Heartlines – notes from a romance author’s heart

The Joy of Cooking

Another of my favorite parts of the holidays is cooking. I love it—the rhythm, the creativity, the quiet joy of feeding people you love. When I’m not writing, you’ll often find me watching cooking shows, researching recipes, or trying out new dishes just for the fun of it.

Every Christmas, our table centers around a Cajun fried turkey with traditional trimmings. One Easter, I went all in and served a full Cajun feast—fried turkey, jambalaya, fried okra, mashed potatoes, and a lineup of pies that could make a saint weak in the knees. This year, we’ll be at my brother’s home for Christmas dinner, and I’m already looking forward to Aunt Amy’s rolls. They’re homemade, shaped like cupcakes, and impossibly soft and airy. When my daughter was little, she called them “cupcakes,” and the name has stuck ever since.

Wherever you are this season, I hope your table is full and your heart even fuller.

Behind the Story: Food in Writing

Food has always been one of my favorite storytelling tools. I’m a self-proclaimed sucker for what some writers affectionately call “food writing”—those rich, sensory descriptions that bring the smell, texture, and taste of a meal to life. A shared meal can reveal so much about love, comfort, and belonging.

In Thistle in the Mistletoe, Mary and Roderick always share a slice of carrot cake to break their fast—a small, tender detail that becomes both a bonding moment and a poignant twist later in the story. I loved weaving that dish into their romance. It felt intimate, real, and deeply human.

Each of my books includes at least one dish meant to linger on the tongue as much as in the heart. And as a tradition for my readers, I share one recipe from each book—a small piece of my kitchen to yours.

Here’s the one inspired by Thistle in the Mistletoe:

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

For the Carrot Cake Layer:

• 1 cup flour

• ½ cup sugar

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 cup finely grated carrots

• ½ cup crushed pineapple, drained

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Cheesecake Layer:

• 16 oz cream cheese, softened

• ½ cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1 cup sour cream

• 2 tbsp sugar

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.

2. In one bowl, combine all carrot cake ingredients until smooth. In another, beat together cheesecake ingredients until creamy.

3. Pour half the carrot cake batter into the pan. Spoon the cheesecake mixture gently over it, then top with the remaining carrot cake batter.

4. Bake 55–60 minutes or until the center is just set. Cool completely.

5. Mix sour cream topping and spread over the cooled cake. Chill at least four hours before serving.

This dessert tastes like Christmas comfort—a sweet blend of spice, cream, and nostalgia.

Explore the Stones of Iona series here:
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A Season of Gratitude

As this year closes, I’m deeply thankful for every reader who has followed the Stones of Iona journey, supported each release, and shared in these stories of love, courage, and hope. Writing them—and sharing pieces of my own world here in Heartlines—has been one of the great joys of my year.

May your holidays be filled with laughter, love, and something delicious on your plate.

With gratitude,
Margaret Izard
Award-Winning Author of the Stones of Iona Series
https://linktr.ee/mizardauthor