A Potato Salad Recipe You Won’t Soon Forget!

While researching the eating habits of the characters of a yet to be satisfactorily outlined romance novel, I came across a food site aptly named Fine Dining Lovers. This beautifully structured site is an ode to, wait for it, fine dining! The recipes are straightforward, the anecdotes amusing, if not nostalgic and the images of the finished product are downright mouthwatering. Galleries, videos, blogs, tips and a section dedicated to cooking apps earns this site triple A’s in my book!

Many a menu on Fine Dining Lovers boast a rather intimidating list of ingredients, and it took a while to rev me up into attempting something. I’m proud to say I scaled and conquered the slippery slope of Peking Duck, but the recipe I’d like to share today, courtesy of Fine Dining Lovers, is simple, nutritious and quite filling.

Mediterranean Potato Salad with Olives and Feta

Ingredients

800g Irish potatoes

200g red tomatoes

150g Feta cheese

100g green and black olives

2 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of fresh basil

2 fresh green peppers

4 tbsp of vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Peel, wash and halve the potatoes, then boil until cooked. Set aside to cool.

Roughly chop the tomatoes and retain 6 tbsp of the oil.

Separate the basil from the stocks and dice.

Wash, halve, core and roughly dice the peppers. Peel the garlic, then chop finely.

Mix the vinegar with the tomato oil to create a dressing.

Mix the potatoes, olives, tomatoes, basil, peppers and garlic with the dressing and crumble the feta over the salad.

Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Great Bite?

Peking duck. The play of the plum sauce on the duck’s crispy skin merits no other word except divine!    

Purchase your copy of Love’s Pendulum here and here. Thanks!

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TV Shows That Will Chase Your Writing Blues Away

William Zinsser is quoted as saying writing is thinking on paper. This simple notion doesn’t often play out in reality. I admire anyone with the ability to consistently pen exceptional work despite the changing tides of both their immediate environment and life in general. Whether you’re musing over new material or smack in the middle of one, writer’s block is one unforgiving {fill in your choice word here}.

One of the reasons behind this creativity purgatory is confidence. Or lack thereof. For example, if you’ve had the privilege of recurring success, pressure to sustain your momentum is inevitable. Waning inspiration is another reason why some authors will confess to going days, weeks and even years without writing a single word.

You may have abided to certain rules such as keeping a writing schedule, managing, at least, 300 words a day no matter what rubbish it sums up to, and even subjected your body to a series of uncomfortable angles in the belief that it will fend off the negativity, but if you still can’t shake off this depressing sensation, then I advocate for television watching. There’s nothing like venturing into another dimension to escape reality, or even better, provide a reprieve for the one you’re attempting to create. Here are 3 shows that never fail to live up to my need for escape.

La Femme Nikita

Not the CW offshoot, but the original, Canadian version, which ran for 5 seasons. The cast are stellar in their portrayal of members of a secret agency. The set is futuristic, the technology impressive and the blatant callousness of the leading antagonists, namely Section and Madeline, send shivers down my spine. On the question of chemistry, the relationship between Nikita and Roy Dupuis’s character is yet to be outdone by anything I’ve seen since. Josephine?  

Prison Break

What’s more entertaining than two attractive brothers fleeing prison and spending 4 seasons trying to clear their names? I caught this massive FOX hit in the middle of the third season, and I was immediately hooked.  I am now the proud owner of the entire DVD box set. The twists and turns, and the loyalty between the characters is nothing if not endearing. Who needs to write when you have a government conspiracy to solve?  

Scandal

Yu-mmie! This is, by far, Shonda Rhimes’s best work. The ABC must-see is not only scorchingly sexy, it’s smart. I’ve wasted precious hours immersing myself in political thrillers, regardless of medium, but I haven’t been this entertained in a long while. My verdict? 10/10!

Well, those are my guilty pleasures, though a mere handful! What about you? What TV shows help you through your rut?    

Great Bite?

Orange candied popcorn. TV food with a twist!

Purchase your copy of Love’s Pendulum here and here. Thanks!

Follow @RaychelLane

Some Encouraging Quotes For a Despairing Writer {or anyone for that matter!}

Phew! I’ve just put to bed another work, and by that I mean completed a fourth read-through of a crime novel, keenly aware from previous experiences that two more linger in the horizon {don’t judge!}! A work is never truly complete and self-editing is an arduous process when you take it in perspective. Spell checks, grammar checks, sentence structures, ellipse usage, contractions… It all gets to be too much sometimes.

Like most writers, I have a system of editing my work, and the predictability of that system has its drawbacks on the enthusiasm scale.  If you’ve been there, tempted to hit delete in the throes of frustration, don’t despair. Help is near.

I amass quotes to help me cope with life’s burdens, and the few I’ve listed below have helped my sanity tremendously. I’ve left out the names responsible for these great words, and take no credit for them, but I hope they reel you back from the brink as often as they have done for me. Here goes!

Never be satisfied with the first draft. In fact, never be satisfied with your own stuff at all, until you’re certain it’s as good as your finite powers can enable it to be.

The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.

Be ambitious for the work and not for the reward.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

Finish what you start.

Remember, writing doesn’t love you. It doesn’t care. Nevertheless, it can behave with remarkable generosity. Speak well of it, encourage others, pass it on.

Only bad writers think that their work is good.

Don’t wait for inspiration. Discipline is key.

Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it!

Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.

Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.

Be without fear. This is impossible, but let the small fears drive your rewriting and set aside the large ones until they behave – then use them, maybe even write them. Too much fear and all you’ll get is silence.

Now shrug off your melancholy and get cracking on whatever it is that needs done to transport you to a higher plane of excellence.

Great Bite?

Sweet and sour pork rinds. Yum yum!

Purchase your copy of Love’s Pendulum here and here. Thanks!

Follow @RaychelLane