Welcome to my parlor. Have a cup of tea and I'll share some of my favorite things about writing and art--and a few secrets from my books as well.
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To celebrate the debut of new historical romance for Avon, To Wed a Highland Bride, Sarah Gabriel is having a contest. Two winners will be chosen by random selection from those who sign up for Sarah's newsletter list. If you're already on Sarah's newsletter list, you will be automatically entered into the drawing. Good luck.
Congratulations to winners of the last contest.
Leona Pullyard of Milo
Maine Rachel Robinson of Rutland, Ohio
Natalie Scagel of Windsor Locks, Connecticut
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Crystal Pendant
Winning names will be drawn from those on the newsletter list by December 15h and notified by email. Winners will have until December 27 to claim their prize or another name will be drawn. A list of contest winners will be posted on this webiste.
Enter contest by signing up for the newsletter list.
Sarah is also giving away autographed coverflats of STEALING SOPHIE! If you'd like one of these gorgeous covers for your romance collection (as long as Sarah's supply lasts), email Sarah for more details.
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THE FAIRY LEGENDS of the MacCARRANS STEALING SOPHIE, and its sequel, KEEPING KATE, feature two sisters whose clan legacy includes legends, magic, and fairy ancestry. A touch of fairy blood in the veins of the MacCarrans of Duncrieff Castle sometimes creates magical abilities in some members of the family. Sophie and Kate are both blessed–or perhaps challenged–by singular abilities inherited from a fairy ancestress who married a medieval laird of Duncrieff, gave birth to three sons, and then went back to the realm of the fairies–but she left behind a touch of her magic in the family line, and she left, as well, a golden cup, the Fairy Cup of Duncrieff, said to have been hammered and shaped by the hands of fairy goldsmiths.
Around the rim of this cup are several crystals. When a member of Clan Carran is discovered to possess the Fairy Gift, as the ability is called, that person is given one of those crystals, plucked from the rim of the cup, and set in silver to be worn for the lifetime of that MacCarran. Eventually the crystal is returned to the golden cup, and that person’s story is written down in the Book of Duncrieff, a massive volume that contains all the stories of the ancestors of the MacCarrans of Duncrieff.
Tales of love, tragedy, adventure, magic and great passion are told between the covers of the Duncrieff manuscript, which is lovingly and safely kept in a cupboard in Duncrieff Castle. The Fairy Cup is displayed under glass in the drawing room, and sometimes, or so it is said, if the moonlight is just right and the heart of the seer is pure, the fairy princess herself might appear....
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 BAKED OATMEAL PUDDING An original 18th-century recipe for baked oatmeal pudding is featured in STEALING SOPHIE. Try the modern version in your own kitchen! It's delicious! Baked Otmeall Pudding, from D. Petre, Her Book, 1705 (handwritten book in collection of University of Pennsylvania Library, pages 34-35). "Take A quart of Cream and boyll it then take as much small otmeall sifted through...as will make itt very thick then boyll itt with yr otmeall putt A pound of butter or marrow and littell salt sweetten itt very well put in yr yolks of 12 eggs or 6 egg whits strained 2 nutmegs graited lett itt stand till itt be cold butter yr dish half an hour will bake itt pt Currants in you may putt plums." Interpreted, D. Petre's recipe seems to be: 1 qt. cream, add sifted oatmeal, cook that together into a thick mixture. Add a pound of butter or marrow and a little salt. Sweeten it very well.
Add 12 eggs or 6 whites strained
2 nutmegs grated
Let it stand until it is cold.
Butter a dish and bake half an hour. Add currants or plums. |
Here's a modern version to try! Baked Oatmeal Pudding 2 cups cooked, cooled oatmeal (approx. 1 cup dry, prepared)
1 1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs 1/4 cup sugar or honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
salt to taste Optional, add: 1/4 to 1/3 cup raisins or currants Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the eggs, add the sugar (honey), spices, and vanilla, and milk. Blend the mixture with the cooked oats. Add raisins or currants. Pour mixture into an oiled baking dish and set in a shallow pan of water. Bake 45 minutes or so until light brown. Serve hot or cold. |
