Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Celebrate our 5th Anniversary with photo contest & book giveaway & recipes!


From Daryl aka Avery:

YUMMY RECIPE FOR PLUM COBBLER BELOW!!!

But do you know we've been celebrating our 5th anniversary on this blog for about a week!?? That's right, 5 years!!  Yipes. Lots of recipes.

In honor of our anniversary, we're throwing two contests!

We're giving away a book every day from today until July 25th. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here and tell us with whom you shared the news of our contests or our anniversary. Help us celebrate by spreading the word! Did you tell your neighbor? Did you email your sister? Did you post on Facebook or tweet? TODAY??? Be sure to leave a comment each day because there will be twelve total drawings. Leave a comment before midnight because after midnight, the next drawing starts!

REMEMBER TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS so we can contact you if you won!

THAT PLUM COBBLER RECIPE IS COMING...keep reading.

Today: I'm giving away a book by former member , WENDY LYN WATSON, aka ANNIE KNOXAnnie writes THE PET BOUTIQUE mystery series for NAL about a woman who runs a pet boutique in northern Minnesota.  The first, PAWS FOR MURDER, came out in January, and the second, GROOMED FOR MURDER, will be out in September.  She has also signed a contract for another series, written as Wendy Lyn Watson, called the BOOK MAGIC MYSTERIES.

Annie will give you your choice of the first in her  PET BOUTIQUE series or an ARC (advanced review copy) of the book coming out in September. Do you love to offer reviews? Mention that in your comment.


Our second contest is a photo contest!  You can find our photo contest here and at our Facebook page! Five lucky winners will receive a Mystery Lovers' Kitchen tote bag and seven paperback mysteries! Since we can't all get away on vacation, we hope our books are having fun this summer. Take a picture of one of our books having fun! You can enter up to five times, once in each of these categories:

1) One of our books with a cat
2) One of our books with a dog
3) One of our books having summer fun
4) One of our books in a library
5) One of our books in a bookstore.





CELEBRATE!

And now, today's recipe is:

Plum Cobbler

Plums are in season. Why not use them to their best advantage? And have you heard about a Plumcot? Or Pluot, depending where you get it? It's a plum apricot hybrid. Possibly the most delicious plum I've ever had. 
Pluot is the speckled one on the right.

My husband won't appreciate this, but when he travels, that seems to be when I like to make sweet things. Is it because I miss my sweet honey or is it because I'm trying to spare him the calories because I love him so much and he loves my sweets so much???  Or is it possibly because, this time, I was in edit "hell" doing my best to finish up the next Cookbook Nook mystery and I needed sugar!!!! Don't you love the organization on top of my kitchen table?



 LOL!!!!

"Am I too adorable for words?"
Anyway, I made this cobbler and finished it all by myself. Oops! Extra time on the treadmill and walking Sparky is in order now. Sparky doesn't seem to mind the walks, so that's a good thing. Though I have to admit, he doesn't like me putting that harness thing over his head.


Enjoy this delicious of-the-season dessert!

Plum Cobbler
Ingredients:

7 large plums, pitted and quartered
½ cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons plus 1 cup flour (gluten-free option below)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½  teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg lightly beaten
½ cup butter, melted
whipped cream, if desired


(If you need to eat gluten-free, substitute the flour with GF flour and add ½ teaspoon xanthan gum as noted below.)

Directions:

Grease a 2 quart to 2 ½ quart baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine the plums, brown sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon. Spoon into the baking dish.
Pluot is the red-pulp fruit.


In a small bowl, combine the sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and remaining flour. (If you need to eat gluten-free, substitute the 1 cup flour with GF flour and add ½ teaspoon xanthan gum HERE.) Add egg and stir with a fork. This will become crumbly. Sprinkle the mixture over the plum mixture.



Melt the butter and drizzle the butter over the flour mixture.

Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes before serving. This is hot coming out of the oven! Serve warm or at room temperature. Serve with whipped cream if desired.




Note: insides are loose. It will scoop out of the baking dish and won’t come out in perfect sections.



Final note: If I were to make this again, I might use a 13 x 9 pan for the insides and double the crumb topping to spread over the entire thing. The topping is that good!!  In fact, hmmm, think I'll have to try that this weekend!! Is my hubby out of town? :)

* * *


For STIRRING THE PLOT, which comes out September 30th, I'm going to be doing a number of giveaways, starting in August. Books, mugs, stuffed kittens!  Make sure you're signed up for my newsletter and "like" me on Facebook, where information about the giveaways will appear.  Look for pictures of Tigger, the ginger cat in the series, celebrating ala Halloween!



******************

Friend Daryl on Facebook
Friend Avery on Facebook
Follow Daryl on Twitter
Follow Avery on Twitter
Follow both of us on Pinterest
Check out our website.

Days of Wine and Roquefort 
is out!
order here

Inherit the Word
  is out!
                                    order here

STIRRING THE PLOT is available for preorder: order here.


If you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list 
so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests! 



56 comments:

  1. That cobbler looks so good, I'm going to give it a try. Sharing on facebook
    rjprazak6@gmail.com
    Becky Prazak

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Becky, enjoy! This is a scrumptious cobbler. :) Loving your photos in the photo contest!

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  2. the cobbler looks so yummy!!!
    sharing on Facebook!!!

    cyn209 at juno dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cyn, thanks! It is yummy. I'm just getting up and my tummy is ready for more. :)

      Daryl/ Avery

      Delete
  3. I've never had plum cobbler. It looks good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandy, I hadn't either. I'd had peach and cherry, but the plums looked so good at the market. And the pluots? Very interesting and sweet!!!

      Daryl/ Avery

      Delete
  4. Never thought of this. I've shared on Facebooknthis week. suefoster109@netzero.net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue, great to hear. Thanks for sharing. And like I said to Sandy, I hadn't thought of this. I searched the internet for some ideas and then made this my "own."

      Daryl/ Avery

      Delete
  5. I love cobbler..... blackberry is my favorite! Looking forward to your next book!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This looks YUMMO!!!! Will definitely be making this. Thanks
    Mary, Ladylotion@msn.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. This looks delicious! I'm sending the recipe to my boyfriend's mom. rachelkb at gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yum! I love to offer reviews (Goodreads & Amazon) & am enjoying so many cozy mysteries, this summer!


    patucker54 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. P.S.-Looking forward to Daryl's August giveaways...hope you don't HAVE to be on Facebook to win...love the Tigger kitty!


      patucker54 at aol dot com

      Delete
    2. Pat, I'll be having a giveaway w/kitty via my newsletter, as well, so make sure you're signed up! The link is on my website! :)

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  9. This Plum Cobbler is delectable. So ideal for summer. Love this post. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Aren't the pluots a marvelous color?
    I happily do reviews.
    Posted on Facebooks, as always.
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Libby, I agree. That color is yummy and with the yellow on the outside, who'd have known? :)

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  11. Looks interesting
    Not really
    Told a friend

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm, not sure what "not really" refers to. But I'll go with the flow. Thanks for telling a friend.

      Daryl/ Avery

      Delete
  12. I told my mother about the contest. She loves cozies and recipes. Raquel36m(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love cobblers! Thanks
    Kim j
    Kjohnson952@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Daryl, thanks for this great recipe and for putting one of my books up for grabs. I especially like having the GF option. So many of my friends eat GF, and I never know how to bake for them. This would be a hit. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wendy, it's definitely something people are becoming aware of. Some people eat that way for the fad or because it makes them feel better (temporarily). People like me...we're allergic and we HAVE to stay away. I've learned lots of new things in baking because of it. :)

      Best,
      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  15. I shared this with my sisters....auntnunu21(at)(dot)yaoo(dot)come

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. auntnunu21(at)yahoo(dot)com

      Delete
    2. Aunt Nunu, thanks! Hope your sisters appreciate your good heart! :)

      Daryl /Avery

      Delete
  16. Yummy looking cobbler. Looking forward to trying it out! pstephens(at)wheatstate(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  17. This cobbler looks great, I will have to try it. I wonder if it will work with the cherries I have pitted and frozen? I always share your news with my daughter and other friends that love to read! Thanks for all the enjoyable hours reading your books!

    Lisa R - keizerfire@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa,

      I would imagine it would work with any fleshy fruit. I'm definitely going to try with blueberries, blackberries, and at some point, cherries. Let's report back. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the compliment. :)

      Daryl/ Very

      Delete
  18. I love pluots! I eat them just as they are-but I think I'd like to try this cobbler. I have a mental block with reviews-but I'm getting better. I post on my blog, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. I also write reviews long after I've read the book. I also shared this post on my personal Facebook page. BTW, I LOVE the Tigger plushie and he's be more than welcome in my home. ;)

    cozyupwithkathy at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy, too cute. Yes, Tigger is darling, isn't he? I love hearing that so many of you post reviews. It sure helps the authors get the word out. There's some kind of Internet algorithm at work, I fear. LOL

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  19. The cobbler recipe looks delicious, and I'm thinking that it might be fun to try it with different kinds of fruit, maybe the blackberries and raspberries we have growing in our yard. I shared the news of the contest with my daughter and I'm looking forward to sharing it with my co-workers too. Thanks for the fun and for the great recipes! I think what I like most about this blog is how supportive all of these talented authors are of each other and their work...wonderful camaraderie and just great to see.
    rencw@verizon.net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Renee, thanks. Yes, we are so lucky with this blog group. Everyone is supportive. We understand the challenge to write a mystery, to post a recipe, to come up with something "new." I love the group, too! Thanks for being a fan and for sharing. And your cute photos that you've posted. Nice job.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  20. i texted my niece and told her today. lkish77123 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda, cool! How fun to have that relationship with your niece.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  21. I've got to try that recipe---my cobbler toppings are just kind of blah and this one looks much better.
    suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love plums but I've been avoiding pluots because they seem so weird. On your recommendation, I'll have to try them. They had the most gorgeous fresh apricots at my grocery store. I was so excited! They were the most horrible sour things ever. Everything I used them in was just awful. There was no curing their lack of sweetness. Yecch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is the problem with apricots. They need to be almost mush to be sweet lately. I don't understand. I grew up with apricot trees and adored them!!

      PS Pluots were recommended by the local farm place where I buy them, which is why I tried them.
      Hugs,
      Daryl

      Delete
  23. Wendy Lyn Watson, I love to do reviews. I've shared this contest with my mom and my sisters. I love your ice cream series. Are you writing any more in that series? Congratulations on your new series. This recipe sounds delicious. Thank you for this opportunity. areewekidding@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robyn, how wonderful!! Alas, I don't think Wendy is writing the ice cream series any longer. Weren't they sweet? I'm sure Wendy, when she checks back in, will be able to answer in full. :)

      Best,
      Robyn

      Delete
  24. Shared on Facebook. Thank you for the great reads, good fun and awesome recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I share on Facebook and I have told friends. And I have been trying to make sure I write reviews on the books I read.

    ElaineE246(at)msn(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice, Elaine. Thanks so much for all your help. We, as authors, appreciate all the support. And, of course, we love writing books you love to review. :)

      Daryl

      Delete
  26. Always happy to post reviews in exchange for a book. Bobbipad@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love to review books and try the recipes.
    Lisa
    hseaside5@aim.com

    ReplyDelete
  28. Shared with my friend! So excited to enter contest! jatneen@netscape.net

    ReplyDelete