Did someone say Dessert?

Oh yeah, it was me.

I should be writing, I have been writing, but I wanted to share this easy-to-do and simply delicious low-cal, low-sugar dessert.
What’s needed?
A package of Phyllo dough (generally found close to the frozen pie doughs). This is a great pastry for those who are watching calories and fat grams.
Fresh fruit (cook’s choice)
1/4 Cup Fat-free, plain yogurt
2 tablespoons Low-fat mayo or miracle whip
2 packets Splenda
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Honey
2 tablespoons Reduced fat margarine (I now use the Smart Balance Light because it has the Omega-3 oils)

I cut off about a three inch section of the Phyllo dough from one end – keep this moist.

Melt margarine (microwave), add Splenda and ½ of Cinnamon, stir and set aside.

Wash and cut fruit into bite size.

Mix yogurt, mayo, honey, and other ½ of Cinnamon, stir and chill.

Coat cookie sheet with spray cooking oil (if Teflon pan, omit the spray).

Begin building your cookie from the Phyllo dough. Unroll your moistened dough; remember to keep covered what you’re not working with as it will dry very quickly. Pull off a thickness of 3 to 4 strips of the Phyllo dough and lay on cookie sheet, brush with margarine, Splenda and Cinnamon mixture. Add another layer of Phyllo dough on top, brush with more margarine mixture. Repeat two more times. You will have a layered, cookie. Repeat this process until you have 4 laid-out lengths of Phyllo dough, bathed in the margarine mixture on the sheet. Bake dough per directions on the box. Cool, then cut into manageable cookie squares.

To finish the dessert:
Plate two cookies, top with bite-sized fruit, and drizzle yogurt mixture over the top.

Eat immediately.

Okay, this one is yummy enough to be well-worth the effort to make the cookie base.
This is a lovely treat after a hard day of writing.
The best payoff – it’s low-cal and delicious.

Spakling Today

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I'm across the way Sparkling with my writing buddies.

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Texas Biscuits

Got a request for another recipe on my site – something else Texan. Baking biscuits can be a fun Saturday morning activity – with or without kids. It takes a little practice, but I couldn’t cook my way out of a basket when I first married and I learned how to do it. So, belly up to the kitchen, gals and guys for a little homemade fun.

Okay, I know biscuits aren't just a Texas 'thang' but mine to happen to come from an old 'Texas' family . . . so I'm going to say that counts.

INGREDIENTS:
2 ½ Cups all purposes flour -- sift this into a large bowl
1 teaspoon salt -- I prefer Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
5 teaspoons of baking powder -- I will warn you, if your BP is old, it affects how well the biscuits rise.
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 Tablespoons Crisco - I like the sticks, it's easier to measure.
1 Cup + a kiss of buttermilk. I'll explain the kiss in a minute.
1 Tablespoon Canola oil

Okay, that's it. All you need.

Mix your dry ingredients together, and then CUT in the shortening (Crisco) -- you'll need a fork or whisk to do this. You want small pieces only (less than pea-size, like half of pea-size) when you've finished cutting in the shortening. Some people will substitute butter for the shortening.

**I don't use butter. I've cooked biscuits for a really, really long time -- you thought I'd tell you how old I was, didn't you? Not today. Let's just say I've been cooking biscuits longer than you've owned a lot of the appliances in your house. *GRIN* And I don't think butter cooks as well in biscuits. Sorry, Alton Brown.

Preheat your oven, NOW – 375 degrees or so. And I say ‘or so’ for a reason. Not every oven cooks at the same temperature. If your oven cooks true, then 375 will work. If it’s a little hot, then adjust down just a smidgen – and if you’re a country gal or guy, you’ll know what a smidgen is. The same goes for if your oven cooks a little cooler, then adjust up.

All right, you want to take the Canola oil and pour it on a ‘good’ cookie sheet. The double-metal layered cookie sheets work the best. About $10.00 almost everywhere.

Now, back to your biscuit dough. Time to add the ONE CUP of buttermilk. WAIT – not all at once. Pour in half then fold over the dry mixture. Then pour in the other half and fold again. The secret to light, flakey biscuits is to NOT overwork the dough. This is a by-the-feel thing and not a precise science. Sorry, I can’t get the webcam to work in the kitchen or I’d just show you how. If you have a dry section of the mixture left – then add the kiss of buttermilk. That’s enough. Too much and you’ll never get the biscuits in the oven.

The dough should be very, very sticky at this point. Let it rest for a few minutes, and you will see it start to rise. Buttermilk loves baking powder and baking soda.

I lay out a sheet of wax paper, roughly 24 inches or so long. Flour liberally. Then turn out your dough. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough. This kneading part is totally up to the individual cook. Some like to get their hands in there and some don’t. You can fold up the wax paper, sandwiching in the dough to work the mixture. Fold from one side, then squish down the dough. Release the paper, then fold from the other side and squish down the dough. Repeat this process – several times. If the dough sticks to the wax paper, add a pinch more flour. If you like to use your hands for kneading, just make sure to liberally flour them.

What are you looking for? The dough should have a fairly smooth look to it when it’s done. No gloppy chunks or pieces of dough hanging loose. Pat it out until the dough covers the wax paper – about 1 and ½ inches in height. DO NOT ROLL out your biscuits. Trapped air is what makes them great.

Use a biscuit cutter, a glass, or pinch off and roll a small amount to get the actual biscuit shape. Cook’s choice.

Put your cookie sheet with Canola oil into the oven for a few minutes – watch this – it will heat in a hurry. Remove then take your prepared biscuits one at a time and lay them on the cookie sheet, coating in the oil, then flip over and leave in place on the cookie sheet. Why? Because you want the oil on the top to keep the biscuits from having a powdery look when they’re done and because they brown better and because that’s the way everybody’s grandma whoever cooked biscuits did it. **Hey, just so you're aware and nobody tries to sue me for burning their fingers -- this oil will be hot when it comes out of the oven so be careful. I've never let my kids do this part because it's too tempting to touch the oil -- no matter how many times I've said, 'That's Hot.'**

Now, put your loaded cookie sheet into the oven and leave it for fifteen minutes. DON’T open that door. Biscuits are bread and they will fall if you jerk open your oven door during the cooking process. Leave ‘em alone. Check after fifteen minutes. Crack open the oven door, just a smidgen – we’ve already established you should know how much that is. Are they golden brown on the top? Then they’re done. If not ease closed your door and wait another two minutes. Check again.

Remove from oven – I don’t bother with cooling. Biscuits are for eating hot with butter and honey.

Enjoy, I always do.

What's with?

My bulk email box is piling up faster than the kitchen floor when a two-year-old is loose with a box of cheerios. Okay, so I don't have a two-year-old anymore, but I remember.

Vaguely.

Back to the email . . . what is with all the e-card announcments from companies such as, greetings.com, shoebox.com, 123card.com, etc? Pick a card title and it's been in my Inbox. I supposedly have received e-cards from mates, friends, spouses, loved ones, school buddies and on and on. I managed 4 to 5 of these little missives per day. I don't know that many people, much less people who would like me well enough to send me an e-card. So what gives?

Is your Inbox filling up with an influx of e-cards? Then enlighten me, please. I can always stand some enlightening.

Writers Beware

Found a new site: Writers Beware

I've added this under my blogs and websites to visit.

What's it about?

Victoria Strauss and A.C. Crispin have designed a blog to give writers more practical information on protecting ourselves. It's a scammers world in publishing so helpful facts are always a must.

There are loads of past blogs on scam artists, specifically regarding agencies. It's worth your time to browse the post. Also, consider adding

Writers Beware website

to your list of frequently visited websites. Ann and Victoria spend time and effort to gather information regarding the scammers in this business. Law enforcement officials recognize the strength of this site and contact this pair to post warnings to authors.

Make sure to protect yourself with the knowledge.

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Top 5

Top 5 reasons I’m possessed to pound on the keyboard or, as it’s known in polite circles, why I write:

5) I can’t stand the voices in my head anymore – best way to silence chatty characters is type them on page.

4) I miss my characters and their shenanigans and/or adventures. I have characters who know how to pilot planes, sail boats, shoot guns, design buildings, paint beautiful landscapes, practice law, run multi-million dollar businesses – nope, I can’t do any of those things, but it certainly is fun going along for the ride with my characters.

3) I might earn some money from doing this. *GRIN* Okay, not much, but I can buy dinner at Sonic.

2) I can’t wait to find out what happens at the end of the story. No, I don’t plot all the way to the end. It’s too much fun to discover how the ‘happily ever-after’ works out.

1) Top reason I write, to delivery another story, in which one reader (more would be nice, but I can live with one) tells me, ‘This story kept me up all night. I couldn’t put it down. Couldn’t wait to find out what happened.’

What did I discover in compiling this list?

That I’m selfish. Uh-oh, not a great character trait, but a true one.

This process of writing is a solitary task. Not exactly the whole single-soul-locked-away-in-the-desolate-tower-until-the-writing-is-done, but it does feel like that at times. When there’s nothing but the blank computer screen, hands posed over the keyboard, and NOTHING in the brain, it can feel extraordinarily desolate.

So, do writers ever use outside help?

Sure. There are plotting sessions – my critique partners and I call them ‘plot-luck’ dinners. If my brain needs to work then food should be involved. Writers also use CPs or critique partners who ask tough plot questions, push for deeper character motivation, and overall better writing. Many writers use a BETA reader (someone totally not involved in the writing industry, but who loves to read – and will read the finished work just for fun). However, those persons claimed, the actual process of birthing words on paper, the creating of characters, building worlds, designing the perfect paragraph, well, that’s all solitary, lonely and oftentimes relentless in order to reach the end.

Maybe it’s not strange, after all, that my motivations for writing are so selfish. If I wasn’t motivated internally, what the psyche books refer to as ‘a real self-starter’ then I doubt I would ever have finished the first manuscript, much less five.

Okay, when there are a thousand great books to read, movies to see, things to do with family and friends, what motivates you to plunk in the chair and stay there until the writing is finished?

Harm's Way review

Judy Thomas, a reviewer for The Long & Short of It said . . .

Harm's Way reminded this reader of Nora Robert's suspense books. It was so good, I had a hard time putting it down. I'm looking forward to the next offering by this talented writer. I predict, and truly hope, we'll see much more of Ms. Ferguson. I'm her latest fan.

Whew, did you just see my socks roll up and down, then right off my feet? That review blew me away. Okay to be likened to Nora Roberts, is just pretty darned good, but that this reviewer, as a reader, found HARM'S WAY enthralling enough to not put down -- that's worth a serious happy dance.


Thanks to the Wild Rose Press loop who opened my eyes to this particular reviewer's site.

Want to read the review in its entirety? Click on: The Long & Short of It

Harm's Way review

Just received a new Review for Harm's Way, but I have to work out the link -- sorry!

I'll post this tomorrow, gals and guys. It's been a really, really -- with a start around 4am this morning -- day.

Happy writing.

Urban Fantasy News

Fellow Wild Rose Press author, Karen Duvall, just attended the Pacific NW Writers Association conference in Seattle and posted on her blog . . .
“The buzz word for the weekend (conference) was URBAN FANTASY!!! All I can say is: What the hell took everyone so long? I've been loving it for years, long before it was tagged with a subgenre. So it's thrilling to see that it's being embraced like this by the publishing community. Yo, my writer friends, they want it. Bad. If you write it, this is one hot commodity. Polish your prose and get it out there. And make sure it's set in the city. No kidding.”

Thanks, Karen, for the update.

A few weeks ago, I, too, attended a conference – the Romance Writers of America in Dallas. Roughly two thousand romance-minded writers filled one hotel. Yep, it was fun and there were great contacts to be made. See my post on SPARKLE THIS! to learn what to do with all those business cards from any conference. During the RWA conference, several of my fellow writers who tackle the Urban Fantasy market found the agents and editors some what mixed on their forecast for this subgenre. Bottom line: the vibes weren’t great on this market from traditional ‘romance’ publishers. But it does appear, according to Karen’s news, the ‘regular’ world of fiction writing has found the subgenre of URBAN FANTASY and is pushing hard for manuscripts.

I recently finished WIRED, by Liz Maverick, a Dorchester (sci-fi/romance) release. Great cartoon cover, catchy title and good book blurb. That said, I had mixed feelings on this book. While Ms. Maverick made sure to keep the romance alive on every page, and to develop a heroine with a number of quirky and likeable attributes, I found the external plot (time threading) to be extremely complicated and hard to follow. I’ll admit, I’m not a huge reader of ‘all things Science Fiction’ but it was the actual explanation behind the time threading that threw me for a loop. Several rereads of detailed passages didn’t clear up my confusion. Of course, that is just MHO regarding this book – many may find WIRED, the perfect Sci-Fi read.

If you want to see more of Karen’s post regarding the PRWAC, go to Karen Duvall

Writing trend news? Do share.