Welcome to Cooking the Books! Today my guest is contemporary romance author, Jennifer St George. Last time we caught up with Jen we heard about her kitchen woes and how they were all going to be solved with the aid of a Thermomix. Well, let’s find out how that little experiment has turned out, shall we? But before we do, whatever her shortcomings in the kitchen, Jen sure does know how to deliver a sizzling alpha billionaire hero. The latest book in her fabulous Billionaires series was released this month by Destiny Romance. Here’s Jennifer!
Why Can’t my Characters Cook For Me?
Cooking. It’s not my forte. I’m a very basic cook and will use any excuse to order take away rather than cook a meal. I’d love to be a great cook, and to that end I purchased a Thermomix, which I talked about during my last visit to Cook the Books.
The Thermomix promises that even the most inexperienced cooks will be able to prepare dishes they never before dreamed were possible. It can chop, whip, mix, emulsify, mill, knead, cook, blend, stir, steam, weigh and heat. I was sold.
So, how’s it going? Well, my young daughter can now cook amazing meals, which is fantastic. She is a natural in the kitchen. She’s whipped up tuna pasta, made her own pesto (and now grows her own basil so she can make it fresh from the garden), has produced almost a hundred batches of Anzac biscuits and lots more. She loves it.
How am I going? Well, I’m disappointed because I still have to shop for ingredients and put them in the right order and the right amount. When they make a machine that does that, then I might look like a good cook. I have made a couple of quite successful soups and salads, but I think you need to want to cook to get the best of the Themomix.
Anyway, because I’m such a rubbish cook I consciously ensure all my heroines are brilliant cooks (yes, living out my fantasies through my fiction). They make fabulous meals. I know about amazing meals because I read all those gourmet magazines and indulge in quite a few restaurant meals…I just can’t replicate these mouth-watering morsels in the kitchen, but I can write about them.
My latest release, Tempted by the Billionaire Tycoon is set in a luxury health retreat. My heroine Poppy effortlessly whips up a meal of carrot and ginger soup followed by chicken with salsa verde and roast courgette and red peppers and finishes the meal with lime and rose sorbet. All organic ingredients and all delicious. Apparently Poppy could have made all these meals in my Thermomix. Shame Poppy is just a figment of my imagination!
![TemptedBy_2b[2]](https://louwrites.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/temptedby_2b2.jpeg)
Thanks, Jen. So what about you, dear reader? Are you an old-fashioned cook who eschews modern gadgets in favour of technique? Or will you grab anything going in order to make life easy?
Author Bio:
Jennifer St George is a romance author whose sexy stories feature courageous, career-minded heroines, strong heroes in glamorous international settings. Out in October, Tempted by the Billionaire Tycoon is the second book in Jennifer’s Billionaire Romance series.
You can buy Tempted by the Billionaire Tycoon from:
Find Jennifer at:
Lou Writes 
Hi, Jen and Lou. Even though I do love to cook the old-fashioned way, it wasn’t always so. My early failures in the kitchen have become the stuff of family legend. There’s the one where I attempted to boil six eggs in the microwave and DH had to clean up the mess. Did I mention I hit the ‘door open’ button to see how things were going just before all six exploded? There were drippy, eggy tendrils hanging from the light bulbs…
Eggs in the microwave? Love it! Thanks for commenting, Chris.
Oh no, Christine. It was lucky you weren’t burnt!!
I don’t think I should talk about my kitchen failures….we’d be here too long!
Yum, carrot and ginger soup sounds brilliant. My favourite toy this year is the soup maker. Hot soup in 22 minutes has me won over. Now just to find something that will get me through a southern summer. Congratulations on being Tempted by the Thermomix Tycoon!
Hmmm, a soup maker. That sounds great, Sahsa. Although I’m pretty sure my Thermomix is supposed to make soup easily. Must hit those cook books.
Thermomix Tycoon – excellent!
Soup maker? What the? Take a pot, turn on the gas, add the ingredients and water…You’re a hoot, Sasha 🙂
I also love my Thermomix however I often cook for between 6-9 guests and my Thermo doesn’t make quite enough. But the homemade stock impressed me and i use it in many meals. My specialty is the orange cake with lemon cream cheese icing.
Yum, orange cake with lemon cream cheese icing. Must look that one up, Leesa. Sounds brilliant!
Another Thermo girl! I can’t get my head around it. Maybe I need to go to a party and see how it works. Thanks for dropping by, Leesa.
The thought of a Thermomix terrifies me, so you’re better than me Jen! I think I’m a control freak. Great blog!
Thanks, Dana. Cooking every night terrifies me!
Yay, Dana! Terrifies me too. But I am still looking for one of those little things that hollow out the zucchinis 🙂
Great post Jen. I am very much in the “I cook because we have to eat” category. It doesn’t mean I can’t cook, it’s just that I would rather be doing anything else 🙂 although I have to admit I enjoy baking….brownies, biscuits, pies etc. I love how you cook vicariously through your characters. Maybe you should challenge your daughter to recreate Poppy’s menu.
Excellent idea, Peta. And I always have some cooking in my books. I think Jen is more interested than she makes out 🙂
Great idea to organise my daughter to cook Poppy’s meal. She’d do a great job. I’ll get her onto those brownies, biscuits and pies too!
Ah, the lure of the Thermi! They’re so tempting and I certainly wouldn’t say no if someone offered me a freebie, but I must admit I love the whole process of cooking. All that soothing chopping and mixing, sticking your fingers into things, the smell when you cut that first slice of lemongrass, the seductive feel of dough as it comes smooth from kneading… So to that end I suspect I’m a bit old fashioned. On the other hand, it’s very hard to pass up a good gadget!
All the best with Tempted by the Billionaire Tycoon, Jen. That’s a sexy looking cover for sure.
Ah, another lover of the knife and whisk. I knew I could count on you, Cathryn! Lovely to see you here, as always.
Hmm, you make cooking sound so good. I can just imagine all the fabulous things you can cook, Cathryn. The Thermy is a great gadget. I must use it more!!!
Thanks re Tempted. I love this cover!!
I like to cook, but when I’m writing I like to make quick, healthy meals with very little prep time and minimal washing up. Unless it’s winter when I made lots of soup. Chopping vegies is good for the muse. Best of luck with Tempted by the Billionaire Tycoon — looks fab!
Thanks so much, Anne. I’m a big fan of the quick and healthy meal. Have to admit though I’m a bigger fan of the home delivery meal!! Our local Thai restaurant love us!
Hi Anne. The only thing I regret about the passing of winter is that I pack up my soup recipes. Could live on the stuff. And I agree about the lovely hypnotic effect of routine tasks like chopping – so easy to let the mind meander. Thanks for dropping in!