Shirley Jump's Blog: Eating My Words, page 9
January 13, 2012
On a Personal Note: My Brother
My younger brother Fred has a life-threatening heart condition and is going to undergo a stem cell treatment to save his life. As I'm sure you know with Heart Health Awareness month coming up in February, someone suffers a heart-related incident every 25 seconds and someone dies from a heart incident every minute. My brother is one of those statistics, suffering a "widowmaker" at the age of 36, receiving a pacemaker, and now, dying of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.
At the end of this month my brother will be undergoing a harvesting, then reimplantation of his own stem cells, a treatment that has shown remarkable success in repairing everything from cardiac damage to macular degeneration. My family is having several fundraisers to try to raise the $60,000 needed to pay for the treatment. If you have a moment, could you say a prayer, or, if it's within your budget, consider giving to the fund we have set up for him.
The wonderful ladies at Harlequin Romance have a blog post up about it today. In addition, there is a set up for him.
Donations can be given online at:
Or mailed to:
Fred Kawa Jr. Heart Fund
c/o Hanscom Federal Credit Union
15 Kansas Street
Natick, MA 01760
Thank you all, and believe me, prayers are just as much appreciated as anything else. Hug a loved one today!
Shirley
At the end of this month my brother will be undergoing a harvesting, then reimplantation of his own stem cells, a treatment that has shown remarkable success in repairing everything from cardiac damage to macular degeneration. My family is having several fundraisers to try to raise the $60,000 needed to pay for the treatment. If you have a moment, could you say a prayer, or, if it's within your budget, consider giving to the fund we have set up for him.
The wonderful ladies at Harlequin Romance have a blog post up about it today. In addition, there is a set up for him.
Donations can be given online at:
Or mailed to:
Fred Kawa Jr. Heart Fund
c/o Hanscom Federal Credit Union
15 Kansas Street
Natick, MA 01760
Thank you all, and believe me, prayers are just as much appreciated as anything else. Hug a loved one today!
Shirley
December 23, 2011
Oven Baked Beef Stew
I absolutely LOVE this stew. I've made it dozens of times. The original recipe ran in Parade or one of those Sunday newspaper insert things. I've tweaked it over the years to suit my family, but it's a sure hit every time!
No pic, since I'm making it tonight, but if I remember, I'll upload a pic later.
Oven-Baked Beef Stew
1 pound round steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cups red wine (I use a Shiraz, or a Merlot, something we would normally drink)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound baby carrots
2 small onions, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups red wine (same wine; the recipe says to use the marinade wine; I think that's gross, so I use the rest in the bottle for the recipe)
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup cold water
3 tablespoons corn starch
Marinate the beef for 1 to 3 hours, depending on when you remember to start this ;-). Remove from marinade, then heat olive oil and cook beef until browned. Remove from pan. Cook garlic and vegetables until browned, remove from pan. Melt butter, add flour and make a roux (the base for a sauce, if you don't know what this is, you can go here for the basics). Add the wine gradually, stirring with a whisk. Then the chicken stock and tomato paste. Put the beef, vegetables and liquid into an oven-safe Dutch Oven or other large pot/pan and bake at 375 for two hours (you can also put this in the Crock-pot).
Just before you're ready to serve, you can thicken the stew. I like a really thick stew, so I mix the water and the corn starch, then stir this into the hot stew. It makes it nice and thick, really yummy . I serve it with biscuits and that's enough for a mega meal. Okay, this is totally not Weight Watchers friendly but when it's 25 below outside, I really don't care ;-)
No pic, since I'm making it tonight, but if I remember, I'll upload a pic later.
Oven-Baked Beef Stew
1 pound round steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cups red wine (I use a Shiraz, or a Merlot, something we would normally drink)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound baby carrots
2 small onions, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups red wine (same wine; the recipe says to use the marinade wine; I think that's gross, so I use the rest in the bottle for the recipe)
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup cold water
3 tablespoons corn starch
Marinate the beef for 1 to 3 hours, depending on when you remember to start this ;-). Remove from marinade, then heat olive oil and cook beef until browned. Remove from pan. Cook garlic and vegetables until browned, remove from pan. Melt butter, add flour and make a roux (the base for a sauce, if you don't know what this is, you can go here for the basics). Add the wine gradually, stirring with a whisk. Then the chicken stock and tomato paste. Put the beef, vegetables and liquid into an oven-safe Dutch Oven or other large pot/pan and bake at 375 for two hours (you can also put this in the Crock-pot).
Just before you're ready to serve, you can thicken the stew. I like a really thick stew, so I mix the water and the corn starch, then stir this into the hot stew. It makes it nice and thick, really yummy . I serve it with biscuits and that's enough for a mega meal. Okay, this is totally not Weight Watchers friendly but when it's 25 below outside, I really don't care ;-)
December 8, 2011
Tonight's Dinner: Chicken and Dumplings
Tonight, I had an oldie but goodie for dinner. I used a leftover rotisserie chicken, homemade broth (I make my own and freeze it) and homemade dumplings to create Tyler Florence's . When I before, I used chives in the dumplings, but the recent snowfall killed my chives outside, so I used parsley instead. Delicious dinner and great way to use up the leftover chicken!
Shirley
Shirley
November 29, 2011
New Book in Stores and The Reader Posse
I read an interesting article about reader posses yesterday. It's sort of the modern day equivalent of a fan club. I think it's a cool idea (and not just because I love the idea of having a posse, LOL), but because it makes sense in today's world where word of mouth is often the best advertising. Basically, you have a select group of readers/fans who get copies of your books in advance, on the agreement that they will read it, then blog about it/talk about it/spread the word. I have a few friends who do this just because they like my books, but think having an official "posse" is a cool idea.
What do you think? Would you be interested in something like that?
And on another note, my newest Riverbend book is out in stores today! It's always cool to go to the grocery store and see my book on the shelves! And if you notice, the price at Meijer (which is where I was today) is reduced, just like at Wal-Mart. A bargain! And a great stocking stuffer if I say so myself!
For those of you who have loved the Riverbend books, this is Livia's story (who made a quick appearance in ). Edward, the banquet hall owner is also back, but not the man he was months before, after a tragedy that deeply impacted him. And reader favorites Earl and Betsy are back as well, and getting a little spice in their romance ;-)
For an , and (available in stores everywhere and in Nook, Kindle, etc.).
Hope you all are keeping warm wherever you are! We're supposed to get our first snowfall of the year this afternoon, but they swear it's not going to stick. :-)
Shirley
What do you think? Would you be interested in something like that?
And on another note, my newest Riverbend book is out in stores today! It's always cool to go to the grocery store and see my book on the shelves! And if you notice, the price at Meijer (which is where I was today) is reduced, just like at Wal-Mart. A bargain! And a great stocking stuffer if I say so myself!
For those of you who have loved the Riverbend books, this is Livia's story (who made a quick appearance in ). Edward, the banquet hall owner is also back, but not the man he was months before, after a tragedy that deeply impacted him. And reader favorites Earl and Betsy are back as well, and getting a little spice in their romance ;-)
For an , and (available in stores everywhere and in Nook, Kindle, etc.).
Hope you all are keeping warm wherever you are! We're supposed to get our first snowfall of the year this afternoon, but they swear it's not going to stick. :-)
Shirley
November 23, 2011
Melted Snowman Cookies
This year for Thanksgiving we are going to a family member's house for dessert, and I figured everyone will bring pie, so why not make something different? I had seen these cookies on the and was dying to try them.
I bought Royal Icing mix at the cake decorating store. It was WAY cheaper than buying meringue powder to make my own (Royal Icing mix was $2, the meringue powder was nearly $8) and bought four tubes
of frosting to decorate (black, orange, green and red). I'm not much of a baker, at not at all a decorater, but I did have fun making these. My son did the hair (and then we all had a laugh at how everyone kinda looked like Ron Weasley). :-)
Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow! I'll be brining my turkey soon :-)
Shirley
November 21, 2011
Thanksgiving Success! Rerun
This has been my Thanksgiving plan for three years in a row, so I thought I'd rerun the tips. I have changed this slightly--in that I bought the brining bags at the store instead of using a pail (Farberware makes them and they were in the aisle with the roasters and kitchen twine, etc.). I have had success every time I use this recipe. Buying a fresh bird makes life ten times easier, but I have in a pinch defrosted a frozen bird and then brined it.
Thanksgiving was a HUGE success in my house. Brining the bird was DA BOMB and I highly recommend it. I mean, HIGHLY recommend it. I have never had a juicier, more delicious turkey--it was beyond simple to cook, and twelve people devoured nearly an entire 21-pound bird. Lots of going back for seconds and thirds that day!
Take notes if you want for next year, because here's how I did it (and managed to have a LOT of relaxation time on the big day, too):
Wednesday Night: Brine the Bird (in the fridge by 8pm)
Equipment needed: 5-gallon pail from Lowe's or Home Depot
Alton Brown's recipe for Brining from I'm Just Here for the Food
(which involves essentially cooking some water, brown sugar, peppercorns, bay leaves and kosher salt, then cooling and adding to the bucket).
Plus: 3 gallons ice water and 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
Thursday Timeline:
7:00 a.m.: Remove bird from Brining Liquid
Preheat oven
Dry bird, stuff with an onion, celery sticks. Brush whole bird with melted butter, then tent with foil, stick a meat thermometer in it, then put the bird in the oven.
8:00 a.m.: Cook sausage for stuffing, chop vegetables for stuffing (celery, carrots and onions), then cook when sausage is done. Add dried cranberries, leave to cool and set aside
8:15 a.m.: Peel 8 pounds of potatoes and start boiling them for mashed potatoes
8:45 a.m.: Start simple syrup for kids'
Put Frozen raspberries, pink lemonade and sugar in bowl to thaw for for grownups :-)
9:30 a.m.: Mash potatoes and put in crock-pot--done till 11:15 a.m. (take a nap, read the ads for Black Friday shopping...I do all my house cleaning on Wednesday, so I'm chilling for these two hours)
11:30 a.m.: remove foil tent from turkey, baste with more butter and turn oven temp up to 425 degrees
Start green beans (I made a healthy version, which I can post later)
Start Citrus-Glazed Carrots
12:15 p.m.: Assemble stuffing
12:30 p.m.: Remove turkey from oven and let set
Put rolls in oven
Put stuffing in oven
Make gravy
1:00 p.m.: Serve and eat ;-)
My MIL made the pies, and I had baked cookies on Wednesday night, so all the rest was done ahead of time. I usually make the pies a day or two ahead of time, but this time someone else did them, so I was saved that chore. This turkey was SO SO good, though. I just can't even tell you ;-)
How was your Thanksgiving? Was it a huge success? I do dishes as I go, and run the dishwasher about halfway through so that everyone can eat on real plates. Clean-up is still a lot of work, but it's not AS bad as it could be.
And if you want to read about my , I posted on RTB today about them!
Shirley
Thanksgiving was a HUGE success in my house. Brining the bird was DA BOMB and I highly recommend it. I mean, HIGHLY recommend it. I have never had a juicier, more delicious turkey--it was beyond simple to cook, and twelve people devoured nearly an entire 21-pound bird. Lots of going back for seconds and thirds that day!
Take notes if you want for next year, because here's how I did it (and managed to have a LOT of relaxation time on the big day, too):
Wednesday Night: Brine the Bird (in the fridge by 8pm)
Equipment needed: 5-gallon pail from Lowe's or Home Depot
Alton Brown's recipe for Brining from I'm Just Here for the Food
(which involves essentially cooking some water, brown sugar, peppercorns, bay leaves and kosher salt, then cooling and adding to the bucket).
Plus: 3 gallons ice water and 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
Thursday Timeline:
7:00 a.m.: Remove bird from Brining Liquid
Preheat oven
Dry bird, stuff with an onion, celery sticks. Brush whole bird with melted butter, then tent with foil, stick a meat thermometer in it, then put the bird in the oven.
8:00 a.m.: Cook sausage for stuffing, chop vegetables for stuffing (celery, carrots and onions), then cook when sausage is done. Add dried cranberries, leave to cool and set aside
8:15 a.m.: Peel 8 pounds of potatoes and start boiling them for mashed potatoes
8:45 a.m.: Start simple syrup for kids'
Put Frozen raspberries, pink lemonade and sugar in bowl to thaw for for grownups :-)
9:30 a.m.: Mash potatoes and put in crock-pot--done till 11:15 a.m. (take a nap, read the ads for Black Friday shopping...I do all my house cleaning on Wednesday, so I'm chilling for these two hours)
11:30 a.m.: remove foil tent from turkey, baste with more butter and turn oven temp up to 425 degrees
Start green beans (I made a healthy version, which I can post later)
Start Citrus-Glazed Carrots
12:15 p.m.: Assemble stuffing
12:30 p.m.: Remove turkey from oven and let set
Put rolls in oven
Put stuffing in oven
Make gravy
1:00 p.m.: Serve and eat ;-)
My MIL made the pies, and I had baked cookies on Wednesday night, so all the rest was done ahead of time. I usually make the pies a day or two ahead of time, but this time someone else did them, so I was saved that chore. This turkey was SO SO good, though. I just can't even tell you ;-)
How was your Thanksgiving? Was it a huge success? I do dishes as I go, and run the dishwasher about halfway through so that everyone can eat on real plates. Clean-up is still a lot of work, but it's not AS bad as it could be.
And if you want to read about my , I posted on RTB today about them!
Shirley
October 31, 2011
Plotting a Book? Sign up for my Online Class!
Plotting a book? Sign up for my November online class and get not just critiques of your work, but also a great tool for plotting!
WritersOnlineClasses.com is proud to present one of its two online November classes. To follow are the details of the Brain Map with New York Times bestselling author Shirley Jump:
CLASS: THE BRAINMAP: A WAY TO CREATE INTRICATE PLOTS AND COMPELLING, UNFORGETTABLE ...CHARACTERSINSTRUCTOR: Shirley Jump4-week class: November 1-30 COST: $30Registration ends October 31, 2011
Class Description -- THE BRAINMAP: AWAY TO CREATE INTRICATE PLOTS AND COMPELLING, UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS Editors love books that are character driven and have layered plots. Learn how to create novels with plots created by the characters themselves, using Shirley Jump's Brainmap Technique, giving a stronger, more powerful--and more emotional story. If you're stuck in your writing, needing inspiration or just want to learn more about developing characters and developing a multi-layered plot, you'll get the boost you need for this class with New York Times bestselling author Shirley Jump!
INSTRUCTOR BIO: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shirley Jump spends her days writing romantic comedies (Vegas Pregnancy Surprise, July 2010) to feed her shoe addiction and avoid cleaning the toilets. As AJ Whitten (), she also writes horror young adult novels for Houghton Mifflin's Graphia imprint with her daughter (The Well, September 2009). She cleverly finds writing time by feeding her kids junk food, allowing them to dress in the clothes they find on the floor and encouraging the dogs to double as vacuum cleaners. Visit her website at or read recipes and life adventures at .For more information or to register, go to
email [email protected] Refund Policy: Cash Refunds only when requested within 30 days of initial payment. After 30 days, refund will be credit toward a future class. CLASS: THE BRAINMAP: AWAY TO CREATE INTRICATE PLOTS AND COMPELLING, UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERSINSTRUCTOR: Shirley Jump4-week class: November 1-30 COST: $30Registration ends October 31, 2011Please make checks* payable to: Mary O'Gara -and mail to-Post Office Box 35938Albuquerque, NM 87176*PLEASE NOTE: WritersOnlineClasses.com accepts personal checks or money orders (US FUNDS ONLY!).Electronic Payments accepted via Paypal at . After logging on to paypal, Email electronic payments to: [email protected] subscribe to announcement only list, email: [email protected] to: FMI
WritersOnlineClasses.com is proud to present one of its two online November classes. To follow are the details of the Brain Map with New York Times bestselling author Shirley Jump:
CLASS: THE BRAINMAP: A WAY TO CREATE INTRICATE PLOTS AND COMPELLING, UNFORGETTABLE ...CHARACTERSINSTRUCTOR: Shirley Jump4-week class: November 1-30 COST: $30Registration ends October 31, 2011
Class Description -- THE BRAINMAP: AWAY TO CREATE INTRICATE PLOTS AND COMPELLING, UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS Editors love books that are character driven and have layered plots. Learn how to create novels with plots created by the characters themselves, using Shirley Jump's Brainmap Technique, giving a stronger, more powerful--and more emotional story. If you're stuck in your writing, needing inspiration or just want to learn more about developing characters and developing a multi-layered plot, you'll get the boost you need for this class with New York Times bestselling author Shirley Jump!
INSTRUCTOR BIO: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shirley Jump spends her days writing romantic comedies (Vegas Pregnancy Surprise, July 2010) to feed her shoe addiction and avoid cleaning the toilets. As AJ Whitten (), she also writes horror young adult novels for Houghton Mifflin's Graphia imprint with her daughter (The Well, September 2009). She cleverly finds writing time by feeding her kids junk food, allowing them to dress in the clothes they find on the floor and encouraging the dogs to double as vacuum cleaners. Visit her website at or read recipes and life adventures at .For more information or to register, go to
email [email protected] Refund Policy: Cash Refunds only when requested within 30 days of initial payment. After 30 days, refund will be credit toward a future class. CLASS: THE BRAINMAP: AWAY TO CREATE INTRICATE PLOTS AND COMPELLING, UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERSINSTRUCTOR: Shirley Jump4-week class: November 1-30 COST: $30Registration ends October 31, 2011Please make checks* payable to: Mary O'Gara -and mail to-Post Office Box 35938Albuquerque, NM 87176*PLEASE NOTE: WritersOnlineClasses.com accepts personal checks or money orders (US FUNDS ONLY!).Electronic Payments accepted via Paypal at . After logging on to paypal, Email electronic payments to: [email protected] subscribe to announcement only list, email: [email protected] to: FMI
October 3, 2011
In a Word...YUM
I've been hooked on this new show, "which airs in my region of the world at 1pm EST on ABC. It's got style and fashion god , super chef , Iron chef , Dr. Oz's daughter (who is so sweet, you can just see why Dr. Oz adores his kids) and new kid on the block chef .
Lots of the recipes they've run in the first week have appealed to me (my poor printer is burning through the pages, LOL) but I happened to have the ingredients for on hand, so I decided to make that for dinner.
All I can say is YUM. It was awesome. Totally awesome. The recipe recommends jarred sauce but Clinton said he always uses homemade (I wish he'd share his recipe...it sounded great), and I did, too. The last layer, I ran out of homemade sauce, so I did add a tiny bit of Ragu ;-) but you couldn't tell the difference. The fresh sauce--made from tomatoes in my garden and frozen a couple weeks ago--really added that extra depth of flavor to the sauce.
Eggplant parm is a lot of work (anything breaded is) but it was worth it. I could have eaten the whole pan myself ;-) The recipe really does use all those cups of bread crumbs and all those eggs, so don't skimp when you're laying it out. Also, I always use a set of pie plates for my breading steps, because they are shallow but edged, and they are easy to clean in the dishwasher. Use one hand to bread and let that be the goopy hand, while keeping the other hand clean to flip the fying eggplant. I did fry the eggplant in two pans, so that moved the process along a lot faster. I pulled it out of the oven after about 32 minutes and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving. DH LOVED it and said this recipe has to be on my must-serve list ;-)
. Check out while you're there--there's lots of great, easy, and cheap recipes to choose from!
Shirley
Lots of the recipes they've run in the first week have appealed to me (my poor printer is burning through the pages, LOL) but I happened to have the ingredients for on hand, so I decided to make that for dinner.
All I can say is YUM. It was awesome. Totally awesome. The recipe recommends jarred sauce but Clinton said he always uses homemade (I wish he'd share his recipe...it sounded great), and I did, too. The last layer, I ran out of homemade sauce, so I did add a tiny bit of Ragu ;-) but you couldn't tell the difference. The fresh sauce--made from tomatoes in my garden and frozen a couple weeks ago--really added that extra depth of flavor to the sauce.
Eggplant parm is a lot of work (anything breaded is) but it was worth it. I could have eaten the whole pan myself ;-) The recipe really does use all those cups of bread crumbs and all those eggs, so don't skimp when you're laying it out. Also, I always use a set of pie plates for my breading steps, because they are shallow but edged, and they are easy to clean in the dishwasher. Use one hand to bread and let that be the goopy hand, while keeping the other hand clean to flip the fying eggplant. I did fry the eggplant in two pans, so that moved the process along a lot faster. I pulled it out of the oven after about 32 minutes and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving. DH LOVED it and said this recipe has to be on my must-serve list ;-)
. Check out while you're there--there's lots of great, easy, and cheap recipes to choose from!
Shirley
October 1, 2011
Wonderful review for THE PRINCESS TEST
What an awesome way to start the weekend! I came across this of THE PRINCESS TEST this morning, and it just made my day!
For those of you who are writers, just a reminder that my starts Monday, so sign up today if you've been delaying (and you'll get real, hands-on help making your scenes compelling and strong!). It's all online, so you can read/participate at your own pace and on your own schedule.
Also, for the cooks in the audience, more fabulous recipes are coming next week! I've got a pork roast with a peach mustard sauce, and a gnocchi Alfredo, and whatever else strikes my fancy for cooking :-)
Have a great weekend, all!
Shirley
September 29, 2011
Interview with a Romance Novel Cover Model
How cool is this? features a romance cover model--and one of the titles they feature in the interview is mine! She was the model for , which came out in April. Check out the for a little behind-the-cover information!
Back to work on the next books this week. I'm writing a series featuring three brothers from Boston. I love connected books, though they can be challenging from the author's POV to keep everything straight. I should be more organized about the whole thing, and that would probably make my life a lot easier, LOL.
Shirley
Eating My Words
Recipes, musings and writing advice from Shirley Jump
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