Margaret lives with her husband and two daughters in a Chicago suburb. Her book, A Mother's Heart Knows was published by Thomas Nelson (2005). Go Back and Be Happy, a co-authored book published by Lion Hudson (2008). Margaret has been featured on Greg Wheatly's "Prime Time America," TLN's "Aspiring Women," and LeSea's "The Harvest Show." Margaret writes freelance articles for The Daily Herald, the largest suburban Chicago newspaper. Notable interviews include Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Kinkade, Susan Branch and Dr. John Gottman. Margaret also wrote a feature article for Crosswalk.com. With a master's degree in international business, Margaret became a vice president in the corporate finance division of a New York City bank and worked there from 1986-1993.

Supporting charitable causes is important to Margaret. For the past five years, she has served on the board of directors for WINGS, an organization that helps abused women and their children get a new start in life. Margaret would love to meet you too. Please visit her at her writing blog, From Finance to Fiction or the Pearl Girls blog. You can also follow her on twitter or friend her on facebook.

Join Margaret for Kitchen Chat Friday's at  11am CST!

Have a question for Margaret or one of her guests? Call 1-877-864-4869.

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I'm thrilled about this week's guest - Carl is an amazing man who wears many hats. In some circles he's known as Chef Carl and in other circles he's best known for his publishing expertize with Guideposts as the director of Marketing.

Here is a bit about Carl from his culiniary website: Carl's culinary passions began years ago combining his New England roots with interests in world cuisine.  After spending a year living and studying in France, he returned to the United States and continued his studies in language and culture.  He has studied at the French Culinary Institute and holds a diploma with highest honors in culinary arts from New York’s Institute of Culinary Education.   Through extensive travel in Europe, notably France and Italy, Carl refined his passion and deepened his knowledge of regional cooking of southern France, Provence, Burgundy, Italy and Greece.   He has studied Italian cuisine with such luminaries as Guiliano Bugialli, Anna Teresa Callen and Giulano Hazan. Additional studies have included coursework in food journalism with Alan Richman and food styling with Delores Custer.  One of Carl's passions is the cuisine of India and he has taken class with Suvir Saran and has studied privately with Julie Sahni.

Carl has spent the major part of his career in the world of food media including both publishing and television.  As former Publishing Director for adult readers at DK Publishing/Penguin he created a US based food and wine publishing program acquiring and launching such titles are MORIMOTO: THE NEW ART OF JAPANESE COOKING which was nominated for the prestigious James Beard and IACP awards.  In addition, he published such acclaimed titles as THE ETHNIC PARIS COOKBOOK, IN THE KENNEDY KITCHEN,  and SPAIN AND THE WORLD TABLE with the Culinary Institute of America among others.  He has worked as a culinary researcher for After Five productions, producers of Emeril Lagasse television. In addition, he has worked as a recipe tester with the Food Network and has written and developed recipes for Rodale's PREVENTION magazine.
 
He lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side and continues to follow his culinary passions around the world.  He is fluent in French and Italian and is currently at work on his own series of books.

Join me as I chat with the oh-so-talented author Susan May Warren. We'll hear some surprises from her past as well as some funny stuff from the present. Susan will also be sharing about her latest releases Sons of Thunder, book one in her Brothers in Arms collection and Double Trouble, book two in her PJ Sugar series.

Susan is not only a writer, but she mentors writer's too. She's joined forces with Rachel Hauck and Sarah Anne Sumpolec to create a story-crafting service, My Book Therapy. If you haven't been to one of My Book Therapy's reatreats - sign up TODAY! The next one is in Seattle for all you northwesterners. Also, be sure to sign up for the Voices eZine - so many useful articles and tips.

Have a question for Susan - call in to the show: 1-877-864-4869

Here is the official bio for Susan: Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning author of twenty-four novels with Tyndale, Barbour and Steeple Hill. A four-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Book of the Year.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!) A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at: www.susanmaywarren.com

Don't miss the contest Susan is running for Sons of Thunder - visit the SHARE page at the Brothers In Arms website and share a bit of your family history for your chance to win a Memory Prize Pack (a hardback photo memory book, a 6-month membership to Netflix, and more)!

Win a copy of Double Trouble and Sons of Thunder by leaving  a comment here (along with your email address!)

Susie May Warren’s Writing Inspiration Chocolate Chip Cookies

Combine:
2 c. sugar
1 T. molassas
 ½ c. margarine
½ c.  butter flavored shortening
2 beaten eggs
1 t. vanilla

Beat until well blended.

Add:
3 c. flour
¾ t. baking soda
¾ t. salt

Mix until creamy.

Add ½-1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (stored in the freezer).
Mix until just blended.

Drop in teaspoon sized balls onto a cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes.

Join me this week as I chat with my dear friend and co-author Julie Papievis! 

I co-wrote Go Back and Be Happy with Julie. Her story is AMAZING! In Julie Papievis' words: Traumatic brain injury is the number one killer of persons under the age of 44. Every twenty one seconds, someone suffers a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the United States. As a result, 5.3 million Americans are living with a disability from TBI. This non-discriminatory injury changes life in an instant.

On May 10, 1993 my life was changed forever because someone ran a red light. Featured on Lifetime's "Beyond Chance", CNN, Woman's Day Magazine, and top ranked WB's WGN News, my story is gaining national attention. After a life-threatening car accident, I suffered a severe brain stem injury and medically died, rating a "3", the lowest number possible on the Glascow Coma Scale.

Although medical experts said I would never walk again, or be able to take care of myself, I didn't listen. I believed the words of my grandmothers. Through extensive therapy, I relearned how to stand, walk, and swallow. However, I faced the daunting challenge of facing the able-bodied world as a disabled person. After overcoming paralysis and battling severe depression, I embraced my gift of recovery as a true miracle. In 1999, I ran in a 5K race near Chicago on Mother's Day! In February 2007, I completed my first triathlon. I have become an advocate for other survivors looking for hope and guidance.

Read the first Chapter!

Join us on Friday as we chat with the author who has grown up around the Amish all her life. Her book The Choice was #8 on the CBA Best Seller List last week. Wow! The Choice is book one in a fresh fiction series and explores what happens when one young Amish woman must make the choice of a lifetime…

With a vibrant style and authentic understanding of the Amish way of life, author Suzanne Woods Fisher brings readers into the world of a young Amish woman who is faced with a choice that will impact the rest of her life.

Curious about the Amish and their lifestyle? Call in with your questions 1-877-864-4869!

Suzanne Woods Fisher has straddled the world between the Amish and the English all her life: Many of her relatives are of a strict religious sect like the Amish, known as the Dunkard Brethren Church. Because of Fisher’s ties to the Amish, she has made every effort to keep her storytelling authentic, showcasing the Amish’s strong communities, their simple life-style and their willingness to put each other first. She is also the author of the nonfiction collection of stories about the Amish that came out in October, Amish Peace. Want more? Suzanne is in the process of launching her own radio show, Amish Wisdom. The debut show will be March 11th - mark your calendars!

About The Choice: In her fiction debut, The Choice, Fisher paints a moving picture of the decision Carrie must make as she comes of age: to follow the man she loves and leave the Amish community, or stay and marry another man. Her choice begins a torrent of change for her and her family, including a marriage of convenience to silent Daniel Miller. Both bring broken hearts into their arrangement—and secrets that have been held too long.

Official Blurb: Combined with Fisher's exceptional gift for character development, this novel, the first in the Lancaster County series, is a welcome reminder that it is never too late to find your way back to God—no matter what choices your past may hold.

One moment, Carrie Weaver is planning to elope with Lancaster Barnstormer Solomon Riehl, leaving their Amish community behind. The next, she is staring into a future as broken as her heart. Now Carrie faces a choice. An opportunity. But will this decision, this moment in time, change her life forever?

Sound intriguing?

Win a signed copy of The Choice! Just leave a comment on this post!

Oh, and I'm super excited about the recipe Suzanne is sharing with us! Whoopie!

Recipe: WHOOPIE PIES
 
Just what is a Whoopie Pie? And how did it get its name?

First...the name:

Legend has it that when Pennsylvania Dutch children would find these traditional cream-cheese-icing filled chocolate cookie cakes in their lunches, they'd be so excited they'd cry, "Whoopee!"

 
Whoopie Pies
 
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup shortening
1 cup cocoa
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup thick sour milk
1 cup hot water

Cream together sugar, salt, shortening, vanilla and eggs. Sift together flour, soda and cocoa. Add this to the first mixture alternately with water and sour milk. Add slightly more flour if milk is not thick. Drop by teaspoons. Bake in hot oven at 350 until done.

Source: an Amish cookbook

This recipe doesn't have the filling in it, which you could add with whipped cream. If it seems too complicated, you could always to Williams-Sonoma and buy the mix!

Join us this week as I chat with the founder of KlaasKids Foundation, Marc Klaas, about what parents can do to keep their children safe. Marc's speaks from experience, his story is heartbreaking. On Oct 1, 1993 Marc's twelve-year-old daughter Polly, was kidnapped and murdered. Since then Marc and his family have worked tirelessly to prevent other children and families from becoming victims. Marc will also be sharing about KlaasKids work against domestic citizen sex trafficking and a 5-year initiative that KlaasKids and Flying J Truck Stops has in front of the FCC that would, for the first time provide America’s trucking community with the ability to watch broadcast quality television from the cab of their trucks during mandated truck stops. Please tune in for this vital show and call in with your questions! 1-877-864-4869.

Marc gave up his lucrative rental car franchise to pursue an aggressive child safety agenda. In announcing the formation of the non-profit KlaasKids Foundation in September, 1994 Mr. Klaas said, “We can give meaning to Polly’s death and create a legacy in her name that will be protective of children for generations to come by pursuing the singular mission of stopping crimes against children.” On June 8, 2001 Mr. Klaas co-founded BeyondMissing, Inc., a federally funded California public benefit non-profit corporation.

BeyondMissing provides America's law enforcement community with a free and secure Website to easily and swiftly create and distribute missing child flyers via broadcast fax, email, and SMS technology. Working with Texas Governor Perry’s staff, BeyondMissing, Inc. has created a state of the art high tech Amber Alert application that is unsurpassed in efficiency, speed and dependability.

Through federal and state legislative efforts Mr. Klaas promotes prevention programs for at-risk youth, stronger sentencing for violent criminals and governmental accountability and responsibility. Often times this advocacy takes the form of legislative testimony.

Mr. Klaas has appeared on most network television newsmagazines, syndicated talk shows and is a regular resource for CNN, FOX and MSNBC, offering commentary on missing children and victim’s rights. He has written for Newsweek Magazine and published editorial opinions for newspapers as diverse as the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A sought after speaker, Mr. Klaas has shared a podium with President Bill Clinton, New York Governor George Pataki, California Governor Gray Davis; Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mayor Guliani and many other distinguished civic leaders.

Mr. Klaas travels extensively through the United States facilitating town-hall meetings, encouraging innovative solutions and proven programs that positively impact crime, abuse and neglect that plague children in so many of our communities. He also counsels and advises numerous victim families and families of kidnapped children.

Besides his duties as president of the KlaasKids Foundation and volunteer president of BeyondMissing, Inc. Mr. Klaas sits on the advisory boards of the Center for the Community Interest; Fight Crime Invest in Kids and the National Children's Advocacy Center. For more information please visit www.klaaskids.org.

Marc also shares his FAMOUS FISH TACOS with us!

This contemporary take on a Mexican coastal favorite is easy to make, healthy to eat, and fun to share with friends and family

Awesome Fish Taco’s
12 Flour or Corn tortillas - warmed
1 Lb Ahi steak – grilled to desired doneness
Red cabbage – shredded
Avocado – peeled, pitted and sliced
Lime – cut into eighths
Yogurt/Chipotle sauce (recipe below)
Papaya salsa (recipe below)

Yogurt/Chipotle sauce
Mix 8 oz of Plain Greek Yogurt with 1 Chipotle chili pepper in a small food processor until fully blended. You can use more than one Chipotle depending on the amount of heat desired, but always begin with just one. Be sure to use Greek Yogurt as it is thicker and more substantial than domestic yogurt. This is a healthy and delicious alternative to sour cream.

Papaya salsa
2 cups Papaya – chopped fine
2 Tbs Red Onion – chopped fine
2 Tbs Jalapeno – minced
¼ cup Cilantro – chopped coarsely
¼ cup Lime juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate 1-2 hours before use. Mango is a delicious substitution if you cannot find ripe papaya.

Directions
Place the grilled Ahi, Yogurt/Chipotle sauce, Papaya salsa, shredded red cabbage, sliced avocado in separate mini-serving dishes and place on table with appropriate serving utensils.
Sprinkle tortillas with water on each side and warm on both sides over medium heat on non-stick frying pan.
Place warmed tortilla on plate and spread a teaspoon of Yogurt/Chipotle sauce down middle of tortilla. Then load the other ingredients on as desired. Get ready for a flavor explosion that will blow your mind. Repeat until your eyes bulge and your stomach begs you to stop.