Katie CotugnoKatie Cotugno
Tellin' stories, eatin' snax. NYT bestselling author of messy, complicated, feminist love stories
  • YA
    • HEMLOCK HOUSE (A LIAR’S BEACH NOVEL)
    • LIAR’S BEACH
    • YOU SAY IT FIRST
    • RULES FOR BEING A GIRL
    • 9 DAYS & 9 NIGHTS
    • TOP TEN
    • FIREWORKS
    • 99 DAYS
    • HOW TO LOVE
    • ANTHOLOGIES
  • Adult Fiction
    • HEAVY HITTER
    • MEET THE BENEDETTOS
    • BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA
  • Chapter Books
  • Ruby McNally Romances
    • CRASH
    • SINGE
    • BANG
  • Short Fiction
    • Prayer to Obtain Favors
    • Ferris Wheel Kid
    • Up Late, Listening
  • Events
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Things to Do in Boston When You’re Blue

Katie

May 1, 2009

M is sad so she’s coming to see me.

We might:

walk to Castle Island with icy beverages and sit on the beach

drink beer with my weird and hilarious houseguests, and also Tom’s dad

spend money irresponsibly

sit and be quiet

go to a fancy restaurant

eat Burger King for every meal

sleep late

go to bed at 9:30

go to bed at 4am

do whatever she wants

do nothing at all

 

What do you do when you’re feeling frowny?

Uncategorized 0 comments city life

This Little Piggy

Katie

April 30, 2009

What up, Swine Flu in Massachusetts?

 

Are we worried about this?

 

Tom says no, but we do live in a city in which 21 people were once killed in a giant flood of molasses. I feel like it’s better not to take chances.

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Retro

Katie

April 29, 2009

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I made breakfast and lunch today for boys doing work around my house. It felt kind of fifties-housewife to me, but weirdly satisfying at the same time.  Next thing you know I’ll be vacuuming the living room rug in a pair of spike heels.

Uncategorized 1 comment

Feels Like Spring

Katie

April 27, 2009

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Last night: a picnic on the roof deck. Grilled veg over rice, fruit and cheese, strawberry lemonade with a little bit of a spike. Higher temps. 

Today: Bacon egg and cheeses, the Ranger game at H&J’s, a 750 piece puzzle, more roof-deck lounging. Pandora’s James Taylor station.

Right now: Thunderstorms rolling in. Notebook writing. Getting ready for the week.

 

How was your weekend?

Uncategorized 4 comments

Five Good Things: Good Day, Sunshine Edition

Katie

April 25, 2009

dscn0879First of all, why I blew it: Turns out A is allergic to cinnamon. WHOOPS. Thought that counts, right?

 

Five good things!

 

1. I’m typing this while sitting on the roof deck of the apartment in a t-shirt, because it’s nine-thirty and already seventy degrees. Hi, elbows and knees. I have missed you. 

2. Soy milk is not disgusting at all if you put it in coffee with some Splenda thrown in there. 

3. Tom’s sister K is here! I’ve known her since she was fifteen and she continues to be the nicest person on the planet. PLUS she is moving here in the fall. 

4. This morning Frankie was whining and barking like a loser so Tom let him come cuddle in bed, and Frankie totally behaved himself. In fact, I think they might still be in there, spooning. 

5. From where I am sitting right at this very moment, I can see the city and smell the ocean. It is not a bad place, the place where I live.

Uncategorized 2 comments around the house, life, recipes

Treats for Busted Friends

Katie

April 24, 2009

Our friend A took a nasty spill outside of work on Monday and wound up with eight staples in her pretty head. Since I am neither a doctor nor a maker of helmets, I whipped her up some cinnamon raisin bread instead. From Allrecipes:

  • 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
  • 2 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups raisins
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
  1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, 1/3 cup sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours. Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, divide in half. Roll each into a 15-in. x 7-in. rectangle. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over dough. Sprinkle with water. Starting with a short side, roll up tightly, jelly-roll style. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam side down, in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. 

 

This actually rose beautifully, which I was not expecting because my bread never rises beautifully, even when I make Ina’s version which uses 2 yeast packets. If I had it to do over again I would add more cinnamon to the actual dough, and also probably put some butter in the cinnamon sugar filling. 

 

Other Friday randomness:

Craigslist Killer: HEY STOP KILLING HOOKERS. They have enough problems already.

We’re dogsitting Frankie this weekend! Expect lots of slobbery photos. Also, some work-in-progress pics of the roof deck. Last night Tom blasted the rust off the steps with a special rust blaster. You’re very manly, Tom!

Is it nerdy to like OneRepublic? I think it is. Oh well. There basically is no band I like that is not nerdy, so. 

I am planning a lot of trips. Want to hang out this summer? Give me a holler. 

Agent rejection count: 4. 

Tonight I’m going to open every window in my apartment. 

I have had two large cups off coffee. Coffee makes me chatty. I’ll stop  now. Have a good Friday.

Uncategorized 0 comments recipes

Here’s What’s Gross:

Katie

April 23, 2009

The photo of the delicious smoothie I took in my kitchen at nine o’clock last night. 

 

Here’s what wasn’t gross at all: the smoothie itself.

 

One banana plus one giant handful of (slightly overripe) strawberries plus one container strawberry Light and Fit yogurt plus a splash of orange juice plus roughly two cups of ice equals: fruit smoothie heaven.

 

Already I can tell I’m going to be making these bad boys all summer.

Uncategorized 4 comments adventures, travel

Would be a shame to miss New York in the Spring.

Katie

April 23, 2009

dscn15641fighting my way onto the bus at 7am

beers and burritos at the South Street Seaport

long walks and girl talk

beet salad at DelMonico

Guys and Dolls with Lauren Graham

ER in my sister’s dorm room

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tulips in the park

grocery shopping with my Dad

the 42nd Street shuttle

a truly glamorous spring scarf

endless cups of coffee

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Brothers and Sisters and M&Ms with Sierra

“This is how I feel when I see pictures of Taylor Hanson with his children.”

a long lounge on the couch

lunch at Pershing Square and a ride on the Metro North

 

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KFC (in our defense, we tried the grilled kind) and Idol with my mama

writing in a notebook at the kitchen table

Tom buying me a fifty-cent iced coffee

looooooong stretches

…….and home in the car with my boy.

Uncategorized 0 comments

gone gone gone

Katie

April 18, 2009

New York until Wednesday, but I’ll try to swing by and say hello. Go enjoy the sunshine, if you’ve got any.

Uncategorized 0 comments recipes

Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Katie

April 15, 2009

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I needed something quick to bring to R & A’s last night–Tom called at four and asked if I felt like going over there for dinner–and these were perfect. A little bit of everything, which is exactly what I had on hand. The recipe from cooks.com is as follows:

 

2 1/2 c. mixture of whole wheat & unbleached white flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. oatmeal
1 c. coconut
1 c. chocolate chips

 

Mix well, form into cookies (they won’t melt down) and bake at 350 degrees 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool before taking from pan.

I know that’s kind of vague, but I just added stuff in the order I would have added it if I was making regular chocolate chips, and they turned out a really nice color and consistency. I think they actually could have benefitted from a little more vanilla, but other than that they were a solid choice.

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Love Junkie.

Katie Cotugno

Katie Cotugno is the New York Times bestselling author of eight messy, complicated feminist YA love stories, as well as the adult novels Birds of California and Meet the Benedettos. She is also the co-author, with Candace Bushnell, of Rules for Being a Girl. Her books have been honored by the Junior Library Guild, the Bank Street Children’s Book Committee, and the Kentucky Association of School Librarians, among others, and translated into more than fifteen languages.  Katie is a Pushcart Prize nominee whose work has appeared in The Iowa Review, The Mississippi Review, and Argestes, as well as many other literary magazines. She studied Writing, Literature and Publishing at Emerson College and received her MFA in Fiction at Lesley University. She lives in Boston with her family. 

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