I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Captain's Log, Supplemental
My friend and romantic suspense author Debby Giusti tagged me!
Six random things about me:
1) I just made the most fabulous pizza modeled after this seafood pizza at Pizzeria Uno’s.
Recipe: I sautéed garlic and green onions in butter, added bay shrimp and imitation crab, and then added a couple tablespoons of cream. I made pizza dough in my bread machine, laid it out on a pizza stone, and spread the seafood toppings on it. I had to let the dough rise a third time, so I did that in a 170 degree oven, then cranked the heat to 400. I added fresh thyme leaves and mozzarella cheese and baked for 25 minutes.
It wasn’t quite as good as Uno’s, but it had a lot less fat, and I thought it tasted marvelous.
2) I’m allergic to real crab (which is why I used the imitation in the pizza). I don’t get hives, nor does my throat swell up, but I do get a really nauseated stomach if I eat even a tablespoon of the stuff.
My dad is worse, he gets hives. I’m also mildly allergic to shrimp and lobster, but I can eat a small portion of each and not get sick (if I eat more than a small portion, I’m in major trouble).
3) I’ve been listening to the audiobook for French Women Don’t Get Fat, and the author says that French people drink champagne for everyday occasions, not just special ones, and that champagne can enhance the pleasure experience of eating.
So I had a glass of (not very expensive) German or Austrian champagne that I got from Trader Joe’s with dinner tonight, and I have to admit, it was very pleasurable!
4) (Side note: Have you noticed the food trend with my six random things? Well, I can’t break with the trend, can I?)
I have recently discovered the pleasures of stinky cheese. I have reached a point where Captain Caffeine’s complaints about the smell are falling on deaf ears.
I also admit, the hedonistic-eating-choices-in-small-portions that I’m getting from my French Women Don’t Get Fat book has contributed to this. I get so much pleasure from cheese and bread, and despite the fact I’ve been eating interesting foods all week, I lost a pound!
Anyway, back to the cheese. Today I picked up raclette, which I believe is a Swiss cheese but I could be wrong. We usually have it on raclette dinner night, but I decided to buy some to melt on freshly baked French bread as a snack.
One slice of each, toasted together, is enough to satisfy me if I take the time to eat it and savor the stinkiness. With a cup of English tea with milk, and I’m in heaven.
5) I have been eating a lot of Trader Joe’s French country village style yogurt, and it’s maaaaaaaaahvelous. Very creamy, and1/2 cup is only 80 calories.
It’s so good that I just slice about three strawberries into it, and that gives the yogurt enough sweetness that I don’t need to add sugar or honey.
6) We’ve had so many strawberries with our organic co-op deliveries that I decided to make a strawberry mousse. It’s really easy, just stew strawberries with sugar and a little water, whisk in a little gelatin, and fold into stiffly whipped cream.
I served it on Thursday night at the writer’s group that meets at my house once a month, and they liked it a lot. Because mousse is mostly air, and I decreased the sugar a bit because the strawberries are so sweet, a regular portion isn’t really that high in calories.
My friend and romantic suspense author Debby Giusti tagged me!
Six random things about me:
1) I just made the most fabulous pizza modeled after this seafood pizza at Pizzeria Uno’s.
Recipe: I sautéed garlic and green onions in butter, added bay shrimp and imitation crab, and then added a couple tablespoons of cream. I made pizza dough in my bread machine, laid it out on a pizza stone, and spread the seafood toppings on it. I had to let the dough rise a third time, so I did that in a 170 degree oven, then cranked the heat to 400. I added fresh thyme leaves and mozzarella cheese and baked for 25 minutes.
It wasn’t quite as good as Uno’s, but it had a lot less fat, and I thought it tasted marvelous.
2) I’m allergic to real crab (which is why I used the imitation in the pizza). I don’t get hives, nor does my throat swell up, but I do get a really nauseated stomach if I eat even a tablespoon of the stuff.
My dad is worse, he gets hives. I’m also mildly allergic to shrimp and lobster, but I can eat a small portion of each and not get sick (if I eat more than a small portion, I’m in major trouble).
3) I’ve been listening to the audiobook for French Women Don’t Get Fat, and the author says that French people drink champagne for everyday occasions, not just special ones, and that champagne can enhance the pleasure experience of eating.
So I had a glass of (not very expensive) German or Austrian champagne that I got from Trader Joe’s with dinner tonight, and I have to admit, it was very pleasurable!
4) (Side note: Have you noticed the food trend with my six random things? Well, I can’t break with the trend, can I?)
I have recently discovered the pleasures of stinky cheese. I have reached a point where Captain Caffeine’s complaints about the smell are falling on deaf ears.
I also admit, the hedonistic-eating-choices-in-small-portions that I’m getting from my French Women Don’t Get Fat book has contributed to this. I get so much pleasure from cheese and bread, and despite the fact I’ve been eating interesting foods all week, I lost a pound!
Anyway, back to the cheese. Today I picked up raclette, which I believe is a Swiss cheese but I could be wrong. We usually have it on raclette dinner night, but I decided to buy some to melt on freshly baked French bread as a snack.
One slice of each, toasted together, is enough to satisfy me if I take the time to eat it and savor the stinkiness. With a cup of English tea with milk, and I’m in heaven.
5) I have been eating a lot of Trader Joe’s French country village style yogurt, and it’s maaaaaaaaahvelous. Very creamy, and1/2 cup is only 80 calories.
It’s so good that I just slice about three strawberries into it, and that gives the yogurt enough sweetness that I don’t need to add sugar or honey.
6) We’ve had so many strawberries with our organic co-op deliveries that I decided to make a strawberry mousse. It’s really easy, just stew strawberries with sugar and a little water, whisk in a little gelatin, and fold into stiffly whipped cream.
I served it on Thursday night at the writer’s group that meets at my house once a month, and they liked it a lot. Because mousse is mostly air, and I decreased the sugar a bit because the strawberries are so sweet, a regular portion isn’t really that high in calories.
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