B is for Brownies

4/2/2016 I lost this recipe right after copying it a few years ago, and am thrilled to find it again!


4/3/2013 Because who doesn't love them? This easy peasy recipe crept into my kitchen via Pinterest:

EASY BROWNIES from Pampered Cooking with Rachael. Never buy boxed brownie mix again. Follow the recipe below and make brownies for approximately $.30 a mix. So simple, so easy. Not just frugal but cuts out the unknown ingredients.

1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Cocoa
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Powder

At Baking Time Add:

2 Eggs
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil ( I used coconut oil)
1 tsp. Vanilla

Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Store premade mix in plastic bags or mason jars.

What about you? Have you found any really great recipes on Pinterest lately? Do you include food and recipes in your writing? I find I always like people more if they enjoy food - cooking and eating it - as much as I do. Not just characters in books, but real people too.

April Fool!

You thought there'd be a new post for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, didn't you? First thing at the crack of sparrow's fart. Well, ha ha! April Fool's Day.

So I'm off to a rough start, but that's okay. The key is that we get out of the gate and start the ride. This month, I'll be blogging about all the themes related to my romantic suspense trilogy, which begins with a prequel I'm finishing up this month. Right now, that novella is too hot for readers to handle. My male protagonist took over and likes sex with his heroine. Imagine that! If I don't wrap this book up soon, they'll have to grow new body parts and this will become an erotic sci-fi story. I'll leave it to your imagination.

An interesting twist in this book, and one that was completely unanticipated, is the inclusion of musical themes. I'm not a musician, and never have been, but this year I'm particularly drawn to powerful music and unleashed passion in the voice. So here's an A+ singer - A is for Amanda - who exemplifies exactly what I mean. My heroine can belt out a tune like this. Someday, maybe I'll be able to unleash my inner singer the same way. I think I just need to believe in me.

Today's word count:

Z is for Zilch

Which is almost the way I ended the A-Z Challenge! Yikes! I was out-of-town on a mural installation and got home way too late last night. I'm fried, and I wish I could do Zilch today, but I have to finish reading Eric Maisel's new book, Making Your Creative Mark: Nine Keys to Achieving Your Artistic Goals. It's a terrific book meant for professionals in all the arts, and you can read my review tomorrow at the Blood-Red Pencil blog.

I also have to plant Zinnias, because I just found another huge bag of seeds. Apparently, I had Zinnias on the brain when I ordered seeds last autumn and this spring. Which is okay, because I love them. I plant California Giants from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds up the centers of each of my raised vegetable beds, and they not only look colorful and gorgeous, they shield the tender lettuces planted on either side from too much sun. I love those hot colors - these are the colors of my youth - groovy man!

I'm off to Zip through the day, my friends. It's going to be a Zoo around here today. Thanks so much for visiting me during the blogging challenge, and I'll continue to add your names to my special list. We can keep visiting each other, right? Just leave me your blog link in the comments and I'll continue connecting with you.

Y is for You

I'm embarrassed to admit I've written just under 1,000 words of my 30,000 Camp NaNoWriMo goal. I have written about 10,000 blog words just for the A-Z Challenge. What about you? How did your month of writing go in April?