The Frittata Recipe

Okay when you've put yourself on a healthy regimen, you're always looking for new ways to make food interesting. I picked up Prevention Magazine the other day and it had a recipe for a delicious-looking Frittata, with some variations as well. Hubby has been out of town this week, so it was a good time to try out something new without poisoning a family member. :-)

I've made omelets before, but this looked a bit different and so tasty. So I made it this morning with a bit of variation of my own. Here's the recipe for anyone who might be interested.

Adrianna's Parmesan Frittata

2 eggs
1/8 to 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese or variation
freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
olive oil
fresh chopped onion
Italian seasoning or parsley or what pleases you, to taste, and to add some color

[Note, the recipe in the book also calls for salt, but I don't add salt to my food, so I've omitted that from this recipe. That's not really a new thing, I've never added much salt to stuff. But lots of pepper--love a spicy bite to my food. Just like my reading and writing, I guess.)

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees

2. Beat together eggs, cheese, pepper and Italian seasoning, a splash of milk (optional). I use Vanilla Almond Breeze milk alternative as it's lower in carbs.

3. Heat oil in oven-proof skillet (preferably nonstick, but I use a small iron skillet and it worked fine for me) over medium heat. Add onion and cook until just soft and lightly brown. About 5-10 minutes, depending on stove and heat level. Pour egg mixture into skillet and reduce heat to low. I found that was about eight minutes or so. Cook only until Frittata is almost done, but top remains glossy and still slightly runny.

4. Put Frittata (still in skillet) into oven. (Prevention Magazine suggests covering handle with four layers of aluminum foil, if it's not ovenproof. My iron skillet, which I picked up at Wal-Mart by the way, is ovenproof, so I didn't have to worry about that.) Bake for about six minutes or so.

5. Using potholder (thought I better say that), remove from oven and with spatula or some other flat utensil (I used a small metal cake server that I've had forever) and slide Frittata onto plate.

Oh, don't forget to turn the oven and burner off. Some of "us" can get a bit forgetful, you know. I'm just saying...

Yum. There are many variations of this. I like this recipe because it's low in carbs (eggs and cheese), uses olive oil (also healthy) and most importantly, is really, really simple to make. And delicious.

There are other variations, of course--this is my tweaked recipe based on the one in the magazine altered to suit me and my tastes. I printed another one out from the site which is a cheese and pepper Frittata. That one uses Monterey Jack cheese and bell peppers and basil. That sounds good, too.

Oh, I added a side of medium picante sauce which gave it just the right zing for my taste.

Thought I'd share.

Speaking of Inspiration and Validation

The writing life can be rather isolated and it's always interesting to hear how others create. Sometimes it validates our own process--let's us know if we are crazy when we hear those voices, at least we're not alone. :-)

This morning I listened in on a Dean Koontz interview. Here's what he has to say.

Emerson and Randomness

I received my copy of The Writer in the mail yesterday. There are some pretty good articles this month.

On Emerson (p.8)

"My Journals...are full of disjointed dreams, audacities, unsystematic irresponsible lampoons of systems and all manner of rambling reveries..." And as Robert D. Richardson (author of the article) goes on to say, "the aimlessness and lack of system were part of the point..."

You wouldn't believe how many notebooks I have with bits and pieces of this and that.

Snippets of dialogue... "I've been a lot of places you don't ever want to be. Done things you can't imagine." And thus Destrie speaks to me of his character and who he has become.

A Call for Change in RWA

I am providing you the most current information available regarding RWAChange. I am a member in good standing of RWA and support this call for change.

Again, for more direct information on this group visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RWAchange/

To receive updates on Twitter, follow: http://twitter.com/rwachange

Watch for hashtag #rwachange

All the best,

Adrianna

***Permission to Forward Granted and Encouraged***

I’m a member of the movement within RWA looking to bring change in regard to digital publishing. There are some conflicting thoughts currently being passed around considering what is being supported and what is hoped to change. A Mission Statement has been written and it has been pasted in below. It clearly states what the movement is about and what it is looking to accomplish.

--Romance Writers for Change Mission Statement--

Romance Writers for Change was formed to help educate and create awareness about digital publishing for all RWA members. We fully support and believe in the RWA organization, and hope to partner with it in a positive, constructive way. To that end, Romance Writers for Change members support the following statements:

--RWA members should be offered educational opportunities regarding all aspects of digital publishing and rights exploration/protection.

--The creation of a new Digital Liaison seat on the RWA Board of Directors is in the best interest of all RWA members.

--RWA’s Publisher Standards should incorporate publisher criteria that recognize digital and small press publishing as legitimate and valid models.

--RWA’s Published Author standards should be revised according to a set of criteria that recognizes the specific digital publishing business model.

--All romance publications published by a royalty-paying, non-vanity/non-subsidy publisher should be eligible for the RITA, provided the submission meets minimum industry-standardized format requirements. Format requirements should be based on neutral criteria that endorse readability and ease of judging, and should not be based on the method of production or distribution.

(--End Mission Statement--)

Though Romance Writers for Change is 600+ members strong, Romance Writers for Change can’t do this alone. If you support the push for change, if you wish to see the above changes implemented, your proxy for the AGM at Nationals ’09 is needed. If you’re not attending nationals, or if you’re attending, but are not going to the AGM, send in your proxy so your voice can be heard.

What is a proxy? A proxy will allow you to appoint another member of good standing who will be attending the AGM to vote in your place. It is crucial to achieve as many proxies as possible to be heard at the AGM. Instructions for filling out your proxy and sending it in (hard copy or electronically) can be found here: http://www.courtneymilan.com/proxies.php

Early Morning People Catch the View

Wolf1
Originally uploaded by adriannadane

Well, there are definitely times when it pays to be a morning person. Although I was trying to be a bit of a sluggard this a.m. I have to say, this was a pretty big guy and breathtaking to observe. And I guess I was thankful that most mornings at this time, I'm out in the back field walking my dog. And she's not big...at all.

I wasn't certainly, exactly if this was maybe a coyote or a wolf. I'm not good at identifying them. Hubby thought a fox at first, but way to large for a fox. He was big and confused.

The odd thing is, hubby is not a morning person, but he was up because he had a 7 a.m. conference call this morning.

This is the first time we ever seen wildlife such as this in our rural backyard.

Now I guess I could use a cup of coffee. I'm still not quite awake.

June 2009 Newsletter/w new contest - Now Available Online

The last few months I haven't been able to get out a newsletter as I would like. But I have spent the weeks upon my return from the RT Convention revamping my schedule and routines. This month, I hope I'm starting out right.

To enter the contest, subscribe to the newsletter at my Torrid Tidbits Newsletter Yahoogroup, and read details in the newsletter. Find the newsletter online at: http://www.adriannadane.com/newsletter-archive/torridtidbits-jun2009.html

The Story That Burned to Be Written

Sometimes a story sits in your heart, a scene, a moment, an experience--blazes out and says "write this story!" That's what happened with my story, Jebediah's Promise. Jebediah's Promise is rooted in Army life and the sacrifices of a wife for the husband she loves and the determination of a husband to return to the wife he can't live without.

In 2003, my son-in-law was deployed overseas and my daughter was pregnant. One of my sons was also deployed overseas during that time, just winding down his year overseas. First my son shipped out. In March, as I packed and prepared to move to another state, my attention was glued to the television screen. I went three weeks without communication at a very trying time. It was only after the move that I received a call from my son to inform me that he was safe. The relief was immense. He couldn't say much but to hear his voice was the best sound in the world.

And then my son-in-law was deployed. My daughter was near term and so I flew to Ft. Bragg to be with her for the birth of my granddaughter. My sister, who lives in New York, put together a long-distance baby shower, gathering gifts from friends and relatives around the country. Everything packed into their SUV and the family drove down to North Carolina, surprising my daughter.

My other son flew in for a week's vacation. Now, how many babies do you know that are born on their due date? Would he be here for the arrival of his new niece? Well, you know how that goes. Except in this case the stars were aligned correctly, I guess.

Surprisingly, or maybe not so, knowing my granddaughter, but she was born right on her due date. Just seven days from my own birthday. What a birthday present! My son played chauffeur, and I was there for the birth of my granddaughter. It turned out to be a C-section delivery--my granddaughter apparently having second thoughts about whether she was quite ready to leave her mother's womb, but alas the Navy doctor thought otherwise. A week later, my son who was deployed, returned to the U.S. and he joined us as well. He was stationed in Georgia at the time.

Once my stay was over, my mother-in-law flew in for three weeks to stay with my daughter. Family and friends are so important at times like this.

I spent time prior to the birth with my daughter, doing errands, meeting her friends, attending one of the family update meetings, learning about the phone trees established for military families to communicate information, going to the Post Office in sweltering heat, standing in lines because the packages to her husband were prepared and sent often. The strength necessary to continue day-to-day, waiting for that phone call, watching for that communication that keeps one going each and every day, maybe a moment online. These are images and experiences and emotions that are indelibly branded into memory.

I didn't actually start to write Jebediah's Promise until about a year later, but the idea refused to fade.

This is where the glimmer of a story began to form in my mind. This was a story I had to write. It is dedicated to my daughter, her husband, and my son, as well as to all those family who sacrifice for our safety. To my father who served in the Korean Conflict, my uncle who served in World War II, my other uncle who served in the Vietnam War, to my husband's family who have served, as well as all those who have come before and those will continue to serve.

It is a story of love, commitment, and sacrifice, first and foremost, sensual and erotic in its telling.

I thought today might be an appropriate day on which to share an excerpt once more.



Jebediah’s Promise by Adrianna Dane
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 1-59279-473-4 (electronic)
Publisher: Amber Quill Press/Amber Heat

Also available in the Tapestry of Desire Paperback (a collection of erotic romance) available at Amazon.com.

Purchase Link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberHeat/JebediahsPromise.html

Author Website: www.adriannadane.com



SYNOPSIS:

Captain Jebediah Holliday is a soldier who serves his country with pride and holds the heart of his wife Trudy, keeping him strong. Dedication to duty requires strength and commitment in separation for both Jeb and Trudy. Jeb’s pledge to do his duty and return to Trudy safely is jeopardized when he is taken hostage on a routine mission. Trudy has faith that Jeb will return home to her, keeping his promise. A hero’s face and courage comes in many guises.

EXCERPT:

"Hey soldier, how about buying a girl a drink?"

Jeb paused in the act of raising the glass to his lips and smiled to himself. He set the beer back on the bar and swiveled around on the stool, knowing exactly whom that sultry, sexy voice belonged to.

Schooling his expression so as not to reveal his anticipation, he surveyed the compact little strawberry blonde posed next to his stool. Mm-mm, damn fine looking woman. With cherry-lush lips curved into a seductive half smile, a slender golden brow arched upward, and the taunt-the-devil flash in her eyes, she presented the kill-me wallop of some of his grandpap’s finest homebrew. The now familiar burn flashed bright, tracking a path through his insides, heart to groin.

Drawing out the sizzle, he took his time in answering as he measured her with his eyes, drinking in the sensual image she presented. It was a vision he’d never grow tired of seeing. The loud country music blasting on the speakers faded away, his total concentration centered on the hot little package standing in front of him. He always had been a man who liked to take his time unwrapping presents slow and easy.

"Well, evenin’, good lookin’. What brings you into a place like this?" His body throbbed in response to the picture she presented in the tight black jeans hugging her rounded hips, and his gaze appreciated the full firm breasts his hands itched to hold.

The jade shirt she wore matched the color of her eyes, reminding him of springtime back home in the mountains of Tennessee. Lip smackin’ good as his grandpap would say.

Good thing he’d learned some gentlemanly manners over the years, or he’d be giving her the pinch test on that nice tight ass of hers, and probably warrant a slap in return.

She knew what he was thinking. He could tell by the twinkle of mischief in her eyes she knew exactly what was in his mind. And that pouty mouth dared him to try it. She stepped closer, reached out, and placed her palms against the tops of his black jean-clad thighs.

"Mmmm, nice. That’s what I like—a man with a fine pair of rock-hard legs." Her words curled around him like smoke from a campfire reaching for the sky, and she sure as hell was stoking a fire that was ready to break out into a pure red-hot blaze set to ravage his skin. She pressed her fingers against the dense fabric covering his thighs just enough, and he felt his cock respond. Oh, she had a nice grip—firm, yet gentle. Her long fingers released, tightened, repeated the action as she shifted closer to the throbbing dick waiting to be loosed.

"Mighty familiar there, don’t you think, ma’am?" He reached out and clasped her forearms before she got any farther, pulling her between the rock-hard thighs she seemed so fond of. She fit close and perfect against his aching crotch. "Damn that feels good. Too good for sitting in the middle of a goddamned bar. One drink and we’re out of here, Tru."

Her grin widened and he knew he was in for trouble. She lifted a leg and rested her boot-shod foot against the rung of the barstool. His eyes widened and he sucked air as he felt her knee graze against that sensitive stiff tool confined behind the zippered front of his pants. Slowly she rubbed in a circle. The paddle fans stirring the air from above did little to cool his mounting temperature.

"Miss me today?" she murmured, adding a mere hint more pressure.



Reviews

5 Angels!! Adrianna Dane accurately captures the essence of the military life and does so with skill. The sexual encounters are satisfying and show the connection between Trudy and Jeb. ... Adrianna Dane creates multifaceted, in depth characters the reader can identify with... --Tracey, Fallen Angel Reviews

5 Hearts!! Adrianna Dane creates a wonderful story of two people meeting for the very first time and it is love at first sight. I was deeply moved by reading this book and I found myself urging Trudy on as she struggled with day to day routines on an Army base and I cried with her as the Army Chaplain knocked on her door. The book is very realistic and a definite keeper! --Linda B., The Romance Studio



Read another excerpt: http://www.adriannadane.com/jebediahspromise.html

Happy Memorial Day.

Adrianna