Welcome to Recipe for Romance!
Each weekend, I share a snippet of a tale and a recipe that either goes with the tale or goes with the month.
Let’s get started. I’m sharing a snippet of my upcoming new release, going back to my roots. Did you know I started out as a fantasy author? So, THE DREADSTONE KING is a fantasy ghost story, and a Beauty & the Beast retelling. It comes out April 14 2025. Meet Sir Allira Maplestaff, and she doesn’t want to be at the Dreadstone Tombs.
Coming April 14 2023: The Dreadstone King
She glanced at the others, taking a breath to tell them it wasn’t a good idea. But after the last two weeks of traveling with the group of alternately belligerent and misogynistic knights who’d been chosen for this year’s Festival of the Relic, she’d learned her voice meant little. They were each bound and determined to be the one guy who finally found the treasure and claimed the Relic.
Which would be much easier if they even knew what they were looking for.
Nobody did. In fact, in the last three decades of the Festival’s run, no one had ever even glimpsed the storied Dreadstone King’s Relic, the magical artifact that was supposed to grant the finder something fantastic.
Unfortunately, no one knew what that was, either.
Allira finishing tying off the hitching line and checked that each horse was loosely tied to it as the men finished their gear check. She made her way between the horses, loosening girths and making sure nothing dangled off the tack should the men need a quick getaway.
There was rumored to be something horrible in the Dreadstone Tombs, but no one had returned to tell anyone what it was.
Yeah, there’s a whole lot we don’t know about this whole fiasco.
And yet, year after year, men came to Capstone Creek, the nearest settlement to the Dreadstone Tombs at 300 kilometers, and signed up to be one of the lucky 13 Heroes. They were seduced by the legend of gold and riches, and were determined that this year they would find the Relic, and win the hand of the princess.
Or one of them would, since there were thirteen of them in all.
Including me.
Except she wasn’t going into the Tombs. She had no interest in the treasure, the Relic, or the hand of the princess.
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Carrot Cake, a perennial favorite for a lot of people, isn’t my favorite, but I decided to give it a try. It turned out great and something I’d make for folks who love it anytime, while I snack on my zucchini bread, lol. But if you love carrot cake, this is a good recipe to follow.
INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE
3 cups gluten free 1:1 baking flour (we used Bob’s Red Mill)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups grated carrots
8 oz crushed pineapple with liquid
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts
DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350 F (177 C). In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well combined. Add half the dry ingredients and mix well.
Beat in the carrots, pineapple, and nuts. Add the vanilla and the rest of the dry ingredients until well combined.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat each time until well blended.
Spoon the batter into a greased 9×13 inch pan and spread out to all corners using a spatula.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.
INGREDIENTS FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
8 oz of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup of butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
DIRECTIONS
Melt the butter and blend in cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon juice. Mix until smooth.
Add the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until you reach the desired sweetness and consistency. Spread over the cooled cake and serve.
