Margaret Daley – The Proposal – Romantic Destination – Recipe for Romance

Shannon here: Prolific romance and romantic suspense author, Margaret Daley shares her husband’s proposal, their romantic destination, and a recipe for romance. Comment on any post date June 6 – 10 for a chance to win a copy of Protecting Her Own. Deadline: June 11th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Margaret:

My Husband’s Proposal:
Mike and I had talked about getting married. I knew that he would propose when he came to visit me over Christmas break. He lived in Tulsa and I lived in Biloxi. We both went to Vanderbilt. He flew down to see me after Christmas. I met him at the airport and couldn’t wait to get the ring. I wanted him to give it to me in the middle of the airport. He did, but won’t let me forget it. He had planned a wonderful dinner to propose to me. He was going to hide the ring in the food. Yes, he was–I’m kind of glad that didn’t happen–I could see me choking on the ring. I know it wasn’t the most romantic way to propose, but I remember it vividly and treasure it. We have been married for forty years and he’s my best friend.
Romantic Destination:
I have been to many places in the world but the most romantic I’ve been to is Tahiti-Bora Bora. It is unbelievable. The water is the bluest blue. The people are great. I stayed in a hut that was over the water. We could go into the water from our balcony and often did. My husband and I love to snorkel and it was the best there. I generally don’t go back to places I have been. I would go back to Tahiti in a sec.
With that said getting to Tahiti was stressful. The plane in Dallas had mechanical problems and we were delayed. We hit Los Angeles and had to run to get to the international part of the airport only to find our plane had been delayed–three hours. Running through the airport with our luggage because we had to take it to the other place was not fun. And then to find out we didn’t have to run was the icing on the cake. When I reach Tahiti late, the airlines had lost our luggage. On the trip back the airlines lost our luggage again. Thank goodness the trip in between coming and going was so great.
Recipe for Romance: 
This recipe my husband and I love in the winter. I have to admit that my husband does most of the cooking (after I did for about eighteen years) and I love it. The soup makes a lot and it lasts for the whole week for Mike and I.

Hearty Cabbage Soup

1 pound lean ground beef
½ large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup diced celery
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1-28 oz can of tomatoes
2-5 ½ ounce cans tomato paste
2 cups raw, diced potatoes
2 cups diced carrots
4 cups beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika
6-7 cups coarsely chopped cabbage
Sauté beef, onion, garlic, celery and pepper in oil. Add remaining ingredients except cabbage. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour. Add cabbage.  Simmer for 1 hour more, adding more water, up to 3 cups, if necessary. Yield 6-8 servings.
(Because my husband doesn’t care for cooked carrots, I substitute broccoli in for the carrots and it taste great that way, too.)
About the book: Protecting Her Own (Love Inspired Suspense, June 2011) Nothing short of her dad’s stroke could bring professional bodyguard Cara Madison back to Virginia. But her homecoming turns explosive with a pipe bomb package addressed to her father. Cara knows two things for sure. First, someone’s after either her father or her…or both. And second, this job is too big to handle on her own. Unexpected help comes from Virginia state police detective Connor Fitzgerald. Years ago she’d walked away from him…and love. Now, despite their unresolved feelings, they must join forces—and settle their scarred differences.
About Margaret: Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Contest. Recently she has won the Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, Holt Medallion and the Barclay Gold Contest. She wrote for various secular publishers before the Lord led her to the Christian romance market. She currently writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines, romantic suspense for Abingdon Press and historical romance for Summerside Press. She has sold seventy-five books to date.
Margaret is currently the President for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization of over 2200 members. She was one of the founding members of the first ACFW local chapter, WIN in Oklahoma. She has taught numerous classes for online groups, ACFW and RWA chapters. She enjoys mentoring other authors.
Come back June 13 for contemporary romance author, JoAnn Durgin.