Why Do Heroines Never Eat? Tell Me Why for a Chance to Win A Pre-Pub Copy of Saving Maggie!

Glenys O'Connell @GlenysOConnell

This is something that has bothered me for a long time, so I'm reposting from an earlier blog. Tell me what you think - would you like to see better fed heroines?

I read a lot of ‘woman in jeopardy’ and romantic suspense novels, and it really bothers me how emaciated and malnourished those heroines must all be by the end of the book.

Now, maybe it’s just those few extra pounds on my rear, caused by too much computer time and too little exercise, so I could just be bitter about this, but have you ever noticed how little these usually over-active heroines ever eat?

It’s not unusual for them to have coffee for breakfast, be stalked, run off the road, shot at, sprint through miles of woodland, swim a lake, have wild sex with the hero, have a massive fight with the hero, rush home to run into the arms of a crazed kidnapper, be rescued or get themselves out of a scrape, and then remember that they’ve not eaten since coffee at breakfast the day before.

Yeah, really. I’d be chewing off my own foot, I’d be so hungry.

Lovely Food from My Daughter's
 Wedding Reception!

And what do they do then? Set up a good meal with all the foodgroups? No, it’s usually just another coffee and maybe a bit of unbuttered toast. And the coffee’s not a Tim Horton’s double-double – it’s almost always black.

How do they do it? Why do they do it?

Is it the wild sex that keeps them going? Or fear that interfers with normal digestive processes?

Sadly, I get really cranky if I miss a meal, so I guess I’m just not good heroine material. I’d be more likely to shoot the first person to annoy me, rather than solve the crime, save my skin, and bring everything to a happy ending.

So, what do you think? Should we start a campaign to provide a healthy breakfast and organic snacks for malnourished heroines?

Certainly, I’ve been reading some of the neat cozy detective series that are around, and a few more writers are making their heroines a bit more gastonomically realistic, so maybe there’s hope yet.
By way of protest, and to do my bit for starving heroines, I'm adding two yummy recipes to my upcoming release, Saving Maggie, from Crimson Romance. The recipes are for a chicken stir fry delux and some decadent byut healthy cookies. You just gotta see them!

Let me know what you think – should heroines have normal meals like the rest of us, or is starvation an important part of their diet? One lucky commenter will receive a pre-pub galley copy of Saving Maggie!


Glenys O’Connell admits to a love affair with food, and isn’t above a junk food meal when she’s pushed on deadline. Her heroines eat well, everything from home made macaroni tuna and cheese casserole in Judgement By Fire to an elegant three course meal at an expensive Dublin hotel, in Winters & Somers, while Maggie Kendall & Detective Josh Tyler make a wonderful chicken stir fry together in upcoming release Saving Maggie.(Crimson Romance, December 31, 2012)

Confessions - and Recipes - of a Reluctant Cook

By Glenys O'Connell @GlenysOConnell

                So this month we’re talking recipes here at the Roses of Prose. I thought it was a great idea – after all, I thought of it!

          Great, that is, until I remembered my limited talents in the kitchen. I love books where the characters enjoy gourmet foods, expensive wines, and exotic this and that. Unfortunately, we writers do write what we know. In Judgement By Fire, heroine Lauren Stephens makes a mean tuna’n’cheese macaroni casserole. And in my upcoming release, Saving Maggie, (Crimson Romance, December 31) the heroine, Maggie Kendall, has the local pizza place on speed dial.

                You get my drift?

                But my Saving Grace (that’s the title of a 2013 release, by the way – more about that later!) is that I know how to get help. As always, when in need, I find my fellow writers are darn talented and willing to share their knowledge.

                Here’s one of my favourite foodie sites: Chickens in the Road, by bestselling author Suzanne McMinn. If you haven’t visited, the site is delightful and you really, really should go.

                Susan is the one who introduced me to the world of bread. That is, breads that even I could make. Her recipe, which I adapted for my own use, has saved my bacon on many occasions, from having to rustle up a pizza lunch for the bunch, to creating gorgeous bread to glam up a simple soup meal.

Here’s my version:

BREAD:

Ingredients: 1 cup warm/not quite hot water; 1 packet quick rise dry yeast; 1 teaspoon sugar; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 egg, beaten; 2 cups unbleached white flour; 1 cup wholewheat flour.

What you do: ) Put water in a large bowl, add salt & sugar, stir slightly to dissolve. Sprinkle yeast on top, wrap in a clean tea towel and place in a warm, draft-free spot to ferment – about  15-20 min.

2) Add beaten egg to yeast mixture, then stir in flour. Mix together until you have a dough – you may not use all the flour for this.
3) Turn out onto a floured board, knead for several minutes (push, pull, fold) until the dough is elastic, smooth and no longer sticky.

4) Put a tablespoon of olive oil in the bowl, place dough in and turn until covered lightly in the oil.

5) Cover and put back in a warm place until double in size.

6) Put back on floured board, punch down, shape into loaf or rolls, and place on a baking sheet.

7) Back in warm place to rise to double again.

8) Put in oven (don’t preheat!) turn temp to 400 and bake for about 25 min for a loaf, 15 – 20 min for rolls. Don’t overbrown.

9) When baked, brush melted butter over loaf or rolls, place on a cooling sheet and try to resist nibbling – at least until the bread is cool!

PIZZA:

Follow steps 1  - 5. When dough has doubled in size, place on floured board and roll out in a shape to fit your pizza or cookie sheet.

Place in unheated oven, turn heat to 400, and bake for eight minutes.

Cover pizza crust with pizza sauce or my favorite, spaghetti sauce, then sprinkle with your favorite pizza toppings – onions, garlic, sweet peppers, mushrooms, Italian sausage, pepperoni or whatever.

Cover with a nice layer of grated cheese – I use mozzarella and medium cheddar. Back to the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 – 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Did I mention my December 31 release from Crimson Romance – Saving Maggie? Well, at the end of the book are Maggie’s/my recipes for chicken stir fry and oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies – I can promise you, both are yummy!

Visit Suzanne McMinn’s site, Chickens in the Road, for lots of delicious recipes you can adapt to your own taste, as well as tales of the farm, the animals, and Suzanne’s many adventures, activities, and books.

Glenys O'Connell is busy with two new releases on the way. You can visit her at www.glenysoconnell.com

 

November is Fun, Family, and Food by Jena Galifany

The holidays are supposed to begin with Thanksgiving. That is the date that most people observe as the opening of the festive season. I like to start with November 7th as that is my birthday! One week after Halloween, my holidays begin.

Sherri, Bill, Mom, Jena, and Dee

Holidays are for reconnecting with family. This year will be awesome because my oldest sister, Dee, her son Patrick, his wife, Tam and their daughter, Bella are moving back home from Texas. The really thrilling thing is that they will be here in the next week to ten days and my mother doesn't know they are coming. She will be so happy and that's what holidays are all about.

Last year, I was able to help my only brother come home for Christmas. Mom hadn't seen him and his wife and son for a couple of years. We were able to surprise her and her tears at seeing my brother made it all worth it. I want to do it again this year and we will all be together for Christmas for the first time in about five years. This is going to be great!

Holidays are for good food and a lot of it. Since we have a selection of picky eaters, the holidays include a main coarse of turkey, ham, and/or enchiladas with tacos, depending which part of the family we are with. I know it sounds strange but my mother-in-law likes the enchiladas and tacos because they are quick, easy and make for fast clean up. Works for me!

I like one dish meals for the ease of preparation and the ease of clean-up. Though the enchiladas are simple,
Chilliquillas are even better. Here's how it's done:

Chilliquillas

 

14 or 16 Corn Tortillas cut into small triangles

1 or 1.5 lbs of Ground Beef or Turkey, browned & drained

2 cans of mild or medium Enchilada Sauce (or you can do 1 of each)

1 pkg of Shredded Cheese

1 small can of diced Olives

 

Cook cut tortillas in hot oil. Make sure they are all softened by oil. 

 

Add meat, drained olives & sauces.

 

Mix all together so everything is coated. 

 

Let sit for a few minutes for flavor to mingle. 

 

Add cheese, mix and add more on top.

 

Serve with sour cream & diced green onion if you want. 

 

Enjoy

Quick, easy and only one skillet used in the preparation. the recipe may be doubled if you have a large family or it may be served as a side dish. (My thanks to Claire Martinez who shared this recipe with me years ago when we worked together.)

I believe that by Thanksgiving, you will have many traditional holiday recipes to try during the holidays so I wanted to begin the collection with something out of the ordinary. I hope you enjoy this dish and hope that you have wonderful holidays ahead!

_____________

Begin your Holiday shopping now. Ebooks make excellent gifts for all of your buying needs. I hope you will consider checking out my books available from Whiskey Creek Press and Red Rose Publishing. To see all of my books in one place, and read excerpts, stop by my WEBSITE.

Clive Hanson is destined to be a comfort to those traveling the rocky road of life. He does his best work on Christmas Eve.

Emily Ann Brewster wishes for one wonderful evening spent with a friend. What she gets is stuck in an elevator with a strange gentleman. And it's Christmas Eve.

What he does,and what she needs, is a miracle.

My short holiday story will lift your heart. At only $.99, it's a great gift and a great way to begin your holiday season. Buy it at Red Rose Publishing.

May your holidays be special and filled with fun, family and fabulous foods.

Cheers, 
Jena'

More Than Soda Bread - Special Irish Recipes....

Ah, March – the month with so many special days to celebrate – International Women's Day, Ash Wednesday, Daylight Savings Time, Purim, the first day of spring, my birthday..especially my birthday!

                And if anyone out there has some spare cash, I wouldn’t mind receiving a nice little gift like the one  Victorian surgeon and financier Mitchell Henry gave his wife in 1868 – Kylemore Castle. Take a look at this beautiful mansion situated in breathtakingly beautiful Connemara, Ireland,  and drool, folks:

                Which lets me very nicely segue into the next topic I want to touch on: St Patrick's Day. Yes, the day when the whole world turns green. Or Irish, depending on how you look at it. While just about every other country in Europe sent its sons and daughters out to the New World to seek their fortunes, Irish culture, possibly more than any other, seems to have made an indelible impression.

                Of course, St Pat's as it is celebrated in Ireland isn't quite the St. Pat's that the rest of the world enjoys. Sure, there are parades in most of the little villages and a pretty big one in Dublin, and the wearing o' the green is still a fashion statement on March 17^th. But the day doesn't have the same kind of commercial impact that it has in the rest of the world. The sending of St. Pat's Day cards is starting to creep in, and leprechaun hats and other outfits can be had at dollar stores, but  somehow St. Pat's celebrations tend to be more low key – it's more to do with national identity and pride.  Irish eyebrows were raised when a certain internation fast food chain trumpeted its St Patrick's Day only green milkshakes – the expressions turned to horror at the mention of green beer. "Are you completely mad?" came the response. Some things you don’t mess with.

                Which brings us to Irish food, which in turn nicely closes the circle of my chatter right back to Kylemore Castle. Mrs. Henry's beautiful gift from her husband fell on hard times and in the 1920's was purchased by another group who were also on hard times – Benedictine nuns who had earlier fled the country and now returned to find themselves without a fitting home. With some help from the public purse, they purchased and restored the abbey, and the lovely 'gothic' church that stands in its grounds. I'm sure the mystical setting was a great help to those ladies as they set about their worshipful work. They began a boarding school for girls, and later a restaurant which is open to the public and is one of those wonderful little surprises that the traveller may happen upon while wandering the West of Ireland's winding country roads.

                When you think of Irish food, what comes to mind? Soda bread, both white and brown, yes? Corned beef and cabbage? (which I'm told is more New World than Old World) and, of course, potatoes in all their glory. There's a tradition in Ireland of offering food to visitors – it dates back to the famine back in the mid 1800's. At that time, people would always offer food to visitors, even though they may have had very little in store themselves, because they knew that their visitors could well be starving. So it became a social gaffe to refuse a little bite of something if you're offered hospitality.

                Back to food again. Keylemore Abbey, as it's now called, has a delightful restaurant, and the Sisters have put together a cookbook with some of their specialities. Here are two:

Mikey's Lettuce Soup

½ pound lettuce, carefully washed

3 tbsp butter

4 oz potatoes, peeled and diced

5 cups chicken stock

Yolk of one large egg

2/3 cup cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter and add the chopped lettuce, cook until gently wilted. Add potatoes and stock, bring to boil and reduce heat. Dimmer til potatoes are cooked, then liquidise the soup, return to the pan and reheat gently. Whisk egg yolk with cream, add to soup and continue to whisk. Do not bring soup back to the boil after adding cream! Check seasoning and serve immediately.

Great for when lettuce is in abundance.

Kipper Cheese Souffle

2 Hard boiled eggs

½lb  kippers

2 tbsp cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp butter

4tbsp flour

11/4 cups milk

3 eggs, separated

½ cup freshly grated cheddar cheese

Put boiled eggs ad kippers into food processor, blend at low speed until smooth. Place in a bowl and add the cream, mix well and season. Spoon mixture into greased soufflé dish. Melt butter in saucepan, add flour and cook for one minute, then gradually stir in milk and bring to boil. Turn down heat and cook until thickened, stirring all the time. Slowly beat egg yolks into sauce, sprinkle in cheese, season and mix well. Whisk egg whites until stiff, fold into sauce, then pour over kipper mixture in soufflé dish, Bake in preheated oven (375F) for 30 minutes until risen and brown. Serve immediately!

                If you're hungry for more, you can get the Kylemore Abbey cookbook on Amazon, where coincidentally, you can also get my romantic suspense/comedy, Winters & Somers:

   

The Age Old Question – What should I make for dinner? By Jannine Gallant

How much time do you waste staring into your refrigerator, wondering what to make for dinner? My guess is (if you’re anything like me) you go to the same old standbys, tried and true recipes you’ve made a million times before. I know I’m guilty as charged. The problem is, eating the same old thing gets boring when you’ve already made it three four times that month.

Now, to our organization theme. A few years ago, I pulled out my recipe cards and my cookbooks. I went through them, making a list of recipes my family loves and where I could quickly find them. It gave me a fast reference guide. So instead of that old standby, I can run through the list, and say, “Hey, I haven’t made this chicken dish in a while.”

If you’re really organized and motivated, you can sit down with your master list on Monday, and plan dinners for the whole week. Wow, imagine not stopping at the store every day, standing by the meat counter thinking, What should I make tonight? Less trips to the store means more time for writing, reading, painting your toenails… It’ll also save you money because you won’t be tempted to buy that bag of pistachio nuts. (That’s one of my husband’s weaknesses when I’m foolish enough to send him to the store!)

To get you started with your list of awesome recipes, I’m including one of my favorites below. You can also find more of my recipes on my blog, Food For Thought.

Chicken Stroganoff

4 slices bacon

1 ¼ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into strips

1 medium onion chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

½ tsp. paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1 can less sodium chicken broth

1 cup reduced fat sour cream

2 Tbsp. flour

4 cups hot, cooked egg noodles

Cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and crumble. Leave some of the bacon drippings and sauté chicken. Add onion and garlic – cook until wilted. Add seasonings, broth and bacon to pan. Simmer 10 minutes. Combine sour cream and flour in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Add to pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes. Serve over egg noodles. Yields 4 servings.

Visit my Website for info on my current and upcoming releases. Bittersweet will be available from Whiskey Creek Press in February!