A quick look at recent adventures…
JUST RELEASED: MISTER MANNERS by J.C. Bruce (fiction). “Who is the mysterious Mister Manners who has been gluing shopping carts to the roofs of cars, shattering unused turn signals, and generally terrorizing the rude and inconsiderate in Florida? Weird news columnist Alexander Strange is on a quest to track down the social avenger, but he may have gotten in over his head.”
RELEASED 1 YEAR AGO: A Beginner’s Meditation Course by ME (nonfiction). 😉 For the next 30 days, you’ll have a short chapter with instruction, advice, tips, and your assignment for the following day – everything you need get started and keep going. By the end of 30 days, you’ll be meditating for five minutes a day. See? Easy.
RELEASED 5 YEARS AGO: The One with All the Writing Advice by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant (nonfiction). They’ll examine definitive episodes of the TV classic Friends, sharing the lessons that every novelist, from aspiring to experienced, can apply to create believable characters and develop story arcs that will captivate their readers from start to finish.
And more food fun…
The recipes I’ve been posting the past months seem to be popular, so here’s another one: Chocolate Quinoa Cake. Ok, before you go running for the hills (or the dictionary to look that up…”joaquin?”), hear me out.
I got in the mood for chocolate cake. The irony is that we already HAD chocolate cake (albeit in the freezer); it was from a great local bakery in San Diego and it’d be easy enough to thaw one piece. But I had completely forgotten about that entire cake and decided to make one from scratch. (More below…)
Here’s the recipe for the Best-Ever Chocolate Quinoa Cake
I’m not sure when I first stumbled onto this recipe, but I’ve been making it for years, often for birthdays and guests, especially when I was traveling and couchsurfing. Perhaps it was after I first had a flourless chocolate cake at a restaurant and was then looking for something healthy (in cake!) and discovered this version. If you’ve not had quinoa before, it’s pretty simple and inoffensive—and in this cake, you never even taste it. The cake just has a nice, light consistency.
Plus, the icing is worth it on its own: just the solids from full-fat coconut milk and melted chocolate chips. I ended up making only a “half” cake, but the full amount of icing and had it later as snacks. I read in the book Cooked by Michael Pollen the advice (paraphrased) “Eat whatever you want, as long as you’re willing to make it.” So while I don’t eat the whole cake in one sitting, I don’t feel particularly guilty about making this from scratch and enjoying every bite.
I also believe I work out and exercise as often as I do so that I can justify all the desserts and treats I eat. 😂
I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to and any other comments you have – leave a note below!
More ahead! Be well and keep in touch!
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