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!