Summer Living

Also known as barbecue season at my house. Here in the Pacific Northwest we tend to barbecue year round, but during the summer it's virtually every day. I love it because cooking outdoors means less mess in the kitchen and the food, while delicious, tends to be fresher and simpler.

Summer is also salad season, so I thought I would share this delicious potato salad recipe with you.

Lee’s Favourite Potato Salad

1-1/2 pounds red-skinned baby potatoes
1 sweet yellow pepper
2 or 3 green onions, sliced
1/4 pound sugar snap peas
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried dill (or 3 tablespoons fresh, chopped)
salt & pepper to taste

Cut the potatoes in half, cook till tender, drain and set aside to cool. Cook the peas in boiling water for 1 minute till they turn bright green, chill under cold running water and drain. Core and chop the yellow pepper into bite-sized pieces. Put the chilled potatoes, peas, pepper and onion in a serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and salt & pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss and enjoy. Serves four.

I love this salad because it's colorful, quick to make, and stores better than a salad with a mayonnaise dressing.

For those who enjoy collecting recipes, feel free to drop by my website and request a set of Ready Set Sold recipes cards. They're not just free, but I pay the postage! The newest recipe is for Lee's Luscious Lemonade, which just happens to be the same lemonade Maggie makes in Maggie's Way, my latest Harlequin Heartwarming.

While you're at my website, feel free to sign up for my newsletter, Life in the Slow Lane. One of the perks of being a subscriber is being eligible to enter my monthly contests.

Happy reading! Happy summer!

Until next time,
Lee
Daddy, Unexpectedly (Harlequin American Romance, May 2013)
Maggie's Way (Harlequin Heartwarming, May 2013)
www.LeeMcKenzie.com/

DIY ~ why Lee redesigned a designer handbag

For me, a handbag is the ultimate accessory. It's functional, and everyone who knows me knows there are few things I love more than a Kate Spade handbag. I own an undisclosed number of them, but this is the first time I've had to rescue one.

I recently discovered a previously-owned Kate Spade bag at one of my favorite consignment stores for a very reasonable price, but it was marred by some terrible stains.

 

Other than the stains, the bag was in excellent condition with pristine leather trim and interior lining.

 

What to do?

 

If I bought the bag, could I remove the stains? If the stains couldn't be removed, could I figure out some other way to repair the bag? Of course I decided to go for it!

 



I tried everything I could think of to remove those stains...hair spray, baking soda, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser...and nothing worked.

What to do?

Since I couldn't remove the stains, I needed to find a way to disguise them, and since this is a Kate Spade handbag, I needed to find a way to do it tastefully. Grosgrain ribbon is a signature Kate Spade trim, so I decided that would be the way to go.

I headed to the fabric store and bought a wide strip of cream-colored ribbon and narrow strip of black ribbon, and found some adhesive that would work with both fabric and the bag's plastic coating.

At home, I tested the adhesive on a narrow strip of ribbon and it worked, so I went to work on the bag. And this is the result.

The wide band of cream-colored ribbon does a beautiful job of covering the stains and matches the bag perfectly. The narrow black band adds a nice bit of contrast and, I like to think, a bit of designer flair. And now I can't believe I paid so little for this lovely designer handbag, or that I had the nerve to redesign it.

Does it work? What do you think? What do you think the Kate Spade people would think if they saw it?

Speaking of redesigns and DIYs, my two May releases deal with those very things.

Daddy, Unexpectedly (Harlequin American Romance) is the third book in my Seattle-set Ready Set Sold series about three best friends who run a business that renovates, stages and sells houses while they search for their own home sweet homes and happily ever afters.

In Maggie's Way (Harlequin Heartwarming), the heroine hires a contractor to renovate her house into a natural beauty spa and decides to work some of her magic on him, too.

Thanks for joining me today, and happy reading!

Lee
www.LeeMcKenzie.com 

Fiber-licious Muffins, and other good things

Have you ever noticed how muffins that taste really, really good tend to be more like cake? And how muffins that are reasonably good for you can be a little like cardboard? I think I finally found a solution, and I'm calling them fiber-licious!

Lee's Fiber-licious Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup ground flax seed (not whole)
3/4 cup oat bran
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely shredded
2 medium apples, peeled and finely shredded
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 melted butter
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the carrots, apples, raisins and nuts. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and stir in the melted butter, milk and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend just until the dry ingredients are moist. Line a muffin pan with paper cups and fill the cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, using a toothpick to test for doneness.
Makes about 16 fiber-licious muffins.
Enjoy!

I also have some rather delicious news this month!

The Daddy Project (Harlequin American Romance, December 2012) is being reissued as a Mills & Boon Sweet romance in Australia and New Zealand on April 1, and they've given it a brand new cover.

One book...two covers...worlds apart!

I'm also thrilled to have two May releases! Maggie's Way (Harlequin Heartwarming) will be available on May 1.

...and Daddy, Unexpectedly (Harlequin American Romancce) will be out on May 7.

I have a blog tour lined up for early May and will be doing lots of giveaways, including copies of my books and other fun stuff. Links and details will be posted on my website and in my newsletter, Life in the Slow Lane.

Happy reading! Until next time,
Lee
www.LeeMcKenzie.com