Truth Really Is Stranger Than Fiction

Yesterday, I went to the post office and the lady at the window told me to look out for eight buffalo. So I did the most logical thing in the world. I looked up.

Don’t ask me why I looked up for buffalo. I thought she was teasing. Like they had Santa’s sleigh with buffalo instead of reindeer or something. This is, after all, South Dakota. We have bison. But it wasn’t Santa’s sleigh she was referring to, but actual, honest-to-God buffalo.

A bunch had gotten out of a pen at the sale barn south of town, and wandered into a park and near a school. A school my children happen to attend. They were recommending that children not be allowed to walk to school in case they ran into bison on the street, but no one knew about it. My friend says she feels like mother of the year since she let her son walk to school yesterday. Apparently we’re supposed to be psychic to be good moms.

I know a lot of people consider where I live a one-horse town, but we’re generally a no-bison town. Well, except the heard north of here a ways. But basically, we’re all citified and would have no idea what to do if a buffalo was staring us down in the parking lot at work. Yep – one was close to us, too.

But a few buffalo are nothing compared to the deer who got trapped in the courtyard at the courthouse. Yep, I’m serious. I guess that was quite the deal, too. Our local paper declared the town “Wild Kingdom” after yesterday’s menagerie went through. Now that all’s said and done (with no humans harmed, though two deceased buffalo), we can sit back and laugh at the absurdity of it all.

To quote Soap Dish, why can’t I write shit like this?

So the next time you’re reading a book and think, “That’s too far fetched. That would never happen!”  Just remember eight not-so-tiny buffalo (and one deer) wandering through a small South Dakota town.  Truth really can be stranger than fiction.

Holy Cow, It’s the Holidays!

Yes, my blog has been neglected.  And so have you, dear readers. All five of you who continue to check in. Thanks for hanging with me!

I’ve been making candy all weekend, and will share a recipe or two this week. (I still have reader recipes, too, so stay tuned for some great eats.) We’re bribing people at the office who do favors for us, so I spent the weekend making the cnady while my cohort in crime (our school psychologist) does the baking. Tomorrow we come together to make tempting trays. Or eat too mcuh sugar. Whatever you want to call it.

But coming up after the first of the year there is much excitement here at Chez Catie, with my first print release! That’s right, Let’s Dish comes out January 5th! So be looking for a chance to win your copy! Also coming to the website will be details on how to get your signed bookplate.  I’ll also be doing some signings after the first of the year, but only as time (and stem cell transplants) allow.

So stay tuned. I’ll be back, I swear!

Over at the Raven

Is it a world full of mosters? Come find out what I think over on the Raven.

True Stories from Jury Duty

I was listening to NPR this afternoon, and Peter Mehlman was on there discussing an article he wrote about getting out of jury duty. A couple years ago, I managed to find myself on jury duty as well. I sat on two juries – one trial we had to find him guilty (video evidence) and the second, we all knew the guy was guilty but had no solid evidence to convict. So I was running about 50/50 when the third trial came up.

I was not looking forward to this one.  It was a case where the father was accused of abusing an infant. There’s not much I can’t stomach less than child abuse. The questioning was going along as the attorneys selected potential jurors, and I just knew I was going to get picked. A mother, a former teacher, an opinionated bitch.

Never mind that last one.

As the questioning progressed, however, so did time. I’m used to sitting in an office all day, and my body is used to certain things happening at certain times. For example, I always take a restroom break at about 10 AM. Well, by 11 I was crossing my legs, and as noon came and went with no sign of a break in sight, I politely raised my hand to ask if we could have a restroom break. Talk about embarrasing! But as we entered the bathroom en masse, I was thanked by many of my co-would-be-jurors.

But as we came back into the courtroom, we knew something was up. The lawyers and the judge were twittering away, clearly agitated. When we sat back down, we found out what the scoop was.

They’d declared a mistrial. And it was all my fault.

You see, to get to the restrooms at our local courthouse, you go through a small lobby area. Apparently the mother was sitting in this lobby with her child, who wore a bib saying “I Love My Daddy.” None of us had seen it, but they couldn’t take the chance. The whole jury pool had been prejudiced, they claimed, and a new pool would have to be drawn.

So, if you ever want to get out of jury duty, try using the bathroom. It worked for me! And they haven’t called me since.

Cate’s Cranberry Sauce

Just in time for Thanksgiving here in the States, I thought I’d share my easy but oh-so-delicious cranberry sauce recipe.  It’s totally stolen off the package, with a few little additions that make it a little more fun. First, the basic recipe:

1 cup Orange Juice
1 cup sugar
1 bag cranberries

Heat the juice and sugar until sugar is melted. Add cranberries and bring to a boil. let boil 5-10 minutes, depending on how “chunky” you like your sauce (more time means more berries pop and it becomes a smoother jelly).

Optional add ins:

Orange slices
Apple chunks
1 tspn. Cloves or Cinnamon

Happy Turkey Day, everyone!

 

At Last! A Winner!

It’s been an interesting week, and I almost forgot I was running a contest. However, I now have a winner! In fact, I have two!!

Since no one sent in any ghost stories, I pulled two recipe entrants out of the hat. So come on down:

Kelli Cheshire and and Kimmy Lane!

Email me at cate@catherinewade.com with what Samhain ebook you’d like, and I’ll get it to you ASAP! Well, faster than I wrapped up this contest, anyway.

Reader Recipe – Cupcakes

Okay, this sounds way too delish for words. Thanks to Natasha! I’ll let her tell you about this:

I made these and then couldn’t stop eating them. I LOVE sweet and salty.
So, chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting.
I found both recipes online and put them together.

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook

Makes 2 dozen

ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups dutch process cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup warm water

Preheat the oven to 350.

Sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer.

Attach bowl to a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. add the eggs, egg yolk, milk, oil, vanilla and warm water. Beat on low speed until smooth and combined, about 3 minutes.

Divide evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about two thirds of the way. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Salted Caramel Frosting

ingredients

1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber in color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. Set aside until cool to the touch, about 25 minutes.

Combine butter and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated.

Turn mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add caramel. Beat frosting on medium-high speed until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until stiff, about 45 minutes, before using.

Reader Recipe #3 – Apple Cake

This recipe comes to us from Anna, who also has a very timely suggestion for what to do with the plethora of apples out there. Plus, there’s sauce! I love sauce! Thanks, Anna!

This recipe for Apple Cake tastes good with or without the sauces.

Apple Cake

1 cup oil, 2 cups sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsps. baking powder, 2 1/2 cups All Purpose flour,  3 cups chopped apples.

Beat oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla together. Blend in dry ingredients. Stir in apples. Press into lightly oiled 13 x 9 pan.

Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 cup nuts, chopped

Combine ingredients and sprinkle over cake.
Bake 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until done in middle.

Vanilla Sauce
1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons All Purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, 1/2 tsp. butter, 2 tsps. vanilla extract
Blend sugar and flour in saucepan. Whisk in whipping cream. Add butter. Cook on medium heat, whisking until thickened. Add vanilla and stir.

Cinnamon Sauce
2 cups boiling water, 2 cups light brown sugar, packed, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tsps. vanilla, 1 1/2 tsps. ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. salt

Combine in saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly.

Serve cake warm with vanilla sauce or cinnamon sauce.

Contest Extended!

Thanks to a lovely case of pneumonia, I am extending this month’s contest to Friday! (Because I promised the doctor I would go straight to bed when I got home. Yeah. Whatever.)

 

So keep entering those recipes and ghost stories!

NaNo Update

So I am totally not winning NaNo this year – there’s no way. My weekend looks horrible, then there’s this whole Thanksgiving thing… Anyway, I am doing what I said I wanted to do, which was get back to the keyboard on a regular basis to do something besides play on Twitter.