Gelato

I actually have several book reviews in progress, but haven’t had the time to sit down and flesh them out (and make sure I have things right, like the characters’ names or the spelling of the author’s name, little details like that!) as I’ve been busily working on an outline/synopsis for a novel. I’ve had a story accepted for publication and the editor wants me to expand said story into a novel, hence the outline. I suck at outlining, so it was a bit of a trauma getting it written. Outlines have always made me feel hemmed in creatively and I either have a huge block towards them or lack the ability to plot without starting at chapter one and laboriously following my characters through the story. Either way, I did get a short and VERY basic outline finished and sent off. Yay me!

What, you ask, does this have to do with gelato? I just finished a cup of dark chocolate and Tahitian vanilla bean goodness before writing this post. It was on my mind, doncha know. And OH so very very very decadent and yummy… For those of you not in the know, I will quote from the Caffe Gelato website here:

Gelato is Italy’s version of ice cream, with three major differences.
First, gelato has significantly less butterfat than ice cream’s typical 18 and 26 percent. Tests conducted by Delaware’s Department of Agriculture confirmed Caffé Gelato’s vanilla and chocolate gelato both have less than 10 percent butterfat.

However, less fat does not mean less taste. With the lower butterfat content, gelato is less solidly frozen than ice cream and melts in the mouth faster.Therefore, the customer will taste gelato’s full flavor immediately.



Second, gelato has a much higher density than ice cream. Ice cream is produced by mixing cream, milk and sugar, then adding air. Manufacturers add air to ice cream because it nearly doubles the quantity of their product. But, it cuts their quality in half. No air is added to gelato. The result is a higher quality dessert with a richer, creamier taste.

Third, gelato is served slightly warmer than ice cream. While both gelato and ice cream are served well below the freezing temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, gelato is served 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice cream. Because it is less solidly frozen, gelato’s taste is further enhanced as it melts in the mouth.

I will be reviewing a book this weekend, as well as posting on Fatal Foodies. Do check out that blog (there are five of us currently posting each week) if you’re into mysteries and food! Or just food. It’s a very droolable read! And don't forget my new blog is here! Still trying to make that switch...

Revving up the engines

I just got the first sample of the cover for MFH (now officially titled: MURDER FOR HIRE - THE PERUVIAN PIGEON since we're looking at a series here) and am starting to get excited about the reality of the damn thing being published after all these years. I'd post it here, but they (Rock Publishing Inc.) sent it to me as a Read Only Adobe pdf, so it won't upload. No problem, I'll scan it to my computer when I get to work and post it then.

ANYway, I don't have the back cover yet and Lynne (she who is doing the cover art) is still tinkering with the front, but just getting to look at the design has me frothing at the bit (I love that expression even though makes me sound like a rabid horse...and do horses even get rabies? Am I mixing my metaphors?) to get going on publicity. I need to get an actual author website up and running and am trying to decide between spending the dough to have www.danafredsti.com designed by a professional or trying it myself and having www.danafredsti.google.com or whatever free site I choose to host the webpage. I have no idea how to design a webpage, who to host it, how to do this mad, gay thing. So...any opinions?

Another positive side-effect (affect? I will never get those two straight , no matter how many books and stories I end up publishing in this lifetime) is that after pretty much two straight years of atrophy, my writing muscles have started to stretch out again. I picture them as about 50 pounds overweight, lots of flab over unused muscle. I have to feed them junk novels every now and again to appease and motivate them. They're not doing it easily or happily ("yo, bitch, that hurts! Knock it off or we'll Barbara Cartland on you!"), but they're working.

I'm going to the airport in two hours to pick up Dave, who is joining me for the rest of my housesitting stint. The four kittens are staying with a friend and her husband (Dave called me yesterday to tell me that the kittens had left, pretty much near tears. So it's NOT JUST ME, folks! I'm not the only one who gets attached to the little furballs!) while we're both gone. I bet the cats are much relieved to have the little hairballs out of the way for a few days. This is a picture of their safety zone when the rugrats get too 'bunctious...

And that's all I got for the moment!