The First Friday Freebie for March has found the perfect home!
Ruth
of St. Louis, Missouri!
Ruth was kind enough to email me a photo. She assures me that she is an avid reader and is tickled pink to receive her free autographed copy of “Pathways of the Heart” by Diane Yates. There’s something mysterious in the way Smuffy’s fingers reach out for just the right name. It’s as though, somehow, they just know.
Congratulations,
Ruth! You’re going to want to read the
continuing story, “All That Matters”, too.
Here’s a photo of them both.
If you’re feeling sad that you didn’t win this book by Diane Yates, remember you can visit www.dianeyates.com for access to her books, blog and more. Another thanks to Diane for donating a copy of her book to Midwest Storyteller. For my thoughts on “Pathways of the Heart” and an interview with Diane Yates, click here.
If you’d like to see the original freebie offer, click here.
Of
course, I’m giving away another freebie on the first Friday of every month, so
be sure to subscribe, if you haven’t already, and watch for the email you’ll
receive on Friday, April 5th.
Visit the Freebies page where you can see what subscribers of Midwest Storyteller have been winning.
MORE
ABOUT FREEBIES: A winner will be chosen
at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the
drawing by leaving a comment as instructed in the post. See the recently revised rules below.
And now, here are the Freebie Rules.
These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on April 5th.
Oh, and Happy Spring! It’s been a long winter and I’m lovin’ this!
“Share”,
“like” and “pin” this post! You’re
friends will want to enter to win, too!
Enjoying
the Freebies? Leave a comment! If you’re on your computer, scroll back up
under the title of this post and let me know what you’re thinking. On various devices, you may find “Leave a
Comment” at the bottom of the post.
READERS TAKE NOTE: Although I am a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach, not every recipe on this blog reflects this or fits the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan. This is an earlier post prior to my THM days. I am currently working on adapting some of these recipes to fit the plan.
A couple of months ago, I shared these photos of my homemade gluten-free sourdough bread on social media and immediately people began asking for a tutorial.
I am well aware of
the reasons for that. We all love the
authentic taste of real artisan breads.
I do have one close friend who is not a bread lover. It hasn’t broken up the friendship or
anything, but I do confess to wondering at times what on earth is the matter
with her!
The other reason,
I believe, is that, at the sight of that fresh slice of bread curled up in my
hand, people gasped and exclaimed, “You mean it’s possible – it’s really possible to have soft, wonderful,
gluten-free bread that doesn’t shatter to dust when you bend it?”
Yes, it is! I will confess, however, that it didn’t come quickly
for me and it didn’t come easy. Now that
I’ve blazed the trail, so to speak, you can skip all the trial and error and
have much more fun on a reasonably quick road to enjoying your bread.
I put a penny next to a fresh slice to give you an idea of the size of the loaf.
When I say
“authentic”, I mean authentic and
when I say from scratch, I mean really
from scratch.
I’m sure you can use this same sourdough in any conventional bread recipe. You’ll be able to find lots of recipes online for that. I use it in my tried and tested, yummy, gluten-free version and I don’t feel cheated – not one bit!
IMPORTANT: Rye flour itself DOES have a certain amount of gluten, but the sourdough process breaks down that gluten, making it much more gut-friendly. However, if you have been diagnosed with celiac disease, please consult your doctor before using rye flour.
I know some people run from the notion of gluten-free eating because they either think it’s going to taste “yucky”, or it isn’t “real food” or just because they think it’s the latest weird fad and they prefer not to jump on that bandwagon. I’ll put my two-cents in on the topic of gluten-free in a nutshell and you can take it or leave it.
I promised myself I’d keep this post shorter and simpler than all the ones I read about sourdough when I started, but sourdough takes some explaining. Also, I am the storyteller, so here goes –
I want to live the longest, healthiest life I can live and I’ve had my share of ups and downs with health. You can catch a glimpse into some of that here.
After decades of
self-study (because it didn’t take me long to figure out that what the
“orthodox” medical care folks knew about nutrition would fit in a thimble), I
had it boiled down to this: I needed
veggies – lots of ‘em – and they
didn’t need to be potatoes, corn and other starchy ones. They needed to be yellow, green and
leafy. I needed to get away from white
flour because, inside my body, it turned into something similar to that paste
we used to see a few classmates eating in first grade – not a good thing for
the intestines. I needed to keep
desserts to a minimum but, I actually thought that my great love of fudge
brownies and glazed donuts could be indulged as long as I ate the veggies and
whole-wheat, non-GMO stuff first. I thought fat made you fat – silly me – having
falling for that advertising myth. I
fed my family lots of homemade goodies made with the best ingredients our
budget would allow.
I had some health
issues that seemed minor. You know what
I mean – it comes under the category of “a million little things”, but it
wasn’t cancer, heart problems or some auto-immune disease, so I tolerated
those.
Help came with the
addition of a balanced, whole-food supplement that helped resolve a lot of the
issues because – let’s face it – we can’t eat balanced meals every single day
and donuts do happen.
Then came about a
three-year period of high stress for me.
Some overly demanding stress can be the good kind (months of wedding
planning for my daughter), but some is the bad stuff (I lost my mother) and the
list goes on. The result? Stage 3 adrenal fatigue arrived and refused
to go away.
Now I will
fast-forward to a point where, after I chose a new family practice M.D. who
specializes in functional medicine (or that holistic stuff you hear people
talking about), the doc informed me that adrenal fatigue such as I had could be
beat – and then she handed me a big binder, saying, in essence, “Welcome to
your next one to three years.”
I decided to show her I was hot stuff. I’d knock her socks off in six months! I’d be the best patient she ever had (and I think I actually might be) ‘cause I’ve got grit. We started a treatment plan. She advised me not to tax those pooped little adrenal glands any more than they already were. Certain foods do that. After three solid months of no sugar (even the “hidden” stuff in packaged foods) and no grains, we could talk again about whether I could add brown rice, quinoa and a couple of other things back into my diet. If I behaved nicely and received her seal of approval, she might let me have sourdough bread.
You’d think, wouldn’t you, that by the time I reached the end of that first three months my yearning for glazed donuts and fudge brownies would have reached a fever pitch? Nope. I’d been so diligent at removing all the inflammatory, gland-stressing baddies from my diet that sugar cravings left me around the second week! Only one thing kept calling my name – ONE THING saddened me about this clean eating plan. I. Must. Have. TOAST!
When I asked the
doctor if she remembered telling me I could someday have sourdough bread, she
nodded and informed me that, lest I be thinking of a trip to the bakery, I’d
best be prepared to put on my big girl panties once again and start from
scratch.
All store-bought
sourdough is fake sourdough. I was to
start with rye flour and water only, growing my own little bowl of funk on the
kitchen counter as the “natural process” (which is a nice term for something
that causes you to shrink back when you lift the lid) drew yeast from the air
and eventually became, just as the name implies, sourdough.
Once I’d achieved
this, I could bake bread with the gluten-free flour blend of my choice.
I headed for Natural Grocers to purchase rye flour and then frustrated myself for countless hours on the internet trying to find the perfect instructions for not only the sourdough starter, but the bread to follow. There are a lot of bad recipes on the internet, especially in the gluten-free or “clean eating” categories, put there by poor souls who are trying to help others before they’ve found their own way.
The instructions
for starting your own sourdough ranged from long and complicated to short and
vague. I treated the whole thing like
rocket science and had great success. One
day, however, a half dozen or so loaves later, common sense arrived and said,
“Do you really think your great-grandma over-thought the whole deal like
this?” That’s when I relaxed and started
doing the whole process by eye and by feel.
Since it will take
a week or ten days, depending on the amount of “good stuff” (we can laugh about
this later) in the air in your kitchen, I’ll give you the instructions today
for the sourdough starter only. In a
week or so, we’ll talk about bread.
The photo below shows what I use to mix and store my sourdough.
You’ll need to
gather these four items before you start:
Rye Flour (I use the non-GMO Natural Grocers brand pictured. I can get a two-pound bag at my local Natural Grocers for around $2.00.
Water – tap water is FORBIDDEN
here. Use distilled, reverse osmosis or
some other form of water that does not have chemicals that will kill the
natural yeast that is trying to form.
Non-reactive container with a
resting lid for mixing and storing.
Aluminum will not work and I find ceramic or glass to be best. The lid must keep moisture in while letting
gasses escape. A round bottom, such as
pictured in the photo, allows for ease in mixing. A snap-on lid will not work. I found a lid from a small dish at a flea
market that fit my bowl just right without sliding off. Be sure your container is large enough to
allow for comfortable stirring.
Spatula and a ½ cup measuring cup.
Now for my
super-simplified instructions and more than honest observations to keep you
from over-thinking the process or throwing out your sourdough before you’re
even finished. You might want to read
all my observations before you even start!
Choose a starting time. You need to decide on a time of day when you are usually always home and preferably, when you’re usually home twelve hours later – you’ll have a few days when you’ll feed the dough twice a day later on. (Example: 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. if you are working and your schedule allows you to give things a quick mix before and after work.)
Using the ½ cup measure, add two scoops of rye flour to the bowl.
Fill the ½ cup measure with distilled or reverse osmosis water to the bowl.
With the spatula, work the mixture together into a paste-like consistency, leaving no dry spots – every bit of flour must be moist. If it seems too dry to incorporate the flour, add an additional tablespoon or two of water until you achieve a thick but totally moist paste.
Scrape the mixture from the sides, pressing it into the bottom of the bowl and leveling the top with the spatula. This will help to keep the whole mixture moist and help you to see exactly how much rising has occurred.
Cover with the resting lid and leave on the counter for twenty-four hours.
The following day, at around the same time, take your spatula and “slice” through the middle of the paste mixture, scooping out half the mixture to discard. (I place a square of waxed paper on the counter and deposit it onto the center of the paper, then fold all sides in before plopping it into the trash to avoid icky smells in the kitchen. I don’t know if other people run this down the disposal, but it might be a bad idea and you’ll see why as we go.) Add two measures of flour and one measure of water. Mix as before and leave on the counter.
Now you’ve arrived at Day 3. Repeat the process, discarding half the mixture and adding more rye flour and water. Repeat this again on Day 4. You’re probably starting to notice some changes occurring in that bowl.
Now it is Day 5. It’s time to repeat the process twice a day now. Happy mixing and tossing! Continue the twice-a-day process for Days 6, 7 and 8, or until your sourdough starter is doubling in size in between each time you toss out half and mix in more.
Now your sourdough starter has been properly fed, is poofy and bubbly and is ready to use in breads, pancakes, pizza dough and all kinds of other yummy recipes!
Now it’s time for tough love, folks. The awful truth that most of us, as modern day germaphobes who wrinkle our noses and pull the bleach wipes out of our holsters faster than Marshall Matt Dillon drawing on yet another Bad Bart, must face is that sourdough is good for you and isn’t going to kill you or your kids. It is, however, going to be disgusting.
Embrace a little logic with me and admit that back before those tidy, little yeast packets appeared in stores, your ancestors grew their own. These pioneers of sturdy stock survived making sourdough and so will you!
Having read what seemed like the entire internet to learn all the technicalities of how sourdough works and what’s really happening in that bowl, lest I mess the whole thing up and end up without toast or, even worse, kill us all, I’ll share my gleanings and eye-witness testimony.
After the first day or two, depending on the warmth of your kitchen and the amount of natural yeast in the air, you’ll see changes occur in your bowl of starter and they won’t be pretty. It’ll get gray, then grayer, then disgusting to the point where you’ll be holding your breath when you remove the lid to go through your toss and mix routine.
Now, which of our ancestors looked into this pot of stench and thought it would come to a good end had more faith and optimism than I’ve ever possessed. We can add sourdough to the list of things, along with octopus and artichokes, that will go down in history as head-scratchers, making us wonder what poor, starving soul decided to give that a try.
There are two kinds of bacteria growing in there. One is the yeasty, fruity-smelling kind we associate with fresh baked goods. The other is an unspeakable horror. What you are doing as you daily toss and mix is removing some of the horror and giving the yummy-yeasties a chance to take over. It’s a jungle in there and we want the right critters to be king! Around Day 5, you should notice a change in the look and smell. It will be doubling in size each day as the horrible smell fades and the yeasty smell grows stronger and stronger, causing you to say to yourself, “Mmmm…when can I make bread?” rather than, “Please, can I just scrape this all off into the garbage?”
Speaking of
scraping, another thing I’ve observed is that the word “paste” couldn’t be more
applicable. However, upon drying, a more
appropriate term is “concrete”. Immediately after using your spatula (or
if you should transfer the starter from one bowl to another), submerge your utensils
and dishes in water because, if it dries – Honey, it is on there!
Once your sourdough has turned into the real deal, you can keep it forever as long as you “feed” it at least once a week, which means scooping out a cup or so to use it in a recipe, share with a friend or toss so that you can add more rye flour and water. If you neglect this, it will go funky on you and you’ll be starting over and who wants to go through the icky part again? Once fed, leave it on the counter for a couple of hours to get it going before refrigerating it and when you pull it out again to use or feed, give it another couple of hours on the counter first to “poof”.
I’ve not tried to
freeze or dry my starter in order to take a break for vacation or other
reasons, but I’ve heard it’s possible to do that and “wake it up” when you need
it again.
Get your starter started and in a week or so, we’ll make bread!
If you’d like to be ready for this yummy gluten-free bread, here’s your shopping list: Brown rice flour, tapioca flour and arrowroot powder (you’ll need at least a cup of each), cream of tartar, a small amount of honey, kosher salt, yeast, refined coconut oil, milk or milk substitute.
And don’t forget the butter!
Please feel free
to ask any questions in the comments during your process and I’ll try my best
to answer. I know I had lots of them
when I started!
Share this post with your friends who’ve been frustrated with bread making or who are searching for gluten-free, dairy free or just plain healthier food options.
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has something new.
I just heard the
extended weather forecast. Cold. Snow. More
arctic air has us in its sights and it looks like March is not going to lure us
outdoors in our shirt sleeves, at least those of us who live anywhere in the
Midwest. But, then again, it just snowed
in Las Vegas, so I suppose few of us here in the U.S. will escape the
chill. We may dream of tiptoeing through
the tulips, but it’s only a dream, lest we catch cold.
That makes March the perfect time to curl up with a good book! I want to give a special thanks to Diane Yates for providing this month’s First Friday Freebie!
If you’ll remember, I recently did an interview with Diane and a review of her first book, “Pathways of the Heart”. You can catch up on that here in case you missed it. In my post, I shared about how I met Diane, how much she has helped me in my writing endeavors and my thoughts and gleanings from “Pathways of the Heart”.
Now, Diane is
graciously giving one of you the opportunity to receive this autographed copy
of “Pathways of the Heart” absolutely free!
What better way to curl up with a cup of tea (or hot chocolate) and
pretend the cold winds aren’t howling
outside?
To enter to win “Pathways
of the Heart”, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post,
saying, “I’m ready for a good read!”
You’ll need to do that before midnight TONIGHT, March 1st,
2019!
First Friday
Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so hop on over to the right sidebar or
use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page and subscribe to
Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so already.
Your friends will
enjoy the stories, recipes, laughter and, of course, the FREEBIES here on the
blog, too, so share with all your friends and family through Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.
Subscribers win every single month! On the “Freebies” page, you’ll be able to see what they’ve been winning.
Once again, a
winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before
midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “I’m ready for a good
read!”
And now, here are the complete rules:
Four simple steps!
Don’t let the day
slip away! Subscribe now if you haven’t
already, and confirm in your email before you forget!
Spring, I promise,
is on the way. It’s never failed me
yet. Well, except for maybe last year
when it came for two days and then vanished.
I’d have thrown a temper tantrum, but it was 90 degrees and so humid
that I couldn’t muster up the energy.
May our 2019 bring delightful days that, like treasured loved ones, come
early and stay late!
Comments or
questions? I’d love to hear from
you! Please leave a comment telling me
what good books you’ve read lately. I’m
curious – what is your favorite book of all time?
My most recent First Friday Freebie went to a familiar face! Let’s take a look at the winner –
Donna
from Bunceton, Missouri!
Donna has won once before and her name popped up again this time when Smuffy did his duty, following my instructions to and “picked a card – any card”.
Congratulations, Donna! I hope you enjoy your “Love Deeply” word art plaque from Hobby Lobby, not just as Valentine décor, but all year round!
Here’s
another view of Donna’s gift.
If you’d like to see the original freebie offer, click here.
A freebie offer appears the first Friday of every month. Check out the freebie page to see what people have been winning here at Midwest Storyteller.
Subscribe now and you’ll be notified via email
of March’s drawing. You never know what
it might be.
The
next First Friday Freebie drawing will be on Friday, March 1, 2019 and only
SUBSCRIBERS can win!
A
winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before
midnight on the day of the drawing by leaving a comment as instructed in
the post. See the recently revised rules
below.
And now, here are the Freebie Rules.
These
four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on March 1st.
“Share”,
“like” and “pin” this post! You’re friends will want to enter to win,
too!
Enjoying
the Freebies? Leave a comment! If you’re on your computer, scroll back up
under the title of this post and let me know what you’re thinking. On various devices, you may find “Leave a
Comment” at the bottom of the post.
I find that books are like potato chips – you can’t seem to stop with just one. I feel the same way about their authors. If you’re longing to add spice to life, ask someone where the writers meet! Not every chip in the bag will suit your taste, but you’ll definitely experience a variety of flavors. I’ve savored every moment I’ve spent with author Diane Yates.
I met Diane through a series of coincidences. I believe that’s what I’ve heard it called when God chooses to remain anonymous. Smuffy happened to do some work for a friend of mine whom I hadn’t seen in years and happened to mention that I’d been writing a novel and my friend happened to mention that she had a writer friend who might be able to provide me with some good resources when it came time to publish and that friend just happened to be Diane Yates, author of “Pathways of the Heart”.
Diane’s
name didn’t ring a bell, but the captivating book title somehow did. I suppose it had already been calling to me
from bookstore shelves. Let me introduce
you to both of them.
Gracious to her core, Diane took me under her wing, listening to my ramblings and assuring me that my story was worthy of being told. Honest as well, she told me I needed to edit, edit, edit and polish, polish, polish. Little did I know what that entailed when she said it. She’s helped me more than I can express and I am grateful for it. I went home from our first meeting with a copy of her book.
“Pathways
of the Heart” is the story of Diane’s mother, Clella. For all of us, life takes twists and turns,
leading us at times into pleasant places and at others into frightening
scenarios from which we long to escape or worse – a never-ending drudgery that
leaves us feeling that it’s all for nothing.
Cella’s
story is a memoir written as a novel and it couldn’t be more real or, shall we
say, just plain human. It’s as frustrating as it is touching with
its genuine love story that keeps you hoping for the best and fearing the worst
as you walk through life with this strong-willed woman in a time when women
weren’t supposed to be.
Although
there were ways that Clella’s story didn’t mirror my own mother’s story at all, there were certain strong similarities,
including the time frame and general locale, that had me rooting for her,
nudging her forward and shedding a tear for her as if she’d been my own mom,
making it an emotional read.
I
appreciated the way in which Diane related the story just as it was, piecing
her own experiences together with accounts shared by her parents and other
family members.
The
common thread of “Pathways of the Heart” speaks to all of us that we all have hopes and dreams, we all fall far short of the ideal, we are all disappointed by those we love most
and by ourselves and we all must find
our way back to the right path.
Diane’s
careful, yet candid, re-telling of real people making real mistakes is done in
a way that makes “Pathways of the Heart” something that you can share with your
teens without concern that it might be too graphic.
All in
all, this story of a woman and her family, beginning in the Ozark hills of the
1920’s and leading you through the Great Depression, love, betrayal and on into
new locations, joys, desperation and relationships, left me wanting to know
more.
Diane is happy to oblige with the sequel, “All That Matters”, a book that takes us on a journey through the remainder of Clella’s life.
And
now, a little about Clella’s daughter, Diane:
Diane Yates is a
published author who lives in Fayette, Missouri with her husband, Rick, of
forty-seven years. She has three children and eight grandchildren.
Her first published works, “Pathways of the Heart” and its sequel, “All
That Matters” are published by W&B Publishers. Both these memoirs
serve as tributes to her mother and touch the reader with the joys, struggles,
heartbreaks and new beginnings. You can look forward to Diane’s upcoming
works of fiction. “Melissa’s Fate” is now being considered for publication
while she continues work on “My Brother’s Eyes”.
Diane is semi-retired from a career in medical clinic practice management and is a past president of Ozarks Writers League. She is an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Ozarks Writers League, Columbia Writers Guild, Boonslick Creative Writers, and Clean Fiction Writers.
I asked Diane several questions so we could get to know her better.
Barb: Many things compel us as authors to write. Why do you write, Diane?
Diane: My answer to this question remains consistent no matter how many times I answer it. I write to be read. I want my readers to laugh, cry, and rally for my heroes and heroines, and when they read the words “The End” and close the cover, nothing would please me more than if the book they’d finished would inspire them to be an even better person.
Barb: Did you write stories or create characters as a child? When and how did you begin?
Diane:From the sixth grade, I wrote stories and skits that we acted out in school and the neighborhood.
Barb: Do you believe that, for you, writing is a gift or a calling? What is your source of inspiration?
Diane:Writing is both a gift and a calling for me. I pray about my work and God uses various avenues to inspire me.
Barb: Do you have other creative outlets besides writing?
Diane:I don’t draw or paint or sew. I have done crafty things, but I wouldn’t call them talented!
Barb: Do you remember the first thing you wrote “just for fun”?
Diane:In the second grade I wrote a story about my big brother. I drew a picture of him flexing his bicep, showing me how strong he was.
Barb: Why did you decide to write Clella’s story as a memoir and not fiction?
Diane: “Pathways of the Heart” is a tribute to an amazing woman, and it needed to be accurate with real names of family members. This story takes place about twelve miles from the home of an elderly Laura Ingalls Wilder where she read her stories to my siblings.
Barb: Most of this story takes place before you were born. Do you feel like you were able to tell it factually?
Diane: My mother and siblings told me all these stories over and over. They were corroborated by my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Other facts and details were verified by county records and historical societies.
Barb: How did you fairly examine both of the main characters without apparent judgment?
Diane:Mine is not to judge Kenneth or Clella. It’s easy to walk down the aisle and say “I do.” But then, life happens, and in their case, that life included the Great Depression. Their relationship is the picture of what can happen as a result of neglect. Marriage takes work. Don’t let the love you found slip away in the hustle and weariness of everyday life.
Barb: Clella’s story covers a whole lifetime! How did you choose what details to put in and what to leave out?
Diane: I didn’t exactly outline, but I did make a list of all the stories I felt needed to be included; the adventures, mishaps, tragedies, and heart-wrenching events that were pivotal to the pathways they chose.
Barb: “All That Matters” is the continuing story. Why was it not part of the first book?
Diane: I only ever intended to write Clella’s story from 1928 through 1957, which is the time era at the end of Pathways. After it released, I started hearing from readers that they wanted to know the rest of the story. I prayed and eventually decided to write “All That Matters”, which continues Clella’s story as well as my own. Both books span an era of almost a hundred years and are a testament to the strength, courage, and character of the people whose lives touched one another.
Barb: I know as soon as I closed the last page on “Pathways…”, my first thought was, “and then what happened?” How is the sequel different and how is it the same as the first?
Diane: The first book is a little bit of Little House on the Prairie meets The Bridges of Madison County. Clella’s true grit and resourcefulness help her provide for her family during difficult times. She struggles to remain faithful after being abandoned by her husband, but a chance meeting with a younger man complicates her life in ways she never imagined. It is a book of choices and speaks to the importance of marriage and family. “All That Matters” is a book about consequences. It begins amid the craze of Rock’ n’ Roll and travels through many destinations and problematic events. We all have things that are important to us, but in the end, these characters must examine the reality of what really matters.
Barb: Since then, you’ve written a novel. Tease us with the plot!
Diane:My first two books are memoir, but my passion is fiction. “Melissa’s Fate: The Untold Story” is my third work and is currently being considered for publication. When Beth, an accounting assistant, discovers that Phil Davis is actually Phil Drake, the president of the company where she works, and he is in love with someone else, she flees New York City without telling anyone she’s pregnant. Two years later, she must return and recruit his help to rescue their little girl whom she had placed for adoption. Sparks fly as Phil will not forgive Beth, but he’ll do anything to save his little girl. They must both put aside their own feelings and marry in order to win custody of Melissa. Danger lurks as they fight each other, the difference between their two worlds, and a love long denied. While Beth knows that success and wealth are measured by more than material things and money, Phil is learning that he can’t always be in control despite his position and wealth. New York City and rural Connecticut are the setting of this story. My husband and I flew into LaGuardia and visited New York before driving on to Connecticut and the covered bridge at West Cornwall. I couldn’t have picked a more idyllic setting for this book.
Barb: I love the story line! Tell us about your current work-in-progress.
Diane: I’m working on “My Brother’s Eyes”, which is set in the Minnesota Territory in the middle of the nineteenth century. Maggie and her father nurse back to health a wounded Indian brave they found in the field. Only after Maggie falls in love with the Indian brave, Nahkeetah, does she realize that their relationship is plagued by more than cultural differences. It is surrounded by danger and evil. Maggie’s father is the country doctor; Nahkeetah’s father is the chief of the Chippewa tribe. Nahkeetah is next in line to be chief. Can their love survive the prejudice of his people and a hatred that boils beneath the surface?
Barb: Ooh! Love versus hate – now that’s drama! I can tell you keep busy. Are your family/friends supportive of your writing and do they ever fear being “put in a book”?
Diane:I’ve already put my family and friends in my books! I love all of them. My husband’s support and encouragement are endless and a tremendous blessing to me.
Barb: Have you ever found yourself falling in love with or being frightened/shocked/surprised by a character you’ve created?
Diane:I love my protagonists – all of them! They are each different. Beth from “Melissa’s Fate” is down-to-earth, loves a simpler way of life, despises money and those that are driven by it, including Phil, the man she inadvertently falls in love with. Maggie, in “My Brother’s Eyes”, is gutsy, smart, willing to take on difficult tasks and face odds that are seemingly unsurpassable in the Minnesota Territory of 1857. She must fight like crazy to overcome the hate that is in her native brother’s eyes, but she will prevail because of the love she has for the son of a Chippewa tribal chief. But, the character I love most of all is my first character ever – my mother, Clella, in “Pathways of the Heart” and “All That Matters”. None of us are perfect, but in real life she was a picture to me of the Proverbs 31 woman. Also, it surprised me that when I wrote about the men in her life, Kenneth and Francis, I was able to empathize and see things from their perspective, which of course was what needed to happen.
Barb: What would you say to someone who wants to write, but either doesn’t know where to start or perhaps thinks no one would want to read what they’ve written?
Diane: It’s rare that a writer knows where to start. You just have to start. You can go back later and rearrange or revise the writing. Some people write and don’t want anyone to read it. I write to be read. Will others want to read what you write? There’s no way to know until you first write it, so get started!
Barb: So, a person says, “OK, I’ve written it – now what?” What are the first steps they should take if they want to be published?
Diane:Take your writing seriously. Join with other writers in groups to get connected and network. Let your manuscript rest and then go back and edit, edit, edit. Then, consider hiring a professional editor. It’s money well spent.
Barb: Have you ever dealt with rejection or delays with publishers and how do you handle it (or how have you learned to handle it)?
Diane:So, after all the edits, you’re ready to submit to agents or publishers. Prepare yourself for rejections. You will get them, lots of them. Everyone does. There are many reasons why your writing might be rejected and it may not mean that your writing is bad. You may have submitted to an agent that doesn’t represent the type of story you’ve written. If you’ve written a romance and that agent is having more success with mysteries, then the agent might not choose your romance at that time. Remember, publishing is about business and money; what is selling, what is not, the current trends, etc.
Barb: How do you connect with other writers? How vital is that? Would you recommend beginners join writers groups and/or attend writing conferences? Give the wannabes your best advice!
Diane:Yes, yes, yes! It is extremely vital. Whatever stage your writing is at, there is always something else to learn. Writers groups and attending conferences are a necessity, not only for education but for networking, and opportunities to meet industry professionals like literary agents and publishing editors.
Barb: You’re talking about literary agents and publishing editors. These are the people writers have to face in order to “pitch” or promote the idea of their book for publication. For most people, the very idea brings them closer to pitching their lunch than their book! Give us a glimpse of what that was like for you when you started out.
Diane:I remember the first time I pitched to an agent. He was from the William Morris Agency in New York and was the agent for a published author in a writers’ group I had joined. I was so nervous I couldn’t complete a coherent sentence! Heat rose in my face and my palms were sweating. What saved me was he had asked for ten manuscript pages to be sent to him before he arrived. According to the published author, when the agent got off the plane, he had my pages in his hand. “I want to meet this lady,” he told him. So, after my interview and me fumbling my words, he asked for my complete manuscript and told me what he liked was that I hooked him from the first paragraph.
The
second time I pitched a manuscript. I was at a writers’ conference and I had
several appointments to pitch to literary agents and publishers. I had heard
that I needed to be able to explain my book in one to two short paragraphs,
called an elevator pitch. That’s easier said than done! I hadn’t been able to
figure them out. My first appointment time arrived and I met with a publisher.
I couldn’t talk, couldn’t complete a coherent sentence, but I tried to explain
my book. My palms were sweating and my heart was pounding. He didn’t seem
interested, so I finished with, “but, it’s a really good book!” I think he felt
so sorry for me because he gave me his card and asked for the first three
chapters. That was my only interview that night. I knew before I went into the
next one tomorrow, I needed to have my elevator pitch down. I went back to my
room by myself and worked until four in the morning. I finally gave up, prayed
and told God I was leaving it to him, and went to sleep. At six o’clock I awoke
with the words flooding into my mind. I knew I needed to get up and write those
words down right then. I did and the rest of my appointments went much better
with several requests for the manuscript.
Barb: Thanks so much for giving us a glimpse into your life and your books! How can readers contact you?
Diane:I love to hear from readers. My email is Diane@DianeYates.com. They can visit my website at www.DianeYates.com and go to the contact page. I, also, welcome readers to follow me on my social media sites:
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Diane and I hope that her thoughts and experiences inspire any of you who have a story burning within you that is waiting to be told.
To purchase books by Diane Yates, simply click “BUY NOW” on her website and you’ll be taken directly to Amazon. They are also available from Barnes & Noble here.
As winter lifts her white robes and moves around the
stage prior to her big exit, the audience here in the Midwest is waving the
back of its hand at her to shoo her behind the curtain and out the stage door
before they give way to applause.
Nevertheless, we cannot deny her beauty at times. She does put on some stunning performances to help us tolerate the bleak tragedies that seem to play out day after frozen, cold day.
When a heavy snow falls, creating an etching from the usual blur of the woods behind our house, we do have to stop and view it as a winter paradise.
Branches laden with heavy snow droop down to display their beauty right at eye level, begging us to take a few moments to notice that they’ve turned to lace.
I hate winter. My preference would be to have beautiful fall colors and jacket weather right up until dusk on Christmas Eve, at which time around two inches of snowfall would blanket the earth, bringing a respectful hush over all creation. Then, just to be fair, I’d allow it to do it’s thing right up until January 2nd and then we’d all go back to sunshine and jackets again.
Though we long for outdoor activities and that roasty-toasty feeling of the sun warming our backs as we bend over new growth in flower beds, our last round of snow reminded us that we will be waiting a little while for those joys.
It’s difficult for me to feel like I’m thriving in
winter. At times, it takes its
toll. There are only so many gray days I
can take in a row before a gloomy mood sets in.
Phoebe June’s antics keep me cheery, along with outings for lunch with
friends or Smuffy on decent days and a stack of giggle-inducing P. G. Wodehouse
books.
There have been winters that left me feeling like I’ve taken a hit – a bit like our big pine tree is feeling right now.
Like the tree, I suppose it might do me good to have some weak areas fall away to allow light and air enter and new growth to fill in the empty places when spring arrives.
Even now, as I conclude these observations, I realize what a terrific writer I must be, because if I can romanticize this awful stuff, I can romanticize anything! I’ve spent this afternoon writing, ignoring the fact that there is an ice storm warning going on out there!
Upon hearing Smuffy’s truck in the driveway just now, I left my lair to greet him. He entered the back door, telling me he’d just had a bit of excitement. He’d parked the truck at the top of our driveway’s hill in hopes of being able to leave for work in the morning and while moving the car out of range of an ice-laden tree limb that made him a little nervous, he heard a scrunching sound.
We’re blessed that he’d parked the truck with the wheels turned, because it missed the car, three trees and Smuffy as it slid all the way down the driveway and into the neighbors’ yard. If a fallen limb left over from the last round of nasty weather hadn’t stopped it, who knows where it might have ended up! I could use another chapter of Wodehouse after that.
My little afternoon romantic fling with winter’s beauty
is over now. It’s lost its appeal again
and it’s time for a break-up! It’s time
for SPRING!
To all my readers who live in winter’s grip – hang in
there! Try to think of March as only
days away.
To all my hyacinths – you should have listened last week when I told you to pull your heads back below ground because those two sixty degree days were just a cruel joke!
Need a spring preview to chase away the gray? Take a tour through my garden in full bloomhere!
If the gloom requires a good laugh, make a cup of tea and settle down with the stories on my “Life With Smuffy” page. You’ll feel better in no time. He isn’t the only one who’s here to entertain – the “Laugh” page has more!
Questions? Comments? Click on “Leave a comment”. I’d love to hear your thoughts on winter, wherever you live!
Welcome to
February! I love gift-giving and I wish
I could send this First Friday Freebie out to all my subscribers as my Valentine to you. Ah, if only…
But, I can send it
out, as always, to the winner of the February drawing!
Let’s take a look –
During this month when we celebrate love and take special time out to tell people how much they mean to us, this wooden plaque serves as a great reminder. It measures 5.91”X7.87” and has a hinged easel attached so you’ll be able to tuck it in amongst the décor on your mantle or anywhere else you choose.
I love that it is
not “seasonal”. After all, love never
goes out of style or out of season, does it? You can display it year round and it will add
a great “farmhouse touch” to your home’s décor.
Roaming through aisles of home décor never goes out of style either and I hope you enjoy this Hobby Lobby find.
To enter to win
the “Love Deeply” plaque, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on
this post, saying, “I LOVE First Friday Freebies!” You’ll need to do that before midnight
TONIGHT, February 1st, 2019!
First Friday
Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so if you’ve not become a subscriber
to Midwest Storyteller yet, give yourself a little love gift by heading over to
the right sidebar or using the menu to get to the “Contact Me” page
and subscribe if you haven’t done so already.
Share Midwest
Storyteller with all your friends and family through Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter and Pinterest so they can enter to win and begin enjoying all the great
stories, recipes, tips for healthy living, product reviews and more!
Subscribers win every single month! Visit the “Freebies”page to see what they’ve been winning.
Once again, a
winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before
midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “I LOVE First
Friday Freebies!”
And now, here are
the complete rules:
Four simple steps!
The clock is
ticking! Subscribe if you haven’t
already, confirm in your email and comment to enter before midnight tonight,
February 1st!
Enjoy this
sparkling winter month by letting those you love know just how special they are
to you. Hint: This First Friday Freebie
would make a great gift for your Valentine!
I’ll be honest. If the super bowl failed to take place, I probably wouldn’t know it until I got out and about and some grief-stricken fan informed me and even at that, I’d give it a shrug, try my best to register sympathy and concern and force myself to say, “Really? Oh, my!”
But they had better not cancel National Hot Chocolate Day! I’m into this one – big time! I can hear your shouts of “Amen!” to that. It gives us all permission to stop, smell the cocoa and just be still for a bit while we enjoy that mug (or, in my case, tankard, says Smuffy) of smooth chocolate wonderfulness.
But what about those of us who are watching the waistline or those who have come to the realization that, if we care about our health, sugar has got to go?
Speaking of love, within that post is a great recipe for Eat ‘Em All Chocolate Covered Strawberries – another way to indulge without the sugar and without sacrificing yummy flavor. This recipe will carry you through Valentine’s Day without the guilt.
Click on the FREE PRINTABLE banner at the bottom of the original post and you’ll be able to easily print those out to add to your recipe collection.
I’m off now to find my tankard and indulge. In case you’re a little foggy on where to begin, let me show you the ingredients that will help you get the most out of National Hot Chocolate Day –
That’s right! All you need to make your day complete:
Cozy Chair
Furry Throw
One Tankard (or maybe two) Not Apologizin’ Hot Chocolate
One Sleepy Kitten
Gather your supplies and enjoy!
SUBSCRIBE NOW – First Friday Freebie Day is on the way for subscribers only!
READERS TAKE NOTE: This soup recipe was posted prior to my eating according to the Trim Healthy Mama plan or becoming a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach. It would qualify as an “S Helper” or a “Crossover” depending on the amount of sweet potatoes you add or the amount of soup you consume. Keep that in mind when planning your meal. This one is WORTH IT, so at least have it for special occasions!
For those of you who read my earlier post about this fabulous soup but never took the time to stir up a batch – this is for you!
Each year for the last six years, I enter a soup in a contest that our church sponsors for the benefit of the area food bank. Soups – LOTS of soups – are judged (rather scientifically, I must say) on taste/flavor/texture, appearance, Originality/Creativity, Appeal (Would a wide variety of the general population want to try this soup?) and Aroma. “Golden” (but most certainly not food safe) ladles are awarded to the top five soups. Then, the soups are served to the throng of two hundred or so salivating soup lovers at $5 per cup for the winners and $1 per cup for all the others. I’ve taken home five golden ladles so far.
So, what can I say? I am some sort of Soup Queen, I suppose. Just don’t ask me to make gravy. I mean that – never let me make the gravy!
This year, I decided to re-enter my soup that won five years ago. I invented this soup just after I made changes to my eating plan that included getting all sugars and grains out of my diet, so if you are looking for gluten-free recipes that won’t make you feel that you are missing out on a thing – this one’s for you! It’s a winner twice over for a very good reason. It is fabulous!
The original post gives detailed instructions on how to make Creamy Leek Soup with Chicken and Sweet Potato here, and it also offers a free printable recipe so check it out and, by all means, make a batch!
I did have a friend tell me that she used a substitute for the cream to accommodate her dairy-free diet and still her husband said it was the best soup he’d ever eaten in his life!
Here I am, honored to stand with the other winners (minus Larry, who somehow wandered off just before the announcement).
All the great recipes on my Food Freedom page come with free printables, so you can put them all in a notebook and try them out soon. I do my best to offer you healthy recipes that won’t make you feel deprived or overworked.
We are due to have a high temperature here tomorrow of 4 degrees. Sounds like soup weather to me!
NOTE TO READERS: These recipes are old family favorites that appeared here on my blog prior to myeating according to the Trim Healthy Mama plan or becoming a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach. While they taste fabulous, I cannot recommend them for healthy lifestyle or blood sugar control. However, I am working on adapting them to the plan so watch for future posts!
I promised to share this “award winning” recipe. I believe it was back when the trees were shedding their leaves of red and gold. Lately they’ve been laden with heavy snow – perfect weather to cozy up with some real comfort food and a bean story!
This recipe is an old favorite for my family. I found the original in one of those tiny booklets that came with the old-style Crock-pots. You know the kind I mean – the tall, skinny crock that did not lift away from the heating base, making it very difficult to clean. Their thermostats seemed to come with unexplained variances. My mom’s didn’t seem to have a LOW setting. It just boiled away no matter how you adjusted the knob while mine, on the same setting, would make you wait a couple of days for your dinner.
That little book
contained an entry that did little to tempt the imagination or the palate. It offered up, simply, the “One Pot
Dinner”. I’d never tried the recipe
because, frankly, it just didn’t strike a chord within my romantic nature. I’m the “Anne of Green Gables” type and am
inclined to agree with her theories on naming things. (Example: Why call it Barry’s Pond when you can call it
The Lake of Shining Waters?)
I have always been
this way.
Anyhow, a dear
friend of mine, upon hearing me say that I’d been in one of those moods that
leaves me only two options – escape for a change of pace or give in to a crying
jag – took pity on me and offered the use of her cabin in the woods. It may not have been a villa perched on the
Italian coastline, but it had three gleaming attractions. It was free.
It had indoor plumbing. It wasn’t
my house. I jumped at the offer.
I got excited. I wanted to crawl into Timber Hill and forget about the rest of the world. Our daughter would take a friend. There would be no TV and one emergency cell phone. We’d play a few board games. Smuffy would fish, explore and read books. I would read and take naps.
Ahh! Thanks, DeDe, for the memories (and the sanity check).
The last thing I wanted was to make endless trips to town for restaurant meals or supplies. I started charting meals like a paid planner. I wanted everything we ate to fit in with that log cabin feel. We would make homemade pancakes. I’d take homemade cinnamon rolls along to warm. Cornbread sounded good. For a main dish that would leave us lots of great-tasting leftovers, I wanted something special – something new. Research led me back to the lack-luster little Crock-pot book.
If these beans,
which sounded like they had possibilities, were going along on my grand
adventure, they simply couldn’t go as the “One Pot Dinner”. I re-named them “Timber Hill Beans” and they
were a huge hit, especially with Smuffy.
In all the years we were graciously invited to spend our fall retreat at
Timber Hill, we never left home without the namesake beans.
When our church
began to sponsor an annual “Souper Bowl of Caring” as a benefit for the area
food bank, they asked for soup – a lot
of soup. People brought in slow-cookers full
of deliciousness in hopes of taking home a golden ladle in a contest for top
soups.
Smuffy gave me a
meaningful look and prophesied, “If you take Timber Hill Beans, you’ll win!”
“You think
so?” I hadn’t given much thought to
entering the contest and I’d never really thought of those thick, hearty Timber
Hill Beans as “soup”.
“I know so!” He seemed certain of it.
I did come home with a golden ladle,
thanks to Timber Hill Beans and Smuffy’s encouragement!
I can’t help but wonder,
though, if “One Pot Dinner” would have ranked a little lower with the judges.
You may remember our educational and slightly embarrassing discussion on the subject of beans. You can refresh your memory here. Along with tips on cooking beans and avoiding their after-effects, I shared my own recipe for “Hearty, Healthy, Homemade Pork and Beans”. You’ll find a free printable recipe in the post. I now use these in my Timber Hill Beans to avoid the mushiness that usually results from overcooking canned beans, not to mention all the sugar and other nonsense that the canned versions contain. You can prepare these and the bacon a day or two before assembling this recipe. If you choose not to follow this simple, from-scratch step, you’ll need to substitute 4 (14 ounce) cans of pork ‘n beans and use care to avoid over-cooking them.
The other beans in this recipe are also not of the canned variety. If you absolutely do not want to rinse and soak your beans, you can use one can of kidney beans and one can of butter beans (drained and rinsed), but – I promise – you’ll be happier with the end results if you avoid the cans.
If you’re planning meals and feeding supper to hungry people, the best way is to brown the meat, prep the bacon and pork and beans a day or two before. Then, soak the beans overnight, get up in the morning dump everything into theCrock-pot, set it on LOW and don’t give it another thought until supper other than checking it when you get home to see if you need to adjust it to the WARM setting.
Let’s get cooking!
Timber Hill Beans
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef or venison
1/2 pound uncured bacon, baked on a broiler pan in a 200-250
degree oven for about an hour. (Should
not be crispy, but have the better portion of the fat cooked out.)
3/4 cup red kidney beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
3/4 cup butter beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
1 cup catsup
1/4 cup palm sugar or raw honey
1 Tablespoon liquid smoke (or to taste)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tablespoon Celtic sea salt
Instructions:
Drain beans and rinse well. Brown ground meat and onion in skillet. Drain off fat. Cut bacon into one inch pieces. Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir well.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5-9 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.
LOW is best in order to avoid sticking.
Makes 14 cups.
Over the years, I’ve
tweaked this recipe to take out refined sugars, avoid mushy canned beans and bring
it to “golden ladle standards”, so please comment and let me know how you like
it.
Normally, I steer away from adding corn to our diets anymore, mostly for the reasons given in this article by Dr. Axe and at the advice of my holistic M.D. Once in a while, however, Smuffy says the occasion calls for cornbread, I give in and we cheat. I’m giving you my Gluten-free cornbread recipe which includes a dry mix that you can whip up in a “jiffy”, if you get my drift. (Perhaps you don’t if that little item is available only here in the Midwest.) I hate having my cupboards full of endless little boxes and packets and feeling like I have to run to the store for something as simple as cornbread mix. Years ago, I figured out the secret to that little box mix everyone uses and I’m sharing it with you today.
A word about buttermilk: Smuffy and I often have differences of opinion on foods, but on buttermilk, we agree. We hate the stuff! It does make a fabulous batch of pancakes or cornbread, but we always had to throw out the leftovers. Keeping a dry buttermilk mix on hand solves the problem beautifully. Grocery stores will most likely have Saco“ Buttermilk Blend” in their baking section and if you can find a way to order in bulk, you can get a great price on a one-pound bag of buttermilk powder from Frontier Co-op Wholesale Store, where they have member and non/member pricing. They both keep well on the back bottom shelf of the refrigerator for what seems like forever.
Gluten-Free Cornbread or
Corn Muffins
(You may use all-purpose wheat flour rather than corn flour in
these recipes. If so, omit the xanthan gum and one of the eggs.
This option will, of course, not be gluten-free.)
Ingredients:
1 cup yellow organic, non-GMO cornmeal
1 cup organic, non-GMO corn flour
1/4 cup dry buttermilk powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup water
1/4 cup raw honey
2 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the
beaten eggs, water, honey and melted butter, mixing just until there are no dry
areas.
Pour into greased
muffin tins or a 9″X9″ baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for
about 25 minutes. Remove from pan immediately.
Now for that mix to
keep help you whip up things in a “jiffy”.
Cornbread Mix for Recipes in a “Jiffy”
Mix the following ingredients together and in a “jiffy”,you’ll have the equivalent of the commonly used boxed mix.
1/2 cup yellow organic, non-GMO cornmeal
1/2 cup organic, non-GMO corn flour
2 Tablespoons dry buttermilk powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
Add 2 Tablespoons raw
honey to the recipe’s wet ingredients.
Thanks to the great folks at Crock-Pot.com for the original “One Pot Dinner” recipe and for all the improvements to the Crock-pot over the years. The newer versions, with their removable crockery, warming features, digital settings and – best of all – those clamp-on lids that put an end to nasty spills in the car have made life so much easier. Check out their latest products here. Hey there, sports fans! They even have NFL logo pots!
I confess to having four slow-cookers. My new favorite is this in-between size I found one day out flea-marketing. I like to think of it as a casserole. I find myself using it all the time.
Click below for your
free printable for Timber Hill Beans and Gluten-free Cornbread!
If you prefer biscuits over cornbread, check out my Zesty Pumpkin Soupwhich comes with a bonus recipe for Billy’s Biscuits. This savory soup is not what you’re expecting!
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