Showing posts with label vampires. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vampires. Show all posts

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Yesterday'​s Daughter - Sallie Lundy-From​mer, Author

 
Sweet Potato Pie
(A special recipe from Sallie)

1 Unbaked pie crust
4 medium sweet potatoes
Boil sweet potatoes whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.

Mash apart the sweet potatoes in a bowl. Add butter, sugars, milk, salt, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, all spice, ginger, nutmeg, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract.......then mix well. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.

Mix 1/2 stick of butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1//2 tablespoon of cinnamon
1/8 tablespoon of all spice
1/8 teaspoon of ginger
1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
3/4 cup evaporated milk
 
Bake at 350 degrees 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
 
 
Yesterday’s Daughter – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
Grace stared at the large stranger who filled her small apartment with his mammoth presence and suddenly felt very warm. She shook her head from side to side trying to dislodge the chaos that his words brought about. She couldn’t have heard him correctly. Had he said that he knew her parents? She didn’t have any parents. She was an orphan; that was the only thing she knew about her past. He had to be wrong! This was some kind of bad joke, wasn’t it? She started to interrupt Malachi, but he put up a hand and said, “I pled with you to listen. I know I have not handled this matter well,” he signed in frustration. “In truth, I thought I was better prepared, but I too find the situation to be most extraordinary and find myself at a loss for words.” Grace noticed how he spoke, the way he formed sentences. He spoke as if he were from a different time. Again, she started to interrupt him, but he said, “Listen please! I know your thoughts, what you must be thinking, that you grew up in foster care and that your biological parents were never found.” As he spoke, a look of great shock and bewilderment blanketed her face. No one knew that because no one knew who she really was. Who is he? How could he know so much? I ran away from my foster parents years ago. Is he a blackmailer? This is crazy, she thought. “Grace…Grace,” he said as his voice gentled even more to a smooth calming chant. “I know you are frightened and overwhelmed. But it is also true that I knew your birth parents, your real parents.”
 
Grace Stone’s memory goes back to foster parents and years of abuse, which she was finally able to escape by running away. Even as she lived in hiding she was still able to continue her education and had eventually acquired a job working in the morgue. She had always sensed that she was different from others. She couldn’t allow herself to be exposed to the sun. It seemed that her skin had no protection from the sun’s rays and exposure would cause severe burning of the skin. Therefore she worked nights only. Even though she was declared to be a beauty by everyone who met her, she refused to associate or become close to anyone. The strangest thing she noticed about herself was her lack of taste for normal food and her taste for blood which was easily acquired with her working within the hospital. So when she came home after a night’s work and found a total stranger in her apartment, she was more than shocked. Especially when that stranger admitted to knowing her real parents.
 
Malachi has been searching for his ‘life mate’ for decades. As a child she had been placed in an underground chamber to age to maturity before they were to be bonded. Due to a cave-in within the chamber, she was assumed dead even though there was never a body recovered. Malachi refused to believe that his mate had been sent to the ‘void’ so his search started and had never ended until he finally found Grace Stone. This he knew was his mate, alive and well.
 
Now that Malachi has found who he believes to be his ‘life mate’ he plans to take her home where she belongs. What he doesn’t know is that one of the Doctors she works with is a ‘harvester’ and wants her just as bad as Malachi does but for different reasons. Where Malachi wants her love, the good doctor wants her blood.
 
Yesterday’s Daughter is filled with: deception – there is a traitor among the clan; love – between two that were always supposed to be; mystery – who is the traitor?; and suspense that took me all the way to the end of the book. I thought for a while that I knew who the traitor might be but wasn’t sure until I made it to within the last few pages of the book. Was I right or wrong? You’ll have to read Yesterday’s Daughter to find out for yourself. This was an enjoyable book from beginning to end.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Mysteerie Manor II - Sharon Hays, Author



Maryanne’s delicious salad dressing in Mysteerie Manor II.
Maple Dijon Delight


This makes a good sized portion of salad dressing so you will have some for later!
(You could also cut recipe in half to make less, just in case)

3 to 4 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 parts oil to 1 part Dijon; 6 to 8 Tbsp. of a light tasteless oil *(I like grape seed oil, as is light, healthy and tasteless, but you can use your own choice of course. Also good for sautéing, if you’ve never tried it)
Whisk well to emulsify, as you drizzle oil into Dijon mustard while it thickens.
Add ¼ C fresh tarragon
S & P to taste
1/3 cup Maple syrup
Whisk in all three ingredients to the emulsified mustard and oil.
½ to ¾ c Raspberry Vinegar:  Add and whisk to emulsify well, to get to your desired consistency.

* (Honey may be used instead of Maple syrup, but I guarantee you will love the syrup combination!)
There you have a tasty new dressing that will delight your taste buds and healthy as well! 

 
Mysteerie Manor II - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

‘The fateful day she walked into the Valencia Manor, her life had taken many turns.  What had started out as a property investment opportunity had become an intriguing nightmare of unexpected events and mysterious, supernatural phenomenon.  Murder, strange accidents and tragedy all took their turns in the bizarre adventures at the Valencia Manor.  But through all of the mystery and misery, it had become a reality.  The Valencia Manor would be legally transferred into Maryanne’s name today… Maryanne was reluctant at first, to accept the unbelievable gift of the Valencia Manor, because she felt so bad about the death of the lovely Mrs. Dirkshire.  Maryanne spent weeks trying to find other relatives who might otherwise be next in line to inherit the property, but after careful searching, to no avail and legal counsel, she felt more at ease in accepting the gracious offer.’
 
The Valencia Manor was built in the 1800s.  After several mysterious deaths it was put on the market and bought by John Farthington.  The deaths continued with his child and wife both dying while living at the Manor.  After succumbing to illness himself, Farthington moved in with his sister Irene Dirkshire.  He later died leaving the Manor to her.  She, in turn, decided to sell and contacted Joan Bishop to be her agent.  Joan and Maryanne O’Donnell were close friends and when Irene saw how much Maryanne loved the old Manor she wrote a new will stating that if anything should mysteriously happen to her it was to go to Maryanne.  Upon her death a few weeks later, Maryanne inherited the Valencia Manor.
The Manor wasn’t the only thing that Maryanne inherited.  She acquired all of the ghosts, both good and bad, that called the Manor their home.  So she decided to sell her home and move into the Manor, but before doing this she first had to have the place completely renovated.  After finding the perfect contractor, her plans progressed with a good offer being placed on her home and Maryanne and her new husband Mario made plans to move into what was to be their new home at the Valencia.  Maryanne had already had the Manor swept of its spirits by her physic friend Vivian but when the contractor took out a wall and found an unexpected guest, Maryanne had to call on her friend again.  Vivian found more than expected when she returned to the Manor and with Mario informing her of the mysterious deaths that had been occurring around the area she had no choice but to give them her idea that they may be dealing with the “undead.” 
 
Reading Mysteerie Manor and Mysteerie Manor II made me remember reading my very first “horror” book.  It was called Salem’s Lot.  I read it at night, which was a mistake, and had trouble sleeping afterwards. I couldn’t even leave a curtain open for fear that an unsuspecting predator would be looking in.  That was years ago, but these two books bring some of those feelings back.  Author Sharon Hays has succeeded in giving me the creeps, even while reading during the day.
 
 

Monday, May 23, 2011

A Pirate's Daughter - Theresa M. Moore, Author


Soup a la Louisienne (serves 8-10)
  A Theresa M. Moore Favorite

Ingredients:
1/4 cup peanut or canola/vegetable oil
1 chopped onion
6 cloves minced garlic
1 large green pepper, diced
1 celery stalk to taste, diced (I don't like celery but some people do)
1 cup bottled clam juice
2 scallions, chopped
1 small bunch cilantro,
3 dashes of dill weed.
2 bay leaves
1/8 teaspoon saffron
1/8 tablespoon cayenne red pepper
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
1 cup white wine (I recommend Chardonnay)
2 large cans whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teasoon tarragon
1/2 lb lobster tail, chopped
24 raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
12-14 crayfish, unshelled
2 lb cod or herring, or if preferred, octopus or squid

In a large pot heat the oil, mix in the spices, garlic, onion and condiments and saute' until they are soft and the juices rendered. Add the clam broth, scallions, parsley and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the wine and tomatoes, mix thoroughly and simmer another 5 minutes, then add the seafood and fish. Cook for about 15 minutes to make sure the seafood is well done. Add more sea salt to taste if necessary, but I think the cayenne will add the right amount of spicy taste. Serve in soup plates, sprinkle with parsley to garnish and accompany with buttered French bread.

I haven't tried this yet but I think a layer of grated cheddar or parmeson on top might add a small boost to the dish.


A Pirate’s Daughter – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat
 
‘There came a cracking sound, then the sound of whistling.  Something crashed violently into the ship, making it shudder from stem to stern. Then another.  Charity scrambled up the ladder and threw the hatch open, climbed out onto the main deck and saw Queen Anne’s Revenge firing cannonballs into the Mary Catherine.  She looked around and saw bodies of strangers and shipmates alike strewn about on the deck in attitudes of death.  They must have fought each other hand to hand and the merchant crew had lost.  She had never seen so much blood before, and the smell of it and the stench of urine came up from the deck and assaulted her nose.  She covered her face with a coat sleeve to blot it out as she searched frantically for her father and Jonathan but did not see them among the dead.’
 
The Mary Catherine, captained by Joshua Makepeace Rakham, ran the waters along the Gulf Coast, picking up cotton in Louisiana and receiving rum for the return voyage to the Caribbean Sea.  Rakham’s daughter Charity had lived aboard ship since the death of her mother and due to her being the Captain’s daughter she was treated with respect by the crew.  But as time went on and Charity grew into a lovely young lady, there were crew members who began seeing her as more than a child.  This soon lead to the cry of mutiny by two such crew members.   However, this was soon put to rest when word reached Rakham and the two were handled in the ways of the sea…they were stripped and whipped.
 
This became just the beginning of the problems Charity finds herself facing.  Her survival while in the possession of a man known by the name of Franz Joseph Rosenthorne becomes impossible to deal with and the only way out is through escape.  But with no money nor means of acquiring money, escape seems impossible.
 
A Pirate’s Daughter is yet another book in the Children of the Dragon series and my 5th to read.  And I have to say that I’ve yet to read one that I haven’t enjoyed.  Each has kept me spellbound with the mystery and events as they unfold with both good and bad creatures of the night.
 
2010
Atellus

 
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