Looking for something different to please your palate? Olive tapenade is a hit at our house - it's fast, easy, and yummy! :-))
Ingredients:
20 pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. rinsed, drained, & chopped capers
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. olive oil
1 clove of garlic (or 1 tsp. minced garlic)
cracked black pepper (I add a little initially, husband adds more to his portion)
(some recipes for this call for 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste - we're not a fan, so we omit)
Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate before serving.
Excellent as a dip with corn scoops!
Enjoy!
Humorous, heartwarming, sometimes-spicy, always-believable romance and women’s fiction! ♥ www.authorjanromes.com
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Blurb & Excerpt for LUCKY DUCKS
LUCKY DUCKS is set to be released on Wednesday, January 25, 2012. I'm so excited!! Wanted to share with you a sneak preview with the book blurb and an excerpt --
Blurb:
Recently divorced, Claire Stone is off to a fresh start. A new city. A job prospect. Wearing her lucky ducks underwear. Things are going great--until a clumsy lout barrels into her, sending her to the concrete. Her world takes a tumble too when the handsome klutz who scuffed her up turns out to be her new boss.
Engaged twice. Dumped twice. Kasen Isaak has had his fill of green-eyed women, yet his father insists he hire Claire Stone -- a nail-biting claustrophobic with the greenest eyes he's ever seen.
Will green eyes, a run of bad luck, and a slew of idiosyncrasies keep them from finding the greatest luck of all?
Excerpt:
“Have a seat, Mrs. Stone.” Kasen Isaak’s voice was as chilly as his eyes.
Claire sat in a straight-back chair and folded her hands in her lap. Read the resume, bonehead. “It’s Miss Stone.” Should she go through the trouble of explaining that she was recently divorced and had taken back her maiden name? It took a millisecond to decide to leave well enough alone.
Kasen fumbled with a folder with her name in small, black letters. He removed the resume, glanced at it before tossing it aside, and then leaned on his elbows. “What do you know about investing, Miss Stone? How familiar are you with the markets?”
Claire swallowed hard. “Truthfully?” His pointed look had her crossing her legs. Uncrossing them. Moving from side to side in the chair. And trying not to focus on the fact she had to pee. “I know the market is volatile and investors are being cautious. My knowledge of investing, however, is limited to the experience of my 401K.” Translation: I know as much about investing as this chair does.
Kasen leaned back, furrowed his bushy eyebrows and drilled her with a harsh stare.
Wordless staring? Seriously? Claire was tempted to hum the music from Jeopardy while she waited.
He finally spoke and sarcasm clipped each word. “That hardly qualifies you to work here.”
Sheesh. Wasn’t mowing her over on the sidewalk enough? Did he have to do it with the interview too? Thank God she had Jake Stone’s DNA swimming through her veins. Claire furrowed her eyebrows to match his. “The position is for clerical work, right?”
For a second he went slack-jawed.
It was then that she noticed the small cleft in his chin…and dimples.
Dang it! Now was not the time to notice chin clefts and dimples.
Blurb:
Recently divorced, Claire Stone is off to a fresh start. A new city. A job prospect. Wearing her lucky ducks underwear. Things are going great--until a clumsy lout barrels into her, sending her to the concrete. Her world takes a tumble too when the handsome klutz who scuffed her up turns out to be her new boss.
Engaged twice. Dumped twice. Kasen Isaak has had his fill of green-eyed women, yet his father insists he hire Claire Stone -- a nail-biting claustrophobic with the greenest eyes he's ever seen.
Will green eyes, a run of bad luck, and a slew of idiosyncrasies keep them from finding the greatest luck of all?
Excerpt:
“Have a seat, Mrs. Stone.” Kasen Isaak’s voice was as chilly as his eyes.
Claire sat in a straight-back chair and folded her hands in her lap. Read the resume, bonehead. “It’s Miss Stone.” Should she go through the trouble of explaining that she was recently divorced and had taken back her maiden name? It took a millisecond to decide to leave well enough alone.
Kasen fumbled with a folder with her name in small, black letters. He removed the resume, glanced at it before tossing it aside, and then leaned on his elbows. “What do you know about investing, Miss Stone? How familiar are you with the markets?”
Claire swallowed hard. “Truthfully?” His pointed look had her crossing her legs. Uncrossing them. Moving from side to side in the chair. And trying not to focus on the fact she had to pee. “I know the market is volatile and investors are being cautious. My knowledge of investing, however, is limited to the experience of my 401K.” Translation: I know as much about investing as this chair does.
Kasen leaned back, furrowed his bushy eyebrows and drilled her with a harsh stare.
Wordless staring? Seriously? Claire was tempted to hum the music from Jeopardy while she waited.
He finally spoke and sarcasm clipped each word. “That hardly qualifies you to work here.”
Sheesh. Wasn’t mowing her over on the sidewalk enough? Did he have to do it with the interview too? Thank God she had Jake Stone’s DNA swimming through her veins. Claire furrowed her eyebrows to match his. “The position is for clerical work, right?”
For a second he went slack-jawed.
It was then that she noticed the small cleft in his chin…and dimples.
Dang it! Now was not the time to notice chin clefts and dimples.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
A fancy, smancy breakfast!
Breakfast has always been my favorite meal! It can be as simple as a bowl of cereal or two eggs over-hard with whole wheat toast. Occasionally, I like to start the day with a little more elegance: toasted egg cups*, bowl of strawberries, and a cup of cinnamon twist coffee!
*I have a handwritten recipe for Toasted Egg Cups on a yellowing, stained 3 x 5 recipe card. (I believe I copied the recipe when I was first married - no idea whom the recipe originally belongs to) Would like to share it with you in case you too like to snazzy up your morning meal.
TOASTED EGG CUPS:
Ingredients --
4 eggs
4 slices of white or wheat bread
1/4 cup milk
salt
pepper
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
Spray muffin pan with Pam. Trim crusts from bread. Press a slice of bread
into each space in your muffin pan. Melt butter & coat the inside of the toast
cups. Bake at 350 degrees - I check mine after 10 minutes and add more time
if needed. (I like mine just lightly golden brown.) Scramble your eggs with
1/4 cup of milk. When bread cups are done, fill with scrambled eggs. To add
more zip top with crispy bacon pieces, ham, cheese, green onions or sauteed
mushrooms. Enjoy!
*I have a handwritten recipe for Toasted Egg Cups on a yellowing, stained 3 x 5 recipe card. (I believe I copied the recipe when I was first married - no idea whom the recipe originally belongs to) Would like to share it with you in case you too like to snazzy up your morning meal.
TOASTED EGG CUPS:
Ingredients --
4 eggs
4 slices of white or wheat bread
1/4 cup milk
salt
pepper
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
Spray muffin pan with Pam. Trim crusts from bread. Press a slice of bread
into each space in your muffin pan. Melt butter & coat the inside of the toast
cups. Bake at 350 degrees - I check mine after 10 minutes and add more time
if needed. (I like mine just lightly golden brown.) Scramble your eggs with
1/4 cup of milk. When bread cups are done, fill with scrambled eggs. To add
more zip top with crispy bacon pieces, ham, cheese, green onions or sauteed
mushrooms. Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Fun Health Facts...Or List of Useless Hooey
I'm not exactly a candidate for Jeopardy, but I do enjoy trivia and fun facts. Thought I'd share some with you:
For every pound of weight you lose, you take 4 pounds of pressure off your knees.
Sex burns about 360 calories per hour. (Hmm...better break it down by minute...ha ha -- 6 calories per minute).
When you take a step, you are using up to 200 muscles.
By weight, bone is five times stronger than steel.
The life span of a tastebud is ten days.
Dentists recommend that you keep your toothbrush at least 6 ft. away from the toilet to avoid airborne particles from finding it. (Eww!)
The pupil of the eye expands as much as 45% when a person looks at something pleasing.
Your heart rate can rise as much as 30% when you yawn.
Scientists estimate that laughing 100 times is equivalent to a 10 minute workout on a rowing machine.
Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
Due to the angle at which the optic nerve enters the brain, staring at a blue surface during sex greatly increases the intensity of an orgasm. (Yowza! Blue paint sales are going to skyrocket!!)
Have a great day, folks :-))
*Some info taken from FunFactz.com
For every pound of weight you lose, you take 4 pounds of pressure off your knees.
Sex burns about 360 calories per hour. (Hmm...better break it down by minute...ha ha -- 6 calories per minute).
When you take a step, you are using up to 200 muscles.
By weight, bone is five times stronger than steel.
The life span of a tastebud is ten days.
Dentists recommend that you keep your toothbrush at least 6 ft. away from the toilet to avoid airborne particles from finding it. (Eww!)
The pupil of the eye expands as much as 45% when a person looks at something pleasing.
Your heart rate can rise as much as 30% when you yawn.
Scientists estimate that laughing 100 times is equivalent to a 10 minute workout on a rowing machine.
Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
Due to the angle at which the optic nerve enters the brain, staring at a blue surface during sex greatly increases the intensity of an orgasm. (Yowza! Blue paint sales are going to skyrocket!!)
Have a great day, folks :-))
*Some info taken from FunFactz.com
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