Bready or Not Original: Hazelnut Hand Cake [cake mix]

Posted by Beth on Jul 15, 2020 in Blog, Bready or Not, cake, cake mix, chocolate, nutty | Comments Off on Bready or Not Original: Hazelnut Hand Cake [cake mix]

Doctor up a basic yellow cake mix box into an amazing Hazelnut Hand Cake!

It’s called hand cake because it’s convenient to eat without a knife and fork. Heck, napkins are optional, if you don’t mind a dropped crumb or two.

This cake has a mild chocolate flavor–milder than that of a typical chocolate cake, from a mix or not. Nutella (or use a store-brand equivalent, as I did) is whipped into the batter, with some extra chocolate chips adding a gentle layer of flavor.

This thing is all about convenience. The cake comes together fast. Bakes fast. Give it some initial time to cool at room temp, then stash it in the fridge, and you can eat it even faster.

The end result is a cake with a soft, high, very moist crumb. The scattered nuts and toffee add extra flavor and crunch.

My husband’s co-workers inhaled this cake. One guy said it was the best Cato treat ever. Considering the goodies that come their way, that is high praise indeed.

Bready or Not Original: Apple Butter Blueberry Muffins

Posted by Beth on Jul 8, 2020 in apples, Blog, blueberry, Bready or Not, breakfast, cupcakes, healthier, muffin | Comments Off on Bready or Not Original: Apple Butter Blueberry Muffins

Apple Butter Blueberry Muffins! Fruity flavors combine in a delicious way in this original recipe.

I love apple butter. It’s delicious, versatile stuff. I’ve found it can work as a substitute in recipes that call for things like applesauce, bananas, and pumpkin puree.

Here, the inherent spiciness in apple butter adds a lot of flavor without the need to measure out extra spices–and the thick texture creates a cakey, moist crumb.

The fresh blueberries throughout are like flavor bombs, introducing a different kind of sweetness in contrast.

Do note that this recipe makes 24 muffins. It saves a lot of time if you have two pans, but this recipe could certainly be done with one. Make sure you have paper liners, though. There’s no sadness like my-muffin-is-stuck-in-the-pan sadness.

Out today: Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Cats

Posted by Beth on Jul 7, 2020 in anthology:nonfiction, Blog | Comments Off on Out today: Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Cats

Hooray for release day! Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Cats is out now, and it features my story “A Letter to Bubba’s First Family.” It’s about our ginger trickster, Finn, who went by the name Bubba in his previous life. His previous family loved him a lot and they were heartbroken to leave him at the shelter. (Included in his adoption was a tall cat tree and his beloved plush green snake–a snake that he still loves and cuddles with after two years with us, as shown in this picture.) This story is a letter to his old family, and I really, really hope they see it and take comfort in that we love and adore him.

This book can be bought wherever books are sold, including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

We adopted Finn–and our cats Luke and Kylo–at Sun Cities 4 Paws, an all-cat shelter on the west side of Phoenix. Like many charities, they are struggling right now. If you live in the area and need a cat, please check them out. They have cats of all ages in their shelter and have some available at a local PetSmart, too. They take donations of cat supplies or cash. Their thrift shop is a major source of income, too, so if you’re in the area, drop off donations or shop there.

Out tomorrow: The Book of Dragons

Posted by Beth on Jul 6, 2020 in anthology:poem, Blog | Comments Off on Out tomorrow: The Book of Dragons

Tomorrow, The Book of Dragons will be released worldwide. This is a hardcover masterpiece edited by Jonathan Strahan, fully illustrated by Rovina Cai. It includes my poem “I Make Myself a Dragon.” It is a poem that is both angry and hopeful, and it’s even more relevant now than when I wrote it last year. I somehow infiltrated this anthology that reads like a modern who’s-who of genre masters. Here’s the back copy:

Here there be dragons . . .

From China to Europe, Africa to North America, dragons have long captured our imagination in myth and legend. Whether they are rampaging beasts awaiting a brave hero to slay or benevolent sages who have much to teach humanity, dragons are intrinsically connected to stories of creation, adventure, and struggle beloved for generations.

Bringing together nearly thirty stories and poems from some of the greatest science fiction and fantasy writers working today— Garth Nix, Scott Lynch, R.F. Kuang, Ann Leckie & Rachel Swirsky, Daniel Abraham, Peter S. Beagle, Beth Cato, Zen Cho, C. S. E Cooney, Aliette de Bodard, Kate Elliott, Theodora Goss, Ellen Klages, Ken Liu, Patricia A McKillip, K. J. Parker, Kelly Robson, Michael Swanwick, Jo Walton, Elle Katharine White, Jane Yolen, Kelly Barnhill, Brooke Bolander, Sarah Gailey, and J. Y. Yang—and illustrated by award-nominated artist Rovina Cai with black-and-white line drawings specific to each entry throughout, this extraordinary collection vividly breathes fire and life into one of our most captivating and feared magical creatures as never before and is sure to become a treasured keepsake for fans of fantasy, science fiction, and fairy tales.

Find it wherever books are sold. I encourage you to support indie shops through individual stores or at Bookshop, or go through Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

#SFWAPro