Tag Archives: Christmas Reads

Vicki Batman: Very Easy Lemon Tarts

Know what I love more than lemon tarts? (and you know I love lemon tarts!) Recipes that are Very Easy – especially the kind that can be thrown together quickly to bring to get-togethers. Vicki Batman is here today with the quickest, easiest tarts ever! Once you snag this awesome little recipe, make sure to check out Vicki’s upcoming holiday box-set, Season of Surprises.


Vicki

With the holidays coming, we’re all crunched for time. And for those special events, I’ve made these:

A Lemon - not required for this lemon tart recipe

You don’t even have to zest a lemon!

Very Easy Lemon Tart Recipe

Tiny pie shells (ex:  Clearbrook Farms, 24 count)

1 jar of Lemon curd

Flower sprinkles Continue reading

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Jax Garren: Elves and Apple-Ginger Pancakes (gluten free, nut free, vegan)

Foodie Friday Magic! Jax Garren is here today with Apple-Ginger Pancakes. What’s the magic part? They are gluten-free, nut free, and vegan (and still yummy!). Jax writes very modern urban fantasy romance. I’m a huge fan of her Tales of the Underlight trilogy. Today she’s brought along her ambiguously paranormal (Is he? Or isn’t he?) holiday foodie romance, The Elf and the Ice Princess. There are five FREE copies up for grabs if you’re willing to talk breakfast temptations in the comments.

I will be highly motivated to make an amazing breakfastJAX:

Brett grinned slyly. “I make a good breakfast. Pancakes. Waffles. I have experimental lox at the house. You could give me your professional opinion.”

“You want me to stay the night to critique your salmon?” Carrie meant it to sound like a joke, but it came out more like an accusation.

“No! No. I’m trying to convince you to stay the night with breakfast incentives.” His face lit up. “I will be highly motivated to make an amazing breakfast.”

Sex was one thing, but…“I’m not sure I’m ready for breakfast.”

Though his shoulders may have sagged a bit, Brett’s smile stayed intact and his voice light. “Okay. That’s fine. I understand. But it’s a package deal for me.” He wagged a finger at her. “I may be easy, but I’m not cheap. Or, something like that. Basically, I’ll wait.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I offered to get naked with you, and you’re turning me down?”

“I offered cuddling and pancakes, and you turned me down.” He snatched her hand and kissed it again. “I’m A-plus-plus boyfriend material, Carrie Martin. You’re going to figure that out—I hope—and then there will be nakedness and cuddling and pancakes. All of it. It will be epic.” Until then . . .” He yanked on her hand, and she stumbled forward, landing against his chest. “Until then, I’ll just have to work on convincing you.”

~ from The Elf and the Ice Princess

 

I love pancakes (and nakedness and cuddling), but when I went grain free, I thought I’d never have them again. (At least not the pancakes.) Then I discovered plantains! Plantains are related to bananas, and are usually found next to them in the grocery store. When green, they have a high starch content and neutral taste, so they can replace flour in all kinds of recipes. These apple-ginger pancakes are one of my favorite ways to use them; I make these about once a week for breakfast. They’re super easy, require just a few ingredients and a food processor, and have enough room for error that they’re almost impossible to mess up. I love them! Of note, they’re not cake-y like pancakes. They’re more like funnel cake–crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. Which, in my book, makes them even better!

 

I never measure my ingredients; I just toss stuff into the food processor until it looks right. The recipe below is approximately what I shoot for each time, but you can miss the proportions by a wide margin and still get the same results. Plantains are cool that way. After years of baking fancy cakes and breads, it’s a relief to put something together that doesn’t require any fastidiousness.

 

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Apple-Ginger Pancakes Recipe (gluten free, nut free, vegan)

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What to Read – Christmas Novellas

September and October are incredibly busy for me.  So busy, in fact, that I completely fail to keep up with anticipated book releases during those months.

This November, I emerged from the fog to find that I missed a huge pile of releases.  Not just any releases, either.  Apparently my friends haven’t been slacking off all year like I have and they produced some stunning new books.

I’ve been busy loading up my kindle and I recommend you do the same.

Over the next few days, I’ll share the newest books I’m excited about reading. I’m limiting these posts to books by local Austin authors (yes, the people I have to look in the eye and admit that I haven’t read their book yet, but I’m getting to it, really!).

First up, two holiday reads.

Regency Christmas Novella - A Christmas CarolineA CHRISTMAS CAROLINE

by Vivien Jackson and Christa Paige

Okay, I have actually read this one and I just adored it.  This is a short and very sweet Regency Christmas offering. Don’t be fooled by the word ‘sweet’ – despite the lack of actual sexual content, the chemistry between Lady Carolyn and Doctor Avery is evident from the first page.  Recommended!

Blurb:

Lady Caroline Selwyn’s world centers on her father, so when she receives dire news of his health—two days before Christmas, no less—her first thought is to weep. Her second is to make this Christmastide the best he’s ever known. She rummages in memory for festive traditions, plans charades, purchases bean cakes…and acquires an affianced husband. Oh, not a real one—what she does is convince Papa’s physician to pretend an engagement, for just a few weeks.
Doctor Samuel Avery can hardly credit his complicity in this madcap deception. Whatever was he thinking? But it does seem to improve the comfort of the earl, and his own sisters are in alt at the idea of his impending nuptials. And he has admired Caroline for so long, the role of her betrothed is easy to play. In fact, the scheme seems in every way perfect. Except that it is not true.


A Blush® Regency romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy on Amazon

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The Elf and the Ice Princess holiday novella by Jax Garren
THE ELF AND THE ICE PRINCESS

by Jax Garren

Another Christmas novella. Jax excels at combining modern and mystical. Despite the storybook title, The Elf and the Ice Princess has a contemporary setting.  I fell in love with Jax’s slightly-alternate now Underlight series and I expect this one to be just as intriguing.  This book is at the very top of my holiday to-read list!

Blurb

A frozen heart…
Three years ago, amid grief and defeat, the man who once made Carrie Martin believe in happily-ever-afters deserted her on New Year’s Day. Ever since, she’s seen no reason for holiday joy amid the materialism and chaos of the most stressful time of year. So when a tipsy guy in a mall elf costume falls into her lap at happy hour and starts spouting poetry, it’s just one more reason to be disgusted at the season’s excess.

A man who’s more than he appears…
Brett Virtanen, part-time elf and a caterer in training, is smitten with Carrie’s strength and sass. Having faced down a painful past of his own, he’s determined to be the one to warm her frozen heart. But when Carrie’s job forces her to attend a gala hosted by her ex–and his new wife–it could take more magic than a costumed elf can conjure to make this ice princess once again believe in love.

Buy on Amazon

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