| READ & FEED--July 2007 Little Big Heart by Dolores Wilson Campfires, ball playing, Fourth of July picnic, and CAT scans all have one thing in common: Cassie Riley, but which one? In Little Big Heart by Dolores J. Wilson, the heroine is Jane Doe, found by the roadside and left for dead. Could it be that her hotheaded husband had something to do with it? She was leaving him to start a brand new life in Florida. Unfortunately, she meets with an untimely accident and ends up in the care of the widowed Dr. Daniel Lucas, and no one knows where Jane Doe came from or where she was headed. Back in the year 1876. Cassie Riley and her six-year-old son Joey are left alone by Cassie’s hotheaded husband Bobby Lee to manage a ranch in Montana. He never did know how to treat a lady, always running out on Cassie and Joey when there was work to be done on the ranch. Dr. Daniel Lucas has an attraction to his patient, Jane Doe. His son Joey is also drawn to her as well. Joey sits at her bedside and tells her stories about Cassie Riley and her young son back in the old West, stories that his mom told him before she passed away from a brain tumor. The talented Dolores Wilson weaves a wonderful story of love, loss, and second chances, taking the reader back and forth from the present day to the era of the Old West. This book will yank heartstrings in several directions before it's done and sprinkles in many surprises before everything is beautifully brought together at the end of the book. I won't tell you any more. You’re going to have to read it to find out. This month's recipe is in memory of the lady who first introduced me to it. She has been gone a year, but so fondly not forgotten. It’s a great way to celebrate the Fourth. Just add fresh whipped cream and you got yourself some mighty fine eatin'. BLUEBERRY SOUR CREAM COFFEECAKE (Yield: one cake, 10-12 servings) TOPPING 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened slightly COFFEE CAKE 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/5 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 pint fresh blueberries, picked over Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. To make the topping, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium-size bowl and mix. Add the walnuts and stir to combine. Add the butter and mix with your fingers until the mixture has a moist, crumbly texture. Set aside. Prepare the cake by sifting the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into another medium-size bowl. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after the first addition. While beating, add half of the sour cream, followed by half of the flour mixture, the remaining sour cream and the vanilla, and then add the rest of the flour mixture. Blend thoroughly. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and gently fold in the blueberries. Stir sparingly so as not to turn the batter blue from the berries. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Distribute the topping over the batter. Place the pan on a baling sheet and bake for about 55 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, then release the sides of the pan. Cut the coffeecake into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature. |