Saturday, February 11, 2017

Spicy quick and easy breadsticks-- and a book release!

Hi everybody! I hope you're all surviving February and the crazy weather most people have had. We've had about ten times more snow than we usually do and several ice storms. Here's a picture of my kids literally skating down the road.
 Yes, it's dark. I wouldn't let them do it during the day because I thought if anyone was out driving, they probably didn't know enough to stay home, and therefore were not good drives. LOL
 The flakes are so pretty against fuschia. :)
 I love this little church across from our library! I've take this same photo in all weather and all sorts of light. (And I fully expect Ruthy to declare this little church her writerly property and it will show up in a book ASAP!!)
                                   
So, now to the breadsticks. We love making these when we want a little crunchy, spicy something added to our salads.
                                              
First, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. You can add more or less, but I'm putting the very least in mine because I like the heat but not the melt-your-face-off heat.
 Add 3 TBS of olive oil, 1TBS of minced garlic, and
                                                     
4TBS of finely grated parmesan, and
                                                 
3TBS of grated parmesan. Mix together thoroughly.
Using your favorite pizza dough recipe, or pizza dough from a can, twist the bread into strips and slather on the spicy cheese oil mixture. 
Pausing our recipe to ooooh over my pizza from last week. We like to make personal pizzas and I had a hankering for a spinach, chicken, fresh tomato pizza. Ahhhhhhh..... I brushed the edges with the red pepper/garlic/ cheese mix and it was AMAZING.
 Bake at 425F for 8-12 minutes. I start checking at about 8 minutes. Some we take out at 10 minutes so they're softer but I like mine a little crunchier so I leave them for the full 12  minutes.
 A random shot of the chocolate cake a friend brought over for my daughter's birthday. DELICIOUS
And my kids were jealous that the regular school kids got a snow day, so we took one, too. Here is our puppy dog looking oh-so-enthusiastic. :)

I have a new book releasing! I almost forgot about it because I wrote it last year (and it's so last year in my head, haha) but the day is almost here. Summer's Glory is the second book in my Arcadia Valley romance series and releases on February 14th. You can find it on all platforms and in paper. Here's the Amazon link. 

"Violet Tam thinks she's escaped the boy who made her teen years a perfect misery, but when Silas Black comes back to town, she finds herself falling for the one guy she’s always hated."
After his mother passes away, master carpenter Silas Black returned to Arcadia Valley to help his sister run their small farm. He was the town’s bad boy as a teen and it wasn’t just an image. But although the rest of Arcadia Valley has accepted that his juvenile delinquent years are behind him, there’s one woman who can’t accept that he’s really changed.
When Violet Tam reluctantly asks him to join forces to help out a friend in need, they discover there is more to each other than meets the eye, and certainly more than who they were in high school. Silas soon realizes he’s in danger of losing his heart to the strong, intelligent middle school teacher. Add in a shocking robbery, an emergency surgery, and a surprise litter of puppies, and the two former enemies must face the possibility that true love was waiting to bloom for them all along.

Be sure to stop by my author pages at Mary Jane Hathaway or Virginia Carmichael, or my blog The Things that Last. Have a wonderful weekend!



9 comments:

  1. I have had one of those weeks that we don't mention out loud... so this is the second post I've actually gotten to this week in the cafe... and we love breadsticks here, we LOVE them, and now I need to try these. It's fun to experiment... and I love bread so much!

    The cozy reading pic: PERFECT. Love it!!!!!

    And skating on the street is awesome! I've seen the ice videos from the ice storms out there and wowza: ice is treacherous. Cars and ice equal OH MY STARS!!!!! Oops! :)

    Love the new book and huge congrats from over here in the bucolic East, famous for sweet white country churches JUST LIKE THAT ONE!!!!! #steal #mychurchnow #lovelovelove

    Clicks on pic.... hits copy.... then save as.... "Ruthy's Church Now!!!"

    What a pretty scene, Mary Jane!

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    1. Hmmmm, doesn't stealing a church sound ...um...sinful? ROFLOL

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    2. HAHA! Ruthy knows no bounds! Or really, I should say her creativity knows so bounds. :)

      I'm so sorry about your week. I had one day like that last week and it was really enough for me. I hope this next week is better...

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  2. Love the ice skating in the streets pic. We've had a couple of days like that up here. Kids are always playing road hockey all year round but they've been able to play with ice skates this year!

    And that little church is picturesque. The stories it would be able to tell!

    Those breadsticks look yummy. I'm think they'd be great with some zesty tomato soup with melted cheese on top.

    Happy book release week! I checked but Amazon doesn't have the paperback version up yet. I'll check later on. Enjoy whatever crazy weather winter throws at you this week!

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    1. Yes, the paperback is hung up in transit for some reason. *sigh* Maybe it releases when the ebook does? Not sure. These are things I should know, I suppose.

      MMMMMM, zesty tomato soup and melted cheese? YES, PLEASE.

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  3. Breadsticks! Although I think I would go EXTRA light on the red pepper flakes. :)

    I remember ice skating in the road in winters past...long past. But so much fun! Your kids will never forget this winter, and all other winters will be compared to it for years to come. For me, that landmark winter was 1967. Good memories!

    And congrats on the book release! Yay!

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    1. I have VERY vivid memories of an ice storm when I was about 8 years old. It's so true, they will remember these days forever! We tried to have a good balance between going out to explore and not hurting ourselves. :D

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  4. I am now craving breadsticks!!!!!!!! And I just got back from shopping. :(

    I agree with Jan that your kids will remember this winter. I still remember the most amazing ice storm when I was in college. I can vividly picture the sun glinting off ice-covered trees! I'm sure the power was out too - it was that bad a storm - but the image I have is of those sparkling trees.

    Happy book release!

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    Replies
    1. I remember sliding down a snowy hill on my stomach and not falling through the layer of ice over a foot of snow! I also remember not being able to cross our porch without falling down.
      This year, I'll remember trying to figure out how to get the car unlocked when the whole door is covered with ice. Oooops.

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