Monday, July 25, 2011

Unique Books by Unique Authors - Tim Ellis with Kiele O Kona Coffee Milk Shake and Hawaiian Sunset Cake

A unique fact about Tim Ellis: He's been drinking coffee out of the same Hawaii mug for 27 years - Although he embraces the new, he still likes the old and familiar.


Jacob's Ladder a real treat for only $.99

Cole Randall was much thinner and older than she remembered. The grey in his hair had managed to acquire a foothold, and his face seemed to be a repository for wrinkles of all shapes and sizes. If he’d been wearing a keffiyeh he could have been mistaken for a Bedouin nomad. He had a crescent-shaped scar on the right side of his nose and he’d grown a thick grey moustache that matched his bushy eyebrows...




Kiele O Kona Coffee Milk Shake

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 Cups Extra Strong Brewed Kiele O Kona Coffee (Black)
2 scopes of Vanilla, Chocolate, or Coffee ice cream
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 tall glasses
Touch of whip cream
Dash of cinnamon or nutmeg (if desired)
Additional Sugar to coat rim of glass.

Instructions
Moisten the glass rim with water. Place sugar on to paper towel, turn glass upside down and place moisten rim into the sugar. Set aside. In a blender, add coffee, sugar and ice cream. Blend until smooth. Pour into glass and top with whip cream and cinnamon or nutmeg.



Hawaiian Sunset Cake

INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cup milk
1 package (3.4 oz size) vanilla instant pudding
1 package (3 oz size) box orange jello
1 box Orange Supreme Cake Mix
***Filling***
1 can (15 oz size) crushed pineapple, drained
1 package (12 oz. size) frozen coconut
1 carton (8 ounce size) sour cream
2 cups sugar
***Topping***
1 carton (8 oz size) cool whip




PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9" cake pans.

Mix all ingredients together. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Pour into the three prepared cake pans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool layers before adding filling and topping.

Filling: Remove as much liquid as possible from pineapple. Mix all ingredients. Take out 1/2 cup mixture and reserve for topping. Spread remaining filling between layers and on top.

Topping: Mix together reserved filling mixture with 8 oz. Cool Whip. Spread on sides and top of cake. Refrigerate overnite (or even better, make a day ahead).

Monday, July 11, 2011

Unique Authors with Unique Books - Mary Anna Evans with A Night In Florida and Key Lime Cheesecake Bars

Mary Anna is a licensed chemical engineer who has traveled the country assessing the danger of environmental contamination and recommending ways to clean it up. She's here to tell you that there are some scary things out there. Fortunately, there are smart and dedicated people like her protagonist Larabeth McLeod who are working to clean up our messes.



Babykiller was meticulous in all things. It was his defining quality. Attention to detail was the key to longevity in his chosen profession, and Babykiller had been in business a long, long time. Most of his competitors from the early days were dead or in prison, and he couldn't claim responsibility for all their misfortune. No, they had simply chosen a dangerous line of work. He was well on his way to outliving a second generation and he was considering retirement. At least he had been, before the oncologist's verdict. Retirement planning seemed so futile when death was certain...Babykiller had more money than he could have spent in a normal lifetime. He had more than a fair share of cunning. And he had a long list of scores to settle with the world before he took his leave of it. It was time to retire and focus his considerable attentions on something more interesting. Or someone more interesting...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Night in Florida

Ingredients:
3/4 cup coffee
1 1/2 tsp Kahlua
1 1/2 tsp Frangelico
1 1/2 tsp Grand Marnier
1 1/2 tsp Bailey's Irish Cream

Preparation:

Mix the liqueurs together, then add to hot coffee. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Serves 1


Key Lime Cheesecake Bars
(From Better Homes and Gardens)

ingredients

6 squares low-fat honey graham crackers, finely crushed (1/2 cup)
2 Tbsp. margarine, melted
1 tsp. sugar
1 4-serving-size pkg. sugar-free low-calorie lime-flavored gelatin
3/4 cup boiling water
1 16-oz. container fat-free cottage cheese (1-3/4 cups)
1 8-oz. pkg. fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 8-oz. container frozen fat-free whipped dessert topping, thawed
Key Limes or limes, cut in wedges (optional)

directions

1.In small bowl combine graham crackers, margarine, and sugar. Press crumb mixture in the bottom of a 2-quart square baking dish. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
2.In large bowl combine gelatin and water. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. Set aside.
3.In blender or food processor combine cottage cheese and cream cheese. Cover and blend or process until smooth, stopping several times to scrape down sides. Whisk 1/2 cup of the cottage cheese mixture into the gelatin mixture. Whisk in remaining cottage cheese mixture until smooth. Fold in whipped dessert topping. Spoon filling over chilled crumb mixture.
4.Cover and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours or until filling is firm. To serve, cut in squares. Top with lime wedges. Makes 9 servings.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Unique Authors with Unique Books -- Lia Fairchild with Mexican Coffee and Coffee Flan

"I married my high school sweetheart. We met in Spanish class when we were 14, became friends, went to the prom, yada yada yada, and next year we celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary."













“I remember now…you never did talk that much in school.” He chuckled.

That was an unsettling statement to respond to. She didn’t want to just start rambling like an idiot to prove him wrong, or keep sitting there like some wallflower. The pressure of the silent seconds ticking in her head caused a sudden, yet casual, “Sor-freakin-ry.”..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mexican Coffee

1 cup recipe -- double for 2, etcetera

1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground coffee beans
1 cup water
Whipped cream

Place Cinnamon, Sugar & Water Into A Saucepan. Bring To A Boil Slowly, Remove from heat and add coffee. Strain into cup and add whipped cream.


Coffee Flan

1 cup milk
12 oz can evaporated milk
4 eggs
4 teaspoons instant coffee granules dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
¾ cup white sugar
½ cup cream flavoring

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare six flan molds that will hold 8 ounces and are oven-safe. Or you can use a 9 inch round flan mold or an 8 inch square one.

Add the sugar to a pan and heat it over a moderate heat stirring constantly. When it turns to a brown liquid, it is ready. Pour this caramel into the flan molds, tilting them to cover the bottoms.

Mix the milk, evaporated milk, eggs, coffee mixture, and cream flavoring in a bowl and whisk well. Pour this mixture into the flan molds, on top of the caramel layer.

Fill a big roasting pan with water, an inch deep, and then put the molds into it. Cook the coffee flans for an hour, using a knife inserted into the center to test for doneness. If the knife comes out clean, the flans are ready.

Let them cool in the flan molds on a wire rack, then chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

Run a knife around the top of the flan mold to loosen it, then invert on to a serving plate.

Delicious!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Unique Books by Unique Authors - Mike Wells with Moroccan Spiced Coffee and Moroccan Orange Cake - Wild Child is currently free in the US

Something unique about me: I'm probably the only author in the world who has thrown 3,000 of his self-published books in the trash and then found out, a year later, that someone had pulled them out of the trash and was selling them on Amazon.




Wild Child is currently free in the US. Grab your copy now!





Before he could respond, she yanked him under the surface. Water roared past his ears and the life jacket was torn from his hand. He hadn’t even had a chance to close his mouth, and he inhaled some water. He coughed a few times, dazed and dimly aware that he was being dragged rapidly towards the bottom of the lake. The water was getting colder, and even though his eyes were squeezed shut, he could tell it was getting darker and darker as well. He opened his mouth to scream, inhaled more water and started coughing again. His ears felt like two ice picks had been shoved into them, and he made an effort to equalize the pressure, but it was changing too fast. He felt their direction shift and realized that they had turned around and were now moving back up towards the surface. No, they were rocketing towards the surface. A few seconds later they both shot out of the water, a good ten feet into the air, and splashed back down...





Moroccan Coffee

2 cups (1/2 liter) milk
2 rounded teaspoons instant coffee (or more, to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cardamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3 teaspoons sugar (or to taste)

Preparation:
Heat the milk in a small pot until very hot – frothy bubbles will form around the edges of the pot and a skin will form on the surface of the milk. Watch the milk carefully so that it doesn't boil over.

Discard the skin, and stir in the spices, coffee, and sugar. Strain the spiced coffee into a carafe or cups, and serve.

Moroccan Orange Cake

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
zest from 1 or 2 oranges
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 350° F (180° C). Grease and flour a tube pan. If using fresh oranges, zest and juice them.

With an electric mixer or by hand, beat together the eggs and sugar until thick. Gradually beat in the oil.

Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt, and then the orange juice. Beat until smooth, and then mix in the zest and vanilla.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan, and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake tests done.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 7 to 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Unique Authors with Unique Books - Seb Kirby with Danish Coffee and Danish Coffee Cake

I'm a writer interested in new ideas and new writing. As the author of the thriller 'Take No More', I have a vested interest in getting the novel into the hands of as many readers as possible. But I'm also committed to working to increase the level of interest in the great writing emerging on Kindle by the wider writer community.



The body, already starting to bloat, bobbled a little as it was prodded from underwater by something seeking a different kind of sustenance.

A young couple embraced each other and kissed in the moonlight. The boy looked down towards the water, unsure what he was seeing.

He told her to look where his eyes had taken him, pointing with an outstretched finger.

Her expression changed. She had to agree it was a human body, floating in the Arno.

Their romantic moment was forever blemished.

When the police were called they summoned a small boat. In full view of a growing crowd of spectators they removed the body, covered it with a tarpaulin and sped off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Danish Coffee

A great coffee for those who love the taste of Rum. Goes really well for parties. Simmer for a few hours to build up the flavor of cinnamon and cloves.

Ingredients:
8 cups hot coffee
1 cup dark rum
3/4 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
12 cloves, whole

Preparation:

Heat everything through over low heat and simmer for about 2 hours.

Serves 8-10

Danish Coffee Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup cold butter, divided
2 tablespoons plus 1 cup water, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs

ICING:

2 tablespoons butter, softened
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Place 1 cup flour in a large bowl, cut 1/2 cup butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons water; toss with a fork until mixture forms a ball. Divide into thirds. On a floured surface, roll each portion into a 9-in. x 6-in. rectangle. Place on greased baking sheets; set aside.

In a saucepan, bring salt and remaining butter and water to a boil. Add remaining flour all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny.

Spread over the dough. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

For icing, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough water to achieve desired consistency. Spread over warm coffee cakes. Sprinkle with walnuts. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 3 coffee cakes (6 servings each).

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Unique Authors with Unique Books - Spiced Coffee and Cinnamon Raisen Coffee Cake with Larry Enright

I've had the opportunity to get to know Larry Enright on Facebook and Twitter, and he is quite unique, as is his debut novel Four Years From Home. If you haven't read my review of the book you can see it here: Review

In 1968, I had a summer job as a valet at the Hilton Hotel in Pittsburgh. The most exciting days were those when a Major League baseball team came to town to play the Pirates because the teams all stayed at the Hilton. I met many famous players that summer and one manager, Grady Hatton. At the time, he was the manager of the Houston Astros. They had a terrible record. He seemed like a nice guy. He tipped well. So I wished him good luck that day. The Pirates trounced them, and Grady Hatton was fired after the game. He was replaced by Harry Walker. Lucky for Harry, we never met.

Four Years From Home is a real bargain for $.99. Have a cup of spiced coffee and slice of Cinnamon Raisen Coffee Cake. Read my review. Read all the reviews. Download a sample, and see if this is the book for you. It is indeed a unique debut novel.




The cold glare of morning pushed rudely through the window and washed away a dream I couldn’t remember. It had been quite a while since I’d remembered my dreams — four or five years easily. When I was growing up, they had always been so vivid and real, usually in Technicolor by Deluxe with Dolby sound, but one day they just stopped. I’d wake up, knowing I had been dreaming but unable to remember anything at all about it. Like now. Hungry, smelly, pasty-mouthed, head still pounding; for an instant I couldn’t decide which of these problems to fix first.

Spiced Coffee

Ingredients

* 4 to 7 whole cloves
* ½ inch cinnamon bark (whole cinnamon)
* 4 to 7 whole green cardamom
* 1 to 3 tsp. Brown sugar (if desired)
* Whipped cream
* Shaved Chocolate and cinnamon sprinkle
* Coffee

Brew a pot of your favorite coffee, a little too strong.

In a small pan, add 1 1/2 cup water, 4-7 cloves, 1/2 inch cinnamon bark broken up, 4-7 whole cardamom -split the tips, and 1-3 teaspoons of sugar. Heat up to boiling point for 3-4 minutes.

Mix the coffee and the spice-mix, pour into cups, top with whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate and cinnamon.

Add more sugar if desired.



Cinnamon Raisen Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1-tsp. salt
2 eggs
5 tbsps. white (distilled) vinegar plus enough Milk to make 1 cup liquid
1/2-cup raisins
1/4 cup melted shortening
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Combine 1/2-cup sugar, butter and cinnamon until well blended; set aside.

Sift flour, baking soda, salt and remaining 1/2-cup sugar into large bowl.

Beat eggs in medium bowl; add vinegar mixture and mix well. Blend in raisins and shortening. Pour egg mixture all at once into flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Spread half of batter in greased 8-inch square baking pan; sprinkle with half of cinnamon mixture. Top with remaining batter; draw knife through batter several times to distribute filling slightly. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture and nuts.

Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. Cut into squares and serve warm.