Beth Cato's Blog, page 42

Bready or Not Original: Easy Blueberry Pie Bars

These Easy Blueberry Pie Bars taste like blueberry cobbler in a tidier, more compact form. They are DELICIOUS.

Yeah, yeah, I share a lot of good recipes on here, but these are seriously amazing.

The recipe is pretty straightforward, too. Make the shortbread crust. Press it down. Bake. Mix up the middle ingredients, folding in the blueberries last. Sprinkle reserved crust on top. Bake. Enjoy.

I like that this recipe only requires a pint of blueberries, too. During the summer, I can often find a little 12 ounce clamshell container on sale for under a buck!

These bars keep well for as long as three days, maybe longer, in a sealed container in the fridge. They make for a great dessert, but they’d be great for breakfast, too.

 

Bready or Not Original: Easy Blueberry Pie Bars

A Bready or Not Original. These delicious treats taste like a blueberry cobbler in convenient bar form!

Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

Filling

2 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream (or plain or vanilla Greek yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pint fresh blueberries (12 ounces )



Preheat oven at 350-degrees.Line a 9×13 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
Place flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter, and use a knife and fork to chop it into crumbles. Measure out 1 cup of this crumb mixture; set aside.
Place the rest of the crust mix into the baking dish. Distribute evenly, then compress into a thin layer; a piece of wax paper and a heavy glass work well for this.
Bake for 15 minutes. In the meantime, make the filling.
Beat eggs, then add in the sugar, flour, salt, sour cream/yogurt, and vanilla. Gently fold in the blueberries.
Pour the filling over the prebaked crust. Spread out evenly. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture over the top.
Bake 55 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and passes the toothpick test.

Cool at room temperature, then chill in fridge to set more firmly. Use foil to lift onto a cutting board to slice into bars. Store in sealed container in fridge with waxed paper or parchment paper between layers. Keeps for at least 3 days.

OM NOM NOM!

It’s fruitcake-making time!

Yes, the subject line is serious, because YES, fruitcake can be delicious–especially if you make it yourself and control the whole process! Follow my Mini Fruitcake Loaves recipe and you’ll see what I mean. Bake these babies now and you’ll have plenty of time to ripen them (that means brushing them down with a simple sugar mix once a week to soak in flavor) in time for holiday festivities.

Book Blog: A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

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.

A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

out now; Indiebound, B&N, and Amazon

 

I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley.

I’m a big fan of Sarah Pinsker’s work. I adored her collection Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea [reviewed here] and have been genuinely excited that her first novel would be inspired by her fantastic novelette “Our Lady of the Open Road.” The book absolutely lived up to my high expectations.

Pinsker’s science fiction is eerily plausible: a near-future world where a series of terrorist attacks and illness with high mortality have led to laws against congregations of people. Society fully embraces the digital and insular, relying on drone delivery for most all goods and on virtual experiences for dating, sports events, and–most notably for this book–concerts, with StageHoloLive being the major purveyor of much entertainment.

Enter the two protagonists: Luce, a gifted musician on the cusp of going big when the world fell apart, and Rosemary, a young woman rendered agoraphobic by her parents and culture, but who perkily heads out to find undercover musical acts as part of her new job for StageHoloLive. All of the characters in the book are nuanced and realistic, and Pinsker’s own background in bands completely grounds the world. This develops into a book with some shades of Charles de Lint’s works, yet with an original, fresh approach to a timeless theme: a celebration of music, of EXPERIENCING music, of how much more is involved than merely listening.

This book is beautiful, and its deep message will linger with me for a long while.

Bready or Not: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars [cake mix]

These Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are so good that people won’t even guess that it uses cake mix.

I, personally, don’t see any shame in using cake mix. It’s a convenient base ingredient to doctor up.

Chocolate and peanut butter is such a classic pairing. You can use any number of chocolate cake mixes for this (it was tested with a 15.25 ounce box), but I recommend devil’s food cake. It has a nice depth to it.

If you’re in America, you might find a premade bag of peanut butter and chocolate chips at stores like Walmart. If you can’t find that, just use separate bags of those kinds of chips and measure out a cup of each.

At my husband’s work, some of his co-workers considered this among their all-time favorite recipes. That is high praise indeed.

 

Bready or Not: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars [cake mix]

This easy-to-make recipe is so good that people won’t even know it uses cake mix!

1 box chocolate cake mix (15.25 oz)
3/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 bag peanut butter and chocolate chips (or 1 cup of each kind of chips)
1/2 cup chopped peanuts



Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
In a big bowl, combine the cake mix, melted butter, and milk. Spread half of batter on bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
Place peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and warm to be spreadable. Pour over the baked bottom crust and spread to edges. Sprinkle the peanut butter and chocolate chips on top, followed by dollops of the reserved cake batter. Finish with the chopped peanuts.

Bake for another 20 minutes, until the visible portions of the peanut butter layer look set. Cool completely, refrigerating if desired.

Use foil to lift onto cutting board to slice into bars. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!

Book Blog: The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

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 Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

out now; Indiebound, B&N, and Amazon

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

The Okay Witch is more than okay. It’s absolutely charming. I adored this graphic novel and everything about it–art, story, characters, EVERYTHING. Moth is thirteen and doesn’t fit in at school–and when she suddenly discovers she has magical powers, that doesn’t exactly help much. This is a story packed with genuine heart. The tone is light, but there are heady issues addressed with a delicate hand. Moth is a wonderful, relatable heroine, but the entire cast is fantastic–including a talking cat who threatens to steal the whole show. I loved, loved, loved how inclusive it is. A subplot involving the said talking cat and a beloved actually made me get teary-eyed at one point.

I mean, really. Start reading because it’s about magic and a smart girl and because the art is fantastic, and keep reading because you find everything about this book is fantastic. This is not only a 5-star read for me, but I’m adding it to my nomination list for the Norton Award.

Bready or Not: Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This stunning Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake is gorgeous and delicious, and will win over even people like me that are not big coconut fans.

This cake works for me because the cream cheese creates a rich, tender crumb, and the coconut adds a lovely chewiness to it all.

The cake ends up being chewy, but not too chewy; sweet, but not cloyingly. Really, that makes this great as a breakfast, brunch, or dessert cake.

I highly recommend reserving some coconut to sprinkle on top, too. It adds a certain oomph.

Serve this as cake alone, or like with any pound cake, it would be lovely alongside fresh fruit.

Modified from Cookies and Cups.

 

Bready or Not: Coconut Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This easy-to-make bundt cake creates a gorgeous and delicious cake that is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.

Cake

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, room temperature)
8 ounces cream cheese (1 box, room temperature)
3 cups white sugar
6 eggs (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups shredded flaked coconut

Glaze

2 cups confectioners' sugar
2-3 Tablespoons milk
extra shredded coconut



Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Coat a 10-cup bundt pan with nonstick spray or butter.
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, salt, and baking powder. Gradually mix in the flour until just combined, then fold in the coconut.
Pour batter into pan and distribute evenly. Bake for 75 to 80 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test.
Cool pan for 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a wire rack to completely cool. Move to a plate or cake platter.
To make the glaze, stir together the confectioners’ sugar and milk to form a smooth yet thick consistency. Pour or spoon glaze over the top, then sprinkle with additional coconut.
OM NOM NOM!

Bready or Not Original: Churro Krispies

Use the new Churros Cereal to make a fast no-bake treat in the mode of Rice Krispies!

As the Once-and-Future High Priestess of Churromancy in the Holy Taco Church, I cannot observe a product like Churros Cereal and simply walk by. No, I must experiment with it in the kitchen.

I resolved to adapt this cereal in the mode of Rice Krispies. The first thing I discovered: the box contains more cereal than needed for this process. Measure out 1.5 cups of the cereal to use in some other way, like for cereal (I know, a shock) or eat it straight, because the large pieces actually work well for that.

The bulk of the box’s contents, though, get coated in a mix of butter and marshmallows to create an ooey, gooey, delicious treat.

Yeah, there’s absolutely nothing healthy about this, but it sure tastes good.

 

Bready or Not Original: Churro Krispies

This Bready or Not original uses Churros Cereal to create a Rice Krispies-style no-bake treat. Using the microwave makes the process especially fast, but this could certainly be done using a large pot on the stove.

6 cups Churros Cereal
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
10 ounces jumbo or mini marshmallows (1 bag)



Prepare a 13×9 pan with nonstick spray. There are about 7 1/2 cups of Churros Cereal in the box, so measure out 1 1/2 cups to set aside for some other use.
In very large microwave-safe bowl, watch closely as the butter and marshmallows are heated on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir well. Heat for another 30 seconds and stir again; heat more if necessary. But once it stirs to be smooth, proceed immediately to the next step.
Add the 6 cups of Churros cereal to the bowl and completely coat.
Promptly pour the sticky mess into the prepared pan and use waxed paper or a greased spatula to press it down. Cool completely before cutting. Serve out of dish or pack into a sealed container with waxed paper between stacked layers. Best eaten the same day.
OM NOM NOM!

CoKoCon 2019 Schedule

CoKoCon takes place over Labor Day weekend at the Doubletree at MetroCenter in north Phoenix. I’ll be there Friday until Monday morning, with a packed schedule of panels. This is a fantastic small con. If you’re in the area, grab a membership and come by.

I have one scheduled booksigning time on Sunday but really, so long as I don’t need to rush to a panel or to eat, I’m happy to stop, talk, and sign stuff. There’s an awesome local bookseller on-site named Duncan who will have lots of my books for sale, too.

Yes, I will have cookies BUT note that if it’s like last year, I cannot feed people in common areas or the con could get in trouble with the venue. I can only share cookies in the con suite or in party rooms.

A mobile device-friendly version of my schedule can also be found here and includes full descriptions. Changes to my schedule will be posted on Twitter and Facebook.

Friday, August 30

5pm

Selling Yourself: Author Branding for Fun and (Hopefully) Profit

Canyon 3, 5pm – 6pm

8pm

Twisted Tropes: Writing Stale Tropes Like Unicorns and Vampires in Fresh New Ways

Canyon 3, 8pm – 9pm

Saturday, August 31

10am

Book Discussion: All Systems Red

Lobby Pit, 10am – 11am

11:30am

A Courtesy of Compliments

Terrace, 11:30am – 12:30pm

1pm

Steampunk Round Table

Terrace, 1pm – 2pm

7:30pm

Writing and Gaming: How RPGs and Video Games Influence Your Writing

Canyon 3, 7:30pm – 8:30pm

Sunday, September 1

11:30am

Author Self-Care: Spoon Management

Canyon 3, 11:30am – 12:30pm

1pm

Signing: Beth Cato and Judith Starkston

Dealers’ Room, 1pm – 2pm

2:30pm

How to Critique

Canyon 3, 2:30pm – 3:30pm

6pm

Surviving Historical Fiction Research

Canyon 3, 6pm – 7pm

#SFWAPro

Bready or Not Original: Iron-Skillet Apple Pie with Ginger Liqueur

A trusty cast iron skillet bakes up a beautiful apple pie in this delicious recipe.

This pie is also special because it includes a drizzle of ginger liqueur. I posted a recipe a few weeks ago on how to make a cheap, sublime version at home in under a week.

The ginger liqueur does add some lovely nuance to this pie, too–the complexity and freshness come across in a different way than, say, using some lemon juice on the sliced apples as I sometimes do to prevent them from browning.

The whole process of this recipe is pretty neat, too. The biggest dose of sweetness is actually at the bottom of the pie, as butter and brown sugar are baked into the bottom crust!

I had to make this recipe three times to finally figure out the right balance of ingredients and how best to bake it. The second try was the most disastrous, as I ended up with the dreaded soggy bottom.

Do be sure to follow the advice to use a rimmed cookie sheet in the oven. It’ll catch the overflow from the skillet and save you from suffering a soggy bottom.

 

Click here for my Homemade Ginger Liqueur Recipe

 

Bready or Not Original: Iron-Skillet Apple Pie with Ginger Liqueur

Use a large iron skillet to bake up a delicious apple pie! Ginger liqueur adds complex flavor and elevates this beyond the average pie.

Skillet base:

1/4 cup unsalted butter (half cube )
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)

Pie:

2 prepared rounds of piecrust dough (bought or made)
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons flour
5 Granny Smith and/or Honeycrisp apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
1/4 cup ginger liqueur

For top:

1 egg (slightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash)



Preheat oven at 350-degrees with a large rimmed cookie sheet in the oven. [THIS IS IMPORTANT. The skillet will likely overflow as it bakes and the hot cookie sheet will also reduce the likelihood of a soggy pie bottom.] Add butter to skillet and place in oven until butter is melted. Remove skillet; stir in brown sugar, then return to oven until sugar starts bubbling, about 10 to 15 more minutes.
In the meantime, in a small bowl combine the white sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Set aside.
Roll out one of the pie crusts, if not already done. Carefully lay crust inside hot skillet so that bottom and sides are covered. Pour apple slices inside. Drizzle liqueur over the apples, followed by the dry ingredients.
Roll out second pie crust. Lay atop the mounded pie. Wary of the hot pan, tuck the crusts together as much as possible. Cut several slits in the top of the pie.
Brush egg wash over the top crust. Set pie on top of hot cookie sheet in oven.
Bake until pie is golden brown and apples are tender when jabbed with a fork, about 45 to 50 minutes.
Let cool at least 30 minutes before cutting. Store covered with foil, at room temperature or in fridge.
OM NOM NOM!

Book Blog: Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made by Josh Frank, et al

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.

Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made

by Josh Frank, Tim Heidecker, & Manuela Pertega

out now; Indiebound, B&N, and Amazon

 

 

I don’t usually go for weird fiction or art, but I adore the Marx Brothers, and the almost preposterous nature of this graphic novel piqued my curiosity. I tried to win a galley from the publisher, and didn’t luck out. Then I was on a dream-come-true trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, of all places, and in the Transreal Bookstore. Lo and behold, there was the book. I had to buy it as a special souvenir.

Even having read the book, I can’t help but shake my head in awe of the incredible story behind its making: Salvador Dali struck up a friendship with Harpo Marx and decided to write a Marx Brothers screenplay. He wrote up a film treatment, and with Harpo, he pitched it to Louis B. Mayer in Hollywood. The idea was shot down. It was the kind of thing that earned mention in Dali and Marx interviews over later decades, but no one living person seemed to know much about the project.

Author Josh Frank set out to change that, doing some heavy-duty research–hiring a translator, meeting Harpo’s son Bill Marx–and pieced together bits and pieces of Dali’s surreal movie concept. He made it into a graphic novel, lavishly illustrated by Manuel Pertega.

Again, I don’t typically go for surreal stuff, but this book is incredible. I found it even more so when I reached the end to find pictures of Dali’s original treatment. Pertega did an admirable job of translating Dali’s vision–dripping roast chickens strapped to musicians’ heads and all. To my utter delight, they really researched their Marx Brothers, too. The banter between Groucho and Chico feels genuine and is laugh-out-loud funny, though a bit anachronistic at times. The story follows a wealthy, ambitious young man, Jimmy, who scorns his controlling fiance as he falls in love with Surrealist Woman–a woman whose fantastical imaginings become real. In true 1930s style, there are even songs written into the book!

The book is totally bonkers, but that’s totally true to concept. I found it to be a joy to read, and I’m so grateful that the author and team took a weird historical footnote and gave it life at long last.