At the Stove with Lizzie T. Leaf

Our grocery stores occasionally send special prices on a few items for card members. One of ours for August was sweet potatoes, or yams as the notice read. So of course, I had to take advantage of the deal.

Thank you to Elise who shared her recipe on Simply Recipes. Hers was delicious even without the tweaks I made to spice it up a little. Enjoy!

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

Photo by tiramisustudio

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1½-inch cubes
4 large shallots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground marjoram
¼ tsp. cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
3 cups chicken stock
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tbsp. sour cream or plain yogurt (Greek or regular, omit for paleo version) optional

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Combine potatoes and shallots in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt, thyme, marjoram, and cumin. Toss so all pieces are well coated with olive oil and seasonings.

Spread the sweet potatoes and shallots out on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast for 25 minutes or until cooked through and nicely caramelized and browned around the edges. Remove from oven.

Heat the chicken stock in a 2-3 quart saucepan on the stove until steamy.

Place the cooked sweet potatoes and shallots in a blender or food processor. Add the hot chicken stock a half cup at a time. Purée until smooth.

NOTE, when blending hot liquids, fill the blender or food processor bowl no more than a third full, and start with short pulses. Depending on the size of your equipment you may need to work in batches.

Taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls with a good size dollop of sour cream.

Serves 2 to 4

Here's a brief intro to my vampire story that is guaranteed to warm your winter nights.

Socialite Deb Stein lives a life of luxury until she takes the hunk dressed as a vampire to her bed. When she wakes up one of the living dead, she’s pissed-off. To complicate matters more, she has to find a new identity since everyone thinks she's dead. Plus, if she’s dead, she can’t touch her trust fund, and that means she has to work! How can someone who has never held a job find one?

And her social life is in the tank. Her new friends are a street guy called Rat and fellow strippers at the dive where she works. If she ever sees Aaron Lowell again, she’ll put a stake in his heart.

Aaron Lowell feels guilty he took his mentor’s advice and left town after taking the sexy socialite into the undead world. Concerned, he returns to check on her and discovers she’s become a stripper—and not a very happy one when she sees him. But she’s still hot, and he can’t stay away from her, even if their meetings are explosive.

Can two vampires move beyond anger, combined with a strong sexual attraction, to find the kind of love they both crave?

BUY LINK

To read excerpts from other books by Lizzie T. Leaf please click onto Amazon.

Lizzie T. Leaf loved books since she opened her first one. Her dream was to write them herself. Lost in the hectic day to day world of family, job, laundry and housework, writing became a distant memory. When the twinkling ember did spark, it was usually doused by someone demanding their share of her time.

Lizzie's life went full circle. The desire to put the stories that continued to play in her head on paper emerged stronger than ever, and at a time when there was someone who encouraged. Now she lives her dream.

Learn more about Lizzie T. Leaf on her website and blog. Connect with Lizzie on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

See all of Lizzie's book on Amazon.

Humor is Good - Even in Bloodsuckers!

by Lizzie T. Leaf

I like humor in my life. I like to read humor and to write it. So when originally approached to write a Halloween story, no surprise my mind went in the humor direction.

When I mentioned to a friend the possibility of a vampire story that wasn’t horror, she suggested making the heroine Jewish (which my friend is) and throw in Kosher (yet again, my friend’s food style) to add conflict to the drinking blood issue. I took the bull by the horns and off I went. Thus evolved DEAD Awake, where the heroine is a socialite whose grandmother, a Reform Jew, keeps a Kosher Kitchen.

Our gal, is a little on the wild side…think Paris Hilton…and a paparazzi darling. Her connection with the hot guy in a vampire costume at her Halloween party, leads to a life change she’s not too pleased about.

She wakes up smelling pine and discovers, thanks to the helpful stranger lurking outside the mortuary, she’s not one of the living dead. And, her new main food supply is blood. Yuk! She doesn’t eat food that’s snuggled with blood, let alone drink the stuff.

Not to bore you with details, I finished the book and moved onto other work—my vampire days behind me—so I thought.

Then readers started to ask, “When’s the next book in the series?” Series? My mind hadn’t gone down that path, so what to write next? Then another friend said, “How about a vampire who faints at the sight of blood?”

Once she planted the seed, my mind wouldn’t leave the idea alone and plans for DEAD Faint came to be and with that the DEAD series was born. The next book in the works is DEAD Hunter, about what else…a vampire hunter (or so she thinks…snicker).

Then there is DEAD Memory. What if you’re a vampire, but don’t remember that little detail. All you know while you’re recovering from your wounds from what must have been an awful beating is blood smells wonderful. Why does his hot care provider insist on cooking the food…raw works.

Vampires don’t always have to be blood thirsty beasts. They can have an attitude that will make you smile and love problems, too. Check out Mary Janice Davidson’s, Undead series (which I had not read until after my first DEAD released and readers kept telling me I had a similar style, to which I say “thank you for the compliment,”) and you’ll find humor.

Are there more in my DEAD series? Definitely! DEAD Hot is another story in the planning stages and there are several more on the dying to come onboard.

People have to stop planting seeds in my head. Combined with all that appear on their own, I have a headache. Now I’m off to pop a couple of martinis and write…which is the only true way I can purge the noise.

Here's a brief intro to my vampire story that is guaranteed to heat up your chilly fall nights.

Socialite Deb Stein lives a life of luxury until she takes the hunk dressed as a vampire to her bed. When she wakes up one of the living dead, she's pissed-off. To complicate matters more, she has to find a new identity since everyone thinks she's dead. Plus, if she's dead, she can't touch her trust fund, and that means she has to work! How can someone who has never had a job find one?

And her social life is in the tank. Her new friends are a street guy called Rat and fellow strippers at the dive where she works. If she ever sees Aaron Lowell again, she'll put a stake in his heart.

Aaron Lowell feels guilty he took his mentor's advice and left town after taking the sexy socialite into the undead world. Concerned, he returns to check on her and discovers she's become a stripper - and not a very happy one when she sees him. But she's still hot, and he can't stay away from her, even if their meetings are explosive.

Can two vampires move beyond anger, combined with a strong sexual attraction, to find the kind of love they both crave?

Buy Links
Decadent Publishing
Amazon

To read excerpts from other books by Lizzie T. Leaf please click onto Amazon.

Lizzie T. Leaf loved books since she opened her first one. Her dream was to write them herself. Lost in the hectic day to day world of family, job, laundry and housework, writing became a distant memory. When the twinkling ember did spark, it was usually doused by someone demanding their share of her time.

Lizzie's life went full circle. The desire to put the stories that continued to play in her head on paper emerged stronger than ever, and at a time when there was someone who encouraged. Now she lives her dream.

Learn more about Lizzie T. Leaf on her website and blog. Connect with Lizzie on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Satisfy Your Senses

Erotica author Lizzie T. Leaf is here to tease at least two of your senses. So tempt away, Lizzie, the kitchen is all yours!

I love to make this easy treat for a cozy Saturday night when I want to snuggle with my wonderful husband and share some personal time.

More Twix

Photo by Mister GC

Shortbread
1 cup (2 sticks) (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup (85 grams) powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups (250 grams) all purpose flour
½ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 300oF (150C) and place rack in center of oven.

With an electric mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add egg and beat until combined.

Beat in the vanilla extract.

Add the flour and salt and beat until the dough just comes together.

Refrigerate the dough until firm.

Roll out the dough or press onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, turning the baking sheet front-to-back half-way through baking.

Caramel Filling
3 - 5.5 ounce bags (15.5 ounces total) soft caramels or make your own http://www.instructables.com/id/Caramel-Recipe/
2 tbsp. milk or cream
1 tsp. butter
dash salt (opt)

Place your caramels, milk and salt in a microwaveable bowl and nuke for 1 minute at a time, stopping to stir, until melted, 3-4minutes.

If you're using homemade caramels, you can reduce the amount of milk and microwave time. If you’re using hard caramels, increase the milk.

Pour caramel over the baked cookie.

Once the caramel has set, cut into whatever size pieces you desire. For best results, chill them in the freezer to firm up before dipping.

Chocolate Topping
12 ounces (240 grams) milk chocolate, cut into fairly uniform pieces
1 tsp. non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening or butter

Place chocolate in a small saucepan set on medium heat. Be sure to stir the chocolate as you carefully melt it. Adjust temp so your chocolate does not burn.

Add shortening or butter to help make the chocolate thinner for dipping as needed.

Dip the bars in the tempered chocolate and place on waxed or parchment paper to set.

Do not attempt to move your Twix bars before they’re set or they're liable to come apart.

Once they've set, you're ready to share and enjoy! For best results, store in the fridge.

Here's a brief intro to my vampire story that is guaranteed to warm your chilly spring nights.

Socialite Deb Stein lives a life of luxury until she takes the hunk dressed as a vampire to her bed. When she wakes up one of the living dead, she’s pissed-off. To complicate matters more, she has to find a new identity since everyone thinks she's dead. Plus, if she’s dead, she can’t touch her trust fund, and that means she has to work! How can someone who has never held a job find one?

And her social life is in the tank. Her new friends are a street guy called Rat and fellow strippers at the dive where she works. If she ever sees Aaron Lowell again, she’ll put a stake in his heart.

Aaron Lowell feels guilty he took his mentor’s advice and left town after taking the sexy socialite into the undead world. Concerned, he returns to check on her and discovers she’s become a stripper—and not a very happy one when she sees him. But she’s still hot, and he can’t stay away from her, even if their meetings are explosive.

Can two vampires move beyond anger, combined with a strong sexual attraction, to find the kind of love they both crave?

BUY LINK

To read excerpts from other books by Lizzie T. Leaf please click onto Amazon.

Lizzie T. Leaf loved books since she opened her first one. Her dream was to write them herself. Lost in the hectic day to day world of family, job, laundry and housework, writing became a distant memory. When the twinkling ember did spark, it was usually doused by someone demanding their share of her time.

Lizzie's life went full circle. The desire to put the stories that continued to play in her head on paper emerged stronger than ever, and at a time when there was someone who encouraged. Now she lives her dream.

Learn more about Lizzie T. Leaf on her website and blog. Connect with Lizzie on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.





See all of Lizzie's book on Amazon.

SOUP!

by Lizzie T. Leaf

Our grocery stores occasionally send special prices on a few items for card members. One of ours for August was sweet potatoes, or yams as the notice read. So of course, I had to take advantage of the deal.

Thank you to Elise who shared her recipe on Simply Recipes. Her swas delicious even without the tweaks I made to spice it up a little as in this recipe. Enjoy!

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

Photo by tiramisustudio

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1½-inch cubes
4 large shallots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground marjoram
¼ tsp. cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
3 cups chicken stock
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tbsp. sour cream or plain yogurt (Greek or regular, omit for paleo version) optional

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Combine potatoes and shallots in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt, thyme, marjoram, and cumin. Toss so all pieces are well coated with olive oil and seasonings.

Spread the sweet potatoes and shallots out on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast for 25 minutes or until cooked through and nicely caramelized and browned around the edges. Remove from oven.

Heat the chicken stock in a 2-3 quart saucepan on the stove until steamy.

Place the cooked sweet potatoes and shallots in a blender or food processor. Add the hot chicken stock a half cup at a time. Purée until smooth.

NOTE, when blending hot liquids, fill the blender or food processor bowl no more than a third full, and start with short pulses. Depending on the size of your equipment you may need to work in batches.

Taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls with a good size dollop of sour cream.

Serves 2 to 4

Here's a brief intro to my vampire story that is guaranteed to warm your winter nights.

Socialite Deb Stein lives a life of luxury until she takes the hunk dressed as a vampire to her bed. When she wakes up one of the living dead, she’s pissed-off. To complicate matters more, she has to find a new identity since everyone thinks she's dead. Plus, if she’s dead, she can’t touch her trust fund, and that means she has to work! How can someone who has never held a job find one?

And her social life is in the tank. Her new friends are a street guy called Rat and fellow strippers at the dive where she works. If she ever sees Aaron Lowell again, she’ll put a stake in his heart.

Aaron Lowell feels guilty he took his mentor’s advice and left town after taking the sexy socialite into the undead world. Concerned, he returns to check on her and discovers she’s become a stripper—and not a very happy one when she sees him. But she’s still hot, and he can’t stay away from her, even if their meetings are explosive.

Can two vampires move beyond anger, combined with a strong sexual attraction, to find the kind of love they both crave?

BUY LINK

To read excerpts from other books by Lizzie T. Leaf please click onto Amazon.

Lizzie T. Leaf loved books since she opened her first one. Her dream was to write them herself. Lost in the hectic day to day world of family, job, laundry and housework, writing became a distant memory. When the twinkling ember did spark, it was usually doused by someone demanding their share of her time.

Lizzie's life went full circle. The desire to put the stories that continued to play in her head on paper emerged stronger than ever, and at a time when there was someone who encouraged. Now she lives her dream.

Learn more about Lizzie T. Leaf on her website and blog. Connect with Lizzie on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.





See all of Lizzie's book on Amazon.

A Gift Idea for the E-Readers on Your List

Erotic author Lizzie T. Leaf has a new release! The six DEAD books from her acclaimed series are now available in a box set.

DEAD Awake – Who knew a night of passion, could lead to a gal waking up dead…and pissed?

DEAD Faint – BillieJo didn’t want to die, but given her new food source for eternity death may have been a better option.

DEAD Hunter – ArieAnne was raised to believe vampires are evil, so how can she be in love with one?

DEAD Memory – David can’t remember his past, but finds it strange the smell of blood makes his mouth water.

DEAD Hot – Can two people with deep secrets discover the truth about each other and still find love?

DEAD Santa – A bite on this Christmas Eve delivery changed Santa into someone he doesn’t know, and Mrs. Claus doesn’t want to live with.

EXCERPT
from DEAD Awake

“Guess again.” Daniel’s dark eyes bored into her. “My dear, if I wanted to be with someone famous I wouldn’t have to wait for them to die…nor would it be you.”

Well, he doesn’t have to be so persnickety and openly sneer at the thought of doing me! He might be good looking, but it isn’t like he’s God’s gift to women. And he’s old. He must be at least forty-five. “So what are you doing here?”

Wait a minute—did he read my mind?

He sighed and shook his head. “I promised a friend I’d help you understand what has happened to you. And yes, I can read your thoughts.”

Freaky. A mind reader, but he knows what’s going on with my situation.

Excitement suppressed her doubts. Finally, she was going to find out what happened. Perhaps she had some rare strange disease that only a few people knew about.

He studied her for a long moment with his intense black eyes, and she had to resist the urge to squirm. Maybe she didn’t want to know what he was going to tell her.

“Your condition is the result of…an accident. My friend didn’t mean to get carried away and turn you into one of the living dead.”

“The what?” How did she manage to get hooked up with these weirdoes? “Are you frigging nuts?”

His dark glare stopped her from saying more.

“For your information, I’m saner than you’re going to feel shortly.” He held up a hand to stop her question. “Let me finish before you start with your questions.” His voice teetered on boredom as he went on to explain what happened to her on Halloween night.

The story may have bored him, but by the time he completed his tale, she was boiling mad. “You’re telling me I’m a vampire.”

This man was certifiable. Vampires only existed in horror movies and at costume parties. “Then what does that make you, if you’re friends with this individual who took a bite out of me?”

“A much older and wiser vampire than you or my young friend who created you.” He adjusted the collar of his coat. “Now, do you want to benefit from some of my knowledge or do you wish to continue with your delusion that I’m insane?”

A little flick of fear ran down Deb’s spine. What if he was telling her the truth? What if she had been turned into a vampire? That would explain why the doctor pronounced her dead. She was, what did Daniel call it…one of the living dead.

“So, did your friend or whatever you call him, need virgin’s blood to survive, or what?”

The Experienced One grimaced. “I call him Aaron, or sometimes refer to him as my protégé, and yes, he is my friend. As for the virgin’s blood, if that was the case he’d be in real trouble on the survival issue with his selection of you, wouldn’t he?”

BUY LINK

To read excerpts from other books by Lizzie T. Leaf please click a vendor's name - Musa Publishing - Amazon.

Lizzie T. Leaf loved books since she opened her first one. Her dream was to write them herself. Lost in the hectic day to day world of family, job, laundry and housework, writing became a distant memory. When the twinkling ember did spark, it was usually doused by someone demanding their share of her time.

Lizzie's life went full circle. The desire to put the stories that continued to play in her head on paper emerged stronger than ever, and at a time when there was someone who encouraged. Now she lives her dream.

Learn more about Lizzie T. Leaf on her website and blog. Connect with Lizzie on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.


I'll be back Wednesday with a new recipe. Until then...

Happy Reading!

~Sloane

Love Among the Undead and Their Friends

My longtime friend Lizzie T. Leaf is here to talk about her series and how it came to be. The floor is all yours, Lizzie!

I like humor in my life. Maybe that’s why I enjoy reading and writing humor. When approached to do a vampire Halloween story for an anthology by a now defunct publisher, no surprise when my mind went in that direction.

I took the bull by the horns and did vampire “my way.” DEAD Awake’s heroine (thanks to a Jewish friend who suggested the idea) is a socialite from a Jewish family that keeps a Kosher kitchen. Our gal is a little on the wild side (think Paris Hilton), and a paparazzi darling. Her hook-up with a “hot” guy in a vampire costume at her annual Halloween party, changes her life…forever.

She wakes up smelling pine and discovers, thanks to the helpful stranger lurking outside the funeral home, our gal learns she’s now one of the living dead. And, her new main food supply is blood. Yuk! She doesn’t eat food that has snuggled against blood, let alone drink the stuff. But a girl can get hungry and real hunger can cause values to slip.

I finished the book and moved on…my vampire days behind me, or so I thought.

Readers asked, “When’s the next book in the series?” Series? My mind hadn’t ventured down that path. Then one of my friends suggested I write a book about a vampire who faints at the sight of blood.

Once she planted the seed, my mind wouldn’t leave it alone, and DEAD Faint came into existence, as well as the start of the DEAD series.

Vampires don’t always have to be scary, blood hungry, beasts. They can have “attitude” that will make you smile. And when they connect with a soul mate, it goes to show, vampires need love too.

In DEAD Hunter the heroine discovers her focus as a vampire hunter has been off course and not all vampires are her enemy, especially the one she falls in love with. DEAD Memory, has a hero with a little problem—he can’t remember he’s a vampire, or that he’s not supposed to be attracted to a werewolf.

Thanks to Musa Publishing’s encouragement, the series continues to grow. The latest release brings smiles with not only vampires, but shifters. If your daddy is Hispanic and your mama a cross-blend of Asian and German, the options are open...at least for the heroine in DEAD Hot. And I’m delighted that DEAD Hot is a finalist for 2013 Best Novella in the Aspen Gold.

November 2013 brings the release of DEAD Santa. Tangling with a bat during his Christmas Eve deliveries leaves Santa with problems. He has to deal with accelerated lust in the bedroom and an unquenchable thirst for blood. This leads to an unhappy wife, but what’s a fellow to do?

Will there be other books? So glad you asked. At the moment I’ve stated to make notes for DEAD Viking. We’ll have to see where that goes.

Do you like your paranormal with a touch of humor, or prefer blood and gore? Why?

Check out all my Musa books HERE.

Learn more about Lizzie T. Leaf on her website and blog. Connect with Lizzie on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

I'll be back Wednesday with a new recipe. Until then...

Happy Reading!

Sloane