Kate Collins's Blog, page 136

Mid-Season TV Report Card

by Leann


Since I am a TV junkie, it's time for my mid-season report card. Feel free to weigh in on my facebook page if you cannot comment. I know commenting has been a problem for some of you.

Favorite new show: Blindspot (by far)

Favorite returning show: The Voice tied with The Blacklist

Favorite Hallmark movie: Plum Pudding Murder (they did a great job with this one!)

Favorite cable show: The Knick tied with Suits

Favorite shows people aren't watching: CSI: Cyber  (I am learning SO MUCH!) and Code Black

Favorite nerds: The Scorpion crew

Favorite guys: The Chicago Fire, PD and Med franchise

Favorite Sunday night line-up: CBS with Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, CSI: Cyber

Favorite comfort show: Blue Bloods

Most looking forward to: American Crime, Murder in the First and Kate Collins' Mum's the Word on Hallmark in January. (Starring Brooke Sheilds!)

Most upset about cancellation: Person of Interest

Now share yours!!

RED VELVET TRUFFLES--the perfect holiday treat!

By Mary Kennedy                           
                                                       
 I was so happy to find that Candace Gaut Giger posted this fabulous recipe. They are delicious and would make a wonderful holiday gift (but it would be hard to part with them!). Ingredients: 1 box red velvet cake mixone 16 oz container prepared cream cheese frosting one 24 oz package white almond bark 1 cup finely chopped nuts (pecans and walnuts work best)   Instructions:  Prepare cake,  pour into a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake. Once the cake is cool, crumble it into a large bowl. Add container of cream cheese frosting and mix thoroughly.  (You can use your hands of a potato masher.)  Next, roll mixture into ¾ inch balls and refrigerate them.  Once balls are thoroughly chilled, melt the almond bark in the microwave using 30 second intervals. Be sure to stir between each one until melted. Using a fork, dip and coat balls in white bark. You need to work quickly. As the balls thaw, they will start turning your white bark pink. Place on wax paper and decorate as desired with sprinkles, chopped nuts, etc. These are delish! Bon appetite! By Mary Kennedy

Spiffing up!

by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett

The holidays mean bringing out things you love that only get seen for one small part of the year.  Holiday candles, figurines, nativity scenes, etc.  But this year I'm trying to meld my mother's things in with my own--just at the worst time of year.  Still, we're making it work, even if some rooms seem a bit tight--like those jeans you can't bear to toss.

My brother and I could pretty much pick and choose what we wanted from my parents home. As I'm a LOT more sentimental than he is, I took quite a few things.  One of them was my mother's silver spoon collection.

It took me two sessions with the silver polish to get all thirty of them sparkling once again.


Some of the spoons have stories I know. For example, about eight of them once belonged to Martin Van Buren, our 8th president. One of our neighbors was a direct descendant, but neither of her children liked "antiques." When offered the spoons, my mother jumped at the chance.  (That was about fifty years ago.)

One of them says, "The Heart of Detroit" and is dated 1901. 


Those below are grapefruit spoons.


My Mum always called this one on the left a marmalade spoon.  I downloaded the picture (which was huge) and before cropping it was able to see silver hallmarks on it which I was able to find with a Google search.

J.G into a rectangle
Joseph Gloster
Lion Silver Works, Hockley Hill, Birmingham
Birmingham 1904 hallmark (entered 1890)

(How cool is that?)

An this is how the whole collection looks.  My dad not only made the cherry spoon rack, but he carved the mushrooms that sit atop it.

All and all, it's a wonderful heirloom I'm proud to hang in my dining room.

What kind of heirlooms are you most proud of?

So that's what we're up to!

We’re at it again! We're finishing up our latest email newsletter to friends and readers.  It’s a fun task for Victoria and MJ.  We try to think about what you might enjoy and we want to make sure you all know about our latest book and what’s coming down the pipe.  


Sometimes we have to think hard about what to put in. 
Do you smell something burning?

Do we have too much information? Too little? The right combination?  The dogs, of course, insist on being part of the project as, deep down, they believe that you love them best.   

 Maybe we should do a survey!
At any rate, we’re almost ready to roll with this one (short and snappy for the season).  If you’re not signed up and would like to get book news from Victoria Abbott (that’s both of us collaborating) or from Mary Jane and her Canadian series and short stories or from Victoria Maffini about her paintings, we’d love to add your name.  Just email us at detect at rogers dot com and we’ll add you to the list. Who knows? You may even win the sign-up draw.  
If you’re on the list and you don’t see it within the week, ask your spam filter about it.  In our humble opinion, spam filters suffer from control issues.
In this newsletter, we’ll be doing the cover reveal for The Hammett Hex (just waiting for the final go-ahead)  and the recipe for this Chocolate Gingerbread Cake, plus the usual contest, so of course, we’re excited. 


And finally, we’d like to know what you like in a newsletter: Book news? Personal news? Recipes? Dog pix?  Tax tips? (Just kidding!) Or …?
Let us know! We value your opinion,  

Christmas Cards…in or out.

Christmas cards are so pretty. There are some really great ones out the, religious ones, family ones, funny, scenic. The ones that let you attach a family picture of you all in your Christmas jammies or on vacation at Disney or at the beach.

Some people include a newsletter of family happenings. You know the type. Little Johnny went to space camp, Julie graduated first in her class, Billy is CEO. People go on and on about their perfect family and now they are all achieving greatness.
Really? The whole year has been a bowl of cherries for you? I don’t know about you but I find these totally boring. Now if that letter said something like Johnny got thrown out of space camp because he set a rocket to the moon or Julie’s first in her class at reform school or Billy is CEO but got fooling around with the secretary and we are in marriage counseling. Now that would be a better letter. A little realism might make those letters a lot more interesting. Or better yet...send me one of those cards with the pretty tree on the front.

I have to confess that I’m really not a card person. I used to be but Christmas is such a zoo that I finally gave up sending them out. I think I have a stack of boxes of Chirstmas cards in my closet. I call it the stack of good intentions. They are really lovely cards that never made it. I buy them thinking this is the year I send but then it doesn’t happen.
And of course there is the postage. I know it’s cheap when you consider how much it would take to personally deliver each of those cards but it does mount up.
And then there’s the quandary… what to do with all those cards you get? Many are so lovely. Seems a total waste to trash them then again I already have one stack of cards in my closet. I really don’t have room for a stack of cards that I got and just can’t part with.
So here’s what I bought this year. I love these cards. I just wonder if they’ll make to the post office. Somehow deep inside I doubt it and they will just get added to the stack in the closet.

So what about you? Do you or don’t you send Christmas cards? Do you like getting them, sending them or do they end up in the trash before Christmas day.

Winter Is Coming. . .Really?

by Maggie Sefton



This is December, and supposedly Winter is supposed  to have arrived in most parts of the U.S.  But here in Northern Colorado. . .it has yet to show up.  We've still got those lovely balmy temps in the mid 60s, believe it or not.  Now. . .we have had a few storms that brought snow to our High Country---what we here in Colorado call our higher Mountain areas.  But nothing has shown up here along the Front Range---our more populated areas at 5000 ft +  like Fort Collins, Denver, and  Colorado Springs, which is higher.  

Now. . .don't get me wrong.  I'm not dying to have cold  temps and lots of snow to slog through, but I'm simply being practical.  This is December.  It's a Winter month.  We usually have some snow in December.  Everyone's prepared for Winter and ready for it.  Plus. . .I definitely would rather have snow appear now in Winter season than have it show up in April.  Surprise!  That has happened before, folks.

So----I'm going to continue along my "getting ready for the holidays" mode of operation and post for you today my recipe for Southern Pecan Pie.  You'll find it included in the Cozy Chicks Kitchen where I've called it Pete's Pecan Pie.  By the way, Cozy Chicks Kitchen is a great cookbook and a perfect holiday present idea.  :)  Forgive my shameless plug.  Let me know if you make it for the holidays and how you liked it. Enjoy!  :)


PETE’S PECAN PIE

Beat 3 large eggs thoroughly with 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar and a dash of salt, then add 1 cup of dark corn syrup and 1/3 cup of melted butter (not margarine).  Beat until well mixed, then add 1-2 Tablespoons Bourbon or rum (if desired).  Add  1½--2 cups pecan halves.  Pour into a  9” unbaked pie shell (see recipe below). 
Bake in moderate (350 degrees) oven for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack.
Makes one pie.

Butter Crust Pastry    (makes one unbaked  9” pie crust)
     1 – ½  level cups all-purpose flour     1  stick regular butter, cold     1 – ½  teaspoons salt (as desired)     4 or 5  Tablespoons cold water
Measure flour into a mixing bowl and stir in salt.  Mix well.  Cut in cold butter with pastry blender or two knives.  Mixture should be coarse and crumbly.  Sprinkle in tablespoons of cold water gradually, mixing well with fork until all dry ingredients are moistened.  Form pastry into a large ball.  Lightly flour rolling surface (pastry cloth, wax paper, or other) and rolling pin.  Roll ball into circle wider than glass pie plate, so there is at least a 1-2” overhang of curst.  Fit crust into pie plate, trim overhang, and flute edge of crust as desired.
This recipe allows for an ample amount of pastry.  Do not be concerned if pastry tears when trying to remove from rolling surface.  Butter crust is light and delicate and tears easily, but is also easily repaired.  Fit crust into pie plate and “seam” together the torn edges by dipping a finger into cold water and lightly brushing across the edges.  Edges disappear when baked, and that same delicate fragile quality of the pastry when handling is responsible for the melt-in-your-mouth flakiness of the butter crust.   Enjoy!    J   

FEELING FRAZZLED? YOU'RE IN GOOD COMPANY

By Mary Kennedy                                             
 If you're feeling frazzled and overwhelmed during the holiday season, take heart. It's normal!  Instead of feeling happy and relaxed during what's supposed to be the "happy holidays" most people feel tired and out of control, their stress levels soaring through the roof. Here are a few quick tips that might help you get back on track.                                             1. Is your to-do list realistic? Take a cold hard look at it. Can you really accomplish all these tasks in the time allotted? Incredibly, Christmas is less than 3 weeks away and you need to take a few moments and prioritize. Think about making an A list, a B list and a C list. There is something powerful about making a list, analyzing it, and checking off the items as you accomplish them. But first, let's divide up that list. Remember? A, B and C. The A-list is your "must do." This could be entertaining, hosting family events, selecting gifts for the special people on your list. Be sure to add something "meaningful," such as creating a new holiday tradition, catching up with an old friend and doing something creative and joyful to mark this time of year. You don't want to sleep-walk your way through the holidays, you want to build memories. Your B list is your "It would be nice..." list. Yes, it would be nice if you baked three dozen cookies from scratch. But years from now, will your family really remember if you baked those cookies or bought them? See how many of your "A" list priorities you can safely move to the B list. It might be more than you thought. Your C list is very low priority!  These are tasks that can easily be scheduled after the holidays when life has calmed down. Life will go back to normal, trust me. There will be long winter days ahead when you can tackle all the things you wanted to do in December, 2015. Right now, your focus (as always) should be on THE MAIN THING. And the main thing is getting through the holidays.                                                            2. Schedule short breaks, have a soothing cup of tea. The world won't come to an end, and you're more productive after a brief time-out. Unless you're the leader of the free world, I'm sure you can find fifteen minutes in your busy schedule to decompress. Studies show that a brief, relaxing break can be as helpful to you, mentally and physically, as a one hour nap. The trick is to use this time wisely. Use it for complete relaxation, no worries allowed.                                                                                                                 3. Chat with a friend, either in person, by phone or Skype. Taking a respite from your own concerns can do wonders. And that friend can be a furry, four legged one. Did you know that spending fifteen minutes with a beloved pet can slow your pulse, regulate your breathing and lower your blood pressure?                                               This is one of my own cats, Calpurnia, urging everyone to slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy the holidays! And as we all know, no one knows how to relax like a cat. Calpurnia roused herself from a nap to wish everyone a happy holiday! By Mary Kennedy

We Used to Argue

by Leann

When I was growing up in western New York, my dad's family all lived there and I had a big extended family. We got together at the holidays and filled my grandparents home with kids running and playing and loud adults who drank A LOT. Those Irish do like to drink.

Back then, there were lots of arguments about politics. In fact, no family get together was complete without plenty of booze and lots of shouting. I didn't care for the drinking because my mother was an alcoholic and often these family gatherings would lead to a serious binge. As for the arguing? I loved it.

Part of the reason was the subject matter. Politics were fascinating and hearing two sides taught me a lot. We had military roots. My father had been a soldier, my uncle had been a soldier and one of my aunts lost her husband in WWII. He is buried overseas. These were people who cared passionately for their country. And passionately for their own opinions.

What I liked the most, however, was that they argued and in the end, it was okay. They still loved each other and laughed and were ready for the next time. Arguments didn't mean they wouldn't speak to each other for months or years. It meant they simply liked a good fight. Plus, they didn't vote along party lines. It was about who was the best candidate.

Today, our political system is broken. We have a man running for president who screams at crowds, says outrageous things, lies, humiliates and cares nothing for the truth or for solutions. This past week he is shaking his empty fist at an enemy he doesn't understand. Our divided government, in the meantime, continues to do nothing after the most recent horror against humanity. But as one twitter person so wisely said, and I paraphrase, when our government did nothing when 20 children were gunned down in their classrooms, that was a tipping point. A hollow, awful tipping point it was. I have retweeted the names of many members of congress and the amount of campaign money they received from the NRA. For some, it is a staggering amount of money. I also retweeted all the "no" votes on the most recent attempt to affect some kind of reform in our gun laws. Retweet if you want to. We need this information out there.

Today, unlike when I learned how to debate thanks to my very vocal family, we cannot argue anymore. To me, it seems useless. In my opinion, we have scary people running for president and a congress unwilling to do anything that might jeopardize their job. That's a terrible combination. Tomorrow is the anniversary of "a day that shall live in infamy." Pearl Harbor Day. I am afraid we are now living in an age that will live in infamy.

APPLE CIDER CAKE, PERFECT FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

by Mary Kennedy              
                                                           
 Everyone has their favorite bundt cake recipe, but I love this one for two reasons. 1) it uses apple cider and smells and tastes absolutely scrumptious and 2) it starts with a cake mix. What could be easier? I put my own "modifications" in italics. Ingredients: 3 large eggs1/3 cup vegetable oil1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)1/2 chunky applesauce (I didn't have any applesauce on hand, so I simply chopped up a small apple, added a little cinnamon and a tiny bit of water and microwaved it in a cup. It was roughly half a cup of "home-made" applesauce)1 cup raw, chopped, Granny Smith apples (I used Fuji, they were fine).1 tsp vanilla1 box Spice Cake Mix (if you don't have Spice Cake Mix, use yellow cake mix and add 2 tsps. of pumpkin pie spice mix to the batter.)1 cup sour cream  For the glaze  1 cup apple cider1 cup powdered sugar1/2 stick butter. Directions:  The cake. Preheat oven to 350.  Mix the eggs, oil, milk, applesauce, apples and vanilla. Add cake mix, sour cream, and beat for 2 minutes. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray, turn the mixture into the pan and bake for 40 minutes. Remove and let cool.The glaze: Add apple cider to a small saucepan and carefully bring to a boil over medium high heat. Boil for at least 10 minutes until the liquid has reduced to about 1/4 cup and is slightly thickened. Add powdered sugar and whisk well. Pour glaze over cooled cake. Some people like to add a cup of creamed cheese frosting on top, but I don't think you need it. The cake is seriously sweet enough without it.Another variation:                                                     
  One of my friends makes this cake without the glaze and makes a lemon sauce instead. It's really good either way. Hope you try it. Bon appetite! Mary Kennedy

A little out of my price range

by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett

Several times a month, I get an announcement from Replacements Ltd. telling me they have GREAT PRICES on my good china.

The only problem is, we have different definitions on what's a great price. Great price for me is CHEAP. Great price for them is "your order could buy me a new Mercedes!"

My china is Royal Albert's Silver Maple design, which has been discontinued for years.  Many years ago, my grandmother gave my mother a tea set of the pattern and the truth is my mother wasn't exactly thrilled, but I loved it from the day I saw it and I was thrilled when Mum gave it to me after I got married.

But it was only a tea set.  Cups, saucers, cake plates.  So one year, with my work bonus, I bought eight place settings.  Not the additional serving pieces, just the dinner plates, cups saucers and yet again cake plates.  Since then I've bought a few odd pieces--and I do mean odd.  I now have a bon-bon dish, a sugar and creamer, 1 salt shaker, 1 egg cup, and 2 small platters.

For all the years I have been receiving those emails, I've longed to get a teapot that would go with my good dishes.  The fact that I only use the dishes once a year (because I'm not putting them in the dishwasher, and during a big family dinner, I don't have the time or room (in my tiny kitchen) to stack and hand wash them.  So once a year it is on Valentine's Day.

And no teapot.

Oh, but I want that teapot.  I dream about it. I visualize how I would rearrange my entire china cabinet just to accommodate it.

Then I look at the price list and say:  "$189 (plus shipping) for a teapot you will never use?"

Get real, girl!

Somewhere there's a spendthrift inside me just aching to bust loose.  But until that teapot comes down in price (or hell freezes over), that isn't going to happen.

What frivolous thing  have you been denying yourself?