Carrot Cake or Carrot Sticks - No Contest! @pagehalffull #recipe #dessert

Guest Post by Susan Lodge

The habit of afternoon tea and cake has come back into fashion with a vengeance.

Thanks to the explosion of bake-offs and celebrity chef programmes, baking cakes is big business. Never has the cup cake, Victoria sponge or biscuit been given so many media makeovers — despite the gym gurus and the calorie police. I love cake, but it’s a struggle balancing; bake-offs v gym workout, carrot sticks v carrot cake, bathroom scales v kitchen scales… and so on.

So, here is my favourite cake recipe. It’s full of off happy healthy carrots. And, if you want to implement further calorie control, the cake is equally delicious without the frosting. Great for afternoon tea, morning coffee, or just when you need some T.L.C.

Carrot Comfort Cake

200g or 7oz. just over ¾ cup plain flour
200g or 7oz. just over ¾ cup brown sugar
200g or 7oz. just over ¾ cup grated carrots
2-3 mashed, ripe bananas, depending on size
120 ml of sunflower oil
100g or just under ½ cup sultanas
100g or just under ½ cup chopped nuts, walnuts, pecans, Brazils, almonds - or a mixture of your preference
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
3 eggs
20 cm wide, or 8”, spring based/loose based, round cake tin

Pre-heat oven to 170°C or 340° F

Grease cake tin. If you use a tin without a loose base, cut out a round of greaseproof paper and line the base to prevent sticking.

Whisk the eggs and sugar until thick and creamy. Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, and then stir into egg mixture.

Add the nuts, oil, sultanas and carrots and stir well. Finally add the mashed banana and make sure everything is evenly combined.

Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for about 1 hr – 1hr 15 mins.

Test the cake is done by inserting a skewer or thin bladed knife into the middle. It should come out clean.

When the cake has cooled, either dust the top with sifted icing sugar, Confectioner’s sugar, or top with an easy cream cheese frosting (as pictured).

Cream Cheese Frosting
100g or 4oz. cream cheese
50g or 2tbsp. soft butter
200-250g or ¾ - 1 cup icing sugar or Confectioner’s sugar

Beat together cream cheese and butter.

Add enough icing sugar until you reach a soft spreading consistency.

Carefully swirl on top of cooled cake with palette knife.

Enjoy!

Susan Lodge’s first publishing success was a story purchased by a major UK magazine. After a drawer full of rejections she described the arrival of the acceptance letter as, ‘A moment of ecstasy’. This breakthrough gave her the confidence to seek and secure a publisher for her historical romance novels. Only a Hero Will Do and Rebellious Cargo.

After working in several cities including London and Bristol, she and her husband moved down to the Hampshire coast to raise their family.

You can find more about Susan and her books on her website and blog. Stay connected on her Amazon page, Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Guest post from @pagehalffull #regencyromance #characterinterview

My guest today is Susan Lodge, noted Regency romance author. Susan appears to have a guest with her. Who do you have here, Susan?

I have brought along Hetty Avebury who is the heroine of Only a Hero Will Do. She wishes to share some advice about travelling at sea in the nineteenth century. Hetty unfortunately found herself trapped on a naval ship, uninvited and...

Excuse me, Susan. If I am not mistaken, you did say I could do this blog - after all I am the person who experienced the stressful, but enlightening, voyage and I don't want you to say anything indelicate. Perhaps you can go and arrange the refreshments. I will look after the visitors. Oh! Where are my guests precisely?

Okay, Hetty, you carry on. Trust me, they are out there listening, just talk – you’re good at that. But don’t give away too much of the plot before I come back.

Good! She has gone. Good day - are you there? Well I shall continue even though I fear my author has become quite addle brained. Did you know, dear guests, Susan’s ambition is to travel into space. Ha! What a strange thought. A coach that takes flight into the sky- without horses!

I hope she brings back some scones as I have a weakness for scones. In fact I have a few weaknesses. Gambling is one – luckily I am very good at it. My scheming family do not realize that I am able to gain funds this way. Therefore you might say it is also a strength.

Another weakness is books. I do love books! I can never get enough of the exciting informative kind (if you understand my meaning). The attendant at the library back home always examined my choices, so they were limited to the mundane. However, whilst I was at sea, Dr Withington lent me some books which were very informative.

But I must return our attentions to the purpose of this blog, where I will share some useful tips about sea travel.

So here are eight things a Regency lady needs to know about travelling (uninvited) on a naval ship in hostile waters.

1. Make sure you know which is the leeward side (the sheltered side) of the ship. It is important to know which way the wind is blowing when you are prone to seasickness. It was a shame about Doctor Withington’s coat-but luckily it was only his second best.

2. Do not stray from the quarterdeck. The stern end is the civilized end of the ship. Although it is a lot more colourful down the pointed end.

3. Prepare for your sleep to be interrupted. The ringing of the ship’s bell and the beating of drums occur at regular and unsociable times.

4. Do not complain of boredom, believe me that is a good sign. If you see a French ship approaching things will get very unpleasant, and you will soon wish to be bored again.

5. If you have a chance to pack for the journey (which I did not) include warm clothing. Also a supply of lemon juice is useful to bathe freckles, which multiply like a plague of insects across your skin once exposed to the sea air.

6. Prepare to be stoic. You will witness the misery and sacrifice of war. Even If you are lucky enough to avoid battle, deaths on board from injury and disease occur frequently.

7. Do remember to knock the weevils from the ships biscuits, and do not try to cut biscuits into delicate pieces; they resist all attempts.

8. If there is a tall, sombre physician around, whose job it is to keep you out of trouble, and looks at you with eyes … Oh, no – she is coming back with the tea - but alas no scones.

There is much more to tell, and if you feel like indulging in a romantic adventure and discovering what happened during and after my unscheduled voyage, please take a look at Only a Hero Will Do. (I haven’t even begun to tell you about Doctor Withington and you need to know about him.)

Marriage to a cruel dandy is not how Hetty Avebury envisions spending the rest of her life. Determined to avoid the match, she raises funds the only way she knows how – gambling. Her plans go astray and she finds herself on board a man-of-war under the care of its high handed physician. But Hetty soon realizes that Doctor Withington is not quite the stuffed shirt she had first imagined.

If it wasn’t bad enough declaring one of the pressed men as a woman, Robert has been tasked with the tiresome job of returning her safely back to her dysfunctional family. It was ten years ago when his father gambled away his inheritance, home, and any chance of marrying the woman he loved. So when Robert discovers Hetty gambling he takes drastic action to cure her of the habit.

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Susan Lodge’s first publication was a story for a UK national woman’s magazine. Heady with this breakthrough, she went on to write her first novel. She loves writing contemporary and historical romance, usually with a large dose of humour. Susan believes the romance genre lends itself superbly to funny moments, as love can make people act very oddly.

Susan has a science degree and always wanted to be an astronaut, but instead spent most of her career in the Civil Service. She would love to secure a seat on Richard Branson’s space flight. However, to find the funds she needs to either write a best seller or win the lottery.

After working in several cities including London and Bristol, she and her husband moved down to the Hampshire coast to raise their family.

Catch up with Susan on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

Quick Pasta Bake #recipe from @pagehalffull #historicalromance

Author Susan Lodge, is here with a delicious recipe that is easy and delicious. Take it away, Susan.

The world moves faster now and we all have time crunches that take away from home cooking. But here is the perfect meal for when you are really pressed to feed the family.

Quick Pasta Bake

300gm (10oz) dried pasta Penne works well
1 large onion chopped
3 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
4 rashers of thick bacon cooked and chopped into bite size pieces
1-2 tbsp. of olive oil
125 ml (4 oz) water or wine
400gm (14 oz) tin of plum tomatoes.
1 tsp. dried mixed herbs
110 gm (4oz) of hard cheese grated or mozzarella sliced.
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 180°C or 350°F.

Cook the pasta for the prescribed time on the packet.

In a large pan gently fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes until soft and transparent.

Add tomatoes, water/wine, bacon, and mixed herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer gently for five to ten minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly.

Combine the drained pasta and tomato mixture and turn in to an oven proof dish.
Sprinkle with cheese and bake ten minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Nice served with a green salad and some crusty bread.

Here is a peek at my Historical Romance releasing this fall through Crooked Cat Publishing. This is a tale of treachery and passion set against the backdrop of Nelson's Navy. I hope you enjoy it.

The naval frigate was his life. It was her nightmare.

Spring 1803

Daughter of England’s foremost code breaker, Jane Charlesworth is the only person thought capable of deciphering a vital Government document. But when a naval frigate is sent to enlist her services and transport her to Malta Jane is filled with horror. Haunted with terrible memories of an earlier voyage, she has no intention of putting herself under the protection of the Admiralty ever again.

Anxious to be at the forefront of the action, as the Peace with France crumbles, Adam Marston is livid when his ship is diverted to collect a reluctant blue stocking whose accusing eyes and insolent manner hold nothing but contempt for him and his orders. Sparks fly when Captain and code breaker find they have different ideas on how to handle a French attack, a malicious Chaplain, and boisterous midshipmen.

Duty and desire collide as Malta approaches but Jane is determined that her judgment will not be clouded by the Captain who, once he has dispatched his Rebellious Cargo , will sail out of her life and back to his convoy. But as the ship docks Jane’s life becomes a nightmare and she is forced to gamble that Adam is the one person she can trust.

As passion battles with duty will future orders throw them together or tear them apart?

Susan Lodge’s first publication was a story for a UK national woman’s magazine. Heady with this breakthrough, she went on to write her first novel. She loves writing contemporary and historical romance, usually with a large dose of humour. Susan believes the romance genre lends itself superbly to funny moments, as love can make people act very oddly.

Susan has a science degree and always wanted to be an astronaut, but instead spent most of her career in the Civil Service. She would love to secure a seat on Richard Branson’s space flight. However, to find the funds she needs to either write a best seller or win the lottery.

After working in several cities including London and Bristol, she and her husband moved down to the Hampshire coast to raise their family.

Catch up with Susan on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

#MondayMunchies - @pagehalffull ends your Mealtime Woes! #recipe #pasta

Mealtime Woes Are Ended
by Susan Lodge

The world moves faster now and we all have time crunches that take away from home cooking. But here is the perfect meal for when you are really pressed.

Quick Pasta Bake
300gm (10oz) dried pasta Penne works well
1 large onion chopped
3 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
4 rashers of thick bacon cooked and chopped into bite size pieces
1-2 tbsp. of olive oil
125 ml (4 oz) water or wine
400gm (14 oz) tin of plum tomatoes.
1 tsp. dried mixed herbs
110 gm (4oz) of hard cheese grated or mozzarella sliced.
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 180°C or 350°F.

Cook the pasta for the prescribed time on the packet.

In a large pan gently fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes until soft and transparent.

Add tomatoes, water/wine, bacon, and mixed herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer gently for five to ten minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly.

Combine the drained pasta and tomato mixture and turn in to an oven proof dish.
Sprinkle with cheese and bake ten minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Nice served with a green salad and some crusty bread.

Here's an short introduction to Susan's latest contemporary release.

Lyn enjoys reading romance novels, especially when she can combine it with relaxing in the Caribbean sunshine. But when a mysterious stranger joins the cruise ship, fiction and fact become dangerously confused.

When Lyn Redford’s sandal hurtles across the deck of the cruise ship, it makes her first introduction to Henry Matasie rather hostile. It wasn’t just that the man was seriously grumpy; he was a walking wardrobe disaster. Do you really need to wear woolen socks with your shorts in the Caribbean heat?

Following an embarrassing encounter in the cocktail bar with Henry, Lyn and her travelling companion Shona try to find out the reason for his strange behaviour. Later, when Lyn accidentally reads his e-mail, she is convinced the man in the blue flowered shorts is deadly dangerous.

When Henry swaps his awful holiday clothes for a dress suit to attend the gala dinner the transformation sets Lyn’s pulse racing. But she is convinced he still hides a guilty secret and she is intent on discovering what it is.

To read an excerpt from The Man in the Blue Flowered Shorts please click HERE.

To read excerpts from Susan’s Regency romances please click HERE.

Susan Lodge’s first publication was a story for a UK national woman’s magazine. Heady with this breakthrough, she went on to write her first novel Only a Hero Will Do. She loves writing contemporary and historical romance, usually with a large dose of humour. After working in several cities including London and Bristol, she moved down to the Hampshire coast to raise her family.

Once asked the most important piece of advice she had been given in pursuit of publication, Susan answered -
The only difference between the unpublished writer and the published writer is the fact that the published writer didn't give up.

Catch up with Susan on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

Friday Friends - The Man in the Blue Flowered Shorts @pagehalffull

Susan Lodge has stopped by to answer a few questions about her new release, The Man in the Blue Flowered Shorts, a contemporary romantic comedy.

How do you decide the title of your book? Does it involve a lot of head scratching, pen chewing, and staring out of the window, waiting for a lightning bolt of inspiration? Or a laborious search for a snappy phrase that will encompass the spirit of the story and grab the attention of the e- book browsers?

That is how it was choosing the title for my first publication—but with the second it was easy. The Man in the Blue Flowered Shorts walked past me one day and wham! There was my book title and the seeds of a story all gained from a few moments of idle observation. I live on the coast and am quite used to holidaymakers ambling about in strange summery outfits, but this man cranked my literary detective into action. Who was this person who looked so on edge in his holiday clothes?

I never knew the real answer, as I only saw him once, but he had sparked my imagination with all sorts of questions.

He appeared to not want to be on holiday and he didn't seem to like his wardrobe, so who do you think advised him to wear socks with sandals?

I haven't a clue but would like to point out that I have nothing against men in sandals or shorts, especially of the blue flowered variety. But it’s that accessory thing. Shorts and sandals are fine—but worn with socks! The combination should be outlawed.

I know, especially here in the UK, the sandal wearing season is quite brief—in fact turning out be nonexistent this year due to the miserable weather. And that relinquishing the socks can result in strap chaffing to soft white toes and heels which have been cocooned for most of the year. But that is no excuse for socks with sandals, is it? After all, you can purchase those nice discreet clear plasters to protect those vulnerable parts of your feet.

I now feel this blog is getting a little shallow because we all know that clothes shouldn’t really matter and it’s the person inside that counts. And, to be honest, looking out on this freezing cold English July day, I might just get out those thigh high woolen socks I got for Christmas. Although I wouldn’t wear them with sandals—but then, I am not a man!

But however he was dressed, I will always be grateful to the intriguing man in the blue flowered shorts. He provided me with, not only a title to my latest romance, but the trigger for a sequel, The Man in the Buff Breeches. Then I might follow it with The Man in the ...well, I’m looking around right now for an inspiration!

Lyn enjoys reading romance novels, especially when she can combine it with relaxing in the Caribbean sunshine. But when a mysterious stranger joins the cruise ship, fiction and fact become dangerously confused.

When Lyn Redford’s sandal hurtles across the deck of the cruise ship, it makes her first introduction to Henry Matasie rather hostile. It wasn’t just that the man was seriously grumpy; he was a walking wardrobe disaster. Do you really need to wear woolen socks with your shorts in the Caribbean heat?

Following an embarrassing encounter in the cocktail bar with Henry, Lyn and her travelling companion Shona try to find out the reason for his strange behaviour. Later, when Lyn accidentally reads his e-mail, she is convinced the man in the blue flowered shorts is deadly dangerous.

When Henry swaps his awful holiday clothes for a dress suit to attend the gala dinner the transformation sets Lyn’s pulse racing. But she is convinced he still hides a guilty secret and she is intent on discovering what it is.

To read an excerpt from The Man in the Blue Flowered Shorts please click HERE.

Susan Lodge’s first publication was a story for a UK national woman’s magazine. Heady with this breakthrough, she went on to write her first novel Only a Hero Will Do. She loves writing contemporary and historical romance, usually with a large dose of humour. After working in several cities including London and Bristol, she moved down to the Hampshire coast to raise her family.

Once asked the most important piece of advice she had been given in pursuit of publication, Susan answered -
The only difference between the unpublished writer and the published writer is the fact that the published writer didn't give up.

Catch up with Susan on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

Friday Friends - Susan Lodge

ONLY A HERO WILL DO is the latest release by Susan Lodge.

Hetty’s desperate gamble to avoid an odious match lands her all at sea. Can an overbearing ship’s physician really be the hero she needs to escape her treacherous family?

BLURB:
Marriage to a cruel dandy is not how Hetty Avebury envisions spending the rest of her life. Determined to raise funds to escape the match she earns money the only way she knows how—gambling. Her plans go astray and she finds herself onboard a man-of-war under the care of its stern physician. But Hetty soon realizes that the disapproving Doctor Withington is not at all the man she had first imagined.

If it wasn’t bad enough declaring one of the pressed men as a woman, Robert has been tasked with the tiresome job of returning her safely back to her dysfunctional family. It was ten years ago when his father gambled away his inheritance, home, and any chance of marrying the woman he loved. So when Robert discovers Hetty gambling he takes drastic action to cure her of the habit.

EXCERPT:
“Annie, will you please walk beside me? Try to remember, I am supposed to be your brother not your employer. You must keep your arm on mine.” Annie pursed her lips but did as she was told.

At five foot four, Hetty was tall enough to masquerade as a male. Her disguise was not of fine quality this time, as she had no desire to stand out in the crowd. It was serviceable and clean, if a little ill-fitting.

She resembled a rather youthful clerk.

They had left in the early hours after Hetty had written her aunt a short note to tell her not to worry. She couldn’t risk anything else, as she knew Stark and her father would ask too many questions. If she knew nothing, Aunt Amelia wouldn’t have to lie—something she didn’t like to do.

After a moment, Hetty and Annie searched for a respectable inn, both having missed breakfast. It was only after they had seated themselves in the Boar's Head and ordered a modest meal that Hetty realized it was a bad choice. The tables were occupied by groups of unsavoury looking males, half of whom were staring at Annie in a very vulgar way. Hetty looked around with a feeling of foreboding while picking at a cold rabbit pie. The room started to empty as a strange murmur of discontent rippled through the establishment.

Annie fidgeted beside her. “I don’t like it, Miss Hetty! It ain’t right.”

Hetty groaned. “Harry—not Miss Hetty! For heaven’s sake, Annie!”

“Beg pardon…Harry,” she said, as though the name was blasphemous, “but I think we should go now.”

Hetty agreed and prepared to rise when the door shot open and the remaining customers scattered in all directions. A small party of hefty men, armed with wooden batons, sauntered in and stopped in the center of the room, assessing the occupants.

Annie grabbed Hetty’s arm. “It’s the press-gang!”

It took a moment for Annie’s words to register then Hetty swallowed violently. If only her skirts were back on. One of them noticed her and narrowed his eyes with a terrifying gleam like a predator. He pointed his finger her way. “Now, lad, I reckon you look ripe for adventure. Eager to serve your king, I wager.”

Hetty shook her head and grasped Annie. “No, sir, I have my sister here to look after.”

The man wandered closer, his fleshy face beamed and his voice cajoled. “What’s your name, lad, and how old are you?”

“Harry Blake. I am fourteen." Surely that is too young.

The man considered her for a moment, and Hetty didn’t dare to breathe.

“Bring him.”

Logic ceased. Hetty ducked under the table and tried to crawl toward the door, but one of them crunched a foul-smelling boot down on the small of her back, and her breath escaped in one whoosh of pain. A large hand hoisted her up by the neckcloth and placed her on her feet.

BUY LINK

Susan Lodge is a life long writer, but has marketed her work just these last few years. When she is not writing, Susan tinkers on her piano, enjoys the company of her children, or takes long walks along the coastline with her real life hero.

Once asked the most important piece of advice she had been given in pursuit of publication, Susan answered -
The only difference between the unpublished writer and the published writer is the fact that the published writer didn't give up.

Catch up with Susan on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.