Great Coffee and Rocking Mysteries!

A wonderful way to spend a gloomy day--some great coffee and rocking mysteries!

Jamaican Coffee

1 cup of hot gourmet coffee
1/4 shot of Tia Maria
1/4 shot of Myers Rum
1/4 shot of Dark Creme de Cacao

Combine your gourmet coffee, Tia Maria, Myers Rum and Dark Creme de Cacao, mix together and top with whipped cream. (1 serving)

Guest Blogger - Vivienne Tuffnell- Interview with Isolbel

Interview with Isobel..

As a writer, I meet some extraordinary people in the course of my work and I get to write their stories for them. Of all the people who have appeared in my books, Isobel Trelawny, whom you may know from Away With The Fairies, has appeared in more tales than anyone else. She's played best supporting actress in several but she's the star of Away With The Fairies and today she's agreed to sit down with me and have a bit of a chat. We've got the coffee, but instead of Isobel's favourite biscuits, (chocolate Hob-Nobs), I've only been able to find some ginger snaps.

Viv: I hope the biscuits aren't too much of a let down.

Isobel (laughing; she does this quite a bit). That's OK, I'm cool with ginger biccies.

Viv: I'm glad to hear that! Anyway, thank you for taking the time to talk with me today.

Isobel: It's a pleasure. Gets me a bit of space in my day, to be honest.

Viv: I gather that can be quite a problem, yes?

Isobel: Well, I know your family is grown up now, but I'm sure you remember how much hard work small children are. Miranda, my oldest, is alarmingly bright and I have to be up to the mark all the time. Luke's much more laid-back about life. And simply finding the mental space to day dream rather than doing things all the time is really hard. I'm often so knackered by the time the kids are in bed, I really don't have the energy to paint, or even think.

Viv: You weren't sure you'd be able to have kids, as I recall?

Isobel: True, which makes me feel guilty about whinging about them when I do. I had a series of miscarriages when Mickey and I first got married. There wasn't an explanation; there was nothing wrong, as far as the quacks could see. I just kept losing them early on. Then some years later, I woke up one morning not only knowing I was pregnant but also being fairly sure this one would go to term.

Viv: Your parents died when you were pregnant with Luke. How did that affect you?

Isobel (laughing again) You know damn well how it affected me! OK, well, I was shocked and then I was angry. I'd not had a good relationship with them, to be honest. I felt (and I had good evidence about this) that they neither of them approved of me and my life choices very much. I was just at the point in my life when I felt it might be possible for them to start approving of me when they killed themselves. I don't think anyone really knows how they truly feel about their parents till they're gone. I certainly didn't. I didn't know how ill they both had been. I'd kept them at arms' length for years, avoiding anything that might bring out any emotional reaction. And when they were gone, suddenly, like that, I couldn't process it. I was heavily pregnant and people kept telling me to relax and not get upset and so on. Oh and “Think of the baby!” So it was a while later before I could start to even think about it all. By then, you see, people assume you've done your grieving and you're tickety-boo. But I wasn't. Far from it. I was pretty much at breaking point and yet, I simply didn't know it. It was killing that deer with the car that was the tipping point that meant I couldn't go on pretending any longer.

Viv: I know. Since the events of Away With The Fairies, you've had some more tough things to deal with, so it does seem a long, and ongoing process.

Isobel: I think what's gone on since then has been long overdue. I've got a streak of wildness that I thought I had under control but it seems not. I've always soared from extremes to extremes but never quite as devastatingly as this.

Viv: Now, your husband Mickey is a clergyman. Looking at you, you seem a long way from any clergy wife of popular but horribly dated sterotypes. (Isobel has henna'd hair, wears ripped and paint smeared jeans, and a rather wonderful amber necklace that matches her eyes. She talks very fast and with a lot of hand gestures; she's a comfortable person to be around but she's not prim and certainly not proper) How much impact does his job have on you?

Isobel: Too much, sometimes. The doorbell and the phone never stop bloody ringing. Oh don't get me wrong, generally, the vast majority of folks aren't a problem, but once in a while, I get people making a big deal of the fact that I don't do anything in church. I don't get involved in groups or lead anything. The fact that I turn up at all is a miracle some times. My best friend Chloe is a very rare sight in any church, and her husband and Mickey trained together.

Viv: I've met Chloe too. Given what she went through at college, I'm not surprised.

Isobel: I feel mildly guilty at times about that. The events of her final year at the vicar factory which ended with her breaking her leg every which way but Sunday were partly down to me. My wild, rebellious streak got out of hand and poor Chloe was the one who got hurt badly. I don't think she's ever blamed me, but I do sometimes blame myself.

Viv: I'm sorry to hear it. I know the story and I think whatever you and Chloe had done, it would have ended badly. Possibly worse. Now, you were able to buy a small place in the country where you could paint. I'm having trouble with my writing and I'd love to spend some time at your cottage. Is it really so spooky as you said?

Isobel: It can be scary, which might be me understating it rather a lot. But it rather depends what baggage you go with. My friend Antony spent some time there a while ago. But apart from stopping his mobile phone working, nothing happened that time. More recently, he stayed, and some deep issues he'd not been able to deal with began to surface. It's one of those places that has a foot in both realms. In the ordinary, everyday world, it's a slightly run down, rather picturesque hideaway. But it's also a place that stands on the edge of the other world, the world of beings that we seldom interact with, and that can be tough to deal with.

Viv: You're talking about the fairies now?

Isobel: (grinning now) I suppose I am!

Viv: You're a pretty pragmatic sort of person from what I know of you, and you're not at all one of these New Age believe-anything women. So, far as I can see, you're not the most likely candidate for getting caught up with the whole concept of fairies. Can you tell me what they're like?

Isobel: I can tell you what they're not. They're not anything like what you see in modern depictions of fairies. There's no glitter or pretty-pretty faces. None of the sparkly magic and so on you see in both kids' books and the New Age ones you referred to. They're.....well, primeval is the only word I can think of. Earthy. They're not what you think and they're not what you expect. I'm not even convinced I understand them myself.

Viv: OK, and that brings me to a hard question. How does any of what you experienced in the cottage square with your faith?

Isobel: That IS a hard question. I'm not sure how to answer it. Churchianity tries to give nice neat answers to life's tough questions and it gets cross and burns people at the stake for refusing to accept those neat answers as all that there is. I don't believe we can know all the answers, but that we have to keep asking the questions anyway, even after we think we know the answers. Certain branches of Churchianity would tell me that my parents are burning in hell for committing suicide, that by that one act after two good, caring lives they damned themselves forever. And yet, I came to see that their deaths were possibly the most noble things they'd ever done.

Viv: Churchianity? I like that term!

Isobel: So do I. The thing is, God is not bound by human rules and that sadly is what many churches have sought to do: bind God by their rules. That's like trying to cage the air, and make it obey your rules. Anyway, enough God-talk.

(She's looking a bit uncomfortable about this, so I think it's time to move the conversation to something else.)

Viv: OK, so tell me about your painting, your art?

Isobel: That's tough. Hmm. Let me think. OK, I don't have your way with words, but I think I paint my stories. You write yours, but I have to paint them. I paint the things I see and I feel inside my head, and I try to use that to tell the greater narrative of life. I can only paint a tiny section of it and hope that it adds to the greater picture somewhere.

Viv: I certainly feel you succeed with it, as much as any of us can. Anyway, can you sum up for us your experiences?

Isobel: You do go for asking the tough questions! I'll try. Hmmm. Perhaps it's best to say that there are more things that we don't know that that we do, and to be open-minded about the world and not get bogged down with dogmatic answers to life's big questions. Oh and love your family with all your strength. That's something too easy to forget, that the love you share with family and friends is not an automatic right that'll be there forever. People die and they don't always give you any warning of it. So tell those you love that you love them. I never got a chance to tell my mum and dad I loved them until they were gone. Don't make my mistake.

Viv: Thank you very much indeed, Isobel. I'd like to wish you luck with your continued exploration of the world through your art.

Isobel: It's a pleasure. Now, do you think we can sneak off for a glass of wine somewhere? I'm parched!

Viv: Sure, but you're buying!


Amazon US

http://www.amazon.com/Away-With-The-Fairies-ebook/dp/B005RDS02A/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318763160&sr=1-2


Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Away-With-The-Fairies-ebook/dp/B005RDS02A/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318763071&sr=1-3

Lulu paperback (will be on both Amazon sites in time)

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/away-with-the-fairies/17985792

Unique Authors with Unique Books - Sarah Barnard with Maple Coffee and Butterscotch, Walnut and Coffee Bread Pudding

Sarah started writing because of a dare and the first draft of the resulting book was written in 30 days.











From that "Dare" book: The Portal Between.
The creature’s head turn slowly to look at each of them in turn. Blue lips slowly curled to reveal sharply pointed teeth in a cruel smile above a short curled goatee beard. Broad nostrils flared and seemed to be savouring the smell of their fear. The deep midnight blue skin was lightly scaled around the eyes and mouth. The scales were heavier on the thickly muscled neck that sloped into broad shoulders. His arms and chest were corded with thick muscle that rippled beneath the scales every time he moved. Naked to the waist he was very obviously male. His legs tapered away from his narrow waist and were encased in tight leather trousers that clung to his powerful legs. Legs that ended in a hoof, a cloven hoof. Tight dark curls adorned the lower legs, pouring from beneath the tight leather trousers at mid calf. The same dark curls wove tightly about his head, and cascaded down his back in waves. His ears rose to a sharp point, each just below a small but sharply pointed horn.



Maple Coffee

Ingredients:
•1 cup hot coffee
•1/4 cup maple syrup
•1 cup half & half
•Whipped cream
Preparation:
Heat the milk and syrup together in a saucepan, but do not let it boil. Stir in the coffee. Serve topped with whipped cream.
Serves 2


Butterscotch, Walnut and Coffee Bread Pudding

Ingredients

¾ lb brioche or challah 4 oz walnuts
10 oz butterscotch chips 16 fl oz milk
2 tbspn instant espresso or coffee granules 3 large eggs
5 ½ oz sugar ¼ teaspoon salt
2 tbspn unsalted butter


Discard crust from bread and cut enough bread into ½-inch cubes to measure 6 cups. In a large baking pan, dry bread, uncovered, at room temperature for 12 hours. (Alternatively, dry bread in a 250°F oven for one hour).

Butter a 10-inch pie plate (1½ quarts). Chop walnuts and toast golden. Cool walnuts. In a bowl, toss together bread, half of walnuts, and butterscotch chips and transfer to pie plate. In a saucepan heat one cup of milk until it just begins to boil and remove pan from heat. Add espresso or coffee granules, stirring until dissolved, and stir in remaining cup of milk.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and salt and whisk in espresso mixture until well combined. Pour custard slowly and evenly over bread mixture. Chill pudding, covered, for at least one hour and up to one day. Sprinkle remaining walnuts evenly over pudding. Cut butter into bits and dot pudding with it. Bake pudding in middle of oven until bubbling and golden - about 40 minutes. Serve pudding warm or at room temperature.

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).

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!

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.

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).