Anita Hughes gets "fresh" with us...plus a book giveaway

Anita Hughes returns to Chick Lit Central today to feature her latest novel, Market Street (reviewed here), which came out yesterday!. Her debut novel is Monarch Beach.

Anita was born in Sydney, Australia, and had a charmed childhood that included petting koala bears, riding the waves on Bondi Beach, and putting an occasional shrimp on the barbie. Her writing career began at the age of eight, when she won a national writing contest in THE AUSTRALIAN newspaper, and was named "One of Australia's Next Best Writers." (She still has the newspaper clipping.)

She received a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing from Bard College, and attended UC Berkeley's Masters in Creative Writing program. Presently, she lives in Dana Point, CA with her family, where she interrupts her writing to watch the glorious sunsets.

Since Market Street is all about food, we thought Anita would be a perfect addition to foodie month. And for a tasty treat of your own, St. Martin's Press is giving away FIVE copies to some lucky readers in the US and/or Canada.

You can find Anita at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

I am a great lover of fruits and vegetables - my new novel, Market Street, is about opening a food emporium in Fenton's, an exclusive San Francisco department store. It's full of descriptions of delicious local grown produce. It's not surprising then, that one of my favorite recipes involves fresh cheese and tasty vegetables.

Melted Mozzarella and Peas

Ingredients:
One heirloom tomato
One cup of steamed baby peas
Four slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
Salt
Pepper

Slice the tomato on an oven-proof plate.
Cover the tomato with a layer of peas.
Place slices of mozzarella cheese over the peas.
Sprinkle salt and pepper and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for ten minutes or until the cheese starts bubbling.
Remove and serve (preferably with a loaf of crusty sourdough bread!).

This recipe is special to me because it is my mother's recipe. I grew up in Australia and when I was six years old my mother went on a health kick - that lasted the rest of my childhood! We weren't allowed to eat sugar or sweets or meat or anything that wasn't sold at the local market. You can imagine what that was like for a child - seeing all my friends eat Good Humor Ice Cream Bars, sausage rolls and meat pies, all the normal things children ate.

Surprisingly, my mother's choice of eating brought us closer as a family. She made sure we had the most exotic fruits - mangos, melons, grapes, peaches, the most delicious nuts - Brazil nuts, Macadamia nuts, Walnuts, Almonds. And she tried dozens of recipes to find dishes that enticed us.

Whenever I make Melted Mozzarella and Peas, I think about my mother. And I always laugh when I see my children do exactly what I did: stand in front of the oven and watch the mozzarella cheese turn golden brown and bubble. Eating is about family and a great recipe is one that makes your children smile!

Thanks to Anita for sharing her delicious sounding recipe with us and to St. Martin's Press for sharing Market Street with our readers.

How to win Market Street:
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your Facebook page or blog if  you can receive messages there.) 

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: What is a food you didn't want to try for a long time, but once you did, you liked it?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Follow us on Twitter and/or Pinterest.
6. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

US/Canada only. Giveaway ends April 2nd at midnight EST.