Tag Archives: bloggingfundamentals

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

05 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by in Food

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Sunday Fun Day!

Today I thought I’d share one of my favorite quick and light recipes that just happens to contain one of my favorite ingredients – avocado. Healthy, versatile and good for you. I use sliced avocado in my wraps daily that I bring to work for lunch. And please, don’t get me started on guacamole!

The salad itself consists of three ingredients: shrimp, avocado and red onion. Add the delicious and simple dressing I include below and you’ve got a tasty and healthful salad.

Light doesn’t have to mean bland. I promise you’ll love this one. Give it a try.

Enjoy! Until next time . . . just love, Collette

shrimp-avocado-salad

Recipe:

  • 1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (I saute mine in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil and Tony Chachere’s seasoning. Boiled or steamed shrimp can be used, if you prefer.)
  • 1 avocado, cut into bite-size chunks
  • 1 tablespoon diced red onion
  • Dressing:
    • 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
    • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon parsley, chopped
    • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    • Tony Chachere’s seasoning or salt and pepper to taste
  • Once you’ve cooked the shrimp, toss with the avocado and red onion in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing then add to the shrimp mixture. Toss together and enjoy!

Write. Rewrite. Repeat.

02 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by in Writing

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Hi Lovelies! Hope that wherever you are, you’re enjoying your writing.

I thought it was time to give you all an agent update. No, I don’t have news to share, just a tally of my querying so far.

  • 11 agents queried
  • 1 partial request (ultimately a rejection)
  • 3 rejections
  • 8 no response

And so it goes. I’ll keep plugging away while starting on something new. Onward and upward.

My current WIP is a YA Paranormal. It’s quite different from my previous story, which is a MG Fantasy, but I’m enjoying it. YA is my preferred age range to write in; fantasy and magical realism are my preferred genres.

In my last post I talked about outlining. It’s a structure I’m learning my way around, but I can see the benefits. Having a guideline with the different plot points along the way is proving to be more useful than I expected. It’s like having small goals to work toward with each chapter – each scene – and baby steps tend to work well with me. Who knew?

Now, I’m not saying I’ve completely abandoned letting the writing muse take me wherever she wishes, but I think giving her a hint of what I want to accomplish is not such a bad idea. And I also find having a map for my story helps with writers block, something I’ve experienced more than once and know that no writer likes.

With that thought in mind and being new to blogging, I’ve been checking out other bloggers and their posts and found several I like. I’ve included a link from one blogger I recently discovered with her post about how to handle writers block. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

May your words and ideas flow freely! Until next time . . . just love, Collette

Dark Chocolate Bark

27 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by in Food

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Happy Friday everyone!

Today I thought I’d satisfy my chocolate craving with a super easy dark chocolate bark recipe.

As with most recipes, I encourage you to play with it and make it your own. Add dried fruit, peppermint candy pieces, sprinkle with cinnamon – whatever!

I prefer the basic bark with nuts. In this batch I used almonds, but I’ve also made it with pecans.

Recipe and pic follow.

Enjoy! Until next time . . . just love, Collette

img_3446

Recipe:

  • 1 pound dark chocolate (60-70% cacao)
  • 1 and 1/2 cups roasted whole almonds
  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a knife, finely chop the chocolate. In a bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water, heat the chopped chocolate, stirring occasionally, until it is almost melted. Do not let the bowl touch the water. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and stir the chocolate until it is completely melted and the temperature registers 90 degrees on a candy thermometer. If the chocolate has not melted completely and is still too cool, set it over the saucepan for 1-2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Do not overheat.
  2. Stir the almonds into the chocolate and spread onto the prepared baking sheet in a 1/2 inch thick layer, making sure the nuts are completely covered in chocolate. Refrigerate the bark for about 10 minutes, until hardened. It can refrigerate longer if necessary. Invert the bark onto a work surface. Remove the parchment paper, break into pieces and store or serve. *The broken bark can be stored in an airtight bag or container at cool room temperature for up to 10 days.*