Ghost Hunting Diary Vol II - T. M. Simmons, Author

Southern Bread Pudding and Jack Daniels Sauce:

(I've revised this recipe so you can make it with a little bit less cholesterol and fat.)

Bread Pudding Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread, a day or two old and in 1-inch squares

1 quart skim or 1% milk
3 Eggbeater eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup Splenda granulated sugar
1 cup regular sugar
2 tbsp. vanilla
2 cup raisins (better if you soak them overnight in ¼ cup bourbon!)
1 cup chopped pecans
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg

 

Cooking spray (I use the type with olive oil)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, soak the French bread cubes in the milk until milk is absorbed. In separate bowl, beat Eggbeaters, Splenda and sugar, vanilla and spices together. Stir egg mixture into the bread mixture. Stir in raisins and pecans. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9X13" baking pan with cooking spray. Pour in bread mixture and bake for 35-45 min. Remove from oven when the edges start getting brown and pull away from pan edges.

Jack Daniels Sauce Ingredients:

½ cup melted butter

½ cup Splenda granulated sugar
½ cup regular sugar
1 Eggbeater egg
1 cup Kentucky bourbon whiskey

In a saucepan, whisk melted butter, sugar and egg well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickens. Don't simmer, or will curdle. Whisk in bourbon and remove from stove. Whisk before serving and pouring over individual servings of warm bread pudding.

Yum, yum!

 

Ghost Hunting Diary Vol II – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

I don’t much care for my days and nights getting mixed up, but since I won’t take sleeping pills unless I’m desperate, I hadn’t taken any this night. Being ghost-sensitive, though, I had realized that the ghosts were fairly active. I’d heard –and felt – someone several times since I’d settled in the room, and been aware of various noises in the rest of the house that couldn’t be explained away as a roaming cat. I’d also encountered the ghost in the bathroom a couple times: that drop in temperature and the skin-crawl sensation of the energy surrounding a paranormal entity. Normally, I don’t bother turning on the light during my nightly bathroom excursions, but due to that fairly strong presence this night, I did. And I’m not too happy with being watched during what should be a private time, but I don’t have much choice around here. I won’t call them pervert ghosts, but the bathroom ones are male.

This is Author T. M. Simmons talking about her own home, which is haunted, especially her spare bedroom which she calls the Molly-Belle Suite and which accommodates her when she can’t sleep and doesn’t want to wake her husband. She normally gets along with her resident ghosts but that’s only due to her ‘laying down the house laws’ to them. But now and then they will ‘test’ her to see what they can get away with.

In Ghost Hunting Diary Vol. II, T. M. Simmons records some of her experiences in both the cemetery as well as a few haunted buildings. Some of these experiences would scare the pants off people like myself yet all are quite interesting and there are even a few that are quite funny. By funny I’m talking about her records of the Naked Ghost which she found in the Baker Hotel. And her description was so that I don’t think I would mind meeting this ‘Adonis’ghost. But the evil ones she encounters within the Goshen Cemetery I think I’ll pass on.

If you enjoy a good ghost story, you’ll enjoy this series of books – Ghost Hunting Diaries. If you’re a believer, you’ll love these stories. If you’re a non-believer, they just might change your opinion regarding ghosts, ghost hunters and the paranormal world. They have made a believer out of me!

 

Ghost Hunting Diary - Volume I - T. M. Simmons, Author

 

 

Cucumber-Tomato Side Salad

(I learned to make this years and years ago from one of my aunts. I've seen and tasted various other versions at gatherings or on buffets, but none are prepared like this simple one I make or taste like it. It always goes over very well at our own family gatherings. In fact, when we plan a get-together, one of the first questions I get asked from one son and a few others is: Are you going to make your cucumber-tomato dish?  T. M. Simmons)
 
Ingredients:
Two nice, red, ripe tomatoes
Three-four nice, firm cucumbers
One large yellow onion
One cup cider-apple vinegar
One tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup sugar (or sweetener to taste)

In an adequate-size bowl or jar, mix vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar and stir briskly. Taste it to see if it is too tart or sweet for your taste, and adjust, if necessary. We like it pretty tart. Set aside.

In a large flat bowl or plastic storage dish, with lid, slice the tomatoes into thin slices.

Peel and slice the cucumbers into slices about 1/8" thick.
Peel and slice the onion into thin slices. Separate the individual layers of onion and add to tomatoes and cucumbers.
Toss the tomatoes, cucumbers and onions together.
Pour the vinegar mixture over the vegetables and cover with lid.
Place in refrigerator at least two hours before you want to serve them.
Approximately every half-hour, stir the contents to make sure the vinegar gets distributed over everything.

Enjoy!

 

Ghost Hunting Diary – Volume I – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

 

The Green Room is haunted by a Confederate soldier, but for some reason, he only appears in the summer.  He had been wounded in the Civil War and found his way to The Myrtles, where he died from his wounds.  There are tales of people seeing six red-coated British soldiers carrying a coffin out by the pond.  A lady in white walks around the grounds, and both guests and townspeople have reported seeing her.  The most famous story about The Myrtles, though, is the story of Cloe, the black slave.  Clark Woodruff owned the plantation in the early 1800’s.  By 1982, he and his wife had three children, two girls and a boy.  There was a portrait of Woodruff in the game room, and stories say that people have actually seen tears flowing down it.  In those days the southern plantations were worked by slaves, and at times, the masters took mistresses from the workers.  One of Woodruff’s mistresses was Cloe.  Proud and protective of her status, since it kept her in the house and out of the fields picking cotton and other crops, Cloe intended to maintain her position.  Thus, she tended to eavesdrop in order to store up any information that might assist her.  When caught Woodruff ordered Cloe’s ear cut off and banished her from his bed.

 

Author T. M. Simmons doesn’t just write paranormal stories; she lives them too.  The ghosts above are just some that she and her Aunt Belle encountered while visiting The Myrtles in St. Francisville, Louisiana, just outside of Baton Rouge.  In her Ghost Hunting Diary Volume I, she gives us a look at what is involved in ‘cleansing’ a room and sometimes even a whole house.  But I think the story that got to me the most was when she and other members of the North Texas Paranormal Research Society visited Goshen Cemetery, just out from Eustance, Texas on of all times of the year, Halloween. 

 

There have been times in my own life that I’ve felt there were ‘others’ among us but have always brushed this feeling off to excuses such as ‘I’m alone,’ ‘Its Dark,’ or ‘That was just the wind.’  After reading Ghost Hunting Diary Volume I, I’ve just about decided that there is a lot more to these encounters than we realize.  I have a feeling that by the time I get to her 4^th Ghost Hunting Diary, I’ll be a true believer.

Dead Man Haunts - T. M.Simmons, Author

Recipe Dead Man Haunt 
Aunt 'Cille's Deviled Eggs
 
We do a lot of barbequing in Texas, and one of our family's (and Alice's) favorite side dishes is deviled eggs. My Aunt Lucille showed me how to make scrumptious deviled eggs once when I visited. 

1 dozen eggs
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sweet relish
2 tablespoons Miracle Whip Salad Dressing (Fat Free)
Parsley

Cover eggs with water and bring to a boil.
Boil for ten minutes.
Cool, shell and halve the eggs.

(Hint: Fresh eggs are harder to peel; eggs a little older peel easier. Also, I drain the hot water off and then dump some ice cubes on the eggs to help cool them quicker. Seems they peel lots better. I also put the drain in the sink and crack them, then peel them under a small stream of cold water.)

Scoop out the yellows.
Place the whites on  your egg plate.
Add in order and mix in each time:
Salt
Pepper
Vinegar
Relish
Miracle Whip

Spoon back into the whites.
Garnish with a few shakes of parsley.
Stick in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Yum! Especially on a hot Texas day.

Dead Man Haunt – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

 

Twila and I see ghosts.  We talk to ghosts.  We actually hunt ghosts and enjoy the heck out of our quests.  We love to prowl old buildings and graveyards, day and night, study the history of them, and occasionally chat with the long-passed occupants of both the buildings and graves.  Yet out of the dozens of gone-by souls we chat with, very few ever keep our attention past that one and only conversation.  Patrick, however, a ghost I met recently, had intrigued us into this upcoming adventure, the adventure Jack was so adamantly opposed to.  I’d met Patrick when I joined a few local ghost hunters to investigate the historic, scheduled-for-demolition Springs Hotel in the tiny West Texas town of Mineral Springs.  He stepped out of the shower in the men’s dressing room, six foot of blond nakedness, dribbles of water crawling down his tanned muscles, a white towel draped around his neck.  No doubt in my mind he was a ghost, yet what a gorgeous ghost.  Patrick winked at me – he could see me every bit as well as I could him.  Then he disappointed me greatly when he faded back into his own dimension.  I didn’t even get a chance to see if he’d show up in a photograph, because I was too rapt to remember the digital camera hanging around my neck.

 

Alice is a writer by occupation and resides in a lakeside cabin in Six Gun, Texas along with several cats and a dog and a mixture of ghosts who would rather stay as they are than to go into the light to the other side.  Her closest neighbor Granny and her aunt Twila both indulge in Alice’s taste for the spirit side of life, or should I say death.  Oh yeah, I can’t leave out the 4 legged ghost hunters, Trucker the dog and Miss Molly the cat who accompany the 3 on all of their ghost hunting trips.  And I almost forgot Jack, Alice’s ex-husband who is a New Orleans detective who seems to be drug into all of Alice, Twila and Granny’s tangles with the ghosts as well as the non-ghosts.  Jack just happens to be a non-believer but he can see the ghosts.  Go figure.

 

I can’t get enough of this author.  In Dead Man Haunt I enjoyed a real laugh when Alice and team are accosted by a skunk and end up taking a tomato juice bath.  I laughed when Patrick would appear at the most inopportune times, sporting nothing but his birthday suit, which seemed to be his preferred mode of dress, or should I say undress.  I laughed when the ghost Mary Ann, who had been cut in half, appeared scaring the pants off Delroy the ‘commando.’  But laughter isn’t all T. M. Simmons puts into the Dead Man series.  I stayed in total suspense until the end trying to guess who killed Mary Ann and why.  I strained my mind trying to come up with the reason for Patrick, as well as several other ghosts, still being on this side and not the other where they can find peace.   And then the characters started coming together making the puzzle into a picture.  But the ending still ended up being nothing that I had suspected. 

 

I seem to be reading this series backwards starting with Dead Man Hand, book #1, which was just as good as Dead Man Haunt, book #2, I can’t wait to read book #1 Dead Man Talking.  I’ve also read T. M. Simmons Paranormal Suspense Winter Prey, enjoying it immensely.  As I said, I can’t get enough of this author.  And did I tell you that T. M. Simmons actually lives in a haunted house in East Texas which she shares with hubby, a variety of pets and of course her paranormal residents. 

Psychs - A. H. Amin, Author

QUINOA PILAF
(a Hassan special)

1/2 cup carrot, diced
6 cups quinoa, cooked (according to package)
1/2 cup green onion,
diced 1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup green pepper, diced
1 cup almonds, sliced
1/4 cup sweet red pepper, diced
1/4 tsp oregano
salt to taste

Sauté chopped vegetables in olive oil until clear, yet crisp: stir in oregano. Add sautéed vegetables to cooked, hot quinoa, mixing well. Add salt to taste. Dry-roast almonds in heavy skillet until lightly golden. Add almonds and mix. Serves 6-8. Quinoa pilaf served as a side dish with fish or chicken is delicious. Vary the pilaf using your favorite vegetables, or by cooking the quinoa in chicken, fish or vegetable stock instead of water.

Psychs – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 

My parents are leaving in an hour for a visit and my little sister always sleeps late during vacations, I couldn’t wait anymore for them to leave. I looked at the spirits surrounding me and said. ‘Let’s talk’ I said, then closed my room’s door. ‘My name is Hassan what’s yours?’ They replied in turns. ‘Mine is Joseph.’ ‘Rodriquez, call me Rod’ Rod gave a wink. ‘Steven Chow.’ ‘Markus Reed, at your service.’ Mark took a bow and pointed at the female ghost to follow. ‘Nice to meet you Hassan, my name is Emma’, she smiled and waved. ‘Sorry for scaring you’ Emma said. ‘It’s ok’ I replied, then my eyes went to the one next in line. ‘Jack.’ ‘Mason.’ The last one to be introduced was a woman I had first seen behind the glass window, the one who had watched me sleeping when I was admitted. She looked different, they all looked military, and she was the only one who didn’t fit in the picture. And for some reason, she looked very familiar to me. ‘Sara.’ My eyes started to widen. ‘I am your mother dear.’
 

All through his life Hassan has felt there was always someone watching him. Now and then he would even see a quick movement out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t until he came to the rescue of a woman and child being beaten by husband only to have the husband bring him near death that he realized his images were real. At least as real as ghosts can be. They had always looked after him but couldn’t communicate, until Hassan came up with an idea. Sign language. That would give he and the ghosts a way of communicating without actually speaking. But Hassan’s ghosts were not only his guardian angels, they became his teachers. Through them he was able to lead a 2^nd life that would prove most valuable in years to come.
 

Adam, also known as Shark, was a Navy Seal that had been held prisoner for years. His capturers were of the worse type. Torture was used more as an entertainment than to acquire information they might need and since Adam’s strong hold was his hands, their first form of torture was to remove his arms leaving him with no method of self-defense. They may have destroyed his body but they never destroyed his mind, soul and determination to live. So, after 13 years of torture, Shark meets Hassan and the battle begins.

 

Psychs is a book that brings out the strength of mind over body in its desire to live, both through Hassan and Shark. The stories of both that lead up to their story together is one that may sound impossible but with the author’s ability to write, you can see, feel and picture each line as it happens. This is a very well written book and an extremely interesting story. I can actually see this one being made into a movie with someone like Bruce Willis being Hassan. Now I’m impatiently waiting on the next book in the series ‘The Remnant.’

Mysteerie Manor II - Sharon Hays, Author

Maryanne’s delicious salad dressing in Mysteerie Manor II.

Maple Dijon Delight

This makes a good sized portion of salad dressing so you will have some for later!

(You could also cut recipe in half to make less, just in case)

3 to 4 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 parts oil to 1 part Dijon; 6 to 8 Tbsp. of a light tasteless oil *(I like grape seed oil, as is light, healthy and tasteless, but you can use your own choice of course. Also good for sautéing, if you’ve never tried it)

Whisk well to emulsify, as you drizzle oil into Dijon mustard while it thickens.

Add ¼ C fresh tarragon

S & P to taste

1/3 cup Maple syrup

Whisk in all three ingredients to the emulsified mustard and oil.

½ to ¾ c Raspberry Vinegar:  Add and whisk to emulsify well, to get to your desired consistency.

* (Honey may be used instead of Maple syrup, but I guarantee you will love the syrup combination!)

There you have a tasty new dressing that will delight your taste buds and healthy as well! 

 

Mysteerie Manor II - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

‘The fateful day she walked into the Valencia Manor, her life had taken many turns.  What had started out as a property investment opportunity had become an intriguing nightmare of unexpected events and mysterious, supernatural phenomenon.  Murder, strange accidents and tragedy all took their turns in the bizarre adventures at the Valencia Manor.  But through all of the mystery and misery, it had become a reality.  The Valencia Manor would be legally transferred into Maryanne’s name today… Maryanne was reluctant at first, to accept the unbelievable gift of the Valencia Manor, because she felt so bad about the death of the lovely Mrs. Dirkshire.  Maryanne spent weeks trying to find other relatives who might otherwise be next in line to inherit the property, but after careful searching, to no avail and legal counsel, she felt more at ease in accepting the gracious offer.’

 

The Valencia Manor was built in the 1800s.  After several mysterious deaths it was put on the market and bought by John Farthington.  The deaths continued with his child and wife both dying while living at the Manor.  After succumbing to illness himself, Farthington moved in with his sister Irene Dirkshire.  He later died leaving the Manor to her.  She, in turn, decided to sell and contacted Joan Bishop to be her agent.  Joan and Maryanne O’Donnell were close friends and when Irene saw how much Maryanne loved the old Manor she wrote a new will stating that if anything should mysteriously happen to her it was to go to Maryanne.  Upon her death a few weeks later, Maryanne inherited the Valencia Manor.

The Manor wasn’t the only thing that Maryanne inherited.  She acquired all of the ghosts, both good and bad, that called the Manor their home.  So she decided to sell her home and move into the Manor, but before doing this she first had to have the place completely renovated.  After finding the perfect contractor, her plans progressed with a good offer being placed on her home and Maryanne and her new husband Mario made plans to move into what was to be their new home at the Valencia.  Maryanne had already had the Manor swept of its spirits by her physic friend Vivian but when the contractor took out a wall and found an unexpected guest, Maryanne had to call on her friend again.  Vivian found more than expected when she returned to the Manor and with Mario informing her of the mysterious deaths that had been occurring around the area she had no choice but to give them her idea that they may be dealing with the “undead.” 

 

Reading Mysteerie Manor and Mysteerie Manor II made me remember reading my very first “horror” book.  It was called Salem’s Lot.  I read it at night, which was a mistake, and had trouble sleeping afterwards. I couldn’t even leave a curtain open for fear that an unsuspecting predator would be looking in.  That was years ago, but these two books bring some of those feelings back.  Author Sharon Hays has succeeded in giving me the creeps, even while reading during the day.

 

 

Sojourn With A Stranger - Keta Diablo

Crockpot Spinach Dip

(A favorite recipe from Keta Diablo)

Ingredients:
§  8 ounces cream cheese cut in cubes
§  1/4 cup whipping cream
§  1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
§  2 tablespoons chopped pimento
§  1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
§  1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
§  2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese
§  2 teaspoons grated onion
§  1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled

Preparation:
4  Combine cream cheese and cream in slow cooker.
4  Cover and cook on LOW until cheese is melted, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
4  Add remaining ingredients; cover and cook on LOW for about 45 minutes longer.
4  Serve with raw vegetables, crackers, or crusty bread cubes

Sojourn With a Stranger - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

“The doll was on my pillow when I returned to my room.”

“What madness is this?” Derek paced the hallway.  “Someone is up to no good.”  When he stopped to look at her, she reminded him of a frightened child.  Her cheeks were pale, her eyes ringed with dark circles.  “I’ll get to the bottom of this.  The Bible and Baby can not walk from that trunk in the attic,” he looked toward the ceiling, “and suddenly materialize in your bedchamber.” 

“Poor man.  The master has finally met a problem he doesn’t understand and doesn’t possess the ability to control.”

 “What is that supposed to mean?  I tell you, someone in the manor dupes you, Raine.”

 “No, Derek.  A spirit placed the objects in my room, a tormented, recently passed spirit.”

“You drag the ghost into the conversation again.  Tell me, what are you insinuating?  You mean to say Cinda’s-?”

“How would I know?”  She hissed the words and wrung her hands.  “You can’t expect me to know what evil machinations occurred before I arrived.”

“Evil?”  He felt his forehead wrinkle.  “Nothing evil transpired.  Lucinda lost her mind, took her life.”  Despite the facts surrounding his wife’s death, a niggling fear crept up his spine.  “If evil played a part, I swear I wasn’t aware of it.”

* * *

Derek Stafford’s father Julian never misses a chance to express to his two sons that the first to provide him with an male heir will inherit Stafford Manor.  Lyman, being the oldest of the two has tried unsuccessfully to produce the male heir but so far his efforts have produced three daughters.  Derek, through an arranged marriage, tried with the death of each child and his wife Lucinda losing her mind, ending with her walking into the river committing suicide.  So, as time goes on, Julian’ pressure for an heir strengthens.  

When disaster strikes one of the ships owned by the Staffords, leaving two dead and one 18 year old young lady alive, Derek and Julian come up with an idea that is sure to produce a male child.  All they have to do is convince the girl, Raine Brinsley, to go along with their scheme and acquire a little help from the Madeline, the local ‘healer’ and all problems will be solved.  What they never expected was the ghost of Lucinda to come into the picture as a protector for Raine.  Lucinda tries desperately to make Raine understand that her life and the death of her babies were not natural and that she will be next if the killer isn’t exposed.  But will Raine understand the clues before it’s too late?

 Sojourn With A Stranger is a story that includes greed, a touch of history and is iced with the paranormal.  By combining all of these into one story Author Keta Diablo has created a beautifully, erotic love story that keeps you on the edge. It was a very enjoyable read.

Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

Buy Sojourn With a Stranger on KINDLE: http://amzn.to/gQLMV2

Also available on NOOK: http://bit.ly/gS6XvG

Keta Diablo’s Author Web Site: http://www.ketadiablo.com

179 pages