I'm Moving

I've had my blog here for about seven years but now feel it is time for a change. Don't they say change is as good as a holiday?

Anyway, I have a lovely new website thanks to the talented Kerrie Ptolemy (Loving it!) and my blog will now be worked within the website.
Here's the link if you would like to visit:
http://sandiejames.com/blog/

Thank you for sharing your time with me.

Regards
Sandie

A Bindarra Creek Romance ~ Second Chance Love

Second Chance Love by Susanna Bellamy is book three in the Bindarra Creek series.

When you can’t go back, is there any way but forward?

When Claire Swenson inherits her great-aunt’s home and returns to Bindarra Creek as town librarian, Angus McGregor is the first person she meets.

The second is his eleven-year old son.

Just because Angus wants a second chance doesn’t mean that Claire will put aside her determination not to commit to a relationship – no matter how sexy he is, or how well they work together as they fight for the community and to save Angus’ property.

Can he convince Claire that love is sweeter the second time around?

Available: Amazon

A Bindarra Creek Romance ~ Shadows of the Heart

Shadows of the Heart by Lee Christine is book two in the Bindarra Creek Romance anthology.

How far can you run before it’s time to turn and fight?

When Cameron Reid returns home from Iraq his sole intention is to help his ailing father restore the family cattle station, Bindarra Downs, to its former glory. But when Rhiannon Scott, a girl he hasn’t seen in fifteen years comes knocking at his father’s door, Cameron’s wish for a return to the quiet, country life is turned upside down.

Rhiannon has a secret. A city girl lying low in the country town she first visited as a billet, she’s yearning to take back the life she’s been forced to put on hold. Getting involved with the irresistible, former army commander, a pillar of the community, would only invite the kind of unwanted attention she’d been advised to avoid.

A Bindarra Creek Romance ~ Bindarra Creek Makeover

Bindarra Creek Makeover is the first book in the Bindarra Creek Series. Set in a struggling rural country town, it’s a romance with a difference.

On a collision course with the nightmare from her past, she never dared dream she’d find love. Tessa Gibson reluctantly embarks on a desperate plan to fund her escape from a dangerous collision with her past. With the help of an isolated country town and the government grant meant to rebuild it, she’ll secure new identities for her sickly daughter and herself. Frantic to escape the nightmare stalking them, it never enters her head she’ll fall in love – not only with a cop but an entire community that makes her feel like one of their own.

With his career on shaky ground after his ex-partner is charged with fraud, Constable Dylan Myers (aka Dodge) returns to his hometown of Bindarra Creek. What he finds is a community struggling to survive. When an attractive young woman presents a proposal to the town council, his internal cop radar is activated. Something isn’t adding up about Tessa Gibson. No matter how much she makes his pulse race, Dodge doesn’t need or want any complications  – especially in his love-life, which is just fine as it is. But neither Tessa nor Dodge are a match for his grandmother and her CWA cronies. They’ve got their own ideas on how to draw new life to Bindarra Creek…and not even the monster from Tessa’s past will stop them.

Available Now:

Amazon AU, NOOK, iBooks, Kobo

Bindarra Creek Romance Anthology

13 romances.      13 authors.      13 months.

Welcome to Bindarra Creek, a struggling country community whose townspeople work hard and love deeply.  Set in the tablelands of New England, Australia, the fictional Bindarra Creek is a drought stricken community full of intrigue, adventure, drama and honest country goodness. Life and love in a small country town has never been more challenging.

The women who hold the town together.

F ~ FEATHER PUDDING.

F ~ FEATHER PUDDING.

The recipe today is from Dr. Allinson’s Cookery Book Comprising many valuable Vegetarian Recipes published in 1915

FEATHER PUDDING.

A teacupful of Allinson fine wheatmeal, a pinch of salt, 1/2 a teacupful of sifted sugar, and 2 oz. of butter; whisk well together, and add a teacupful of fresh milk, and 2 well-beaten eggs. Beat steadily for 15 minutes; fill a well-greased tin about three-parts full, and bake in a moderate oven for 35 minutes; serve with apricot sauce poured over and around. To make the sauce, take 1 teacupful of apricot jam, add to it 1 gill of water, make very hot, and rub through a heated gravy strainer over and around the pudding; then serve at once.

E ~ Espagnole

E ~ Espagnole

Today’s recipe comes from Pierre Blot’s Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks published in 1884

Espagnole.—This sauce is very seldom made in the kitchen of a family, except of a large and wealthy family, being a rather expensive one. In the kitchen of a family, gravy or even broth is used in its stead; but, when preparing an extra dinner, it should be made, and a little of it used in all the brown sauces, either for meat, fish, or vegetables.

Spread about half a pound of butter in the bottom of a stewpan, lay in it lean ham and veal, partridge, wild rabbit, pheasant, or fowl of any kind, about four ounces of each, a small carrot cut in dice, one onion with a clove stuck in it, half a turnip, and a sprig of thyme; cover the pan and set it on the fire; let it simmer till reduced to a jelly, then mix in it two tablespoonfuls of flour, a wine-glass of white wine, cover with broth, add salt, pepper, a clove of garlic, a sprig of parsley, one clove, a bay-leaf, and two mushrooms cut in pieces; simmer from three to four hours, skim off the scum as soon as it comes on the surface; when done, take it from the fire, throw a few drops of cold water in, and skim off the fat, then strain and use.

It will keep for some time if kept air-tight in a pot or bottle, and in a cool, dry place.

D ~ DEVILED CRABS

Today’s recipe comes from the cookery book by Mrs. Wilson published in 1920

DEVILED CRABS

Make a cream sauce by placing in a saucepan

One cup of milk,

Five level tablespoons of flour.

Stir with a wire spoon or fork until the flour is dissolved in the milk and then bring to a boil. Stir constantly and cook for five minutes after it reaches the boiling point. Then add

One cup of crab meat,

One tablespoon of grated onion,

One tablespoon of finely minced parsley,

One tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce,

One and one-half teaspoons of salt,

One teaspoon of paprika,

One-half teaspoon of mustard.

Mix thoroughly and then fill into the crab shells, filling the shell slightly above the level. Dust lightly with flour and then brush with beaten egg and cover with fine bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown in hot fat. The crabs may be prepared earlier in the day and then reheated for serving.

C ~ CORN CHOWDER

Today I’m giving you a recipe from Fifty-Two Sunday Dinners by Elizabeth O. Hiller publisher 1913.

CORN CHOWDER

2 cups cooked corn cut from cob, or
1 can of corn.
1 cup salt pork cubes.
1 cup potatoes cut in cubes.
½ onion sliced.
3 cups water.
2 cups scalded milk.
1 tablespoon butter.
1 tablespoon flour.
²/₃ cup cracker crumbs.
Salt, Pepper.

Process: Cut salt pork in one-fourth inch cubes and try out in a frying pan; add onion, and cook until yellow. Pare and cut potatoes in one-half inch cubes, parboil five minutes. Add to onion, with corn and water; cover and cook twenty minutes or until potatoes are soft. Melt butter in a sauce-pan, add flour, stir to a smooth paste, pour some of the milk on slowly, stirring constantly. Combine mixtures; add crumbs and seasonings. Serve for dinner in cups or in small "nappies."

B ~ BEEFSTEAK AND OYSTERS.

Today’s recipe comes from Margaret Brown's French Cookery Book published in 1886.
BEEFSTEAK AND OYSTERS.

Take a tender sirloin steak, put it in a hot skillet, let it fry 15 minutes; when done take the hearts out of 1 quart of oysters, and put the oysters in the skillet where the steak came out, sprinkle a little flour over them, a small piece of butter, a little of the oyster liquor, enough to make a nice gravy; season to taste and a little nutmeg. Put steak on platter, pour this oyster gravy over them, and serve hot.

A ~ Apple Charlotte

Welcome to the first day of the A-Z Challenge. My posts over the next month will be a selection of recipes from the 1800’s to the early 1900.

Today’s recipe is from the well known Victorian cook Mrs. Isabelle Beeton from her Household Management book.

A VERY SIMPLE APPLE CHARLOTTE.

INGREDIENTS.—9 slices of bread and butter, about 6 good-sized apples, 1 tablespoonful of minced lemon-peel, 2 tablespoonfuls of juice, moist sugar to taste.

Mode.—Butter a pie-dish; place a layer of bread and butter, without the crust, at the bottom; then a layer of apples, pared, cored, and cut into thin slices; sprinkle over these a portion of the lemon-peel and juice, and sweeten with moist sugar. Place another layer of bread and butter, and then one of apples, proceeding in this manner until the dish is full; then cover it up with the peel of the apples, to preserve the top from browning or burning; bake in a brisk oven for rather more than 3/4 hour; torn the charlotte on a dish, sprinkle sifted sugar over, and serve.

Time.—3/4 hour. Average cost, 9d.

Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from July to March.

A-Z Blogging Challenge

From tomorrow I'm taking part in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. I aim is to post every day using a new letter each day an the topic of your choice. I'm doing recipes from the 1800 & early 1900.

This is the first time I've taken part in this challenge so it will be interesting to see how I go. If I get my act together I can schedule each post for the week on the Sundays. That's the plan at this stage.

Fashion Month ~ La Belle Assemblee ~ June 1818

Because I found it near impossible to transcribe the second fashion plate information I am only showing one from this month.

ENGLISH

EVENING DRESS:- Round dress of embossed gauze over white satin, with coriage of peach-coloured satin, elegantly ornamented with rouleau medallions and palm leaves of white satin. Mary queen of Scots hat, ornamented with pearls, and surmounted by a full plume of white feathers. Negligé necklace of fine pearls, and gold chain beneath, with an eyeglass suspended. White satin shoes, and white kid gloves.

Fashion Month ~ La Belle Assemblee ~ May 1818

Well here it is Sunday and I'm doing my first post since last week. I don't think I will say when I'll be posting each week as it never works out how I plan.

PLEASE NOTE: All spelling used in this post is as written in the magazine.

MORNING DRESS:- Dishabille round dress, finished at the border with open vandykes and embossments of rich embroidery, over which are three rows of narrow tucks, two tucks in each row. Full sleeves à-î- Estqus, finished at the wrist with a double ruffle of lace; the gown made partially low, and trimmed with lace next the bust; plain fichu of fine French lawn worn underneath. Village cornette of fine lace, ornamented simply with a broad satin ribband, of celestial blue. Kid slippers of Modena red.

WALKING DRESS:- Bridal morning robe of fine cambric, richly embroidered, and trimmed with puckered muslin round the border and down the front, which folds over à-la-Sultane. Elizabeth spenser and bonnet of etherial blue; the spenser elegantly ornamented in a novel style with white satin, &c. The bonnet of blue satin and fine net, crowned with a superb bouquet of full-blown white roses; a Brussels lace cornette is worn with this elegant bonnet. Cachemire shawl drapl, with a rich variegated border: triple ruff of broad Brussels lace. Half-boots of etherial blue kid, the upper part of fine cachemire coloured cloth.

     

Fashion Month ~ La Belle Assemblee ~ April 1818

Well I had all good intentions to start posting way back in January, but fell on its butt. So let's see how I go starting from today. I'll be posting three times a week as doing one each day just eats into my writing time too much, plus I'm doing a Book in a month from today. I've pledged to write 10,000 words but hope to achieve a lot more.

Please Note: This is true to text of the magazine.



ENGLISH

No 1. - Evening Dress


Castillian robe of pearl grey sarsnet, elegantly trimmed with pink satin, interspersed with crape and velvet: the petticoat worn under the dress is finished by a border of fine lace, which just appears below the robe: the sleeves are of fine figured net, with serpentine waves of rolled pink satin, continued close to the wrist, from whence depend two broad frills of blond made to fall over the knuckles. A fichn of the finest net, left open in front, and surmounted by a deep Spanish ruff, standing up à-l' Elizabeth. Crown turban of white satin, net, and pearls, with tassels of the latter material, and crowned near the summit with a wreath of pink fancy flowers. Pearl earrings, white crape fan, and white satin shoes.




FRENCH

No 2. - French Court Dress

White satin petticoat, trimmed round the border with a chevauz-de-frieze of crape, over which is a rich ornament of full blows roses; the sleeves full, and reaching near the elbow, terminating by two full rows of lace: the body made to display the bust, very low behind, and ornamented with crape en chevauz-de-frieze. Train of royal purple or Prussian blue satin, superbly trimmed with fine broad lace, and lined throughout with white satin. The hair dressed round the face in ringlets à-la-Ninon, and entirely divided from the forehead; the hair on the summit of the head raised in two rows of separate braids twisted round with pearls; between these braids is a tiara of gold and pearls, to which are fastened the court lappets of the finest Brussels lace. Earrings and chain necklace of pearls, white satin shoes, and white kid gloves, ornamented at the top with a rich embossment of white satin.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you achieve all your goals this year. For me I'm going to push myself to get three Regency novels finished and submitted (submitting one in March). I'm also working on a contemporary romance to indie publish later this year.

I've decided that I'll indie publish my contemporary romance novels. I have a few on the go that need editing badly.



My three Regency novels are a series titled 'Hero to the Rescue'. Book one I seem to have been writing forever, hopefully books two and three will be a lot quicker to write.



I'm also going to look at my Australia historical romance this year. It's almost finished but needs a lot of work doing to it and more research.



From next week I'm going to be posting twice a week on different subjects from fashion & recipes to the research I do on my novels. I'll give you some handy research sites as I come across them.



For now it's back to writing.

Have a wonderful 2015

Sandie