Guilt-Free Holiday Treats @LDBlakeley #Cookies #Recipes #Healthyish

It’s December! Have you started your Christmas shopping, yet? I'm all about the online retail so I'm pleased to say I have a pretty good handle on things this year.

I don’t know about you, but when the holidays roll around, I love to regale my loved ones with my culinary prowess (not to mention, my staggering modesty 😜)

I’ve spent years scouring the web for tasty treasures that I’ve adapted into healthier renditions or, at the very least, versions with fewer calories than found in their original form. So I thought I’d share a few of them with you, lovely readers!

My big weakness is peanut butter. Truth be told, I’m perfectly happy to eat it straight from the jar. I know. Pretty civilized, right? I didn’t say I was proud. As a result, I give you:

PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL COOKIES

Ingredients:

1C margarine (2 sticks), softened
1 C natural peanut butter
1 C Brown Sugar Splenda
½ C Egg Beaters (or 2 large eggs)
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2½ C rolled oats
1½ C whole wheat flour

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°C
• Combine softened margarine and peanut butter in a large bowl
• Add Splenda & egg beaters and mix until smooth, fluffy and glossy
• Stir in vanilla
• Add salt, baking soda, oatmeal and flour; Stir well
• Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet & flatten with the back of a spoon or a fork
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes

Makes 45 medium/large cookies.

NUTRITION

Calories: 108 | Fat: 5.8 g | Sodium: 62 mg | Carbs: 9.4 g | Fibre: 1.1 g | Protein: 3 g

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CRANBERRY ALMOND OATMEAL COOKIES

Ingredients

1 C canned pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not pie filling)

½ C cup brown sugar Splenda

½ C Egg Beaters (or 2 large eggs)

1 tsp. vanilla

1½ C whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp. salt

3 C rolled oats

1 C dried cranberries

½ C slivered or sliced almonds

Directions

• Heat oven to 350°C
• Beat together pumpkin and sugar
• Add eggs and vanilla, beat well
• Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon salt ; mix
• Stir in rolled oats, cranberries & almonds
• Drop rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet
• Bake 10-12 minutes

Makes 45 cookies.

NUTRITION

Calories: 66 | Fat: 1 g | Sodium: 4 mg | Carbs: 12 g | Fibre: 2 g | Protein: 2 g

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I realize that not everyone has the time, nor the inclination to go all Great Canadian Baking Show simply because it’s the holidays. So for those of you who can’t be arsed with baking (but don’t want to bring a bag of Oreos to your company pot luck), get ready to start falling in love with me. My Easy Peasy Chocolate Bites only involves 3 main ingredients, and you’ll look like a rock star when you show up with these bad boys.

EASY PEASY CHOCOLATE BITES

Ingredients

1 package (250g) Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese
1 Cake Mix (I used Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil’s Food)
¼ C Margarine

to sprinkle on top:

1 tbsp. (approx.) cocoa powder
1 tbsp. (approx.) icing sugar

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°C
• Soften cream cheese & margarine in microwave & mix together in large bowl
• Add cake mix & combine well
• Roll into balls (approximately 2.5cm | 1”)
• Place on ungreased cookie sheet
• Bake 12 minutes
• Dust lightly with cocoa powder & icing sugar while still warm

This recipe makes 72 to 75 chocolate bites – enough to share with the whole class!

And be sure to store these guys in the refrigerator (they do have cream cheese in them, after all!)

NUTRITION

Calories: 37 | Fat: 1 g | Sodium: 76 mg | Carbs: 6 g | Fibre: 0.2 g | Protein: 0.6 g

Oh, and if anyone can tell me why the marketing geniuses in Canada never stopped to think, “Hey, that’s pretty gross,” when they signed off on Lait de Poule (literally: chicken milk) for their packaging, I’d be curious to hear about it. I mean, it’s a glorious way to wash down some tasty treats. Just don’t think about the name, is all I’m saying.

Until next time,

Hot Soup With A Side of Hot Fiction @MichelleGAuthor #recipes #romance

It's February. Yay. 'Nathan Burgoine's post yesterday really resonated with me. Winter is not a happy time for me usually and I have issues with everything from mood to attention span. Everything seems crappier and my coping mechanisms are stretched very thin.  All I really want to do is be at home, by the fireplace, reading or watching TV with my comfort food of choice. This quote from Edith Sitwell expresses it nicely:

Well, today happens to be National Homemade Soup day; it's the perfect comfort food for a cold, dreary winter day. A few days ago LD Blakeley shared her recipe for Carrot Butternut Squash soup. And here's my "recipe" for turkey soup.

Turkey Soup a la Michelle

1. Put the turkey carcass in a stock pot and fill with water to cover carcass and come within a couple inches of the rim. Put the pot on the stove and set on high. 

2. Quarter 2 onions and toss them in. 

3. Add seasonings. I used sage, summer savoury, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, sea salt, and whole peppercorns. Maybe a tablespoon of each? I didn't measure. 

4. Boil the crap out of it. Like at least two hours. I had it on for about 3.5. 

5. Pull out the big bones and chunks with tongs. Then pour the stock through a strainer to get everything out. Return the stock to the pot. 

6. At this point try the stock and see how the flavour is. You can add more seasonings if you want, or a couple OXO cubes or something similar. 

7. Chop up celery (I used about half a bunch) and carrots (I used 6) and add those to the stock. You can add more onions now too or just pick out the ones from before and toss them back in. You could add other veggies, too but I like to keep it simple. Turn the burner on low. 

8. Let the turkey bones/meat that you strained out cool a bit until you can handle it with your fingers. Then go through and pick all the usable meat off (if you boiled it long enough the bones will be almost completely cleaned and easy to pull out). If you have leftover slices of turkey, you can cut that into chunks and toss it in, too. 

9. The water will have boiled down a lot so add more in, especially if you're going to add noodles or rice. I added 2.5 cups of rice and it sucks up a lot of liquid. 

10. Cook for a while longer - 30-45 minutes or so. Then it's ready. Add more stock or seasonings if you want.

Now this takes a while to make, so what to do with all that downtime? You could clean or something, but that would be foolish. Better to settle in with a hot book to warm you up.

One of my publishers, Evernight Publishing, has a special line called Romance On The Go - stories of 15, 000 words or less that are designed to be read quickly. Like while you're waiting for turkey soup.

Here are some of my favourite Romance On The Go:

• Payback's A Bitch by our very own Kacey Hammell
• Dominating the Doctor by Laura Jardine
• Ready for Love by Jules Dixon
• Stranded by Pelaam

Of course, I have to mention that I have a few titles in this line - my Losing It series, the latest of which won the Readers' Choice Award for best Romance On The Go. I'm also thrilled that Evernight has recently contracted the 4th book in the series, Losing It Two At A Time, due out in April.

I hope you find some excellent short stories to read and enjoy your homemade soup today!

www.MichelleGrahamBooks.com

Writing Deadlines, Cold Climes and Comfort Food @LDBlakeley #Recipes

Holy Smokes! How is it already February? I barely blinked and January is GONE. 2017 is shaping up to be one seriously busy year.

I think I now officially have nearly a half dozen WIPs on the go (that's a bit redundant, isn't it? Like saying ATM Machine. I digress.) And those are just the stories being actively written. My folder of plot bunnies and bullet-pointed story ideas is a whole ‘nother beast. And since I have a short story deadline creeping ever-steadily, I’ve decided to hunker down on this frosty February the First to get with the word making.

In the meantime, let me share with you a couple of my favourite warm-you-up from the inside recipes.

CARROT & BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
It’s like a hug in a bowl. Seriously. Oh, and this recipe makes 4 hearty 1.75 cup servings. Why arse around with stingy portions, right? This is comfort food, after all.

Ingredients:
300g  carrots, chopped
400g butternut squash, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
10 mL (2 tsp.) curry powder (hot)
5 mL (1 tsp.) ground ginger
900 mL (1 tetra pack) reduced sodium chicken broth
250 mL (1 C) plain light Silk soy milk (I've made it with almond milk too & it's delish)

Directions:

• Add olive oil, carrots, squash, garlic, curry & ginger to pot with half of the broth (you can use veggie broth as well; I just happened to have chicken on hand)
• Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the squash & carrots are soft (15 – 20 minutes)
• Quite a bit of the broth will have evaporated by the time your veggies are cooked, so go ahead and pour the rest of the container into the pot
• Remove pot from heat & puree with a hand blender (or, you can let it cool a bit and pour it into a standard blender for the same results; I just find it to be far less hassle with the hand blender)
• Add in the soy milk et voila! Serve warm & topped with cracked black pepper

Calories: 129 | Fat: 3 g | Sodium: 268 mg | Carbs: 23 g | Fibre: 6 g | Protein: 7 g

CARAMEL PECAN APPLE CRISP

Believe it or not, this bad boy isn’t as decadent as you might think. I cobbled the recipe together based on a few others I’d seen and, with a few substitutions, managed to cut the calories and fat almost in half. Serves 12.

Ingredients:

Apple Filling

5 large Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

125 mL (½ C) Splenda

15 mL (1 tbsp.) whole wheat all-purpose flour

5 mL (1 tsp.) ground cinnamon

2.5 mL (½ tsp.) nutmeg

15 mL (1 tbsp.)  lemon juice

60 mL ( ¼ C) water

250 mL (1 C) Smuckers No Sugar Added Caramel Sundae Sauce

30 mL (2 tbsp.) chopped pecans

Crumble

350 mL (1½ C) whole wheat all-purpose flour

125 mL (½ C) Irresistibles brown sugar blend (or brown sugar Splenda)

250 mL (1 C) quick cooking oats

250 mL (1 C) applesauce

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°
• In a medium bowl, toss apples with Splenda, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, and water
• Spread apple mixture evenly into a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13") pan
• Drizzle caramel sauce, then sprinkle pecans over apple mixture
• In another bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar blend, oats, and applesauce
• Spoon mixture evenly over apples
• Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes (apple mixture will bubble and topping will be golden brown)

Calories: 230 | Fat: 2 g | Sodium: 46 mg | Carbs: 54 g | Fibre: 5 g | Protein: 3 g

Incidentally, Breyer’s Smooth & Dreamy Half-Fat Vanilla Bean ice cream goes beautifully with this (in case you were at all curious.)

Enjoy!

www.ldblakeley.com

That's Amore...No, That Canadian!

I never really think about things that are solely Canadian. I mean here in North America we eat similar food...except for down the south where they eat things like 'Gator. LOL We don't have those scary things up here, (and I'm totally okay with that. lol) But, we have poutine which is a gift from the gods. :)

To be honest I never really thing about the things that are truly "ours" until someone mentions it. Usually my editor...those comment bubbles always make me laugh. Like when I was asked what a"hydro bill" is because in the US they just refer to it is as the electric bill. 

During my edits for my last book I got a bubble comment about a drink one of my characters was drinking..I'd just referred to it as a Caesar. 

Did you know The Bloody Caesar is a Canadian thing!

PHOTO: Appetite by Random House

WAAAAAAAAAAT?

I don't think I've ever been more surprised. Way back in my bartending days I made a gazillion of them and it never dawned on me that this was a canuck creations. For those of you who are unfamiliar a Bloody Caesar is like a Bloody Mary but you swap out the Tomato Juice for Clamato Juice. 

How something like this is created up here I have no idea. I mean clams might be popular on the far east and west coasts but when I hear about clams I think about the American East coast. 

After a bit of research I found that it was created by a mane named Walter Chell in 1969 in Calgary Alberta. (dead center of the country and no where near where you'd find clams. lol) This drink was created to celebrate the opening of a new Italian restaurant. Inspired by Spaghetti alle vongole (Spagetti, Tomato Sauce and Clams) a dish from Venice, Italy. 

So there you have it. In case you are feeling inspired this summer and want to try this incredibly popular drink, here's the recipe. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 oz (30 mL) vodka
• 2 dashes hot sauce
• 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• 3 grinds fresh cracked salt and pepper
• 4 oz (120 mL) Mott’s Clamato Cocktail

Preparation:

1. Rim a highball glass with citrus and celery salt
2. Fill the glass to the top with ice.
3. Add the ingredients in the order listed.
4. Stir well to mix the cocktail, and garnish with a celery stalk and a lime wedge.

Everyone has their favourite way to have a caesar, What do you do to make yours unique?

Join me and we'll raise a couple Casears to celebrate my upcoming release...

Rolling in Sin

Release date May 29th.

Audrey lives a mundane, repetitive life in data entry but won’t leave her job because of the financial security it allows her. An exciting weekend in Sin City with her friends is a perfect chance for a bit of excitement.

Max and Geoff are lovers well known in high rolling poker games. An unpredictable life they enjoy because everything can change with the flip of a card. The spur of the moment decision that brought them together is exactly how they feel about her. One night isn’t going to be enough, but can they convince her to stay?

It’s Max and Geoff’s attitude toward money that really scares Audrey. Can she put aside her need for security to stay with two men whose lives are so unpredictable?

I'm going to be at the Sexy in the City book signing in Toronto on Saturday, June 13th!

If you want to come by and say hi :)