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.
Read MoreBready 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
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese 1 box, room temperature
- 3 cups white sugar
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups shredded coconut
Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons milk
- extra shredded coconut
Instructions
- 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
Ingredients
- 6 cups Churros Cereal
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 10 ounces jumbo or mini marshmallows 1 bag
Instructions
- Prepare a 13x9 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
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