The Witches Have Arrived!

I'm so happy and excited to announce the arrival of The Witches of Moonlight Ridge! My book is available right now on Kindle, and the paperback can be purchased from Amazon online. 

In the second book of The Moonlight Ridge Series, Lily Claire and Willie T. are back and as spunky as ever! With seasons changing on the mountain, the two intrepid kids venture into new territories, meet surprising new characters, and learn that the mysteries and magic on Moonlight Ridge continue to lead them into new adventures.

Just in time for the holidays, The Witches of Moonlight Ridge is a terrific gift for all book lovers. 

Happy Halloween!

Are all you ghosties and ghoulies, black kitties and possumies HUNGRY?

Here are some of the best Halloween foods, sure to calm all the creepies and make the most ornery "haints" happy! (You do know what a haint is, don't you?)

First of all, I'm really hungry! So I'm going to jump right in with the good stuff.

    BREAD PUDDING

Bread Pudding:

1 loaf French bread, at least a day old, cut into 1-inch squares (about 6-7 cups)
1 qt milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup raisins (soaked overnight in 1/4 cup bourbon)
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Bourbon Sauce:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup Kentucky bourbon whiskey
Bourbon Sauce:

In a saucepan, melt butter; add sugar and egg, whisking to blend well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. (Do not allow to simmer, or it may curdle.) Whisk in bourbon to taste. Remove from heat. Whisk before serving. The sauce should be soft, creamy, and smooth.
Bread Pudding:

1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 Soak the bread in milk in a large mixing bowl. Press with hands until well mixed and all the milk is absorbed. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spices together. Gently stir into the bread mixture. Gently stir the raisins into the mixture.
3 Pour butter into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Coat the bottom and the sides of the pan well with the butter. Pour in the bread mix and bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, until set. The pudding is done when the edges start getting a bit brown and pull away from the edge of the pan. Can also make in individual ramekins.

Serve with bourbon whiskey sauce on the side; pour on to taste. Best fresh and eaten the day it is made.
Yield: Makes 8-10 servings.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/bread_pudding/

Sweet Potato Pie



Photo by Ken Price

Granny Rilla's Sweet Potato Pie

page 117

 Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge

2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes
½ cup honey
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans chopped

Heat oven to 350.
Mix mashed sweet potatoes, honey and salt.
Beat eggs. Add sugar, vanilla extract, and pecans. Add to sweet potato mixture.
Pour into unbaked pie shell.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. (Check after 50 minutes)

Candy Corn

The All-Time Best Halloween Food In the World!!!



I don't have the recipe for Candy Corn. Y'all just go out and buy some.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

Drac' is back!
Bram Stoker's great grand-nephew has published a sequel to the hair-raising classic DRACULA, first published in 1897. That's about when I read it the first time also! My sister and I took turns reading aloud from the book, cover to cover, when I was a pre-teen and she was a young teen.


Dacre Stoker's new book is titled Dracula the Undead. (I don't know how you pronouce the name Dacre; maybe we'll find out later.) Apparently this sequel takes up 25 years after the end of the original story, and looks like Count Dracula wasn't as dead as we all thought. Well, he crumbled into green dust! That looked pretty final to me.

That's Dacre with the bats.

So now we have something new to read, just in time for Halloween!

Halloween Mice

It's Halloween in Mouseyville,

the little mice are happy.

Mousey eyes are shining bright,

Their little toes are tappy.

Dressed up in kitty-cat costumes,

they gaze into the mirror.

They think the cats they see are real,

and so they won't come nearer.

It's time for trick-or-treating

and the mice get lots of candy.

Coming home with big fat bellies,

they feel so fine and dandy.

It's sleepy time in Mouseyville,

the Autumn stars are gleaming.

The big round moon keeps watch outside

while little mice are dreaming.

© Ramey Channell 2008