Because joyful_molly posted a recipe last week, I thought I would share one, too.  I can and do cook, being self-taught, and the best thing I make is spaghetti.  Mom loves my spaghetti.  Bear with me.  I’ve never done this before, so don't hit me if I sound retarded.

Zim’s Flavorful Spaghetti:

(Note: I don’t really measure out ingredients, so I’ll try to approximate the measurements).

1 pound lean ground beef
1 golden onion or 2 shallots
1/4 cup red cooking wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Your choice of pasta
Your choice of sauce
 
Moisten large skillet with olive oil and allow to warm on medium to high heat.  Once oil is hot, place ground beef in skillet and brown, draining excess water and oil as needed, and breaking up meat.  Add basil and garlic powder.  Once meat is reasonably brown, but not yet fully cooked, add red wine and simmer for a few minutes.  The wine and basil add a light sweetness to the meat.

Drain wine and excess fluids.  Add shallots or onions (you can also add chopped mushrooms, bell peppers, etc) and stir until cooked.  I always wait until the meat is fully cooked to add other ingredients.  Add sauce and mix.  Very soon, I am going to try my hand at making my own sauce.  I prefer a nice bolognese or marinara.

I think everyone knows how to make pasta, right?  I always start the water boiling, then start on the meat once the pasta goes into the pot.  The meat sauce takes less than ten minutes to prepare.

Phaze has just published The Sacred King, the sequel to last year's Claiming Ariadne.  Go forth and buy.  And I also have Helen's Daughter (historical, not erotica) available at Amazon Kindle and Smashwords.
 

Looking for ways to promote my latest release, The Young Lion.  If you have not bought your copy yet, please do.  And if you like it, please leave a review and pass the word to your friends.  It's far cheaper on Kindle ($2.99) than it will be in print ($23), and it is a cut above anything else I have written before.  No writing a story around sex scenes.  Far superior in terms of copy editing and formatting.  And there's a map!

I don't know why Amazon and CreateSpace make self-published print so horribly expensive.  There's no logic in it, because it's print-on-demand, with no overhead.  Therefore, it should be cheaper than traditional paperbacks.  I only decided to pursue a print option to go along with the ebook because not everyone has Kindle.