Prelude to something good: small batch individual Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes!

And now for something completely different: something good! In fact, several things. For one, the Walla Walla cold snap has snapped and we’ve returned to clear blue skies with highs in the 60s. For another, I took the time to make a new recipe for an incredibly delicious comfort food. And then- –

Pace yourself! You told us you’d pace yourself.

Yeah. You said you’d leave them wanting more.

Okay Lily, okay 9. I’ll hold that next part until the end. So, the clear blue skies have lifted the spirits of all three of us (that is, the outer 60-year-old and the inner 14 and 9-year olds). We were all pretty crazy about the new recipe, too: Creamy Rice Pudding, for one. It’s from Solo Supers by Joyce Goldstein (© 2003 Chronicle Books), available at the local library. The pudding is cooked on the stove top and takes about an hour to make. The flavor is nuanced, as both cinnamon stick and lemon zest are incorporated during the cooking, and golden raisins added near the end. And when you live by yourself in these isolated times, having something to do for an hour in the evening can be a real plus.

And it tasted fabulous!

Maybe more fabulous with some maple syrup drizzled over the top?

I found it a bit too sweet (hmm, we sound a little like the Three Bears on this) but it was a delightfully comforting treat at the end of a cold fall day. Hearty, warm and 500 calories, give or take. Honestly, it would be a good substitute for dinner every so often. Maybe I’ll make it again tonight, with half the sugar.

You would!

Moving right along, the extended forecast is sunny, and I’ve shopped up ingredients to make Pineapple Upside-Down Cake this weekend (Small Batch Baking by Debbie Maugans Nakos © Workman Publishing). The cakes- -the recipe makes two on an individual scale- -are baked in a “Texas”-sized muffin tin. The recipe requires a bit of fuss.

What’s the occasion?

Hard to believe though it is, Lily, this Sunday is my 61^st birthday.

Wow!

Wow, indeed, 9. And one of our readers recently asked when you would turn 10. I explained that as you and Lily are “inners” you never age, but that your birthdays are celebrated, on the days you made me aware that you existed.

Mine’s July 1.

May 5 for me.

They are on my calendar, in ink! Now, is it time for me to reveal the truly exciting new “something good” we just learned about this morning?

Fire away.

Ditto. But I still don’t think it’s as good as cake.

Permission to disagree with you, 9. This morning we received an email from the editor at WolfSinger Publications. The next book in my contemporary fantasy/mythology series, Beyond Big-G City, is advancing in the publication queue! She, the editor, requested ideas for cover art and will review and recommend edits to the manuscript in the very near future. The publication date isn’t set yet, but I’m thinking in a few months. . .

Will we go on a book tour?

I hope so, Lily. It depends on travel restrictions due to the pandemic. Like everyone else, I hope we’ll have a safe, effective vaccine in 2021. That should help a lot.

Something good: “Beyond Big-G City” is in the publisher’s queue! Artwork from volume 2 in the series “Big-G City” released 2016. . .

In the meantime, we can certainly do a virtual book tour. I’m getting pretty handy with Zoom. We can organize some group events, like house parties with groups of friends and/or book clubs. Readings, followed by Q & A, are my favorite format. Maybe some in-store book signing opportunities will be available by then, too.

Sun in the sky, literary fun on the horizon, and some yummy home-made treats in between. Something good to look forward to on many levels.

I hope something good comes your way, too.

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