Rich and
Squidgy Chocolate Cake
(A O'Brien Special)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup softened butter (or margarine)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 cups cocoa
1 1/2 cups sugar
Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 320°.
2. Cream the butter with 1/2 cup of the sugar.
3. Add the eggs a little at a time. If the mixture begins to
curdle, simply mix a little flour into it.
4. Once all the egg has been folded into the mixture, add
the flour about 1/2 cup at a time until the batter is smooth.
5. Place the cocoa and the remaining sugar into a separate
bowl and pour 1/4 cup of boiling water into it. Stir until fully combined.
6. Add the cocoa paste to the cake batter and fold gently
until combined.
7. Add a little of the milk and stir gently. Repeat until
there is no milk left.
8. Pour batter into a greased cake pan, and bake for 1 hour
or until a knife no longer comes out wet. (The mixture may still stick to the
knife when it is done - but it should a have a fudgy appearance.)
Serve with cream.
Bitten – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat and A Book and A Dish
“Agent Lauren Westlake. Yes, I know about you Agent
Westlake. What are you an agent of I wonder?” posited the woman
quizzically. “Right. So yeah, anyways. About the creature?” The
woman folded her hands across her lap and sat back. “There are many
creatures in this world, Lauren of the Lake Tribes of the West. My
question is what are you an agent of? We all represent something in
this world. What do you represent?” Lauren looked at the woman
strangely, feeling claustrophobic. “I am an agent of the federal
government,” she replied mechanically. The woman was not convinced with
the answer.
“That is to say you are an agent of a rock, Lauren of the Lake
Tribes of the West. Would you like me to read your life?” “My life?
Lake Tribes of the West? I thought you had information about the
creature.” “I have information on a great many things, Agent Westlake.
What information do you have for me? Nothing in this life is free. A
cycle of reciprocity, surrounded and envelopes us, even if we do not see
it.” Lauren gripped the edge of the chair, lifting her body. “I think
there has been a misunderstanding. I thought you had something to tell
me…” The woman waved the agent down with a quick movement of her
hands. “Let me begin then. I am called Hecate. I serve as the guide
from this world. Not the only guide mind you, but a guide nonetheless.
I am an agent of wisdom and of truth. And you, daughter of the Lake
Tribes of the West, what are you an agent of?”
Federal Agent Lauren
Westlake had been in Locke, Minnesota for just a few days and she is now
conversing with a another crazy woman. The first was Madeline Leftwich
who for years sat every night at the train station waiting on her
mother to pick her up. Now Madeline is dead and the particulars of her
death are what keeps Lauren in her seat as she listens to the puzzling
comments coming from Hecate. Madeline, as well as another woman found
at the lake, had both been murdered by what appears to be the same
‘person.’ Both were mutilated with patches of skin removed. After
catching a glimpse of what Lauren believes to be the murderer, she is
convinced it isn’t a person she’s perusing but a monster of some type.
From what she saw, it’s large and it’s hairy. Definitely not human.
Dominic
McManus has had his own encounter
with Hecate. She has given him hope for the future. She has ‘read his
life’ and assured him that there will be someone coming that will help
him. But Dominic sees his time running out and needs help fast. Could
Lauren possibly be the one he’s been waiting on?
While
reading Bitten, I felt as if I was reading a possible script for one of
the supernatural shows on television involving vampires and
werewolves. I also felt that it might even be a script for Criminal
Minds. This book would fit both. The questions I kept asking myself as
I read were – is this monster a werewolf? - is Dominic the monster? -
could it really be just a crazy maniac? And then I would tell myself –
if this book were made into a movie I would spend more time hiding my
face from the screen as a got the heck scared out of
me. Bitten is a true
thriller!