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This is a wonderful recipe my family enjoys with breakfast or as a snack. Not only are
the muffins nutritious, but they’re also easy to prepare, taste great, and freeze beautifully. I hope you enjoy these oven gems as much as we do. 

Preheat
oven to 350° F.

Mix eggs
with sugar, then add all ingrediencies through baking powder.

Stir in almond
flour. The mixture is supposed to be a consistency of sour cream. Add chocolate
chips and nuts if you choose to use them.

Prepare a
cookie sheet with lightly oiled baking cups. Spoon mixture into cups.

Bake 30-40
minutes, depending on your oven. Muffins are ready when a toothpick inserted in
the center comes out clean. You can also use this recipe in a loaf pan to make
Banana Coconut Bread. Bake at the same temperature for approximately 55 – 60
minutes. Either way, cool completely then enjoy.

Here’s a little to intrigue you on Stella May’s latest time travel romance.

After
months of working like a woman possessed, Nika Morris kept her promise. Coleman
House is finished. It’s gorgeous. Spectacular. Brilliant.

It’s
breaking her heart.

Because
once the new owners move in, she’ll be cut off from the time portal to 1909, where
she met and fell in love with Eli Coleman. Now stranded in her own time, she’s
waited months for the key to reappear in its hiding place. Only it hasn’t. Which
means Eli must have believed the terrible things she was accused of.

Back
in 1909, Eli is stunned at his best friend’s deathbed confession of a shocking
betrayal. Nika—his Daisy, his time-traveling wonder—was innocent. Once he finds
the key, he wastes no time stepping through the portal, determined to make
things right.

But
the moment Eli stumbles into her shiny, noisy, confusing future, he
realizes reconciliation won’t be simple. There is more than one emotional
bridge to rebuild before he and Nika can return to the time their love was
born—and live their destiny out to the fullest.

Amazon Buy Link

Talented author Stella May is the penname for Marina Sardarova who has a fascinating history you should read on her website. 

Statistics I found on the internet suggest that on the average people pick up their cell phones about 58 times in a single day. The top 20 percent of users spend more than 4.5 hours on their phone just on a weekday.  Although many of those pick-up times might only be, at a minimum, only a couple of minutes to check email or delete scam calls or texts, they add up.

I don’t know how many times  a day I pick up my smartphone, but if I’m being honest, I’d say I look at it a lot. Whenever an unknown-caller rings me, I pick up the phone after it stops plinking and delete the number so I don’t accidently hit redial the next time I remove the phone from my pocket. I do the same with spammy texts and emails. I check and answer my email several times a day. I text my daughter and best friend several times a day, and answer when people I know call me. I go the “Fount of all knowledge”, aka the internet, anytime hubby and I have a conversation and I wonder about a word, or have a question, or when I’m writing something and I need to answer a research question.  Sometimes I peruse Pinterest while watching television. Most of the time I keep the phone in my pocket, a habit I got into when I was home alone and wanted to have the phone close by because I’m a klutz  who falls a lot. The phone on my hip or in my pocket was my “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” security blanket. The one thing I don’t do, however, is look at it during a dinner conversation lull while eating with friends or family ocasions. I also spend as little time as possible on social media and that’s all related to my job as an author.

Hubby and I are just back from a lake retreat where we were unplugged from social media. Our mornings at home at the breakfast table often include our cellphones while we check our emails, blogs, and social media stuff before we begin the rest of our day.  

While we can look out at our hillside garden and hear muffled bird calls as they land on the porch railings and trees outside, we are essentially cut off from nature’s sounds and sensations. Here’s the view at our house from the breakfast nook.

The garden view from the breakfast nook

Our long, lingering breakfast on the screened porch at the lake looked like this.

Breakfast at the lake

Trilling bird songs entertained us all day long, the breeze blowing through the screens ruffled our hair, kissed our cheeks and cooled us as the sun crept into the porch, and the lapping of the water against the docks soothed our souls. I wish my blog had the ability to show videos, because I recorded at least 2 minutes of birdsong to play when I came home. I loved listening to the birds!

Our phones may have been sitting beside us, but the scene in front of us and the songs of the birds overwhelmed any urge to bury our heads in the tyranny of social media. Instead, we sat back and only used the phone to record the birdsong and photograph the beautiful, serene lake in front of us. The only screens we spent time on at the lake were our computer screens as we were working on our WIPs. The uninterrupted time was fruitful, too, as plot problems were ironed out and manuscripts reworked.  

My peaceful time on the lake porch reminded me of my youth when I’d take an armload of library books onto the front porch of my home and read all day long while the breeze rustled the leaves of the trees shading my summer reading nook. Back then, there was no internet, no computers, and no cell phones. If you wanted to communicate with someone you visited them or called on the landline telephone. If you lived too far away to visit or call without incurring long-distance phone charges, you sat down and wrote a letter. We did have a landline, but we didn’t even have an extension phone, just a long cord on our only phone. I would drag the phone into another room so my parents and sisters couldn’t hear my conversations. There wasn’t even call waiting, so Mom would often yell, “It’s time to hang up! You’ve been on that call too long now! Someone might be trying to call us.”

Yep, our six days at the lake were a bit of heaven for more than one reason.

Then we came home.

I have a mountain of emails on my smart phone. Honestly, I’m dreading slogging through the list. However, I will dig into the emails and do what must be done.

But I have to tell you, I can’t wait to unplug again!

What about you? Have you unplugged recently? Do you want to do it again?

Multi-award winning author Catherine Castle loves writing. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. She also lays claim to over 300 internet articles written on a variety of subjects and several hundred poems. In addition to writing she loves reading, traveling, singing, theatre, quilting and gardening. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her award-winning Soul Mate books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Follow her on Twitter @AuthorCCastle, FB or her blog.

Check out Catherine’s romantic comedy A Groom for Mama available on Amazon and  Barnes and Noble in Ebook or Print.

What readers are saying about the book:

Four stars Dec 03, 2017 Cyrene Olson rated it really liked it

Uncaged Review: Allison’s mother is very ill but in order for her to try out more tests, to find a cure – Allison must find a husband. As fate would have it her ex-boyfriend Jack runs an online dating service, but finding a groom won’t be that easy as Allison first thought.

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

I’ve invited my long-time author friend, Emma Lane, who writes cozy mysteries as Janis Lane, to literally break bread with me in my virtual kitchen today. Since we’re heading for warmer weather up here in the northern hemisphere, we thought we’d make time for brunch with three of Emma’s tasty breakfast recipes. Perfect for camping, snacking at the cottage, or enjoying on the patio with a coffee or tea, these recipes are sure to add to your weekend brunch menu. So, I’m handing off the mixer and apron over to my guest of honor, while I go preheat the oven. Take it away, Emma…

Banana Bread

With or without
nuts, who doesn’t love Banana Bread? I have cut the amount of sugar with
successful results. It’s a matter of choice.                       

Preheat oven to 325°
F.

Sift flour with soda
and salt, add nuts then set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add bananas and
eggs. Stir in flour blend. Pour batter into a loaf pan. Bake for 25 to 30
minutes. Serve warm with a pat of cream cheese. 

Dill Muffins

My hubby loves this
one and he slathers it with strawberry jam. I’m not so sanguine regarding the
mixture of dill and strawberries, but perhaps your man of the house will like
it too.

Preheat oven to 425°
F. 

Lightly grease
bottom of muffin cups. Mix all ingredients and drop into muffin cups halfway.  Cook for 12 to 14 minutes. Serve with
butter.  

Zucchini Bread   

A friend’s mother
shared this unusual recipe for the ever-popular quick bread. I think you’ll
love it too.

 Preheat oven to 350°
F. 

Mix all ingredients
together in a large bowl. Pour batter into greased and floured loaf pans. Bake
one hour. Makes enough for guests. So moist!

While your breads are baking, I invite you to take a peek at one of my cozy mysteries under my pseudo name Janis Lane. I hope you like it. 

A blizzard blows in big-city crimes which spill
into the peaceful small town of Hubbard, New York, catching the attention of
Detective Kevin Fowler and staff. What unusual acts engage the Secret Service
with the local cops? A young man is found badly beaten in the heated greenhouse
of the Young Family Plant Nursery. Early spring melt reveals a sinister vehicle
with a deadly cargo, even as the master of the greenhouse welcomes part-time
alumni.

Romance swirls, tumbles, and produces surprising
changes among the group of friends at Buddy and Rita’s diner. Beverly hires a
young, ambitious reporter to work at the growing newspaper and starts a new
adventure of her own, while Kevin watches over the townspeople of Hubbard. The
mystery of a toxic skunk is finally routed by troublesome out-of-towners. An
unexpected wedding shocks everyone but the Young Family. Spring has arrived and
May is in full bloom in the Western New York small-town Americana, as another
beautiful bride walks toward the flower-laded bower under the approving eyes of
a group of fond friends.

AMAZON BUY LINK

Emma Lane is a gifted author who writes cozy mysteries as Janis Lane, Regency as Emma, and spice as Sunny Lane. 

She lives in Western New York where winter is snowy, spring arrives with rave reviews, summer days are long and velvet, and fall leaves are riotous in color. At long last she enjoys the perfect bow window for her desk where she is treated to a year-round panoramic view of nature. Her computer opens up a fourth fascinating window to the world. Her patient husband is always available to help with a plot twist and encourage Emma to never quit. Her day job is working with flowers at Herbtique and Plant Nursery, the nursery she and her son own. 

Look for information about writing and plants on Emma’s new website. Leave a comment or a gardening question and put a smile on Emma’s face.

Stay connected to Emma on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to check out the things that make Emma smile on Pinterest.

The acclaimed time travel series, Upon a Time from Stella May, goes full circle with Book Four releasing May 31, 2023! Here is a peek of what’s coming soon.

Stella May is the penname for Marina Sardarova who has a fascinating history you should read on her website.

Stella writes fantasy romance as well as time travel romance. She is the author of ‘Till Time Do Us Part, Book 1 in her Upon a Time series, and the stand-alone book Rhapsody in Dreams. Love and family are two cornerstones of her stories and life. Stella’s books are available in e-book and paperback through all major vendors. 

The Journey of Writing BooksI happened to walk by the television during the announcement of
the Best Supporting Actress category for the 2023 Academy Awards as my hubby
had just serendipitously switched it on. I paused, wondering who would win, and
when Jamie Lee Curtis’s name was announced, I smiled knowing she’d earned her
acting chops throughout years of peaks and valleys slogging it through the
entertainment industry. Then, I listened to her speech, and something deep
inside of me resonated with her. She rattled off a list of names having to do
with the award-winning movie, raised the golden statue, and yelled, “We won an
Oscar!”, then she mentioned her family, and repeated, “We won an Oscar!”. This
speech continued on with colleagues and fans of her movie genres until the
actress finished off with her parents, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, both
accomplished actors in their own right, and shouted, “We won an Oscar!”

Then it hit me. What Jamie Lee Curtis said would apply to anyone
who worked hard, and put in the time and effort to accomplish a huge dream or
goal. Being in the Olympics. Making a professional sports team. Getting your
paintings or photographs in a gallery. Writing and publishing a book. You saw
where I was going with this, didn’t you?

What Ms. Curtis said rings true for me. It takes thousands of
people to help you reap your reward…or in this case award. I’m not sure how
many people (over a thousand for sure) who have helped me along in my writing
career. From conception in 1995 to publication in 2012, and then again in 2015,
it truly took a global village to help me make my dream of becoming a published
author come true. Of course, I have more dreams in my back pocket. Completing
both my young adult book series, starting another book series, reaching readers
globally, and seeing my books translate into movies or a television series are
but a sampling. Some of these goals will take years to accomplish through
dog-eared determination, and others will rely on connecting to the right people
at the right time. One never knows how fate will intervene, but it helps to be
prepared and ready when that door swings open. I know what I’ll say too. “We
wrote a book!” I’ll shout humbly, knowing that I was never alone in the midst
of writing any of my books. Ever.

If you never got a chance to hear Jamie Lee Curtis’s speech, you
can listen to it below. I promise, it’s short, but very powerful:

 If you’re a reader, did you
realize how many people are involved in helping an author become published? If
you’re an author, have you ever thought about how much support you’ve received
over the years of your writing career? Would love to read your comments. Cheers
and thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate you! 

The month of May ushers in the start of the long weekend season for Canadians and Americans. Ah, warmer weather and longer days await! First up is Victoria Day weekend, followed by Memorial Day weekend. These two back-to-back holiday weekends may celebrate differently, but you can be sure ice cream is on the menu at some point over these holidays. So, I’ve virtually flown in my author friend Helen Carpenter up from Florida to whip up a little something sweet and cool to enjoy with family and friends. The best part? This recipe is no bake. That’s another reason to celebrate! The kitchen is all yours, Helen…

If you like to have dessert on hand for those daily ice cream craving family members or guests, this cake keeps well in the freezer. It’s expandable, too. Just use a bigger pan, more ice cream and extra whipped topping. When it comes to ice cream, more is better, right?

No Bake Ice Cream Sandwich Cake