Welcome!
Would you like 5 copies of GRILLING THE SUBJECT for your book club? Read on for details.
What is your book club reading? Are you one of those groups that always reads the latest women's fiction? I started a book club when I lived in Charlotte. I wanted to read mysteries, and all my friends did, too. But soon, as the group grew, I was overruled, and the club started reading women's fiction. Now, don't get me wrong, an occasional women's fiction is fun to read, but I get tired of reading dramas with the tragic endings. I want lighter fare. I left the group and returned to reading my mysteries. I like happy endings. I like when the bad guy gets his "just desserts."
Speaking of desserts...
For Book Club Week, I thought I'd share one of my favorite and easiest cakes to make. Something I eat while writing (or reading). With tea or coffee, it simply satisfies the taste buds.
Banana cake with chocolate frosting.
There's something so fun about little squares of cake, sort of brownie-shaped, with just a hint of chocolate. These will go perfectly at any book club. And because they're so easy to make, you can double the recipe and have twice as many! A square pan makes 9 to 16 square servings. Or you can do tiny slices and get lots more servings. No matter what, enjoy and...
Savor the mystery!
Gluten-Free
Banana Cake with Chocolate icing
Ingredients:
4 tablespoon oil
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon gluten-free Vanilla
or Vanillin
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups gluten-free flour
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup chocolate chips or nuts (if desired)
icing recipe below
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line an 8”-square pan with parchment paper. Spray with cooking oil.
In bowl, mix oil, sugar, eggs, bananas, vanilla, milk, and vinegar.
Add in gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking
powder.
Stir well. If desired, add
chocolate chips or nuts.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool 20 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely, at least
2 hours.
Frost with chocolate icing.
Best if served at room temperature.
(* If you want to make this using regular flour, switch out the GF flour with regular flour and omit the xanthan gum.)
Chocolate Icing
Ingredients:
3
tablespoons cocoa
2
tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup
powdered sugar
2-3
tablespoons warm water
½ teaspoon
vanilla
Directions:
In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Remove
from microwave and add all other ingredients to the bowl. Using a hand-mixer,
stir on medium low until smooth. Add more water, if you want a thinner icing,
and stir again. Any unused portion, store in an airtight container in the
refrigerator.
BY THE WAY, DON'T MISS THE HEARTY BARBECUE "MUFFIN" RECIPE IN GRILLING THE SUBJECT. THEY WOULD BE GOOD FOR A BOOK CLUB, TOO!
***
BOOK CLUB GIVEAWAY
I'm going to give away 5 copies of GRILLING THE SUBJECT to ONE book club (or a library for a book club event). So leave a COMMENT and tell me today,
do you belong to a book club or a library that has a book club?
Have you read a mystery for your club selection?
Remember to leave your email so I can contact you if you win!
BLURB:
BLURB:
Where there’s
smoke...
As the Wild West
Extravaganza rides into Crystal Cove, California, Cookbook Nook storeowner
Jenna Hart is ready for the rodeo and BBQ. But when the body of one of her
father’s neighbors is found smoldering in a bonfire, the rodeo revelry is
extinguished. Now Jenna must clear her father’s name before the real killer
turns up the heat and rakes someone else over the coals...
HERE ARE A COUPLE OF BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS FOR GRILLING THE SUBJECT
1. When Jenna sees the fire
and speeds to her father’s house, did you find it believable that she would run
to the crime scene? There is no policeman stopping her.
2. Jenna’s relationship with
Rhett is solid. When a surprise visitor shows up, that throws a wrench into the
mix. Rhett storms off. Did you side with him or Jenna? Is Rhett the right man for her? Why?
3. Jenna gets involved in
this mystery because her father is a suspect. She’s also concerned that
Cinnamon can’t see clearly because she, too, loves Jenna’s dad, her mentor. Do
Jenna and Cinnamon lock horns too much or just the right amount?
CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR MORE QUESTIONS.
THEY'RE ON MY WEBSITE!
***
GIRL ON THE RUN is out!
When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare,
When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare,
2 of my local libraries have book clubs and i am in one that is not library related. i would love to suggest reading mysteries! this is a great time of year to start doing that! aelinderman@sbcglobal.net
ReplyDeleteAmy, great to hear from you! Thanks for tuning in. :) ~ Daryl
DeleteOur local library has a book club---but I've never seen any mysteries listed on their reading agenda. suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteSue, isn't it time to suggest that? :)
Delete~Daryl
Wow! What a great giveaway, Daryl!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I want more book clubs to read mysteries. :) There's a method to my madness. ~ Daryl
Deleteno club but my sister and i each buy books in these series and read together before passing off to friends at work. -mollie. iemercedez@aol.com
ReplyDeleteMollie, sweet. ~ Daryl
DeleteI am going to get my own mystery(I love mysteries) book club going with some friends of mine. In fact, Leslie Budewitz suggested that I round up 5 friends and set a date. I'm posting on FB today to see if I can get a group going. This would be perfect. Whether I win or not I will be making the GF banana cake, but instead of the gf flour and xanthan gum I'll be using banana flour. I love banana flour I use it in place of all regular flour recipes and they turn out great. Thank you for the wonderful recipe and the giveaway. konecny7(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteMarci, I have honestly not heard of banana flour. Now I must try it! And good for Leslie to suggest how to get a club started. That's all it takes. Enjoy. ~ Daryl
DeleteBanana flour is made from dried bananas, nothing else added and it works for all the recipes that I've tried so far. The only suggestion that I have is to add a little more liquid or cut the cook time by a minute or two(it can come out a little dry).
DeleteChocolate chip banana cake with chocolate icing. Perfection.
ReplyDeleteYou plate, cups, and saucers are lovely.
Libby, thanks for the compliment! Always appreciated. ~ Daryl
DeleteI am in a book club and we are called Book Ends. We even have a Facebook page. We do read mysteries, along with a variety of other genre. In December every member is encouraged to present a book she would like us to read the next year, and then the books are voted on. We have 12 active members, but we can share. I love your books and I'm sure they would too! jawdance@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteJudy, sounds like a great club! And what a fun December meeting you must have. ~ Daryl
DeleteJudy, by random number selector, you are the winner! Congrats. I'll contact you via email. ~ Daryl
DeleteYes at my local library in Seymour Wisconsin, once a month on Saturday mornings! There are six people but, no problem we'd buy one too! Thanks for this opportunity! Donamaekutska7@gmail.com the chocolate chip banana recipe sounds delicious and the book sounds even better.
ReplyDeleteDonamae, sounds like a fun club. Once a month is so do-able, isn't it? ~ Daryl
DeleteWe have a small cozy mystery book club in my town. We only have a population of about 1,500. Sadly, we are all woman, but we hold out hope for some male cozy reader to come out of the woodwork one day. We meet once a month and do a different book each month. This month we are reading Engaged in Death by Stephanie Blackmoore. Thanks a lot for this opportunity. jmcgrath221@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteJody, sounds like a fun club. I find that men are reluctant to commit to book clubs. Not sure why. ~ Daryl
DeleteOur cozy mystery book club would be ecstatic to win these. Here's hoping.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, thanks for dropping by! ~ Daryl
DeleteI am in a book club -- ladies from the church tho that's not a requirement. We meet weekly, on Sunday nights, and there are anywhere from 6 to 19 of us that show up (mid 40s to late 80s in age). We do discuss the book we're reading, but sometimes we're more of a support group. And we read a variety of books, including mysteries. We just finished Tony Hillerman'S THE BLESSING WAY, and we've read Laura Child, as well as others I don't remember right now.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if our local library, or the larger Bartlesville library, has a reading group.
Donna, how wonderful to have a. Italy support group. ~Daryl
DeleteI am in a book club -- ladies from the church tho that's not a requirement. We meet weekly, on Sunday nights, and there are anywhere from 6 to 19 of us that show up (mid 40s to late 80s in age). We do discuss the book we're reading, but sometimes we're more of a support group. And we read a variety of books, including mysteries. We just finished Tony Hillerman'S THE BLESSING WAY, and we've read Laura Child, as well as others I don't remember right now.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if our local library, or the larger Bartlesville library, has a reading group.
Oh yum! What a great post and giveaway, Daryl! Happy book club week. XO
ReplyDeleteThanks, MJ! :) Happy book club week to you, too. ~ Daryl
DeleteWonderful recipe and giveaway. A book club at my local public library which meets monthly. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteTraveler, how wonderful! Love those libraries! ~ Daryl
DeleteAnd the winner, by random number selector, is Judy W. I'll contact you via email! Congrats and thanks to all for chiming in. ~ Daryl
ReplyDelete