Big News: Fairwood Press Story Collection Next Fall
I’m emerging from my Revision Cave with some happy news: in fall 2017, Fairwood Press will release a collection of my stories and poems! It’s called Red Dust and Dancing Horses and Other Stories. This will be a novel-length selection of my works–the best ones out of over 70 published stories and 100 poems. And the cover. Oh wow. The art is absolutely perfect. I can’t wait to reveal the final version in the coming months!
There will be a lot more news to come!
#SFWAPro
Read MoreSunday Quote loves the word “Defenestration”
Read More“Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it.
Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.”
~William Faulkner
Bready or Not: Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Cake created something of a sensation at my husband’s work. Imagine profanity-laden joyful proclamations about this being the best cake ever.
The thing that surprised me most about their feedback was that they didn’t even realize there was pumpkin in the cake. It was all about the chocolate and the sheer moistness of the cake itself.
Well, the secret to that tender crumb: canned pumpkin puree. Ta-da!
The chocolate IS the star here. I mean, there’s a reason the name starts with “triple chocolate.” You have cocoa and chocolate chips in the cake, and a chocolate glaze that is also topped with chocolate chips.
Does that mean this should really be called a “quadruple chocolate pumpkin cake?” Dang it. I’m a writer. Don’t expect me to do math.
Modified from A Dash of Sanity.
Bready or Not: Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
To Coat Pan
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa sifted
Cake
- 2 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup cocoa sifted
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup milk almondmilk works
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Glaze
- 3 Tablespoons butter diced
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet
- 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips for topping
Instructions
- Prepare the bundt pan. In the microwave, melt the tablespoon of butter. Stir in the tablespoon of sifted cocoa to make a paste. Use a pastry brush to completely coat the inside of the pan. Set aside.
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, sifted cocoa, and cinnamon. Gradually add the flour mix to the sugar mix.
- Mix in the milk and pumpkin puree. Once everything is just combined, stir in the chocolate chips. Pour thick batter into the ready bundt pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test.
- Set pan on rack for about ten minutes and remove pan by upending the cake onto the rack. Let it completely cool.
- Once the cake is cool, make the glaze. In a small microwave-safe bowl, place the butter, chocolate chips, and corn syrup. Heat for 30 seconds or so and stir thoroughly, then briefly heat again if needed to finish melting.
- Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze onto the cake, spreading it around as needed. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top to finish it off. Set in fridge to set for several hours or overnight--chocolate cakes are better after a day (if you can restrain yourself that long)!
- OM NOM NOM!
Sunday Quote wonders where the year has gone
Read More“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
~Marcus Tullius Cicero
Bready or Not: Butternut Squash and Quinoa Salad
Bready or Not has featured a whole lot of sweets in recent weeks. Let’s switch to something delicious and healthy instead: Butternut Squash and Quinoa Salad.
This still has a little bit of sweetness going on. Butternut squash is naturally awesome that way, and a sprinkling of cranberries adds some extra oomph. Add some pecans for crunch and feta because CHEESE, and this creates a bowl of happiness. The quinoa adds protein and kinda enjoys the ride along with all the other flavors.
I cobbled this together from several other recipes. I wanted something that I could invest some time in and then use as a quick-fix dinner for several more days. I parcel it into three or four containers, depending on the size of the squash, and my meals are set! Or, you could use this as a gluten-free main dish or side dish to feed a group.
I can offer a few useful tips, too. I cook quinoa in my Zojirushi rice cooker. One cup of uncooked quinoa makes a LOT once its cooked, more than my salad recipe requires, but cooked quinoa keeps well in the fridge and can also be frozen and thawed weeks later without any issue.
If you’re intimidated by cutting butternut squash, there is a safe and easy way to do it!
Next week’s Bready or Not officially kicks off my October-November tradition of pumpkin and autumn-themed recipes! Time to bust out the stretchy pants.
Bready or Not: Butternut Squash and Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash
- olive oil or avocado oil
- sprinkle pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
- feta cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 425-F.
- Line a rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Spread out the chopped squash and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle spices of choice and some salt. Roast squash for 20 minutes.
- While the squash is roasting, measure out the cranberries and place in a small bowl. Cover the cranberries with water and let them soak. Measure out the pecans.
- When the 20 minutes is up, toss the squash in the pan. Drain the water from the cranberries, discarding water. Add the plumped cranberries and pecans to the squash, and season more, if desired. Cook another 10 minutes or so, until butternut squash is fork tender with roasted coloration.
- Transfer the pan's contents to a large bowl. Gently stir in the quinoa. Serve hot or stash in fridge for later, and heat with microwave. Add sprinkle of feta just before serving.
- OM NOM NOM!
