Writing, Canning, and LOTS More Writing

Two Fated for One (Bewitching Desires 3) is on the SirenBookstrand calendar with a tentative release date of November 14th. Book 4 of the series, Two Pirates to Treasure, is well under way, and I'm making progress on my contribution to the next Sextet anthology, Mistletoe and Menage. AND Two Knights of Passion releases tomorrow!

In between, I've been trying to keep with my garden. Yesterday I chopped 30 pounds of tomatoes and a bunch of peppers, onions, and celery for bbq sauce. I now have enough to last two years! It joins the 30 pints of salsa I canned last month.

Off to write :)

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!

Stir-fried Green Beans

I picked the first of my garden green beans today and decided to get creative in the kitchen. Here's the result!

Stir-fried Green Beans

1/2 pound or so fresh green beans
2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon garlic chili pepper sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water

Heat the olive oil in a wok over medium-high heat until hot. Add garlic and green beans. Stir-fry until beans begin to turn bright green. Add water and cover. Steam about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic chili pepper sauce and toss well. Serve as a side dish or with steamed rice.

Yummy!!!

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!

Wednesday's Recipe--Zucchini Bread

Yes, I know I'm a couple days late. The morphing subplot has taken over my life--not necessarily a bad thing. This story seems to be writing itself, so who am I to argue?

Zucchini season is long gone in my garden between the heat, the lack of rain, and critters attacking the roots of the plants. However, I love fresh zucchini bread. I also freeze several loaves when I make it. If you don't have any zucchini in your garden, pick up a couple at the grocery store. And prepare to experiment!

Zucchini Bread

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (for lower fat, substitute applesauce)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups grated zucchini
Optional mix/match additions: 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries, 1 cup ground walnuts or pecans, 1 cup coconut, 1 cup chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add liquids and stir. Add zucchini and remaining optional ingredients. Mix well. Pour into greased and floured bread pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans.

*Hint: Don't substitute cooking spray for shortening and flour to prepare pans. Chocolate chips tend to stick to the pan.

Makes three 9"X4" loaves.

Enjoy the last of the warm days of September!

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With a Kick!

Wednesday's Recipe--Salsa

It's tomato season!

I have only five tomato plants (two Roma, two Early Girl, one Sweet 100), but had more than enough tomatoes to make a double batch of salsa on Saturday. I use a mix of Roma and regular tomatoes to reduce the cooking time. If you like HOT salsa, substitute a jalapeno for one of the bell peppers.

Plan to spend all day on this project--three to four hours for picking, washing, and chopping vegetables; at least three to four hours of cooking time; at least two hours for the canning step. The effort is well worth the result!


Salsa

6-7 lbs. tomatoes, cored and chopped
3 medium onions, chopped
6 sweet banana peppers, chopped
3 red, yellow, OR green bell peppers, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons salt
1/2 cup+2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin

Mix all ingredients in large pot. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness. Fill sterilized jars and seal. Makes 7-8 pints.
*Note* Do not cook over higher temperatures. Tomatoes scorch easily.

This is my double batch in a medium canning pan. Just enough room to stir!

Enjoy with tortilla chips, on tacos and burritos, or in my Black Bean Dip. Remember that recipe with two ingredients from several months ago? :)

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With a Kick!

Wednesday's Recipe--Spaghetti Squash w/White Bean-Marsala Sauce and Portabellas

My garden has had a great year for squash. I counted 15 spaghetti squash, over two dozen butternut squash, plus an abundance of tomatoes. Necessity is the mother of invention, so I came up with this recipe. It even gets a mention in a WIP. And special thanks to Rebecca for her feedback : ) Yes, you can use the sauce and mushrooms over colored pasta, but I love the flavor when served with spaghetti squash. Please leave a comment—I'd love to know what you think of my invention!

Spaghetti Squash with White Bean-Marsala Sauce and Portabellas

2 medium spaghetti squash, halved and baked

12 Roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped

15.5 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon sugar (more or less, to taste)

1 cup Marsala (I prefer Taylor New York)

6 oz. sliced portabella mushrooms

1 tablespoon olive oil

Freshly grated Parmesan

To prepare squash: Cut in half lengthwise and place cut side down on broiler pan. Add about 1/2 inch of water to the broiler drip pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour. Note—I prefer removing seeds after baking, but can be done before. Don't scrape too deeply or you'll dig into the strings that make it spaghetti squash! Scoop out of the shell to serve.

To peel tomatoes: Blanch in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon, plunging into a bowl of ice water. Let stand 2 minutes. Remove tomatoes from ice water. Skin should peel away easily.

Sauce: In a medium saucepan combine chopped tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, and sugar. Cook over medium heat for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cannellini and Marsala. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer at least 30 minutes. Note: Sauce can be prepared ahead of time and reheated.

Sauteed Portabellas: Preheat 1 tablespoon olive oil in an iron skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Carefully lay mushroom slices flat in pan. Cook until lightly browned. Turn over to brown second side. Remove to warm plate.

Assemble: Place a bed of "spaghetti" strands on plate. Top with sauce, then mushrooms. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan. Makes 3-4 servings.

Enjoy!

Mellanie Szereto

Romance...With a Kick!

Time to Play Catch Up

Have three weeks really passed since my last post? This has been a busy July. The hubby, kids, and I spent part of a week at Salt Fork State Park, a short drive from the site of hubby's 62nd annual family reunion. Yes, 62 years in a row. Amazing, isn't it? We got to catch up with people we see once a year, ate lots of good food, played Bingo, and had our official meeting. Hubby is president. I am secretary/treasurer. What a fun day!

A couple days later hubby and son left to go camping for four days. I stayed home and wrote and edited about 12 hours every day. Very productive with a quiet house. : )

I have also been trying to keep up with the garden. The green beans and zucchini have buried me, but I love having fresh vegetables. The eggplant and tomatoes have started as well. I promise to post some recipes using those ingredients!

And on to preparing for the RWA National Conference. I have the proper business professional clothing, business cards, a tentative schedule of events, appointments, and workshops, a polished manuscript, my pitch, and a stomach full of butterflies. Excited, but nervous. Am I ready to meet and mingle with 2100 writers of romance? Sounds overwhelming. I think I'll take a deep breath and dive in!

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With a Kick!

My Garden is Planted!

My garden took two days to plant, but it's done! Hubby tilled all 3600 square feet with the walk-behind tiller--our tractor needs a new clutch, so the PTO-driven tiller was a no go. Son helped make rows. They were much straighter than my rows usually end up. We planted corn, green beans, potatoes, yellow onions, green onions, leeks, beets, carrots, spinach, lettuce, pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, four kinds of squash, two kinds of melons, and eggplant. New this year are broccoli, cauliflower, celery, and a peanut plant. Yes, a peanut plant. We only put in five tomato plants since we have lots of tomato puree, soup, salsa, and barbecue sauce left from the last couple years. That left space to try something completely different. Hopefully the weeds won't see this as an invitation...

Watch for posts on how to use all those fresh vegetables as harvest time nears! Happy gardening!

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With a Kick!