Christine Writes And Eats

some favorites, and a synopsis

2011-11-22T22:56:00.000-08:00

I was at the market today picking up two rib-eyes and some broccoli. We recently bought some amazing steak knives. My preference: wide, steel blades, but light-weight. So, to celebrate, I bought some protein (also because we've been pretty carb heavy as of late). Anyway, I was at the market and it hit me. How in the world did our moms feed us every single day? Being kids, we probably complained. A lot. We probably didn't want to eat leftovers so how did our moms come up with something new everyday? That was nutritious and that we actually ... well ... ate. Unfathomable.

This post is dedicated to two things.

One: the things our moms made that we loved.

First, this simple recipe. Runny, sunny-side up eggs with soy sauce (some black or white pepper) and toast. My mom used to make a whole pan of these Sunday morning and my family would just sit around the table and dip our bread in the whole mess.

Perfect. Oh, and soy sauce recommendation: Maggi. But make sure it says that it's from France. It's only the best if it's from France.

Then, last night, it was cold and I decided to serve my new hubby a side of cozy: his mom's homemade macaroni and cheese.

2 1/4 cups of elbow macaroni

3/4 teaspoons salt

4 1/2 teaspoons margarine

3 tablespoons flour

as much ground black pepper as you like

3 cups of 2% milk

3 cups sharp cheddar cheese

as much paprika as you like

Cook the elbow macaroni in boiling salted water till tender; drain.

While the pasta is cooking, cube the cheese. In saucepan, melt the margarine; blend in the flour, salt, and ground black pepper. Add the milk; cook and stir until thick and bubbly (this will take some time). Add the sharp cheddar cheese a little bit at a time and stir till melted. Mix cheese sauce with macaroni and pour mixture into casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with as much paprika as you like.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or till heated through. Makes 6 servings.

You can eat it as is, or sprinkle the top with oregano and powdered garlic (then it sorta tastes Italian).

It's a great macaroni and cheese recipe for beginners, but for some reason, it's not as creamy and silky as I would like. It's ... grainy. I think it's the fact that I used real cheese because the other night, when I made nacho cheese sauce from artificial American cheese, it was smooth. Weird. I haven't figured it out yet, but I will.

Two: Synopsis

I have never written a synopsis before writing a book. But then, my friend Jodi Meadows did it (and wrote a heckuva book). And now, my other friend, Authoress, did it. So I tried. And it took like ... weeks ... but, today, I finally finished it. And you know what? I think you should try it. Because it feels like I've already finished. I mean, I know I didn't, and that I have a looooooong way to go, but it's kinda neat. I look at the synopsis and I know where the story is going. Don't get me wrong. I don't have everything figured out, but this ... knowing where the story is going is kind of a rush. I feel all organized and ... ready. Ready for this Mt. Everest. I don't think I've ever been this prepared before. Maybe writing a synopsis means I'll survive this manuscript and actually *gasp* FINISH IT.

So go forth! Make some eggs, some macaroni and cheese, and write a synopsis.

It's already Thanksgiving at my house!

2011-11-16T14:12:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is only a week-ish away, but I couldn't wait. I needed Thanksgiving leftovers, now. So when I discovered that our favorite local market, Trader Joe's, was selling half, fully-roasted turkeys, I jumped on it:

Hello, I-don't-have-to-cook-you-beautiful,

I don't know what you like to do with leftovers (do share), but I like to make sandwiches. Usually, I use white bread (think: Wonder Bread, ie the fluffy, soft, white kind you used to eat when you were a kid), but I had a loaf of wheat that I wanted to use up. When I use white, I don't toast it, but lightly toasting the wheat bread makes it taste better, IMO.

This is how I like to build my sandwich:

* lots of mayo smeared on the bread
* a mix of dark and white meat drenched in hot turkey gravy
* a thin layer of hot mashed potatoes with a dollop of cold cranberry sauce

Don't worry about making it nice and neat. A sandwich like this always ends up falling deliciously apart anyway. See? Not the prettiest picture, but trust me, it was so good, I almost died happy eating 3 sandwiches. And bottomless mimosas (70% champagne, 30% OJ with pulp)!

A winner: chicken [parmesan] for dinner

2011-11-03T13:02:00.001-07:00

I fried chicken for the first time ever. I did not start an oil fire. Hubby had 2.5 helpings. We have enough leftovers so I don't have to cook tonight.

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Chicken Parmesan
* the original recipe teaches you how to make a tomato sauce from scratch, but I decided to take the easy route and use jarred sauce (I like Ragu's Roasted Garlic sauce. I always add onions, more garlic, and wine. Lately, I've also added a bit more oregano and Italian seasoning to spice it up!)

INGREDIENTS
4 chicken breast cutlets (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds total)
Salt
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F. Working one at a time, place a chicken cutlet between two layers of wax paper (or plastic wrap). With a meat pounder, pound the chicken pieces to flatten them to an even thickness - between 1/4 - 1/2 inch. (If you don't have a meat pounder, you can use a rubber mallet, an empty wine bottle, or a heavy rolling pin.) Salt the chicken pieces well.

In a shallow bowl (large enough to dredge the cutlets), mix together the breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, and pinch of salt. In separate shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs.

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium-high heat. The oil should be shimmering, not smoking. Dredge the chicken pieces 1 piece at a time first in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumbs. Then lay the pieces in the hot sauté pan. Turn the heat to medium, then gently fry the cutlets until they are golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Spread enough tomato sauce to thickly coat the bottom of 9x13 casserole pan or baking dish. Once the cutlets are browned on both sides, arrange them on top of the tomato sauce in the baking dish. Place sauce over each of the cutlets. Sprinkle the tops with sliced basil. Then top the cutlets with slices of mozzarella and the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the mozzarella begins to brown.

Serves 4.

Work is going to make me fat

2011-11-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

Egg salad sandwich with truffles on an egg brioche (with cucumbers), sliced baguette, chorizo, clams, and mussels, and a side of roasted brussel sprouts. That was my lunch.

AND THERE'S HALLOWEEN CANDY EVERYWHERE!!

Yup.

Fat.

Prime Rib for dinner and breakfast!

2011-10-30T22:21:00.000-07:00

One of the fun things about getting married is how, now, there are items all around the house that remind me of a person because that person bought me that item for our wedding. I have lovely turquoise Victorian tumblers from Authoress, a coffee table made of mango wood from my aunts and uncles in Vietnam, and a shiny All Clad roaster from our good friend, Mike. To break in said roaster - and to have a last little hurrah before I had to go back to work - I decided to make prime rib.

Prime rib is so fancy that it sort of intimidates me every time I make it, but I have a recipe that's pretty much fool proof.

Garlic Prime Rib from allrecipes.com

I basically follow the recipe except for a few changes:

My roast is 5lbs instead of 10
I use fresh thyme instead of dried (I learned that dried herbs have a more concentrated flavor so if a recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of a dried herb, you'll need 3x as much if you're going fresh)
I always add extra garlic (I like to cut up thin slices of garlic, make slits in the meat, and slide the garlic chips in)
And, per the reviews, I use the following cooking times: 460 for 12 minutes, 400 for 8 minutes, and then 325 for 20 minutes / pound (I take out the roast when my meat thermometer reads 130 so that after resting, the inside is a nice medium rare)
For the au jus (which is SUPER key - seriously, this stuff is mouthwatering), I use Bobby Flay's thyme au jus recipe here (to make less than the quantity specified, I only use a cup and a half of red wine and a can of low sodium beef broth)

Voila! Fool proof:

The outside may look burned, but it's not. It's a very tasty crust. You'll probably be peeling off the pieces to snack on even before it hits the table. For sides, I decided to try two new recipes: Grilled Romaine and Creamed Corn.

I know, grilling lettuce may sound weird, but with fresh pecorino romano, it was very yummy (thanks to my cousin for the recipe). Warm, slightly wilted, slightly crunchy - I am going to make it again this week.

The creamed corn was also a hit with my new husband. The changes I made were: I used one can of corn (drained) instead of frozen, I used one cup of 2% milk total (no heavy cream), I added one sugar cube because that's what I had lying around, and I started with 1 tablespoon of flour, but added a little more because I wanted it thicker. Next time, I'll just add less milk.

Best part about making prime rib? Leftovers for breakfast! Or, breakfast for dinner. Steak and poached eggs, anyone? I made the mashed potatoes by first boiling the potatoes in the microwave - something else I haven't done before. Learn how here. Then, I just heated up some milk, butter, and garlic on the stove and poured the hot concoction over the potatoes I mashed with a fork. Served with fresh fruit!

I'm a wife!!

2011-10-29T00:51:00.000-07:00

Hello, Internet! I'm back and a Mrs.! The wedding was the most fun I've ever had in my life and everyday, I wish we could do it all over again! But, after a lovely honeymoon in Hawaii and two never-ending weeks unpacking boxes and moving my new husband in, it's back to reality!

I am more than ready (though, admittedly, also more than rusty) to jump back into writing, but I'm waiting for one of the stories swirling in my head to become clearer and take hold. I may go back to a piece I was working on while I was planning the wedding, but I'm also intrigued by this new idea that seemed to appear out of nowhere. How many stories do you have in your head before you pick one? And after you pick one, how many are still in your head, vying for your attention?

There are two things I'm not quite ready for: (1) Going back to work after 5 glorious weeks off and (2) cooking everyday. Don't they both sound scary?! Yup, I have more appreciation for my mom (and all moms out there) who put something different on the dinner table every single night. How the heck? I'm so intimidated, I've been scouring the Internet for recipes. I don't outline my novels, but I've been trying to plan out my week. Watch out world! New working woman / wife, so excuse me while I collect recipes to try this whole making dinner everyday thing.

Chicken Parmesan
* the original recipe teaches you how to make a tomato sauce from scratch, but I decided to take the easy route and use jarred sauce

INGREDIENTS
4 chicken breast cutlets (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds total)
Salt
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the mozzarella begins to brown.

Serves 4.

For a side dish for above chicken, how about some grilled lettuce! Got this idea from my cousin's food blog:

INGREDIENTS

1 head of Romaine lettuce

enough olive oil to slather both sides

1/2 cup of fresh grated Romano (Parmesan or Asiago could also be used, just nothing from a green can)

pinch of salt

couple turns of black pepperdusting of granulated garlic

INSTRUCTIONS

Basically, grill the lettuce until it's slightly charred and then sprinkle with the cheese before serving.

Panko-Crusted Salmon

INGREDIENTS
4 teaspoons olive oil
4 pieces thickly cut, boneless salmon (each 6 oz)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp honey mustard or sweet-hot mustard
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Set the salmon on a foil-lined baking sheet skin side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine the honey mustard and 1 teaspoon of the thyme. In another small bowl, mix the panko with the remaining 1 teaspoon of thyme, 4 teaspoons of olive oil, parsley, and paprika. Add salt and pepper (a light sprinkle).

Using a small spoon, spread the mustard mixture on the salmon; top with the bread crumb mixture.

Roast the salmon for 12-14 minutes (test at 10) or until it is almost completely firm to the touch and flakes when poked with a fork. Serve at once.

Other recipes I want to try sometime:

Seared Tuna with Avocado

Dijon Grilled Pork chops

Farfalle with peas & pancetta

Hamburger Stroganoff (might try it with turkey and yogurt to be a little healthier)

Caramelized Baked Chicken

Caramelized Chicken with Sticky Rice

Brunch is for owls

2011-04-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

Brunch: Noun, A late morning meal eaten instead of breakfast and lunch. Also known as, the event Christine likes because she sleeps so late.

4/13: Acme bread french toast dusted with powder sugar and covered in strawberries and maple syrup

There's a food truck that drives around my company's campus delivering different goodies ... which, btw, I think is the coolest thing ever. Today's treat was red velvet cupcakes! I would like to take this time to thank my co-worker who asked me to drive to this building for her. I wouldn't have run into the truck if I didn't.

And as if the red velvet cupcakes weren't indulgent enough - I ventured away from my "eat-less-carbs" goal and dined on:

an incredibly rich beef slider stuffed with foie gras (italicized for emphasis on decadence)
a refreshing mix of spring onion & blue vein cheese on a toasted baguette slice
crab-stuffed cucumbers
pork belly on a bed of creamed polenta, drizzled with balsamic vinegar
salami + chorizo + cheese spread

All at a pleasant wine-tasting. That's one way to make Wednesdays more exciting! Alas, no pictures, because I'm a fool and forgot my camera. But here are a couple snapshots of my lunch today ...

4/14: Pork Adobo Tacos with Spicy Asian-Pickled Vegetable

and Chilled Cherrystone Clam and Mussel with sake mignonette (sake, champagne vinegar, lemon, shallot, parsley, ginger, white soy sauce) and cocktail sauce. Fancy pants!

Excuse #100 for why I'm not writing

2011-01-13T13:44:00.000-08:00

Because I'm getting married.

I know, I know. Excuses, excuses. I know I have to make time and after talking to a supermom who schedules her writing time around her 3-year-old - I know anything's possible.

But sometimes, planning a wedding feels impossible. Girls in serious relationships [mayhaps of a certain age] daydream about The Dress, The Colors, The Location, The Food, so on and so forth. Don't get me wrong - all that stuff is still really, really fun, but, well, there's also:

* The Budget

* The Picking-A-Venue

* The Who's-Gonna-Rent-And-Clean-The-Forks

* The What-Do-You-Mean-I-Have-To-Order-Water-Pitchers?

* The I-Have-To-Buy-A-Ton-Of-Ice

* The I-Wonder-If-I'm-Grown-Up-Enough-To-Handle-Dry-Ice [or any of this for that matter]

* The Cancelling-That-Venue-And-Picking-Another-More-Inclusive-One

* The Restaurant-I-Love-Increasing-Their-Price-To-20k

* The Going-Over-The-Budget, and

* The I-Have-To-Now-Get-A-New-Caterer

Stuff I never daydreamed about. Who knew wedding planning could be so ... not fun?

*breathes*

I am happy to say that after researching over 100 locations and one cancellation, we have a gorgeous venue that me, fiance, and parental units are over-the-moon happy with!! And I don't have to worry about forks and water pitchers anymore!!!! And, after all that was said and done, I got what I wanted all along: a wedding reception at a Sonoma winery.

Next on the list: trying to find a caterer who will make something other than dry chicken with dark brown mushroom sauce.

The fiance and I adore Mexican food, but the taco truck idea was a tad too informal for my mom. Problem is: I can't quite figure out how to make Mexican fancy enough for a sit-down plated menu. Italian is another option, with duck and mastutake ragu raviolis and wild mushroom risotto in small plate form. Then, there's paella.

Visually stunning, comfort-food-like, but also [with seafood] possibly fancy enough.

So this is what I'm doing instead of writing. Reading very many menus and funny words like:

* cambozola mousse

* toybox basil

* chiogga beets

1-11-11 ACROSS THE UNIVERSE Release Day!!

2011-01-11T13:10:00.000-08:00

I was LUCKY enough to tag along on the ACROSS THE UNIVERSE Arc train (where it got passed from Authoress to Jodi Meadows to me and then to Corinne Duyvis) so I got a sneak-peek of what all the confetti was about.

Today, you can go to your local bookstore and see for yourself.

It's a BIG DEAL. I mean, just look at this site. This isn't just a YA book launch. This is THE book launch. And all I have to say is:

1. THANK GOODNESS someone did a YA that brings to mind the "final frontier-ness" of Star Trek and the doomed romance of ROMEO AND JULIET.

2. Congratulations, Beth!!!!

2011 = New Stuff

2011-01-02T23:30:00.000-08:00

What I'm eating: My ~~boyfriend~~ fiance (dude, before I'm used to the word, I'm going to be calling him husband) bought me fancy, New York, "it"-restaurant-of-the-moment cookies. They're the Compost cookies from Momofuku and they're really unique. They taste like chocolate, salty pretzels, and coffee grounds. They also have potato chips, oats, and butterscotch in them. Unique may be an understatement.

What I'm doing: Not writing. I'm thinking about writing, though. I guess as writers, we never stop. I spent the last 3 months of 2010 revising my middle-grade science fantasy for Authoress' genius Baker's Dozen Auction. The work paid off and I received 3 full requests from it. When Christmas break came around, I worked on FRIENDS WITH DEATH a little - re-writing certain parts and switching 3rd person to first (yes, again). I'm hankering to write something new, though. I have a couple ideas tickling my brain, but nothing's grabbed me yet. I keep waiting ... and hoping.

So that's the goal this year: a new YA.

And planning a wedding ...

Talk about new experiences.

I'm going dress shopping for the first time tomorrow! I'm really excited and a little nervous (not sure why). After boy proposed in August, I couldn't wait to try on dresses, but my mom was out of the country and I didn't want to go without her, so I waited. When my mom returned from her vacation, she had to jump right back into work (the holidays are the busiest time of year for her line of work) (and no, she's not an elf), so I had to wait some more.

You would think that during this period of waiting I would have collected examples of dresses I want to try on, huh? Yeah. Probably should've done that.

Which is why I'm sitting here, not writing, eating a cookie, and ripping out photographs of dresses from a stack of wedding magazines.

Book deal! Book deal! JODI MEADOWS' Book deal!

2010-07-06T17:41:00.001-07:00

I've been not-so-silently squeeing for the past few days and am now finally able to SHOUT IT FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE ROOFTOPS!!

The wildly talented Jodi Meadows has a book deal. ERIN INCARNATE (the first in her NEWSOUL Trilogy) went to auction. Yes, auction.

Dreams DO come true. She's proof that hard work and perseverance pays off.

Read about her incredible story:

* on her blog

* on author Robin McKinley's blog

* Authoress' blog

I'll let you know when you can pre-order the book ;-)

Jodes, I'm incredibly proud, excited, and in awe of you. I can't wait to see what happens NEXT!! Thank you for always being there for me. I hope you know that I'm there for you every step of the way!!!!

What are you reading?

2010-06-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends, Jodi Meadows, asked the following on her blog:

1. What are you reading and what do you think of it so far?
2. What is your plan for the week?
3. What's your favorite shape of pasta?

Since I wrote up a huge comment, I thought I might as well post it here. As you can see ... I have trouble finishing books. There are just too many shiny ones to buy! and when they come in the mail, I get so excited, I have to start reading it RIGHT AWAY! that is, until another one comes in the mail!

1. I am currently reading ... (yes, all at the same time ...)

AS YOU WISH: this book *feels* more MG than YA to me.

CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY (2nd in the Gallagher Girls series): James Bond meets Baby-sitters Club without the babysitting. The girls are strong, the adults are interesting, and the spy twist is super fun!

BLUE MOON (2nd in the Immortals series): I *liked* the first one so I decided to continue ...

BOY TOY: Not too dark. More like gray. Still, it's a hard book to read. Definitely not a light, summer-y book I bring to the pool ...

THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER: I bring this one to the pool with me, but am not far enough into it to make an opinion. I think it's a summer romance ...

FRAGILE ETERNITY: Really love Marr's dark take on faeries. This 3rd book is fae-court-politics heavy.

HUSH, HUSH: I have to admit, I bought it because of the cover.

GOING BOVINE: Genius. I'm only a few chapters in ...

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE: repeat after self: *you will not watch the movie until you finish the book* ... my best friend loved it, her fiance loved it, everyone loves it ... thus, I'm reading it.

IF I STAY: One of my favorite 2009 books! I have about 1/3rd left ...

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES: Really diggin' it so far. The setting is sultry and a character in itself. After reading so many YA novels from a female POV, Ethan's voice is refreshing.

EI: *swoon* The incredible, incredible, unique, incredible premise, the world-building, the relationships, Sam ... I could go on and on ... *squee*

EA: *falls* An exciting sequel!! It features one of my favorite characters of the series!! I want to say more, but I don't want to accidentally spoil anything.

2. This week, I am working toward my 4th of July vacation! Then, I plan on eating chicken wings and watching the World Cup, having Jodi+writing time, watching LIE TO ME (my new television addiction), going to see ECLIPSE with my girl friends, lying by the pool, and drinking champagne!

3. I like spaghetti noodles and shells - yes!

P.S. If you don't mind, I'd love to hear what you have to say in MY comments :-)

Midnight Surprise Beer-Butt Chicken Attack!

2010-06-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

Yes. It's midnight and I have nothing better to do than to share some beer-butt chicken with you.

Warning: if you're a vegetarian, you may want to look away. Contains nude pictures of chickens.

The first time I made beer-butt chicken, we were in the middle of nowhere Colorado, in a rented cabin with no running water. If you try to make beer-butt chicken with no running water, it's difficult because of the whole salmonella thing. BUT if you make beer-butt chicken in a kitchen that has running water, you will have no problems at all. It's easy! and fun! and tasty!

P.S. If you are allergic to beer (gosh forbid) or do not like beer, you can also make this with cola.

Stuff you will need:

1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs)
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of dried sage or rosemary or thyme (whatever you have on hand)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
a lemon
a few cloves of garlic - peeled and cut into slices
a small piece of ginger

a can of beer or cola

Remove the chicken from its package and give him a rinse under cold water. Don't forget to clean inside his cavities. Pat him dry with paper towels (and no, I don't know why I'm calling my chicken a him).

Mix the oregano, garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, ground black pepper, and dried sage, rosemary, or thyme together.

Cut the lemon in half and lightly rub it on the chicken - make sure to get under the skin, too (use your knife to help loosen the skin from the meat). Then, rub your mix of spices on the outside of the chicken, the inside of the chicken, and under the skin. Add more fresh ground pepper if you like that sort of thing.

Using a knife, carefully poke a couple slits in the chicken's breast, thighs, and drumsticks. Insert the slices of garlic into the slits. Wash your hands.

Open up the can of beer or cola and drink 1/4 of it. Cut a couple slices of ginger and garlic and put it in the can. Carefully stick the can up the chicken's butt. He should sit up on it easily, like this:

If you're having trouble balancing him, use his legs! While you're doing all this, get your beau, best friend, mom, grandpa, etc. to help you heat up the grill. When the grill is ready, carefully place him over medium-high, indirect heat (i.e. no coals or burners on directly under the bird). Cook the chicken with the grill cover on, for about an hour to an hour and a half. Check him at the hour mark. The internal temperature should be 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed with a sharp knife. Really, really carefully remove him from the grill. Let him rest for 10 minutes before carving. Don't forget to remove the can before cutting - and be careful! The can will be super hot.

Okay. Good night.

A conference! and tomatoes!

2010-06-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

WRITERLY:

It's an idea so great, you wonder why it hasn't been done before. Well, it hasn't. But it will. Get READY! Get EXCITED! (and get your butt over to http://writeoncon.com/ to thank the genius ladies who are putting it all together!)

WriteOnCon!! The very first online writing conference!!

The WriteOnCon team is celebrating the launch with a bunch of contests on their individual blogs. Here's one from Shannon Whitney: http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2010/06/secret-project-revealed.html

EATERLY:

Yes. Tomatoes. Heirloom to be exact. One of the top reasons (in my book) why summer is just so awesome.

The double-whammy: heirloom tomato soup + poppy-seed bagel with cream cheese n' chives n' tomatoes (two-toned!)

Recipe for the perfect summer heirloom tomato salad:

+ green leaf lettuce

+ sliced strawberries

+ shucked white corn

+ sliced red & green peppers

+ balsamic dressing

+ thinly sliced prosciutto

+ heirloom tomatoes

cutest baby animal video in the world!

2010-05-21T11:42:00.001-07:00

This has nothing to do with writing or eating. It has everything to do with CUTE!!!!

Why I Love Jodi Meadows

2010-05-18T00:02:00.001-07:00

1. Because she draws hearts on first class mail!

2. Because I was "around" the whole time she was knitting these and I had NO IDEA they were for me! I even helped her pick the utterly lovely pattern. She is so sneaky. (It was a good thing I was too busy at work today to read her blog!)

3. Because she isn't afraid to put socks on her head. Because she isn't afraid to be true to herself and her characters. She is the writer I strive to be.

4. I can't even sew on a button, but she *hand-knit* these gorgeous, intricate, airy, delicate, happy, looks-like-a-field-of-flowers, perfect Spring socks!!!!

If you haven't already, please go and ...

2010-05-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

I am so incredibly proud of the YA community!! Stunned, amazed, in awe of, humbled, omg*heart swelling* ... there aren't enough positive words. They are the most thoughtful, generous, and giving group I have ever experienced. Not only did they receive an OVERWHELMING number of donations, a lot of the bids have gone above $1000! Thank you, thank you, thank you to Victoria Schwab, Amanda Morgan, and Myra McEntire for putting this phenomenal event together!

Foodielicious Fair!

2010-04-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

I just happened to stumble upon a food fair at work today (there's always *something* going on around here). Since we get free food at lunch, local businesses don't get our ... well ... business. So it's kinda cool that my company hosted a fair so we could try some stuff and hopefully come in for dinner on the weekends or something.

I started with some Patxi's chicago pizza:

and stood in awe around all this lobster (Sam's Chowderhouse):

Next, I had some seriously tasty wood-fired pizza with swiss chard, bacon, red onions, and creme fraiche (Pizza Politana). I can totally see one of these beautiful ovens in my backyard:

and I can never resist a good, ol' fashioned, all-grass-fed-beef hotdog (Let's Be Frank):

For dessert, heritage pasture raised pork loin + belly sandwich from the incredible Roli Roti (drool-worthy). Trying to figure out if they can host my next event. What kind of event should I have???

So THAT was my lunch extravaganza. And yes. I'm quite full now.

Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary (and book trailers!)

2010-04-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

I can't name a favorite.

DEAR MR. HENSHAW

RAMONA AND HER FATHER

SOCKS

STRIDER

Beverly Cleary turned 94 and I wanted to wish her a very Happy

Birthday. Her bright and colorful characters touched my elementary school heart and I can't wait to share her books with all the kids in my life.

Now, on to some beautiful book trailers!

ERIN INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows

SEA by Heidi R. Kling

and I couldn't end this post without a yummy picture. It's raining so this hit the spot: Texas-style chili with all the fixin's. It's made with beer and you can totally taste it. Beer's the secret to great chili, IMO. That and chocolate.

Last but not least, a contest!

To celebrate the fact that her book ALL THESE LIVES will be published, Sarah with a Chance is holding a fantastic contest:

1 Lucky Winner will receive a critique of their first 30-40 pages by the fabulous Suzie Townsend + a pack of Twizzlers + a copy of Hex Hall

3 Lucky Winners will receive a query letter critique by one of these three agent extraordinaires: Kathleen Ortiz, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, or Colleen Lindsay (One agent will be randomly assigned to each winner.)

1 Winner will receive a writer's survival guide consisting of Twizzlers, a copy of Silver Phoenix and When You Reach Me, and a cute notebook and pen so you're never tempted to do this

1 Lucky winner will score a lunch date with THE Janet Reid and THE Suzie Townsend. Um, yeah, that's not a typo. (I'm tempted to enter myself. Would it be so wrong?) Unfortunately, this is not a free trip to NYC. BUT if you live in the NYC area, or whenever you're visiting NYC? You. Janet. Suzie. LUNCH.

Enter on her blog here.

The best way of waking up ...

2010-04-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

is winning a crit!

As soon as my alarm went off, I went online to check the QueryTracker blog instead of hitting the snooze button. A week ago, agent Jason Yarn hosted a contest to win a query and 10-page critique. The results were supposed to go up Friday so yes, I was even more anxious for it to be Friday than usual.

It was early, I thought to myself. The results probably aren't posted yet.

I practically scrolled past my own title before realizing that the words FRIENDS WITH DEATH were staring right back at me. As a winning entry.

I've copied and pasted my pitch and excerpt below. The coolest part is Mr. Yarn's thoughts:

FRIENDS WITH DEATH by Christine Nguyen: Ms. Nguyen’s pitch made me smile and then her excerpt made me laugh – a key way to judge if I’m going to like a book on the whole. The image of a hot Death making eyes at the main character was pretty funny, and brought to mind a lot of uncomfortable situations. Mary Kate’s wanting to get out of a test by way of wished-for vehicular assault rang true in the way of teenagers’ sometime callous disregard for others (without meaning it, of course).

[Insert all-day-long squee here!]

Christine's pitch:
When the charismatic Death makes 17-year-old Mary Kate Stewart choose between saving her dying boyfriend or her gift - the ability to see when people are going to die - she can't help but wonder if he wants to be more than just friends.

Christine's excerpt:
Mary Kate Stewart secretly hoped that her Calculus teacher would get hit by a taco truck. It was Monday, 1:15 p.m. when she had that thought. She knew the exact moment because that’s all she was doing – staring at the clock and wishing for the demise of Mr. Randolph Hagen. She didn’t want him to actually die, but if the accident caused the kind of amnesia where you forgot one specific thing and that thing just happened to be Friday’s Calculus test, she’d be all for supporting careless lunch truck drivers.

***

I hope you all enter as many contests as you can. It's a fantastic learning experience and gets your heart rate going. See! Writing contests are good for your health!

Lunch today, on the other hand, is definitely not:

Kobe beef sliders with American cheese, pesto aioli, Grey Poupon mustard, ketchup, red onions, and lettuce on a whole wheat bun. Accompanied with garlic french fries and a homemade chocolate chip whoopie pie (to celebrate my whoopilious day). **mental note: eat salad for dinner**

Changing my blog

2010-04-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

I created this blog about two years ago to chronicle my adventures on finding an agent and a publisher. The manuscript I was querying was my MG fantasy titled: THE UNICORN TAMER.

That was then. The manuscript now is FRIENDS WITH DEATH.

I feel bad about not blogging everyday. Since I'm not currently querying, my writing life is not very exciting. It just consists of word count and editing at the moment, and there's only so much you can blog about that. I've tried to include writing-related links that I think are helpful - and I will continue to do so - but I felt like ... spicing things up a bit.

Another love of mine, aside from writing and buying books with gorgeous covers, is eating. I love to eat. I love trying new restaurants, going to favorite hole-in-the-walls, and buying cookbooks with gorgeous covers.

Did you know that I work for the Great Internet Gods? Do you know what happens at work, other than innovation? Food. Lots and lots of free and glorious food!

When I have to pay for my own food, I review said restaurants on the awesome, ever-so-helpful site called yelp.com (my profile url is: christinepuddin.yelp.com)

So, let's recap. I want to blog more. I love to eat. I work at a company that feeds me well. And I like to review restaurants.

Being so - and being inspired by the food photo phenomenon article in the NY Times - I am changing this blog to one that reflects my 3 great non-human loves: writing, reading, and om-nom-noming.

To celebrate, this is what I had for lunch on April 6, 2010:

Fresh chicken chili verde on a sundried-tomato flour tortilla with Mexican rice, sour cream, shredded lettuce, raw tomatoes, onions, and avocado. Pretty impressive. Would've been more impressive if I had decided to blog on lobster roll day. :-)

Let's celebrate the end of March!

2010-03-29T12:16:00.001-07:00

*skips in*

Hello! I am so happy to be back. I've been buried underneath end-of-quarter projects, so even though I actually work for the Great Internet Gods, I haven't had much time to play on the internet (Twitter, Google Reader, etc). So color me stoked that March is over! I celebrated by creating this post filled with fun links for you. Enjoy!

- Rejections got you down? Read this inspiring post from SHIVER'S Maggie Stiefvater and win a copy of LINGER here!

- Feel better after reading Maggie's post? Then submit here.

- An interview with Andrew Harwell, editorial assistant at Dutton Children's Books

- Really interesting (and positive) story about Bologna from PW

- The Dream Team: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES cast-of-fun!

- New blog that I kinda loff: http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/

- I like [trying] to win things: Mandy Hubbard contest and Heidi R. Kling contest

- And last but not least, I may just be crazy enough to fly to D.C. FOR J.K. ROWLING! (that is, if I had entered the Egg Roll lottery on time)

The Beth Revis Book Deal Celebration! confetti

2010-03-28T01:41:00.000-07:00

I read a bit of Beth Revis' book on Authoress' blog and loved it. I can't wait to read it once it's published! To celebrate her amazing book deal, Beth is having a HUGE contest on her blog.

Look at all the fun stuff you can you win!

PRIZE PACK FOR WRITERS:

-A critique of your query letter and first three chapters
-A copy of Elana Johnson's super-amazing e-book, From the Query to the Call
-A HUGE bag of chocolate-covered expresso beans from my fav coffee shop, Village Coffee (cause we all know writers need chocolate and coffee)
-A copy of the Working Writer Day Planner, full of tons of helpful info for writers
-A really pretty journal
-Flag-it Post-it Notes that you can use to highlight and mark-up your manuscript as you revise
-A Laini's Ladies (the Muse of Writing one, of course!)
-A "Rolla" style notebook--it's like a binder and notebook in one, with the ablity to add, remove, and move around pages. I thought this would be perfect for organizing editing notes, or to take to a conference
-A sekkrit surprise
-A book-shaped locket. One of the themes in my novel, Across the Universe, is that of leaving home and standing on your own two feet (hence the original title that some of you probably remember: Long Way Home). The locket is shaped like a book with a bird's nest stamped on the front, and a bird flies away from the chain. This was custom made for me by The Enchanted Locket on etsy, and you and I will be the only two people with the original design!

DAUNTING!

2010-03-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

I just opened a fresh new document and typed:

"FANTASTIC FIRST LINE."

*smacks forehead*

Yep, I'm taking a big, ol' breath and starting a new story. I took a short break, but now I'm standing here feeling thissmall looking up at this unknown, 60,ooo-word mountain. I've either gotta start climbing, find another mountain, or go home.

*gulp*

Free books make my heart pit-pat

2010-03-11T13:29:00.001-08:00

Elana Johnson (of the awesome QueryTracker blog) is having a fantabulous giveaway.

You can win a SIGNED copy of:

THE NAUGHTY LIST by Suzanne Young

BLEEDING VIOLET by Dia Reeves

PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS by Michelle Zink

HUSH HUSH by Becca Ritzpatrick

GONE by Lisa McMann

CAPTIVATE by Carie Jones

THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer R. Hubbard

*swoon*

Details on her blog.

Want to win a humongous crit by an agent instead? The SHOOTING STARS are also having a contest. Go here to learn more.

Both contests end March 14th!