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Well, I’m happy to report that my weekend get-away was a huge success. My critique partners and I all wrote for hours and hours all Friday afternoon and Saturday, stopping only for the wonderful meals the Murphin Ridge Inn provided. And to eat cookies!
Luckily, I’m just a day or two away of emailing off my revised manuscript of Autumn’s Promise. Hooray!
In my spare time, I’ve also been cooking a lot. Cooking relaxes me…I think because it’s so different than writing. I can get instant results and there’s no editing involved!
One thing I’ve been doing is trying out recipes that my characters in GRACE will be making during the Christmas holidays. In doing my research, I came across the recipe for Lard Cakes. The author talked about making these treats after butchering a pig. (eek!)
However, she assured me that using plain old Canola oil would work just fine.
I’ve been meaning to try these out, but hadn’t been in a great hurry. I make super fried chicken…but other than that, we just don’t eat too much fried food. And, well, they didn’t sound all that appetizing. But the name sounded like it would be fun to have in a book…
Anyway, last Sunday I finally heated up some oil and made a monster batch of lard cakes. The recipe was simple…all you had to do was fix up flour and cream and a few other ingredients. For some reason, mine seemed too gooey, so I kept adding more and more flour until it resembled a pie dough. A lot of pie dough!! After rolling it out, I cut it into rectangles and cut little slits in each one.
Then, when the oil was super hot, I tossed them in. After they were brown, I rolled them in sugar. Basically, they tasted a whole lot like regular donuts, but not quite as light.
Were they a success? I don’t know. The recipe made a lot. Lots! Like thirty! My husband, daughter, and I each had one, and that was plenty. And they were good warm, not near as good cool. So I was left with a huge plate of cold lard cakes for the next two days.
Now I just have to decide whether my characters want to make them in GRACE or not….right now I’m leaning toward Amish Caramel Corn. That, I’ve made a bunch, and it saves well, too!
3 Comments
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Sandy Matley 
I just finished reading Winter’s Awakening. I loved it. I am hooked. I can’t wait to get your next book Spring’s Renewal it sounds wonderful too. You mentioned here that you like to cook because it relaxes you. I could not agree more. If I have been stressed out at work for whatever reason cooking always seems to help. I love reading about the Amish. They certainly have the right idea. Life doesn’t have to be so complicated. They seem to see beauty in everything. This book was such a feel good book I hated for it to end. Thank you so much and please please please keep writing. You have such a gift.