 Deep Fried and DeliciousPosted by Jo Robertson Apr 30 2010, 4:01 am in Deep Fried Foods, Jo Robertson
Okay, here’s the thing. I just lost ten pounds on Weight Watchers, and I’m feeling a tad smug and a bit self-righteous.
Almost wanna do the Nanna, Nanna Dance.
So I’ve been thinking of healthy foods even as I crave all kinds of sweets and fried goodies.
Last weekend the city of Stockton, California, held its annual Asparagus Festival. Since I live in the luscious San Joaquin Valley with its rich agricultural bounties, we have a lot of festivals: the Strawberry Festival (a favorite of mine), the
 Garlic Festival (I kid you not), and the Asparagus Festival among them.
I watched the news about the Asparagus Festival on television, learned it was touted by Sunset Magazine as the best festival ever. Jeopardy even had a question about it:
“Stockton, California, doesn’t have a festival for Britney Spears, but it does for one of these green spears.” Would you have guessed correctly?
The TV segment showed thousands of volunteers dipping this beautiful, lovely asparagus into a batter and then deep frying it. Now I love asparagus. Cold or hot, it’s a delicious
 and healthy vegetable.
But deep-fried? OMG! I admit it’s probably very tasty, but why take a lovely, good-for-you veggie and make it unhealthy? Now I can see deep-fried Twinkies. They’re unhealthy from the get go, so why not? But veggies deep-fried. That’s just plain evil.
While surfing the Net I found other deep fried anomalies. Like Deep Fried Pickles. And Deep Fried Coke.
You can view the coke recipe at http://www.ehow.com/how_5557181_make-deep-fried-coke.html
I was really interested in that one (momentarily forgetting all about Weight Watchers) because I figured I could substitute Pepsi for the Coke, right? There’s no sugar in the batter — they figure the can of coke has enough — but the final fried ball is rolled in cinnamon and dusted with powdered sugar, then drizzled with — yep, you guessed it — Coke syrup!
What about you? Come across any unusual foods (with or without the deep frying)? What’s your favorite unhealthy sna
 ck? Okay, and in the name of national health, what’s your fave HEALTHY snack?What does this have to do with writing, you say? I changed a recent Advanced Placement Language question to fit our romance readers. “Write about a novel in which a food or banquet scene plays an important role in the book.”
The AP folks intended the students to write about the banquet scene in Hamlet or the one in Macbeth where Banquo’s ghost appears, but I tweaked the question to fit our romance readers.
Can you think of a food or banquet scene from a romance novel that plays an important part in the book?
Margo Maguire Makes Mayhem!Posted by Anna Campbell Apr 29 2010, 4:04 am in Anna Campbell, Bandita Booty, historical romance, Margo Maguire, The Rogue Prince by Anna Campbell It’s my great pleasure to welcome back to the lair a wonderful fellow Avon historical writer Margo Maguire.Margo’s going to be talking about her great new release THE ROGUE PRINCE. Romantic Times called THE ROGUE PRINCE “a love story that reaches the heart with its inherent tenderness and pure romance.” Margo has just revamped her website so check it out for news and excerpts and contests! Sign up for her newsletter and you go in the drawing to win a signed copy of THE ROGUE PRINCE! Welcome back to the Bandita lair, Margo. Your latest Avon release The EndPosted by Suzanne Ferrell Apr 28 2010, 5:01 am in American Historicals, Endings, Happy endings, HEA, Julie Garwood, REFUGE, Rocky Mountain Romance series, Suzanne Welsh by SuzanneHere in the Lair, we often talk about the beginning of books and movies. How they grab us and suck us in, keep us turning pages or on the edges of our seats, wanting to know what’s going to happen next. The Bourne Identity was one of these books for me. I couldn’t read it fast enough. It also sucked me into Robert Ludlum’s world of espionage and suspense. After reading the Bourne Identity, I raided my local bookstore and read his whole back list and following books, each one more page-turning than the last. (I also discovered for Your Baby Makes Me CryPosted by Susan Sey Apr 27 2010, 4:42 am in baptisms, celebrations, Susan Sey, weddings by Susan Sey A baby was baptized this Sunday at church & I wept like a proud grandma. I am, however, not this child’s grandma. I am not her mom, her auntie, or even her cousin. Her mother is a Facebook friend. An acquaintance, really. I’ve only seen the kid once or twice–just enough to know that she got a double scoop of cute and that she’s wicked fast on her tiny little feet. But that’s not why I cried. I cried because I’m a sucker for ceremony. I cried because I think it’s gorgeous and touching and extravagantly optimistic Sometimes There’s MagicPosted by Nancy Northcott Apr 26 2010, 6:03 am in magic, music, story moments by Nancy Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote, “Some enchanted evening, you will meet a stranger . . . across a crowded room.” I think that song’s popularity endures because it speaks to people–to the magic of that instant of connection that didn’t exist before, to the “what if” that is the hope of finding true love, sometimes where we least expect it. There are many kinds of magic in stories. There’s the magic of an idea that springs forth, fully formed, in one of those fabulous, brain-buzzing, “aha” moments. It can be one that gives birth to a book or film Love Books? Kiss a Librarian!Posted by Kate Carlisle Apr 25 2010, 6:00 am in bibliophile mysteries, Kate Carlisle, librarians, The Millionaire Meets His Match By Kate I was a born reader. Weren’t we all? I think my love of reading was honed by the fact that my family moved every few years. We always moved in June, after school was out, so for the first three months in a new house in a new town, I had no friends. But that was okay, because the first thing I would do in a new neighborhood was scope out the closest library. I would ride my bike there almost every day, check out three to five books and read them that day. The next day, I Two Faces to FictionPosted by Guest Apr 24 2010, 3:59 am in Uncategorized by KJ Howe Let’s call this post a mission in research. Everyone who drops by is an avid reader, so it is the perfect place to ask these two questions. I’ve recently been working on a profile about David Morrell (NYT Bestseller and creator of Rambo). David has had an illustrious career spanning 40 years, an incredible feat given the innate challenges of the publishing industry. Unlike many authors today, David has never really created a series character. Instead, he writes stand-alone novels that encompass several different genres, from thrillers to horror to speculative fiction. Most publishers insist that authors Coming out of the ClosetPosted by Donna MacMeans Apr 23 2010, 7:15 am in Uncategorized by Donna MacMeans A good friend recently took me on a tour of her renovated house. When the kids moved out, she changed things the way she’d always dreamed they could be. She expanded the kitchen, changed the light fixtures and paint, and turned one entire bedroom into her very own clothes closet, complete with a handbag wardrobe. My practical self thought this rather extreme…but then another part of me thought this a splendid idea. You see – this is always an awkward time of year…cold in the mornings, warming up to shorts temps by afternoon. Attempting to dress for Desert Island DilemmaPosted by Anna Sugden Apr 22 2010, 5:54 am in Anna Sugden by Anna Sugden I apologise in advance for the brevity of this post. I’ve been laid low for nearly a fortnight with the cold from you-know-where. The darn thing shows no sign of abating (note to self – buy shares in Kleenex, cough medicine and decongestants!) and has seriously fuzzed my brain. I know a number of you are suffering from seasonal allergies, so I’m sure you’ll understand! Thus, in lieu of a witty, imaginative and beatifully crafted post (hey, we all love a bit of romantic fiction!) I’ve had to resort to simple, short and sweet … okay, so Reunion With DangerPosted by Nancy Northcott Apr 21 2010, 6:20 am in A-Tac, Dark Deceptions, Dee Davis, Romantic suspense posted by Nancy Dee Davis, whose romantic comedies have entertained us, returns to the Lair with her new foray into romantic suspense, the A-Tac team in Dark Deceptions. Dee’s many contest wins and placements include winning the Booksellers Best, Golden Leaf, Texas Gold and Prism awards and being nominated for the National Readers Choice Award, the Holt Medallion and two RT Reviewers Choice Awards. I’ve always loved her romantic suspense and am delighted to see her publishing in that sub-genre again. Welcome, Dee! Your last visit, we chatted about Set-Up in Soho. I gather that the A-Tac team will be
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