Sunday Quote has a Minion for Halloween
Read More“Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.”
~Neil Gaiman
Scary Tacos and More
Last weekend I made my annual pilgrimage to the Arizona Taco Festival. It was glorious! I have a full write-up over at the Holy Taco Church.At Novelocity, I share Five Not-Horror Books to Creep You Out for Halloween! If you’re in the mood for dark fantasy, check these out.
Fear seems to be something of a theme right now… it’s just that time of year! I’m in an SF Signal Mind Meld on The Children’s Movies That Scared Us the Most and I was also interviewed by Pat Esden (who has a forthcoming Bready or Not guest spot) about Real vs Imaginary Fears and Wings of Sorrow and Bone.
In totally different non-scary news, Reb Kreyling posted a wonderful review of Clockwork Crown! Yay!
Read MoreBready or Not Guest Sherrida Pope with Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
I’m happy to welcome author Sherrida Pope (who I know better as Nancy Fulda) to Bready or Not today! She has two darling new children’s books out, one for Halloween and one for Thanksgiving. Owls and cats, you can’t go wrong with that. Other things that can’t go wrong: anything combined with Nutella. Sherrida has a recipe for Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies that look absolutely delicious!
The Cat who Ruined Thanksgiving
I still remember the first time I tasted Nutella. It was during December in the 1980’s, surrounded by holiday trappings and a box of intriguing food items my sister had brought back from Germany. What was this strange substance, this… spreadable chocolate?
It was love at first bite. But you couldn’t find Nutella in California stores back then, or at least, we couldn’t, and so my newfound affinity had to wait on the back shelf until my own trip to Germany nearly a decade later. Happily, globalization has since rectified many of the gaps on my store shelves, and I’m pleased to report that I can now find Nutella in nearly every major supermarket in my area.
I hope you can, too, because the only thing better than Nutella is Nutella combined with something superbly delectable. Think about it: Nutella is yummy. Peanut butter is yummy. Both together is… well, around my house it’s a recipe for an empty plate and a lot of cookie crumbs.
Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
½ cup margarine or butter
½ cup peanut butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp baking powder
Beat margarine and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add ½ cup of the flour, sugar, egg, and baking powder. Beat until thoroughly combined. Add remaining flour.
Form dough into 1-inch balls. (If dough is too sticky to shape easily, then add extra flour or refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.) If desired, use a spoon to create a small depression in the center of each cookie.
Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes. Spread Nutella across the top of warm cookies.
Sherrida Pope, who also publishes as Nancy Fulda, lives and writes in the scenic area near Utah Lake. She has three children, a pet hedgehog, and a transient appreciation for classical music. Find her engaging chapter books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers.
The Cat who Ruined Thanksgiving
Read MoreBready or Not: Healthy Butternut Squash Soup
This wonderful soup has been one of my cool weather dinner staples for several years!
I love, love this soup. It takes a little bit of prep work but then feeds me for a few days. It’s both delicious and healthy. Butternut squash is one of my favorite roast vegetables, and this just blends it into liquid form.
Butternut squash can be intimidating to slice up. I recommend the technique shown at The Kitchn. Basically, you slice off the ends, then take off the rind, de-seed, then dice the orange flesh.
This recipe freezes really well, too. I like to measure it in 2-cup increments and seal it up in quart-size freezer bags; I can freeze them flat so they take up almost no room.
The soup’s flavor improves after being in the fridge for a day, too. The roasted vegetables really come through. I like to add spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, or pumpkin spice mix, and a few pepitas for texture.
It’s a bowl of stomach-warming happiness.
Modified from Lick My Spoon.
Bready or Not: Healthy Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2 - 3 pound butternut squash
- 1 yellow onion
- 32 ounce chicken broth or vegetable broth, 1 box or 2 cans
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- salt Hawaiian salt recommended
- nutmeg or cinnamon, or pumpkin spice mix, to taste
- pepitas or chopped pecans, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450-degrees. Prepare a large rimmed baking sheet by lining it with foil.
- Peel, de-seed, and dice the squash into roughly 1-inch cubes. It doesn't need to be neat--they will all be blended in the end. Peel and dice up the onion.
- Place the squash and onion on the baking sheet. Drizzle or spray olive oil over everything. Add salt and other spices like cinnamon or nutmeg and toss to coat.
- Roast in oven for about 25 minutes. Turn over the squash, then cook another 15-25 minutes, until the squash is just browning and is fork-tender.
- If you want to complete the soup later, just stick the squash in the fridge. Or continue...
- In a large pot, bring the broth to a simmer. Add the roasted squash and onion. Carefully puree using an immersion blender, or blend in small batches in a blender or food processor. Use caution: you’re working with hot liquid! Process until the soup is smooth, and bring to a simmer again.
- Serve in bowls with an additional sprinkling of spices and perhaps some pepitas or chopped pecans on top! Leftovers keep sealed in fridge upward of a week; the taste actually improves after being in the fridge for a day. It can also be frozen in freezer bags or plastic dishes. Reheats quickly in the microwave or on the stove.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Sunday Quote needs words
Read More“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”
~Madeleine L’Engle