Recipe: Pat Dale's Date Pudding to Die For

Big Monday morning welcome to Author Pat Dale. Pat advises readers--"If you try this recipe, be prepared for a big tummy ache if you overeat it. I chose this recipe because, don’t you know, misery loves company. LOL" Please leave a comment to be eligible to win Pat's psychological suspense paperback book, Crossed Lines.

GOOD EATS RECIPE:

Date Pudding to Die For 
                                                                                            

1 cup Dromedary dates, chopped                                                   3/4cup walnuts (or pecans), chopped
 2/3 cup brown sugar

 2   eggs

 ½ t  vanilla extract

 ½ cup  flour

 1 t   baking powder (heaping)
1 T   butter

 Pinch of salt

Beat eggs and vanilla, add dates, nuts, and brown sugar. Mix well.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into mixture.

Spread into a greased 9X9 glass pan and dot with butter.

Bake @ 325 degrees for 30 min., or when a knife inserted into middle comes out clean.

Serve warm with freshly whipped cream. Warning, portions should be small. This scrumptious dessert will leave you wanting more, but resist temptation.

Recommended serving size: two inch squares. Not recommended: licking the bowl clean. LOL

GREAT READ:

SLEEPING WITH HER ENEMY, a mid-life romantic suspense novel by Pat Dale.

You’re a woman approaching the big four-oh and you’re all alone. Again. You’d lost your fighter pilot husband to a stupid accident, but you sucked it up and took your young son to a new life in Colorado. Then he’s killed by a hit and run driver and your life turns maudlin. You’re a nurse with a good job in a hospital children’s ward, but your life has lost its meaning. How do you go on? Why do you go on?

Then you meet a man who’d lost his wife to cancer. His daughter is almost the age your son would have been. He likes you and she likes you. You bond and suddenly the world takes on a new glimmer. Your heart beats strong with hope for a better future.

Of course, that’s before you discover that this man may have been the very one who ran over your son. Have you been sleeping with your enemy?

 Excerpt:

The girl was sitting up, propped by pillows when they stepped into the room. “Hi, Daddy.” She gave him a big smile before turning her eyes questioningly at Ana.

He said, “Hi, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”

“Better. I got pretty sick today but I’m okay now.”

“That’s good, honey. Do you remember Ana?”

She smiled. “Yes, Daddy. It’s my tummy that’s sick, not my head.”

Ana got the embarrassed daddy off the hook, saying, “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Sherry. Did you miss us?”

“I think I was too dizzy to miss much of anything.”

Dan said, “I went over to Ana’s for coffee while they helped you. She has a puppy you’ve got to see.”

“A puppy?” She turned quizzical eyes on Ana. “You have a dog?”

“I do. Her name is Molly and she’s a German Shorthair.”

“Do they get big?”

“Not too big. She weighs about twenty pounds right now but they said she’ll be about forty to fifty full-grown. And she’s really smart, too.”

“Wow. Wish I had a dog, smart or dumb.” Her eyes fixed accusingly on her father. “But I guess we can’t have pets in our house.”

“Oh, yes we can,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about it, sweetheart, and there’s no reason you can’t have a puppy if you want one.”

That brought her to life. Eyes bright and shining, she asked, “Really?”

“Really. I like dogs too, honey. And we’re going to be making some changes at home. I think we need that.”

Sherry turned serious. “Daddy, will I be out of here in time to go to the swim meet this weekend?”

He glanced at Ana, who was shaking her head. “I don’t think so, baby. The doctor wants you to get over this before you get back into the water.”

“But I am over it. Almost. I feel great now.”

Ana watched the struggle of wills between father and daughter, wondering how much the girl had gotten away with over the past couple of years. She remembered her experiences with Joey. Kids seemed to have some kind of surveillance radar that let them know when their parents were vulnerable.

Buy Link for SLEEPING WITH HER ENEMY  available at Muse It Up Publishing.

For more information about Pat Dale and his books, go to Muse It Up Publishing  Also available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Great Beach Reads--Sleeping with Her Enemy by Pat Dale

Today marks the beginning for introducing you all to some great beach reads, in other words, some fun, escape reading for those lazy days of summer.  I am pleased to welcome author Pat Dale, my first guest on this beach reading bonanza. Let's see how Pat spends his summertime.

What do you like to do in the summer?

After we returned to live out our lives in my wife’s childhood home, I spent several years working what had been a pretty barren yard into a miniature park; lots of trees and several little garden spots where we grow a variety of flowers and bushes. Our summer time is taken up largely with maintaining the yard (a full quarter-block) and battling the weeds and volunteer trees that spring up after every rain.

That sounds like a lot of work, but I am sure it is worth it. What a beautiful view from your window. 


What is your favorite summer vacation memory?

This one is easy. I remember batting it down I-70 from Colorado to St. Louis to visit my family over an Independence Day holiday weekend. My folks lived on a small lake outside the city, where my dad loved to fish from his rowboat. I’d row him to the spots on the lake where he ‘knew’ the big bass hid out. I’d row, he’d fish, and we’d talk about everything from soup to nuts, softly so as not to alarm the fish.

Then we’d set up a huge outdoor buffet table and my three kids, along with my brother’s three and my sister’s two, would stuff themselves with hotdogs, baked beans, and anything else edible they could get their hands on. After a nap, we’d take the kids to the swimming beach and sit back while they splashed and generally had a ball. Those were the days, my friend, and (as the song goes) we thought they’d never end. But they did, and now we’re spread across this vast land in a way that’s difficult to comprehend. But memories, yes, I have those, and I’ll treasure them until I die!

I chuckled when you said your dad "knew" where all the bass hid. Been there, done that too. What great memories...


Why is your book a great beach read?

SLEEPING WITH HER ENEMY is a mid-life romance, set in Colorado. Ana Henry has suffered more than her share of tragedy, and has buried herself in her work as a children’s nurse in the Ft. Collins hospital. When she meets Dan Morrison by way of his sick daughter, Sherry, she sees a glimmer of hope that there may still be romance for her. They bond, but, after becoming intimate, Ana learns that Dan may have been the hit and run driver who killed her son Joey. She turns him in, but throws herself into a quest to prove him innocent. Has life given her the ultimate sucker punch, or will love win out?

Excerpt:

Ana was standing over Sherry, checking her temperature, when a harried-looking man came in and said, “Hello.” Pointing to the girl, he asked, “How is she?”

“Asleep.” She shushed him with a finger to her lips and motioned him into the hall. “You must be Sherry’s father. I’m Ana Henry and I’ll be her nurse tonight.”

“My name is Dan. Dan Morrison.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Morrison. Her temperature has dropped a bit but it’s still high. She’s a sick little girl.”

“I know.” He clearly didn’t want to emote but couldn’t hide the gleam of tears she saw in his eyes. “I shouldn’t be so emotional about this. Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. You love your daughter and that’s what counts.”

That was the moment she let her guard down, locking focus with him. She rarely looked into anyone’s eyes any more but this time she did. Sea mist green they were, and so full of pain.

“You’re very kind, Miss... I’m sorry. I’ve forgotten your name already.”

“Actually it’s Mrs. Mrs. Henry. I’m a widow.” Why did I tell him that?

He stared into her tortured eyes. “I’m sorry. You’re so young and-”

“My husband,” she cut in, “was a pilot in the Air Force. He died while fighting in Afghanistan.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.”

She winced at the man’s reaction. Every time people learned what had happened, they began walking on egg shells. She’d been down this road so many times she wanted to scream.  “It’s okay. It’s been a few years and I’m over it now.” That’s a lie. I’m not close to over it.

Thanks, Pat, for guesting on my blog. Where can we learn more about you and your book?

Sleeping with Her Enemy can be purchased at Muse It Up Publishing, amazon.com, bn.com and major booksellers.
Keep up with me on my blog at  Pat Dale blog.