Hi. Are you okay?
Please reach out if you want to talk, about anything. It's been a tough few weeks for all of us, and for the first week or so, I turned my focus inward, seeking a better headspace and a way to cope with not being able to be with my children (who live in different cities now). Isolation has been a real change, one that has had unexpected upsides like having my husband working from home and adjusting our work routines to accommodate each other. I've been baking a lot more, and I eventually found a way forward through this time of isolation through my writing. I've included the recipes for Anzac biscuits (you can make them soft and chewy, or firm and crunchy!) and a new recipe for banana bread given to me by a writer friend who has also taken to baking up a storm! Comfort food!
Book news:
'Home from the Hill' released four weeks ago, and my boxset of 'Hearts of the Outback' - six novels, the complete series - two weeks ago.
** 'Be Mine', the Valentine novella collection with eleven authors, will disappear forever after 30 April. If you haven't downloaded it yet, you'll have to be quick to grab your copy.
Coming soon:
'Romancing the Summer' - a collection of summer novellas, coming 4 July. Preorder details soon. If you love dogs, I've written a story about an animal shelter operator called 'Second Chance Cafe'.
I've finished the first draft of my first ever Regency novella and loving the change and the challenge of writing in a different genre. More on 'Four Calling Birds' later this year. It will be in a Christmas collection.
And I'm in the planning stages of book 5 in my 'Home to Lark Creek' series, and a sequel to 'High Stakes', a romantic suspense set in Nepal.
Please stay safe, and reach out if you need to talk. And let me know how you go if you bake the bikkies or bread!
Cheers,
Susanne xx
BANANA BREAD
1 ¾ cups wholemeal flour
1 ½ teasps. Baking powder
¼ teasp. Baking soda
¼ teasp. Salt
½ cup caster sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
¼ cup lite milk
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line 22cm loaf pan with baking paper
2. Sift flour, powder, soda and salt into large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar and walnuts.
3. Add beaten eggs. Stir in banana and milk.
4. Pour batter into loaf tin. Sprinkle over remaining walnuts. Cook for 45-50 minutes. Leave in tin to cool for about 10 mins before turning out.
ANZAC BISCUITS
(A traditional Australian biscuit complete with rolled oats, coconut and golden syrup)
Ingredients
Method
1. Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the sugar, rolled oats and coconut.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add golden syrup and water.
3. Stir the bicarbonate of soda into the liquid mixture.
4. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. Place walnut-sized balls of mixture on a greased tray and bake at 175C for 15-20 minutes.
Please reach out if you want to talk, about anything. It's been a tough few weeks for all of us, and for the first week or so, I turned my focus inward, seeking a better headspace and a way to cope with not being able to be with my children (who live in different cities now). Isolation has been a real change, one that has had unexpected upsides like having my husband working from home and adjusting our work routines to accommodate each other. I've been baking a lot more, and I eventually found a way forward through this time of isolation through my writing. I've included the recipes for Anzac biscuits (you can make them soft and chewy, or firm and crunchy!) and a new recipe for banana bread given to me by a writer friend who has also taken to baking up a storm! Comfort food!
Book news:
'Home from the Hill' released four weeks ago, and my boxset of 'Hearts of the Outback' - six novels, the complete series - two weeks ago.
** 'Be Mine', the Valentine novella collection with eleven authors, will disappear forever after 30 April. If you haven't downloaded it yet, you'll have to be quick to grab your copy.
Coming soon:
'Romancing the Summer' - a collection of summer novellas, coming 4 July. Preorder details soon. If you love dogs, I've written a story about an animal shelter operator called 'Second Chance Cafe'.
I've finished the first draft of my first ever Regency novella and loving the change and the challenge of writing in a different genre. More on 'Four Calling Birds' later this year. It will be in a Christmas collection.
And I'm in the planning stages of book 5 in my 'Home to Lark Creek' series, and a sequel to 'High Stakes', a romantic suspense set in Nepal.
Please stay safe, and reach out if you need to talk. And let me know how you go if you bake the bikkies or bread!
Cheers,
Susanne xx
BANANA BREAD
1 ¾ cups wholemeal flour
1 ½ teasps. Baking powder
¼ teasp. Baking soda
¼ teasp. Salt
½ cup caster sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
¼ cup lite milk
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line 22cm loaf pan with baking paper
2. Sift flour, powder, soda and salt into large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar and walnuts.
3. Add beaten eggs. Stir in banana and milk.
4. Pour batter into loaf tin. Sprinkle over remaining walnuts. Cook for 45-50 minutes. Leave in tin to cool for about 10 mins before turning out.
ANZAC BISCUITS
(A traditional Australian biscuit complete with rolled oats, coconut and golden syrup)
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup brown sugar (can use raw, caster, or white)
- 1/2 cup coconut
- 125g unsalted butter
- 2 tbs golden syrup
- 1 tbs water
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Method
1. Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the sugar, rolled oats and coconut.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add golden syrup and water.
3. Stir the bicarbonate of soda into the liquid mixture.
4. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. Place walnut-sized balls of mixture on a greased tray and bake at 175C for 15-20 minutes.
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