Showing posts with label love story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love story. Show all posts

Friday, September 12, 2014

Louisiana Sunset - B. J. Robinson, Author



Venison Roast
 (I used to cook one this way every New Year’s Day
    - B.J. Robinson)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash deer meat and cut deep slits to place the onion, garlic, and green onion.

1 deer roast
1 onion
1 pod garlic
½ bunch green onions
Chop small and place in cut slits of the roast.

You may use a baking bag or put the roast in a small amount of water in a deep pan and baste it. Cover pan with aluminum foil. In the water, place 1 tbs. soy sauce, 1tbs. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbs. garlic salt or powder, black pepper and salt to taste, three beef bouillon cubes, and 1 tbs. Kitchen Bouquet.

You might also use a crockpot and slow cook it all day. If you use the oven, the roast should be done in appropriately two to three hours.  Brown a tbs. of flour in an iron skillet in a small amount of oil and use the water from the roast to make a brown gravy. If you do not wish to make your own brown gravy, you can use three or four gravy packets instead.

This was one part of our annual New Year’s dinner as described in the book. We also had cabbage cooked with pork chops, green beans and potatoes, potato salad, and rice for the gravy.


You may leave out ingredients per taste or add others. This is how my mother-in-law taught me to cook venison roast when my husband brought home the deer. He cleaned it, and I cooked it. 

Louisiana Sunset - Review by Martha A Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Lilly Mae's life is making a complete circle.  She left Louisiana to get away from her abusive boyfriend, but after losing her job in the city she has decided to return and live in the river cabin her grandfather left her.  And of course the circle wouldn't be complete without agreeing to meet her long lost love Timber.

How could she even think of meeting him at the river again?  That time was gone and for the best.  She'd moved on, had her life together until she'd lost the job that meant the most to her, and she didn't need to let Timber rip her world apart again.  She signed.  What was she thinking?  Every ounce of her very being screamed.  Leave before he shows.  Forget him.  He's bad news.  Yet, she stood rooted to the spot.  Would he appear?  She had to know.  Had to see him one last time and put it and him behind her for good.  She was strong.  She could do this.

Even so, Lilly Mae had agreed to meet him and the old feelings resurfaced... for both of them.  Timber vowed that he had changed.  He would never hurt her again.  His temper was under control.  Lilly Mae refused to believe him.  But he refuses to give up.  He pops up everywhere, even at her home.  Then she meets Levi... the perfect man.  Levi was the total opposite of Timber.  He believed in God and went to church.  Timber actually only wanted to go if the preacher was funny.  He respected her.  Timber didn't even respect himself.  Levi thought of the other person first.  Timber only thought of himself - first and last.  But Timber still won't give up.

Levi does keep Timber in line for a while, that is until war broke out and with him being a pilot he is one of the first to head for what would be called Desert Storm.  Timber continues to keep up with his stalking.

So, will Timber separate Lilly Mae and Levi while he's thousands of miles away?  Will Lilly Mae be able to stay true to Levi, the man she loves and plans to marry or will she give in to her old love Timber?

This is one of the most beautiful stories I've read in a long time.  I found myself laughing at times, feeling sorry at times and even wanting to cry at times.  This book is a true love story that has a few twists.  And now that I've finished it, I'm looking forward to see what happens in the story that follows Louisiana Sundown - book 2 in the series.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Crystal Rose - D. L. Mains, Author



 

Yam and Apple Casserole
(One of D. L. Mains' Favorite Recipes)

2 - Medium Granny Smith apples (I’ve used Delicious or Macintosh)
2 - 16 oz cans yams (1 large can Princilla)
8 tbsp unsalted butter – melted (I’ve used reg. salted)
½ cup dark corn syrup (or honey)
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp light brown sugar
½ to 1 tsp cinnamon (I use the whole tsp)
1/8 tsp salt

Drain yams – combine with 6 tbsp melted butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in bowl and puree until smooth.  Spread half of mixture in greased 10” casserole dish.  Arrange half of apples (sliced) overlapping evenly.  Repeat layers.  Brush top of apples with remaining butter.
Bake until apples are tender and mixture is heated through.  (30 minutes at 350 degrees)



The Crystal Rose – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat and A Book and A Dish

‘Keith hung up the phone, glaring at the receiver.  He turned his head to stare at the wall of the one room apartment where many pictures of his soon-to-be bride looked back.  He could see her beautiful face from everywhere in the apartment, except the bathroom, but he had a separate picture in there.  “Where are you, Dan?” he asked those faces.  “Why don’t you answer my messages?”  He reached across the bed and grabbed the box from under his pillow.  His chest swelled as he opened the velvet box.  The huge cubic zirconia twinkled at him.  He could see Sheridan showing off the ring to her friends.  How could he make her see they were made for each other, if he couldn’t even get in touch with her?  All his difficulties had to be Joel’s fault.’

Sheridan McLaughlin is a marine biologist that has found herself out of work.  With the economy, the market for research in her field of expertise is on hold and there appears to be nothing opening up within the near future.  On top of that her apartments have just gone condo so unless she decides to buy her unit, which is out of the question since she has no job, she must move.  Her only option is to go back ‘home’ to her godfather/uncle Joel and hope she can keep herself afloat by singing and tending bar at his dinner club The Crystal Rose.  Could things get worse?  If you call trying to change a flat tire with a spare that’s also flat in a rain downpour, then I guess it can get worse.

Russell Madison is a self made millionaire.  Everything he touches turns to money making him one of the most sought out bachelor around.  He also has the looks to go with his money which makes every woman he even glances at swoon for his attention.  That is every woman with the exception of Sheridan McLaughlin.  This wouldn’t be a problem if Sheridan didn’t end up owning the majority of The Crystal Rose, which Russell wants for himself.  So if it requires him engulfing Sheridan with his charm, he can handle that.  So he thinks.

What Sheridan nor Russell could have foreseen was Keith Cainam stepping into their lives to make sure there would never be a relationship between the two of them… business nor personal.  Keith had dated Sheridan years before when she worked for Joel at The Crystal Rose.  He played in a band that served as the entertainment now and then and his love for her had only grown over the years of their separation.  His determination to prove to her how much she means to him and how much he really means to her is his top priority.

So… will Sheridan keep the stone wall she is noted for up preventing both Russell and Keith out?  Will Russell keep his wall in tact while it protects him from feeling the pains that was inflicted on him by his mother years ago?  And will Keith make Sheridan take a really hard look at him and see his sincerity before she leaves him again? 

The Crystal Rose is a beautiful love story of both past and present.  The characters are well written and believable.  It’s filled with love and just enough suspense to make it a very enjoyable read.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

A Love Rekindled - Myne Whitman, Author

 
Banga Soup
  (mentioned in A Love Rekindled and
  a favorite of Myne Whitman)
 
Ingredients for a Party of 10
Beef ( 10 medium pieces cooked)
Smoked fish - Deboned ( 2 medium size) 
Frozen Fish (1 Large size)
Crayfish 4 Tspns, Habanero Pepper (3 Medium size), and One Large red Onion (Blend together)Bitter Leaf ( 2 bunches fresh or 2 packs frozen) *chopped and cleaned*
Cocoyam Flour paste
Palm Oil or Palm nut paste (1/2CUP)
Knor or Maggi Seasoning ( 2 cubes)
Local Spices and Salt to taste
Directions:
  • In a large pot, combine the pre-cooked Beef and Smoked fish. Add in 1 cup water, then add in the palm oil, blended peppers, onions and crayfish. Cook on high heat until it starts to boil.
  • Add in the Cocoyam Paste, Knorr seasoning, salt and local spices. Reduce heat and simmer for 10mins.
  • Add in the bitterleaf and frozen fish. Stir and taste for seasoning. Simmer for another 10 mins. 
  • Stir and remove from heat.
  •  
A Love Rekindled – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
‘Jane and Joan’s sobs mingled, and they ran out of the room, tears gushing down their cheeks.  Ovie came in soon after.  “What is this I hear?  I saw the twins on my way here.”  “Kevwe may have broken up with Efe…”  Efe looked up to her.  “Is there any doubt about it?  His father told me.  I’d been hoping he would call, but he hasn’t.”  “So he couldn’t face you to tell you himself?”  Ovie demanded as she sat.  “I saw him today, and he wouldn’t talk to me too…”  “You saw Kevwe, today?”  Efe sat straight. Time seemed to move in slow motion, and she felt dizzy for a while.  “Yes.  On my way to First Bank, I saw him at UBA Akpakpava, near the roundabout.  When I said hi, he ignored me.  Maybe he thought I knew about the break-up…”  “Are you sure it was him you saw?”  Efe clutched her chest.  The ache in her pounding heart was real.  “I’m sure.  You know how I complain about his habit of  jangling his keys all the time as if he’s the only one who has a car.  It was the sound that caught my attention, and he was with another girl.”  Efe stopped thinking, her breathing also seemed to cease.  All the blood in every single part of her body drained to her heart, making it expand, and it pushed against her ribs as if to burst loose.  Efe sprang out of bed, screaming in fear.’
 
Efe Sagay grew up and went to school in Nigeria.  While attending school she met the love of her life, her soul mate, the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with…Kevwe Mukoro.  And the feelings were duplicated by Kevwe.  As soon as Efe graduated, they would be married.  This was the dream and this was the plan.
 
But real life doesn’t always see things the way we do.  The perfect future can always be destroyed by unforeseen circumstances.  In Efe and Kevwe’s case, one of their biggest obstacles came in the form of his father.  Nigeria is made up of tribes and with the tribal wars that had been going on for years sometimes lead to hate between the different tribe members.  This was the case with Kevwe’s father when he found that Efe was from the tribe he hated the most.  He was determined that there would be no way Efe and Kevwe would ever marry.  And with the events that followed the announcement of  their engagement, he may have gotten his wish.  Through deceit on his part, the couple separated with Efe going to America to finish her education and Kevwe putting his life into the company he had started. 
 
But then again, fate steps in and seven years later the couple will meet again.  Can they rekindle what was so perfect for them?  Will family again put a stop to their relationship?  Or has there just been too much time lost for them to reunite?
 
A Love Rekindled is a beautiful story of true, 100% love.  The hardships and heartbreaks that were bestowed upon Efe and Kevwe are heart wrenching.  And their struggles to understand and accept what happened to them and what will become of them is painful as well as healing.  This is one great story of complete love.
 
2011
ISBN# 978-1456516864
 

 
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