Lindsay McKenna's Coconut Bread Pudding Recipe

Hi Everyone

Between Christmas and New Year's I bake or cook a lot of family handed down recipes. I love this time of year! This is a dessert that is served the week following Christmas. After a lot of cookies and fudge, a lighter dessert such as bread pudding is a welcome relief to one's stomach!



COCONUT BREAD PUDDING RECIPE

real butter, for the custard cups

1 loaf of white or whole wheat bread (1 lb) cut into one inch cubes. This will make about 12 cups of cubed bread for the recipe.

4 large 'free range' eggs

3/4 cup fructose sugar (get at health food store)

1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk

2 cups whole organic milk

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. sea salt (or your preferred salt)

confectioner's sugar, for dusting



1. Preheat over to 350F. Take two baking sheets (cookie sheets).

2. Butter the inside of the 8 six ounce custard cups (I use Pam organic olive oil spray instead)

3. Set the custard cups aside.

4. Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer on two cookie baking sheets. When the brown, turn them over once during the 15-20 minutes time limit.

5. When browned and crisp, remove from the oven. Reduce oven heat to 300F.

6. Get a large bowl. Whisk together eggs, sugar, milks, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Stir in toasted bread cubes. Let sit, tossing occasionally, until cubes have absorbed the liquid. About 5 minutes.

7. Divide bread mixture evenly among the custard cups. Place on the baking sheets. Put in oven. Insert toothpick in center of pudding and it comes out clean at about 50-60 minutes later. Take out and let cool for one hour. Serve dusted with confectioner’s sugar.

8. My husband has a fondness for ice cream sauce. I usually pick up a caramel or butterscotch sauce from the store. I then put about 1/2 cup of the sacue into a glass measuring cup and heat it up in a microwave. Instead of the confectioner’s sugar on top of the bread pudding, I drizzle the sauce, instead. Many roads to Rome. Choose what you want to put on the coconut bread pudding. Some sprinkle coconut on top along with the caramel sauce. It is limited only by your imagination!

Have fun!
Warmly, Lindsay McKenna
www.lindsaymckenna.com

Lindsay McKenna CONTEST for 2009 Harlequin 2009 Vintage Cover Calendar!

Hi Everyone!
Now, for the final contest of the year!
I love giving things that are meaningful to my readers :-)))

Harlequin sent me their 2009 Harlequin's Vintage Cover Calendar. That was a wonderful gift!





I think, though, a reader would cherish it even more than I would.

So, here is the contest.

Between December 25 to 31, 2008 you can enter ONE number between 1 and 100. Whoever guesses the number or is closest to it, will win the 2009 Calendar!

This is truly a RARE, one-of-a-kind publishing gift. Maybe in 25 or 50 years it will show up on ebay and make you some good money, haha.

Seriously, this is a one-of-a-kind calendar. I've never known Harlequin to create such a gift to the writers. And it's a beauty!

These are 12 covers from the past when Harlequin began in 1949. And their very first book, THE MANATEE by Nancy Bruff, is in this calendar!! Truly, a keepsake of grand proportions!

Anyone who is a member of the Lindsay McKenna list can send me their number guess!
Just send privately to me at docbones224@earthlink.net

If you aren't a member, just go to my website, www.lindsaymckenna.com and look up in the tool bar. Click on CONTACT. This will take you to that page. On the right hand side of it is subscription button. Press it and you're on your way to being on my list and being able to enter this contest.

Winner will be announced on January 1, 2009 on my list!

Good Luck and Happy New Year!!

Warmly, Lindsay McKenna

Christmas is a Time of Giving and Caring

Hi Everyone

I love the Christmas season. In fact, I like to practice it all year long! My friends and family just shake their head at me: when a Christmas gift arrives--I open it right away! I don't wait! My personal belief is that the season of giving and caring that comes along in December for us, should be practiced all year 'round! Wouldn't the world be better off if we practiced it this way? I think so.

And that leads me to today's blog about caring and giving to others. The photo I've uploaded for this blog is actually a part of what happened in my life the last two days. I have a good friend who we refer to as "Bird." She is in her late sixties and was told she had to go down to Phoenix to a hospital to have a heart procedure. Bird is one of these people who is a rural kind of person and has a phobia of ever driving alone in a large metropolitan city like Phoenix. I heard about her problems and volunteered to drive her down to her heart procedure. I didn't want her any more stressed than she already was.

The wonderful decision based upon caring for others and helping where and when I could, actually opened up into a greater gift. My brother and his family live in Phoenix and one of my best friends, Yolande, lives in Cave Creek, north of there. I thought this was a pretty good deal to drive Bird down to her hospital appointment. I could bring our Christmas gifts from my family and friend with me. It would give me a chance to see them (whereas before I was going to mail them). And, best of all, Yolande offered me a place to stay over night while Bird underwent her procedure.

Bird arrived at the hospital destressed and we had a marvelous time on our two hour drive south to Phoenix. It was a perfect way to catch up with one another's lives and what was going on. I was told that Bird would stay over night in the hospital and I was to pick her up the next morning to drive her back to Cottonwood. The day was clearing and after the rush hour, so it was easy to drop by and see my brother Gary and spend some time with him. Then, on to see Yolande and her family! I felt like Santa Clause at each stop, delivering heart felt gifts, sharing a rich and warm time with my brother and my dearest friend. I love the way the synchronicity of the universe conspires if we only go 'with the flow' of what Life brings to our door if we volunteer to step though it.

The next morning, with Bird back in my Toyota Prius, Pearl, we drove home with a winter storm breaking up over the region. As we climbed up and out of the Sonoran Valley and onto the high desert pleateau (about 5,000 feet), the winter grass and barren hills were beautiful with scudding, changing clouds. Bird, who is an artist, commented on the changing beauty of it. I had my Nikon D90 camera and so we made a couple of stops on the way back to the Verde Valley where we live, and took some shots. Bird wanted them because she has an art studio and wanted to paint what she saw. What a wonderful ride home!

I was happy to give Bird a way to get to Phoenix. It helped her tremendously. I received so many gifts in return that the two days flew by like a wonderful dream. This kind of compassion and caring toward others is something all of us practice all the time. We are not alone on this earth. And we need each other. The fact that Bird's health concerns rose suddenly and she needed help over night, was one of those situations. I could have stayed home with the excuse I had to edit my book. But what kind of friend would I have been? Yes, it would take two days out of my life. What is Life really all about? Sometimes, editing a book isn't the most important thing. The joy and gifts I received in return for my decision to help Bird were ten times more wonderful than editing a book in those two days. Not that I don't like what I do as a writer, but this speaks more to the curiosity readers often have about writers. Many think we aren't just like them. But the truth is, we're exactly like you: with demands on our time, responsibilities to shoulder, care to be distributed to our family and circle of loved ones. There are no differences between us, really. We're not the glamorous creatures you think we are. Our lives are mundane and I'm so glad for that. I love the mundane because it gives us a fixed anchor in our lives to revolve and grow around.

As a writer I observe the human condition and I love writing about us. We're a forever a fascinating and intensely interesting group! I've very curious about people's view on their life, how they got to how the see the world now, and what motivates and inspires or stops them inliving their Life. I'm sure I'll wrap this two-day experience I chose to take in some future story. Writers never write outside themselves. Instead, they dip into the well of their own life experiences for human understanding and connection with readers. Because the Aesop fable's ending on my two-day advenure is: giving selflessly in the name of humanitarian efforts will enrich one even more. Isn't that the real Christmas Spirit? And now, back to editing!

Warmly, Lindsay McKenna

www.lindsaymckenna.com

A Skunk At Our Patio Door!

Hi Everyone
Living out in Echo Canyon amid wildlife is NEVER dull. Last night as I was putting the finishing touches on my pina colada cake, Dave said, "Look!"
I turned around from my cake in the kitchen and there, looking in our sliding glass window that leads to our sundeck over looking Oak Creek, is a beautiful black and white skunk! It was dark out and he was on his 'rounds.'
I grabbed my camera and raced over to the door and snapped off a shot.



I just living shoulder to shoulder with nature. You never know who is going to come to our door, haha.

Warmly, Lindsay McKenna

Lindsay McKenna's New Year's Eve Recipe: Pina Colada Cake!

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to share a wonderful time of year in our family: New Year’s Eve dinner and dessert. This year, I wanted to try a new dessert other than fruitcake (which I love).

Diana Cosby, a sister ROMVET author, shared her Pina Colada Cake Recipe with me. Well! Wouldn’t you know? I had to go out and try the recipe! I took the photo of the cake I baked tonight. And it was incredibly good!

I owe Diana big time on this one! Check out her web site at www.dianacosby.com. She has “His Captive”/Alexander MacGruder and “His Woman”/Duncan MacGruder (which got 4 stars from Romantic Times reviews)

I asked Diana where she got this recipe and she said it came from Spain. I love pina coladas as a drink--never had one as a cake, so my curiosity was high on this recipe. Check out the photo of the cake I made!

Here’s the recipe:

PINA COLADA CAKE RECIPE

1 package white cake mix
1 package (4 oz) of instant coconut cream pudding
1/2 cup of water
1/3 cup of Rum
4 eggs
1/4 cut lite olive oil

Directions: Mix the above ingredients and beat until combined. Pour into two greased/floured 9 inch round cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Once cool, remove and frost with the Pina Colada frosting (see below).

PINA COLADA FROSTING

1 8 oz carton of Cool Whip OR 1 pint of whipping cream

1 4 oz package instant coconut cream pudding

1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple

1/3 cup of Rum

Directions: blend pudding, pineapple and rum together. Then, mix into the whipping cream or Cool Whip. Chill until served.



And here is the result of my making the cake! It is as delicious as my pictures illustrates. Yum!


H a p p y B a k i n g !

W a r m l y , L i n d s a y M c K e n n a

w w w . l i n d s a y m c k e n n a . c o m

Lindsay McKenna's Christmas Cheesecake Recipe!

Hi Everyone!

I love this time of year. It's a great 'time out' to do some serious baking. I love to cook--never have enough time for it, but do my best. I want to share with you my Christmas Cheesecake. This recipe has a history and I want to give due to those who passed it on to me. My friend Helen gave me this recipe about twenty years ago. And she got it from her Aunt who passed it on to her before she died. I have made this easy but delicious cheesecake many times a year. The one I make at Christmas I place red and green sprinkles on top of it after it's baked. You an choose the pattern you want to use :-)

Here's the recipe:



Oven temperature: 325 F



3 -- 8 ozs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (for those who want to watch their weight like me, I get the 'light' variety--but either will do)

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tblsp. vanilla

Cream the sugar and cream cheese. Add eggs one at a time. Blend well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Blend well.



Put Springform pan in the overn to warm for about 5 minutes.



Coat with melted 2-3 tblsp. of butter (I use organic olive oil spray from Pam)



Then, take 1 cup of crushed graham crackers and run them around in the Springform pan.



Pour the mixture into the Springform pan.



Bake 45 minutes

Take it out and go to step 2 while it is cooling for about 10 minutes.

sour cream topping

1 pint sour cream (I use 'lite' variety, but either will do)

6 tblsp. sugar (I use frutcose sugar but any 'real' sugar will do--do not use sucrose or any other fake sugar in this recipe--it will taste awful)

1 tlsp. of Vanilla

Add all ingredients in a small bowl and beat until smooth.



Pour the sour cream topping into the baked cheesecake. Then, put back into the oven for 10 minutes.

Cool 1 hour before putting into the fridge and several hours int he fridge before slicing.

When cooled, add one can of cherries over the top of it. Remove the Springform pan. Voila! you have a gorgeous Christmas Cheesecake. Just add red and green sprinkles on top. Any design that inspires you will do!



Enjoy !
Warmly, Lindsay McKenna
www.lindsaymckenna.com

Black Jaguar Squadron update

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to give you an update on the BLACK JAGUAR SQUADRON (affectionately known as: BJS).  As many of you readers know, I had some loose ends to tie up with BJS down in Peru.  I still had to find a way to give the Executive Officer, Dallas Klein, her book.  

And...I wanted to evolve BJS and continue to write for this series because you, the readers, have wanted me to do that.

Well, that finally came about, thanks to a Christmas novella for Silhouette Romantic Suspense.  I teamed up with a good friend of mine, Susan Grant, and we wrote two novellas for the November, 2008 release, and tied them together.

I got to get Dallas her story and meeting the man of her dreams, ATF agent, Mike Murdoch.

When you read the story, you'll be seeing how BJS is evolving.  And where Dallas is going next!

I really have enjoyed watching BJS grow and then expand and move.  I hope you will too!  Be sure to pick up MISSION: Christmas.  It's a nice gift to give to yourself for the holidays as well as catching up with "what's next?!" with the BJS women Apache combat helicopter pilots!

Warmly, Lindsay McKenna

www.lindsaymckenna.com

DANGEROUS PREY by Lindsay McKenna

Hi Everyone!

This is my first, Lindsay McKenna "official" blog for my readers!  I'm very excited to have this blog.  It gives me a chance to listen to you, to meet you and find out what's on your mind and what you'd like to see me write next.

Right now, my HQN, DANGEROUS PREY, is out for the month of December 2008!  I'm thrilled to get the next Morgans Mercenaries out--this one is on Kelly Trayhern.  If you are a faithful follower of the oldest running and longest running saga, then I hope you will enjoy Kelly's story!

And, to add suspense to this novel that I so loved writing, I had a video trailer created for it.  Take a look:

I hope you enjoyed the trailer!  Did you see the hawk at the beginning? That is a Harris hawk from Arizona.  His name is "Beau" and he is owned by Susan Hamilton, a raptor rehabilitator who owns High Country Raptors in Flagstaff, Arizona.  She and I worked two years off and on as she taught me about falconry, rehabilitation and the raptors.  You will find all this in DANGEROUS PREY!

And, in another blog, I'll introduce you to Luna, the European Eagle-Owl who is the 'feathered heroine' of the novel!

Happy Holidays

Warmly, Lindsay McKenna