Gazpacho

By | |
Leave a comment

Gazpacho is probably the most summer-y of the summer soups. There is something about it that just screams freshness and vibrancy and coolness all wrapped in one package.

I like serving my gazpacho in teacups on top of saucers with tiny little spoons to scoop up all the little tidbits of goodness sprinkled on top.

But like any cold liquid, it needs a punch in flavor because chilling it does something to the seasoning. Thems the rules. I don’t make the rules. I am just repeating the rules right here. Right now.

Most gazpachos are made with red tomatoes. You can use those here. And this lovely soup you see above will be colored a most fabulous scarlet. Screaming with flavor and seducing the eye. But if you are like me, you will opt for the sweeter, less ubiquitous yellow goldies. I love making sauce with Sun Golds and I love making this soup with them. I think you might like it, too. Try it.

Gazpacho Ingredients

  • 2 Tbl olive oil
  • 2 yellow onions, diced
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 8 cups Sun Gold cherry tomatoes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ¼ tsp chili flakes
  • chicken stock
  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2/3 c buttermilk
  • ¼ c heavy cream
  • 1 Tbl sherry vinegar

Garnish Ingredients

  • 1 c of fresh corn off a one ear
  • 1 c of red tomatoes (or a contrast color from the ones in the soup)
  • 1 c diced peaches or cantaloupe, peeled
  • 1 c diced cucumber, peeled
  • 2 Tbl of fresh herbs (mint, basil, tarragon, cilantro all work)
  • 1 tbl lemon juice
  • 2 Tbl olive oil
  • Balsamic Glaze
  • 1 tsp salt (optional)

Directions:

  1. In a 4-6 quart heavy bottom pot, add 2 Tbl of oil. Add your onions. Add them to the pot and let them cook for several minutes to cook.
  2. When the onions are clear, add the tomatoes, salt, bay leaves, chili flakes, and chicken stock to cover the ingredients. Cover the pot and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer and uncover the pot. Cook until the liquid reduces to half.
  3. Remove the bay leaves, and add the garlic. Use an immersion blender to puree. You can pass the soup through a mesh strainer to catch the tomato peels, if you’re being extra fancy. Add in vinegar.
  4. Add the buttermilk and cream and stir. Taste. Add salt if needed.
  5. Cut the corn off of the cob. Rub the dull side of the knife against the cob to extract some corn milk. Put the corn and corn milk into a large bowl. Dice your tomatoes, peaches or cantaloup, and cucumber to roughly the same size as the corn kernels. Stack your herbs and roll them. Slice them thinly. Add them to the bowl.
  6. Add lemon juice and olive oil to the corn mixture. Let the flavors sit for about 15 minutes. Taste. Add salt if you like. If you aren’t eating it during the next few minutes, don’t salt until ready to serve.
  7. Spoon your soup into a bowl and add a generous amount of the garnish. Then drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Haven: Bondmate Edits are Back

By | |
Leave a comment

I just got back the first round of edits on the first book of my series, OtherKind. FarSeen and Night Blind, the two novellas still available on Amazon, are also in this world.

I’ve hired a cover artist for it as well.

So excited about sharing this world with y’all. There are witches and vampires and werewolves and elven faeries of all kinds living with mundane humans in this world. It’s filled with magic, intrigue, and lots of romance. And menages might be the usual just like monogamy.

Humans have been hired by a secret group to break mate bonds and render the OtherKind mateless. In the first book, one of the first mate bonds have been broken and it is wrecking havoc on the other mate who is no longer his mate. She’s found another potential bond mate. With the werewolves, they have several potential bond mates. They get to choose the one they want. Once the bond forms, the others fade.

But what happens when a mated pair has their mate bond forcibly broken? And all the other bond potentials… become an option again? And what happens when the OtherKind learn mate bonds can be manipulated? When everyone does?

Night Blind and FarSeen are still available on Amazon. And soon, the first full length novel will begin the saga of intrigue that will end up reshaping the entire OtherKind world and all the if the power structures that had kept everyone in check.

Soon… the COUNTDOWN begins!

Cioppino

By | |
Leave a comment

There are a variety of fishermen soups out there. I think every country has one. But I gotta tell you that I love Cioppino the best. I think that there is something good and humble about it, and yet it’s so full of flavor that you really only some good bread to eat it with.

Historically, this is made with the left over fish from the say after the fishermen sold their products and had some stuff left. It wasn’t made with the pretty fish and seafood we use today. But I bet it was still packed with flavor and briny goodness. I’m a little bougie. If you can’t tell, there are some king crab legs in my soup. Not because I’m showing off, but because that was the crab I had in my freezer.

Every year, my dad sends me king crab legs on my birthday. It’s been a tradition for a while. He hasn’t been able to get into town for the last couple of years due to health. So I haven’t been able to eat any king crab unless I make the trek up to Alaska. Looking at this soup, it is well worth it.

CIOPPINO

  • 2 tablespoons good olive oil
  • Shrimp and shells from 1 pound large shrimp
  • 2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
  • 2 fennel heads, keep some fronds for garnish
  • 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
  • 3 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 can San Marzano tomatoes
  • 4 cups seafood stock, recipe below or buy from store
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 10 sprigs fresh thyme
  • Diamond Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds center-cut cod fillets, skin removed, 2-inch diced
  • 1 pound sea scallops, halved crosswise
  • 24 mussels, scrubbed
  • 1 pound crab
  • 1 tablespoon Anise flavored liquor
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Seafood Stock:

  • 2 tablespoons good olive oil
  • Shells from 1 pound large shrimp
  • 2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
  • 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
  • 3 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 10 sprigs fresh thyme
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garlic Toasts:

  • 1 baguette
  • 1/4 cup good olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, halved lengthwise

Instructions:

  1. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the fennel and onion and saute for 10 minutes, until tender. Stir in the garlic, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Then add the tomatoes, stock, wine, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. The stock will be highly seasoned.
  2. Add the seafood in the following order: first the cod, then the shrimp, scallops, and finally the mussels. Do not stir! Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until all the seafood is cooked and the mussels are open. Stir in the liquor, cover and set aside for several minutes for the flavors to blend. Discard any mussels that have not opened. Ladle into large shallow bowls, sprinkle with parsley and fennel fronds. Serve hot with toasted garlic bread.

Seafood Stock:

  1. Warm the oil in a medium pot set over medium heat. Add the shrimp shells, onions, carrots, and celery and cook for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and the shrimp shells have turned completely pink. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Add 1 1/2 quarts water, the wine, tomato paste, thyme, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for one hour. Strain through a sieve, pressing on the solids. You should have approximately 1 quart of stock. If not, add enough water or white wine to make 1 quart.
  2. Cool completely, transfer to containers, and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Garlic Toasts:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Slice the baguette diagonally in 1/4-inch-thick slices.
  3. Lay the slices in one layer on a sheet pan, brush each with olive oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until browned and crisp. As soon as they’re cool enough to handle, rub the top of the toasts with a cut side of the garlic. Serve at room temperature.

Betrayed… Cover reveal

By | | ,
Leave a comment

I love this cover. And I love the new series that I’m writing. It’s slow going because I have a new job and the learning curve is sharp and the work is plentiful. My writing is going slower as a result. But it is going. I have about 10 chapters left on the first book and then it’s off to edits. And once it is edited, I’ll set up a short preorder window on Amazon. Nothing crazy. Probably two or three weeks. Just enough time to do the edits and then proofread and then set it up for reading.

I hope you love the series as much as I do. It should be a lot of fun.

New Author Avatar

By | |
Leave a comment

I am so excited to share my new author avatar with the world! Sabrina from Enchanted Ink did a fabulous job on it. And look at Java… she looks adorable. And the igloo for Alaska. the coffee cup for DC. She’s put in a “Dawn” outside the window as a play on words. And the items on the shelves are the things I collect. I usually try to pick up a local fan and a mask. the books are there because I love ’em. Reading them, writing them, collecting them. There are other little jewels and gems as well.

Can you tell I LOVE it?

I hope you do as well.

Chickpea, Fennel, and Leek Soup

By | |
Leave a comment

Every once in a while you come across a recipe that seems so simple, how could it be delicious? We’ve all had chickpeas before. We’ve all had fennel before. We’ve all had leeks before. But I don’t think we’ve ever had them together. Not like this. This soup is so good, I keep some in my freezer all the time.

I discovered this soup several years back when I was cooking from Normal Russell’s Polpo and ran across this dish. It was a week night. And had chickpeas in a can, and surprisingly fennel and leek in the fridge. I made this thinking it would be nothing. I mean, the ingredients are super simple and it takes no time at all. And it’s BEIGE, for chrissakes.

I was shocked at the transformation that these simple ingredients make into something soul-warming and yummy. It’s quick. and you can make it as fancy–I added olive oil and fried jalapeños to this one–or as plain as you like. It will taste good no matter what.

Chickpea, Leek, & Fennel Soup

  • 800g can of chickpeas, well-rinsed
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • Pinch of diced chilli
  • Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 finely diced shallots
  • 2 leeks cut into 1cm pieces
  • 2 small fennel bulbs cut into 1cm piece
  • Sea salt
  1. Add olive oil to the pan. Add pinch of the chili, more to taste. Add the shallots, leeks and fennel and saute until they are soft. Season as you go.
  2. Add the chickpeas and chicken stock. Cook for about 20 minutes or so until everything has a chance to cook together. Remove about half and blend until smooth. Or use an immersion blender and blitz part of the soup.
  3. Add back the pureed part in the soup if you did it this way and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and some crust bread

Billionaire Angels & Demons Erotic Menage Series

By | |
Leave a comment

I am patiently waiting to hear back from some people that I have sent stuff out to. In the meantime, I am in edits currently. LOTS of edits.

Plus, I am writing a short story/novella for my NAME OF THE GAME series which comes after book 1. It’s about the wedding and some craziness happens at it. Tequila makes pants fall off and it removes all inhibition when you meet up with your former coach. Two couples end up sleeping together. And the repercussions are EPIC. Plus, there is an ass whooping which has been a long time coming. And a comeuppance long overdue. It’s deliciousness in a small package. Little can be mighty. Stayed tuned for WEDDING GAMES.

BUT…BUT… BUT… the thing that I am MOST EXCITED ABOUT… other than completing a slow burn romantasy and almost being done with book two of my LG CUSTOM series about hot muscle car guys who own shops and race cars and the women they love is… my BRAND NEW SERIES: BILLIONAIRE ANGELS & DEMONS MENAGE series. It’s going to be a super dirty erotic romance series featuring Demons and the women they love. It takes place around the world, in Macau, Las Vegas, and Monaco, the locations of fabulously luxurious hotels and casinos.

Even though it’s a menage, there will be at least one MMFM and a couple MFs somewhere along the series. Also, not every book is a MFM, some are MMF. And I can considering a FMF one as well. Lots of mashups. But what they will ALL have is hot as hell sex. Smoking hot. There will be darkness, some light, and a whole lot of spanking, tying up, and lubricating. As always, my books feature some trauma because I feel that it is integral to the human condition. But there is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS… a happy ending.

In the first book BETRAYED, we’ll meet Damon, Marcus, and Savannah. She’s on vacation… finally away from her pain in the ass family who ALWAYS look to her to fix all their problems. She’s having the time of her life and meets some cute guys. She ends up making some questionable choices in men and bad decisions will just happen. But an emergency back home has her leaving unexpectedly and with no notice. Almost a full year later, she’s back. Can she find the one or both the guys from before? Little does she know, they’ve been looking for her as well.

I can’t wait to share it with you!

All Beef Chili with Cumin Cream

By | |
Leave a comment

There is something about Chili that is just so good. And it’s one of the soups that I think originated in America from a mass-up of a whole lot of cuisines.

The origins of chili are unclear. Lots of vague stories about it being invented here or there or somewhere in the southwest. No matter what the origins, though, it was invented because it was what people had on hand and what was in the region. Chilis and chili powder aren’t all from the American Southwest, but the ones in chili are. And the floor of that terroir permeates the liquid concoction.

Chili is more a stew than a soup. Still, people eat it with saltine crackers. Me? I like mine with cornbread. A while back, I used to be able to get a smoked ground corn. It made the BEST smoked cornbread. Alas, I can’t find them anymore. So, I still to normal cornbread. But I still put cheese and onions on top to give it some kick and bite. As if it didn’t have enough with heat with the spices already in there.

All Beef Chili

  1. 7 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
  2. 4 pounds bottom round beef, cut into 1/2 -inch cubes
  3. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  4. 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  5. One 12-ounce bottle dark beer, Mexican if you can find it
  6. 1 large red onion, finely diced
  7. 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  8. 1 teaspoon seeded and chopped habanero
  9. 1 Thai bird chile, seeded and chopped
  10. 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
  11. 1/2 poblano, seeded and chopped
  12. 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
  13. 1 tablespoon cascabel chile powder
  14. 1 tablespoon chipotle pepper puree
  15. 1 tablespoon pasilla chile powder
  16. 1 teaspoon New Mexican chile powder
  17. One 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and pureed
  18. 5 cups chicken broth
  19. 2 tablespoons finely chopped semisweet chocolate2 tablespoons maple syrup, or more as needed
  20. 2 tablespoon Maple syrup

Toasted Cumin Crema:

  1. 1/2 tablespoon cumin seeds, freshly toasted and cooled
  2. 1/2 cup Mexican crema
  3. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch-style oven over high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper and add one-third of the meat to the pan and saute until browned on all sides. Repeat with the oil and meat, draining any excess liquid from the pan between the batches. Keep the oil in reserve for later. Return the meat to the pan, sprinkle with the cumin and stir well. Deglaze the pan with the beer and bring to a boil. Be careful because beer can foam when added to a hot pot. Cook until the beer is almost completely reduced. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
  • In the same pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the same pan on medium heat and then add the onions and garlic and cook until onions soften. Add the habanero, Thai bird, jalapeno and poblano peppers and cook about 5 minutes. Add the ancho chile pepper, cascabel chile powder, chipotle pepper puree, pasilla chile powder and New Mexican chile powde. Cook 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes, bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Puree with an immersion blender. Add the beef back to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer until the chili is thick and the beef is tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. If the chili has too much liquid, continue to cook uncovered to thicken, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, add in the chocolate and maple syrup and stir until the chocolate is melted and combined and adjust seasonings.
  • Place the cumin in a small saute pan over medium heat. Toast until lightly golden brown. Place in a small bowl. Let it cool completely. Stir in the crema and season with salt and pepper. Place in a squeeze bottle for serving.
  • Serve Chili with toasted cumin, cheddar cheese, onions, and anything else that hits your fancy. I add more heat with hot sauce. And cool it down with cornbread.

Finished Expanding HOME RUN

By | |
Leave a comment

I got my rights back on two sports novellas a little while ago when they went under. Amazon took out a lot of great small presses and I am super sad about it.

The first of my two sports novellas is a baseball player who meets a person who coordinates wishes for sick and dying children. It’s a different sides of the tracks story. That includes a crazy relative who is determined to break them up.

Even when they move to get away from crazy, well, they can’t run far enough or fast enough. Crazy decides to follow them. Then their world gets upended when sabotage of a kind that can destroy reputations and careers.

Only their grit, determination, and huge dose of good luck can they overcome the obstacles that a crazed relative places in their path. Will they strike out or do they have the makings for a Grand Slam home run? Only time will tell.

So, the novellas were originally about 25K or so, give or take a 1K or two. I’ve added about 30K words to them. I’ve just finished spell-checking them. Once I do another read through, I will send it off to an editor. Hopefully, good things will happen editing process. I want a good editor because this will be the beginning of me trying to publish my own stuff. I am hoping that this having been published makes it easier to make that happen.

I am also on the hunt for a good contemporary cover designer. I like this cover. I like have a little tagline on it. I want this book and the next one I am expanding to have the same cover as any others I might do in this series. The next book is called HAT TRICK and centers Emma from Book 1 and Silas, who plays soccer. And the names for my third book is HAKA AND HOOKERS. It’s about a rugby player with a big secret and a doctor who’s too old for him and should know better.

________________________________________________

In other news, I am STILL waiting to hear back on my Paranormal Romance with shifter and vampires and witches and stuff. It’s an Otherkind universe book and the beginning of all the sides being drawn between the normals and the Otherkind. In the end, will finding out that they are more alike than different be the catalyst for new understanding? Or will it portend the beginning of the end for one side or the other?

I am still working on my Contemporary Suspenseful Thriller. It’s set in Atlanta with some hot guys who drive hot rods, race hot cars, and customized hot rides. Events that seem unrelated turn out to be super related. The thrill ride turns from fun in the sun to dangerous cliff drop-offs in four seconds flat. Can they keep their woman and themselves safe enough to ride into the sunset or will it be lights out?

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo w/ Cilantro Rice

By | |
Leave a comment

There’s something about gumbo that is just fabulous. It’s like gumbos are America’s soups. You can’t find gumbos of any sort in other parts of the world. Not like these. With roux or filé powder made from the sassafras root or okra. Sometimes, you can find all three in one. Like a whole trifecta.

There are gumbos made from chicken and sausage like this one. And then there are seafood gumbos made with delicious fruits of the sea, like crab or shrimp or some fishes, even. No matter what the gumbo is made with, they are all served with some sort of rice. Now, you can serve gumbo with plain rice, but why? This is a great opportunity to kick it up a notch. Those boys and girls down in Louisiana are not shy about their spices. They like their heat. A lot.

Cajun and Creole cooks CAN hit you over the head with some heat and things, but they can also be masters of the nuance. Not all gumbos are hot spicy. Some of the are just well-spiced and so yummy that you can’t stop eating. Invariably, you run out of gumbo or rice. Depending on which, well, you might be making more rice or freezing up some gumbo for later. Either way, it’s a delicious dilemma.

Fried Chicken & Sausage Gumbo w/ Cilantro Rice

  •  1.25 cups plus 2 tbsp. canola oil
  •  1 (3 1/2–4 lb.) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
  •  2.5 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  •  Kosher salt, to taste
  •  2 cups flour
  •  1.5 tsp. dark chile powder
  •  1.5 tsp file powder
  •  1 tsp. cayenne
  •  1 tsp. ground white pepper
  •  1 tsp. paprika
  •  3 cloves garlic, minced
  •  3 stalks celery, minced
  •  1 green bell pepper, minced
  •  1 jalapeño, minced
  •  1 poblano pepper, minced
  •  1 yellow onion, minced
  •  12 cups chicken stock
  •  1 lb andouille sausage, halved and sliced
  •  12 oz. okra, trimmed and sliced 1/2″ thick
  •  Sliced scallions and cilantro, for garnish
  •  Cooked white rice with cilantro, for serving
  1. Heat 1.25 cups oil in an 8-qt. Dutch oven until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Season chicken with 1 tsp. black pepper and salt; toss with 1⁄2 cup flour. Working in batches, fry chicken until golden; transfer to paper towels to drain.
  2. Add remaining flour to Dutch oven; whisk until smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, whisking, until color of roux is dark chocolate, 1–1.5 hours. Add remaining black pepper, the chile and filé powders, cayenne, white pepper, paprika, garlic, celery, bell pepper, jalapeño, poblano, and onion; cook until soft, 10–12 minutes. Add stock; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally and skimming fat as needed, until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Add reserved chicken; cook until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Add andouille; cook until chicken is falling off the bone, about 1 hour.
  3. Using tongs, transfer chicken to a cutting board and let cool slightly; shred, discarding skin and bones, and return to pot. Heat remaining oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high. Cook okra until golden brown and slightly crisp, 8–10 minutes, then stir into gumbo; cook 15 minutes.
  4. Add cilantro to cooked long grain rice. Do not add cilantro to the rice before cooking. Stop to combine and to let the cilantro release its scent and flavor. Scoop into a low bowl. Ladle gumbo around the rice. Garnish with scallions or more cilantro. Sprinkle with cajun spice.