thinking about this for a long time) I listed three possible regular topics in the notes section (love the BuJo for organizing my life!). They are Maudlin Monday (cuz who really likes Mondays?), Wine Wednesday (I’ll explain in a later post) and Fabulous Friday (cuz who doesn’t LOVE Fridays?). I hereby decree that will be the schedule. Decrees are serious business. I can’t ignore a decree.
 
As this is Saturday, I have nothing to say. Ha! Except that I’m all atwitter at the launch of my latest book ( Love & Mayhem ), and I’m super excited about the house construction (pictures to follow in subsequent posts, lots and lots of pictures). Oh heck, here’s the latest.









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I’ll explain about that interesting gable off the front in a later post as well. See? I’ve got all sorts of stuff to tell you.
 
See you Monday!!!
 
Cheers,
Luanna

Zucchini Apocalypse

​Raise your hand if you’re tired of all things zucchini! Anyone? Surely I’m not the only one who has had more than enough of the green summer squash.
 
We put in four plants this summer, and every one of the blighters flourished. The key to managing crop size is to pick the fruit early and often. Get them while they’re young.
 
Unfortunately, when we went on vacation, we left our son in charge of the house and garden and cats. The house and cats survived, the garden ran amok. Particularly the zucchini. I now have several pounds of zucchini puree in the deep freeze for adding to soups this winter.
 
But the darn plants are still producing! Here’s a fabulous recipe to use up some of the abundance, if you’re still dealing with abundance. Zucchini Brownies​ 2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 medium zucchini, cut in chunks
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
 
for the frosting:
3 tablespoons cocoa
¼ butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
 
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9X13 inch baking pan with foil, and spray with cooking spray. Set aside
 
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and espresso powder. Set aside.
 
In the bowl of a food processor, place the zucchini chunks and process for a few seconds. Add oil and sugar and process until the consistency of apple sauce. Add vanilla and pulse. Add flour mixture and process until combined. Add chocolate chips and process for a few seconds to break up the chips.
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Pour into pan and bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until brownies spring back when lightly touched. Cool completely on rack.
 
To make frosting: Whisk together cocoa, butter, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and pinch of salt until smooth. Spread on cooled brownies. Place pan in fridge for 30 minutes to set the frosting.
 
Store in airtight container. Refrigerate if they last more than a couple days.
 
Note: the espresso powder does not give the brownies a coffee flavour, but it DOES deepen the chocolate flavour.
 
(Adapted slightly from Crazy for Crust.)