Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL**
with CATE BEAUMAN!
Welcome to my Friday bonus feature called Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **Author Special**!! Today, in lieu of one of my own recipes, I’m going to introduce you to a new author who will share one of her favorite recipes. Not only will you and I occasionally learn how to make something new and delicious, but we’ll get a chance to check out some wonderful authors. Introducing author, Cate Beauman, and her favorite recipe for BLACK BEAN BROWNIES!
ANSWERS FOR JULIE
Bodyguards of L.A. County Series, Book Nine
BY CATE BEAUMAN
Blurb
Award winning romantic suspense author Cate Beauman is back with the ninth full length novel in the Bodyguards of L.A. County series. Answers For Julie is on sale now through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and more!
Julie Keller relishes the simple things: hot chocolate on winter nights, good friends she calls her family, and her laid-back career as a massage therapist and yoga instructor. Julie is content with her life until Chase Rider returns to Bakersfield.
Bodyguard Chase Rider isn’t thrilled to be back in the town where he spent his childhood summers. His beloved grandmother passed away, leaving him a house in need of major repairs. With a three-week timetable and a lot to do, he doesn’t have time for distractions. Then he bumps into Julie, the one woman he hoped never to see again. Chase tries to pretend Julie doesn’t exist, but ten years hasn’t diminished his attraction to the hazel-eyed stunner.
When a stranger grabs Julie’s arm at the grocery store—a woman who insists Julie’s life isn’t what it seems, Chase can’t help but get involved. Julie and Chase dig into a twenty-five-year-old mystery, unearthing more questions than answers. But the past is closer than they realize, and the consequences of the truth have the potential to be deadly.
ANSWERS FOR JULIE
Bodyguards of L.A. County Series, Book Nine
BY CATE BEAUMAN
The inspiration behind Answers For Julie:
I often get my story ideas from watching crime documentaries, but the plot for Answers For Julie came together after I read some sobering FBI statistics in a magazine about the odds of a missing child coming home. Unfortunately, many children are lost forever. The wheels began spinning quickly after that, and a few weeks later, the story was well on its way.
I hope you enjoy Julie and Chase as much as I enjoyed writing them!
~ Cate
EXCERPT
“Good night.” She turned on her side as Becky left and snuggled into her covers, listening to the music from downstairs while she stared at the white lights twinkling on the baby Christmas tree she and mommy had decorated for her room. Noah’s excited voice carried from his room, and her eyes drooped in the warmth and comfort of her bed. Her mind drifted to the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who, and her eyes flew open when her bedroom door creaked shut. She didn’t like her door closed.
Sitting up, Alyson relaxed when she realized she wasn’t alone and looked at the woman dressed in a black coat and hat, Becky’s friend who liked to come and play with her and push her on the swings at the park.
“Hi, Ally,” she whispered, stepping farther in the room, looking over her shoulder.
“Hi.” She yawned. “Did you come to play with me?”
“Whisper,” the woman said, glancing over her shoulder again.
She smiled. “Okay.”
“Do you want to come with me? We could go to the park.”
Alyson glanced out the window at fat snowflakes falling in the dark, pushed off her covers, and stood. “I have to ask my mommy.”
“She said it’s okay, but we have to hurry and be very, very quiet.” The woman moved to the bed, grabbed two teddy bears and laid them down, pulling the blankets up and over the stuffed animals. “It’s a secret game.”
Becky and Noah’s voices were muffled through the wall, and Alyson pressed her hand to her mouth, suppressing a giggle. “I like secret games.”
“Me too. Come on.” The woman took something from her pocket with gloved hands and unfolded it, laying a piece of paper flat at the foot of the bed.
“What’s that?”
“A note so your mommy will remember I took you to the park.”
“I only want to play for a little while. I’m going to see Santa with mommy and Noah.”
“Just for a little bit,” the woman assured with a smile. “Let’s hurry.” She lifted Alyson and bundled her under the pink and purple blanket Grandma Porter made for her when she had been a teeny, tiny baby.
“I need my boots and coat.”
“I have some for you at my house.”
“Okay.”
The woman walked to the bedroom door and stopped, holding a finger to her lips. “Shh.”
Alyson grinned and said “Shh” back.
The woman stepped into the hallway and out the French doors that opened to the large balcony Alyson and Noah weren’t allowed to play on and hurried down the long sweep of stairs.
Alyson clung tight to the woman taking her to the park. She stared back at her huge brick and pillar house lit with hundreds of Christmas lights as Becky’s friend ran with her into the shadows of the street.
Did you enjoy the excerpt? You can read the first chapter on my website, www.catebeauman.com, or you can finish the whole book here!
The Unofficial Answers For Julie Soundtrack
Music still plays such a large part in my writing process. I listen to Pandora or YouTube and compile a collection of songs that I feel represent my characters or the situations they face as the novel unfolds. Here are a few of the songs that I had on “repeat” while I created Julie and Chase’s story! You can listen to all of them on my website www.catebeauman.com.
The soundtrack, of sorts, for Answers For Julie:
- Leaving Home by Cody Fry and Raquel Cole
- All The Stars by Ed Sheeran
- Rust Or Gold by Jill Andrews
- American Secrets by Parachute
- Thinking Of You by Katy Perry
- Battleship by Daughtry
- Find My Way Back by Cody Fry
- The Last Time by Taylor Swift ft. Gary Lightbody
- Running Back To You by Matt Wertz
- Ungodly Hour by The Fray
- I Need You by LeAnn Rimes
- Free Like You Make Me by The Cary
About the author…Cate Beauman.
Cate currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, their two boys, and St. Bernard’s, Bear and Jack. She is the author of the international bestselling and award winning romantic suspense series, Bodyguards of L.A. County. Before her career as an author, Cate worked in special education for 12 years.
“I’m a pretty lucky girl; one day I woke up and my entire life changed. I saw the light, so to speak, and decided I was going to be a writer. Now, five years later, I’m working on my tenth novel! I remain so very grateful for the support and success that I have had. Thank you!” – Cate
Links to Cate’s website, blog, books, etc.
SIGN UP FOR CATE’S NEWSLETTER TO BE NOTIFIED OF MONTHLY GIVEAWAY OFFERS
http://www.catebeauman.com/#!newsletter-sign-up/c9td
Amazon Author Page
http://www.amazon.com/Cate-Beauman/e/B00A05KHVM/
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1eo0b43
Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1122154741?ean=294015133646
iBooks:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/answers-for-julie-book-nine/id1007575788?ls=1&mt=11
Social links:
I hope you enjoy the recipe Cate is sharing with us today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy eating!
Karen
P.S. We’re at 205 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. In the right hand column menu, you can even look up past recipes by type. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.
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BLACK BEAN BROWNIE RECIPE
[Mommy’s Kitchen Recipe]
Note from Cate: I’m a big fan of healthful eating, but I also have a sweet tooth. Whenever possible, I try to use recipes that offer the best of both worlds, and these black bean brownies are truly sensational. I know, it sounds weird, but these brownies are really, really good; plus, they’re fairly good for you with the added fiber and iron that black beans provide.
I tried Mommy’s Kitchen’s recipe, one of my favorite food blogs, and I can’t imagine making any other brownies again! I’ve even heard my kids fighting over who gets the last brownie in the pan. Now, that’s saying something!
I hope you’ll give them a try and find them as delicious as my family and I do!
1-15oz can black beans, drained, rinsed, and pureed
1/4-cup water
2-ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1/3- cup vegetable shortening (I use organic butter)
1-teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan or 8x8x2-inch pan for thicker brownies.
- To puree black beans, combine beans with the 1/4 cup of water. Puree in food processor or blender until very smooth (If using the blender, you may need a bit more water).
- Melt the chocolate and shortening (or butter) in microwave or by using a double-boiler. Cool chocolate mixture slightly and beat in eggs well then add the sugar, vanilla, and pureed black beans.
- In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and add into the chocolate mixture. Make sure to mix thoroughly.
- Spread the batter evenly into a prepared pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares.
Good morning, Cate, and welcome back to Karen’s Killer Fixin’s! I can’t wait to try this recipe! My husband loves brownies and I don’t make them any more because it’s bad for both of us. I think I’ve found a replacement!
Love the excerpt from your new book, too! Can’t wait to read it! 🙂
Hi Karen!!
Yes! I made these brownies for my family and didn’t tell them I swapped the recipe… (evil, I know!) They devoured them! They liked them so much that they didn’t even blink an eye when I told them it was a black bean recipe!
Let them eat… surprise them later!
Thanks for letting me stop by! I LOVE Killer Fixins!
~Cate
Ok
I’m a chocolate skeptic lol but I’m gonna try them.
Sounds interesting for sure!
Thank you for the recipe, love your books!
Thank you Tina! I actually just made another batch of these brownies yesterday… gone already! They are yummy!
I hope you are enjoying some family time this weekend,
~Cate
The recipe is interesting. Sadly, my daughter is the baker in the family and I can’t trick her if she is doing the baking…. I’ll find a way to make them but it’s gonna take some time. 😉
Good luck Glenda!