Summer Garden Goodness

I love summer foods fresh from the garden, and zucchini is one of my favorites. It’s so versatile. We grill it, bake it into chips, fry it alone or with other veggies, put it in fried rice, bread it and bake for dipping in sauces, and of course make zucchini bread, but my favorite recipe is one that my daughter-in-law gave me last year. I’m not sure where she got it, so can’t give credit where credit is due, but these blonde brownies are the absolute best and simple to make. I just made this batch to share with my book club tonight. 

 

Here’s the recipe: Zucchini Blonde Brownies

2/3 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup butterscotch chips

 

Cook butter in a saucepan over medium heat till it starts to turn golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add the brown sugar. Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Pour butter/sugar mixture into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix together. Stir in the zucchini and chips.

Spread batter in a greased 9x13" pan.

Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 30 minutes or till the middle is set.

 

NOTE: Batter should be between cookie dough and brownie. If thinner, they still taste good, but will be more cake like rather than brownie like. Too keep from getting too thin, squeeze excess juice out of shredded zucchini.

Try them! You won’t be sorry!

 

On the writing side: I’m super excited that both books in the Osterlund Saga have been accepted by my editor. I’m anxiously awaiting to see what the Harlequin Art Department comes up with for the covers. Set in the 1930’s, Marriage or Ruin for the Heiress is Jolie and Randal’s story, and twenty odd years later, set in the 1950’s The Heiress and the Baby Boom is their daughter’s story. 

 

Here’s the blurb for the Marriage or Ruin for the Heiress:

A pretend marriage A passion that’s anything but…

The great depression has left heiress Jolie Cramer’s family destitute! To save them, Jolie must abandon her dreams of independence and marry wealthy Randal Osterlund. Thank goodness Randal only wants a wife to secure a business deal and shares her feelings about love—nothing but heartache! Jolie quickly realizes that’s not all they have in common, but falling for her charismatic husband wasn’t part of their agreement…

From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.

The Osterlund Saga Two generations taking twentieth-century America by storm!

Book 1: Marriage or Ruin for the Heiress
Book 2: The Heiress and the Baby Boom

 

Book 1 will be released December 28^th and Book 2 will be released a month later.

 

I hope you are all enjoying your summer!

 

Twins of the Twenties!

Scandal at the Speakeasy and A Proposal for the Unwed Mother are now available in all formats, as well as in a two-book special price.

What readers are saying about these stories:

Scandal at the Speakeasy: Once again, Ms. Lauri Robinson has captured this avid reader's attention and held her spellbound with another fantastic story, one that takes place in 1927, during Prohibition. I love how she paints such a clear and concise picture that you feel like you are inside the story witnessing it unfold. She has strong characters, historical events, places, and slang for the time frame. I loved that there is a slow-evolving mystery, suspense, and eventually romance.

Lisa Walters isn't your average young lady—not by far. She is smart, innovative, enterprising, and loyal. She plans and executes those plans not just for herself but also for her entire community's betterment. But, she is a woman who has shelved her dreams, life hitting her hard, starting as a young girl and carrying on to the present. One man entering her underground speakeasy will shatter her plans and forever change the direction of her future.

Patrick "Mick" McCormick is a man who is on a mission, and that is to aid a dying friend. He has left New York and traveled to Junction, Missouri, to allow a man to see his daughter before death claims him. Knowing that she is to be a school teacher, he believes this will be easy, but he is in for a shock—and not everything is as it seems.

A Proposal for the Unwed Mother: Connor McCormick never knew what happened to the girl he loved, Jenny Sommers. When he finds her again, it’s a second chance for both of them, if they’re brave enough to trust each other.

Robinson has once again penned a great historical romance in A Proposal for the Unwed Mother. I loved Connor and Jenny’s relationship, and how they both acknowledged their feelings early on and worked to overcome the issues that had separated them and kept them apart. The inclusion of telephone installation and homes for unwed mothers as plot aspects was educational as well as adding a lot of interesting depth to the story. Historical details are really something Robinson is very good at including in her romances without them being overwhelming or detracting from the overall story. Even small details like clothing and dialogue are great at putting the reader into the story and setting. Historical readers cannot go wrong with Robinson’s books, and this story a great example of her talent.

 

My next releases will come in January and February with the Osterlund Family Saga. The first book is Marriage or Ruin for the Heiress, which is set during the 1930’s where the depression doesn’t stop Randal Osterlund from seeking his fortune by investing in airplanes—the only thing in his way is that he needs a wife to make it happen. Following that will be The Heiress and the Baby Boom. It’s set in the 1950’s, where Randi Osterlund is attempting to follow in her father’s footstep by building the family airplane business, the only thing in her way is an old flame, and then an unplanned pregnancy.

Currently, I’m trying my hand on a Victorian set romance. I’ll update you on that later.

Life around the home front has been busy with trips north, fun family events and birthdays and some sad end of life celebrations, but even in sadness there is joy.

Embrace every day!