An Author Photo Shoot With Captions

Last weekend my good friend Alina Sayre and I got together for an author photo shoot. You see, not only is Alina a talented author (check out her MG fantasy, The Illuminator’s Gift!), but pretty handy with a camera. And apparently I haven’t been professionally photographed since graduating from school. So we packed up my paperbacks (seven of them, yoikes), and hit downtown. We got some great shots, but also plenty of entertaining ones.

Latest release

 

Is that a typo?

 

I made this!

In the library…

What ya readin’?

And after two hours…

Are we done yet?

 

That’s a wrap!

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Be Still My Heart: Gluten-Free, Low-Carb, Choc-Peppermint Cookies

One of the hardest things about being celiac and diabetic is that most gluten-free products are made with rice, corn, potato, or other such high-carb flour. And for those who struggle with insulin resistance, our food options become even more limited.

Recently I have gone on a manic search for something to satisfy my sweet tooth without endangering my well-being. And my experiments have finally paid off, for I have discovered one of the most beautiful things in the world—a gluten-free AND low-carb cookie that tastes absolutely AMAZING.

I used a plain, grain-free cookie recipe from Dr. Pompa’s book, “The Cellular Healing Diet,” and tweaked it in order to get this delicious result: Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond flour
• 3 Tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 10 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup  xylitol
• 1 teaspoon stevia
• 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (a good quality brand from Whole Foods—less processed sugar = less carbs)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the almond flour, coconut flour, cacao powder, sea salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. Melt the butter with stevia and xylitol.
4. Mix grapeseed oil and peppermint extract with melted butter.
5. Stir wet ingredients into the dry.
6. Mix in the chocolate chips.
7. Form 1-inch balls and press onto a baking sheet lined with parchment.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

 

Don’t they look yummy?! (Okay, I’m not the best food photographer.) If you end up making 40 cookies, one is about 4 grams of carbohydrates. 4! A gluten-free cookie from the store of similar size runs about 18 grams. And I don’t know if this is personal preference or because of the ingredients, but I find these taste best refrigerated as opposed to fresh out of the oven or room temperature. Cold seems to bring the flavors out more. So there you have it. Happy baking!

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Adventures in Homemade Cat Food

While I was on my quest for health through diet change these past few months, I decided my cats’ diet needed a complete makeover as well. I’d thought about making my own cat food in the past, but it always seemed like a daunting task. And dry food was so *easy*. I guess my brain needed a challenge though, during my writing/blogging/life hiatus, so I dove into research and found a recipe written by a veterinarian. (Dr. Lisa Pierson’s website has very detailed info on the subject.)

So I bought a meat grinder and the handful of necessary vitamin supplements, and proceeded to make a batch of homemade cat food. Mhm, doesn’t that look appetizing…

I thought my eldest kitty would be the picky one who would refuse to transition, but it turned out the younger one—who had up until this point consumed everything with vigor—downright refused to eat the new food. I tried various tricks to entice her, but she was stubborn.

One recommended trick for picky eaters is to sprinkle some ground up kitty kibble on the new food. So I tried grinding up my cat’s normal dry food…with a full plastic bottle, then with a hammer, and finally I resorted to sticking the food in a baggie and running over it with my car. Can you believe it took four times back and forth before that stuff was 70% crushed?! Oh my god, how is that digestible for my poor kitties? If I’d had any second thoughts about sticking with this diet change, seeing how resilient those pieces of cat kibble are banished them.

And, as it turned out, little Nika only required about two weeks of tricks and bribery consisting of treats waved in front of her nose and then jammed into the meat before she willingly gobbled up her entire meal. Now she can’t wait to eat her food…

Say ‘yum’

My darlings have been on their new diet for a month and a half now and are still happy and energetic as ever. Actually, even a little more so. My older cat’s fur, which used to be so coarse and brittle it could stab through skin and clothes like a javelin (no joke), is beginning to soften. And knowing I’m no longer feeding them byproducts and nasty chemicals gives me a little more peace of mind.

Anyone else thought of going homemade when it comes to pet food?

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Clap Your Hands For Cheesecake Pancakes

Last week in my comeback post, I said I wasn’t sure whether I’d blog about my quest for health through diet considering most of my experience was an epic failure. However, I’m happy to share a few gems I discovered along the way in the form of recipes. First up, cheesecake pancakes! These delightful pancakes are super low in carbs (about 1 pancake = 1g!), and they taste fabulous.

Ingredients

• 2 large brown eggs
• 4 oz organic cream cheese
• 1/8 -1 tsp stevia (depending on brand and concentration)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (cinnamon is great for blood sugar control, so I get a bit liberal with how much I put in)
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 dash salt

 Note: With the amount of work and clean-up involved in this process, I made a double batch, which yielded 8 pancakes from 8 oz of cream cheese. But then, I’m also a fan of leftovers. However, because of the slow cook time and how runny the batter is, I had to do one pancake at a time, and the entire double batch took me two hours! I am not a kitchen person, so yeesh.

Directions

1. Separate egg whites from egg yolks and beat egg whites with electric mixer.
2. In a larger bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. (I will note that the original recipe doesn’t specify electric as it does for the egg whites, but I used one anyway. It didn’t quite work except to make the cream cheese nice and smooth and stuck in the beaters.)
3. Add egg yolks, stevia, cinnamon, salt, and flaxseed into cream cheese and beat together.
4. Add egg whites. (Not all of the cream cheese blended well, but ended up at the bottom of the bowl, so you might want to follow up with a fork or manual whisk.)
5. Heat Cast Iron or Stainless Steel pan over medium low heat. Grease lightly. (I used Grapeseed Oil cooking spray and sprayed the pan before each pancake.)
6. Use 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side. (Really, I think it took longer than that, but I wasn’t timing myself, just eyeballing it. The important thing is not to turn the heat up so you avoid turning the butter/oil into bad fat.)

And voila! I think they taste just dandy with butter, but you could add fruit, jam, or even syrup. Just keep in mind that if you do, they won’t be low-carb anymore.

For recommended ingredient brands, see the original recipe at Dr. Pompa’s website, cellularhealingdiet.com/cheesecake-pancakes/

Note 2: While I haven’t tried this, a friend of mine made a similar recipe using a blender rather than a beater. I imagine it might go about smoothing the batter more easily.

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“What fish?”

Here’s our LOL cat picture with the caption. Diana Beebe’s won me over. I mean, that tongue in the picture just says it all.

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A Wet LOL Cat

It has been way too long since we’ve had an LOL cat post. This week I’d like to thank Jennifer for providing the adorable picture. Now you guys give me your captions with bad grammar and hilarious sentiments. Friday I’ll post the best caption with the picture. Have at it!

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Take A Ride With Me

I went out with a friend recently and for the first time, I drove us to our little outing. Prior to this, my friend had known me at work, restaurants, and home. After getting in my car, apparently she discovered a whole new side to me. I find this rather amusing, so I thought I’d make it a blog post and give you all a similar glimpse into the Nascar side of Angela Wallace. (Before you get ahead of yourself, no, I’m not a speed racer.)

Let’s start with the interior.

Immediately obvious is my attraction to colorful decorations. That’s not surprising. (Hello, blog.) It goes against the self-defense rule book, advertising this vehicle belongs to a woman. Think if I add daggers somewhere it will give creepy predators pause to reconsider?

Next we have the tunes. I never drive without music. Maybe it’s because silence in the car bugs me, and since I currently can only write to silence, I gotta get my music fix somewhere. Shall we see what’s currently in the player?

• “Some Nights” by FUN
• “L’Amour Toujours” by Gigi d’Agostino
• “Catch My Breath” by Kelly Clarkson

That’s just to name a few. I have probably two dozen mixes to choose from, mostly Pop, Rock, and Christian. However, I also have a collection of Irish drinking songs. “Ramblin’ Rover” anyone?

The last bit of a driving experience with me is something I can’t reproduce on the blog. I said I wasn’t a speed demon, but my car does have some nice get-up-and-go and adept maneuvering capabilities—which I fully know how to manipulate. Perhaps my friend was surprised by the confidence I exercised behind the wheel. I’ve had my car for a decade and know it better than the back of my hand: exactly how it handles turns, acceleration, and braking when someone comes out of nowhere. The way I drive in it is not how I drive in any other car. So I hope mine lasts forever and I never have to buy a new one, lol.

I hope you guys enjoyed this glimpse into this semi-secret side of me. Now you tell me, does your driving persona match your public one?

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss June

Welcome to our sixth installment of this series where I feature kick-ass heroines from the fantasy genre. This month I have a slightly different type of heroine for you. Meet Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle. (For the sake of this post, I’ll be referring to the movie, as the movie and book take completely different plot turns.)

Sophie

Sophie is a hat maker. She’s 18, but has taken over her father’s shop so her younger sister can be free to do what she wants. Sophie is responsible, hard working, and plucky when she has a mind to be. She also has very low self-esteem. In fact, she thinks she’s so ugly, that not even the dreaded wizard Howl would deign to eat her heart.

At this point you might be exchanging wary glances with each other. Sophie is our heroine? This mouse of a girl who lives a boring life while her sister goes out and has all the fun? Well now, the story gets better. Or worse, for Sophie.

The wicked Witch of the Waste comes to visit Sophie’s shop, and in a rare moment of Sophie showing some of that pluck, she shows the sleazy witch the door. Oops, don’t piss off a mean old witch. Sophie is then cursed and transformed into an old woman. Horrified, she quickly leaves town and heads into the wild. It’s a slow journey, as her bones creak and she gets tired easily.

You’re still wondering why I picked her as our monthly heroine? Okay, here’s the deal. Sophie may not be a vampire or demon slaying chick who wields swords or guns, but she’s got brains. She finds the wizard Howl’s castle and makes a pact with the fire demon inside to help break each other’s curses. And when Howl shows up wanting to know who she is, she claims she’s the new cleaning lady.

Even in an old woman’s body, Sophie still battles traps by the Witch of the Waste, evil sorcerers, and encroaching war. But here’s what I think truly makes her a heroine worthy of our feature—sometimes the hardest obstacle to overcome is ourselves. Sophie may not think she has much to offer the world or anyone, but in the end, she doesn’t need to be saved by a dashing hero. She can save herself. And him. 😉

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss May

May is such a sweet sounding month, but I do not have a sweet heroine for you today. For this month’s Heroine of Fantasy feature, we’re heading back into the book world to meet Jeaniene Frost’s Cat of the Night Huntress series.

 Cat Crawfield

Due to her mother being raped by a vampire and getting pregnant, Cat is both half-human and half-vampire, which gives her the unique strength to combat these evil undead creatures. Every night she goes out hunting, hoping to find her father and kill him so maybe her mother can stop living in fear.

One night, she tries to lure and kill Bones, a vampiric bounty hunter that’s on to her. He imprisons her in a cave for days until he convinces her that the two of them would make a pretty good team. Of course, romance isn’t far off.

Cat is very young in the first book, so it’s no surprise that she can be immature. Throughout the series she does grow up some. She serves on a secret military team hunting vampires for a while, and delves deeper into the vampire world with Bones (I’m not going to go into detail and give anything away, but it’s a wild ride). Cat is stubborn, tough, and not afraid to take risks—she’s basically been using herself as vampire bait since she was sixteen.

She also has a hot temper, as does her lover, Bones, which makes for some very fiery spats—and fiery make-up sessions. Caution to those who may not like the racy so much: Frost is very graphic in her descriptions. But if you’re comfortable skipping over the sex scenes, the rest of the story is a lot of fun and very imaginative.

Cat is a badass girl we can all admire. Be it monstrous vampires, ghouls, or ghosts, she’ll take them all on. She is, after all, half dead herself.

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LOL Cat Contest Results

Thank you to everyone who played our little LOL Cat game here this week. I had a blast reading your caption suggestions and it was hard picking the final winner. But here it is! Thank you, Suzie, for the Princess Bride classic!

To read all the other great suggestions, check out Monday’s post here.

Congratulations are also in order to Alina for being the winner of the book drawing!

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DREAMSTEALER is now available on Amazon, B&N, and Kobo!

When her kingdom’s former enemy suspects their princess is a budding dreamwalker, Lexa is drafted out of retirement and sent to Teltania to train the twelve-year-old girl. But hidden agendas complicate her mission, and Lexa doesn’t know whom to trust. Meanwhile, her own dreamwalking powers are waning when she needs them most. Can Lexa decipher the mysteries at every turn, or will the dreamscape claim yet another dreamwalker?

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