I'm turning into a Foodie

Ok, this writer has another passion: Food. Not just any kind of food, mind you. I mean good, flavor-filled scrumptious, seducing your taste buds food.

Lately, I have been on a big salad kick. I can do so many things with a bed of salad greens. I have pretty much given up the iceberg for fresh spinach. More vitamins, more flavor less water. I can put sauteed shrimp, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, etc so many options. I like tomatoes, but I usually don't eat them up before they start to go bad (single girls eat out too ya know). So, I try and keep some sun-dried tomatoes handy.

Anyway, tonight was "Kickin' Chicken Salad" made by yours truly. I had about four chicken breasts thawed in the fridge. I rinsed them thoroughly, pulling off the extra fat. Of course I washed my hands several times, rinsing out the sink and wiping my hands with a disposable dish towel and tossed it out. (I'm a healthy girl)

Those babies looked great even before I startedd seasoning them. I sprinkled them with pepper first. (If I wait till later, I may go heavy on the pepper because I cannot see it and start sneezing.) I sprinked them with some kickin' chicken seasoning, and onion powder and set the chicken aside for 5-10 minutes to rest. I pulled out a large skillet and put a tablespoon of coconut oil (I only cook with it now) in the pan. The coconut oil spreads well and a little goes a long way.

I turn the pan under medium heat and add the chicken (seasoning side down) in the pan. Here is when I season the top of the chicken with the pepper, kickin chicken seasoning and onion powder while the seasoning is being cooked from the bottom of the chicken. This helps season the meat all the way through. There us usally some water at the bottom of the plate where the chicken was rested with the left over seasonings. I do not throw this seasoned water out. I add it to the center of the pan and rake the seasoning on top of the chicken. I don't pour this stuff out anymore.

With the oil and a little bit of water, it will start browning nicely, after 5 minutes, I turn over the chicken. I gradually add about a 1/4 cup of water and place a lid on the skillet, depending on how much was left in the pan. I let simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat and covered with a lid. Then I turn off the stove and let it remain covered for an additional 10 minutes. The steam will finish the chicken and keep it moist.

It was now ready to taste. I pulled out a piece of chicken and it was tender and juicy. I thought it may be a little plain since I just seasoned it, but it was full of flavor. My taste buds soared. I knew a big breast would be too much for this salad. I didn't need a lot of chicken to fufill my purpose. I pulled out of the smaller breasts out of the skillet to cool off.

Now starting with my canvas of my typical bed of spinach, I added some aged vinergrette dressing, a hard boiled egg (chopped), a few pieces of sun-dried tomatoes, provolone cheese (cut into small pieces), and topped with my chicken. I add some vildalia onion dressing on top and spinkle some salad seasoning on the very top and I'm done.

The salad hit the spot. It was so full of flavor, it is almost hard to describe in words. The chicken was right on point. The everything came together like a salad orchestra. The provolone cheese blended nicely and I am glad that I chose this type of cheese for this salad.

I wanted to wolf it down but this salad was to be consumed slowly. By the time I finished, I was full.

I am definately fixing this salad again very soon.

Hello Blogville....

Hello....I am back to blogging. Since I've received numerous requests about my latest writing project, I thought I would blog a little each day about my progress. That way, people can check in at their leisure and see what I'm up to. I hope it won't bore them to tears.

Today, I am working on some dialogue with my protagonist. She is being asked to do something that she doesn't want to do initially, and I'm working on the part that changes her mind from saying no to saying yes. Some of it involves flashbacks into her past as well as things in the present that tugs at her heartstrings. It is coming together nicely so far.

I am currently up to page 46. I hope to finish today at page 50. I need to run out and breathe in a little fresh air for awhile before heading back to the laptop.

One of my goals this summer is to get an agent, someone who will work with authors and screenwriters. Screenwriting is my next venture. I can see some of my work in movies someday and there is a need for more screenwriters so why not?

That's is for now. Thanks for reading! --Delores

Hello Bloggers

Hello Good People:

I have been asked to provide my views and reviews on my blog so I have renewed this page. I will also provide updates to the status of my own novel.

Delores

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year! It has been awhile since I blogged but I have been writing, spending time with friends and family and generally have a good time. I am researching Susan B. Anthony and the women's movement for some historical information on one of my characters. It is not male bashing or negative but just a way of showing a bit of what life was like 100 years ago from my character's perspective.

This is a family story with drama about life's ups and downs, our expections, our heartbreaks. This story may or may not get to the romance that was the genesis of the book initially. The romance comes later. It may turn into my Book #2, if not, this book will be an epic. I don't want to write a book the size of Gone With the End or War and Peace! 331 pages is the goal for the book. My initial goal is to write for 400 pages to allow for editorial culling. Hopefully, the book won't need to be cut down any further.

Where is the storyline now? Constance Johnson is traveling up North with her mother to take a little vacation and check out new college. Her dad suggested that her and her mom leave quickly, under the guise that he planned a vacation suprise for them, but he actually wanted them out of the state for their own protection. There in Chesnin County was a hunter, a serial killer, a mad man on the loose. Worse, he seemed to have a fascination with Constance. He sent his family on a trip for them in Washington, DC and New York to pamper themselves and relax, but he wouldn't be able to relax until this guy was finally caught.

That is the gist of the story for this version. There is romance in this story, but basically through flashbacks with Constance's family members. When Constance's love interest pops up in the story, it is much later.

Maybe the next entry, I'll draft a sample writing.

Happy Reading!

Today, I met Hill Harper (and two local authors)

I was invited all week to attend the Literature and Arts Fesitival, so as a new author writing my first book, I decided to go. I am so glad that I did.

The featured author was Hill Harper, of CSI: NY, and the line for his book signing was long. Before I made it over to Mr. Harper's table, I met some of the local writers. I took note of the tables and how the authors explained their books. There were two authors that I connected with right away. The first author was Michelle Adams. I thumbed through her book, "Boone Hall Plantation: Images of America" and was genuinely interested. I asked her about her book and took note of the way that she described her book. It was interesting, not only in the way that she described the book, but I felt that this non-fiction book could give me some great background to the story that I was writing. I purchased her book and she signed it for me: "To Delores, good luck with your book. - Michelle Adams." Thanks Michelle!

I also met Steve Brown, an author of several fiction books based in Charleston. Like Michelle, Steve and I conversated very easily. He described a couple of his books and I knew I was talking to a professional. I spent most of my time at his table. One of his featured books was "The Belles of Charleston." I was fascinated that he wrote about young women. Interesting perspective. I told him that I was a new author writing my first book and he gave me some tips that I'll never forget. He told me to keep writing forward and not spend too much time editing instead of writing. I told him that I was spending a lot of time in my back story and he referred me to Steven King's book, "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft." A lot of people assume that it is just a biography but there is a lot of information on how to get your book published. Lots of great information. I'll be checking out Steven King's book as well as his own books. Thanks Steve!

I managed to get in line and meet Hill Harper before police cut off the book signing. Hill had a photo shoot at 2:00 and I just made it through the line thanks to the goodwill of a stranger. Hill shook my hand and I stated that I am a new author writing my first book and he shook my hand again. As he is signing my copy of his new book, The Conversation: How Black Men and Women Can Build Loving, Trusting Relationships, I asked him if he had any advice for me and two of the things that I'll mention here is that he said to keep writing to the end and don't stop to rewrite. He said that it was nice to meet me and I relayed that it was nice to meet him as well. I only stood at his table for about two minutes, but it was a very valuable two minutes of my life. Heartfelt thanks to Hill!

Thanks to my friends: Rick and Brian, who informed me about the event and kept following up until I decided to go. Thanks to Zina Sinker, who accompanied me to the event and lunch afterward. Thanks to authors: Michelle Adams, Steve Brown, and Hill Harper.

Thanks to everyone who put on this event. Dent Middle School Organizers; Promoters; local radio stations. It was great exposure for local authors and very motivating for new authors, and and as that police officer said to me casually: "One day we'll be coming to YOUR book signing," I considered it a blessing to my ears. From his mouth to God's ears!

I'm soooooooo excited, but I made a goofy mistake.

Hello ladies and gentlemen: I have been speaking about Blastoff.com and all the great features for a couple of weeks now. I am still learning. I still make mistakes along the way. My goal is to change my buying habits using Blastoff, getting great discounts and cash back. It has been working great. I have used it at Buy.com to get my Garmin GPS; I used it three times at GoDaddy.com to get my domain names and web page, and I just used it to reserve my rental car at Avis.

Last night, I had to get my PC protected because my trial period was almost up. I was getting those threatening messages flashing across my screen to extend the service NOW. Well, since I waited until the last minute, when I went to Blastoff, they were doing some maintenance and the PC protection service I was going to use was temporarily down. I felt too nervous to wait any long (especially since I waited until the last minute) so I purchased the plan that came with my laptop for a total cost of $79.00 a year.

Well, here I am 24 hours later and I go on the Blastoff website. I could have had the top program with a well-known competitor for a discounted price of $39.00. The regular retail price was $79.00. That the same price that I bought my plan for. Dang it! I could have gotten total protection for less than half price!
What was I thinking?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although I am excited about my Garmin, my services at GoDaddy (with 24/7 free customer service) and my rental car, I still have a lot to learn. Don't let it happen to you. For those of you interested in the fun and benefits of Blastoff, check it out at the site below. type in http, then add a colon,add 2 forward slashes...and then type in blastoffwithdelores dot com. Easy. Its my website that I got at no cost and you can get one two starting this Monday.

You can browse all you like, but you cannot join until Monday, October 12th starting at 1:00 am EST. Oh did I tell you? The Blastoff webpage is free. You just buy things at the online mall like you would at any regular mall.

If you want me to add you to my Email list, just send me a message: deloresmccarter@live.com

Blasting Off With Blastoff!

I wanted to blog my experiences with Blastoff.com to give people a sense of what I am doing online before the launch takes place in October.

The announcement of Blastoff takes place in Las Vegas. The buzz of the organization vibrated down to South Carolina, the little place I call home. I was already excited about the service because I knew that I could use it immediatly. I paid for tickets to Vegas and I purchased a laptop recently. I would have jumped at the chance to get cash back on those purchases. I'm contantly buying things to fix up the house and Christmas is only 3 months away. (Just typing this, I remembered that my poor alarm clock kicked the bucket a few days ago and needs to be replaced.) I can have my gifts directly to my family's house for Christmas without having to worry about wrapping it up. Just stick a bow and a gift tag on it and I'm all set.

That night, I browsed the site and was amazed at what the site offered. Hearing Blastoff's CEO the night before was exciting but I just figured some of it was a little hype. You know how it is when a new program is announced by the big fella. Well, I logged in a saw one of the best websites I have ever seen. The colors on my page are incredible. I see the current PPL stock graph and a video. Beneath that is a hulu video from "the office" but I can change it to some of the latest shows on tv. I watched an episode of "The Closer" just for fun. It was absolutely great. I saw a button on the top right side of my screen: "Boss Coming? Dramatic Pause" I was watching this video from home but I clicked the button anyway just for fun. Immediately, the video disappeared and a bogus excel spreadsheet popped up on my screen. Clever! Then scrolled down to the games and checked out a few that were already loaded on my homepage (there are tons to choose from). I've played slower moving video games (like solitare) but not like these. I was a bit overwhelmed with the graphics and the speed that I did not play well at all. In fact, I stink at it. LOL

I took a peek at the wireless phones and instantly wanted one. I've had my eye on a Blackberry Curve for about 9 months now, but I have an additional 6 months on my cell phone contract so I have to be patient. There were tons of Blackberry Curve phones for sale. Many were free. One caught my eye with a $50.00 cash (turn in your cell phone) back bonus. Unfortunatly, that was the last time I saw that offer. Darn.

I didn't even think about that alarm clock until just now, so when it was time to go shopping I remembered the thing I needed most: A GPS. A found a cute little Garmin that was similar to the one my attorney friend has. It is portable so I don't have to worry about having to leave it mounted up on my window. I'll get it in time for my 25th Class Reunion in two weeks. That way, I'll know how to get to the banquet on Saturday night.

This is a cool way of earning some extra money down the line. When this takes off, which will not take long, it will be a start of a great way of buying products. Its like the shift from shopping on Main Street back in the day to going to the mall. No one shopping downtown on the weekend in most cities. Many downtown streets are like a ghost town. Now, look at the malls. There are so many empty stores because more people are shopping online now. Many stores offer free shipping and some offers deep discounts. It makes shopping online so inviting. Blastoff just takes it to another level.

It is amazing that children from the ages of 13-17 can shop and save and have their friends so the same and when these kids turn 18, they can get access to their cash.

I have made a commitment to contact 1,000 people about Blastoff before the launch. It may seem like a huge task but I am aiming high. I have seen, I have tested, I have purchased. I am excited like a kid on Christmas morning.

Delores McCarter
deloresmccarter@live.com
http://pplblastoff.com/