Under The Desert Moon (Desert Sky Series Book 2)
Page 19
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until brown on top. Cool bread in pan about five minutes, then turn it out onto a rack. Brush top of hot bread with ½ tablespoon melted butter for a shiny crust. Serve with fresh dill feathers in the bread basket. Healthy and beautiful bread!
Annie's WORLD FAMOUS HOT CHILI APPLE PIE
6-8 Granny Smith or tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced
½ c chopped, roasted and peeled green chiles
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon or apple juice
¼ cup flour
½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss apples with green chiles, white and brown sugar, flour and spices. Pour all into 9-10 in. pie shell. Scatter pieces of butter and nuts over all. Cover with top crust or crumb topping of your choice and bake for about an hour, until pie is bubbling and apples are tender. Serve with vanilla ice cream and a violet. Will have your family and friends calling for More Pie!
TURN APPLES INTO BREAD CAKE
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
½ cup margarine or butter
2 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 tart apple, peeled and finely chopped
(Granny Smith works well)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
½ cup raisins (optional)
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Mix first four ingredients together until creamy. Add flour, baking soda, apple and applesauce. Blend. Then add remaining ingredients and mix. Bake in loaf pan (nine inch by twelve inch) for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
Topping (if desired):
Melt ½ stick butter or margarine. Add one cup brown sugar, four tablespoons milk and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add one teaspoon vanilla and ½ cup chopped walnuts. Pour over warm cake. Place under broiler for one minute for a special taste. Serve with rose pedals around the base to decorate.
Enjoy food from Annie's table in UNDER THE DESERT MOON
Annie's POSOLE MEXICANO (MEXICAN POSOLE)
2 cups hominy (fresh or canned)
1 cup cooked pinto beans
1 pound meat of choice, cubed (chicken, short ribs, ham, ham hocks, or diced pork shoulder)
Water or beef broth to cover ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic
1 cups green chiles, chopped (if fresh, roast and remove skin and seeds)
½ cup green onions
¼ cup cilantro (Mexican parsley)
1 cup cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
If fresh hominy is used, wash and drain thoroughly. In a large pot, sauté cubed meat, onion and garlic. Add hominy and cover with water or broth and simmer about 4 hours. Add chiles and beans in the last hour.
If canned hominy is used, cover all ingredients with water or broth and simmer about an hour. Serve with tortillas or bread of choice. Garnish individual servings with grated cheese, green onions, and cilantro.
POSOLE VARIATIONS
POSOLE CON CHILE COLORADO
(Red Chile Posole)
3 cups hominy (canned or fresh)
2 cups beef broth
1 ½ - 2 lbs pork (or meat of choice)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup red chile paste
Salt to taste
Cube meat and brown in large stew pot. Add onion and garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Add hominy and cover with water. Add red chile paste and simmer about an hour. If fresh hominy is used, wash carefully and simmer about 4 hours, until hominy is tender, then add chile paste. Finished product is a thick stew. Garnish with chopped cilantro, green onions and grated Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese. Serve with warmed corn or flour tortillas.
POSOLE CON CHILE VERDE
(Green Chile Posole )
Prepare same as Red Posole except use 1 cup green chiles instead of red chile paste.
BIÍRRIA (pronounced Ver'-dee-a)
(Shredded Beef)
4-5 lb. chuck roast or flank steak
2 bay leaves
2 large cloves garlic
1 can beer (important ingredient)
2 jalapeňos, seeds and veins removed
1 teaspoon oregano
1 large onion, sliced
Put all ingredients into a Dutch oven or other heavy pan with a lid and cook in oven at 300 degrees for four to six hours. Add a little more liquid, beef broth or water, if the beef becomes dry. Beef is ready when it is so tender it falls apart when pulled with a fork. Put the meat in a bowl and shred it while it's still warm. Remove the bay leaves from the beef juice and store juice in refrigerator a few hours until the fat congeals on the surface. Remove and discard the fat, then warm the remaining beef broth and serve as a light sauce to accompany your bírria. Serve with Spanish rice and charro beans, shredded cabbage or lettuce and tortillas of choice. Enough for eight to twelve people.
ARROZ DULCE
(Rice Pudding)
1 cup rice, cooked according to instructions
2 cups evaporated milk (1 ½ cans)
¾ cup white sugar
½ cup raisins (optional)
3 eggs, separated
¾ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Prepare rice in separate pan. Combine milk, sugar and egg yolks, mix well, and add to rice. Add raisins, cinnamon, and vanilla. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Beat egg whites separately in cold pan until stiff and fold into rice mixture. Chill and garnish with a dab of whipped cream and nutmeg. A favorite from kids to grandmothers.
Read an excerpt from:
UNDER THE DESERT SKY, Lacy's story
Holt Henderson pretended to fight the steering wheel to stay on the grueling, curvy road. He made car noises, straight from the kids' car movies, to the amusement of his little daughter. Sofia squealed with delight at every curve and made her own car noises.
The old highway had been bypassed for a more modern and direct route west, abandoning Silver Creek and other small towns along the way. And when the copper mine closed last year, everything went to hell, from what he’d read. Family men had to leave town to make a living. And the women were trying to hang onto their properties because they couldn't afford to walk away.
Holt actually thought Silver Creek held potential and promised a future for him. Silver Creek had a job just right for him. Silver Creek was—he rounded a curve and his destination came into sight—a dusty, empty little town, off the beaten path. He sighed audibly. He'd hoped this was a town that he and Sofia would like. Now, on seeing it, he had doubts. Damned ramshackle place.
If it weren't for Sofia, he'd probably head for Oregon or Alaska. Someplace. . . faraway, distant, remote. But his darling daughter was growing up, starting school, and needed a stable home life. No more apartments and moving with every new job.
They had driven into town early, to canvass the area and make their own evaluation before the job interview. They found the city's business section limited, with many stores boarded or simply closed and locked. The historical section formed a square around the old courthouse. As expected, it was in ruins.
Silver Creek's quiet residential area was composed of once-beautiful stucco houses with turn-of-the- century gingerbread trim decorating the eaves and columned front porches. Most needed paint and repair. When they drove through the neighborhood, Holt noticed Sofia staring curiously at the clusters of children playing in the neat little yards. "What do you think, princess?"
She return
ed his gaze with a hopeful smile that revealed two missing front teeth. "Are we going to live here, Daddy? Can we grow flowers? And have a puppy? Do they have an ice cream store?"
"I have to get a job, first. That's why we came here today."
"And you brought me so I could help you get a job?"
Holt laughed. "You just leave that part up to me, princess."
Sofia was a secure child who seemed to think that life with Daddy was an adventure, no matter where they were. He tried to make sure that she knew he would always there for her. She didn't remember her mother and didn't seem to miss having one, although sometimes she talked about a "mommy." Holt had no intention of replacing the mother of his daughter, although many had tried. He just wasn't interested in other women, not seriously anyway.
Holt drove back to the courthouse and parked on the nearly empty street. He surveyed the aging brick building as he helped Sofia out of the Jeep."Coloring book?"
"Check."
"Crayons?"
"Check. In my purse." She tucked the coloring book under her arm, held the little purse like a big girl, and tried to keep up with her father's long strides.
Holt paused momentarily, his attention diverted by two kids playing basketball on the school playground next door. The scene kindled memories of matching shots with his brothers when they were kids in El Paso.
Holt and Sofia watched as one of the boys dribbled the basketball behind him, switching hands on the ball without missing a step. Then he moved around to approach the basket from the other side. With a graceful sweep of one arm, he dunked the ball then leaped high to recover the rebound.
"Good shot!" Holt yelled and raised a fist. Sofia mimicked her dad.
The kid waved and grinned with pride.
Holt chuckled and pressed forward again, Sofia in tow. He realized the presence of a six-year-old on a job interview wasn't very professional, but her sitter had gotten ill at the last minute. What else was he to do?
"Can I stay and watch the game, Daddy?" She hung back, tugging on Holt's large hand.
"You'd better come with me. You can wait in the office while I talk to the mayor about a job."
"Then ice cream?"
"Sure, princess."
Holt stepped through warped double doors of the courthouse, wondering if this was a good beginning or a bad decision. The hallway smelled musty and old and was badly in need of some paint. The stifling air wasn't much cooler than outside. Holt climbed the creaky wooden stairs, thinking how he’d restore them to functional beauty.
Sofia followed, jumping and dancing on each step. "Oh look Daddy, a black kitty! Can I pet her?"
By the time he looked around, the cat was gone. "Come with me. Sofia." He was tense, losing patience with her.
Inside the mayor's office, a rickety air conditioner sputtered in one window, emitting a spritz of cool air and dripping a small stream of water beneath it into a plastic bucket.
Silver Creek's courthouse had definitely seen better days, just like the rest of the town. Given the wobbly economy, seeking a job here might be risky. But it was a position he couldn't resist. The minute he saw the ad, he knew he had to go for it. Renovating a historic district in an old mining town was a rare opportunity and for him, a treat.
"Mr. Henderson?"
Holt turned and gazed into the face of a knockout red-head with a pale complexion and a smattering of faint freckles across the bridge of her nose. She looked like someone who'd grab your hand and eagerly romp through a field of wildflowers. Holt stared at her for a moment, enjoying the fantasy. She smiled down at Sofia, then turned her attention back to him.
"I'm Lacy Donahue." She extended her slender hand.
Holt took her cool hand and was tempted to hold it a little too long. "You’re the mayor?"
"Yes. You’ll be interviewing with me."
Her smile warmed him like the summer sun. He could smell her perfume, an unusual spicy fragrance that made him feel slightly heady.
"It's just that a town like this…"
"A town like what?" Lacy’s eyes reminded him of rare blue opals, delicate and rare.
"Well, it's so... historic and old. I expected a bunch of. . ."
She laughed. "Antiques, like our buildings?"
"Something like that." Holt's gaze drifted over her casually ruffled red hair. She had a special energy, a clear spark of youth that was contagious. Yet there was a regal attitude about her that attested she was clearly in charge.
Sofia chose that moment to tug on Holt's pant leg. He looked down with an expression that revealed he'd forgotten all about his daughter while talking with the hot, red-haired mayor. "This is my – "
"Daddy, I’m sorry to press your buttons, but can I go to the potty here?" she whispered loudly.
Holt inhaled slowly. Back to reality. "Uh, I'm sure." He gave Lacy a weary look. "My daughter, Sofia. Could she use your, uh—"
"Of course." Lacy turned a gentle smile toward the child and stretched out her hand. "Come with me, Sofia."
Mary Tate Engels is the author of more than 30 romance novels, soon to be eBooks on www.Smashwords.com . She has two non-fiction southwest history books with Texas Tech University Press: Tales from Wide Ruins, Jean and Bill Cousins, Traders; and Corazon Contento -Sonoran Recipes and Stories from the Heart, co-authored with Madeline Gallego Thorpe. She has three sons, two granddaughters, has raised a wolf in her back yard, and has adopted two black cats for good luck.
Connect with her online at: www.marytateengels.com and follow Tate McKenna, alter ego and muse, on Facebook.
Mary Tate Engels' Author Picture and Profile: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MaryTateEngels
Discover other titles by Mary Tate Engels at www.smashwords.com
Loves Dawning http://smashwords.com/b/28521
A Lasting Love http://smashwords.com/b/28678
A Rare Breed http: //smashwords.com/b/34922
Rogue Diamond http:/ /smashwords.com/b/39352
Speak to the Wind http: //smashwords.com/b/????
Under the Desert Moon
Under the Desert Sky