Welcome to day 16 of Winter’s Favorites.
Today we have two wonderful authors sharing their favorites. So I will stop taking up your time and let W. Lynn Chantale & JM Kelly take over…..
Brrr, It’s Cold
by
W. Lynn Chantale
Oh what I wouldn’t give to be in the tropics or some place equally as warm. Let’s face it, Michigan is downright frigid in the winter. So far temps have hovered in the 20 to 30 degree range. Well no wonder Delia didn’t want to leave the sunshine. That hunk Jace wasn’t a bad reason to stay either.
Since I’m stuck in snow country and can’t get away to a tropical cruise, I have a hottie of my own who keeps me warm at night. Hmm, one out of two ain’t bad. 🙂 What can one do to chase away the cold winter’s blues?
Besides a steaming mug of hot chocolate, how about a loaf of fresh bread? Courtesy of my good friend Betty Crocker.
Until next time, Indulge Your Inner Romantic
Website: http://wlynnchantale.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/wlynnchantale
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/W.LynnChantaleAuthor
6 to 7 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour* or Better for Bread® bread flour
6 to 7 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour* or Better for Bread® bread flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
2 1/4 cups very warm water (120° to 130°F)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, if desired
1. In large bowl, stir 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, shortening and yeast until well mixed. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.
2. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
3. Grease bottoms and sides of two 8×4-inch or 9×5-inch loaf pans with shortening or spray with cooking spray.
4. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Divide dough in half. Flatten each half with hands or rolling pin into 18×9-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 9-inch side. Press with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Pinch each end of roll to seal. Fold ends under loaf. Place seam side down in pan. Brush loaves lightly with butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 35 to 50 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.
5. Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 425°F.
6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire rack. Brush loaves with butter; cool.
Makes 2 loaves, 16 slices each
Please Welcome JM Kelley
This December marks my one-year anniversary as a South Carolina resident. Living so far south of the Mason-Dixon line, I realize my winters will be vastly different. It saddens me, ever so slightly, to know that I have little-to-no use for the shovel collecting dust in my car’s trunk.
I grew up in Pennsylvania. The state in which, every five years or so, we have one of those cataclysmic snowstorms that dump multiple feet of snow on our delicate heads. But the snow has magical properties, the kinds that wipe out our memories mere days after the last dirty clump has melted away from the landscape. The minute that record snowfall is gone, we’re convinced it never happened. And the next time the weatherman excitedly declares the storm of the century has us in its sights, we’re wringing our mitten-clad hands, wondering how we will ever survive.
In Pennsylvania, survival comes in the following forms: Toilet paper, eggs, milk, and bread. Stores drag out displays of Wonder Bread and Charmin to pile up next to the shovels and ice melt. Which brings me to another Keystone State anomaly: How does a store in a small town manage to sell two hundred shovels every time it snows? The numbers simply don’t compute. If you do the math, you’d see that statistically, every person in a fifteen mile radius must own around eight shovels.
Snow makes Pennsylvanians crazy. I suppose, if you’ve grown up in a state where all four seasons can make an appearance in a twenty-four hour timeframe, there are good reasons. I mean, as a child, I remember those mythical snowstorms that would close down the school district for a week. Snow would drift so high, I could craft a complicated and completely unsafe network of tunnels all over the front and back yard, and never disturb the snows surface. I’ve slogged through waist-deep snow. Done 360s in a car that would make Michele Kwan jealous. I’ve stood at the top of a sloping driveway and made it down to my car without taking a step because of conveniently smooth and even-layered ice.
Snow is a big deal in that state.
Pennsylvanians know that snow is hard work. But even so, in all the winters I’ve weathered there, I’ve never once eaten more than half a loaf of bread in any given snowstorm. Personally, I think winter storm warnings are a marketing ploy. The makers of the Big Four of Snowstorm Survival are giving the weathermen a cut of the profits if they adequately scare viewers into stocking up in anticipation of the next Snowmageddon. A bloody conspiracy. I guarantee it.
About two weeks after I arrived at my new home in South Carolina, wonder of wonders, we had a snowstorm. The place shut down for over a week. Literally. It was like the End Times had begun with a fanfare of trumpets and an terrifying four inches of snow.
I laughed. I mocked. I stayed home because I realized the only thing more dangerous than say, nuclear weapons in the control of madmen, was an untrained South Carolinian on unplowed roads. I valued my life. And while I waited for the nimrods in control to allow the sun to take control of cleanup efforts, I hauled my trusty little shovel out of my trunk and shoveled out my parking space.
The residents of the apartment complex were confused. They watched me shovel. I think some had popcorn. I was asked why I’d do such a thing. When replying that physically removing snow was an actual option, they laughed and shook their heads. And went back inside, like hibernating bears, waiting to reemerge once the snow had all melted away.
I kind of miss Pennsylvania winters now. Not in the sense of welcoming another chance to embrace the exhilaration of below-zero wind chills and exploding frozen water pipes. But it would be nice to walk down the street again, in freshly fallen snow, enjoying the soothing roar of plow-trucks as they mosey on by, burying every curbside car they pass. Then I’d go home and make some toast and scrambled eggs. Put those survival supplies to good use one more time.
Want to learn more about JM or her books?
Check her out here
Website http://www.jmkelleywrites.com/
To enter for a chance to win a Chrsitmas Stocking full of goodies from W. Lynn or an Ebook of Drew in Blue by JM Kelley. Please tell W. Lynn & JM your favorite holiday tradition.. Then head over to the MAIN Winter’s Favorite page (<< — Click link) to enter the giveaway.
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