Mystic Montana Sky
June 28
(On preorder soon)
A caravan driven at breakneck speed through the hills of Montana is the least of Magdalena Baxter’s concerns. Evicted from their home, and due to soon give birth, the gypsy woman is forced to follow her husband, Oswald, a drunk and abusive miner who hopes to find work in a neighboring town.
Despite calling Sweetwater Springs home, wealthy banker Caleb Livingston clings to his elitist East Coast ways. This may have brought him prestige, but he’s missed out on romance at every turn.
When Caleb’s buggy collides with the Baxter’s caravan, Oswald is instantly killed and Maggie goes into labor. Caleb manages to keep his guilt and terror at bay long enough to make Maggie comfortable and deliver her baby, a harrowing and ultimately endearing experience. Now, can Maggie, stranded with her newborn child, learn to trust again? And can Caleb, whose sense of obligation clashes with his highbrow conceit, change and open his heart to find lasting love?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In gratitude to:
Caroline Fyffe
We did it!
We took a dream of a series and made it come true!
Thanks for everything!
Louella Nelson, editor, teacher, friend, with many thanks for the love and support, and well as the days of welcoming me to her house, while I wrote and edited Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha.
To my readers, who love the Montana Sky series and who’ve been asking for Bertha Bucholtz’s story for two years! With many thanks for your reviews, emails, and social media posts about my books. I can’t tell you how many times a day your feedback makes me smile.
My editors—Linda Carroll-Bradd, and Adela Brito—who always make my stories better.
To Delle Jacobs and John Mitchell, my cover artists.
My mother, Honey Holland, and Hedy and Larry Codner (my aunt and uncle) for being my beta readers. Also to my mother for contributing three of my Oma’s recipes.
To Peter and Karen Junger (my aunt and uncle) with appreciation for deciphering and translating my Oma’s recipes.
To my Facebook friends for suggestions and research help.
To all my friends at Pioneer Hearts, a Facebook group for the authors and readers of Historical Western Romance for being such avid supporters of the genre.
Books by Debra Holland
MONTANA SKY SERIES
1882
Beneath Montana’s Sky
1886
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Trudy
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Lina
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Darcy
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Prudence
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha
1890s
Grace: Bride of Montana
Wild Montana Sky
Starry Montana Sky
Stormy Montana Sky
Montana Sky Christmas
A Valentine’s Choice
Irish Luck (March 2016)
Painted Montana Sky
Glorious Montana Sky
Healing Montana Sky
Sweetwater Springs Scrooge
Sweetwater Springs Christmas
Mystic Montana Sky (Summer 2016)
2015
Angel in Paradise
THE GODS’ DREAM TRILOGY
Fantasy Romance
Sower of Dreams
Reaper of Dreams
Harvest of Dreams
Season of Renewal
TWINBORNE TRILOGY
Lywin’s Quest
NONFICTION
The Essential Guide to Grief and Grieving
Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude: A Ten Minute Ebook
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Debra Holland is winner of, and three-time finalist for, the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award. She is the author of the Montana Sky Series of sweet, historical Western romances. In 2012, her debut novel, Wild Montana Sky, made the USA Today bestseller list. In 2013, Amazon selected Starry Montana Sky as one of the Top 50 Greatest Love Stories, and a few months later, Stormy Montana Sky made the New York Times bestseller list.
Debra is also the author of The Gods’ Dream Trilogy (fantasy romance). She has written a nonfiction book, The Essential Guide to Grief and Grieving, and is a contributing author to The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing. Sign up for her newsletter and receive a free e-booklet, 58 Tips for Getting What You Want from a Difficult Conversation, by visiting her website at http://drdebraholland.com.
Debra lives in Southern California with her two dogs and two cats.
You can contact Debra at:
Website: http://debraholland.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Debra-Holland/395355780562473
and https://www.facebook.com/debra.holland.731
Twitter: http://twitter.com/drdebraholland
GERMAN RECIPES
I’m not a cook, and I’ve never made any of these! But I love to eat them. They are translated from German, and written like my family uses them, so they might not appear in perfect “recipe” directions. Also, you might have to experiment to figure out what terms like “dash” mean. I suspect that’s part of the fun for people who enjoy cooking.
Please turn the page for 15 recipes
Spaetzle – Dumplings or Noodles
(My mother’s version)
1 egg, 1/4 cup warm water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, dash pepper, dash nutmeg, 1 cup flour. Work into stiff dough. Cut or pinch off 1-inch pieces & drop into boiling water. Remove as they float to top of water (several minutes)
Spaetzle – German Dumplings
(My aunt and uncle’s version)
Ingredients
6 servings
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 gallon hot water
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions
1. Mix together flour, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Beat eggs well, and add alternately with the milk to the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.
2. Press dough through spaetzle maker, or a large holed sieve or metal grater.
3. Drop a few at a time into simmering liquid. Cook 5 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
4. Sauté cooked spaetzle in butter or margarine.
5. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top, and serve.
Pickled Beets
Clean & leave a little of beet tops.
Cook covered with water until done (test with knife). Mix 1 small chopped onion, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup cooking water from beets, dash sugar, pepper, salt, caraway seeds & a little oil & sliced cooked beets.
Celery Root Salad
1/3 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup water, little sugar, oil, pinch of salt & caraway seed. Trim the whole root & top. Start with cold water and cook until done (test with knife). Using cooking water, add other ingredients & mix. Peel & cut root in small pieces & add.
German Filled Hoernchen
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup ground almonds
2/3 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon white wine
1 tablespoon rum
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup fruit preserves, any flavor
1 egg yolk, beaten
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar and almonds. Cut in the 2/3 cup butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add egg, wine, rum and lemon zest. Mix gently until well blended. Adjust the flour if necessary to make a stiff dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough briefly, shape into a ball, wrap and chill for at least one hour or until firm.
2. P
reheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to less than 1/4 inch in thickness. Brush with melted butter and cut into triangles about three inches across. Place a dab of jam along one side of each triangle and roll up from the jam end to the point. Seal with a dab of water if necessary. Place pastry horn onto an ungreased cookie sheet and brush with beaten egg yolk.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until crisp and golden. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
German Zimtsterne With Almonds (Cinnamon Stars)
500g ground almonds
5 egg whites
450g icing sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 dessert spoon of cherry water
Directions
1. Beat the egg whites until stiff and then carefully fold in the sieved icing sugar. Reserve about 4 heaped tablespoons of the egg white mixture as this will be used for the cookie topping later on.
2. Add the ground almonds, cinnamon and cherry water (you can replace with lemon juice if preferred) to the egg white mixture and mix well. Cover the dough and let it rest in the icebox for about an hour.
3. Sprinkle your work surface or board with some sugar and roll out the dough to about 1cm thick. Now cut out stars with your star shaped cookie cutter and place them on a baking sheet.
4. You will now need the reserved meringue from earlier. Stir it so it becomes a smooth mix. Now brush the cookies with the topping. Leave the cookies to dry overnight at room temperature.
5. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Check the time as the cookies should remain soft inside and the topping white!. Store the cookies in an air-tight tin.
Red Cabbage or Rotkohl
Red cabbage is known as Rotkohl or Rotkraut in Northern Germany and Blaukraut (blue cabbage) in the South.
1kg red cabbage
100g onion
1 green apple
40g cooking fat
3 cloves
8 black peppercorns
3 juniper berries
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
150ml red wine
250ml broth or water
Salt
Sugar
Directions
1. Wash the red cabbage, half and quarter and remove the central core and then shred into fine slices. Slice the onion, wash, peel and slice the apple.
2. Heat the cooking fat in a pan. Add the onion and fry gently for a couple of minutes. Add the red cabbage and then the apple. Place the herbs and spices into a cheesecloth tied with string and then add to the cabbage. Add the vinegar, wine and broth or water and bring slowly to the boil. Add salt and sugar to taste. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Add more salt and sugar to taste if necessary. Serve hot.
Apple Strudel
Dough
300g flour
salt
4 Tsp oil
1 egg yolk
flour for work surface
This makes approx 350g dough.
Directions
1. Sift the flour into a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre and add 3 teaspoons of oil with 150ml of lukewarm water and the egg yolk.
2. Halve the strudel dough and form into two rounds. Brush over with the remaining oil.
3. Place the dough in a bowl. Cover with a clean dish cloth and leave at room temperature for an hour.
4. After the dough has rested, do not knead it again.
Filling
For 8-10 persons
8 apples (Braeburn, Boscop, Elstar)
70g sliced almonds
60g sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
60g seedless raisins soaked in rum
juice from 1 lemon
100g biscuit crumbs
flour
40g melted butter for brushing
butter for the baking tray
Directions
1. Peel the apples, quarter, remove the core and seeds. Chop into small cubes. Fry the almond slices in a non-stick pan for a couple of minutes. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together with the drained raisins, lemon juice, biscuit crumbs and the fried almond slices. Add the mixture to the apples and mix thoroughly.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Sprinkle some flour over one of the dough balls. Cover your working surface with a clean cloth and liberally sprinkle with flour. Place the dough ball in the centre of the cloth and roll out carefully to approx 40cm x 40cm.
3. Place the rolled out dough over the back of your hand and carefully pull and stretch into shape, you should end up with a paper thin rectangle.
4. If torn spots appear, do not try to patch. Place the stretched dough back on the clean cloth and brush immediately with melted butter.
5. Use half of the filling and spread evenly over the rectangle. Leave 5cm free at both short ends and fold over. With the help of the cloth, roll the strudel carefully and with the join at the bottom, place on a greased baking tray.
6. Repeat the process with the second ball of dough.
7. Brush both strudels with melted butter and bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown.
8. Take the strudels out of the oven, leave to cool slightly and just before serving, sprinkle with powdered (icing) sugar.
Wiener Schnitzel
First coat the meat in flour, then dip into beaten egg. Lastly coat in breadcrumbs made from fresh white bread.
Fry the Schnitzel in enough butter or lard. During cooking, press the Schnitzel lightly with the back of a spoon, this is to ensure it is cooked through. Don’t overcook and eat as soon as possible.
4 veal fillets (approximately each 200g)
salt and pepper
2 tbsp flour
3 eggs
150g breadcrumbs
butter, lard or cooking oil
Directions
1. Flatten the meat with a rolling pin or meat hammer.
2. Season with salt and pepper and then coat in flour.
3. Coat in beaten egg and then coat in breadcrumbs.
4. Heat oil in a pan and then fry the Schnitzel on both sides until brown and the meat is cooked through. Approx. 4 minutes on both sides.
Rinderrouladen
2 onions
4 dill pickles
40g smoked bacon
2 teaspoons of mustard
salt and pepper
4 slices beef top round (Rinderrouladen)
300g baby onions
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tsp pepper corns
500ml beef broth
Directions
1. First chop the onion, pickles and bacon finely. Once finished, fry the bacon in the pan with olive oil. Then add the onion and fry until glassy. Add the pickles and mustard and stir through. Season with salt and pepper and leave to cool.
2. Wash the beef and pat dry with kitchen paper towel. Season with salt and pepper and then spread over the bacon and pickle mixture onto each slice.
3. Roll up the meat and tie securely with kitchen string or toothpicks. Peel the baby onions.
4. Add oil to a skillet or pan and brown the meat all over. Add the onions and fry until golden brown.
5. Add peppercorns and heat through quickly. Sprinkle over the flour and then fry for about 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the meat broth and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, put a lid on the pan and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Turn the beef rouladen every 15 minutes or so.
6. Take the beef rouladen out of the pan. Remove the string. Taste the sauce and season if necessary. Serve the rouladen with the sauce and Spaetzle
Zimtmakronen (Spice) Cookies
250g ground hazelnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla flavouring (granulated if possible)
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 tsp lemon juice
250g caster sugar
app
rox 65 hazelnuts
Directions
1. Mix together the ground nuts, cinnamon and vanilla flavouring.
2. Beat the egg whites with the lemon juice and salt until stiff. Gradually fold in the sugar to the beaten egg white mixture. Lastly fold in the nut mixture.
3. Using two small spoons, place small mounds onto a lined baking sheet.
4. Top each cookie with a hazelnut and bake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees C for about 20-25 mins. Leave to cool and then enjoy with friends and family.
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha: A Montana Sky Novella (Montana Sky Series) Page 11
