Guest Blog: Lynn Rae: A Romantic Dinner on Another Planet

Ben and Cara star in my latest Sci-fi romance, Desire Disguised. They reside on Gamaliel, a mucky jungle planet with no sophisticated restaurants, so an especially romantic meal would resemble one served on Earth, with some significant differences. Spices, seeds, and seasonings would be imported from home, but other foodstuffs are bulky and therefore expensive to transport across the light years of space. Settlers on this planet have to make the most of native species and grow whatever Earth vegetables and fruits will thrive under an alien sun.

Since there aren’t any places to go out, our couple would be dining at home. Luckily for Ben, Cara is an accomplished home cook and like most who excel in that activity, preparing a meal is a way for her to show her love and care for another person. Ben, for his part, is simply happy to be with Cara, so anything she serves will taste delicious.

Cara would start with a platter of finger foods like fresh vegetables, a pureed bean dip seasoned with fresh herbs, and crispy crackers made with cheese courtesy of one of the settlement’s milking goats. For her main entrée, she would attempt to impress Ben by preparing one of the planet’s native creatures; lingon, which are long strands of single celled organisms which grow in the sink holes littering the jungle floor. They have a chewy consistency and are full of protein, so if you can get past the origin, most cooks treat it like pasta. Cara will make a spicy stir-fry with hers and be sure to include lots of vegetables and tofu. At this point, Ben is finally relaxed from the stresses of his job as security chief for the settlement and is ready for something indulgent. Cara has likely spent much of her free time for several days conceiving of an impressive dessert to pamper him. He has a sweet tooth, so she’ll create a layered confection of cream, sponge cake, and fresh fruit.

There are two dishes they won’t be having since neither one is especially romantic. Gamaliel has several edible native species, but they aren’t especially appetizing. One such organism is known as sharple, a gelatinous, translucent fungus that can be found in rotting trees and possesses a sharp, chemical reek. It’s an acquired taste. The other is orphillian, a tubular animal resembling a sea cucumber, though this one lives on land. It has a sticky, greenish outer membrane and the inner flesh is lavender colored. By all reports, it tastes like chicken.

BIO:
Lynn Rae makes her home in land-locked central Ohio after time spent in the former Great Black Swamp, beside the Ohio River, and along the Miami and Erie Canal. With professional experience in fields ranging from contract archaeology to librarianship along with making donuts and teaching museum studies, Lynn enjoys incorporating her quirky sense of humor and real-life adventures into her writing (except the naughty bits). She writes sci-fi, contemporary, and historical romances. You can find her posting frequently on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lynnraewrites or at her webpage http://www.lynnraewrites.com/

BLURB:
Cara Belasco has been on the run from assassins since childhood. Living in the shadows with her younger brother and one elderly guardian, her luck nearly runs out when the smuggler’s ship carrying them crashes into a soggy jungle planet.

Ben Zashi, the stalwart head of security who rescued her from the wreckage, is very curious about her cover story, and Cara has to fend off his inquires as well as her escalating attraction for him. Will the secrets she’s been hiding come between them, or can Cara allow herself to find passion with the one man who longs to protect her?