When I was first married, I didn’t know how to cook. At all. I could set a table and throw together a passable chef’s salad, but that was the extent of my culinary expertise. As a result, my poor husband received more than his share of burnt offerings that first year.
Likewise, Jake Tyler hasn’t always been a great cook. He looked for recipes all over the place and then experimented and made his own tweaks. Here are some dishes that appear in The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club:
Ingredients
2 cups cake flour (You can use all-purpose flour instead, but cake flour is finer and lighter. Fair warning: It requires sifting first.)
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar, sliced fresh strawberries, blueberries or your favorite syrup
Non-stick cooking spray
Directions
Preheat your waffle iron.
Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a big bowl. In a medium bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Add milk, butter and vanilla. Gently stir into dry ingredients until combined. Do not over mix.
Beat the egg whites with a whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold into the batter. Do not over mix! (This is starting to be a theme, isn’t it?)
Spray your waffle iron with non-stick spray. Pour in batter and bake according to manufacturer’s directions until golden brown.
Serve your waffles dusted with powdered sugar, garnished with fresh strawberries or blueberries. Or you can drown them in syrup if you like.
The recipe makes about 10 waffles and I’m sorry to have to tell you that two waffles have 696 calories. But Jake says if you enjoy them with someone you love, the calories don’t count.
“A unique take on what it means to go home again.” —Kristan Higgins, New York Times bestselling author
The lake is crystal blue, the hills roll for miles, and breaking news travels via the Methodist prayer chain. But don’t let the postcard fool you. Coldwater Cove, Oklahoma, leavens its small-town charm with plenty of Ozark snark.
For Lacy Evans, returning to flyover country is the definition of failure. She had everything she wanted—an award-winning design firm, a chic city condo, a handsome, aristocratic almost-fiancé. Then her boyfriend ran off with her receptionist and her clients’ money. Now she’s out of business and crashing on her parents’ couch. When she slides into a booth at the Green Apple Grill, she’s feeling lower than a worm’s belly.
But Lacy’s old classmate Jacob Tyler is happy to see her. Coldwater’s football hero came back from Afghanistan short part of a leg and some peace of mind, but he’s counting his blessings, and Lacy could be one of them. Then there’s her ex, Daniel, wearing a sheriff’s badge and a wedding ring, but looking like young summer love. And a host of unlikely serendipities: the selfless do-gooders who sneak around taming curmudgeons and constructing second chances. The Fighting Marmots. The sprawling, take-no-prisoners Bugtussle clan.
Lacy thought she knew her hometown, and herself. She just wanted to get on her feet and keep running. But the longer she stays, the more she finds to change her mind. . .
“Readers of sweet romance will fall in love with Coldwater Cove. Lexi Eddings’s talent shines in this edgy, fresh story.” —Kristan Higgins, New York Times bestselling author