Thanks for all of those who participated in my giveaway. I'll be doing other random ones from time to time (though not generally on this scale ). Check back occasionally, follow my blog, or friend me on Facebook to increase your chances of finding out.
Today I'll be signing at the Orem Barnes and Noble with six other great authors from 2-4 p.m. Swing by and say hello if you're in the area!
The winner of Bone Warriors is:
Danyelle!
The winner of Famous Family Nights is:
Nichole Giles!
The winner of the gift certificate to His and Her Treasures is:
Chantelle!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Lots of contests out there, and Friday's winners!
There are a bunch of other contests going on right now, so I thought I'd mention a few of them:
My friend Marta is having a giveaway all month with various prizes on offer, including the new Christmas album by David Archuleta called "Christmas From the Heart." She also does a musical Christmas Advent calendar where she posts a video of a great Christmas song each day. Each time you post a comment on one of her advent posts you are automatically entered into her drawing. Yesterday's post was a man playing "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" on glasses of water--it was totally cool. Check here for details.
Kathi Oram Peterson, author of The Forgotten Warrior is holding An Angel in Your Life Contest on her blog. thorugh December 15th she's collecting stories about someone who was an angel in your life. Check out her blog for details.
My friend Nichole is involved in a giveaway for by EZ Scrapbox on her blog (this is a seriously cool product and if they get enough clicks to their website they'll give two away to charity!). I'll be posting more about this another day, but or now, go check it out!
Rachel Nunes reviewed Laurie Lewis' new book Dawn's Early Light, and if you leave a comment on her post you will be entered to win an autographed copy of the book, and a handcrafted silver necklace. You can read more about it here.
Anne Bradshaw is giving away a copy of Dallyn Vail Bayles' inspirational album, Prayer on her blog this week. So click here to find out more about how to enter.
Rachel Rager is having a contest on her blog where she's giving away a copy of the movie While You Were Sleeping.
I probably missed some, but these were the ones I could find easily. Hope you all win something on someone's blog! Remember, there's still a little time left to enter to win one of tomorrow's prizes on my blog too!
And today's winners on my blog are:
The edible image from Kristi's Creative Cakes in West Valley City goes to
Valerie Ipson!
And the copy of Cory Poulson's book goes to
Suzanne!
____________
Today's blog tour stop is Connie Hall.
My friend Marta is having a giveaway all month with various prizes on offer, including the new Christmas album by David Archuleta called "Christmas From the Heart." She also does a musical Christmas Advent calendar where she posts a video of a great Christmas song each day. Each time you post a comment on one of her advent posts you are automatically entered into her drawing. Yesterday's post was a man playing "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" on glasses of water--it was totally cool. Check here for details.
Kathi Oram Peterson, author of The Forgotten Warrior is holding An Angel in Your Life Contest on her blog. thorugh December 15th she's collecting stories about someone who was an angel in your life. Check out her blog for details.
My friend Nichole is involved in a giveaway for by EZ Scrapbox on her blog (this is a seriously cool product and if they get enough clicks to their website they'll give two away to charity!). I'll be posting more about this another day, but or now, go check it out!
Rachel Nunes reviewed Laurie Lewis' new book Dawn's Early Light, and if you leave a comment on her post you will be entered to win an autographed copy of the book, and a handcrafted silver necklace. You can read more about it here.
Anne Bradshaw is giving away a copy of Dallyn Vail Bayles' inspirational album, Prayer on her blog this week. So click here to find out more about how to enter.
Rachel Rager is having a contest on her blog where she's giving away a copy of the movie While You Were Sleeping.
I probably missed some, but these were the ones I could find easily. Hope you all win something on someone's blog! Remember, there's still a little time left to enter to win one of tomorrow's prizes on my blog too!
And today's winners on my blog are:
The edible image from Kristi's Creative Cakes in West Valley City goes to
Valerie Ipson!
And the copy of Cory Poulson's book goes to
Suzanne!
____________
Today's blog tour stop is Connie Hall.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Thursdays Winners and my trip to the Four Corners
Even though I would far rather stay curled in my warm bed with my laptop then spend hours driving across state, I've enjoyed visiting areas I've never been before. This week I drove out nearly to the four corners--If I hadn't had a signing at the grocery store last night, I might have been terribly tempted to finish the trip.
Just a few notes about the long drive to San Juan:
There's a big scrub evergreen (I really ought to know what kind of trees they are, but I don't. If anyone else does, I'd be happy to be educated) on the East side of the road near Moab that is covered in tinsel and Christmas decorations. It even has a huge star posted on top. It was cool. I hoped I would see if on the way back so I could stop and take a picture, but it was dark and I totally missed it. The tree gave me something to think about, though. It reminded me of the shoe tree in Park City (which I blogged about here). I can't help but wonder whose idea it was to begin with, why they picked that tree, and what they were thinking about when they did it. Could one of them have wondered if someone would see the tree and blog about it? Did they want to encourage holiday cheer to spread and hope the idea would catch on so others would do the same with random trees in their areas?
Actually, that's not a half bad idea....
Anyway, Tuesday evening I spoke to a small group at the CEU San Juan Campus library about writing and what I've learned over the years. Then we had some tasty cookies and talked for a bit before my new friends, the Razors, took me home and fed me some seriously tasty homemade pizza. Many thanks to them and their mom for putting up signs and feeding and housing me for the night.
The next day I went to Mexican Hat Elementary school where I spoke to the kids all day with each grade coming in for half an hour. I did two presentations to kindergartners. We'll just say that I got a bit hoarse by lunchtime. Thankfully there was a bit more break time between the afternoon sessions. It was fun, but my voice box was ready to have a break when I turned my car back north.
The red mesas and rock formations near the Navajo reservation at Mexican Hat are so cool. I took a number of pictures--mostly while I was driving back to Blanding. I couldn't stop because school got out a bit later than I planned on, and the drive was a good 20 miles further than I remembered from my early research, so I had to rush back so I wouldn't be late.
This formation is near the reservation. I remember when I drove near it in the morning I thought it looked like fingers coming out of the ground It's more gray than the reddish dirt and rocks around it--the picture doesn't do it justice.
This one is called "Hat Rock" and ask you can see, it kind of looks like a Mexican Hat. I'm assuming that's where the town gets its name.
One day I'll have to drag my husband down that direction and we'll have to spend a few days going through Arches and Canyonlands national parks, then see some of the other sights that I didn't have time for on this trip.
All right, now for the big announcement of the winners--I know you've been slogging through the rest of the post just to be polite, but here's what you really want.
1) The gift certificate to Vinyl Expressions donated by Valerie Ipson goes to:
Rachelle Christensen!
2) The hardbound copy of The Shelly Game goes to:
Nichole Giles!
Okay ladies, you know the drill!
__________
Today's blog tour stop is by Molly--who had never read an LDS book before, but even after reading mine is not adverse to reading another. =) Check out her review here.
Also, Jennie Hansen reviewed my book in her column for Meridian Magazine yesterday--and I was very pleased! You can read that one here.
Just a few notes about the long drive to San Juan:
There's a big scrub evergreen (I really ought to know what kind of trees they are, but I don't. If anyone else does, I'd be happy to be educated) on the East side of the road near Moab that is covered in tinsel and Christmas decorations. It even has a huge star posted on top. It was cool. I hoped I would see if on the way back so I could stop and take a picture, but it was dark and I totally missed it. The tree gave me something to think about, though. It reminded me of the shoe tree in Park City (which I blogged about here). I can't help but wonder whose idea it was to begin with, why they picked that tree, and what they were thinking about when they did it. Could one of them have wondered if someone would see the tree and blog about it? Did they want to encourage holiday cheer to spread and hope the idea would catch on so others would do the same with random trees in their areas?
Actually, that's not a half bad idea....
Anyway, Tuesday evening I spoke to a small group at the CEU San Juan Campus library about writing and what I've learned over the years. Then we had some tasty cookies and talked for a bit before my new friends, the Razors, took me home and fed me some seriously tasty homemade pizza. Many thanks to them and their mom for putting up signs and feeding and housing me for the night.
The next day I went to Mexican Hat Elementary school where I spoke to the kids all day with each grade coming in for half an hour. I did two presentations to kindergartners. We'll just say that I got a bit hoarse by lunchtime. Thankfully there was a bit more break time between the afternoon sessions. It was fun, but my voice box was ready to have a break when I turned my car back north.
The red mesas and rock formations near the Navajo reservation at Mexican Hat are so cool. I took a number of pictures--mostly while I was driving back to Blanding. I couldn't stop because school got out a bit later than I planned on, and the drive was a good 20 miles further than I remembered from my early research, so I had to rush back so I wouldn't be late.
This formation is near the reservation. I remember when I drove near it in the morning I thought it looked like fingers coming out of the ground It's more gray than the reddish dirt and rocks around it--the picture doesn't do it justice.
This one is called "Hat Rock" and ask you can see, it kind of looks like a Mexican Hat. I'm assuming that's where the town gets its name.
One day I'll have to drag my husband down that direction and we'll have to spend a few days going through Arches and Canyonlands national parks, then see some of the other sights that I didn't have time for on this trip.
All right, now for the big announcement of the winners--I know you've been slogging through the rest of the post just to be polite, but here's what you really want.
1) The gift certificate to Vinyl Expressions donated by Valerie Ipson goes to:
Rachelle Christensen!
2) The hardbound copy of The Shelly Game goes to:
Nichole Giles!
Okay ladies, you know the drill!
__________
Today's blog tour stop is by Molly--who had never read an LDS book before, but even after reading mine is not adverse to reading another. =) Check out her review here.
Also, Jennie Hansen reviewed my book in her column for Meridian Magazine yesterday--and I was very pleased! You can read that one here.
Wednesday's Winners!
Okay, so I know it's technically Thursday, but I just got in from my trip and I didn't have Internet access until two minutes ago. My voice is hoarse from singing along with some music to stay awake the past two hours. I did, however, make an interesting discovery tonight. Driving unfamiliar twisting turns under a full moon is way less stressful than doing the same thing under a new moon. More details of my trip in tomorrow's post.
Now for the winners:
Missing by Ronda Hinrichsen goes to
Laura Zemp
Agent Bishop goes to
Kristen!
Congratulations ladies, send me your mailing addresses and I'll see that you get the prizes.
Today's blog tour stop was Allison Palmer.
Now for the winners:
Missing by Ronda Hinrichsen goes to
Laura Zemp
Agent Bishop goes to
Kristen!
Congratulations ladies, send me your mailing addresses and I'll see that you get the prizes.
Today's blog tour stop was Allison Palmer.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Prize Winners and Latest Confections.
It's been a while since I posted up any cake photos, and I've been meaning to, so I thought I'd share my most recent projects. I did mention yesterday that I was going to, right?
Have you ever noticed how mom's get the short-shaft on their birthdays? They get plenty of love and hugs and hopefully a few gifts as well, but when was the last time your mom got a nice birthday cake? I don't remember mine EVER getting anything fun, and she usually had to make her own, which is not cool at all.
My mom had her birthday a week or so ago and my sister Kristi came down to celebrate, so we decided to go ahead and do something special for my mom's birthday. I've spent oodles of time online researching different cakes over the past few months, so I called her with a specific idea, which she shot down, and we replaced it with this choice instead. I learned round cakes are really hard to do with fondant. Seriously. But I think the teapot turned out fine for a first attempt and I'll definitely give it another go as soon as I have an opportunity.
At Halloween I was asked to bring cupcakes to my ward party, so I did some more research and found this cute idea. i think they turned out totally cute!
Okay, now for the winners for today's drawing. Winners were selected using Random.org.
The first prize, an autographed copy of Nothing to Regret goes to
Connie Hall!
The second price, a copy of Strength to Endure, goes to
Rebecca Irvine!
Congratulations ladies, send me your mailing addresses and I'll get those in the mail as soon as I get back from Blanding!
Check back tomorrow to see who wins the next set of prizes!
In the meantime, today's stop on my blog tour is Kim Job.
Have you ever noticed how mom's get the short-shaft on their birthdays? They get plenty of love and hugs and hopefully a few gifts as well, but when was the last time your mom got a nice birthday cake? I don't remember mine EVER getting anything fun, and she usually had to make her own, which is not cool at all.
My mom had her birthday a week or so ago and my sister Kristi came down to celebrate, so we decided to go ahead and do something special for my mom's birthday. I've spent oodles of time online researching different cakes over the past few months, so I called her with a specific idea, which she shot down, and we replaced it with this choice instead. I learned round cakes are really hard to do with fondant. Seriously. But I think the teapot turned out fine for a first attempt and I'll definitely give it another go as soon as I have an opportunity.
At Halloween I was asked to bring cupcakes to my ward party, so I did some more research and found this cute idea. i think they turned out totally cute!
Okay, now for the winners for today's drawing. Winners were selected using Random.org.
The first prize, an autographed copy of Nothing to Regret goes to
Connie Hall!
The second price, a copy of Strength to Endure, goes to
Rebecca Irvine!
Congratulations ladies, send me your mailing addresses and I'll get those in the mail as soon as I get back from Blanding!
Check back tomorrow to see who wins the next set of prizes!
In the meantime, today's stop on my blog tour is Kim Job.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
A Week FILLED with Giveaways!
So to celebrate the release of my book, and to round out my blog tour (which has been going great!), I've put together a week of giveaways--9I know, you're thinking that you've hit the jackpot!). That's right, every day this week (except today), I'll be giving away great prizes to you, my readers!
All entries will be kept until the end of the week to give early entrants the best possible chance to win!
Want to know what you could win? Okay, I'll tell you!
Tuesday
I'm starting off with a couple of autographed copies of Tristi Pinkston's first two books, Nothing to Regret, and Strength to Endure, both historicals taking place during World War II. Nothing to Regret is about a man who is sent to the Japanese internment camp in the desert just west of where I live. He has to give up finishing college and leave nearly everything behind when he and his parents are forced to move there. During the course of the book he enlists and goes undercover in Japan. This is a great book!
Strength to Endure is set at the same time, only in Germany. Strength To Endure expertly portrays the consequences of war and the ability of the human spirit to conquer all.
Both of these books are out of print and even the author has no more copies left--this is it folks. Tristi has since written another historical, Season of Sacrifice; a romantic mystery/suspense Agent in Old Lace; and has a hysterical cozy mystery series coming out starting next year, called Secret Sisters. (I know, I'm in her critique group, and I can't wait to see these books in print!).
Wednesday
1) A couple of years ago I had the privilege of critiquing a manuscript for my friend Ronda--it kept me hanging on to the very end--so I was thrilled when she announced it was being released the same time as mine!
I'm giving away a copy of Missing, donated by new author, Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen. This mystery/suspense story with romance elements will keep you gripping the edge of your seats! You can learn more about the book here, or read Ronda's blog here.
2) I've been hearing great things about Mike McPheters' book, Agent Bishop about his true story of being an FBI agent moonlight as a Mormon Bishop. Mike does firesides and speaks to groups all over the place, and has been a very busy man sharing his story this fall. (I seriously have no clue how he keeps up with it all). I'm totally excited to offer a copy of his book! You can learn more about him on his website.
Thursday
1) I love vinyl signs and the easy personality they share, so I was really thrilled when Valerie Ipson offered to donate a $15 gift certificate from Vinyl Expressions. She has lots of cute designs and ideas! Check out her website here for more!
2) Do you like intense political thrillers? If so, you'll love winning Steve Alten's The Shell Game! This New York Times best-selling author is known for his book MEG, about a huge shark that lives in the Mariana Trench, along with several other major suspense books. He spoke at a conference I attended last spring (via Internet) and I'm telling you, the man is a meticulous wordsmith. Learn more about him and his upcoming titles at his website.
Friday
1) You may not have picked up from my blog posts (here, here, and here) that I like to bake, and I enjoy cake decorating a lot. (Oh, you did, well, then, you won't be surprised by tomorrow's post). I blame my parents for getting me started, and Kristi for egging me on. In fact, because I was having so much fun, I decorated a cake for Tristi Pinkston for her book launch for Agent in Old Lace, and I used an edible image of her cover.
Kristi's Creative Cakes (based out of the Salt Lake Valley) offered a free edible image using your photo or image and shipped to you (within the U.S.) free. If you live on the Wasatch Front and need a whole cake, she's willing to credit the winner $15 toward the price of a finished cake (which is at least half again what the edible image is worth, even shipped!). And let me tell you, she makes gorgeous and totally delicious cakes for weddings, birthdays, showers and any other occasion you might need. Learn more about her cakes on her blog. Her regular website is still under construction, but can be found here. The edible images are very simple to apply to your own cakes.
2 Who doesn't need a little magic? A little suspense--fighting against the bad guys and knowing somehow, in the end, the good will at least survive to fight again, if not attain a full victory? Reiyalindis is a YA fantasy which I haven't had a chance to read yet and I have been hard-pressed to keep my husband from snatching it up to read it instead of letting me give it away. You can learn more about Cory and the book here.
Saturday
I have three giveaways this day--that’s right, three.
1) We’ll start off with Bone Warriors, by Bron Bahlmann, the fifteen year old who has already broken into the publishing business. This adventure/fantasy is sure to keep you hooked. it's gotten great reviews. Bron's been doing school visits and signings all over the state. You an learn more about him here.
2) Next is Anne Bradshaw’s newest offering, Famous Family Nights, which stories from much beloved personalities such as Allen Osmond, David Glen Hatch, Josi Kilpack, Suan Easton Black, and many more. Check out Anne's blog (where she does weekly giveaways), and her website.
3) And finally (I did mention how much I love cake decorating, right?), we have His and Her Treasures' donation of a $10 gift certificate to their store, which you can find here. Not only do they sell cake supplies (pans, tips, bags, colors, cake boards, etc), but they have candy supplies (melted chocolate wafers, molds, pretty bags and sucker sticks), sprinkles, color sprays, decorated cupcake liners, wedding supplies, baby shower items, and much more. They ship all over the world and have a much better selection than any cake store I’ve been able to find in Utah, and better shipping rates than most anywhere.
If cakes' aren't your thing, they also sell vinyl for Cricuts and similar machines, transfer tape, pet supplies and costumes for both pets and humans (eclectic place, isn’t it?).
So, now that you know what you can win, you probably want to know how—because that does tend to improve the odds.
There are several ways to earn entries—
First, for one entry simply leave a comment on this post. Make sure I can reach you, either through a blog or by leaving an email address for me to contact you with. If I don’t hear back from you within 24 hours, I’ll draw again.
Next, for two entries, post on your blog about the giveaway, and link them back to this post (the permalink, not the general blog address), then leave me a comment saying that you’ve done so.
For two more entries, post a link to the contest on your Facebook account. If you aren’t my friend on Facebook already, you’ll have to become one so I can check out your post.
For four entries, post this cute blog button in your sidebar for the week, with a link back to this post.
And for five more entries, post my trailer on your blog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncq3Z7Cm20k
That's 14 possible entries into the contest. Fourteen chances to win!
If you want to do several things in one blog post, I’m totally good with that. Just make sure to let me know by email, or a comment on this post what you’ve done so I can make sure and get your entries listed. I’ll post back here every day with the winners!
Today's tour stop:
I forgot to mention Keith Fisher's review on LDS Writer's Blogck, which you can find here.
All entries will be kept until the end of the week to give early entrants the best possible chance to win!
Want to know what you could win? Okay, I'll tell you!
Tuesday
I'm starting off with a couple of autographed copies of Tristi Pinkston's first two books, Nothing to Regret, and Strength to Endure, both historicals taking place during World War II. Nothing to Regret is about a man who is sent to the Japanese internment camp in the desert just west of where I live. He has to give up finishing college and leave nearly everything behind when he and his parents are forced to move there. During the course of the book he enlists and goes undercover in Japan. This is a great book!
Strength to Endure is set at the same time, only in Germany. Strength To Endure expertly portrays the consequences of war and the ability of the human spirit to conquer all.
Both of these books are out of print and even the author has no more copies left--this is it folks. Tristi has since written another historical, Season of Sacrifice; a romantic mystery/suspense Agent in Old Lace; and has a hysterical cozy mystery series coming out starting next year, called Secret Sisters. (I know, I'm in her critique group, and I can't wait to see these books in print!).
Wednesday
1) A couple of years ago I had the privilege of critiquing a manuscript for my friend Ronda--it kept me hanging on to the very end--so I was thrilled when she announced it was being released the same time as mine!
I'm giving away a copy of Missing, donated by new author, Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen. This mystery/suspense story with romance elements will keep you gripping the edge of your seats! You can learn more about the book here, or read Ronda's blog here.
2) I've been hearing great things about Mike McPheters' book, Agent Bishop about his true story of being an FBI agent moonlight as a Mormon Bishop. Mike does firesides and speaks to groups all over the place, and has been a very busy man sharing his story this fall. (I seriously have no clue how he keeps up with it all). I'm totally excited to offer a copy of his book! You can learn more about him on his website.
Thursday
1) I love vinyl signs and the easy personality they share, so I was really thrilled when Valerie Ipson offered to donate a $15 gift certificate from Vinyl Expressions. She has lots of cute designs and ideas! Check out her website here for more!
2) Do you like intense political thrillers? If so, you'll love winning Steve Alten's The Shell Game! This New York Times best-selling author is known for his book MEG, about a huge shark that lives in the Mariana Trench, along with several other major suspense books. He spoke at a conference I attended last spring (via Internet) and I'm telling you, the man is a meticulous wordsmith. Learn more about him and his upcoming titles at his website.
Friday
1) You may not have picked up from my blog posts (here, here, and here) that I like to bake, and I enjoy cake decorating a lot. (Oh, you did, well, then, you won't be surprised by tomorrow's post). I blame my parents for getting me started, and Kristi for egging me on. In fact, because I was having so much fun, I decorated a cake for Tristi Pinkston for her book launch for Agent in Old Lace, and I used an edible image of her cover.
Kristi's Creative Cakes (based out of the Salt Lake Valley) offered a free edible image using your photo or image and shipped to you (within the U.S.) free. If you live on the Wasatch Front and need a whole cake, she's willing to credit the winner $15 toward the price of a finished cake (which is at least half again what the edible image is worth, even shipped!). And let me tell you, she makes gorgeous and totally delicious cakes for weddings, birthdays, showers and any other occasion you might need. Learn more about her cakes on her blog. Her regular website is still under construction, but can be found here. The edible images are very simple to apply to your own cakes.
2 Who doesn't need a little magic? A little suspense--fighting against the bad guys and knowing somehow, in the end, the good will at least survive to fight again, if not attain a full victory? Reiyalindis is a YA fantasy which I haven't had a chance to read yet and I have been hard-pressed to keep my husband from snatching it up to read it instead of letting me give it away. You can learn more about Cory and the book here.
Saturday
I have three giveaways this day--that’s right, three.
1) We’ll start off with Bone Warriors, by Bron Bahlmann, the fifteen year old who has already broken into the publishing business. This adventure/fantasy is sure to keep you hooked. it's gotten great reviews. Bron's been doing school visits and signings all over the state. You an learn more about him here.
2) Next is Anne Bradshaw’s newest offering, Famous Family Nights, which stories from much beloved personalities such as Allen Osmond, David Glen Hatch, Josi Kilpack, Suan Easton Black, and many more. Check out Anne's blog (where she does weekly giveaways), and her website.
3) And finally (I did mention how much I love cake decorating, right?), we have His and Her Treasures' donation of a $10 gift certificate to their store, which you can find here. Not only do they sell cake supplies (pans, tips, bags, colors, cake boards, etc), but they have candy supplies (melted chocolate wafers, molds, pretty bags and sucker sticks), sprinkles, color sprays, decorated cupcake liners, wedding supplies, baby shower items, and much more. They ship all over the world and have a much better selection than any cake store I’ve been able to find in Utah, and better shipping rates than most anywhere.
If cakes' aren't your thing, they also sell vinyl for Cricuts and similar machines, transfer tape, pet supplies and costumes for both pets and humans (eclectic place, isn’t it?).
So, now that you know what you can win, you probably want to know how—because that does tend to improve the odds.
There are several ways to earn entries—
First, for one entry simply leave a comment on this post. Make sure I can reach you, either through a blog or by leaving an email address for me to contact you with. If I don’t hear back from you within 24 hours, I’ll draw again.
Next, for two entries, post on your blog about the giveaway, and link them back to this post (the permalink, not the general blog address), then leave me a comment saying that you’ve done so.
For two more entries, post a link to the contest on your Facebook account. If you aren’t my friend on Facebook already, you’ll have to become one so I can check out your post.
For four entries, post this cute blog button in your sidebar for the week, with a link back to this post.
And for five more entries, post my trailer on your blog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncq3Z7Cm20k
That's 14 possible entries into the contest. Fourteen chances to win!
If you want to do several things in one blog post, I’m totally good with that. Just make sure to let me know by email, or a comment on this post what you’ve done so I can make sure and get your entries listed. I’ll post back here every day with the winners!
Today's tour stop:
I forgot to mention Keith Fisher's review on LDS Writer's Blogck, which you can find here.
Great bread recipe
Yes, I know, I've been a terrible slacker about blogging this week. I have big news to announce tomorrow, so check back and see what's going on. =) My sister asked for a good bread recipe, so I thought I'd post it here as well. I make this all the time, and we totally love it. The basic recipe came out of a book, but I've altered it some.
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp active dry yeast (or 2 tsp instant dry yeast)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp Vitamin C powder (if you have it, if not, no worries, just leave it out).
2 beaten eggs
6-6 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
If you have instant yeast, you don't have to let it activate in warm water, but I usually do anyway. If it's not instant, put the cup of warm water in a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Then sprinkle the Tbsp of sugar over the bowl too. Set aside while you mix all the other wet ingredients, then add the yeast mixture, then add salt, sugar, and ginger and mix. Add the flour a cup at a time until it's the right consistency--smooth, not sticky to the touch.
Turn out onto floured counter and knead for 5 to 7 minutes. Prepare a large mixing bowl with a bit of oil along the bottom and sides, pop the dough in there and then turn it over to make sure the top is greased as well (sometimes I just pour a bit more oil on top and spread it with my pastry brush). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise until double. Usually about an hour, but it depends on how warm your kitchen is. Punch it down and let it rest while you grease and FLOUR two bread pans, then cut it in two and form into loaves. Set in pans and cover with plastic wrap for an hour or so or until double. Bake at 350 degrees. My book says 45-55 minutes, but mine rarely takes that long. Start checking it for appropriate browning about 35 minutes in. Let it cool only for a few minutes in the pans before popping it out. If you floured the pans well it should fall right out.
I like to make mine with half wheat, or a bit more instead of all white flour. When I do this I always add 1/4 cup of wheat gluten per batch to help it rise properly and it makes a big difference.
Also, if you get interrupted or know you won't have one long three-hour period free to do this, you can let the first rising happen in your fridge over a three-to four hour period (say, while you attend your kid's ball game or run to church). It will raise in the cold just fine, but at a slower pace. When you get back home, pull it out to finish rising, or if it's done, just punch it down and prepare the loaf pans.
I also like to double the batch and freeze three loaves (because it's just Bill and me), pulling them out to defrost in the fridge the night before I'll need them and they taste fine. Remember, there are no preservatives in the bread so if you leave it sitting out for several days it will mold faster than store bought. I always store mine in the fridge.
Enjoy!
_______________
This week's stops on my blog tour (because I was just that big of a slacker!)
Joyce DiPastena
Teri Rodeman
Valerie Ipson
Rachel Rager
Laura Bingham
Rachelle Christensen
A fun interview by Sarah Eden for her I Need Friends Friday post
Sheila Staley
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp active dry yeast (or 2 tsp instant dry yeast)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp Vitamin C powder (if you have it, if not, no worries, just leave it out).
2 beaten eggs
6-6 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
If you have instant yeast, you don't have to let it activate in warm water, but I usually do anyway. If it's not instant, put the cup of warm water in a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Then sprinkle the Tbsp of sugar over the bowl too. Set aside while you mix all the other wet ingredients, then add the yeast mixture, then add salt, sugar, and ginger and mix. Add the flour a cup at a time until it's the right consistency--smooth, not sticky to the touch.
Turn out onto floured counter and knead for 5 to 7 minutes. Prepare a large mixing bowl with a bit of oil along the bottom and sides, pop the dough in there and then turn it over to make sure the top is greased as well (sometimes I just pour a bit more oil on top and spread it with my pastry brush). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise until double. Usually about an hour, but it depends on how warm your kitchen is. Punch it down and let it rest while you grease and FLOUR two bread pans, then cut it in two and form into loaves. Set in pans and cover with plastic wrap for an hour or so or until double. Bake at 350 degrees. My book says 45-55 minutes, but mine rarely takes that long. Start checking it for appropriate browning about 35 minutes in. Let it cool only for a few minutes in the pans before popping it out. If you floured the pans well it should fall right out.
I like to make mine with half wheat, or a bit more instead of all white flour. When I do this I always add 1/4 cup of wheat gluten per batch to help it rise properly and it makes a big difference.
Also, if you get interrupted or know you won't have one long three-hour period free to do this, you can let the first rising happen in your fridge over a three-to four hour period (say, while you attend your kid's ball game or run to church). It will raise in the cold just fine, but at a slower pace. When you get back home, pull it out to finish rising, or if it's done, just punch it down and prepare the loaf pans.
I also like to double the batch and freeze three loaves (because it's just Bill and me), pulling them out to defrost in the fridge the night before I'll need them and they taste fine. Remember, there are no preservatives in the bread so if you leave it sitting out for several days it will mold faster than store bought. I always store mine in the fridge.
Enjoy!
_______________
This week's stops on my blog tour (because I was just that big of a slacker!)
Joyce DiPastena
Teri Rodeman
Valerie Ipson
Rachel Rager
Laura Bingham
Rachelle Christensen
A fun interview by Sarah Eden for her I Need Friends Friday post
Sheila Staley
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
