Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

The Romance Divas annual Not Going to Conference Conference will make you feel a bit less deprived! Amazing workshops, a star-studded guest list and awesome giveaways, all on the Diva forum! Don’t miss it!

Wednesday, July 30

Paula Guran, Editor, Juno Books
Q&A on Creating Kick a** Heroines
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My mother taught me to cook when I was quite young. She taught my brother, sister and I all to cook. In the weekends we’d each pick something out of the recipe book to cook, and we’d fill the baking tins with all sorts of yummy things. My mother also preserved fruit and vegetables in the summer and made jams and pickles. I’m quite capable of doing all these things if I feel the urge.

I’ve noticed that these days a lot of people can’t cook. They don’t have a clue when it comes to the kitchen. Of course these days, with ready-made meals available at the supermarket and takeaways as close as the phone, we don’t need to cook. I wonder if this is a good thing because we’re losing skills when it comes to the kitchen. There’s a new ad on our TV advertising mashed potato. It arrives in a packet in blocks, you chuck it in the microwave, stir, and hey presto instant mashed potatoes. I don’t understand this since mashed potatoes from scratch are the easiest thing in the world to make. It also worries me about all the extra additives and preservatives we consume when we purchase ready-made meals.
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I’ve been thinking about handshakes today because I’ll be meeting people at the conference I’m attending and figure there will probably be a little handshaking along the way.

It’s said the handshake originated during Medieval times when men started to shake hands to show they weren’t carrying weapons. These days handshakes are a courtesy thing. They’re a polite way of greeting a new acquaintance and, like all things related to body language, we’ve come to judge people on their handshakes.
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With my trip coming up soon, packing is looming…

1. Make a list a few weeks beforehand of the things you think you’ll need to take with you.

2. Lay out the clothes you think you want to take, along with toiletries, shoes etc.
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My guest-blogger today is Marcia James, an author of “hot, humorous romances”. Her debut comic romantic suspense, AT HER COMMAND, was released in trade paperback and e-book last year from Cerridwen Press. In June 2009, she’ll have a short story in TAILS OF LOVE, a Berkley charity anthology, with nine other authors. After a career in marketing and advertising, she enjoys PR almost as much as “researching” and writing love scenes. Marcia offers her 150+ file of author promotion information to any author who requests it. Just email her through the “Contact Me” page on her Website.

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Author Marcia James is visiting me tomorrow. She’s a promo guru and is willing to answer your questions about online promo and the other, more scarier, face-to-face promo. She’s also giving away a download of her romantic comedy At Her Command. The winner of this download is in for a treat. I LOVED this book.

So, don’t forget. Marcia James – here on my blog tomorrow!

I mentioned in my post yesterday about how I wear my iPod while walking the dog. It helps pass the time. I love music and have a selection of both New Zealand and Overseas artists playing on mine.

Here’s a mini selection:
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Every day I take our little dog for a walk, and we’re both a source of amusement to everyone who sees us. I have no idea why. I mean a writer and a dog going for a walk shouldn’t provoke smiles. Scotty is 14, almost 15 now. We used to go for a walk morning and night. These days we’re guided by her enthusiasm. I go out armed with my ipod, lead and doggie-do bags. We walk reeeeaaaly slow, but no matter how slowly I walk I end up with the extension lead at full stretch and Scotty dragging her paws. Some days are good ones and she surprises me with a brisk trot, but those days are few and far between. I try to jam my impatience away because she is old and she loves to check her pee-mail. The vets says a walk is good for her, and I agree, being of the use it or lose it school of thought. Once we hit the reserve I let her off the lead and walk ahead, pausing to wait for her while bopping to my ipod. It’s okay to look silly cause it’s during the middle of the day and most people are at work.
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This week in New Zealand history (10 July 1985) French Secret agents planted a bomb on a Greenpeace ship called the Rainbow Warrior. The ship, which was docked in Auckland, was torn apart by two bombs and a Portuguese crew member, Fernando Pereira, was killed.

The Rainbow Warrior had been involved in protests over French nuclear testing in the Pacific. French Secret Service (DGSE) agents were sent to prevent it leaving for another protest campaign at Mururoa Atoll. Following the attack, two DGSE officers, Dominique Prieur and Alain Mafart, were arrested on 24 July.

Having been charged with murder, both pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. The case was a source of considerable embarrassment to the French government. The fact that the attack was carried out on New Zealand territory by a supposedly friendly nation produced a sense of outrage and a serious deterioration in relations between New Zealand and France.

The Rainbow Warrior was gutted and sunk as an artificial reef in Matauri Bay, Northland, and these days, is an attraction for divers. Here’s a link to a recent story in the NZ Herald and a link to the timeline of events..

After a solid week of edits, I’ve decided to have a lazy weekend. I’ve just made a batch of one of my favorite muffins and thought I’d share the recipe with you. It’s taken from New Zealander Alison Holst’s Marvellous Muffins recipe book, and it’s one I make often.

2 cups self-raising flour (I didn’t have any so I used 2 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons of baking powder)
3/4 cup of sugar

75 grams butter
1 cup milk
1 egg
grated rind of 1 large or 2 small lemons

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

Measure the flour and sugar into a bowl and toss to mix. Melt the butter, add the milk, egg and lemon rind and beat well with a fork to combine. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and combine only until the dry ingredients have been lightly dampened but not overly mixed. Divide the mixture evenly between 12 medium-sized muffin pans. (I used paper muffin cases since I hate both greasing the tin and cleaning it afterward!)

Bake at 200 degrees C for 10 minutes. (I find the time depends on the oven. I cooked mine for 10 minutes and found they needed a couple minutes more)

Stir together the lemon juice and sugar without dissolving the sugar and drizzle this over the hot muffins as soon as they come out of the oven. Leave to stand in the pan for only a few minutes after this since the syrup hardens and sticks to the pan when it cools.

Notes: As always I improvise. I use mainly white flour but add a little wholemeal as well. These are also good served with a little fresh fruit and Greek yoghurt. Yum!

I really like muffins. Blueberry are my favorite. I like these lemons ones and also another recipe I make with raspberry jam in the middle and a sugary cinnamon topping. I’ll save that recipe for another time. Strangely, chocolate comes down the list for me, that’s unless it has lots of chocolate chips inside!

Do you like muffins and if so, what is your favorite kind?