The recipes uses 2 bananas and a whole small seed apple. < Back Gluten-Free/Nut Free/Vegan Banana Bread January 28, 2020 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 75 Minutes Serves: 1 loaf of bread Tags: Muffins and Breads, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Baking, Vegan About the Recipe p. 8 Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery “Would you like a pot of chamomile tea, Julian?” Alene, who also drank water with vinegar every morning, scowled at Olly and smiled at Julian. “The banana muffins and ginger molasses cookies are still warm.” Edith said, “Or you can have smoothies made with flax, hemp and chia, goji, maca powder, romaine lettuce, and fruit. I think drinking smoothies makes me feel much better despite the serious head injury I suffered recently.” Edith needed to mention the attack at least once a day. Ingredients 2 TBSP flax seeds ½ cup water 1 small apple (I use Gala) 3 ripe bananas 1TBSP apple cider vinegar ½ packed dark brown, coconut, or monk fruit sugar ¼ cup canola or olive oil 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp coriander (adds complexity but you won’t taste it) 2 cups gluten-free flour 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt Preparation Preheat oven to 325 Prepare a standard loaf pan by spraying oil and dusting w/sugar In a small bowl combine water with flax seeds – it will thicken In processor blend water, apple, cider vinegar and sugar Add oil, vanilla and cinnamon, pulse until mixed In small bowl stir gluten-free flour with baking soda and salt Add to processor and pulse until everything is blended Pour batter into prepared loaf pan Bake 70 – 75 minutes until toothpick comes out clean Cool in pan until you can remove the pan and cool cake on a rack Leftover loaf will be denser the following day, but it’ll still taste great! Previous Next

This is a story about family, the opioid epidemic in rural America, the rise of hatred and bigotry during the past few years, and the grip of creating art on those who feel its pull. < Back Take What You Need Idra Novey March 14, 2023 Today I talked to Idra Novey about her new novel Take What You Need (Viking, 2023). Leah, her husband, and their little son are driving back to where she grew up in the mountains of Appalachia. They are heading to the home where her stepmother fled after leaving Leah’s father, and after the divorce, Jean was no longer allowed to stay in touch with Leah. But she was the mother Leah knew and loved. Now, Jean has died and left Leah her artwork, and when they arrive at the house, Leah is stunned to find giant sculptures welded from scrap metal. During her final years, Jean had needed the help of a troubled young man, a neighbor who has no chance of finding employment and who is squatting without water in the house next door. He’s the one who tells Leah that Jean has died. This is a story about family, the opioid epidemic in rural America, the rise of hatred and bigotry during the past few years, and the grip of creating art on those who feel its pull. Idra Novey earned degrees at Barnard College and Columbia University. She’s the author of Those Who Knew , a finalist for the 2019 Clark Fiction Prize, a New York Time s Editors’ Choice, and a Best Book of the Year with over a dozen media outlets. Her first novel Ways to Disappear received the 2017 Sami Rohr Prize, the 2016 Brooklyn Eagles Prize, and was a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize for First Fiction. Her poetry collections include Exit, Civilian , selected for the 2011 National Poetry Series, The Next Country , a finalist for the 2008 Foreword Book of the Year Award, and Clarice: The Visitor , a collaboration with the artist Erica Baum. Idra teaches fiction writing at Princeton University and in the New York University MFA program in Creative Writing. When she is not writing or teaching, Idra likes welding and making collages with old literature magazines. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

I love making "pantry" soups with what I've got on hand plus whichever vegetables I have in the fridge. I thought I was making my old Black Bean Edamame soup until I saw that I was out of the frozen edamame. Cooking, like jazz, is all about improvisation! < Back Black Bean Mushroom Carrot Soup May 11, 2023 Prep Time: 10-15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes plus an additional 10 minutes if you add farro Serves: 4 as a meal, 6 as a first course Tags: Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian About the Recipe No time to go to the grocery store today - what am I going to make for dinner? A protein and vegetable packed soup that takes 10 minutes of chopping and 20 minutes of one-pot cooking. And if I happen to have a bag of shelled edamame in the freezer, I toss that in with the beans for even more protein. It's also good without the mushrooms if you're not a fan. Ingredients 2 TBSPS olive oil 1 red or yellow onion, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 1 cup mushrooms, chopped 14oz can of black beans (not rinsed or drained) 1 small red pepper, chopped 2 tsps dijon mustard 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/8 tsp (or more if you like heat) black or cayenne pepper Juice of one small fresh lime or lemon 2 empty black bean cans worth of water Optional: 1/2 or 1 whole cup of farro Preparation saute chopped onion for about 5 minutes, until translucent add mushrooms and carrots, stir and cook about 2 minutes add red pepper, mustard, and the entire can of black beans fill the empty can with water and empty it twice into the pot, stir add the lime/lemon and spices, stir again and bring to a boil add the optional farro if desired and let it simmer about 10 additional minutes turn off the heat and let the pot stand until ready to serve pour into serving bowls and sprinkle each one with chopped scallion Previous Next

Now Alene began measuring ingredients for Ruthie’s strawberry breakfast cake. < Back Almond Berry Breakfast Cake (gluten-free/vegan) March 24, 2020 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 50 Minutes Serves: 12 Slices of Cake Tags: Breakfast, Vegan, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Cakes & Pies & Icing About the Recipe p. 28 Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery #2 Now Alene began measuring ingredients for Ruthie’s strawberry breakfast cake. Neal had probably let the children eat fatty, salty burgers and fries at dinner the night before. She hoped he’d bring them to his mother’s place for lunch today. Mitzi always showered them with love, brought them to the playground, let them people-watch from her balcony, and sent them home well-fed and happy. If Mitzi had to work and couldn’t take the kids, Neal would do some activity that required little effort and get them fast food, the kind Alene rarely allowed. He’d probably introduce them to another one of his girlfriends, so that they’d be confused and upset. They’d all be crying by the time they got home. At least her father was being cared for. Blanca, Alene’s cleaning lady who had morphed into caregiver for her dad, would come at eight and stay until Cal fell asleep after lunch. Alene would probably get home before he woke up. Even though he liked being alone in the apartment and accused Alene of fussing, she tried to make sure someone was always close by. She worried that he’d fall, since his disease, finally diagnosed the previous year, caused weakening in his muscles. Or maybe he’d drop a glass that would shatter, and she’d come home to find him bleeding on the kitchen floor. Cal assured Alene that he was doing his exercises, building up his strength, and would soon be back to walking the bike path two miles to the North Avenue bridge and back. Ingredients 1 cup non-dairy milk ¼ cup oil 1 small seeded apple 1 small seeded tangerine or orange ½ cup maple syrup or agave 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar 1 tsp pure vanilla extract ½ tsp almond extract 2 cups almond flour 1 cup oats 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp salt 1 cup of washed berries (strawberries should be halved or chopped) 2 TBSP almond or other gluten-free flour Preparation In blender or processor, blend all liquid ingredients In a large bowl, stir dry ingredients Pour wet into dry ingredients and stir a few times until blended Pour into a prepared 8” round or loaf pan Toss berries with flour and press lightly into the batter Bake at preheated 350 oven for about 50 minutes until nicely browned Cool in pan before plating or serving I like refrigerating this cake but it can be left out on the counter for a couple of days Previous Next

In The Last Interview, a famous but stressed Israeli writer finds that the only way he can write is by answering a set of interview questions sent from a website. As he answers the questions, the author slowly lets go of his calculated answers and begins to honestly confront his life, his lies, and his mistakes. < Back The Last Interview Eshkol Nevo October 13, 2020 Eshkol Novo's The Last Interview was published in Hebrew in 2018 and was at the top of Israel’s bestseller list for 30 weeks. It is currently on the short list for the Lattes Grinzano Prize in Italy and is longlisted for the prestigious Femina Prize in France. In The Last Interview , a famous but stressed Israeli writer finds that the only way he can write is by answering a set of interview questions sent from a website. As he answers the questions, the author slowly lets go of his calculated answers and begins to honestly confront his life, his lies, and his mistakes. He digs deeply into his past and recalls serious missteps and faulty decisions. Now, his marriage is falling apart, his eldest child wants nothing to do with him, and his best friend is dying. The only time he thinks clearly is while he sits at his computer answering the interview questions that force him to confront himself, no matter where he is in the world. Born in Jerusalem in 1951, Eshkol Nevo studied advertising at the Tirza Granot School and psychology at Tel Aviv University. He owns the largest creative writing school in Israel and is considered the mentor of many upcoming young Israeli writers. His books have been translated into 12 languages, have won several literary prizes, and have sold over a million copies all over the world. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

One summer, Joni Griffith Wexler realizes that she hasn’t paid enough attention to her life. While her sons are at sleepaway camp and her husband immersed in his work, she rushes from one impulsive decision to the next, striving unsuccessfully for clarity. < Back Then She Woke Up Jaime Baum April 17, 2020 One summer, Joni Griffith Wexler realizes that she hasn’t paid enough attention to her life. While her sons are at sleepaway camp and her husband immersed in his work, she rushes from one impulsive decision to the next, striving unsuccessfully for clarity. It takes her two closest friends, an unexpected girls' weekend, and the surprising wisdom of a psychic medium to give her the confidence to take control of her life. Until a shocking event threatens to undo everything. Joni's story as recounted in Then She Woke Up will resonate with anyone who's ever thought, "How did I get here?" A life long writer, Jaime Baum ’s background is in journalism and her prior work has appeared in magazines and newspapers such as Better , Living Without and the Sun-Times news group. She studied Journalism and History at Indiana University and spent the majority of her career in public relations. When she’s not reading or writing, Jaime loves to be outdoors walking, hiking, biking and gardening. She is a wife, mother, stepmom, daughter, sister, cat owner, dog lover and grateful friend. She loves chocolate, Paris, laughter, crimson fall leaves against a blue sky, and every woman who fights to make life better for others. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

Barbara Louise Mertz: AKA Elizabeth Peters < Back Barbara Louise Mertz AKA Elizabeth Peters October 24, 2019 Barbara Louise Mertz (1927 – 2013), was an Illinois-born author with a University of Chicago PhD (1952) in Egyptology who wrote under the pseudonyms Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. She was named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar Awards in 1998. She lived in Maryland until her death. In addition to the Amelia Peabody (Egyptian archaeology) mysteries, she wrote four in the Jacqueline Kirby series about an American librarian who became a bestselling author, and seven mysteries about Vicky Bliss, an art historian. I always read at least three of an author’s works before choosing it for my weekly Must-Read Juicy Mystery post and have just finished the final (#20) of the Amelia Peabody series. Peabody is a trained archaeologist who praises her husband, the dashing archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson, but is just as capable of spending a day at an archaeological dig while also managing the household servants and raising children. The Emersons are often in danger, targeted by assassins or upended by the exploits of their employees, other family members, or their children. Merz was inspired by, among other things, intriguing artifacts, dig sites and interesting historical events to write the Peabody mysteries. These are books to drown in: Peabody and Emerson return to Egypt after hearing about the discovery of a royal tomb in Luxor, they search the vast desert for a lost English aristocrat and his wife, or a stranger entices them with a ring from the tomb of an Egyptian queen. Merz’s final book, The Painted Queen, was based on a famous bust of Nefertiti that was discovered and taken out of Egypt sometime after 1912. There is still some confusion and disagreement about how the bust was removed and how Egypt was robbed of one of its historical treasures. The book was completed after her death (using Mertz’s outline and meticulous research notes) by her friend and fellow mystery writer Joan Hess (author of the Claire Malloy and Maggody Mystery series). The two women had met at a mystery convention thirty years before. Previous Next

She opened the refrigerator and freezer, mulling her options. Lemon-leek Chicken seemed like a good idea. < Back Lemon-Leek Chicken August 6, 2019 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 60 Minutes Serves: 5 Servings Tags: Entrees About the Recipe p. 57 Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery Alene hurried back across the hall to her own apartment. The door was unlocked as usual, since they had a doorman, and nothing ever happened. They’d always felt completely safe in the building. Now she’d need to give the kids keys and retrain them about locking the door. Her father and children were sitting together with all eyes glued on a nature special. She opened the refrigerator and freezer, mulling her options. Lemon-leek Chicken seemed like a good idea. She pulled out celery, carrots and leeks, a large package of frozen chicken thighs, and a container of frozen chicken stock. She chopped the vegetables and sautéed them in a little olive oil, defrosted the stock in the microwave and added it to the pot along with the chicken. She covered the pot, and feeling more in control of her emotions, went to tell her father and children about Gary. Alene took a deep breath and turned off the television. “I have some bad news.” Even her father complained, adding his dismayed voice to the children’s sighs. “We were in the middle of a show about sharks, Alene!” Ingredients About a pound of skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs 2 leeks (cut in about 1/2/ inch pieces) 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth (box or homemade) 1 cup rice, faro, or orzo ½ tsp dried dill ½ cup fresh parsley ½ tsp lemon zest Juice of ¼ lemon (or more to taste) 1 tsp apple cider vinegar ½ cup fresh chopped dill ½ tsp kosher or sea salt ½ tsp pepper Preparation Sauté leek in olive oil Pour in stock/broth Add chicken and simmer about 15 minutes Remove chicken and let cool. Add ingredients through lemon zest to pot, including whatever rice or grain you choose Simmer covered until grain is cooked, about 15 minutes Continue simmering 5-10 minutes if you want a thicker (less soup-like) sauce Return chicken to pot, squeeze in lemon juice and season w/salt and pepper Serve in soup bowls with a generous amount of chopped dill over each serving Variation: chop a large onion if you don’t have leeks Previous Next

In lyrical, moving prose, with characters that reach across the years, Billy O’Callaghan describes births, deaths, war, and the life of his family. < Back Life Sentences Billy O'Callaghan March 22, 2022 Life Sentences (Godine, 2022) tells three interconnected stories about a family in his home country of Ireland. In lyrical, moving prose, with characters that reach across the years, Billy O’Callaghan describes births, deaths, war, and the life of his family. The book begins in the 1920’s with Jeremiah, who survived as a soldier in the Great War. He’s drunk and jailed on the night before his sister’s funeral to prevent him from killing his sister’s husband. “Life had its struggles,” he says as he muses about his family and experiences, “but we bore them in the way that our kind always do.” The second part goes back to the 1880’s, and Jer’s mother, Nancy, recounts being the only member of her family to survive the Great Potato Famine. Starving, she left her tiny island home to find work on the mainland and was wooed by Michael Egan, the man who fathered her two children and haunted her for years. The third section is in the voice of Nellie, Jer’s youngest daughter, who is nearing the end of her life. This is a beautifully written novel about family, home, poverty, loss, and the struggle to live in a difficult world. Billy O’Callaghan, from Cork, Ireland, is the author of four short story collections (In Exile , In Too Deep , The Things We Lose, The Things We Leave Behind , and The Boatman ) and the novels The Dead House and My Coney Island Baby . His work has been translated into a dozen languages and earned him numerous honours, including four Bursary Awards for Literature from the Arts Council of Ireland and, in 2013, a Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Award for the Short Story of the Year, as well as shortlistings for the COSTA Award and the Royal Society of Literature's Encore Award. His short stories have appeared in such literary journals and magazines around the world as: Agni, the Chattahoochee Review, the Kenyon Review, London Magazine, Los Angeles Review, Narrative Magazine, Ploughshares, the Saturday Evening Post and Winter Papers. A new novel, The Paper Man , will be published in the UK and Ireland by Jonathan Cape in 2023. When Billy isn’t reading or writing, he’s a big fan of Liverpool Football Club (called soccer in the U.S.). Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

Elsa Hart: Li Du Mysteries < Back Elsa Hart Author of The Li Du Mysteries June 27, 2019 Elsa Hart’s first mystery, Jade Dragon Mountain, was set in southwest early 18th century China, and featured Li Du, a sleuth. scholar and former Imperial librarian. Li Du has been exiled from Beijing for ostensibly consorting with the emperor’s enemies. He heads to the Tibetan border, to a city nestled in the foothills of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, where his cousin is magistrate. While the city is preparing for the huge honor of a visit from the emperor, a Jesuit astronomer is found dead. Li Du, in helping his cousin with the investigation, puts his own life in peril. The next time we meet the now independent scholar Li Du, he is travelling with a caravan to Lhasa. They are detoured to a hidden valley where they find a monk sitting in contemplation on a bridge. The monk turns out to be dead, apparently a suicide. A strange symbol is painted on his chest. A storm whips across the valley and the caravan must stay with the local lord until the weather turns. Li Du learns that the dead monk was a reclusive painter whose family is not surprised by his death. But there are questions. Why did the caravan leader detour to this valley? As he pieces together the evidence that the monk was murdered, Li Du is again confronted by his own past, and comes to understand why he must return home. Next, Li Du returns to Beijing to seek answers about the execution of his mentor. His search for the truth is interrupted by the discovery of two bodies; the wife of a factory owner and a man purported to have been her lover. While the official story is that this was a crime of passion, Li Du suspects something more sinister behind the murders. His past gets in the way and he is threatened with even more punishment than what he’s endured. City of Ink, the third in Elsa Hart’s Li Du mystery series, is, like her first two mysteries, beautifully written and richly detailed. Hart’s characters form a cross-section of 18th century humanity, but the thieves, duplicitous government officials, cunning travelers, and money-grubbing businessmen would be right at home in the 21st. Elsa Hart was born in Rome, Italy, but her earliest memories are of Moscow, where her family lived until 1991. Since then she has lived in the Czech Republic, the U.S.A., and China. She earned a B.A. from Swarthmore College and a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. She wrote her first novel, Jade Dragon Mountain, in the mountain borderlands of Southwest China, where her husband was doing botanical research. Can’t wait for the next Li Du Mystery! Previous Next

If you were struggling through a bitter divorce from an alcoholic spouse, and unable to communicate with your son, and finally enjoy a night out where you drink just one more beer, and a couple of people on a bike ride straight at you while you’re driving into the entrance, when they should have been taking the exit, and it’s impossible to see through the fog….is it really your fault if you hit them and they die? Tandem (Andy Mozina) is about a Kalamazoo economics professor who bargains with himself about how much good he can do if he stays out of prison, to make up for the deaths of two innocent kids. < Back Tandem Andy Mozina November 21, 2023 An economics professor at a Michigan college is struggling through a bad divorce, having a tough time with his only son, and then, through hardly any fault of his own, he must avoid getting caught by the police. He only had one extra beer and it was late and foggy outside, plus the two college kids were biking out of the entrance to the deserted beach, instead of the exit, without a headlight, so was it really his fault when he hit and killed them? Also, couldn’t he do more for the world and right his wrongs, if he was still teaching and making contributions, than if he was stuck in jail forever? Mike will do anything to avoid being caught in this moving novel about the lengths a person will go to avoid facing uncomfortable truths. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Andy Mozina majored in economics at Northwestern, then dropped out of Harvard Law School to study literature and write. He’s published fiction in Tin House , Ecotone , McSweeney’s, The Southern Review , and elsewhere. His first story collection, The Women Were Leaving the Men , won the Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award. Quality Snacks , his second collection, was a finalist for the Flannery O’Connor Prize. His first novel, Contrary Motion , was published by Spiegel & Grau/Penguin Random House. His fiction has received special citations in Best American Short Stories , Pushcart Prize , and New Stories from the Midwest . He’s a professor of English at Kalamazoo College. His passion is grading papers, and his hobbies include listening to legal podcasts and rooting for Wisconsin professional sports teams. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

A widow in 17th century Spain discovers that her beloved niece, Juliana, has suddenly disappeared. Juliana records her forced journey in the diary she received from Tia Ana. Years later, when she feels herself to be nearing the end of her life, she writes to Ana, explains why she fled, and tells her that she is a nun in the new world. < Back The Lines Between Us Rebecca D'Harlingue May 18, 2021 Today I talked to Rebecca D’Harlingue about her novel The Lines Between Us (She Writes Press, 2020). A widow in 17th century Spain discovers that her beloved niece, Juliana, has suddenly disappeared. Juliana records her forced journey in the diary she received from Tia Ana. Years later, when she feels herself to be nearing the end of her life, she writes to Ana, explains why she fled, and tells her that she is a nun in the new world. Ana’s response provokes Juliana into sharing her life story and demanding that Mercedes, a nun who hasn’t yet taken her vows, leave the convent. The years pass, and Mercedes, near the end of her own life, passes Juliana’s packet to her granddaughter with a demand that the mothers among her descendants keep the secret of this packet from their own daughters, only passing it to one granddaughter in each generation. Three hundred years later and we’re in 20th century America, when a college Spanish professor finds the packet while cleaning out her mother’s closet after her mother’s untimely death. She wonders if the secret is still worth keeping. Rebecca D’Harlingue was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and never got used to the humidity. Growing up, her mother read every spare moment, and her father often just had to read out loud some new passage from a book he was immersed in. Her high school English teacher inspired her to read on a deeper level, with some unexpected choices like Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles, and T.H. White’s The Once and Future King , which fed into D’Harlingue’s enchantment with all things Arthurian. She also loves languages, having studied Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, and even taking an ill-fated stab at Mandarin. She had completed all but her dissertation for a PhD in Spanish language and literature when she had her first child, felt reality strike, and went back to school to get an MBA in health services administration. After working in that field for a number of years, she quit her job to start her novel, but abandoned it, only to pick it up twenty years later, after having taught English as a Second Language to adults for many years. She lives in Oakland, California, with her husband, Arthur. D’Harlingue’s debut novel, The Lines Between Us , won in New Fiction in the 2021 Independent Press Awards, and was a finalist in Best New Fiction in both the 2020 International Book Awards and the 2020 Best Book Awards. It was also a finalist in the 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards in Historical Fiction. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next