Tasty Tuesdays–Pumpkin Bundt Cake from Amanda Cabot

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Amanda Cabot, clean romance, Dessert, Dreams Rekindled-Historical Christian Romance, food blog, low-fat cake, Pumpkin Bundt Cake, recipe, Sweet romance, Tasty Tuesdays

Once upon a time, many long years ago, I found a Kellogg’s recipe called Choco-Dot Pumpkin Cake which soon became a family favorite. As the years passed and I adopted a lower fat diet, I stopped making it. This past Thanksgiving, I remembered how much we’d enjoyed the original recipe and wondered if I could tweak it to make it a bit healthier. I reduced the sugar, substituted applesauce for oil, eliminated the chocolate chips, and substituted GrapeNuts for the walnuts. Here’s the result, which we found to be absolutely delicious.

Please note that, as is the case with most lower fat baked goods, it’s important to do all mixing by hand.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour large Bundt pan. (I use a floured spray like Pam or Baker’s Joy.)

Beat well:      

4 eggs

Add and mix well:

2 cups canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling

1 ½ cups sugar

Stir in:

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup Kellog’s All-Bran

1 cup Grapenuts

Mix and fold in:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp allspice

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

¼ tsp ginger

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack to complete the cooling.

Enjoy!

While you’re waiting for the cake to bake, check out Amanda’s Historical Christian Romance Dreams Rekindled.

Available at Amazon  Barnes & Noble  Christian Book Distributors

Dreams Rekindled

By Amanda Cabot

He’s bound and determined to find peace . . . but she’s about to stir things up.

Dorothy Clark dreams of writing something that will challenge people as much as Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin seems to have. But in 1850s Mesquite Springs, there are few opportunities for writers—until newspaperman Brandon Holloway arrives, that is.

Brandon Holloway has seen firsthand the disastrous effects of challenging others. He has no intention of repeating that mistake. Instead of following his dreams, he’s committed to making a new—and completely uncontroversial—start in the Hill Country.

As Dorothy’s involvement in the fledgling newspaper grows from convenient to essential, the same change seems to be happening in Brandon’s heart. But before romance can bloom, Dorothy and Brandon must work together to discover who’s determined to divide the town and destroy Brandon’s livelihood.

About the Author:

Amanda Cabot’s dream of selling a book before her thirtieth birthday came true, and she’s now the author of more than thirty-five novels as well as eight novellas, four non-fiction books, and what she describes as enough technical articles to cure insomnia in a medium-sized city. Her inspirational romances have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists, have garnered a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and have been nominated for the ACFW Carol, the HOLT Medallion, and the Booksellers Best awards. A popular workshop presenter, Amanda takes pleasure in helping other writers achieve their dreams of publication.

Connect with Amanda on  her Website: Facebook: Twitter @AmandaJoyCabot: and her Blog

Wednesday Writers–A Borrowed Dream by Amanda Cabot

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A Borrowwed Dream, Amanda Cabot, Catherine Castle's Wednesday Writers blog series, historical romance, Inspirational romance, Sweet romance, The Cimarron Creek trilogy

 

 

Today’s Wednesday Writers’ guest is bestselling author Amanda Cabot. Amanda will be talking about her book A Borrowed Dream, the second book in her Cimarron Creek historical trilogy. Welcome, Amanda.

 

The Promise of Spring

 

The first full day of spring – what a perfect day to talk about A Borrowed Dream. Though the story stretches over a longer period than one season (it begins in January 1881 and ends in July of that year), perhaps more than any book I’ve written, it embodies all that I love about spring.

Those of you who’ve read my interviews over the years know that when someone asks about favorite seasons, I answer without hesitation: spring. For me, spring is a season of rebirth, reawakening, and – most of all – hope. And, oh, do Austin and Catherine need hope! Though she’s found unexpected satisfaction in her position as Cimarron Creek’s schoolteacher, Catherine’s personal life is dismal. Her mother’s death at the hands of the town’s incompetent doctor has left her with a deep-seated distrust of all physicians, and the fact that the man she’d once expected to marry was so easily infatuated by another woman has caused her to believe that she’s not destined for marriage.

Austin has only one hope – that he can keep his daughter safe from a truly despicable man. That’s why he fled Philadelphia, put aside his rewarding career as a surgeon, and established himself as Cimarron Creek’s newest rancher. While his brain tells him that his daughter needs a mother, his heart won’t let him make the same mistake he did the first time. No, sirree, marriage is not for him.

But as spring comes to the Texas Hill Country and the bluebonnets carpet the countryside, both Austin and Catherine experience a reawakening. And when a woman with a mysterious past comes to town, their lives are changed in ways neither one of them could have imagined.

I really enjoyed writing this book, although I’ll admit that some of the scenes wrenched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. But even as I was putting those difficult scenes on paper, I kept reminding myself that hope would triumph, that hearts would reawaken, and that Austin and Catherine would find their happily-ever-after. That’s the promise of spring.

Now I’d like to hear from you. What’s your favorite season and why? When you’re choosing a book, does the season when it takes place affect your choices? Why or why not? Lastly, have I intrigued you with Catherine and Austin’s story? I hope so!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

A Borrowed Dream

by Amanda Cabot

There is no such thing as an impossible dream . . .

Catherine Whitfield is sure that she will never again be able to trust anyone in the medical profession after the local doctor’s treatments killed her mother. Despite her loneliness and her broken heart, she carries bravely on as Cimarron Creek’s dutiful schoolteacher, resigned to a life where dreams rarely come true.

Austin Goddard is a newcomer to Cimarron Creek. Posing as a rancher, he fled to Texas to protect his daughter from a dangerous criminal. He’s managed to keep his past as a surgeon a secret. But when Catherine Whitfield captures his heart, he wonders how long he will be able to keep up the charade.

With a deft hand, Amanda Cabot teases out the strands of love, deception, and redemption in this charming tale of dreams deferred and hopes becoming reality.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

About the Author:

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels including the Texas Dreams trilogy, the Westward Winds series, the Texas Crossroads trilogy, A Stolen Heart, and Christmas Roses. A former director of Information Technology, she has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages. Amanda is delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian romances, living happily ever after with her husband in Wyoming.

 

Social Media Links

http://www.amandacabot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/amanda.j.cabot

https://twitter.com/AmandaJoyCabot/

http://amandajoycabot.blogspot.com/

 

Buying Links

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Christian Book Distributors

 

Amanda Cabot talks about A Stolen Heart on Wednesday Writers

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A Stolen Heart, Amanda Cabot, BEst selling Author Amanda Cabot, book excerpt of A Stolen Heart, Catherine Castle's Wednesday Writers blog series, Christian romance, historical romance, Secrets, TExas Hill Country book settings, The Cimarron Creek trilogy

 

Today on Wednesday Writers I have best-selling author Amanda Cabot who will be sharing an excerpt from her Historical romance A Stolen Heart where a young woman’s plans for the future are shattered by the revelation that her fiancé has married another. Sounds like there’s some conflict there, Amanda, and maybe a secret or two. What other secrets and questions do the characters in A Stolen Heart face?

Secrets. We all have them. Some are small; others are big. What they have in common is that we don’t want anyone – and I mean anyone – to know them. When I started plotting the Cimarron Creek trilogy, I knew there would be one large secret that spans the three books, but I also knew there would be a number of smaller ones, because we all have secrets, and when they’re revealed, there are often unexpected consequences. Since this is a new series set in a new town in the Texas Hill Country, my first challenge was to develop that town. Once I understood its history and saw the dynamics between its founding families, I started asking myself what would bring outsiders to Cimarron Creek and why they might stay, even when they weren’t offered a normal Texas welcome. The answers surprised me. They also resulted in a new set of questions.

• What would you do if you traveled more than a thousand miles only to learn that the man you loved married someone else?
• How would you make a living in a town that has no need for your training?
• What would you do if you found yourself in a town where you were distrusted, simply because of where you were born?
• Who would you trust? The sheriff whose father is sure you’re an enemy? The other men who are eager to court you? The town’s schoolteacher who has good reasons to dislike you? The older woman who seems to have a dark secret in her life?

Those are some of the questions Lydia, the heroine of A Stolen Heart, has to answer. Some answers come easily, others don’t, but they all lead Lydia into the greatest adventure of her life, an adventure that just might end with love.

 

 

A Stolen Heart

By Amanda Cabot

From afar, Cimarron Creek seems like an idyllic town tucked in the Texas Hill Country. But when former schoolteacher Lydia Crawford steps onto its dusty streets in 1880, she finds a town with a deep-seated resentment of Northerners—like her. Lydia won’t let that get her down, though. All will be well when she’s reunited with her fiancé.

But when she discovers he has disappeared—and that he left behind a pregnant wife—Lydia is at a loss about what to do next. The handsome sheriff urges her to trust him, but can she trust anyone in this town where secrets are as prevalent as bluebonnets in spring?

 

Excerpt

Lydia took a deep breath then exhaled slowly, all in a desperate attempt not to faint. She had never fainted, not even when Hortense, her closest friend at the academy, had laced her corset too tightly. Unfortunately, tight corsets were nothing compared to this.

Edgar was married!

She’d survived the long journey; she’d endured the many snubs; she’d even managed to keep her composure when she learned Edgar was gone; but she’d come unraveled when the sheriff had mentioned Edgar’s wife.

Lydia felt the blood drain from her face, and black spots danced in front of her eyes. It couldn’t be true. The sheriff must be mistaken. But if he wasn’t . . . Lydia’s legs grew weak and her spine threatened to crumble. Stop it! she told herself. You’re not going to faint. But her body refused to obey, and before she knew what was happening, the sheriff had put his arm around her.

She should object. After all, it wasn’t proper for a strange man to be touching her. Even though she and Edgar had been betrothed, he had never been so bold in public. Lydia opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. She couldn’t object when the sheer strength of the sheriff’s arm was doing more to calm her nerves than her careful breathing.

Edgar was married!

She took another breath, exhaling slowly as she tried to make sense of a world that had suddenly gone topsy-turvy. Though the sheriff’s words had lodged inside her, Lydia refused to believe them. Edgar couldn’t be married. He simply could not. She hadn’t given up her comfortable life and traveled all this way to meet a man who’d found himself another wife.

 

Want to read more? You can find Amanda’s book A Stolen Heart at:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Christian Book Distributors

 

 

About the Author:

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels including the Texas Dreams trilogy, the Westward Winds series, the Texas Crossroad trilogy, and Christmas Roses. A former director of Information Technology, she has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages. Amanda is delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian romances, living happily ever after with her husband in Wyoming.

Social Media Links:

www.amandacabot.com

https://www.facebook.com/amanda.j.cabot

https://twitter.com/AmandaJoyCabot/

http://amandajoycabot.blogspot.com/