Cara
Marsi, an award-winning author and self-proclaimed TV junkie, is a former
corporate drone and cubicle dweller. An eclectic author, Cara is published in
romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. She has also
published numerous short romance stories in national women’s magazines and
online. Learn more about Cara and her books at her website.
Romance—The Spice of Life
Most
of us love a good romance. All of us love to eat. With the proliferation of
cooking shows on TV and the celebrity chefs, many of us have become foodies. I
admire those, trained chefs or ordinary people, who can whip up scrumptious
meals. I collect recipes because I love to cook, and I’m learning to be a
better cook.
I
like to give the characters in my books interesting careers, mostly the type
careers I wish I’d had. Because I admire anyone with great cooking skills, I’ve
written heroines who are chefs and caterers and bakers, and one hero who was a
well-known chef. And I’m working on a new novella where the heroine is a chef. I’ve
included scenes where the hero and heroine are cooking together in the kitchen.
There’s something very sexy about a man and woman working side-by-side cooking
a meal.
My
first published book, A Catered Affair,
featured a heroine who owned a catering company. When her struggling company is
bought out by the man who’d broken her heart years earlier, she’s grateful he saved
her business but wary of losing her heart again. When I got the rights to the
book back, I published it digitally as A
Catered Romance.
A Catered Romance
won second place in the contemporary novel category of the 2013 OKRWA
International Digital Awards Contest!
I
have a scene in the book where Mary Beth is making lamb stew for a client. Here’s one of my
favorite recipes, Greek lamb and spinach stew. It’s a crock-pot recipe, and I
love my crock-pot. I don’t remember where I got this recipe but it’s very easy,
taking only 10 minutes to prepare. Then you let the crock-pot do all the work.
Greek
Lamb and Spinach Stew
Serves 6
1 boneless
lamb shoulder (2 lb.), visible fat trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can (14.5 oz.)
diced tomatoes
1/2 cup
chopped onion
1 Tbsp. minced
garlic
1/2 tsp. each
Greek herb seasoning & salt
1/4 tsp.
pepper
1 can (19 oz.)
cannellini beans, rinsed
1 can (13.75
oz.) whole artichoke hearts, cut in half
3 cups baby
spinach (3 oz.)
2 tsp. grated
lemon zest
crumbled feta
cheese
Mix lamb pieces, tomatoes, onion, garlic, Greek seasoning,
salt and pepper in a 3.5 quart or larger slow-cooker. Cover and cook on low 7
to 9 hours until lamb is tender when pierced.
Mash 1 cup beans. Stir mashed and whole beans, artichoke
hearts, and spinach into cooker. Cover and cook on high 15 minutes until
spinach wilts and mixture is hot. Stir in lemon zest; sprinkle with feta.
As with any
recipe, you sometimes need to make substitutions. I’ve never found Greek herbs,
so I use Italian or whatever else I think will work. For the diced tomatoes, I like to use ones that have
seasoning in them, like garlic and basil, or even zesty chili peppers. I love
to experiment, and with stews and soups you can do lots of experimenting.
A
Catered Romance is also included in the Sweet
Temptations Boxed Set.
A Catered Romance
“There’s more than business brewing between
two old high school flames.”
Stubbornly self-reliant Mary Beth Kendrick needs
financial backing to keep her catering business cooking. A looming corporate
buyout forces her to accept help from Tom Sackett, the man who broke her heart
and left her with no appetite for love.
Unable to forget Mary Beth, Tom sets out to win her
forgiveness. As he gets to know her again through their shared business
interests, he realizes he wants more than forgiveness from her. He wants her in
his life.
Grateful for Tom’s support but unwilling to trust
him, Mary Beth vows to keep their relationship strictly business. But his
attentiveness, culminating in a night of passion, starts to melt her icy
resolve and shows her the caring, sensitive man Tom has become.
Can Mary Beth learn to love and trust
again? Will she and Tom open their hearts to a second chance at love?
A trio of delicious romances
In the sensuous, award-winning novel, A Catered Romance, there’s more than business brewing between two old high school flames.
In the short story, A Taste of Romance, two chefs cook up romance in the kitchen.
In the short story, Sweet Temptations, a baker hopes to entice a handsome customer to sample more than her baking.
In the sensuous, award-winning novel, A Catered Romance, there’s more than business brewing between two old high school flames.
In the short story, A Taste of Romance, two chefs cook up romance in the kitchen.
In the short story, Sweet Temptations, a baker hopes to entice a handsome customer to sample more than her baking.
7 comments:
Thank you for having me today.
I loved A Catered Affair. Actually I've loved all you books - long, short all the different genres. Always get a great romance fix.
This recipe sounds delicious. Can't wait to try it.
The recipe sounds great... and I loved reading A Catered Affair...and all Cara's books!!!
Tess St. John
Thank you, Judythe and Tess. Thanks for your kind words about my books. I hope you try the recipe. I've made it several times and it's very good.
This recipe sounds so good!
Thanks for visiting, Aileen. The stew is delicious. I hope you'll try it.
Thanks, Angela! It is yummy!
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