Hi.  That's Allie lounging in the sun.   I'm Pam.  I'm an author who's decided to learn to cook.  Not that I can't cook.  I microwave well!  I make salads!  I order online...

Working from home, I have a lot more time to try new things. One thing I want to master is cooking.  For years, I've collected cookbooks and torn recipes out of magazines and printed recipes from the internet.  I have a TON of them shouting "Me! Me!," all trying to get my attention.

I'm going to start with simple dishes.  I'm a lover of tuna noodle casseroles.  I can see a lot of frowns out there from people who either think it's an unhealthy choice or people who think it's too easy.  Mainly, I haven't had a tuna noodle casserole in a really long time and I miss it.  I thought I had a recipe tucked away somewhere that I've actually used in the past...the long ago past, but when I tried to find it I had no luck.  So, I've been searching for other recipes.  All those cookbooks I've been collecting--nope.  I found a few broccoli casseroles.  Maybe I can substitute tuna for broccoli?

I took a break and searched another cupboard with cookbooks and found "San Francisco a la Carte, A Cookbook."  It has a tuna noodle casserole!  It asks for chopped green peppers.  Do you think that means bell peppers or chili peppers?  I kind of think the chili peppers would be more exciting.  It also asks for water chestnuts.  I guess it's a fancy cookbook so had to pretty the casserole up.  Also asks for chopped celery...a whole cup.  I'm not a big fan.  I don't get why people like to put celery in stuff.  I'll probably cut the celery way down.  Maybe 1/4 cup, or a few tablespoons.  I'll put cooking a tuna noodle casserole on the agenda for Saturday.  I'll need all day to figure it out.

Meantime, I'm writing books.  I have three published ones, and a fourth is coming out March 9.  The upcoming one is the third in a middle grade series.

Everyone says it's important to have a blog.  I didn't jump on the idea, because I wondered what I'd write about.  I thought my culinary journey might be interesting, and maybe people would be interested in my books.  So this is my first entry in my new Writing and Cooking blog.

I have a question for other writers.  Is there such a thing as an idea person?  Someone who helps you with story direction, as in you have a good start but don't know where to take the story, so it would be someone who can make creative suggestions regarding a story line.  I think of that usually partway through each of my books and end up figuring it out for myself, but I sometimes think I'd love a little help.  For laughs, I googled "plot ideas" and got a lot of writing prompts, but that's not what I need.  I'm probably stuck with doing it myself.

I guess this is all for now.  I'll come back after I've cooked up a fabulous tuna noodle casserole.




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  Allie thinks I'm invading her privacy.  That's her I'm not happy look. The tuna casserole was a success (even if it looks creepy in the picture).  My sister Sheila came over to try it.  She thought it was good but seemed more like a pasta dish than a casserole.  I forgot that I meant to add green chilis until I was in the middle of putting it together, but that can of green chilis I thought I had turned out to be nonexistent.  Maybe next time I'll make a list before I go to the market.  Maybe next time I'll put in jalapenos, too. Here are the casserole and the iffy Palmini recipe: And, in case you were wondering, here's a picture of my odd onion.  It's creepy, too.  Don't worry...I threw it away. I've already found my next cooking project.  It's from The Oaks, a spa in Ojai, so it should be super healthy (at least that's what I'm telling myself), only 180 calories.  It's called "Artichoke Chili Stuffed Potato." It's k...
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