July Updates

Quickie check-in with updates, though the main one is that I'm about halfway done with editing and polishing my upcoming release, DISTANT FIRE, which is Book 2 of THE JOYFUL NOISE SERIES. Very possibly won't be releasing Book 3, FOR THE LOVE OF SUMMER, until September. That will conclude this Christian romance novel series, and then I'll be working on another Christian mainstream, very different than my previous books, and probably a period piece.

Don't forget: In case you haven't read Book 1 of the series yet, UNCONDITIONAL is a perma-free book. Get yours now!

That's the writing/books update.

On the personal front, I've become quite the baker! Thanks to Pinterest, I *finally* found a sourdough starter that I liked and didn't mess up, and here it is. Plus, I lucked out and found a wonderful sourdough bread recipe, and you'll find that here. That was a hit with my family, especially my granddaughter, Aubrey, who wanted some to take home with her.

An interesting note: I had no eggs available when I made the bread recipe and substituted 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce. My husband, Bill, didn't know that and was pleasantly surprised, saying it had just a hint of sweetness. Just FYI, in case you want to skip the egg when making this one! It was easy and the dough was less sticky than some I've seen, easy to work with, though you do need about 3 to 4 hours for rising/baking.

While we're on the subject, want something light, healthy, summery and a great side dish for lunch or dinner? Here's a fabulous tomato & cucumber salad! And again, I made a change to it by replacing the feta with about 1/4 cup (but you can certainly use more or less) of grated Asiago cheese.

One more note: Thanks to K9Instinct, I also did some baking for Piper and Lassie. With no coconut flour on hand, I made it with all-purpose flour, the type I always have on hand. The girls LOVED it. Note: Thanks to a friend of mine, Mary, for the tip to freeze half the recipe, since these are fresh and made without preservatives, so you can take them down when you need them for your furbabies.

So there are my July 2014 updates for books-on-the-way...and yummy things to whip up in your kitchen.

Half-Year Resolutions?

Why not?

Every year, it seems you can't find a parking space and you have to hunt down an available treadmill at the gym...but only after January 1st. By February, you have your pick of the litter as far as the machines are concerned, because people didn't lose 20 pounds in January and they gave up. There's something very sad about that.

As writers, I think a lot of us rummage through our workspace, realize our New Year's goals/resolutions are in there (and now the paper's all wrinkled and the ink is faded) and either chuck them or leave them there, saying, "Ah, well, maybe next year."

Listen, why not this year?

The good thing about a year is that it's 12 months/365 days long. Like Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over 'til it's over." With the last week of June upon us, why not review your original goals or revise them?

Think of this as your "Half-Year Resolutions." Guess what? You still have 5 months to make it happen, whether we're talking about health/fitness goals or writing goals or whatever accomplishment you wanted to undertake.

Six months is also a long time. Maybe your situation has changed. Maybe you've moved and there's not a gym for miles around, so you have to improvise. Maybe you didn't get that book contract; maybe you're about to embark on the journey of indie publishing. Maybe your well for contemporary romance fiction is dry and you've always wanted to try your hand at an historical mainstream novel.

Get those original goals out--plus some white-out! If you have them in electronic form, it'll be that much simpler to change. Or if you tossed your goals/resolutions out in frustration, that's fine. Write some new ones and keep all of this in mind:

1. Be realistic. You have 5 months left to the year. You won't be writing 5 novels, especially if you're a busy stay-at-home mom or a grandmother who works full-time. Better to write one well written book that readers will love than 5 hastily written ones. By the same token, you might take longer to lose those 35 pounds. Be gentle with yourself and resolve to taking baby steps and being happy with the weight you do drop.

2. Keep in mind that you don't HAVE to be constricted by a time frame. You may not reach your writing goal or fitness goal by December 31, and that's all right. The important thing is that you begin, and that you work steadily, each day, towards that goal.

3. Think quality, not quantity, in whatever you do. You can lose 20 pounds on a fad diet and gain it back by Christmas, or you can resolve to treating yourself well and eating healthfully. You can take Zumba, yoga, kick boxing and feel like exercise is another full-time job, or you can start walking every day and enjoy that time so much that you will feel like you're missing something if you don't get that walk in by 7 PM each night.

4. Don't be hard on yourself. Approach your Half-Year Resolutions with enthusiasm and faith in yourself and your work. Today is a new day.

and

5. Your Half-Year Resolutions can be a secret. Nobody but you has to know about your resolutions and/or goals. But you can share and inspire others when you accomplish them!

Got all that? So you're off to a good start! May God bless you in all your endeavors.

Recipe from Pinterest

And now for something totally different!

I guess you could say this is my own recipe, since I changed it up so much from the original. But let's give credit where credit is due & give you the original, coming from Sparkpeople. I introduce to you from Sparkpeople--tada!--Roasted Vegetable Casserole with Panko and Parmesan Topping. The above pic was taken with a few twists from Connie Keenan's Kitchen.

This was whipped up on the fly for a dinner held at another family member's home. Now here were the changes that I made, because I used what I had on hand, and isn't that easier sometimes?

* The recipe called for sweet potatoes; I used white potatoes, peeled, rinsed and cut into bite-sized pieces

* I omitted the mushrooms and brussel sprouts, instead using yellow squash from our garden

* Instead of corn off the cob, I drained a can of niblets and tossed them in

* No celery, no chestnuts, though next time I'll have both on hand when I make this, because that sounds great

* No Panko on hand, so I used regular Italian breadcrumbs and instead of Parmesan, sprinkled a blend of Parmesan and Romano

* Instead of regular extra virgin, which I DID have on hand, I substituted this infused olive oil, which is delicious on salads with balsamic vinegar in place of commercial dressing

* The tomato, which was a fresh Roma, was added the last 20 minutes or so

* The onion in my dish was a Vidalia (they're so sweet!)

* Also, I added baking time, around another 40 minutes or a little more, for the potatoes to be done and roasty

So there you have it. My version of this recipe, which I found on Pinterest. (Thanks to my daughter-in-law, Yesica, who introduced me to Pinterest, and now it's a favorite of mine for recipe-hunting.) Do try the original or use what you have on hand and let me know how it turns out! Oh--I should add that it smells DELICIOUS baking in your oven. Very heart-healthy side dish and you can use up the veggies in your garden.

You can omit the cheese with its calories, but ahhhh, you only live once! Enjoy!