Beth Cato's Blog, page 110
March 22, 2015
Sunday Quote dreads summer
“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.” ~John Wayne
March 20, 2015
Blurby Goodness
I’m a writer, but foremost I’m a reader. That means I go into total fangirl mode for certain authors and series. I heard a lot of buzz a few years ago at the release of Michael J. Martinez’s first book The Daedalus Incident. It sounded like my kind of book: a human settlement on Mars where things so inexplicably weird, and a parallel plot with a colonial British Empire with space-faring, alchemy-powered frigates. Um, hello. Science fiction AND historical fantasy in one book? Yes, please!
I loved the book and raved about it and loved the second one just as much. Meanwhile, I kept up with Michael via Twitter. We were able to meet and chat at World Fantasy in D.C. last November, and he asked if I’d be willing to read the third book to perhaps blurb it.
I loved The Venusian Gambit. It was a nonstop, can’t-stop-reading, oh-good-grief-is-everyone-gonna-die kind of book. I was happy to send along a blurb, and I was genuinely shocked this week to find it’s going to be featured on the book’s cover!
I’m chuffed. No denying it.
You can read Michael’s full cover reveal post over here, and be sure to check out the first book of the trilogy, The Daedalus Incident. Go ahead and blame me when you’re still up and reading at 1am, too. (And hey, Michael is attending Phoenix Comicon at the end of May! Get those books signed.)
March 18, 2015
Bready or Not: Baked French Vanilla Mini Donuts
It’s been far too long since we’ve done mini donuts. They’re just so gosh darned cute.
I did a similar recipe to this ages ago and the results were meh. I used plain milk and the donuts tasted BLAND. It was like putting delicious glaze on cardboard.
However, when company came and left behind some So Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Creamer, I knew I needed to use it up somehow. I decided to try donuts.
I’d never tried coconut creamer before. The stuff was fabulous. The flavor added the mildest touch of coconut and strong vanilla, and it carried through in both the donuts and the glaze.
I think the recipe would also work very well with other French Vanilla-flavored creamers, too. Or other flavored creamers, period. From my experience, the stuff is a great substitute for milk/liquid in all kinds of baked goods.
Donut recipe modified from Bakers Royale; glaze recipe modified from Averie Cooks
Bready or Not: Baked French Vanilla Mini Donuts
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These simple French vanilla donuts bake up in minutes and use flavored creamer in the batter and glaze.
Donuts
1 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup French Vanilla Coconut Creamer (or other flavored creamer)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp butter, melted and briefly cooled
Glaze
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3+ teaspoons of French Vanilla Coconut Creamer (or water, milk, half & half, etc)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Apply nonstick spray to mini donuts pan(s).
In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Add the creamer, egg and butter and stir until just combined.
To fill the pan, it's easiest to use a pastry bag or a sandwich bag with the corner snipped. Only fill the cavity to half full, which is usually about three circuits of batter.
Bake 4 to 6 minutes or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched. Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes before removing. Makes about 32 donuts. Unglazed, they can be frozen.
To make the glaze:
Combine ingredients and stir. Add more liquid as needed for the right consistency. Dip one side of the donut into the glaze, then immediately add sprinkles, if desired. Let donuts sit out an hour or so, until set.
Once glazed, the donuts keep best for about a day.
OM NOM NOM!
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 4 to 6 minutes
March 15, 2015
Sunday Quote is at the Tucson Book Festival
“People will advise you to write all sorts of sentences. Snappy sentences, lyrical sentences, Hemingway-esque short sentences, long Faulknerian sentences. But there’s really only one kind of sentence that actually works: a sentence that carries the reader forward from the previous sentence. This is harder than it sounds.”
~Charlie Jane Anders
March 13, 2015
Tucson Festival of Books this Sunday
On the Ides of March, you will find me in Tuscon at the Festival of Books. This is an event I have wanted to attend for ages, and now I’ll be there as an author. Huzzah! There were about 130,000 people in attendance at the festival last year, and approximately a gazillion authors. I’m honored to be included.
I have one panel and will sign books afterward.
I Spy a Dead Guy: Spies and Detectives in Paranormal Worlds
Solving mysteries and stealing secrets (or just stealing) adds an extra layer of danger and complication in a paranormal world. Hear about how these authors deal with those problems, or just learn more about the fascinating worlds they’ve created.
Integrated Learning Center Room 150 (Seats 155, Wheelchair accessible)
Sun, Mar 15, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
SciFi/Fantasy/Horror
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area – Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)
Panelists: Beth Cato, Brian Keene, Scott Lynch, Jeffrey Mariotte
Moderator: John Muñoz
Please drop by and say hi! The Clockwork Dagger will be on sale there if you don’t have your own paperback copy handy, or I’ll sign most anything else (napkins, Death Star plans stolen by Bothans, other people’s books, etc).
March 11, 2015
Bready or Not: Crock Pot Corned Beef & Vegetables
Corned beef in the slow cooker. This is by far the easiest, tastiest way I’ve found to make this dish!
It’s become an annual tradition for me to make a St. Patrick’s Day corned beef brisket. I boiled the meat one year, and baked it in the oven the next. It’s turned out delicious both ways (though the quality of the Kroger-branded brisket was lousy with fat) but I found that the crock pot is the best way to go. No watching the pot for boil-overs! Plus, it makes side dish veggies at the same time.
I dislike celery so I replaced the cut stalks with celery flakes, which provides flavor without the icky texture. You’ll want to cut the potatoes into big chunks that are all of like size. It’ll depend on the size of the potato if you need to cut them into halves or quarters. I had pretty big potatoes, so I did quarters. Do get red potatoes, though. They cook all day and get tender, not mushy.
Make this along with the Mini Muffin Irish Soda Bread from last week, and your St. Paddy’s Day meal is all set! … Oh, you want dessert? How about these Irish Coffee Blondies from a few years ago?
Don’t forget to wear green on the 17th… unless you want to get pinched…
Modified from TheSkinnyFork.com
Bready or Not: Crock Pot Corned Beef & Vegetables
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Make your St. Patrick’s Day dinner convenient and delicious with a slow cooker version of corned beef, potatoes, and vegetables.
3 lb corned beef brisket + seasoning packet
1 Tb celery flakes (or several chopped celery stalks)
1 yellow onion, in wedges
1/2 lb red potatoes, cut into halves or quarters
8 ounces baby carrots
4-6 cups water
Place celery flakes, onion slices, potatoes and carrots into the crock pot. Trim fat from the brisket and place the meat on top of the veggies.
Add 4-6 cups of water to the crock pot until the brisket is almost covered. Sprinkle the brisket's seasoning packet over the top.
Put the lid on and cook on high for 4 1/2 hours, or 8 to 9 hours on low.
Remove the brisket and slice thinly or pull into chunks. Serve with the cooked veggies.
OM NOM NOM!
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 9 hours
Total time: 9 hours 15 minutes
March 9, 2015
So Much Awesome
GUYS. The Clockwork Crown has its first trade review in Publishers Weekly! And its awesome!
“…Cato continues to defy expectations, moving the saga toward an unexpected, heartfelt conclusion, and the revelations about Octavia’s abilities are amply rewarding.”
In other news, I’m contributing to the annual Suvudu Cage Match. This year’s theme is Women Warriors. The full bracket is shown here. Last week I wrote about Johanna Mason (Hunger Games) and Tris (Divergent), and Johanna won in my story and in the votes. The current match is Johanna versus Felurian (Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles). I anticipate a lot more people to disagree with me this time around. Who do you think would win? Go check out the poll!
The Cage Match has been picked up by the media, too, and an article in Bustle dubbed me as a “big name in the biz” (to which I go o_0) and excerpted my story. Like whoa.
In totally different news, my poem “Mama Gonna Fight” was just published in Apex Magazine. This is one of my favorite poems for all of last year (I wrote it during April Poem-A-Day), so I’m really excited that it’s in such an esteemed magazine.
There’s also my Holy Taco Church recipe for the month: Verde Pork in the Slow Cooker. This is a super-easy way to make a whole pile of meat to use in tacos, burritos, salads, casseroles, or just straight-up.
Three months exactly until The Clockwork Crown comes out and already the pace is frantic. Deadlines galore! Reviews! Promo posts! 2015. This year is crazy.
March 8, 2015
Sunday Quote has a kid on break
“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.”
~Mark Twain
March 4, 2015
Bready or Not: Mini Muffin Irish Soda Bread
Irish soda bread is traditionally a big round. I took a shrink ray to it.
Here’s the problem: standard recipes make way too much bread for the two of us to eat. I halved the recipe a few years ago, and that worked out better but it was still a lot. I got to thinking, what if I made it in a form that was a lot easier for my husband to take to work?
I searched online, and to my surprise, no one else had made Irish soda bread like that. Huh. So I resolved to try it, using a halved version of the same Irish soda bread recipe I posted back in 2012.
It turned out FANTASTIC. The bread cooked up in only ten minutes. It was already portioned out so I didn’t go bread crazy.
My husband happily took the leftovers in his work lunches–plus, the mini bread froze and thawed and tasted just as good weeks later. This recipe produces very soft, tender soda bread–not dense like some recipes I’ve tried.
This is the only way I’ll make Irish soda bread from here on. If I need to feed more people, I’ll just use the old, full version of the recipe and pull out another mini muffin pan.
Be sure to come back next week when I feature my favorite corned beef recipe–cooked in the crock pot!
Bready or Not: Mini Muffin Irish Soda Bread
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Bite-size Irish soda bread that bakes up in ten minutes and is perfectly portioned for kids and for lunches-on-the-go! Perfect to freeze and thaw for later meals, too.
Yields: about 18 mini muffins
just under 2 cups flour
2 Tb cornstarch
1 Tb white sugar
3/4 ts baking soda
3/4 ts cream of tartar
3/4 ts kosher salt
2 Tb butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
1+ Tb butter, melted, for tops afterward (optional)
Preheat oven to 385-degrees. Prepare mini muffin pan by applying nonstick spray in each well, though not all will be filled.
Whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Work the butter into mixture with a pastry blender or your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs; just as with making pie crust, you want those bits of butter in there.
Add the buttermilk and stir until just combined. Knead in the bowl until the dough just starts to come together and is still craggy and bumpy, adding more buttermilk if necessary. Don't over-knead or the bread will be tough and dense.
Use a tablespoon scoop or spoon to evenly dole out dough into the pan. Expect about eighteen mini muffins.
Bake for ten minutes. Use the toothpick test to check middle ones for doneness. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and brush it on the tops of the little rounds.
Leftovers freeze well, and are the perfect size to fit in lunches.
OM NOM NOM!
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
March 3, 2015
Happy Bookday to Carrie Patel’s THE BURIED LIFE!
I was really, really lucky to get an advanced copy of Carrie Patel’s debut novel The Buried Life. I liked it so much that I blurbed it:
“The Buried Life artfully sets a who-dunit murder mystery in a dystopian underground city filled with dark politics and foul secrets. It’s a gripping read from start to finish, with two clever female leads and a delightfully colorful cast. More, please!”
– Beth Cato, author of The Clockwork Dagger
Want to know even more about it? Okay!
The gaslight and shadows of the underground city of Recoletta hide secrets and lies. When Inspector Liesl Malone investigates the murder of a renowned historian, she finds herself stonewalled by the all-powerful Directorate of Preservation – Recoletta’s top-secret historical research facility.
When a second high-profile murder threatens the very fabric of city society, Malone and her rookie partner Rafe Sundar must tread carefully, lest they fall victim to not only the criminals they seek, but the government which purports to protect them. Knowledge is power, and power must be preserved at all costs…
The Buried Life is out today, so be sure to check it out! And go congratulate Carrie on her book’s release, too. There’s nothing like release day. It’s proof that dreams come true.
