FATAL FOODIES

Valentine Book Tour

2012-02-01T10:06:00.002-05:00

I am so excited for next week! It is my Valentine Book Tour. Here's how the week will go:

Monday, February 6-Speaking to the Monday Club @ the Johnson City Library

Tuesday, February 7-Appearing on Daytime TriCities @ 10, then popping over to Blowfish Emporium in Bristol, TN from 11:30 till 2:00

Wednesday, February 8- Signing @ Madagascar Coffee Company in Kingsport, TN from 10 to 1.

Friday, February 10-Signing @ The Family Bakery in Gate City, VA from 10

to 1.

Saturday, February 11-Signing @ Southern Treasure in Gray, TN from 10 till 1.

Seeds! Seeeds! SEEEEEEDZZZ!!!

2012-01-31T08:08:00.000-05:00

One of the Happy Times has come: The day we get our first shipment of seeds from Pinetree Garden. We went hog-wild this year, and only the knowledge that it'll be Charlie doing all the hard work keeps me from putting all we bought into the compost and hoping for the best.

Here's what we got:

Parisian carrots. Supposed to be "round, bright orange carrots with a mild, pleasant flavor". Since our soil is so rich, Charlie says, that we can grow rocks in it, we need root crops that grow on the stubby side. These sound and look perfect.

New Zealand Spinach substitute. Looks and tastes and cooks like spinach, but can tolerate hotter weather.

Mache greens. Whatever they are. But the catalog said they have a nutty taste. That always sounds good to me.

Chard. Never had it, that I know of, but this looked good and promises "a nice, sweet flavor".

Lettuce mix. I'm always up for baby lettuce.

Italian Parsley. 'Nuff said.

Rapa Di Milano Coletto Turnip. Greens also edible. I am hooked on turnips, and something you can eat all of appeals to my sense of thrift.

German Giant Radish. I detest radishes, but somebody told me I should try them roasted, so Imma try it. Besides, this claims to be mild, and it's the heat I don't like. Growing these mostly for #3 daughter, who LOVES radishes.

Little Tyke Cucumber. Doesn't that sound cute?

Burpees Golden Beet. I detest beets even more than I do radishes. Beets taste like dirt. Golden beets probably taste like yellow dirt. But I'll give 'em a try. Growing these for Mom, a beet fan from way back.

Eggplant Black Beauty. Now we're talkin'.

Two kinds of snow peas? In God's name, WHY? Oh, I see: Charlie ordered one kind from the regular part of the catalog and I ordered one from the French part. Well, we'll be up to our eyeballs in snow peas.

Lima Beans. Mmmmmm.... Yes, Little Miss Picky LOVES lima beans.

And these are just the Spring crops! We are eating local and eating GOOD!

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Quick Italian Cream Cake

2012-01-27T01:00:00.001-05:00

Holly Clegg's latest Trim & Terrific cookbook is called Too Hot in the Kitchen, and she offers this sample recipe on her site that my husband would love. His birthday is in May, and I'm thinking this just might be his birthday cake.

Quick Italian Cream Cake

Ingredients

1(18.25-ounce) box Butter Pecan Cake mix

1/3 cup canola oil

2 eggs

2 egg whites

1 1/4 cups water

1 teaspoon coconut extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1/2 cup flaked coconut

Cream Cheese Icing (recipe follows)

Toasted coconut and pecans, optional (about 2 tablespoons each)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven 350°F. Coat three 9-inch pans with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In mixing bowl, beat together cake mix, oil, eggs, egg whites, water and coconut extract. Stir in pecans and coconut.

3. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake 12-15 minutes, until tops spring back when touched. Cool 10 minutes and turn out onto cooling racks.

4. Frost layers and sides with Cream Cheese Icing (see recipe) and sprinkle with toasted coconut and pecans, if desired.

Cream Cheese Icing

The ultimate rich icing.

1 (8-ounce) package reduced- fat cream cheese

3 tablespoons butter

1 (16-ounce) box confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Gradually add confectioners sugar, mixing until light. Add vanilla.

Food Facts

Calories 305

Calories from fat 38%

Fat 13g

Saturated Fat 4g

Cholesterol 34mg

Sodium 240mg

Carbohydrate 45g

Dietary Fiber 0g

Sugars 35g

Protein 3g

Dietary Exchanges: 3 other carbohydrate, 2 1/2 fat

For more of Holly's recipes, visit her at http://www.hollyclegg.com. All her recipes feature the food facts option you see below the recipe.

Roasted Veggie Lunch

2012-01-25T09:34:00.004-05:00

Most days, I try and do all veggies for lunch. When I want something heartier than salad or soup, I love to have a plate of seasoned, roasted veggies.

This plate shows roasted baby spinach, potatoes and cherry berry tomatoes. About any vegetable is good to roast.

Also, if I had used sweet potatoes, my meal would have been healthier and more filling. But, I had these potatoes left over from making baked fries for my family the night before.

Here's how I do my roasted veggies:

potatoes-Slice skin-on potatoes into strips. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with thyme and Kosher salt.

baby spinach-Prepare baking sheet with cooking spray. Lay spinach leaves on baking sheet. Spray leaves with cooking spray. Sprinkle with Kosher salt.

cherry berry tomatoes-Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and basil.

Roast all of these in about a 4oo degree oven. Put the potatoes in first, then the cherry berries and the spinach last. That is the order in which they will finish cooking.

True History of Wild Rice

2012-01-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

One day, two Indians were paddling a canoe across a shallow lake and up a slow-moving stream.

Indian #1: Dammit! I told you not to come this way! Every damn time we come this way, the canoe gets full of all this damn grass seed! It gets all over me.

Indian #2: So what? It's just grass seed. Brush it off.

Indian #1: It gets everywhere! Look! It's all over the venison haunch! Yuck!

Indian #2: Wash it off, eh?

[author's note: This did not happen in Canada. People in Canada don't really say, "eh?" all the time. This Indian just talks like that.]

Indian #1: Easier said than done, buddy boy. Last time we came this way, I thought I had it all washed off, and it got into the stew and got cooked and we actually ate it.

Indian #2: How was it?

Indian #1: How do you think it was? It tasted like freaking grass seed!

SECOND INDIAN CHUCKLES

Indian #1: You think that's funny?

Indian #2: No, I was just thinking: I bet if we scraped this stuff up and put it in a nice pouch and called it something fancy, like ....

Indian #1: Premium Grass Seed.

Indian #2: No, something foodie. Like Gourmet Grass.

Indian #1: Tastee Seed.

Indian #2: Wild Grass.

Indian #1: Nothing grassy. Nobody would deliberately eat grass.

Indian #2: I'd eat it in a brownie.

Indian #1: You ain't right. Anyway, call it ... Wild Rice. Wild Rice, yeah. So then what?

Indian #2: Then we sell it to the white man for big bucks. Tell them all about how difficult it is to gather. How we go out in the still of the morning, with the call of the birds and the presence of the Great Spirit, yada, yada, yada.

Indian #1: Bro, you are brilliant! We're rich!

~ ~ ~

Guess who had wild rice for supper last night? Guess who didn't like it?

I pan-roasted some portobello mushrooms, put in the wild rice and water, some salt, carrots, celery, onions and a bit of garlic-infused olive oil. Would have been delicious, if that damn grass seed hadn't gotten into it.

Do you like wild rice? How do you cook it?

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Island Food

2012-01-22T08:09:00.007-05:00

By Vicki
My children do get around. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my trip to South Sudan to visit eldest daughter. Right now I am in Turks and Caicos visiting youngest daughter who is working here on a contract.

What a fabulous Island. Small and quiet. This has got to be the perfect writers retreat. Except I won’t be writing today, I’m off to the beach.
We went out snorkelling and diving for conch. Here’s a picture of me and my catch. The boat captain then made a delicious salad of the conch for us to eat on the beach.

Perfect.

The next day we took the Ferry over to Middle and North Caicos Islands (totally unspoiled, barely inhabited). We had lunch at Daniels Café, a perfect beach shack. I had freshly caught snapper, shown here. Youngest daughter doesn’t eat fish. Hard to believe, isn’t it, particularly for someone living here. She had fried chicken, which she pronounced as excellent.

It's a tough life, but someone has to do it.

Foodie Calendars

2012-01-21T00:45:00.006-05:00

Am I hopelessly old fashioned because I still love to put up a new wall calendar every year? It's a fresh start every January 1. A new year, a new calendar. As I was taking down my2011 calendar and replacing it with my pristine 2012 calendar, I suddenly noticed that thetwo had something in common. They were both food-themed. I stood back and pondered for a moment, rubbing my chin as I remembered the calendar of the past years. That is when I realized that four of the calendars of the last five years were food-themed, and that was all I clearly remembered. It could very well be that I have been buying food calendars for decades. I wouldn't be surprised.

I love looking at beautiful photographs of food, and nothing fulfills that desire for yummy beauty like a big old calendar. I tend to keep calendars for two or three years, especially if they gave me a lot of pleasure over the year. Here is a taste of the wall art that kept me happy for the last three years, Dear Reader.

What do your wall calendars say about you?

My 2012 calendar is A Year of Healthy Living: Recipes and Tips for Your Health and Well Being, by Ann Lovejoy, Amber Lotus Publishing Feb photo by Guy Bouchet-Cardinale cabbage and bacon in a copper pot on an old stove next to a pot of soup. Cover photo by Jan Vermeer.

2011 was Vintage Gourmet, Classic Cover Art from Gourmet Magazine. Copyright Conde Nast Archive. Asgard Press, Wilmington DE Cover by Henry Stahlhart. May 1948 also by Henry Stahlhart.

2010 the Organic Kitchen Garden, also by Ann Lovejoy, who is obviously a woman after my own heart. All photography by Robin Bachtler Cushman Amber Lotus Publishing. “Beautiful Photographs of kitchen gardens and the produce the offer, including recipes.

Crock Pot Lasagna

2012-01-20T12:04:00.000-05:00

I have to admit I was skeptical that this would turn out well. I mean, lasagna in a crock pot? Who knew? Well, whoever came up with this recipe knew. All it takes is a little preparation in the morning, and you have a terrific lasagna waiting for you when you get home.

Crock Pot Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 2 teaspoons garlic)
1 lb. jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces fresh (no boil) lasagna sheets
1 lb mozzarella cheese
2 oz Parmesan cheese
1/4 c milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Preparation:

Fry beef, onion, and garlic in pan until lightly browned. Pour off any excess oil. Add spaghetti sauce and heat through. Combine milk, egg, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Place about 1/4 meat mixture into the crock pot and spread evenly. Top with a layer of lasagna sheets, cut to size. Top this with 1/3 cheese sauce. Repeat layers. Cook on low for four to six hours.

Go Big Orange!

2012-01-18T08:05:00.004-05:00

I know a dish is good when everyone asks for the recipe. That happened to me last weekend when I made my Big Orange Cupcakes for a baby shower. The name comes from the orange flavor and the fact that mine are served in University of Tennessee Big Orange country. Our blood runs orange around here, ya know!
I use a box of orange flavored cake mix. There are two variations I make to the basic ingredients: 1) 1 1/3 cups of water becomes 1 cup of water and 1/3 cup of fresh sqeezed orange juice. 2) I whisk my eggs before they are added to the batter.

For the frosting:
1) Stir together canned buttercream and cream cheese frostings. 2) Add about 1 teaspon each of orange extract and fresh squeezed orange juice. 3) Add about 2 teaspoons of orange zest. 4) Stir frosting ingredients until well combined.

Garnish: pieces of orange slice candies

Buttering Parsnips

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

Fair words butter no parsnips, the saying goes, meaning that flattery will get you nothing. The earliest use of that saying, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is 1639.

I buttered no parsnips, either, until this year, because I am, as you may know, Little Miss Picky. In my continual pursuit of more culinary delight, however, I bit the bullet and the parsnip and tried one.

Oh, how I rue the many years (never mind how many) I've lived in ignorance of the bliss of this delicious vegetable! Vegetarians in Paradise tried to tell me, and now I know they spoke the truth! (The picture accompanying this post is from that site.)

Parsnips look like albino carrots, and they taste kind of carroty, too, which isn't surprising, since they're in the carrot family.

Peel them, dice or slice them, boil them until tender and then do, oh do, butter them. You'll be glad you did.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg

2012-01-14T00:37:00.002-05:00

As I promised last week, I’d like to tell you about a wonderful book I just finished savoring; A Homemade Life, by Seattle author Molly Wizenberg, who is also the author of the fabulous foodie blog Orangette. I took a long time to read it, and in fact read parts of it two and three times, it was that enjoyable. Molly’s book is just the kind of thing I enjoy reading, and that is a loving tribute to the people, places, and food that make life worth living; just what I always want to put into my own books.

She begins with her father, who helped imbue her with a love of food (as did mine), and how his death set her on a different life course. She writes of her love of Paris, the chocolate shops, the cheese, the outdoor markets, all of which inspired her to being writing the blog Orangette, which soon developed an international following. It was through her blog that Molly began a correspondence with a foodie who lived completely across the country in New York. Their email correspondence became a long-distance romance, and finally led to a meeting, an engagement, and a marriage. And plenty of delightful eats in the meantime.

One thing that made me pick up Molly’s book is the fact that she grew up in Oklahoma City, and I’m always interested in what a fellow Oklahoman has to say. Each chapter ends with a recipe, mostly simple and creative dishes that make you long to run out right now and buy a vanilla bean or a head of fennel or red cabbage. I particularly like the Frisee with Ham, Eggs, and Mustard Vinaigrette. Some are so rich and luscious that you can hardly read them without drooling, such as her recipe for Coeur a la Creme with Raspberry Puree, or the Vanilla Bean Cake with Glazed Oranges. Or the Hoosier Pie (OMG!)

As I noted previously, Molly’s book has reminded me that sometimes the very best, and often the most meaningful recipes are the simplest. One can create great dishes out of complicated, startling, and unusual combinations of ingredients. But sometimes, one or two perfect, quality ingredients are all you need to create a masterpiece, like her spring salad with avocado and feta.

Fantastic!

Friday the Thirteenth Foodie News

2012-01-13T10:59:00.002-05:00

I'm not going to gross you out with some of the nasty foods I found "celebrating" Friday the 13th. Instead, here are links to other strange foodie news.

Famous Death Row Last Meals

More Famous Last Meals

Ten Dangerous and Deadly Foods

13 Creepy Cakes

Enjoy this lucky day!

The New Girl Scout Cookie

2012-01-11T06:25:00.000-05:00

Drum roll please! This year, there is a new Girl Scout cookie. It is called Savannah Smiles.

We all got to taste the new cookie a few weeks ago at one of my daughter's Girl Scout meetings. I can describe the cookie as being sort of like a Danish Wedding Cookie with a tart lemon flavor.

Having tried all of the Girl Scout cookies, my very favorite is Thank U Berry Munch. It is filled with white chocolate fudge and cranberries. I will be ordering several boxes, all to help my little Girl Scout, of course. Oh, the things we must do for our kids!

If a little Girl Scout knocks on your door, or approaches you at your local retail outlet, remember that buying a box of cookies is supporting a great cause. If you live near me, my Calli would be happy to hook you up with some cookies.

MORE Carrots?!?

2012-01-10T07:23:00.004-05:00

Thanks, Vicki, for your post yesterday, giving your recipe for spicy carrot salad. I'll call off my boys. Sorry about the horse head. What thread count do you want the new sheets?

So I'll make you a side dish you can't refuse: honey glazed carrots. We had these the other night, and gobbled them up.

HONEY GLAZED CARROTS

carrots (I used fresh "baby" carrots)
honey
brown sugar
butter or margarine
salt and pepper
water

Put all ingredients in a pot, using enough water to cover the carrots by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until carrots are tender and all the water has evaporated, stirring constantly at the end to keep the carrots from scorching and the sauce from caramelizing. Or let it, if that's the way you like it.

In real life, I didn't add the pepper until it was on my plate, since I love pepper on these and my husband does not.

The secret to a happy marriage is knowing what to add to a dish after it's on your personal plate.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

African Spiced Carrot Salad

2012-01-07T21:55:00.002-05:00

Due to overwheming popular demand (thanks Marian) I have managed to locate the recipe for the carrot salad I made when I was in Juba, South Sudan. Herewith...

Vicki's African Spiced Carrot Salad

14 carrots
1 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp each salt, cumin, cinnamon, paprika
pinch cayenne
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

Diagonally cut carrots into 1/2 inch thick slices. In large pot of boiling water, cover and cook carrots until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. Chill under cold water, drain.

Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; fry shallots and garlic, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Stir in salt, cumin, cinnamon, paprika and cayenne pepper: fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots and lemon juice; toss to coat. pour into salad bowl; stir in coriander.

Carrots can be served warm or refrigerated and served cold.

We could not locate any corrander so served without. I am sure it adds a nice touch though.

Simple Dishes

2012-01-07T00:41:00.004-05:00

I have been savoring a wonderful book over the past week, A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg, she of the fabulous foodie blog Orangette. I have been reading slowly, but I’ll be finished soon and I hope to offer a review next week. But before that, I must say that Molly’s book has reminded me that sometimes the very best, and often the most meaningful recipes are the simplest. One can create great dishes out of complicated, startling and unusual combinations of ingredients. But sometimes, one or two perfect, quality ingredients are all you need to create a masterpiece.

My mother used to can her homegrown tomatoes, which were so wonderful that we often made a light summer supper out of a bowl of canned tomatoes. The chili that my grandmother served in her cafe consisted of nothing more than ground beef and chili powder. I love chili of all kinds, but I have never had anything as good as my grandma's.

My husband's favorite birthday cake is simple white cake with white icing and sliced bananas between the layers.

There is a very simple and very European desert I learned from Jacque Pepin which consists of sliced apples accompanied by walnut halves, water crackers, and a nice wedge of Stilton. The touch that makes this fruit and cheese plate special is that Jacque squeezes half a lemon over the apple slices, then sprinkles them with cracked black pepper.

Another simple and delicious fruit concoction is poached pears. Any way you poach pears is good, but here is a quick idea:

Halve and core two firm pears and poach them in grape juice (I like sweet purple grape juice, like Welches), then serve them hot with a dollop of marscapone. Or how about poaching the pears in a lovely dry red wine, filling the hollow with sour cream, and a dash of ground clove?

Great Busy Mom Dinner

2012-01-06T10:19:00.002-05:00

Hi, guys:

I'm sorry I've been appearing sporadically at best these past few weeks here on Fatal Foodies as well as on Facebook and everywhere that isn't Tallulah Falls, the fictional setting for my embroidery mystery series written as Amanda Lee. The latest book in the series, called Thread on Arrival, is due on January 15 (it was actually due Dec. 1, and I got an extension).

I've been so immersed in my writing, in fact, that last night I ran into a friend while I was waiting for my son to come out of the gym. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "I thought you guys had church on Wednesday nights."

"Honey," she said gently, "it's Thursday."

Well, maybe so, but it was Wednesday in Tallulah Falls. Still is, as a matter of fact.

Anyway, I made this meal the other night and it went over really well. I felt like a super multi-tasker! I'm going to call it Busy Mom Dinner, and you can add whatever variations appeal to you.

Busy Mom Dinner
Serves Four

Put four frozen, boneless chicken breasts in a crock pot. Cover the chicken with two small cans or one large can of cream of chicken soup. Put the lid on the crock pot and cook on low for 5 or 6 hours. About an hour before you get ready to eat, take the lid off the crock pot and add about half a bag of No-Yolk egg noodles and enough chicken stock to cover the noodles.

While the egg noodles were cooking, I made crescent rolls and steamed a bag of corn in the microwave. We had a delicious dinner that required very little time to prepare.

Makes me Hee Haw

2012-01-04T08:44:00.004-05:00

Hee Haw is not only the name of a popular television show from years past, it is also a southern synonym for laugh. The down-home sarcasm of Celia Rivenbark has me Hee Hawing like a hyena!

Rivenbark is the author of We're Just Like You, Only Prettier and Bless Your Heart, Tramp. Having read those two book, I am now reading Stop Dressing you Six-Year-Old Like a Skank.

My husband bought the book as one of my Christmas gifts. He just LOVED asking the salesperson where this title was shelved!

Celia Rivenbark is a columnist who writes hilarious essays about things to which most can relate. Subjects range from pop culture to parenting. Rivenbark writes from a point of view that is uniquely souther, but universally funny. No matter where you're from, her books will make you hee haw!

Gluten-Free Party Snack

2012-01-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

Please tell me the party season is over for a while. It is? Oh, thank you!

I love parties and I love party food, but enough already. A new facet (for me) to the challenge of making food for a crowd is the increasing number of friends and family with food allergies or restrictions.

Although this recipe wouldn't be considered clean for the strictest vegans, it's gluten-free and, really, mostly vegan.

These are like Muddy Buddies, but they don't have peanut butter in them (peanut allergies for some folks), so I call them:

Snowy Buddies

Rice Chex
Corn Chex
candied pineapple, cut or broken in little bits
chocolate chips
walnuts - omit, in case of walnut allergies
pecans - omit, in case of pecan allergies
white (vanilla) chocolate bark candy squares
powdered sugar

Mix everything but candy squares and powdered sugar. Melt candy, being careful not to scorch it. Pour over mixture, stirring to coat everything thoroughly. Add powdered sugar, stirring with hands to coat everything. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container.

If you want to get fatal about it, of course, just pulverize some of the nuts your character (you know I'm talking about characters in stories, right?) is allergic to and mix the powder in with the sugar.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Good Luck for the New Year

2011-12-31T00:38:00.003-05:00

I was born and raised in the American South, so of course I was taught to eat black eyed peas on New Years Day to ensure a happy and prosperous upcoming year. Is this the tradition you were raised with, Dear Reader, or is there some other food ritual you feel you must follow to start the year off right?

Many cultures bring in the year by eating fish. The Chinese eat a whole steamed fish, the Italians eat salt cod, the Polish have a picked herring at midnight. While the Poles are enjoying their herring, at midnight Spaniard eats 12 grapes, one for each month of the upcoming year. The Danes like their stewed kale with cinnamon, which will bring them prosperity, and the Austrians eat roast suckling pig for progress, as well as little pigs made of marzipan. The Japanese eat shrimp for long life.

In Scotland, the New Year celebration, or Hogmanay, is a bigger deal than Christmas.

In preparation for the big event, people spend several days beforehand redding the household, which involves cleaning the place from top to bottom. When the bells ring bells ring in the year at midnight, one greets the year on his feet, for good health, with a coin in his pocket, for wealth, and a glass of whiskey in his hand, for good times. After the bells have rung, the first person to cross your threshold will set your luck for the year. This is called first footing, and for good luck, you want to make sure that the first foot across your threshold belongs to a black-haired man, and not a blond, or, heaven forfend, a red haired woman! The first footer will bring a present of coal for the hearth, a black bun* or shortbread, and of course a drink of whiskey, and the householder will always have food for her guests.

In the morning comes the saining, or blessing of the house. A burning juniper branch is carried around so that its smoke can purify the house and all its inhabitants. Boughs of rowan are placed over the lintel for luck, and a sprig of holly to keep out the faeries.

A lot of drink is involved, and a lot of good cheer, and of course a toast to auld lang syne.

So here’s a hand my trusty fiere

And gie’s a hand o thine

And we’ll take a right guid willie waught*,

for auld lang syne.

Have a happy and prosperous 2012!

*****

*A black bun is a pastry filled with raisins and currants, almonds and citrus peel, flour sugar allspice, ginger cinnamon, black pepper, baking powder, egg, brandy or whiskey, and milk. It looks like a tall pie, and is aged for several weeks, like a fruitcake.

*A willie waught is a good slug of spirits, always a good way to start the new year

Whew, am I Ever Glad I didn't Marry a Rock Star!

2011-12-28T09:20:00.009-05:00

I saw someone on a show talking about how much they liked Red, Sammy Hagar's autobiography. My husband is a fan of his music and is interested in how Hagar became so successful in all of his side businesses. With that in mind, I ordered the book for one of Todd's Christmas presents.

Last night, I picked up the book from Todd's night stand, and began skimming pages. For about an hour, I kept skimming.

The beginning of the book described how Hagar grew up in a poor and dysfunctional home. Early on, he showed promise with good grades and an unstoppable work ethic.

While he was still a struggling musician, Hagar met his first wife. Soon, she gave birth to a son.

Sammy's first wife was a sweet, innocent gal who proved too mentally fragile for handling the rock star life. Her husband was always gone. While he was away booze, drugs and women were readily available. Hagar indulged in all three.

I skipped around the book to find out that Hagar and his first wife divorced after many years of marriage. His first wife had become more mentally stable due to some good meds and Sammy had fallen madly in love with another woman. Also, since Hagar took a year off to be with his wife after a bad mental breakdown, he felt like he had paid his dues to her. Now Hagar and his second wife have two daughters who are probably younger that his grandkids from the first son he bore with his first wife.

Finally, I skipped to the end of the book. It does seem that Sammy Hagar is more devoted to his second wife and second family than he was the first time around. Guess that's a happy ending in the rock star world.

Now everytime Todd picks up that book, I'm asking "That lifestyle doesn't sound appealing to you? DOES IT?"

He always answers, "NO! It sounds awful!"

Good answer!

How might a Fatal Foodie find interest in this book? Hagar is friends with Emeril Lagasse. Turns out, two of Hagar's more tame interests are food and wine.

MY Carrot Salad

2011-12-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Vicki Delaney -- naughty thing! -- did NOT bring a recipe for her daughter's "chunky carrot salad" home with her from Africa. It hardly compares, but here is a carrot salad recipe from the wilds of darkest southern Indiana.

CARROT SALAD

carrots, grated
raisins
walnuts
mayonnaise (homemade preferred)

Mix to taste.

I've never had a chunky carrot salad, but I bet I'd like it. Next time I make this salad, I'm going to eschew the grating and cut the carrots in small chunks.

What's your favorite carrot salad recipe?

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Africa!

2011-12-25T03:00:00.005-05:00

Vicki here. I'm back! Did you miss me?

Did you even notice I was gone?

I’ve been in Africa for a month. Had just a fabulous time. The purpose of the trip was to visit my daughter who is living in Juba, South Sudan. The world’s newest country. We then went on safari in Kenya.

I have posted extensively about both places at my personal blog (http://klondikeandtrafalgar.blogspot.com) so won’t do so here. Except to discuss the food.

South Sudan is emerging from twenty or more years of civil war, struggling to create an effective government and a civil society. Meal planning was a bit of a challenge, there being no fresh meat or fish (that you’d want to buy) and limited vegetables – no lettuce or most other greens. My daughter has a two burner gas stove top and no oven. She had company one night and I prepared a chickpea curry with rice and a chunky carrot salad. Unfortunately I didn’t bring either recipe home with me.

We ate out a lot. One memorable meal was at the remote town of Yei (pronounced Yeah!). Dinner was a buffet. I didn’t quite know what I was eating. Here’s a pic.

In Juba, they really seem to like Indian and Thai food. I love Indian but by the end of the trip I was getting rather tired of it. Here’s a picture of one dinner out.

The food on our Kenyan safari was incredible. I’ve eaten at fine restaurants that didn’t have such a good cook. I’m sorry I didn’t get a picture of the chef flambéing crepes suzette one evening. This picture shows the table laid for lunch.

Merry Christmas to everyone and all the best for the New Year. Hope you get much eating and reading in your life!

Snowman Cake

2011-12-21T09:38:00.005-05:00

This snowman cake is so simple and makes a great centerpiece for your holiday table. It is not just cute for Christmas, but all winter long!

-Add 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup of sugar to white cake mix. Then, make cake according to directions on box.

-Divide cake batter into three Pyrex bowls of graduated sizes.

-Bake cakes according to temperature listed on box of cake mix. You must check cakes during the baking because they will finish baking at different time.

-Once cakes have cooled, place largest cake on platter or cake stand. Frost with vanilla frosting. Stack next size on top of frosted layer. (Sticking a skewer through the middle of the cakes might help with stability).

-Frost middle layer. Then, stack top and frost it.

-You can decorate with whatever you have at home. This is what we used:

hat- a round cracker and marshamallow dipped in chocolate bark

eyes- M&M's

nose- candy corn

mouth- piece of Twizzler

scarf- fruit roll

arms-pretzel sticks

Low Country, High Eatin'

2011-12-20T09:22:00.000-05:00

Three of us from the Southern Indiana Writers Group just got back from Tybee Island. It was supposed to be a writing retreat, and we did write, but it more of a walk-the-beach, collect-shells and eat retreat. We kept looking at each other and chorusing, "It's research."

One of the things we ate was this "sampler platter", which was a Lowcountry Boil plus mussels, crawfish and two kinds of crab.

This was the platter for TWO, people! We asked them to hold the mussels and crawfish, and they substituted more corn and potatoes. The three of us couldn't quite finish all this. That corn, by the way, was the best I ever put in my mouth.

Okay, what is "Lowcountry"? That's the low-lying country along the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia.

And what is a Lowcountry Boil? It's a dish of red potatoes, corn on the cob, shrimp, and smoked or spicy sausage like kielbasa. Coastal Living magazine has a recipe here. I'm telling you what: I was not a vegetarian this week! I was a shrimp-and-crab-tarian and a kielbasa-tarian.

If you've never had Lowcountry Boil, I highly recommend it. I bet it would be good with just veg, in fact. Whole green beans. Baby carrots. Turnips. YES, TURNIPS!

Anyway, I'm still digesting this, and I ate it four days ago, so I'm crawling off to sit in front of the fire and dream of Tybee Island.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Cocoa

2011-12-17T00:33:00.002-05:00

One Christmas tradition in my family is that after presents (opened at five a.m. or earlier when we were young) breakfast always consisted of the bananas, tangerines, and walnuts that Santa left in our stockings, followed by a big old cup of hot cocoa. Some years marshmallows floated in the cocoa, some years it was capped by whipped cream. One memorable year we sucked our cocoa through a candy cane.

My mother's cocoa was usually from a mix - Swiss Miss, as a rule. But since I have become a health-conscious adult, I make my own from scratch. Nothing compares to the creamy deliciousness of a steaming cup of hot chocolate made with whole milk, but over the years I have also come to appreciate cocoa made with a base of some of the yummier non-dairy milk substitutes, like vanilla rice milk or oat milk. My very favorite non-dairy base is vanilla almond milk. And if you want to make it as easy as possible, you can even buy chocolate almond milk, heat it up on the stove, top it off with whipped cream, and stick in a peppermint stick. What could be more Christmas-y?

Ted's Making Dinner!

2011-12-16T01:05:00.000-05:00

For those of you following the adventures of Marcy Singer in Amanda Lee's embroidery mystery series, Ted has invited Marcy over for dinner. He's making chicken piccata. He tells Marcy his mother taught him how to make the dish before he left for college, but in reality, the recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman.

So below is Ree Drummond's recipe for Chicken Piccata:

Ingredients

4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Kosher Salt To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
4 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
5 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 cup Dry White Wine
3/4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 whole Lemons
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
Chopped Fresh Parsley
1 pound Angel Hair Pasta

Preparation Instructions

This is how you make Chicken Piccata when you’re out of capers and you have a pathological fear of cooking anything without adding heavy cream.

Have a pot of water simmering for the pasta.

If chicken breasts are overly thick, pound until slightly flattened. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides, then dredge in flour.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry two of the chicken breasts at one time until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes on each side; a little longer if breasts are thicker, a little shorter if breasts are thinner. Remove to a plate, then add the other 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil. Fry the other two breasts until golden, monitoring the oil/butter mixture to make sure it doesn't burn. Decrease heat as needed!

After removing the chicken, have the heat on medium to medium-low. Pour in wine and chicken broth, and squeeze in the juice of two lemons. Whisk the sauce, scraping the bottom of the pan. Allow sauce to cook and bubble and thicken until reduced by about half. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper as it's cooking.

Reduce heat to low and pour in cream. Whisk together and allow to cook for a couple of minute until sauce thickens. Taste and adjust seasonings or other ingredients. Expect the sauce to have a real tang to it; counter it with a little more broth and cream if it's too strong! Sprinkle in some chopped parsley and stir.

Right at the end, cook angel hair until al dente---do not overcook!

With tongs, place a medium-sized mound of pasta on a plate. Place a cooked chicken breast beside it, then spoon sauce over the chicken and the pasta. The sauce is strong, so no need to drown it. Sprinkle a little minced parsley over the top.

A Little Cooking Each Day Helps Keep Holiday Stress Away

2011-12-14T09:14:00.004-05:00

I love to cook a BUNCH of stuff for the holidays. Cookies, fudge,cakes and lots of savory dishes roll out of my kitchen during this season. Many treats go out as gifts, others are served to guests at my home or are toted to friends' homes for holiday parties.

My trick to maintaining my sanity is to cook and freeze just a little each day, beginning the day after Thanksgiving. This might mean baking and freezing layers for a cake, or cooking and freezing a pound of ground beef that will later go into a crock pot of soup. This plan requires lots of freezer bags and having the needed grocery items on hand.

If you're like me, and cannot find a full day or two that you can devote solely to cooking, this may be the plan for you! The reward to this plan is that you will have a freezer full of food that will allow you to pull together a cookie tray, layer cake or delicious appetizer at a moment's notice.

Another good thing about this plan is that having goodies in the freezer instead of on the counter means less temptation to nibble all season.

Hold Tight

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I'm talking about The Andrews Sisters' song about seafood. That's what I'm eating this week: fresh seafood.

The Southern Indiana Writers Group was granted a week's free stay at one of the Mermaid Cottages on Tybee Island, Georgia for a writers' retreat. We are there, now. I hope we don't create a crustacean shortage, but it is what it is.

It's like this:

Humans and human-types have been feasting on crustaceans since prehistoric times. Well, come to that, non-human types have, too. BUT THE POINT IS, prehistoric middens are filled with the shells and bones of sea creatures nommed with probable delight by our distant ancestors.

So picture, if you will, four writers fighting over who gets to be Patty, Maxine and Laverne and who has to clap out the rhythm as we sing and eat instead of writing the whole time.

Catch you on the flip side!

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Tamale Time Again

2011-12-10T01:05:00.002-05:00

It’s not Christmas in the Southwest without tamales. Tamales are such a labor intensive dish to make that it has become tradition to make them for very special occasions, like Easter, or Christmas. In Hispanic families, women often spend days making tamales before the holiday, and then give them as gifts. Tamales were here before the Europeans. There are records of the Aztecs serving tamales to the Spanish in the 1500s.

Every region has its own native style of tamales - all the Southwestern states (New Mexican tamales can rip roof of your mouth right off), all the Mexican states, all the Central American countries. The basic idea is to wrap a filling in masa (a type of corn flour), then a corn husk or banana leaf, and steam it - usually end-up - for half an hour or so. Now, the fun part is the filling. Usually, tamale filling is shredded pork, which can be flavored with a plethora of imaginative spices and ingredients. Chiles, of course, and cumin, garlic, and bitter chocolate.

But never think that a good cook will stop there. Out here in Arizona, as Christmas approaches, you can find tamales of every ilk imaginable - pumpkin, chocolate, pineapple and pork, bean with beef and rice, chicken, “green corn” tamales, stuffed with mild green chiles and cheese. Usually, tamales are served hot out of the steamer (don’t forget to remove the husk), so soft and juicy that adding a sauce is just gilding the lily.

I was not raised in the Latino tradition, so I was never an expert tamale-maker. I am simply lucky enough to live in a place where I can buy mine from those who are. There are many fabulous web sites where you can learn all about making tamales the old-fashioned way, but two that I particularly like are videos:

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Make-Authentic-Christmas-Tamales-172972512

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbtIFt-yAvY

So if cooking is your thing, start a whole new holiday tradition in your family. And if tamales are your holiday tradition, let us know your favorite

Gluten-Free Goodies

2011-12-09T10:57:00.003-05:00

I got this link in my email inbox from Spry magazine and immediately thought of my friend Penny who is allergic to gluten. The article by Katie D. Neal includes recipes for:

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Men

Cranberry Pistachio Muffins

Gluten-Free Biscotti

Gluten-Free Rolled Sugar Cookies

Cherry White Chocolate Scones

Let Them Eat Cake! I'll Take Fruit for my Birthday.

2011-12-07T06:40:00.006-05:00

Johnson City, TN just got its first Edible Arrangements store. This is a great business that makes beautiful arrangements out of fruit. And the first order they filled was the Mickey Mouse bouquet that my sweet husband ordered for my birthday!

I loved it. As you can see, my kids did too. (That's Skylar's little hand reaching into the picture). I have included a link so that you can see what they do, or order arrangments for special people on you Christmas list.

Now, I'm going to go pick some fruit off my arrangement for breakfast!

http://www.ediblearrangements.com/

Another Christmas Goodie

2011-12-06T06:30:00.000-05:00

This makes me swoon. Okay, I swoon easy.

Ritz PB Thing

Ritz crackers
peanut butter
white chocolate bark

Make sammiches out of Ritzes and pb. Melt the chocolate. Dip the sammiches halfway in. Cool on waxed paper.

I purely LOVE these things.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Sonoran Style

2011-12-03T00:27:00.003-05:00

I finally finished the original draft of the sixth Alafair book (try saying that three times fast). For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be testing the recipes that will go in the back of the book. I’ll be glad when this research phase is over, since I tend to overindulge in my test products. This book is different from the first five in the series. It is not set in Oklahoma. It is set here in Arizona, where I now live, in the year 1916. So rather than test out the heavy, fattening Scotch-Irish country food I grew up with, this time I’ll be testing the heavy, fattening, Sonoran style cooking that a turn-of-the-20th Century Arizonan grew up with. So, when time comes to test and write about the recipes for the dishes that I mention in the new book, I have to say that I’m really going to enjoy the heck out of myself.

When it comes to the food of my childhood, I usually remember very well how to make the dish and can whip up the recipe in no time at all. Sometimes, though, I haven’t eaten whatever it is I’m writing about since I was a child, and recreating the dish is something of an adventure. When I was writing the first book, The Old Buzzard Had It Coming, my mother was still alive, so it was easy for me to call her up and ask if I needed to have my memory refreshed about some ingredient. She was gone by the time I was writing Hornswoggled, and I was forced to begin expanding my resources. I had no trouble remembering most of the recipes in that book, except for two. I ate plenty of my grandma’s chess pie in my youth, but I never made one myself. I found a recipe for it that was written out by my aunt Alma Bourland in about 1989, which is what I used for the book. I did modify the language of my aunt’s recipe just a little, though I pondered long and hard before I did, because I so loved the way she wrote it. “Mix sugar and meal good,” she wrote. “Add beaten egg and butter and mix well. Add milk and vanilla. Pour into uncooked pie shell. Bake slowly until firm.”

Which brings up a problem I’ve discovered with old recipes. How slow is slowly? How hot is a moderate oven? “Use a hunk of butter about the size of an egg.” “Add about a teacup of milk.” “Two glugs of sorghum.” Huh? These recipes were written out by women who cooked by eyeball, who were so practiced, and so familiar with the chemistry of cooking that they knew exactly what kind of reaction so many teaspoons of baking soda would cause when added to so many cups of flour and milk and baked for just so long in an oven that felt exactly so hot when they stuck their hands in to test the temperature.

So, in order to make the recipe intelligible to today’s not-so-talented cooks, Yours Truly included, I am forced to test these recipes over and over until they are right. Sometimes my experiments fail miserably. For my fourth book, The Drop Edge of Yonder, I tried to make an apple cornmeal pudding and ended up with something rather alarming. So, I worked and worked to to figure out what went wrong, made some modifications, and tried again until I got it right. The sacrifices one makes for one’s art!

So easy, but so good!

2011-12-02T11:00:00.003-05:00

Like Lisa, I know that sometimes you get caught thinking, "Yikes, what am I going to take to [insert event here]?" The easiest recipe I know is to take a 12 oz. bag of milk chocolate morsels and melt them over low heat with a can of sweetened condensed milk. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from heat and stir in a 12 oz. bag of either peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, or mint chocolate chips. Spread into a foil-lined 13 x 9 baking pan. Pop the pan into the refrigerator for about an hour. To cut, invert the pan onto your serving tray, peel off the foil, and cut into 1" x 1" squares. In my experience, the candy can be a little hard to cut so you might want to use an electric knife. But this is a rich, chocolate candy very similar to fudge that most people love.

Happy baking! :)

An Easy Cheat for Your Christmas Cookie Tray

2011-11-30T09:00:00.003-05:00

The madness has begun! From now through Christmas Eve, I will be cooking, baking, decorating and shopping like Martha Stewart after a box of Pixie Sticks and a can of Red Bull.

Some of my treats take lots of time. Others are so simple, it's silly. One of my easiest shortcuts is taking two Keebler Almond Crescents, spreading Nutella on one, then sandwiching the other cookie on top. Viola, instant Christmas cookie. They are pretty and people love them!

Vegamole

2011-11-29T08:33:00.001-05:00

We had a birthday party the other day, and one of the guests (#2 daughter) is vegan. Ever since we read Jonathan Safran Foer's EATING ANIMALS, we've all been a little squeamish about meat and dairy. We have eggs from happy, pampered chickens (really--I mean really REALLY), but not dairy, so Charlie uses organic milk and I use almond milk (although the way pollinating bees are abused makes even that iffy for a bee-head, which I am).

ANYWAY, I made bread (flour, water, salt and yeast) #2 daughter will eat. And I thought I'd make guacamole. It's naturally vegan.

Guacamole

avocado
salsa
lime

Mash up the avocado, squeeze in juice from the lime, stir in the salsa. You can, of course, not use prepared salsa and add fresh tomatoes, cilantro and spices, but it's past fresh tomato season, and I don't do grocery 'maters.

Tell you what--it felt like it wanted something else. So I mashed up some silken tofu and stirred that in, and it added a creaminess that everybody really liked.

If you want some really good vegan recipes, you can't go wrong with the web site Vegans Eat Pencil Shavings. Mr. Pig and Mrs. Cow and their friends, the Chicken family, will thank you for it.

Marian Allen
who is not entirely vegan or even vegetarian yet
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

2011-11-26T00:32:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. I probably should be writing about leftovers today, but I have herbs on my mind instead. My husband has been having some health problems lately, and he’s getting pretty tired of seeing doctors and taking medicines that are as likely to hurt him as they are to help. So late last month we started seeing a Chinese herbalist. He gives us giant bags of what looks like the stuff you scrape up off the floor of the forest primeval which I brew into tea that Don slugs down after supper. I feel rather like one of the witches in MacBeth as I stir my cauldron of eye of newt and toe of frog.

All this has made me consider how people used to treat sickness before the advent of antibiotics and steroids. It was not so long ago that our foremothers knew all about the medicinal qualities of food. Unadulterated food still has medicinal qualities, but do we know what they are anymore? Not likely, unless you’re a foodie, a scholar, or old.

Garlic has antibiotic properties, and was actually used during the 1918 flu outbreak as a treatment, especially in Eastern Europe. The Romans really thought highly of garlic - they believed that it gave you strength, and gladiators chewed raw garlic gloves before a match for just that purpose. I saw a recipe for a garlic soup to be fed to a flu sufferer which called for 24 cloves of garlic simmered for an hour in a quart of water. That’ll clear your sinuses.

Ginger is a traditional cure for nausea. It really works, too. You can use it for nausea of any sort. Commercial garlic pills are sold to prevent seasickness. Make a nice ginger tea by boiling a slice of fresh ginger until the water turns golden, sweeten it with honey, and sip it hot.

Onion, like garlic, is antibiotic, as well Here’s an anecdotal story about the curative power of onion. I was told this by the person to whom it happened. When my friend was a young boy, he developed such a severe case of pneumonia that the doctor told his mother to prepare herself for his imminent demise. In an act of desperation, his mother sliced up a raw onion and bound it to the bottoms of his feet with strips of sheet, then put cotton socks on him. In the morning, his fever had broken, his lungs had cleared, and the onion poultice had turned black. I make no judgment. I’m just saying.

I don’t know whether the Chinese herbs will cure whatever ails hubby, but at least we feel like we have a hand in his treatment and are not just at the mercy of pharmaceuticals.

What's Cookin' Fatal Foodies?

2011-11-23T08:11:00.004-05:00

This morning, cooks all over the country are busy in their kitchens. I am quite a voyuer when it comes to food. So, I want to know what you are cooking.
Fatal Foodies is a diverse group. We are from all over the country. There are various preferences and restrictions that are sometimes self-imposed and sometimes medically prescribed.
As for me, I am not yet a matriarch; so my role at Thanksgiving is more a supporting role of providing sides and desserts. Here is what I am making:
1) cranberry salad
2) broccoli slaw
3) hashbrown casserole
4) chocolate delight

Now, tell me what you are cooking. Whatever it is, I hope it turns out delicous. Happy Thanksgiving Fatal Foodies!

Murder By Cook

2011-11-22T08:08:00.001-05:00

The novel I started -- but will decidedly NOT finish -- for NaNoWriMo this year is MURDER WITH WHITE SAUCE. It's set during a cooking competition around Kentucky Derby time, and it led me to muse upon the many means of murder and mayhem available to the savvy cook.

BLUNT INSTRUMENT:

pots and pans of every size and weight
rolling pins, wooden and marble (for pastry)
frozen joints of meat (raise your hands, Roald Dahl fans)

SHARP INSTRUMENT:

knives
kitchen shears
skewers
chopsticks

CHOPPY THING:

cleavers (ugh!)

POISONS:

...er...poison
toxic food disguised as wholesome
food poisoning (accidental or intentional mishandling)
allergens

It's a wonder any of us get out of the kitchen alive.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Impossible Pumpkin Pie

2011-11-19T01:10:00.004-05:00

Pumpkin Pie is just the ticket for Thanksgiving, and this website is just the place to find ways to make as many varieties as there are pies. Far be it from me not to contribute one of my own. The following recipe is for the easiest and most amazing pumpkin pie you'll ever make. This is my mother's recipe, and I'm presenting it here exactly as she wrote it down.

Impossible Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup biscuit mix

1 can (16 oz) pumpkin

2 tsp. butter

2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 can (13 oz.) evaporated milk

2 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 inch pie pan. Beat all ingredients until smooth. Pour into pan. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, 50-55 minutes.

(No, you don't make a crust. The pie will make its own crust. – Donis)

Yummy Desserts, Part 3

2011-11-18T06:54:00.001-05:00

This is my final installment of Yummy Desserts brought to you via Killer Sweet Tooth. Next Thursday is the big day!

Our final recipe is for Regina's Peanut Butter and Banana Cake. I know you're probably thinking I'm bananas after all the banana-themed recipes, but Killer Sweet Tooth features Daphne baking for a convention of Elvis impersonators; and as you probably know, Elvis loved peanut butter and bananas. In fact, Daphne makes a pink Cadillac cake using peanut butter and banana cake. So, thanks to Regina Shinall, so can you!

Regina's Peanut Butter and Banana Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup 2% milk

Frosting Ingredients:

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup 2% milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar

To prepare the cake, in large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.

Transfer to greased 13 x 9 (3 quart) baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

For frosting, in a small bowl, beat peanut butter, milk, and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over cake.

Congratulations To...

2011-11-16T09:00:00.004-05:00

Through a random drawing, I have chosen a winner! My winner is Petite. Petite made one of the comments on last week's post, which entered them into my drawing. Petite, I will be emailing you so that I can send a book.

Thanks for all who entered. If you did not win, but still want a book; I am offering a special deal for Fatal Foodies. You can have your own signed copy of any of my Cutie Pies Chronicles for $10.50 per book. Shipping is only $2 for the first book and $1 for each additional copy. Comment and send an email address if you would like a book. I will get in touch for details.

For more on my books, check out my site:

www.lisahallauthor.com

Soup-Dee-Doo-Wah

2011-11-15T07:38:00.001-05:00

We love soup at our house. In the summer, it only heats one little burner and cup of soup + cold sandwich = all you can eat. In the winter, it warms you down to your toes, especially if you soak your feet in it. I did not just say that.

Anyway, soup is easy to make.

SOUP

stuff
liquid
seasoning

Boil the stuff in the liquid and add the seasoning.

No, not like "boil shoes and dirt in used motor oil and add grass". Smart-alek.

Okay. ~heavy sigh~

Let's call this ... oh ... mushroom soup with pasta.

MUSHROOM SOUP WITH PASTA

olive oil
onions
water
mushrooms
vegetable bouillon
marjoram (because DH LOVES marjoram)
pasta

While you bring water to a boil (all right, keep your shirt on, one cup of water per serving, okay?), cut the onions into slices or dices and slowly cook in oil until translucent, then add onion and oil to the pot. If you want to use one pan and take a little longer, do this is the pot first and THEN add the water. Add bouillon according to package directions for the amount of water you've chosen to use. Slice mushrooms and add, raw, to the pot. Lotsa mushrooms. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Bring back to boil. Add marjoram (or preferred seasoning) and pasta and cook until pasta is done according to package directions.

You can use butter or margarine or peanut oil if you prefer, but, unless you're on a fat-free diet, you want some fat in there to give it a satisfying mouth-feel.

If the pasta you use is made with spinach and/or tomatoes, or is (as we like) cheese tortellini, so much the better.

Doo-wop-bam-boom.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Eating in Italy - a Guest Post by Rick Blechta

2011-11-13T03:00:00.004-05:00

Today's Sunday and I (Vicki) am in darkest Africa. Literally. Therfore I've assigned the blogging duties to my good friend and fabulous mystery writer Rick Blechta. Rick knows food! And mysteries.
----

One of the many things we writers have to “suffer” through is doing research for our various projects. In the crime writing game, this can be especially important. Get your facts wrong and you’re sure to hear from readers who know the subject that you blew.

With that in mind, I always want to get things right. Since by training I’m a musician (and being blessed with a mind for all facts trivial), I use music as a background for my novels. If I’m not already familiar with something, I know another musician who is. However, also being pretty foolish, I often bring things into my stories about which I have no idea. That sort of thing can eat up a lot of valuable hours (and money) as I bring myself up to speed on whatever it is I don’t know much about.

Which brings me to Italy – literally. I’m currently working on the follow-up to a novel that will be released next fall, The Fallen One. This story’s protagonist is a singer. For the sequel, it seemed to me useful to set some of the story in Italy, where opera is a part of the culture. Having never been to Italy, I needed to get that all important first-hand experience of the country. It took 4.75 seconds to convince my wife that a visit was A Good Idea. So we boarded an airplane this past June and went off on a research trip to that land where great food and wine can be found on nearly every street corner.

Rome was our first stop, and being an inveterate reader of menus posted outside of restaurants, I noticed that nearly every one of them listed spaghetti all-amatriciana. Curiosity piqued, we ordered it at the first opportunity. One bite and we were in heaven. Since my wife speaks Italian, she asked about the very distinctively-flavored meat in the dish. It wasn’t pancetta, and though it looked like bacon, it certainly didn’t taste like it. We were told it was guanciale, a speciality of the region around Rome. The chef was also charmed into giving us the recipe.

Back in Canada, we found out that even a lot of Italians have never heard of guanciale. We persevered and eventually came up with two suppliers in our area. We’re lucky. In New York this summer, I spent over a day on the phone before coming up with a place that sold it. There is no substitute for guanciale, so don’t even think about substituting anything else for it! If you’re interested in trying this recipe, I’ll list some mail order sources for it in the States at the end.*

Serves 4.
1 lb dry spaghetti 1-2 Tbs
Good quality olive oil 4 oz
diced or thinly-sliced pieces of guanciale (cut off any rind first)
3/4 cup sliced onions
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (try to get imported Italian ones)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1+ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil, then fry guanciale over low heat until it’s crisp and browned. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Leave all the fat. You’ll need it.
2. Cook the sliced onions in the guanciale fat and olive oil until it’s translucent.
3. Add the tomatoes, white wine and pepper flakes, then boil the sauce fairly hard to evaporate most of the liquid. Meanwhile cook your pasta to taste.
4. When everything is ready, put the cooked guanciale back into the sauce and stir it a bit.
5. In a warm bowl or in the hot pasta pot, toss the pasta with the sauce to get it well-coated, then add the Pecorino Romano. Toss thoroughly to melt the cheese into the sauce. We usually add a bit of salt to taste and a healthy grinding of pepper.

Not only is this dish absolutely delicious, but you can pretty well put it together in about the time it takes to bring a pot of water to the boil to cook your pasta. With a glass of good white wine, you’ll feel like you’re in a trattoria in Rome. Buon appetito! -=-=-=-=-=-

Rick Blechta is a Canadian crime writer and musician. Orchestrated Murder, his seventh book, has just been released by Orca Book Publishing in their Rapids Reads series. Next fall, his full-length novel, The Fallen One will make its debut. Visit www.rickblechta.com for all the information. *Mail order sources for guanciale in the US: www.zingermans.com or www.olioandolive.com. I’ve also heard that some Whole Food Markets carry it.

What the Heart Knows - Food and Mysteries

2011-11-12T00:36:00.003-05:00

Donis here. Shortly after I began writing the first of my Alafair Tucker mysteries, I realized that food was going to figure very large in the story. After all, any woman with ten children is always thinking about what’s for dinner. So each of my five mysteries contains a section of recipes for several of the dishes the family eats during the course of the tale.

I am not by any means the first author to have food figure large in her novels. Witness my blogmates, for instance. In fact, I could spend the next year reviewing food-centric mysteries for you, Dear Reader. These days, even books that don’t revolve around food often contain quite a bit about cooking and eating, and if you keep your eyes peeled, you can pick up some fabulous recipes from books.

I have been reading a book called What the Heart Knows, the first installment in the Milford-Haven Novels, by Mara Purl, which is a case in point. What the Heart Knows is a compelling book. Here is a blurb from Mara’s website:

Milford-Haven is a town full of characters. Escapees from San Francisco and Los Angeles, New York and Arkansas, Montreal and South Africa, have come here with their own hopes and expectations, agendas and shadowed pasts. The stakes are high: create a new life from scratch. The opportunities are dazzling: own a piece of the California dream. It’s a town of buried secrets and a dangerous mystery, quaint shops and breathtaking vistas, peaceful solitude and spontaneous conversations. What draws people here is the sense that—in their heart of hearts—they know there’s something they’ve always wanted to do. And if not now . . . when? So look for the sign to Milford-Haven, pull off Highway 1 and stop by. Come discover for yourself . . . What the Heart Knows.

Not only is WTHK an intriguing story, but as a bonus each of the Milford-Haven novels will contain recipes for some of the dishes these lucky central Californians enjoy. What the Heart Knows taught me about Joan Calvin’s Chicken Breast Marsala with Fetuccini Alfredo and Sally O’Mally’s Fabulous Gooey Sticky Cinnamon Buns as served at Sally’s Restaurant. I must warn you that neither of these spectacular dishes will help with your diet. You may die fat but you'll be happy.

Yesterday was the beginning of Mara’s Milford-Haven Novels 11-11-11 Contest at Facebook, which ends whenever the 111th copy of What the Heart Knows is purchased. You could win a free copy of the book, or a free classic Kindle. How to play? Please visit Milford-Haven Novels 11-11-11 Contest at Facebook!

Yummy Desserts, Part 2

2011-11-11T01:11:00.002-05:00

Last week, I shared with you the scrumptious recipe, Pat Tolbert's Banana Pudding. The recipe said it yields 8-10 servings, but not if my brother is around. (Did I mention Pat is my dad's cousin? AND that she also makes fabulous peanut butter fudge?)

But what if you're watching your weight and want something a little lighter to serve after Thanksgiving dinner? Well, Daphne Martin's recipe box has something to accommodate you, too, thanks to Lora Rasnake.

Lora's Good-For-You Banana Pudding

3 cups fat-free (skim) milk
2 boxes (4-serving size each) Jell-O French Vanilla Instant Pudding and Pie Filling Mix
4 containers (6 ounces each) Yoplait 99% Fat-Free Banana Creme or French Vanilla Yogurt
8 ounces frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
48 reduced-fat vanilla wafer cookies
6 small bananas, sliced
Additional bananas for garnish, if desired

In large bowl, beat milk and pudding mix with electric mixer on low speed until well mixed, then beat in yogurt. Fold in whipped topping. Place 24 vanilla wafers in a single layer in ungreased 13 x 9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Spoon half the pudding mixture over wafers. Place 6 sliced bananas over pudding mixture. Spoon remaining pudding mixture over bananas. Arrange remaining 24 vanilla wafers over top of pudding. Cover. Refrigerate at least 3 hours but no longer than 8 hours. Just before serving, garnish with additional banana slices.

If you try, Lora's Good-for-You Banana Pudding, please let me know how you liked it!

P.S. Happy Veterans Day!

Book Giveaway!

2011-11-09T09:02:00.002-05:00

To celebrate my new book's debut, I will pick one Fatal Foodie to receive a free copy of one of my Cutie Pies Chronicles! Just comment on this post and let me have your email. I draw a winner.

Midwest Manna

2011-11-08T06:30:00.000-05:00

There's been a lot of talk here lately about fall deliciousness, which I've been very happy to copy to my recipe book.

When the weather turns nippy, though, my first thought (well, after chili, of course) is mac&cheese.

Here's how we like it:

MACARONI AND CHEESE AT OUR HOUSE

cooked macaroni
flour
salt
freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
butter or margarine

Butter a casserole. Heat oven to 350F. Put down a layer of macs. Sprinkle with salt, flour and cheese. More macs. More salt and cheese -- If you have enough macs for a third layer, sprinkle flour on layer 2. You should end with macs/salt/cheese and no flour on the top layer. Pour in milk until you can see it through the macs.

Bake until thickened and bubbly, about 45 minutes. If you don't like brown crunchy cheese (we do), you might want to cover the casserole until the last few minutes.

If you like your mac and cheese sloppy, use more milk and/or less flour.

This is SO GOOD! Charlie doesn't like pepper, but I like pepper on it.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Squash and Tomato Stew

2011-11-05T01:34:00.003-04:00

Vicki’s recipe for curried root vegetable soup (below) was delicious. It’s fall, now, and time to make savory, warming stews. One of my favorites is Squash and Tomato Stew, which is really half-way between a soup and a stew. It is easy as can be, an excellent way to use your home-canned tomatoes and the butternut squash from your fall garden. It’ll cure what ails you. And it smells like heaven.

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

1 small butternut squash, cleaned, peeled, and chopped into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes

3 tablespoons mild diced chile peppers (canned is fine)

1 tbsp. ground cumin

1 rounded tsp. ground cinnamon

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

2 cups veggie broth

Saute onion in oil until transparent, 3 or 4 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and cinnamon and stir for 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Add peppers and squash and stir to coat with spices. Add canned tomatoes and broth. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until squash is very soft. Serve with hot buttery cornbread or crunchy garlic toast.

Yummy Desserts, Part 1

2011-11-04T06:30:00.002-04:00

November is here, and Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. For the next few weeks, I'll be sharing recipes from my latest book, Killer Sweet Tooth." You might want to try a couple for the big day.

Here's the first one:

Pat Tolbert's Banana Pudding

3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
dash of salt
3 eggs, separated
3 cups milk (can use evaporated milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 12-ounce box of vanilla wafers
6 medium bananas

Combine flour, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and salt in heavy saucepan. Beat egg yolks and milk, mixing well. Stir in dry ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and add one teaspoon vanilla. Let pudding cool some before putting together. Layer about 1/3 of vanilla wafers in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch (3-quart) baking dish. Slice 2 bananas over them and pour 1/3 of custard over; continue to layer, repeat twice. Beat egg whites until foamy (should be at room temperature). Gradually add remaining sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Spread meringue over custard, sealing to edge of dish. Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes. Yields 8-10 servings.

Let me know if you try Pat Tolbert's Banana Pudding!

But I had a Back-Up Plan!

2011-11-02T09:30:00.007-04:00

I got a great bit of news last night. My publisher will be getting a box with copies of my brand new book tomorrow. Such a relief, since I scheduled three signings this weekend with the promise of having my new book!

What would I have done if the books would not have come? Well, I would have apologized. But, there was a back-up plan. I was going to get a list of folks who had wanted a signed copy. Then, I would have mailed or delivered the books to them free of charge. I would still have made some proffit and saved some face.

Authors who do book signings often have the challenge of managing inventory. If you ever have a signing and run short on books, my back-up plan is one way to handle a sticky situation.

Another idea is to go to any stores where your books may be on consignment. The business has not paid for the books, so they might not mind if you take a few copies with the promise to bring some more at a later date.

Finally,if you have books at retail locations, you might can buy some books back at their wholesale price. While none of these solutions are ideal, they may work in a pinch.

What To Do With That Pumpkin

2011-11-01T08:20:00.000-04:00

I'm talking about the one you didn't want the mess of carving. A nice little pie pumpkin that you decorated with paint or hatpins poked into the flesh to form a design.

The coolest thing I ever did with one (well, I thought it was cool) was bake a "pie" inside one. Here's a recipe for that:

http://www.cookingcache.com/dessert/bakedwholepumpkinpie.shtml?rdid=rc1

Oh, I suggest removing the hatpins/paint first. And don't forget to boil the ick off the seeds, dry them, toss them in oil or butter and seasonings and toast them. Mmmmm!

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Fall Vegetable Soup

2011-10-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

By Vicki

Come fall the farm stands are overflowing with vegetables and more vegetables. Everything you need to get you through the long dark winter nights when the garden is but a memory.

I like to make great big pots of soup at this time of year and fill the freezer with individual portions.

Here’s my favourite recipe for curried root vegetable soup. You can use pretty much any assortment of squashes, potatoes, etc and vary quantities to suit what you like and how much you are making.

Vicki’s Fall Vegetable Soup
2 medium butternut squash – cut off rind, remove seeds, and chop into big hunks
3 medium potatoes – peeled, chopped
2 sweet potatoes – peeled chopped
1 large onion – peeled and sliced thickly
3 cloves of garlic – peeled and chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp chilli powder
Salt pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
4 cups vegetable stock

Place all vegetables into a large roasting pan. Sprinkle with curry and chilli powders, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Stir well.
Cook at 350 degree oven for about an hour or until the vegetables are soft

Puree vegetable mixture in a blender.
Add to stock pot with vegetable stock.
Stir well to combine
Simmer for 15 minutes.

Samhain Redux

2011-10-29T01:23:00.000-04:00

I’m not here today, Dear Reader. If you are reading this on Saturday Oct 19, I am this minute in Avondale, AZ, teaching a seminar on mystery writing for the second annual Avondale Writers’ Conference. Therefore, I am rerunning one of my favorite Hallowe’en posts from this blog, Samhain, from 2008. Enjoy, learn what Hallowe’en really means, and have a great holiday. - Donis

I'm all intrigued about our Halloween Trick or Treat. I hope everyone gives it a try. I can't wait to see what sort of treats we all come up with. I've spent some time thoughtfully rubbing my chin as I try to decide what sort of treat (or trick!) to offer.

In one of my past working incarnations, I owned a Celtic gift shop. I imported gift items from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales - all the Celtic countries, in fact, which include Man, Brittany, and Galicia. This time of year is a very big deal for Celtic peoples, for midnight on Oct. 31 is the turning of the year - Samhain, or Celtic New Year, and the origin of our Halloween. This is the time when the veil between this world and the next is at it's thinnest, and those with eyes to see are able to see right through to the other side, where the dead live. Some Celtic people would light bonfires on Samhain eve to guide the souls of loved ones, and make lanterns out of hollowed out turnips to lead the dead home for their annual visit.

My husband remembers that every Halloween, his father would dig a pit in back of the house, line it with bricks, fill it with wood, and light what they called a "bonfire", though it was more like a good sized campfire. The family would sit around it and roast wieners and marshmallows on sticks and stretched-out hangars. He has no idea where the family tradition came from, but I'm guessing it was passed down through the family from the misty past, for such traditions are remarkably enduring. So, if you live in the country or don't worry about being fined for building an open fire in your back yard, stretch out those hangars and get yourself a bag of marshmallows, and take a trip into the past with some campfire s'mores.

Put a slab of Hershey bar on top of a Graham cracker, put a melty-hot roasted marshmallow on the chocolate, top with another Graham cracker, and enjoy.

By the way, Samhain is pronounced "SHAW-win." In Gaelic, that mh makes a "w" sound in the middle of a word.

Fun at the Library

2011-10-26T07:16:00.002-04:00

Now, I have a bizillion and one reasons to love the public library! They are having a family pumpkin decoration contest. The rules state that the pumpkin cannot be carved or pierced. This is what Calli and I came up with. Pretty cute, huh!

Milk Toast

2011-10-25T01:00:00.000-04:00

My mother has been under the weather and asked me to make her some milk toast for supper.

Now, milk toast has a rep as being boring and vapid, but it ain't, the way I make it.

Milk Toast

milk
toast
butter
salt
pepper

Make toast. Butter it with scads of butter or margarine. Heat milk. add salt and pepper. Pour over toast. Oh, put the toast in a bowl first. Sorry.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

An Ode to Trader Joe's

2011-10-22T01:23:00.005-04:00

There is nothing better than the combination of autumn and a great market. My darling husband Donald Koozer wrote this poem after a trip to Trader Joe's last week. It says it all. Enjoy.

HUNTER’S MOON

In the twilight of mid-October

a sacredness seems to linger

over the land and the city.

As we drive to Trader Joe’s,

the sun is setting in the west,

and in the east the Hunter’s Moon rises

like an ancient god over the horizon.

As it’s great face looms,

full and orange, in the dusk

we become pensive.

Outside the little market

pumpkins are piled in bins,

and bright yellow marigolds

and sienna chrysanthemums,

line the sidewalks.

As people shop the moon turns to golden

and rises higher into the night.

It sends a resonance over the land

that enters the body like a gentle current.

In the store we buy bread and cheese

and cherry tomatoes.

When we leave, the moon

looks down upon us,

and follows as we drive home.

It sails through the dark silhouettes of trees

and through lighted clouds

as if it has a message yet to impart--

a message of time, beauty,

and the coming of winter.

I BEARLY made this post! (Groan!)

2011-10-21T20:51:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting today. It has been quite a week. I won't bore you with the details, but instead, I'll share this story that shows that EVERYBODY has a KILLER SWEET TOOTH! ;)

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — A bear has feasted on pecan logs, caramel apples and other treats at a candy store in the Smoky Mountains resort town Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Employees reporting for work found the bear Wednesday morning at the Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen, where the animal apparently had knocked a hole in a glass front door to enter, according to The Mountain Press (http://bit.ly/orYRBH ).

Police propped open several back doors and made loud noises, and the bear ran into the woods.

The animal had spread candy on the floor, and wrappers and packaging were strewn throughout a back storeroom. Pecan logs had been chewed and chunks were missing out of caramel apples.

Bob Miller of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park said bears are active this time of year, searching for food before hibernation.

((I wonder if anyone heard the bear say, "Boog is sorry!" as he escaped into the woods.))

Another Sweet Read and Pie Tasting

2011-10-19T08:12:00.006-04:00

My newest book, Sand Tarts, Pies, and Devils in Disguise will be debuting in the next couple of weeks!

One of my first events following the release will be a Sweet Read and Pie Tasting @ Colonial Heights Public Library in Kingsport, TN from 10:30am-12:00pm. I will be reading, answering questions and signing books while the audience samples yummy pies!

Here is a recipe for one of the pies I will make for the event:

Chocolate Strawberry Hand Pies
Strawberries dipped in chocolate are one of my favorite desserts in the whole world. Using a can of crescent rounds, I created a these little pies. If you cannot find crescent rounds, make triangular pies using regular crescent rolls.
Finely chop about 5 strawberrries. Flatten crescent round with the palm of your hand or a rolling pin.On half of crescent round place about 10 chocolate chips and 3-4 pieces of the chopped strawberries. Fold other half of crescent round over chocolate and strawberries. Seal edges with tines of fork. Continue until you have used all of your crescent roundss.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Curry. Tim Curry.

2011-10-18T06:50:00.000-04:00

The first time my #4 daughter and I saw Tim Curry, he was presiding over a dinner table of uneasy guests in a mysterious mansion on a dark and stormy night.

For her, it was CLUE: THE MOVIE. For me, ~mumblety mumblety~ years earlier, it was THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.

Yes, there's nothing like a specially prepared meal to bring people with little else in common together, whether it's a delicacy from China or plain old meatloaf.

The time of large family gatherings approaches, as we (in the northern hemisphere) defy and survive the darkness of winter by coming together and celebrating.

Some get-togethers turn out to be more tense than a battle with dire-wolves and mastodons, but just remember CLUE: THE MOVIE and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. No matter how tense things get, at least you aren't any of those people.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

The Best of Cottey Cooking

2011-10-15T01:23:00.005-04:00

I discovered a pretty fantastic cookbook yesterday. It's called The Best of Cottey Cooking, by Chef Michael Richardson, who is the Director of Dining Services at Cottey College, which is a women's college run by P.E.O. (an international women's philanthropic educational organization), located in Nevada, Missouri. For more than 126 years, the college has offered young women the opportunity to learn and grow into leaders, role models, and confident individuals.  Cottey offers a unique combination of women's-only education, high academic standards, focus on leadership development, commitment to an international experience for every student. Read about the advantages of an all-women's education at www.cottey.edu

I loved the look of the cookbook, which is filled with all kinds of intriguing, healthy, and delicious recipes that even I could make without much trouble. Here is an excerpt from the introduction that explains more about it:

The Best of Cottey Cooking is Chef Michael's collection of more than 200 of the most popular recipes served at Cottey, adapted for use in your home kitchen. Treat your family to Molten Chocolate Cake, Baked Potato Soup, or Honey Dijon Chicken. Every recipe has been home tested and re-written for cooks of all skill levels to find success in their home kitchens. All the ingredients for these recipes can be found in most local supermarkets. Whether it's a quick and easy breakfast of Almond French Toast or a special occasion brunch calling for Bananas Foster Crepes, you'll find the recipe in The Best of Cottey Cooking. In addition, a significant portion of the net proceeds from this book will fund scholarships for future Cottey College students.

Note that last sentence. That makes this book an even better buy. You can order it on Amazon, or at http://thechefslife.com/cookbook.htm

Just to whet your appetite, following is a recipe for a pie that Chef Michael calls one of the most popular on the menu. As I said, the dishes are delicious. I never said they were low-cal.

Chocolate Buttercrunch Pie

The crust makes this pie unique. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Crust

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

6 tablespoons butter, cold, cut into pieces

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 (1.55 ounce) milk chocolate candy bar

Filling

1 3.9 ounce package instant vanilla pudding and pie filling

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/4 cups cold milk

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

1 cup whipped topping

1 1.55 ounce milk chocolate candy bar, cut into chocolate curls or grated.

For Crust: preheat oven to 350 F. Place the walnuts in a baking pan and bake for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Cool to lukewarm. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the butter, cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the nuts and chocolate; blend, using on/off turns, until nuts are finely chopped. Press onto bottom and sides of a lightly-greased 9-inch pie pan. Bake crust until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool completely.

For Filling: In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes, then pour into the pie crust, spreading evenly. Refrigerate unil firm, about 1 hour.

For Topping: Once the filling is firm, spread the whipped topping to cover. Sprinkle top with the chocolate curls or grated chocolate. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Video from the Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show

2011-10-14T09:29:00.003-04:00

For all of you (like me) who didn't get to attend the 2011 Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show in Tulsa on October 1-2, here is a video created by YummyArts!

My Best Vacation Food EVER!

2011-10-12T08:15:00.004-04:00

Last week, my husband and I spent a few days in Folly Beach, South Carolina. We just loved this funky little surfer town that lies nine miles from downtown Charleston.

I have eaten some really good food on vacation, but the food I had on this trip was exceptional!

Here are some of the highlights:

1) Nachos at a fun Mexican place called Taco Boy

2) A sandwich at Lost Dog Cafe that included bacon, fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese on whole grain bread

3) A plate of cheese and fruit with a glass of white wine at a wedding reception

4) Crab cakes at Hank's in Charleston

5) An awesome cheeseburger and fries on the pier at Folly Beach.

6) A beautiful tapa of beef fillet and fingerling potatoes.

7) A fruit and yogurt parfait served in a big coffee mug with crunchy granola on top at Lost Dog Cafe

Thank goodness I worked out every morning. If you ever go to Folly, take a big appetite, your camera and some running shoes!

Nutty Truffles

2011-10-11T08:41:00.000-04:00

In honor of the short story I just (rough draft) finished, "Still Life With Peanut Butter", here is a favorite treat of mine. It comes from THE TEEN'S VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK, which I got for a teen friend and liked so well I got a copy for myself.

Becca's Chocolate Nutty Truffles

1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup cashews
1 cup favorite nut butter: almond, cashew, or peanut
4 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup dates, chopped
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/8 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a skillet containing no oil or liquid, combine the almonds and cashews. Heat over a low flame, stirring frequently, just until you start smelling a toasty, warm aroma. (Keep watching and don't let them burn.) You can also toast them for 2 minutes in a toaster oven set on a low setting.
In a bowl, mix together nut butter, maple syrup, and chocolate chips. Add nuts and stir to combine. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon.
Make teaspoon-size balls of the nut butter mixture and roll in the sugar-cocoa mixture until evenly coated. Place on wax paper and eat, or harden in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Makes 25 to 30 truffles.

If you just insist on being fatal about it, make sure one of the nuts you use is something your enemy is deathly allergic to.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Orange Food

2011-10-08T01:55:00.002-04:00

Here it is - October. The weather is finally cooling, and it’s time to worry about getting sick. So in the spirit of the season, here are some more remedies for flu-fighting that every woman used to have in her home disease fighting arsenal.

My mother told me that her mother did things to her when she got sick that I would think twice about recommending. One was the famous mustard plaster, made of powdered dry mustard mixed with flour and water to make a paste, sandwiched between two pieces of cloth, (I seem to remember my mom telling me that Grandma used brown paper) and applied as a poultice to the chest. This remedy would open the bronchi, and if you weren’t careful, it’d blister the heck out of your chest, as well.

My other grandmother liked to ease her breathing with a nice hot toddy, made of hot water, sugar, lemon, and a shot of whiskey. And if it didn’t ease her breathing, she didn’t care. Another pleasant immunity booster is elderberry wine.

I was once told that eating orange foods was a good thing to do if you wanted to avoid getting sick, and research has shown that there’s something to this. We all know about oranges and viatmin C, but sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and orange squash are full of immune boosting beta carotene, besides being comforting and delicious.

Squash and pumpkin make wonderful soups, and so do yams and sweet potatoes. But when I was a kid, I thought the very best way to eat a sweet potato was thus:

Wash a sweet potato and poke two or three holes in it. Bake it in a medium oven (you can wrap it in foil, but I just stick it in there naked) for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the potato, until it’s very soft. Take it out - carefully! (After all, it’s a hot potato) Let it cool enough to handle, then pick it up like a banana, peel back the top and slather with butter, and eat it. Peel the skin down from the top as you go. Oh, so yummy. And if you’re eight years old, this method of potato-eating has the added benefit of being a lot of fun.

Pumpkin Recipe Roundup

2011-10-07T09:46:00.004-04:00

While pumpkins are in abundance, now might be a good time to make and freeze some pumpkin goodies. My favorites--pumpkin bread and pumpkin roll. Below are a roundup of other pumpkin recipes:

Pumpkin Spice Truffles

1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
11 ounces of milk couverture chocolate (11 ounces finely chopped dark chocolate to temper and melt for coating)
3 tablespoons of canned pumpkin
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
Pinch of cloves
4 ounces of orange colored chocolate

1. Place cream in 2-quart wide saucepan over medium heat just until it comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and immediately sprinkle chopped chocolate into cream. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes; the heat should melt the chocolate. Stir very gently until smooth.

2. Stir in pumpkin and spices. Pour mixture into a pastry bag and tie with a twist tie. Let cool to slightly warmer than room temperature.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 medium egg
1 cup milk
¾ cup unbleached white flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup cooked pumpkin
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch powdered ginger
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, as needed

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except vegetable oil in a large mixing bowl, whisking to blend.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a medium skillet over medium. Add ¼ cup pancake batter at a time, allowing to cook until bubbles break around the edges. Flip and allow to cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes, until light golden. Repeat with remaining oil and batter.

Pumpkin Chipotle Soup

½ Onion, chopped
1 Clove Garlic, minced
Olive Oil
1 chipotle canned in adobo sauce, deseeded and chopped, AND 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from can
¼ cup apple juice or cider
2 sugar pumpkins, peeled, deseeded and chopped OR 1 kobucha squash peeled, deseeded and chopped, OR 2 cans pumpkin puree OR 3 chopped yams
2 to 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock (depending on desired thickness)
½ cup apple cider or apple juice
Sour cream (optional)
Cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1) Sweat onion in olive oil with a pinch of salt until translucent looking in the pan.

2) Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds to a minute more (until golden but not burning- garlic can burn fast).

3) Add the chopped chipotle to the pan

4) Add the apple cider or apple juice. Allow to cook off a little, i.e. evaporate a little, add the stock to cover the pumpkin. Allow to simmer on medium-high heat for 20 minutes to a half hour.

5) Puree in batches in the blender filling only half way.

6) Add remaining or additional stock or water to the finished puree and stir to create the desired thickness.

7) Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and chopped cilantro.

Pumpkin Ravioli

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
6 whole eggs
4 tablespoons water
2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

For the Filling:
1 small pumpkin (about 4 pounds), or 2- 15 ounce cans of pumpkin puree*
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 dash ground cloves
Cinnamon, to taste
Salt and Pepper, to taste
About 1 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs

For the Sauce:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1 clove garlic, finely minced
about 10 whole sage leaves
salt and pepper, to taste
grated parmesan, to taste

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a food processor or large bowl.
Puree the ingredients together until a solid mass is formed, about 1 minute. The dough should not be wet and should be dry enough that it does not stick to the bowl. If it is too wet add some flour.
Roll into a ball, wrap in plastic, and place in the refrigerator. Let rest for at least one hour.
Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds. Rub the cavity with salt and pepper and oil. Place flesh side down on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 1 hour, or until it is soft when punctured with a knife or fork.
Remove the pumpkin from the oven and scoop the soft pumpkin meat into a bender or food processor. Puree until no chunks remain. Let cool to room temperature or refrigerate until cold.
In a large bowl combine the pumpkin puree with the ricotta, parmesan, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. Stir together.
Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper to your liking.
Add enough breadcrumbs so that the mixture will hold its shape when scooped onto a flat surface. You may need more breadcrumbs if you made the puree from scratch.
Add the eggs and stir well until they are fully incorporated.
The filling mixture can now be set aside until you are ready to fill the raviolis. It can also be frozen at this time. It can be help in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Using a rolling pin, roll out the pasta dough until it is very thin so that you can almost see through it. Use plenty of flour so it does not stick.
Cut the dough into one long rectangle that is about eight inches thick and however long you can make it.
Using a one ounce portion scoop or a large spoon, scoop about 1/8 cup onto one side of the strip of dough.
Repeat this all the way down the dough placing each scoop about 2 inches apart form each other.
Fold the other side of the dough, that does not have filling on it, over the filling. Then using your fingers press around each of the raviolis moving the air out away from the filling.
Cut in between each of the lumps of filling creating many squares. Crimp the edges of each ravioli with a fork.
At this point the raviolis can be frozen on a cookie sheet. When completely frozen they can be bagged for future use. They will hold about 6 months.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water enough so that it tastes like ocean water.
In a saute pan melt the butter with the garlic over medium heat until it is foamy and has a nutty aroma, about 2 minutes. Add the sage leaves and let them cook until they are crisp, about 3 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat. Be careful not to burn the butter or the garlic.
Turn the hot water down to a simmer. Place the raviolis into the salted water and let them cook for about 4 minutes or until the float to the top. Gently remove them with a slotted spoon and place on a serving platter.
Once all the raviolis are cooked top with the butter sauce, garnish with fresh sage and grated parmesan, and serve.

*Make sure to purchase pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Then your raviolis would be very sweet! If using canned pumpkin puree, skip the filling steps 1 and 2.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Filling

Yield: About 4 dozen assembled whoopie pies (will vary depending on how large you make them)

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 10 to 12 minutes

For the Whoopie Pies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Maple-Cream Cheese Filling:
3 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

5. Use a small cookie scoop or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.

7. To make the filling, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth with no visible lumps, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, then add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.

8. To assemble the whoopie pies: Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe or spoon the filling (about a tablespoon) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving.

The Up Side to my Fridge Woes

2011-10-05T05:10:00.000-04:00

For nearly seven weeks, I was without a refrigerator in my kitchen. To make a long story short, I will just say that our fridge that was only two years old went. bad. During the repair process, the inside of our freezer and some wires on the back were burned with a torch. For weeks, we have been back and forth trying to get a replacement for our fridge that was destroyed beyond repair.

Since I preach optimism, I willl share the positive points from this ordeal:

1) We do have an extra fridge in the garage, so we had somewhere to put our chilled goods.

2) I saved on groceries, because the fridge and freezer were so stuffed that I had to use up what was inside before I could buy more.

3) I did not cook nearly as often. Making multipled trips to the garage was such a pain that I made huge batches of whatever I was cooking, and we ate it for several nights.

4) The manufacturer of our refrigerator came through with a replacement! I've got a brand new fridge with no dents in the door from my kids playing around it.

5) At least I have never opened the door to find an animal curled up inside, as in the photo!

Good Sammich That Sounds Yuck

2011-10-04T07:33:00.004-04:00

My first realization that I could edge closer to vegetarianism came when I ate the best bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich of my life, then discovered I had forgotten to put the bacon on.

So, when I got a craving for a pastrami sammich the other day, I made this:

PASTRAMI SANDWICH WITHOUT THE PASTRAMI

rye bread
Swiss cheese
mayonnaise
dill pickle slices
pepper
butter or margarine (optional)

Make a sandwich of everything except the butter or margarine. If you're grilling the sandwich in a skillet, melt the butter and grill on both sides until as brown and crispy as you like. If you're using a sandwich press, press that sandwich.

Okay, now, I make my own pickles and my own mayonnaise, I use fresh-ground pepper, and I buy middlin' expensive Swiss cheese and deli rye. All that probably goes a long way to making this a good sandwich. A REALLY good sandwich.

BONUS: If you tell somebody you had a sandwich of Swiss cheese, pickles and mayonnaise, they're almost guaranteed to go Ewwww!

Making your own mayonnaise is super easy, if you have access to farm-fresh eggs and a food processor or blender.

MAYONNAISE

1 egg
1 to 2 TBS lemon juice
1/4 or more ground mustard to taste
1/4 or more salt to taste
1/4 cup salad oil (I use canola oil)
3/4 cup salad oil

Put the first 5 ingredients into the blender and process for about 5 seconds, until it's good and blended. While the processor is running, in a thin stream about the thickness of a pencil lead, drizzle the remaining 3/4 cup of oil into the liquid. It will thicken, the more oil you put in! It's like magic!

You can fiddle with the lemon juice amount or substitute vinegar, vary the salad oil flavor, add spices or herbs, but we just like it the way I have it here, with maybe 1 1/2 TBS lemon juice to make it kind of punchy.

Enjoy!

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Taste!

2011-10-02T04:00:00.000-04:00

Main Entry: locavore
Part of Speech: n
Definition: a person who attempt to eat only foods grown locally
Example: Locavores grow their own food or buy foodstuffs grown within their region.
Etymology: 2006
Usage: cooking

Locavore: A word that didn’t exist even five years ago (in fact it doesn’t exist in my MS Word 2010 dictionary).

Quite a few of us on this blog, authors as well as our readers, like to think of ourselves as locavores. People who try to eat local food, in season.

The idea of eating locally, of supporting local farmers rather than importing foodstuffs from factory farms or agribusinesses thousands of miles away, is definitely an idea whose time has come.

Last weekend Prince Edward County, where I live, celebrated Taste! A festival of local eating (and drinking!). http://www.tastecelebration.ca/. Other agricultural communities are also gathering to celebrate their rich farmland and crops. Wolfe Island, where we hold our annual Scene of the Crime Festival, has a series of events. http://www.tasteofwolfeisland.ca/. And there are lots more.

I probably left this post a bit too late this year. Here in Canada most of our big agricultural events are held in September or the first week of October in the run-up to Thanksgiving. (Which is next weekend. Did you know that?)

Keep your eye out next year. Find out if there is a celebration in your area. Meet the people who grow and raise your food and say thanks.

Apple Time

2011-10-01T02:27:00.004-04:00

It’s that apple time of year, when the farmer’s markets and groceries are overflowing with local apples of all varieties. No matter what your apple preference, there is something for you available right now. Don likes the good old Delicious variety, but I’m partial to Fuji or a good Gala. I like my apples sweet and crunchy. I look forward to the Honey Crisps every year, but some years the crop is spectacular, and some years, not so much. Same with Pink Ladies and Jazz. I’m not a fan of the tart apples, though I know you’re supposed to use tart varieties like Granny Smith for pies and candy apples. I’d rather just eat the caramel by itself if the apple is too pucker-making. A couple of days ago Don brought home a package of Kraft Caramels. I had a couple of Gala apples in the house, and the combination was so irresistible to him that rather than take the time to melt the caramels and coat the apples with it, he ended up just eating the two at the same time.

The apple is one of the most versatile of fruits, and in my humble opinion, few dishes, sweet or savory, do not benefit from the addition of an apple. I like to put an apple in vegetable soup. (The Indians know what they’re doing with mulligatawny soup.) I love that tiny hint of sweetness in with the savory.

In the world of my Alafair Tucker books, Alafair’s father-in-law owns a large apple orchard, so I write quite a bit about growing and using apples. In Hornswoggled, Alice describes her grandfather’s apple trees thus: “in the summer they make wagon loads of the tastiest little red apples. They’re tart and sweet all at once. Every restaurant and bakery and greengrocer in the county wants Grandpapa’s apples.” I’ve mentioned pies and cobblers, apple cakes, butters (my mother made apple butter to die for), jams and jellys, making pectin from apple peels, storing apples in barns, pressing cider.

But you certainly don’t have to do anything complicated with an apple to create a delicious and elegant mouth-pleaser. There is a very simple and very European desert I learned from Jacque Pepin which consists of sliced apples accompanied by walnut halves, water crackers, and a nice wedge of Stilton. The touch that makes this fruit and cheese plate special is that Jacque squeezes half a lemon over the apple slices, then sprinkles them with cracked black pepper.

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

2011-09-30T11:07:00.004-04:00

The 16th annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival kicks off today at Walt Disney World. The festival runs from September 30 through November 13. According to the website, more than 270 chefs including Disney chefs and culinary stars from across the country conducting culinary demonstrations and hosting dinners and tasting events.

Sounds fun! If any of you attend, please give us your thoughts.

Sweet Memories and Comforting Food

2011-09-28T01:19:00.000-04:00

My husband's sweet grandfather died on Sunday, September 18. Papaw will be sadly missed by everyone who kew him.

In the days after his death, there was a beautiful and bountiful outpouring of kindness from numerous people in our community and beyond.

The amount of food that was lovingly prepared for our family was astounding. Casseroles, cakes, salads, soups, breads, buckets of chicken, boxes of donuts, jugs of tea, even pizzas for our kids were delivered to my in-laws house almost non-stop.

It was such a comfort for our family to gather for several nights to eat our meals together. Sadness is even sadder when you eat alone!

Following the burial, we went to the church fellowship hall where tables were filled with home-cooked meats, sides and desserts. Sitting with friends in the fellowship hall where Papaw had enjoyed countless potlucks and celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary was a very fitting way to celebrate his life.

Papaw loved when the family got together for meals. Nothing made him happier than seeing his great-grandkids all playing together. As I watched my kids and their cousins playing and eating sugar cookies in the fellowship hall, I knew that Papaw was smiling down on us!

Fried Corn YES Fried Corn

2011-09-27T07:53:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I lived so long without realizing this is what I was eating. The other evening I was at a meeting and someone was being all about how somebody else wasn't from around here (not being ugly about it, just saying), and he said, "You've probably never even eaten fried corn."

And I was like, "Oh, yeah, fried corn!" Because "fried corn" isn't so much fried as cooked in a skillet. Okay, yeah, that's kind of the definition of frying, but still.

To make fried corn, you can use canned or frozen corn, but fresh late-season corn is best. That's because late-season corn tends to be starchier, and that's good for this dish.

FRIED CORN

butter or margarine
corn kernels
salt
sugar (might need it if corn isn't starchy enough)
water

Melt the butter. Add the corn and salt (and sugar, if using). Cook on medium low heat until the corn is heated through. If it looks like it's drying up or browning, add water.

What you want is for that starch to go sugary. The result will be a tiny bit chewy (you can cook it until it's so chewy it sticks to your teeth, if that floats your boat) and with a slight natural sweetness. That's why I don't add sugar--I like the touch of converted sweetness from the corn, not the sugary sweetness of ... you know ... sugar.

Now, some people fry bacon and then fry the corn in the bacon grease, so do it that way, if you want to. You might have to drain your corn on a paper towel.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Indulging Your Inner Glutton

2011-09-24T01:36:00.003-04:00

This morning, my car turned into the parking lot of a Good Egg restaurant and a force beyond my control drew me inside and ordered eggs Benedict.

I feel very guilty for succumbing to my inner glutton. However, I remember a radio program I heard not long ago. Recent scientific research indicates that will power is finite. That is, if we are using all our will power on one thing, such as not smoking, then we have very little left to apply to another, such as not eating that quart of Ben and Jerry’s. This makes me feel better.

I'm very health-foodie, but I certainly wasn't raised that way. I'm a Southerner, and, like a friend of mine liked to kid, I was raised on deep fried fat balls rolled in sugar.

I always put quite a bit about food in my books, not necessarily to preserve some of the old ways of cooking, though that is certainly on my mind. I'm really more interested in writing about the old ways of eating. Our forebears’ way of eating had a lot to do with their rigorous way of life.

My grandmother put a ton of sugar in everything. When she made fruit pies, she added so much sugar that the fruit dissolved, so her apple pies were actually applesauce pies. She did this because my grandfather liked things sweet. When he drank iced tea, you could see two finger-widths of undissolved sugar at the bottom of the glass.

He also liked fat. With my own eyes I’ve seen him put butter on his chocolate cake. The sad thing was that my grandfather was nearly 6 feet tall and never weighed over 150 pounds in his life. You could be like that, too, Dear Reader, if you plowed behind a mule for a living. Grandpa came by his love of fat honestly, though. His father buttered radishes and onions before he ate them. My own father had a thing for fat, too - loved an inch of fat on his pork chops. My mother and her mother, on the other hand, wanted their meat lean, dry and burnt. I understand my mother-in-law liked her meat well done, too. My mother speculated that anyone who’s ever had to kill and clean a chicken or a hog wants to make sure it resembles flesh, blood and bone as little as possible. Of course, if you killed and preserved your own meat, eating it well done is a very good idea, bacteria-and-parasite-killingwise.

No Post Today

2011-09-21T07:19:00.001-04:00

My husband's sweet papaw passed away Sunday and will be burried this morning. Say lots of prayers for our family. I'll be posting next week.

Kinda Korma

2011-09-20T06:30:00.000-04:00

I recently read DEAD AS A DODO, a mystery by the wonderful Jane Langton. Unfortunately, I didn't much care for that particular book. To be exact, I totally loved it until the end. Didn't like the end. And they didn't eat enough. I don't ask for actual recipes (although I love them), but I do like to experience a meal or two.

But the point is, one of the characters was of Indian extraction, and that made me jones for Indian food. So tonight was the night.

I call this Kinda Korma because it isn't really, it's just something I threw together.

KINDA KORMA

cooked potatoes (mine were teeny ones from our garden)
butter or margarine
spices (like curry powder)
tomato sauce
leftover kale (or spinach, of course)
chopped cashews
raisins

Melt the margarine and fry the spices in it until fragrant. If you like, you can toast the cashews at the same time. Add rest of ingredients and simmer.

I served this over Jasmine rice. Tasty. Very tasty.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Homemade Peach Ice Cream

2011-09-17T01:33:00.003-04:00

Summer is over - in most parts of the world, that is. Here in Phoenix, we still have a few weeks of +100 degrees to go, so ice cream season is still in full swing. Reading Marian's entry below on peaches made me think of a scene in my third book, The Drop Edge of Yonder, wherein Alafair makes a batch of rich peach ice cream for her son's eighteenth birthday.

Hand-cranked, homemade ice cream is not only a rare treat to eat, making it is also great aerobic exercise and a good way to increase upper body strength.

An ice cream freezer from the era I write about (1910s) was basically a large lidded tin can that fit down into a wooden bucket. The lid had a hole in the middle, through which was inserted a dasher, which somewhat resembled an oar. The handle of the dasher protruded from the hole and was attached to a hand crank, which had to be turned continuously until the ice cream was frozen.

The recipe for ice cream does not have to be complicated, by any means. An excellent ice cream can be made with a half-pound of sugar beaten into a quart of sweet cream. Add some sweetened fruit puree or just some vanilla extract, freeze, and devour. The recipe I used for my book uses a custard base, which is more work, but worth it.

Peach Ice Cream

1/2 cup sugar

3 egg yolks, beaten

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup milk

2 cups heavy cream

Puree of four or five peaches, which Alafair would have done by mashing the flesh of the fruit through a sieve with the back of a large wooden spoon. Sweeten the peaches with another 1/2 cup sugar, if desired.

Mix sugar, salt, milk and egg yolks in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until bubbles begin to appear around the edge of the pan. Cool to room temperature. Stir in the cream, vanilla, and peach puree.

Pour the ice cream mixture into the freezer can. Fill the can only two-thirds full, to allow for expansion as the ice cream freezes. Fit the can into the bucket, insert the dasher and put the lid on the can, then attach the crank.

Fill the freezer tub one-third full of ice, then alternate the rock salt and remaining ice, filling the bucket to the top of the can. Use about four parts ice to one part salt. Turn the dasher slowly until the ice partially melts and makes a brine. Then crank rapidly until it's hard to turn the dasher. How long this will take depends on the weather. If you're lucky, the ice cream will set in ten minutes or so. Or it may take half an hour. Or it may not want to set properly at all. It's all very mysterious.

When it does happen, remove the ice from around the top of the can and remove the dasher. Plug the hole in the lid and replace it on the can. Refill the bucket with ice and salt and leave the ice cream to "ripen" for several hours.

"Ripening" makes a firmer dessert. However, when the day is hot and a bunch of impatient kids are clamoring about, a bowl full of soft, semi-frozen cream that has to be gobbled up before it turns back into liquid is perfectly delicious.

My husband Don remembers that the homemade ice cream his family made for Labor Day always had a touch of saltiness, since the a little bit of the salt packed in with the ice on the outside of the bucket never failed to seep in. His older brother Gary did the churning, which Gary thought unjust, since he didn't like ice cream. But he did it anyway, because after all, that was the Labor Day tradition.

Extreme Couponing

2011-09-16T11:11:00.004-04:00

I have to confess that I've never seen the TLC show, Extreme Couponing. The show apparently features shoppers getting hundreds of dollars worth of groceries for $1. Or in the case of the shopper below $800+ for $88 and change.

Here are links to two articles discussing the backlash the program has had on couponing and manufacturers: one from Yahoo Finance and one from My Dollar Plan.

These people apparently say saving $10-$20 isn't enough, but I'm thrilled when I go to the store and see $10 come off my grocery bill. If I had over $700 come off my grocery bill (can't imagine buying $800 worth of groceries at one time, but, for the sake of argument), I'd faint. I'd also feel like I should be wearing a ski mask. So what are your thoughts on extreme couponing?

Networking and a Great Lunch!

2011-09-14T06:51:00.000-04:00

Today, I get to be a grown up! I will throw the mommy sweatpants and t-shirt aside to put on a dress and heels.

This morning, I am attending The 18th Annual Women In Business Conference in Abingdon,Va.

A business conference may seem a bit out of the box for a author, but I have found it to be a great networking opportunity.

As authors, we sometimes tend to limit ourselves to conferences and workshops with other authors. I encourage all of my author friends to look for various other networking opportunities. You never know who might want to know more about your book!

Oh, and one of the best parts of the conference is that we get lunch! That means I get to eat a grown-up lunch, with a cloth napkin and no high chair anywhere in sight!

Peaches for the Monkey King!

2011-09-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

Good peaches are SO GOOD! They're so juicy, you have to eat them over the sink. Never mind your manners, just slurp away.

Peaches originated in China, near the Pakistani border. They've been cultivated in China since the 10th century BCE. Traders spread the fruit along the Silk Road to Russia and Persia. The Greeks and Romans found peaches in Persia and thought they originated there--in fact, the scientific name means "Persian plum" and the English word "peach" derived from the Latin "persica" for Persian.

The Spanish brought peaches to the USA, and American Indians spread them across the continent.

Although the South is famous for its peaches, they can be grown as far north as Michigan. The third best peaches I ever ate were Pennsylvania peaches. The second best are these local ones, and the best were the ones we got on our own late, lamented tree. It didn't bear often but when it did--OH, MY!

Peaches are a big part of Chinese culture, as you may imagine, since they've been around so long. The immortals stayed that way by eating the Peaches of Immortality from the garden of the Queen Mother of the West. The Monkey King (also known as The Stone Monkey) was put in charge of guarding them but, instead, he ate them--one of his many escapades. If those peaches were as good as the ones sitting in my kitchen right now calling my name, I don't blame him one bit.

Today is the Monkey God Festival. I think I'll raise a peach in his honor. :)

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Labor Day

2011-09-10T01:19:00.004-04:00

My folks in 1947

Labor Day is past, school is in session, and though you couldn’t tell it by the temperature, summer is over. Labor Day always makes me think about my dad, who passed away on Labor Day in 1967, when he was only 44. My father was a life-loving, affectionate, tremendously fun person, a man made to be a daddy. He was also quite the foodie, and if being a gourmand is genetic, that is a gene that he passed on to all four of his children.

He would try anything, the more exotic and unusual the better. And if the dish happened to gross out my mother, who was a picky eater, that made it all the more irresistible to him. He adored a good steak, lobster, oysters on the half-shell, the usual high-end eats. But he was also fond of tripe and innards of all kinds, loved to pick the giblets out of giblet gravy, loved liver smothered in onions. A true equal opportunity eater. He was always bringing home things like a box of chocolate-covered crickets, or freshly ‘harvested’ mountain oysters.

He adored anything fresh from the garden. He would eat English peas off the vine and sweet corn right off the stalk. Fortunately my mother was a talented gardener, and managed to keep him well-supplied with his drug of choice -- home grown or home-canned tomatoes.

He solemnly announced to us at the dinner table one evening that not liking tomatoes was un-Casey.

Last night I went to a salad supper, wherein the hostess supplies the greens and sides, and the guests each bring something to put in the salad. I usually choose something uncommon to bring, like hearts of palm or raisins, but I always bring tomatoes as well, when they are in season. For yesterday's event I bought some organic, local, heirloom cherry tomatoes, and while I was cleaning them I had a flashback to the summer of 1980.

I was living in Tulsa at the time. One morning I went to visit my mother, who was baby-sitting my four-year-old nephew Joe. I walked into the house to find him sitting at the table chowing down on a plateful of fresh tomatoes from grandma’s garden. He looked up at me and said, “I love ‘maters.” No “hello, Aunt Donis.” or “how’s it going?” The boy had his priorities. And never let it be said that he is un-Casey.*

_____________

*Joe is my sister’s son, so not actually surnamed Casey, but blood will tell. He is also in his mid-thirties now and two weeks ago became the father of his second child. Still loves ‘maters.

Thread Reckoning Release/Giveaway

2011-09-09T02:49:00.001-04:00

Thread Reckoning, book three in the embroidery mystery series featuring Marcy Singer, was released on Tuesday, September 6. In celebration of the book's release, I'm giving Fatal Foodie readers an opportunity to win a signed copy of the book.

All you have to do to win is comment on this post! On Saturday, September 10, I'll use a random number generator to choose a winner. Please include your email address so I'll be able to get in touch with you.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

St. Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and residents are in a romantic frame of mind. In fact, one bride has commissioned Marcy to embellish her mother's vintage wedding gown with jewels for her Valentine's Day wedding. Marcy is delighted until she finds that the worst bridezillas have nothing on this bride-to-be. When the bride's future mother-in-law is found stabbed to death outside Marcy's shop, matters go from bad to worse.

Don't forget to post for an opportunity to win the book. Good luck!

My First Time Eating on Television

2011-09-07T09:28:00.011-04:00

Last week, I got to do one of my favorite author-related things. I appeared on a local morning show called Daytime TriCities. Here is a link to my interview: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.daytimetricities.com%2Ftri%2Fentertainment%2Farticle%2F51473%2F%2F&h=nAQBWeZZ-AQAW46197gPqHxCTa3UzVlvGTB0CSo54XVtySQ

Daytime TriCities always has someone cooking up something scrumptious. Usually, I get to sample treats after the show, once the cameras have stopped rolling. This week, I was invited to come down during the show to take a bite of a delicious turnover filled with apples, peanut butter and caramel.

Now I have become comfortable talking on television but eating on television is a whole different story. How big of a bite should I take? What if I am asked a question while my mouth is full? Do I look funny when I chew?

Here is footage of Liz Bushong making the delicious turnovers and comforting, creamy cinnamon latte. At the end of the clip, I take a bite of my turnover. The turnover was so good that it was hard not to devour the whole thing in five seconds. Instead, I took my dainty tv bite then gobbled it up once I was off camera.

http://www.daytimetricities.com/tri/lifestyles/article/cinnamon_cafe_latte_taffy_apple_turnovers/51470/

If you would like more of Liz's recipes. Here is her site: http://www.lizbushong.com/

You can order her fabulous dessert cookboot from this site. If you scroll down, you will find the recipes for the turnovers and the cinnamon latte I got to taste on the show.

I think I need some more practice of eating on tv. It is one tough assignment, but I think I am up to the task.

Spreading the Buzz

2011-09-06T08:31:00.000-04:00

Knowing me, you'd think this post would turn out to be about bees, wouldn't you? But it isn't.

Well, I can take a moment to share a conversation I had with a nephew this weekend. He's just started beekeeping, and he said he has Welfare Bees: He's giving them sugar and pollen supplements and trying to guard them from disease and pests, and the result is bound to be weaker bees. If pressed, he would have backed away from saying that vulnerable PEOPLE should be left to die and skimmed out of the gene pool. I mention the conversation because it's important for writers (and readers) to consider the implications of word use.

But, less seriously, the buzz I'm talking about is the buzz about Terry Pratchett's coming Discworld Ankh-Morpork board game. It's due out this month, and I'm hoping it's within my budget because I wants it! It's mine! It's my birthday present, my Precious! *Ahem*

And the fatal part? Well, if you're ever in Ankh-Morpork, don't buy a sausage inna bun from Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler. And, if you value your liver, lights and life, don't drink the water.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Violette Malan's Eggplant Pasta Sauce

2011-09-04T08:49:00.001-04:00

In a nice two-fer, my good friend and fellow SOTC board member Violette Malan is married to the lovely and talented carpenter Paul Mussleman. When I need something fixed or installed around the house, Violette comes along and we can have a visit.

A couple of weeks ago, I had plumbing chores to be done. While Paul fixed leaky faucets and installed new ones, Violette and I recapped this year’s hugely successful Scene of the Crime festival and talked books and writers.

Then they made lunch! Can’t get better than that. Actually, you can as all the vegetables in this sauce were from Violette’s garden. I’ve already made several batches for the freezer.

Violette Malan’s EGGPLANT PASTA SAUCE

Heat: 3-4 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy pan
Add: ½ cup chopped onion
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
Simmer over low heat until tender, approx. 10 minutes

Add: 3 cups cubed, unpeeled, eggplant
2 roasted red peppers, peeled, and chopped
Cook over medium heat, 5 minutes, stir frequently

Add: 3 cups chopped, peeled tomatoes
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Cover, simmer for 30 minutes, stir occasionally

Add: ½ cup chopped green olives
Stir through and simmer additional 5 minutes

Notes:
• Use ordinary, not extra virgin oil
• Use the olives that come already cut in the jar, usually called "Pizza Olives"
• You can substitute 1 cup of chopped green or red pepper for the roasted pepper
• You can substitute 1 tablespoon of capers, or, 6 anchovies for the olives

Violette is also a fantasy author, most notably the hugely popular Dhulyn and Parno series published by Daw. If you are a fantasy lover, and even if you just love a great story, check them out at www.violettemalan.com

Eat Well, Live Well

2011-09-03T01:32:00.003-04:00

My husband and I were both raised on a typical Southern/Western American diet, with a meat dish as the center of every meal, with vegetables added as an afterthought, and that’s the way I learned to cook. Then, in 1977, during a trip to Europe, of all things, we decided to go vegetarian.

It took a couple of years to learn a totally new way to eat and cook, but once you get the hang of it, living vegetarian isn’t that hard. You’d think it might be harder to cook a delicious and tempting meal without meat, but I must say that often veg meals are more creative and imaginative. After a year or so, we even learned to eat out satisfactorily, and the new lifestyle was no burden at all.

The problem was, and always has been, us. Over the past decades, we have experimented with every permutation of meatless diet known to man, and some we just made up ourselves. We were experts at making things difficult for ourselves in the name of health and/or philosophy. And we would persevere in our self-inflicted dietary restrictions for years at a time. The young and idealistic have the energy and discipline to do this.

For ten or fifteen years, we ate no refined sugar. By that I don’t just mean sugar in the sugar bowl, either. We avoided corn syrup, too, and as for artificial sweeteners - heavens to Betsy, no! I would buy unrefined honey, sorghum, molasses, and pure maple syrup for sweetening. (It had to be Canadian maple syrup, too, since at the time, the U.S. allowed additives and adulterants in its syrup) Believe me, it is very hard to bake this way, not to mention expensive.

Don liked to make cinnamon rolls, since he has such fond memories of his mother’s, which were rich and sweet and light as air. Don’s were made with whole wheat flour and one of the above for sweetening, and while they were sticky and tasty, each roll weighed about a pound and bore no resemblance whatsoever to his mother’s.

We avoided white flour until very recently, when we discovered that wheat germ is very bad for people who are prone to a certain kind of kidney stone. Since the aforementioned type of kidney stone nearly killed Don last winter, we’ve altered our flour requirements. I still buy organic flour, but it’s white, and we’ve rediscovered the joy of really fluffy biscuits.

For two or three years during the eighties, we cut all nightshades out of our diet. The prevailing health-Nazi wisdom was that nightshades were very bad for you. Now, nightshade vegetables are quite the staple of a vegetarian diet, and a carnivorous diet, too, for this family includes potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant. How’d you like to go for three years without meat OR potatoes OR tomatoes OR sugar? (And the truth is, if you are prone to gout, cutting out nightshades will help you a lot. Otherwise, the potato kept the Irish alive for hundreds of years, so you be the judge.)

The potatoless diet went away when dietitians decided that nightshades weren’t so bad after all. By that time, it was determined that coffee was the devil. I have written in this column before that I have a coffee monkey on my back, and have had ever since my early twenties, when I had to get up at five every morning and needed artificial stimulation to be able to do it. But when I decided to sacrifice coffee for the sake of longevity, I did it, by gum. Then a couple of years later, scientists admitted that perhaps coffee is actually good for you, and I gladly let that monkey climb back on.

After twenty years or so of dietary discipline and a growing skepticism in the scientific community, coupled with Don’s new diet restrictions, the extreme health-foodieness fell by the wayside. We are as sugary as the best of them. And as I grew older and ... more substantial, I found that it was easier for me to watch my weight if I fell off the meatless wagon when eating out or at a friend’s house. So I stopped asking if there was chicken broth in that soup if soup seemed to be the healthiest choice on the menu. Now I eat fish a couple of times a week, and take fish oil tablets for my heart. In fact, I’ll pretty much eat whatever I deem to be the least harmful thing on the menu. I’m still health conscious, but only to a point, for at my age, I’ve decided that the best thing for your health is to enjoy yourself.

(In defense of our hippy-dippy youth, when Don did fall apart, he was told by the doctors that his years of good dietary practice certainly staved off his health problems by twenty years, and may have enabled him to withstand them where others might not have.)

My interview with Morgan King of Daytime Tri-Cities

2011-09-02T14:06:00.001-04:00

Another Reason to Love Saturday!

2011-08-31T08:12:00.005-04:00

I have posted on Ree Drummond's cookbook and blog before. Now, she has her own show! It is on Food Network at 11:30 (10:30 Central).

Not only does the show include yummy recipes that Ree cooks up for her rancher husband, cowboy helpers, and four kids; it also highlights the family's beautiful Oklahoma ranch. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Grassroots Locavores - A Group, Not A Dish

2011-08-30T09:20:00.002-04:00

Charlie and Mom and I went to a Grassroots Locavore pitch-in last night. Quite a few of us on this blog are Locavores, as explained at the Locavore website. Locavore means you try to eat as much as possible food that is produced locally, organically, and sustainably.

That means eating foods in season or that you've grown and frozen or canned or dried yourself or that has been produced or processed locally by people you can meet on facilities you can tour.

Run-off from chemical pesticides and fertilizers and from concentrated animal facilities' manure production give new meaning to the term Fatal Foodies. Long-distance transport of food and warehouse storage of produce use energy and contribute to greenhouse gasses. Greenhouse to grow food=good. Greenhouse planet melting the ice caps=bad.

Eating locally mitigates those problems. Short trips from farm/garden to market to home means lower energy costs, fresh food, and varieties bred for flavor rather than for ability to stand up to mass transport and long storage.

Fresh food in season is yummy, and psychologically valuable. We ONLY have tomatoes in the summer, so we have a built-in source of joy in our lives: Summer! Tomatoes!!! Much better and much cheaper than iPads. :) ...Of course, to be fair, you can't check your email on a tomato. You can, however, play Angry Birds.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Watermelon Pudding

2011-08-27T02:13:00.004-04:00

I am always experimenting with recipes. I do it mostly because I'm looking for something good to put in my books, but partly because I love that kind of thing. Last Wednesday, I saw a recipe in my local newspaper for a watermelon pie, and I just had to try it. I'm here today to report the results.

The newspaper recipe calls for a graham cracker crust, which would be delicious, I think. But my husband can't eat graham flour, so I just made the filling--basically a watermelon pudding. It was amazingly easy. The hardest parts were cutting and chunking the watermelon and cleaning up the mess. Otherwise, it took about twenty minutes to make. Here is the recipe as I did it:

2 1/2 cups watermelon flesh

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 eggs

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

whipped cream

Puree the watermelon in a blender until completely smooth. (about 2 cups of juice) Strain the juice through a fine-mesh strainer into a saucepan and add the lemon juice. Bring the juice to a simmer over medium-high heat.

In a heat-safe bowl, whisk together eggs, cornstarch, and sugar until smooth. Slowly pour the hot juice into the egg mixture, whisking all the while. Then pour the mixture back into the saucepan and continue to cook, whisking until thickened. Pour the watermelon pudding into a pie pan (or even better, graham cracker pie crust), press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding and refrigerate until cold. Serve with whipped cream.

The verdict: I don't care how odd it looks, it's delicious!

You're Cordially Invited

2011-08-26T07:26:00.003-04:00

In celebration of the release of the latest embroidery mystery book (book 3) on September 6, you're cordially invited to the Thread Reckoning virtual release party on:

August 31, 2011

from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. eastern time

at http://chatshack.net/amandalee

There will be prizes (free books, gift certificates, Seven-Year Itch magnets)....

Feel free to invite a guest or two or three....

This chat takes the place of the Facebook virtual release party I usually have to launch new books because it is my understanding that Facebook no longer allows contests on their site.

Hope to see you there!

Who Said Never Work with Children or Animals?

2011-08-24T08:22:00.006-04:00

I have often heard actors never want to work with children or animals. Last week, when my publisher wanted to shoot a quick video at her office, I found out a cute kids will always steal the show! The cute kid is my kid, so I may be a little biased.
Check out this link to see the video:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DErPuWzo79ZE&h=sAQA2yifVAQA3JeoTHK2HmW_Kl2cB6vNLcM14BU8_xRwA7Q

If you live in my area and are a fan of the Cutie Pies Chronicles, enter my Baker's Dozen Contest:

www.mountaingirlpress.com/contests_and_giveaways

The winner will receive:
1) Their name used for a character in my upcoming book.
2) A set of the Cutie Pies Chronicles.
3) A Baker's Dozen Party for them and twelve of their friends. The party will include: a reading, a book signing, refreshments (pies and tea)

A Run Through The Jungle

2011-08-23T07:08:00.002-04:00

Last Wednesday, I went on a road trip to Cincinnati, Ohio (The Queen City of the West). Yes, I know Cincinnati is fairly far east, but it used to be west, before American settlement spread beyond it.

ANYWAY, one of the places we went was to Jungle Jim's International Market. After the tour, I hit the Asian section pretty hard. One of the things I wanted to get was miso. Miso is fermented soybean paste. (Hush, Mom--I can hear you going "Ewwwww!" all the way from your house. Did you have fried chicken embryos for supper last night?)

Now, if everybody's through interrupting me, may I continue? Thank you.

Once I found the miso, I was faced with a dilemma: there was a whole array of choices! Red, white, yellow, brown, black--what to pick? I settled on a mid-size and mid-price packet of a paste that seemed fairly solid and was a mild yellow. I seem to have chosen well.

A lovely site called The Kitchn (from which site I'm linking the illustration for this post) laid it all out for me, and I see that the yellow-colored miso is a good all-purpose kind. I made egg-drop soup with it; I liked it, but Charlie didn't. Still, he said he'd try it again and see if he liked it better now that the flavor would be familiar. I think I erred in making the soup too simple; I think more complexity would make the miso flavor more interesting.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Now THAT's a flower

2011-08-21T08:59:00.002-04:00

No recipe today, because I just wanted to let you know what's growing in the farmer's field next to my property. A picture does say a thousand words.

Wine and Mystery with Ellen Crosby

2011-08-20T01:26:00.005-04:00

Wednesday night I toodled up to the iconic Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, AZ, to see mystery writer Ellen Crosby, who is touring with her sixth Lucie Montgomery wine mystery, The Sauvignon Secret. I was not familiar with Ellen’s work before this week, but my editor, who also happens to be the owner of the Poisoned Pen, suggested that I’d like her.

Ellen was a freelance journalist in the US and London, Moscow, and Geneva, Switzerland, and most recently a freelance regional feature writer for The Washington Post. She now lives northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. and writes mysteries set on a 500 acre farm and vineyard located at the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains which has belonged to Lucie Montgomery's family since colonial days.

As I listened to Ellen and Barbara Peters talk about the incredible world of wine, I was overcome with a burning desire to take a trip to Sonoma and the Napa Valley, to fly to Budapest and sample rare Hungarian Tokay wines, or Australia,Chile, South Africa... Never mind France! I also learned from Ellen that every state in the union now produces local vintages--a practice that has taken off in the past few years due to the locavore movement. (Skeptical, I looked up wineries in Oklahoma. Sure enough!)

I bought one of Ellen’s books and tore right into it.

Ellen Crosby’s first five wine mysteries are The Merlot Murders, The Chardonnay Charade, The Bordeaux Betrayal , The Riesling Retribution and The Viognier Vendetta

Now go have a glass of Pinot and watch Sideways.

Talk about your fatal foodies!

2011-08-19T01:31:00.002-04:00

Is this young man a real life "Edward" a la Twilight? He seems to think so. According to Reuters, "The arrest of a man accused of breaking into a woman's house and trying to suck her blood has sparked discussion about the impact of vampire books and movies on youth culture.

Whether pop culture played a role in Saturday's attack remains to be seen, as 19-year-old Lyle Monroe Bensley awaits a psychiatric evaluation in jail on burglary charges in Galveston, Texas.

Galveston police say the man forced his way into the apartment of a woman he did not know and made growling and hissing noises while biting and hitting the victim in her bed.

Found in a parking lot and wearing only boxer shorts, the pierced and tattooed Bensley claimed he was a 500-year-old vampire who needed to "feed," Galveston Police Capt. Jeff Heyse said."

Read the story in its entirety at the above link. Then weigh in on the issue of blame: pop-culture? evil? stupidity? psychoses? all of the above?

Am I Detecting a Trend?

2011-08-17T03:30:00.001-04:00

Donuts took a hard hit during the height of the low-carb craze. In my area, donut shops closed left and right. I never went low-carb, or stopped liking donuts; so this downward donut spiral was a sad one for me.

It appears people are wanting their carbs back, and are ready to let donuts re-enter their lives like long-lost friends. Lately, I have noticed some Krispy Kreme, and Dunkin Donut stores coming back to town.
The picture above is of a stand at the Johnson City, TN Farmer's Market. This family makes fresh donuts that have people waiting in long lines. I have not tried them, but everyone I know who has raves about these donuts.
Another thing I have been hearing about lately is made-to-order, custom donuts. Here is a site for Duck Donuts in the Outer Banks area of the Carolinas: http://www.duckdonuts.com/

The menu lets you choose your glaze and toppings. Yum!!!!

If you want to make your own donuts at home, canned biscuits make it easy:

1) shape each canned biscuit into a donut shape (use your thumb to make the hole)

2) fry in vegetable oil or shortening

3) shake in powdered sugar, cinnamon and sugar, frost with your favorite cake icing, or make a thin glaze with powdered sugar and water

Mother Russia, An Invention of Mine Own

2011-08-16T08:57:00.004-04:00

My new sf/cop/farce, FORCE OF HABIT, has just been released on Smashwords. Atypically for me, food doesn't figure largely in it. It does, however, contain a powerful cocktail called Mother Russia.

Mother Russia is knocked together by Bel and Tetra, the book's desperate heroines, and consists of equal parts vodka and milk.

I've searched in vain for a real-life drink that consists of only these two ingredients, but have found none, probably because vodka, though kicky, has no intrinsic flavor other than the smack of alcohol.

The closest drink to it, which I've had and to which I give my hearty approbation, is a White Russian.

White Russian
Fill glass with ice. Pour in 1 1/2 oz vodka. Pour in 1 1/2 oz coffee liqueur. Gently add milk or half-and-half or cream to fill glass, leaving dark layer of vodka/coffee liqueur undisturbed. Garnish, if desired, with maraschino cherry.

By the way:

Black Russian
Use cola instead of dairy product.

I found a drink that combines these two, using vodka, coffee liqueur, milk/cream AND cola, called a Colorado Bulldog on one site and a Vodka Paralyzer on another. It sounds like something Laverne would drink.

No, this is not me.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Green Corn Tamale

2011-08-13T01:28:00.003-04:00

Emphasizing food in one’s mystery novel adds an element of tremendous interest, at least to me. It really gives human depth to any story when the reader has a meal with a character. Besides, I write about a farm wife living in Oklahoma during the early 20th Century, so it wouldn’t be realistic if she weren’t continually thinking about what to fix for dinner.

When I read about a meal that an author has described in intimate detail, I often want to know what it tastes like. This is why I always include some of the recipes for the dishes I describe in my books. The only problem for any author who does this is that she actually has to know how to cook the dish in order to reproduce the recipe for it. Not so hard, you think? When the dish is being served by a 1910’s farm wife, I guarantee it’s not so easy, because believe me, she had no shortcuts, conveniences, or out-of-season or many out-of-region ingredients to work with. She was the original Slow Cooking chef.

The new Alafair novel I’m working on takes her out of her native place in Oklahoma and all the way to Arizona, where the style of cooking, especially in that day and age, was very different than she was used to. Different than I’m used to, as well, so right now I’m learning some old-fashioned Southwestern cooking techniques that are quite a revelation.

Yesterday I made a green corn tamale dish. It took me all day long, between buying the ingredients, shucking the corn, soaking the husks, slicing the kernels from a dozen ears, blending them (this was a cheat. The 1910s Arizona cook would have pressed them through a sieve or mashed them in a metate.) Mixing, arranging, cooking...

I hope that if one makes tamales more often than once in her life, she becomes more competent at it than I was. The dish was delicious, but I was wiped out, and I made one big tamale dish. I can’t imagine making dozens of individual tamales and steaming them for hours in batches!

Here’s to you, Latin cooks. You’re better women than I am.

For brave people who’d like to try it, here’s the ‘easy’ version of a green corn tamale.

9 large ears of fresh corn

2 tsp salt

3-4 tsp melted butter

1 to 1 1/2 cups of yellow cornmeal

4 to 6 oz of sharp cheddar cheese, sliced into @1/4 inch-thick slices.

2 small cans of green chiles or 3-4 fresh steamed or roasted and peeled green chiles.

1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder

Shuck the corn, saving the husks, and slice the corn kernels off the cobs from top to bottom with a sharp knife. Grind the corn in blender until mushy (about 3 cups). Transfer mush to a large bowl and add salt, butter, and enough cornmeal to make a thick spreading consistency. Mix in the chili powder. Rinse and drain the corn husks and spread them flat. Then line the bottom and sides of a greased 2 quart casserole dish with the husks. Place a thin layer of mush in the dish and press it down to hold the husks in place. Then top the mush with a layer of cheese and layer of chile strips. Cover with the remaining mush, spreading to the edge of the pan. Fold husks over the top of the tamale and press gently into the mush. Cover the top of the dish with aluminum foil and back at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve with pico de gallo, or a nice green enchilada sauce, or a creamy cheese sauce. Beans are excellent with this dish.