Large Print Books

I’m proud to announce that three of my books are now available in Large Print. So if you’re someone who prefers holding an actual book in your hands and need a larger print, order from Amazon by clicking on the images below.

   

 Cost each $18.98

Oatmeal Bread or Rolls

I’ll be honest. I haven’t actually made this recipe yet. But I was working at Menno Haven Camp when Betty Detweiler was the head cook and her oatmeal rolls were the best bread I’ve ever tasted. I will, I promise myself, try my hand at these myself someday.

1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup quick cooking oats or 1 1/4 cups leftover oatmeal*
1/2 cup brown sugar or honey
1/3 cup margarine
1 T yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 eggs
1 T salt
6 cups of flour

Mix boiling water, oatmeal, margarine, and brown sugar. Let it cool. Into the cooled mixture add the eggs, salt and yeast. Add flour and knead (use additional flour if too sticky). Form into loaves or rolls and let rise in a warm place until about double in size. Bake at 340 degrees for 40 minutes. Makes 2 loaves or 24 rolls.
*If using leftover oatmeal, reduce boiling water to 1 cup. You may also need less flour than 6 cups.

Wheat Germ Muffins

In some ways, this is similar to the recipe I posted the other day. It came from friends of mine who lived at Plow Creek Farm in Tiskilwa, and was served with  fresh berries we had picked ourselves.

I like it best when you smother a muffin with plain yogurt and sliced strawberries. While the recipe calls for muffins, you can also just put the batter into a round or square cake pan. Just be sure to test the middle for doneness with a toothpick before shutting off the oven.

1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup melted butter or oil
1 cup flour
1/2 t salt
4 T baking powder
1 cup wheat germ

Beat eggs, sugar, milk and butter. Sift flour (although I never bother) with salt and baking powder, then mix in the egg mixture. Fill muffin cup about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. Test for doneness with toothpick. Yields about 16 muffins.

Baked Oatmeal

This is the baked oatmeal recipe I use from the old days at Menno Haven Camp, thanks to Betty Detweiler.

1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
6 cups quick cooking oats
1T + 1t baking powder
1t salt
1 t cinnamon
2 cups milk
2 chopped apples (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)

Mix oil, sugar and eggs with electric mixer until yellow and glossy. Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed until blended. Blend in option ingredients.

Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes. Serve warm with brown sugar, milk, chopped dates, etc.

I’ve seen this made with blueberries instead of apples, or substitute any kind of dried fruit like apricots, shopped fine. I have also added nuts sometimes. Try serving with yogurt as a topping, plain with fresh fruit.

A Great Review for A Bull by the Horns

With all the holiday busy-ness the last couple of weeks, I almost missed this wonderful review of A Bull by the Horns by Pauline Michael at Night Owl Reviews. This kind of praise is the best Christmas present a person could ever hope for. Thank you!

Here’s my favorite part:

Deb Donahue delights readers with this fantastic first in a cozy mystery series. Honestly I finished reading this days ago and haven’t stopped talking about it. I’ve mentioned it to friends and family and even a stranger in a doctor’s office. I found the characters and scenario refreshing and entertaining. In fact I was so taken with the story that I’m seriously thinking of finding a retreat like this or starting one of my own. The setting is lovely, the suspects are intriguing and the death, definitely unique and attention grabbing.

Source: A Bull by the Horns – A Coffman Country Art Colony Cozy, #1

To read the whole review, please visit their website.

Black Friday Weekend – FREE Book!

I am so thankful for the blessings I’ve had this year I decided to give away a free Kindle version of Eyes at the Window for Black Friday weekend.  Just think, not only is this a sale you can shop at in your pjs, but it costs absolutely nothing!

Giveaway starts Thanksgiving Day, Thursday Nov. 24 and goes through Monday, Nov. 28.

Is Miranda’s phobic fear of the dark causing paranoia, or did she really see someone staring at her through the window that first night? When she quit her high-stress job as a TV meteorologist and moved to the country, she was looking for peace, quiet, and anonymity.

But her neighbor is hounding her to sell her grandmother’s run down farmhouse, and she keeps glimpsing a mysterious figure lingering on the forest edge at the back of the property.
Is the shadowy figure she sees watching from the barn loft real? Why is Harlan Hunter so insistent on owning her property? When she uncovers a skeleton buried in debris along the creek, Miranda must face her fears to learn the truth.

 

Free Kindle Book Nov. 24 – 28

Windy City Reviews Weighs In

Want to hear what Starza Thompson had to say about A Bull by the Horns on Windy City Reviews?  Here’s a small taste. Go to their site to read the whole thing.

“I found the premise of this novel enjoyable and refreshing. Combining farming and the typical worries of crops, nosy neighbors, and the legacy of the Coffman name with the quirky artists in residence and the complications of a murder, makes for an interesting read. Add in a part-time sheriff as the main character’s husband and you have a lot of action being carried out by a character (Carina) who wouldn’t otherwise have much to do with a murder investigation. Tension, guessing—and second guessing—and questioning the motives of every character, makes this story a true delight to read.”

Source: Windy City Reviews – Book Reviews – Book Review: A Bull by the Horns

The First Two Reviews Are In

A Bull by the Horns earned two reviews in September, each with a five star rating. Here’s a couple excerpts from what the readers had to say:

“Here’s a book you’ll sit up in bed to read or take to work to read on your lunch hour. Once you start it, you’ll look up and be surprised that you’re not in a spacious farmhouse, dealing with the deftly drawn assortment of characters who are guests in Carina’s art colony, or that the weather outside isn’t what it’s doing so realistically in the novel.”

“Set on a farm in Ellendale, it is Donahue’s depiction of Coffman’s Country Art Colony that stuck with me days after finishing the novel. It made me want to sign up for the Coffman’s Art Colony—or not. You’ll see what I mean.”

Looking for a new #cozymystery? Read an #excerpt of A Bull by the Horns

Word is starting to get out. D.E. Haggerty posted a feature of A Bull by the Horns on her website. I hope you will help me spread the word by letting your friends know the book is available.

A Goodreads Giveaway

The Goodreads Giveaway of A Bull by the Horns starts today and goes through August 19. Enter today for your chance to win one of three print copies.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

A Bull by the Horns

by Deb Donahue

Giveaway ends August 19, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway