Beth Cato's Blog, page 35

Bready or Not Original: Apple Butter Blueberry Muffins

Apple Butter Blueberry Muffins! Fruity flavors combine in a delicious way in this original recipe.

I love apple butter. It’s delicious, versatile stuff. I’ve found it can work as a substitute in recipes that call for things like applesauce, bananas, and pumpkin puree.

Here, the inherent spiciness in apple butter adds a lot of flavor without the need to measure out extra spices–and the thick texture creates a cakey, moist crumb.

The fresh blueberries throughout are like flavor bombs, introducing a different kind of sweetness in contrast.

 

Do note that this recipe makes 24 muffins. It saves a lot of time if you have two pans, but this recipe could certainly be done with one. Make sure you have paper liners, though. There’s no sadness like my-muffin-is-stuck-in-the-pan sadness.

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Bready or Not Original: Apple Butter Blueberry Muffins


Apple butter and blueberries are a delicious, underutilized combo that work out perfectly in these moist, cakey muffins. Recipe makes 24 muffins, so make this recipe with plans to share or freeze!

Course Breakfast, SnackKeyword apple butter, blueberries, muffins



Servings 24 muffins

Author Beth Cato

Equipmentmuffin liners2 muffin pans
Ingredients1 cup fresh blueberries2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra1 cup white sugar1/2 cup light brown sugar packed1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon cinnamon heaping2 eggs room temperature2 teaspoons vanilla extract1 1/2 cups apple butter3/4 cup coconut oil liquid
InstructionsPreheat oven at 425-degrees. Place muffin liners in two 12-count pans and apply a heavy dose of nonstick spray. Set aside.Wash and sort through blueberries, picking out stems or mushy berries. Pat dry. Place in a bowl. Add a tablespoon or so of flour and gently stir to coat berries. This will prevent them from sinking in the batter.In a medium bowl, combine the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.In a big mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla, apple butter, and coconut oil. Gradually pour in the dry ingredients, scraping bottom several times, until everything is just incorporated. Carefully fold in the blueberries.Scoop batter into prepared liners, filling each no more than 3/4 full.Bake for 5 minutes at 425-degrees. Don't open oven door. Lower temperature to 375-degrees and bake for an additional 16 to 18 minutes, until middle muffins pass the toothpick test.Remove pans from oven. Immediately (and carefully) use a fork to pry out each muffin. Keeping them in liners, set on rack to completely cool.Once cooled, pack in sealed containers. If freezing muffins, remove liners first.OM NOM NOM!

Out today: Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Cats

Hooray for release day! Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Cats is out now, and it features my story “A Letter to Bubba’s First Family.” It’s about our ginger trickster, Finn, who went by the name Bubba in his previous life. His previous family loved him a lot and they were heartbroken to leave him at the shelter. (Included in his adoption was a tall cat tree and his beloved plush green snake–a snake that he still loves and cuddles with after two years with us, as shown in this picture.) This story is a letter to his old family, and I really, really hope they see it and take comfort in that we love and adore him.

This book can be bought wherever books are sold, including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

We adopted Finn–and our cats Luke and Kylo–at Sun Cities 4 Paws, an all-cat shelter on the west side of Phoenix. Like many charities, they are struggling right now. If you live in the area and need a cat, please check them out. They have cats of all ages in their shelter and have some available at a local PetSmart, too. They take donations of cat supplies or cash. Their thrift shop is a major source of income, too, so if you’re in the area, drop off donations or shop there.

Out tomorrow: The Book of Dragons

 

Tomorrow, The Book of Dragons will be released worldwide. This is a hardcover masterpiece edited by Jonathan Strahan, fully illustrated by Rovina Cai. It includes my poem “I Make Myself a Dragon.” It is a poem that is both angry and hopeful, and it’s even more relevant now than when I wrote it last year. I somehow infiltrated this anthology that reads like a modern who’s-who of genre masters. Here’s the back copy:

Here there be dragons . . .

From China to Europe, Africa to North America, dragons have long captured our imagination in myth and legend. Whether they are rampaging beasts awaiting a brave hero to slay or benevolent sages who have much to teach humanity, dragons are intrinsically connected to stories of creation, adventure, and struggle beloved for generations.

Bringing together nearly thirty stories and poems from some of the greatest science fiction and fantasy writers working today— Garth Nix, Scott Lynch, R.F. Kuang, Ann Leckie & Rachel Swirsky, Daniel Abraham, Peter S. Beagle, Beth Cato, Zen Cho, C. S. E Cooney, Aliette de Bodard, Kate Elliott, Theodora Goss, Ellen Klages, Ken Liu, Patricia A McKillip, K. J. Parker, Kelly Robson, Michael Swanwick, Jo Walton, Elle Katharine White, Jane Yolen, Kelly Barnhill, Brooke Bolander, Sarah Gailey, and J. Y. Yang—and illustrated by award-nominated artist Rovina Cai with black-and-white line drawings specific to each entry throughout, this extraordinary collection vividly breathes fire and life into one of our most captivating and feared magical creatures as never before and is sure to become a treasured keepsake for fans of fantasy, science fiction, and fairy tales.

Find it wherever books are sold. I encourage you to support indie shops through individual stores or at Bookshop, or go through Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

#SFWAPro

Bready or Not Original: Scottish Oatcakes

These Scottish Oatcakes are like a thick, wholesome, chewy cracker, and they are the perfect platform for cheese and charcuterie.

When I was on my UK trip last year, I made a pilgrimage to the Victoria Street location of I.J. Mellis Cheesemongers. Oh, bliss! I bought stuff for a personal picnic: cheeses I could never find in America, plus port chutney and Scottish oatcakes.

I loved everything. The oatcakes, basic as they were, really impressed me. They were oaty and fresh with a tiny hint of salt, and were ideal platforms for the cheese and chutney.

Upon getting home, I found no acceptable imported options for oatcakes, so I resolved to make them myself. I didn’t want to use processed flour or sugar. In the end, I ended up finagling my own recipe.

These oatcakes are basic and wholesome, and delicious in their simplicity. Get the consistency right, and these oatcakes are durable enough to handle smears of a soft-ripened cheese or cream cheese, and won’t crumble when you bite in.

Store these oatcakes for days at room temperature, or freeze them for ages. By ages, I mean as long as six months. That’s right, I forget I had some tucked in my freezer, and lo and behold they were fine half a year later.

Pair oatcakes with cheese, sausage, and mayhap a nip of scotch.

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Bready or Not Original: Scottish Oatcakes


These easy-to-make oatcakes act as wholesome platforms for cheese and charcuterie. If you need gluten-free food, use GF old-fashioned oats. Makes about 20 oatcakes using a 2.5-inch cutter.

Course Appetizer, Main CourseCuisine ScottishKeyword cheese, cracker





Author Beth Cato

Equipmentfood processorlarge cookie sheetcookie cutter
Ingredients2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats2 Tablespoons unsalted butter1 teaspoon sea salt1/2 cup hot water
InstructionsPreheat oven at 375-degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.Place oats in a food processor and chop on HIGH for about 15 seconds, long enough to make them slightly less coarse.Melt butter in a large bowl. Pour oats into the bowl. Stir to coat. Sprinkle salt over the top, then pour in water. Stir again to form a stiff dough that is just cohesive. If the mix won't come together, add more water in small increments.Sprinkle flour (gluten-free flour, if necessary) on an even stretch of counter. Use palms of hands or a rolling pins to press oats into a flat, cohesive layer. Note that the oatcakes will not expand or grow when baking. Use a round cookie cutter to slice into discs.Bake for 10 minutes. Use a spatula to gently flip them over. Bake for another 7 to 10 minutes. Let cool, then pack into sealed container.Store at room temperature. Oatcakes can also be frozen, with wax paper or parchment between the layers, for as long as six months, and thaw quickly.OM NOM NOM!

StoryBundle includes 12 books (including mine) for $15!

 

Here’s how easy this is: pay at least $15. If you can, throw in a few more bucks to support authors. Get 12 ebooks, no DRM. Your summer reading is set! The theme is Crossing the Veil, so expect transferred souls, ghosts, and all kinds of supernatural goodness.

This deal won’t be available for long.

Click here to buy!

 

#SFWAPro

Bready or Not Original: Apple Cinnamon Loaf Cake

This Apple Cinnamon Loaf Cake is tender and delicious, perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert.

This loaf cake is a lot like my small casserole-sized Easy Apple Cinnamon Cake. If you like one, you’ll like the other!

My husband, see, looooves apple pie and apple cake. Apples in baked goods, period. And yes, he loved this loaf cake.

One of the great things about this recipe is that this loaf kept for about a week, all wrapped up and stored in a safe place at room temperature.

(In my house, that means tucked inside my stainless steel breadbox, as otherwise my cats would tear their way inside the plastic wrap. Because my cats are weird.)

 

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Bready or Not Original: Apple Cinnamon Loaf Cake


This tender, moist loaf cake is packed with spiced apple chunks. It's perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert, and the loaf keeps well wrapped-up at room temperature for about a week. It can also be frozen.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, SnackCuisine AmericanKeyword apple, cake, loaf cake





Author Beth Cato

Equipment9x5 loaf pan
Ingredients2 medium apples such as Gala, peeled, cored, and chopped1/3 cup brown sugar packed1 teaspoon ground cinnamon2/3 cup white sugar1/2 cup applesauce2 large eggs room temperature1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder1/4 teaspoons salt1/2 cup milk or half & half
InstructionsPreheat oven at 350-degrees. Cut parchment paper to fit long-ways in a loaf pan, sticking up on either side as a sling. Apply nonstick spray into pan, place paper, then spray again. Set aside.Prepare apples. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to bowl and toss with chopped apples to coat.In a big bowl, mix white sugar and applesauce until smooth and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract.In another small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually stir this into the egg mixture, followed by the milk.Spoon about half of the batter into the prepared pan. Layer about half of the apples on top. Scoop the remaining batter over it, and add the rest of the apples. Pat them into the top.Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick stuck into the middle emerges clean.Use parchment sling to immediately lift loaf onto a rack to completely cool. Once the loaf is at room temperature, shroud in plastic wrap and store at room temperature--or freeze all or part of loaf for later.OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not Original: Golden Syrup Snack Cake

Golden Syrup Snack Cake! This delicious, sticky, sweet-but-not-too-sweet cake delivers a taste of the UK wherever you may live.

I see golden syrup all the time in British recipes. I debated trying those recipes, but wondered if I could finagle some kind of American equivalent to golden syrup. Nope.

Accept no substitutes. Golden syrup is kinda between honey and maple syrup, but has its own unique kind of sweetness. The good news is, if you’re in America, it can be found on the shelf in grocery stores. I live in the boonies on the far western fringe of Phoenix, and I can even find it here… though it is kind of expensive.

The grocery gods did smile upon me, though. I scored TWO bottles of Lyle’s Golden Syrup for half off in the clearance area. I actually squealed out loud.

This cake has a soft, tender crumb that is gently sweet throughout. The glaze of extra syrup brushed on top adds a perfect finish. This is the perfect treat to serve up for a binge-watch of British telly!

Recipe heavily modified and converted in measurement from a recipe found at the BBC.

 

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Bready or Not Original: Golden Syrup Snack Cake


Golden Syrup originates in the United Kingdom and can be found in American supermarkets on the international aisle. Accept no substitutes; it has a unique sweet taste.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, SnackCuisine BritishKeyword cake, golden syrup





Author Beth Cato

Equipment8x8 or 9x9 pan
IngredientsCake1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 cube1/2 cup turbinado or other raw sugar3/4 cup golden syrup such as Lyle's, but not the squeeze bottle version1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour1 large egg2 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon ground ginger1/4 teaspoon salt2/3 cup milk or half & halfGlaze2 Tablespoons golden syrup
InstructionsIn a large pot, heat butter, golden syrup, and turbinado sugar until melted and combined. Set aside to cool.Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Line an 8x8 or 9x9-square cake pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.In a bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Mix with the contents of the large pot.Into this pot, add the baking powder, ground ginger, and salt, followed by the flour. Pour into the prepared pan.Bake for 40 to 50 mins, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Measure the golden syrup for glazing into a bowl and brush it atop the warm cake.Let cool at least 20 minutes before slicing. Store covered by foil or sliced up in a sealed container at room temperature.OM NOM NOM!

Surviving Tomorrow: An all-star charity anthology to fight COVID-19

I am genuinely proud to be part of this incredible new anthology in which 95% of profits are being donated directly to charities that are providing testing to communities in need–and you get to choose the charity.

Surviving Tomorrow is a collection of 29 stories about survivors by writers like Neil Gaiman. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Cory Doctorow, Robert Silverberg, Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Andrew Mayne, Scott Sigler, Orson Scott Card, Alan Dean Foster, A.C. Crispin… and me! The book is available to preorder now to ship in the coming months. There is a special edition, a hardcover, a trade paperback, and an ebook.

Preorder Surviving Tomorrow.

Find out more about the charities here.

#SFWAPro

Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Crumble Bars

Nothing says summer to me quite like blueberry bars, and this version has a delectable crumb topping and loads of blueberries!

This is really the best kind of fruit and shortbread combo. The bottom and top acquire a buttery crispness as they bake, the perfect contrast for the oozy, sweet berries.

I am frustrated when recipes only list blueberries by cup measurement, which is useless when I’m in the grocery store trying to figure out how much to buy in pints or ounces. I can say that 4 cups or 20 ounces is what you need for this recipe.

Be careful at the final stage when it’s time to slice into bars. The blueberries can stick to the foil quite a bit. Therefore, be sure to generously grease the pan prior to baking, and gently pry the foil away when ready to slice.

The recipe makes a full 9×13 pan, so be sure you have a lot of people present to eat them. These would be very dangerous treats to keep around when home alone, just sayin’.

 

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Bready or Not Original: Blueberry Crumble Bars


This recipe makes a 9x13 pan full of delicious bars! The buttery shortbread-like crust is perfectly paired with a generous layer of oozy blueberries.

Course Dessert, SnackKeyword bars, blueberries, shortbread





Author Beth Cato


Ingredients3 cups all-purpose flour1 cup white sugar divided1/2 cup brown sugar packed1 teaspoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon saltpinch ground cinnamon1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature1 egg3 teaspoons cornstarch4 cups fresh blueberries 20 ounces
InstructionsPreheat oven at 375-degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray. Wash the blueberries and remove any stems or smashed berries, then gently blot dry with a towel.In a big bowl, mix together the flour, 1/2 cup white sugar, the brown sugar, and baking powder. Add the salt and cinnamon. Add the butter and mix until it forms crumbly dough.Pat about 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan. A piece of waxed paper and a heavy glass will help compress it into an even layer.In another bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup white sugar and cornstarch. Gently stir the blueberries to coat. Sprinkle the blueberries over the bottom crust, then crumble the remaining dough evenly over the top.Bake for 45 minutes, but check at the 30 minute point. If it's looking golden on top, cover it with foil then continue to bake.Cool at room temperature, then chill in fridge to make it even more cohesive to cut. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Carefully peel back the foil from the edges; a knife might help to hold the bars in place if the blueberry layer is being especially sticky.Slice into bars. Store in a sealed container in the fridge, with waxed paper between the stacked layers.OM NOM NOM!

Book Blog: The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee

I review everything I read and post reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing. That’s not enough. Good books are meant to be shared. Therefore, I’m spotlighting some of my favorite reads here on my site.

The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee

out now in ebook; Google Play, B&N, and Amazon

 

I love this book. It’s as close to perfect as a book can get, which is saying a lot, especially when I add that this is a novel-sized volume of fantasy poetry that truly reads like a novel.

The central character is King Xau, a fourth son never intended to be king. He never wanted to be king. Xau is a good human being, and that is one of the intense joys of this book. Even though it often deals honestly, graphically, with war and depravity, the verses are embodied with an overall positive message that good things happen when people strive to do good. We take that in through various viewpoints–Xau’s, and those of dozens around him, from commoners in awe of a brief meeting to his avowed enemies to his beloved guards to the palace cat.

As a poetry book, it is entirely accessible. The verses flow, and emotions with them. This is a book that will make you FEEL. I can’t even say how many verses brought tears to my eyes, and I had to fight sobs at the end.

I had read the first 60 poems in Mary Soon Lee’s previous book Crowned (which I provided a blurb for), plus individual poems in a smattering of other publications. The Sign of the Dragon added 200 never-before-published poems to Xau’s tale.

If you don’t normally read poetry books, please, read this one. If you do read poetry, you’ll be blown away at the beauty and flow of this novel told in verse. I already know this will be one of my favorites for the year. A favorite book, period.