by Sandi Scott
Sparrow made a face. “Did not know that,” he said. “Spare’s flat, too. You know anybody that might be able to help me out?”
The younger man said, “I’ll ask around.”
“You could ask one of the volunteers,” Ashley said. “They’re in the orange shirts.”
“You see one, send ’em my way, would ya?” Sparrow asked the young man.
“Will do,” the man responded as he walked away.
Sparrow wrapped up the collar in a paper bag and handed it to her. “When you sell things by hand, missy, you have to learn to size people up in a heartbeat. Who just wants to browse, who’s got the itch to buy. What kind of person they are. What tastes they might have. I knew you loved dogs by the way that you were barely noticing the people around you—but you did notice each and every one of the four dogs that you passed on the way to my tent. I didn’t know you had a dog until you blinked at me like I was some kinda magician. If you hadn’t had a dog, or if you didn’t need a dog collar—well, you would have given me the ‘no, thank you’ smile and walked on by. After that it was just a matter of noticing that you were wearing chef clogs and picking out what looked like a dish pattern that I remember from my grandma’s house when I was a kid.”
“That’s incredible,” she said. “I mean, really, really impressive.”
He nodded at her and leaned back in his lawn chair so that the feet kicked up. Taking a drink out of his water bottle, he added, “You want to impress your friends with how quick I can size ’em up, just bring ’em on by.”
“I just might.” She left him with a smile on her face.
TO KEEP READING Madeleine Murder, find it online at http://sandiscottbooks.com/books/madeleine/
Recipe: Brownie Croissant
Brownie Croissant is an absolute WINNER! You have these scrumptious fudgy brownies with delicate, light, flaky croissants mixed throughout. It makes the texture almost airy inside. A must try!
Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) Brownie Mix (I used Trader Joe’s Brownie Truffle Baking Mix)
2 large eggs
½ stick butter
2 large croissants, torn into bite-size pieces
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9” baking pan with butter.
Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions (stir in eggs and butter). After the batter is mixed, stir in the pieces of croissant. Spoon the batter into the pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes and let cool for 30 minutes.
.
Recipe from Foodista .com
Recipe: Decadent Chocolate Coconut Flour Brownies
This is a great way to enjoy the classic sweet treat everyone loves – brownies! Add a healthy mix of coconut flower and take some of the guilt out of this guilty pleasure.
Ingredients
½ cup cocoa powder
⅓ cup Coco Treasure Organics Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
6 eggs
1 cup Coco Treasure Organics Coconut Sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup Coco Treasure Organics Coconut Flour sifted
1 tablespoon semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. Prepare a baking dish and grease. You can use a spray on grease to cover the whole area of the baking dish.
Put saucepan over low heat and mix the cocoa powder and virgin coconut oil until it melts. This may take about 5 minutes. Just make sure the coconut oil has melted and bring it off the heat. Let it cool down and set aside.
Prepare the eggs, beat all at once. Add in the sugar, salt and vanilla extract and stir into a bowl. Once done, add in the cocoa powder and coconut oil mixture. Mix and stir for a few minutes, making sure that there are no visible lumps in the batter.
Once batter is thoroughly mixed, pour mix in the baking dish, spread evenly and add the chocolate chip toppings as desired.
Once toppings are added and the batter is already in that baking dish, place it in the preheated oven. Place a toothpick in the center. Let it bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. Once you see the inserted toothpick pop out from the center of the baking dish, then you are good to go.
To serve, let it cool down. Slice the whole pastry into small square pieces. This can be served warm from the oven or cold from the chiller as desired. Enjoy!
Recipe from Foodista.
RECIPE: Chocolate Coconut Balls
If you are a lover of chocolates and coconuts, you need to try this Chocolate Coconut Balls recipe. It tastes like the commercial coconut chocolate bars we can buy at the grocery, but it’s got a much better texture in a good way. See the recipe below.
Ingredients
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup skim milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups Coco Treasure Organics Coconut Sugar
6 cups rolled oats
6 cups shredded coconut sweetened
12 tablespoons cocoa powder unsweetened
Preparation
In a large bowl, combine one cup of shredded coconut and oats. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, mix the cocoa, milk, sugar, salt, and butter. Whisk thoroughly until the butter melts. Bring to a boil for a minute without whisking.
Take the pan from the heat and add the vanilla extract and rolled oats. Mix until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
Pulse the rest of the shredded coconut in a food processor.
Prepare four baking sheets and line them with parchment paper. Scoop one tablespoon of the dough and roll to form balls. Arrange them on the baking sheets.
Refrigerate for an hour to set.
Serve.
Recipe from Foodista