Who doesn't love freshly baked chocolate chip cookies? < Back Peanut or Almond-Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies July 2, 2019 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 12 Minutes Serves: 24 Servings Tags: Gluten Free, Vegan, Cookies and Brownies About the Recipe p.156 Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery “Everyone approached the gigantic tray and chose a cookie or two. After much study, the children took two or three each and scattered to the back bedrooms. Everyone munched while LaTonya continued taking pictures. Tinley was first to comment. “I love this chocolate-chocolate chip cookie,” she said. “Mine is coffee-flavored,” said Bill, making a face. “I hate coffee.” Tinley smacked him on his shoulder. “Does everyone need to know what you don’t like?” Alene wanted to hug her. Lydia said she loved her cinnamon cookie and wondered if it was gluten-free but nobody responded. She nibbled a few bites before passing it to Theo, who said, “Crunchiest cookie I’ve ever tasted.” Cal and Mitzi wanted to taste more flavors, so they shared plates. Neal blurted across the table, “This one is kind of buttery almond. Did you use real butter, Ruthie? I thought you were vegetarian.” Ruthie smiled while Alene imagined an imaginary bubble above her head that said, “Of course there’s no butter, you dingbat. Vegans don’t use animal products.” What Ruthie actually said, in the same voice she used to speak to her eight-year-old son was, “I’m vegan, and we don’t use animal products in anything, Neal. Which cookie did you like best?” Neal muttered, “They’re both good, I guess.” Ingredients 1 cup Almond or Peanut Butter (smooth or chunky) ½ to 1 cup packed dark brown sugar (optional, really) 1 egg (or a flax egg, or whip up half the liquid from a can of chickpeas) 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 package semisweet vegan chocolate chips Preparation Line two baking pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper Preheat oven to 350 degrees Stir first six ingredients together with a spoon Stir in chocolate chips Place unformed globs of batter about 2″ apart on greased baking pan Bake about 12 minutes until they are slightly browned and puffy Cool on pan and then transfer to a rack They store well and are great cold from the fridge Previous Next

Ruth Rendell: Chief Inspector Wexford Novels (aka Barbara Vine) < Back Ruth Rendell Author of The Chief Inspector Wexford Novels April 29, 2021 1930-2015 Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. She is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford, starting with From Doon to Death, 1964 and ending with the 20th Inspector Wexford novel, End in Tears, 2005. Her first novel as her Barbara Vine pseudonym was A Dark-Adapted Eye , 1985. Rendell was said to have worked out her plot idea and who will commit the crime before she started writing her detective novels. She told Michael Hanlon of the Toronto Star , “I write intending this Perpetrator X in mind. I write without letting my readers know that it’s X.” She said that when she got to the last chapter, she usually found that someone else was the killer. Books under her own name tended to be more plot-driven while her Barbara Vine books focused on the mind of those with pathological, sometimes obsessive, problems. But everything of hers that I’ve read has stayed with me (often as a nightmare) over the years. Previous Next

The one I made nearly every Friday while my kids were growing up! < Back Apple Crisp May 25, 2019 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 60 Minutes Serves: 9 Servings Tags: Baking, Cakes & Pies & Icing About the Recipe p.214 Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery “You were the one who told me about Hector-Schaf Electronics in the first place,” said Frank, chewing the crisp slowly and smiling the same way she did when she was eating something extraordinary, “but you neglected to say anything about Joan being blackmailed.” “I’m sorry,” said Alene. “It was a long time ago.” “Do you know if anyone else received a demand for money?” Frank asked. “Like your ex-mother-in-law?” “Mitzi never mentioned it,” said Alene. “She is an honest person and she wouldn’t have tolerated illegally obtained money. I told Gary that she’d probably have tossed Patrick out of her bed and her life if she knew he’d done something illegal such as helping Joan embezzle money.” Alene’s jaw had nearly dropped to the floor when Gary had asked if she thought Mitzi had tossed Patrick overboard on their cruise. Gary had also been on board when it happened. “She’d have called the police no matter what the blackmailer threatened her with,” Alene told Frank. “I once heard her rail against Neal when he couldn’t tell her what charities he supports.” “What about Neal’s father?” Alene said, “Well, you know that he died after falling off a cruise ship, right?” “That was very unusual and suspicious,” said Frank. “Yeah, it was weird, but the entire cruise industry changed their rules because of it,” said Alene Ingredients 7-8 tart apples (like Gala, Granny Smith or Fuji) - peeled and sliced thin) Juice of about half a lemon 1 tsp lemon zest 1 TBSP pure maple syrup ¼ cup fruity or berry liqueur or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 cup chopped toasted almonds or pecans (or mix them together) 2 cups quick oats ¼ cup whole wheat flour, almond flour, or gluten-free flour ½ cup brown sugar 2 tsp cinnamon Pinch of salt ¼ cup canola or coconut oil Preparation Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Mix dry ingredients with oil in a bowl or a zip locked bag In a large bowl, whisk syrup, lemon, zest, cinnamon, vanilla or liquor. Add apple slices and stir gently with a large spoon to evenly coat apples Spray square or pie glass pan and pour in apple mixture Press nut mixture gently over the apples to cover the entire top Bake covered with foil for about 40 minutes Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes until browned on top Previous Next

Yes, we eat this for breakfast! < Back Chocolate Zucchini – Apple Cake June 25, 2019 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 30-50 Minutes Serves: 6-8 Slices of Cake Tags: Muffins and Breads, Baking, Vegetarian, Breakfast, Cakes & Pies & Icing About the Recipe p.84 Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery At least once a week, Kacey’s mother came over to the Whipped and Sipped Café. Isobel was another difficult woman in Alene’s orbit, and as soon as she arrived, she usually started lecturing the servers and the people sitting around her about the evils of coffee. She brought her own food in a container that she plucked from her purse. Alene would politely request that Isobel put away whatever she’d brought. “We sell raw pastries with cashew cream and chocolate pecan crusts and we have brownies made from different kinds of beans sweetened with date or coconut sugar, for goodness sake. We offer every kind of salad under the sun, Isobel. I’m sure you can find something to your liking on our menu.” “I’m sure you think your offerings are healthful,” Isobel would respond smugly, her chin jutting forward. “But I concentrate on a mostly raw, macrobiotic diet.” Alene would point out the sign on the door that politely explained their policy of not allowing patrons to bring food into the cafe. Wondering why someone with dyed-red hair, who wore mascara and leather sandals, was so concerned with being natural, she would invite Isobel to order from the raw, the vegan or the smoothie menu. Isobel would pack up what she’d brought, glowering, and grudgingly order a cup of herbal tea. Ingredients For the Cake: 1 ½ cups grated zucchini 1 small tart apple (like Gala or Honey-crisp), seeded and grated 3 eggs 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 ½ tsp vanilla 2 cups unbleached or gluten free flour 4 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips For the Icing: 1 cup semi-sweet chips ½ cup almond, rice or coconut milk ½ cup brown sugar Optional additions: 1/2 tsp cinnamon or 1/2 tsp pure vanilla or almond extract. Preparation Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and sugar two round 8” pans (a Bundt will need more time but looks nice). Throw everything into the food processor and blend until smooth. Add ¼ cup room temp water if batter is too thick. Pour into greased and sugared pan(s) of choice and bake about 30 -50 minutes until top springs back. COOL COMPLETELY before removing from pan and icing. Icing (optional): Zap 1 minute in microwave and stir until smooth. Slather between layers or thin it with water and drizzle over the top of the cake. Previous Next

It’s 1946, and a young army intelligence officer is awakened early by a gruff priest who needs another tenor for his church service. < Back Meeting Mozart Howard Jay Smith August 23, 2022 Today I talked to Howard Jay Smith about his new novel Meeting Mozart (Sager Group, 2020). It’s 1946, and a young army intelligence officer is awakened early by a gruff priest who needs another tenor for his church service. But Corporal Jake Conegliano has been invited to see a performance of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, and his ride is leaving soon. The Abbe Luigi Hudal won’t take no for an answer, and threatens eternal damnation, until Jake says that he’s Jewish, but will be happy to sing in the choir the following week. The priest tells him that having a Jewish heathen in his church would be like bringing Satan himself to his door. As luck would have it, that’s the day Jake meets the love of his love and sets in motion a journey to discover both his own history and the history of a famous ancestor, known to history as the librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte. He was a Catholic priest who wrote the librettos for three of Mozart’s most beloved operas, and he was also Emmanuel Conegliano, a converso from a Jewish community in Italy. In rich detail, Smith weaves stories from different centuries and countries into the saga of a family that continued to be proud of its Jewishness despite expulsions, antisemitism, royal maneuvering, political intrigue, and wars. And even as the centuries progressed, their love of Mozart’s music is a binding force. Howard Jay Smith is an award-winning writer who recently won a John E. Profant Foundation for the Arts, Literature Division Scholarship, The James Buckley Excellence in Writing Award. Smith is a former Bread Loaf Scholar and Washington, D.C. Commission for the Arts Fellow, who taught for many years in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and has lectured nationally. His articles and photographs have appeared in the Washington Post, the Beethoven Journal, Horizon, the Journal of the Writers Guild of America, and the Ojai Quarterly. While an executive at ABC Television, Embassy TV, and Academy Home Entertainment, he worked on numerous film, television, radio, and commercial projects. He serves on the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Symphony and is a member of the American Beethoven Society. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

Add an avocado for garnish or sprinkle with a little cheese for the perfect dish! < Back Sweet Potato Black Bean Soup February 11, 2020 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Serves: 6 Servings Tags: Soup, Vegetarian, Vegan, Entrees About the Recipe Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery p.96 The Sweet Potato Black Bean Soup sold out even though it was the middle of a hot summer and that Friday was sweltering. Alene put the pot in the sink and showed Ruthie the text from Frank, who’d written: “Still on for later tonight. Drinks or a walk?” “Wait just a minute,” Ruthie said, glancing at her watch. She always left at 2:00pm on Fridays. “Why isn’t Frank taking you out to dinner? Why is he suggesting drinks or a walk?” “Neal is coming to get the kids at nine,” Alene said, “and I think a walk sounds great.” Ingredients 1 TBSP olive oil 1 yellow onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 TBSP any olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tsp ground garlic) 2 stalks celery, chopped 2 carrots, chopped or sliced 32 oz of water or vegetable stock (plus extra if needed) 1 large or two medium sweet potatoes, cut into ½ inch pieces 15 or 15.5 ounce can of black beans, drained (some brands have different amounts) 14.5 oz can chopped or diced tomato 2 tsp cumin 2 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp smoked or regular paprika 1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt 1/4 tsp black pepper Preparation Heat a soup pot (medium heat) on the stove Stir chopped onion in olive oil until translucent Add garlic, celery, and carrots. Stir about 4-5 minutes Add everything else Bring to a boil and then let soup simmer for about 45 minutes Chop an avocado for garnish, or sprinkle with chopped parsley/cilantro – everything works, including just serving the soup as is. Even better the next day. Can be frozen and reheated Previous Next

Andrea Camilleri: Inspector Montalbano Mysteries < Back Andrea Camilleri Author of The Inspector Montalbano Mysteries June 21, 2019 I adore Inspector Salvio Montalbano, a food-loving, honest detective unlike any other who struggles to bridge Sicilian and Italian cultures. He also loves his meals. The gruff inspector was created by Andrea Camilleri, one of Italy’s most famous writers. His books have sold over 65 million copies around the world. Even in translation, Camilleri’s books are complex, well-written, and according to those in the know, manage to maintain some of the blending of the original Italian and Sicilian. The Potter’s Field, #13 in the Inspector Montalbano series, received the Crime Writers’ Association’s International Dagger for best crime novel translated into English. It was great, but not my favorite of the series (so far). Inspector Montalbano is head of a fictional town’s police precinct, relishes a good meal eaten in silence, and knows how to talk to people from all walks of life. After reading through one of his extraordinary meals, I often surprise my husband by suggesting an Italian dinner out. In a nutshell, Inspector Montalbano has learned how to dance with the mob while battling corruption and crime in Sicily. There’s an ongoing (since 1999) television adaptation available with subtitles on Amazon. Andrea Camilleri (1925-2019) was born in Porto Empedocle, Sicily. He was known as a heavy smoker of cigarettes and a non-militant atheist. He began publishing poems and stories while studying at the Faculty of Literature, which he left. Then he studied stage and film direction and later worked as a director and screenwriter. Neither of his first two novels enjoyed much popularity, but in 1992 he published La Stagnione della Caccia (The Hunting Season), which was a best-seller. In 1994 he introduced Inspector Montalbano in La Forma dell’Acqua (The Shape of Water), which I loved, and he wrote 28 novels in the Inspector Montalbano series. I read that Camilleri’s hometown, Porto Empedocle has changed its official name to Porto Empedocle Vigata, which is the name of the fictional town in the series. There is apparently a food tour based on the books, as if there weren’t enough reasons to want to visit Italy and Sicily! Previous Next

Charles Finch: Charles Lynch Mysteries < Back Charles Finch Author of The Charles Lynch Mysteries February 14, 2022 Charles Finch is a literary critic and author. Born in 1980 (!!) in New York City, he was educated at Yale University and Merton College, Oxford. The first book in his Charles Lynch Mystery Series came out in 2007 and was nominated for an Agatha and chosen as one of Library Journal’s best books. Having loved six of these Charles Lynch novels, I’ve gotta say that I never expected to fall in love again, but I’d run off to England’s lake district with either of the Charleses. Finch gives a beautifully detailed portrayal of mid-nineteenth century England, and his writing is pitch perfect. Detective Charles Lynch is thoughtful, insightful, and competent, but he knows that he’s worth little without his wife, family, and friends. I just emerged from devouring The Last Passenger, and as usual, was immersed in the tiny details of Victorian society’s requirements, characters’ distinct personalities, and Lynch’s visits, meals, and meanderings. I wonder how much of himself the author put into his protagonist, the similarly named Charles Lynch. Charles Finch is on my list of authors-I’d-most-like-to-meet – and it turns out that he also lives in Chicago! Chronological list of Charles Lynch mysteries: A Beautiful Blue Death 2007 The September Society 2008 The Fleet Street Murders 2009 A Stranger in Mayfair 2010 A Burial at Sea 2011 A Death in the Small Hours 2012 An Old Betrayal 2013 The Laws of Murder 2014 Home By Nightfall 2015 The Inheritance 2016 Gone Before Christmas 2017 The Woman in the Water 2018 The Vanishing Man 2019 The Last Passenger 2020 An Extravagant Death 2021 Previous Next

If the question is "How quickly can I get dinner on the table?" then this is the perfect recipe for you. < Back Sage-Mint Chicken October 1, 2019 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Serves: 6 Servings Tags: Entrees About the Recipe Ingredients 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 cup of sliced mushrooms 1 1/2 pound (or so) boneless chicken thighs 1 to 2 tsp ground sage 1 to 2 tsp dried mint 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 cup (or so) broccoli florets 2 TBSP olive oil Juice of 1/2 lemon Preparation In a large pan, sauté sliced onions in 2 TBSP of olive oil on medium heat As onions soften, add sliced mushrooms and stir Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt, pepper, sage and mint Add chicken to pan, pushing aside onions and mushrooms, about 4 minutes on each side until lightly browned Add broccoli florets, lower heat and stir until broccoli is bright green Turn off heat, squeeze lemon juice over everything, and let sit until you’re ready to serve Nice one-dish meal, serve with a sprig of fresh mint if you have it Previous Next

"Would you like a pot of chamomile tea?" < Back Ginger-Molasses Cookies G.F. V. May 8, 2020 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Serves: 24 Cookies Tags: Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Baking, Cookies and Brownies, Vegan About the Recipe Keep these chewy cookies in the freezer and eat at least one each day. Sometimes I make a sandwich with a piece of banana in the middle, but mostly I just grab one from the freezer for a little burst of gingery deliciousness. Ingredients 2 ½ cup steel-cut oats (gives extra crunch) or other GF oats 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp fine-grained sea salt 1 tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp ground nutmeg ½ cup coconut or brown sugar ¼ cup canola or coconut oil ¼ cup unsulphured molasses 1 TBSP unfiltered apple cider vinegar 1 tsp pure vanilla extract Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and spray or line 2 cookie sheets In a processor or high-speed blender, blend oats into a fine flour, 60-90 seconds Pulse in baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices, and sugar In a large bowl, combine oil, molasses, vinegar, and vanilla Add dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and stir together If the dough feels too dry, add a few TBSPs of water Use a small scooper or wet hands to form about 26 1 inch balls, 13 on each sheet Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown (if you overbake, they’ll be crispier) Remove from the oven and let them cool before eating Can be frozen and eaten directly from the freezer (or zapped in the microwave) Optional: To add protein, use a cup of unsalted almonds in place of one cup of the oats. Previous Next

The Dependents (Back Bay Books, 2019) is a sensitive novel about love, parenthood, friendship, and finding contentment. < Back The Dependents Katharine Dion January 22, 2020 Gene is newly widowed and haunted by his memories. As he bumbles through long days, he questions his wife Maida’s sudden death, his daughter’s motives, and the enduring and meaningful friendship of best friends Ed and Gayle Donnelly. He tries to resurrect the good memories of the two couples raising children in a New Hampshire town and vacationing together every summer at a lake house owned by the Donnellys. He tried to come to terms about his relationship with his only daughter, Dary, who has chosen to raise a fatherless child, has made her home on the other side of the country, and who challenges Gene’s happy memories of everything that happened in their lives. She even challenges his view of her mother. Moving between Gene’s fraught current life and memories of his childhood, coming of age, courtship, marriage, and career, The Dependents (Back Bay Books, 2019) is a sensitive novel about love, parenthood, friendship, and finding contentment. Katharine Dion is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was awarded the Iowa Arts Fellowship. She is also a MacDowell Fellow and the recipient of a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation. In her early twenties, Dion founded a nonprofit organization called Peer Health Exchange that (still) trains college students to teach a comprehensive health curriculum in public high schools. And she has spent two summers living in a Zen monastery working as a cook. Dion’s introduction to Buddhism came from living several summers at Tassajara, a monastery in the Ventana Wilderness; she is lay ordained in the Soto Zen lineage and helps people meet the grief of ecological destruction as a Buddhist Ecochaplain . She was born in Oakland and lives in Emeryville, California. Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next

In this well-written mystery, The Black Cage: A Milo Rigg Mystery (Severn House Publishers), it’s bitter winter in Chicago, and disgraced crime reporter Milo Rigg wakes up every night dreaming that his wife is calling to him from a black cage. < Back The Black Cage Jack Fredrickson August 28, 2020 In this well-written mystery, The Black Cage: A Milo Rigg Mystery (Severn House Publishers), it’s bitter winter in Chicago, and disgraced crime reporter Milo Rigg wakes up every night dreaming that his wife is calling to him from a black cage. He can’t reach or save her - she was killed by a random bullet two years before. Consumed with grief, he tried to expose a botched murder investigation, but the case nearly destroyed Milo's reputation along with his career. He was sent by paper’s struggling editor to the far suburbs, to write human interest stories. But now there are more murders, and he thinks the cases might be linked, so Milo is back asking questions. Everywhere he turns, it seems like someone is lying or covering up the truth. And he’s not sleeping well, because of the black cage. He just has to figure out what it’s trying to tell him. Jack Fredrickson lives with his wife, Susan, west of Chicago. He is the author of seven Dek Elstrom PI mysteries, the first of which, A Safe Place for Dying , was nominated for the Shamus Award for Best First Novel, and one standalone, Silence the Dead . Listen to Episode Buy Book Previous Next