Cookie & Brownie Recipes to Die For Cookies and Brownies Chocolate Passover Cookies Only 4 ingredients and great for last minute cookies anytime of year, but I make these during Passover, when we don't use flour or leavening of any kind. Read Recipe Gluten Free, Cookies and Brownies Pistachio Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies It's hard to resist snagging these from the cookie sheet while they cool! Read Recipe Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Baking, Cookies and Brownies, Vegan Ginger-Molasses Cookies G.F. V. "Would you like a pot of chamomile tea?" Read Recipe Gluten Free, Vegan, Cookies and Brownies Peanut or Almond-Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Who doesn't love freshly baked chocolate chip cookies? Read Recipe All Recipes Baking Breakfast Cakes, Pies, & Icing Cookies & Brownies Dips & Sauces Entrees Gluten-Free Muffins & Breads Soup Vegan Vegetarian Load More

< Back Deanna Raybourne Author of The Veronica Speedwell Mysteries and Lady Gray Mysteries July 7, 2021 Deanna Raybourne (Veronica Speedwell Mysteries and Lady Gray Mysteries) combines romance and mystery in the Victorian era, with charming details about food, dress, and manners of the time. Although there must have been free-thinking young women in the 1900’s, it was probably rare, but I set aside any concern about the appropriation of modern thinking and just enjoyed Veronica’s adventures (A Treacherous Curse, A Perilous Undertaking, A Murderous Relation) as a butterfly collector and amateur sleuth (along with her handsome sidekick, the aristocratic Stoker, who helps solve mysteries when he isn’t stuffing and mounting animal specimens). I read three of these in a row during a vacation and enjoyed every minute, no matter how improbable the situations. Previous Next

Breakfast Recipes to Die For Muffins and Breads, Gluten Free, Baking, Breakfast Gluten-Free Pancakes We were desperate for pancakes so I tweaked another recipe I was working on to make these. Read Recipe Breakfast, Vegan, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Cakes & Pies & Icing Almond Berry Breakfast Cake (gluten-free/vegan) Now Alene began measuring ingredients for Ruthie’s strawberry breakfast cake. Read Recipe Vegetarian, Baking, Breakfast, Muffins and Breads, Cakes & Pies & Icing Chocolate Zucchini-Pear Cake GF Healthy enough for breakfast! Read Recipe Muffins and Breads, Vegan, Breakfast Vegan Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Muffins "There are only six sweet potato muffins left," said Alene. Read Recipe Muffins and Breads, Baking, Vegetarian, Breakfast, Cakes & Pies & Icing Chocolate Zucchini – Apple Cake Yes, we eat this for breakfast! Read Recipe All Recipes Baking Breakfast Cakes, Pies, & Icing Cookies & Brownies Dips & Sauces Entrees Gluten-Free Muffins & Breads Soup Vegan Vegetarian Load More

< Back Tasha Alexander Author of The Lady Emily Historical Mystery Series January 30, 2020 Tasha Alexander studied English Literature and Medieval History at the University of Notre Dame. She wrote a novel, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and the long-running Lady Emily Series. She is married to British novelist Andrew Grant and lives in Chicago and Wyoming. Lady Emily, who first appeared in Tasha Alexander’s 2005 novel, And Only to Deceive, is one of the characters I return to again and again. The author delves into British history with an eye for historical accuracy combined with the ability to create fully human characters who are capable of wit and subtlety. She’s also managed to combine dazzling historical fiction (fabulous descriptions of England through the centuries) with well-planned, gripping mysteries. Royalty is often involved, and Alexander conveys an urgency – the Crown is at risk unless the mystery is solved. I always get immersed in the rich details; servants are plentiful, clothing is magnificent, Emily travels into the underbelly of London to get to the bottom of a murder, and her dashing husband Colin reports directly to the queen or king. The inner workings of Britain are portrayed from the Victorian through Edwardian periods, with occasional visits to the distant past, as in Uneasy Lies the Crown, which includes a story line from 1415 that later ties in with the current day mystery. I admire the ease with which Lady Emily Hargreaves travels around the world — it makes me feel silly for complaining about long flights. But then again, we’d all be better prepared for a few weeks in Moscow if we engaged a retinue of servants to carry our trunks. These are delicious books (best enjoyed with a cup of tea that your trusted maid brings in with the afternoon mail). There are fourteen books in the Lady Emily series thus far, and I hope Tasha Alexander is not yet finished. Previous Next

< Back Judith Flanders Author of The Sam Clair Mysteries September 12, 2019 “Oh, just kill me now.” I didn’t shriek that out loud, just clenched my teeth more tightly. It was eight thirty and already the day couldn’t get much worse. I’m always at my desk by eight, not because I’m so wonderful, although I am, but because it’s the only time of day when no one asks me anything, when I can get on with some work, instead of solving other people’s problems.” From Murder of Magpies, page 1 Samantha Clair is an overworked London book editor whose gossipy fashion industry friend has written a racy manuscript. After the friend goes missing, it becomes clear that somebody wants to stop the manuscript from being published. Sam, with the help of her Goth assistant, her wealthy, well-connected mother, and her cute boyfriend, Scotland Yard detective Jake Field, is on the case. In another book in the series, Sam and Jake attend a neighbor’s theater production expecting lots of drama and death. They’re not at all shocked when the second act opens with a body hanging from the rafters, until they realize that it is an actual person, who has been murdered. And that person is the play’s director, who, it turns out, was not at all well-liked. The Sam Clair mysteries are filled with snappy dialogue, Sam is not shy about sharing her thoughts, her mother is a hoot, and it was entertaining to be swept along into the apparently exciting life of an editor. I imagine the author sitting at her desk all those years, thinking about ways to kill people off, maybe even authors whose work she was currently editing. Previous Next

< Back Sherry Thomas Author of The Lady Sherlock Series March 4, 2021 I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Sherry Thomas’s Lady Sherlock Series. Thomas has published romance, fantasy and YA books, none of which interest me, but then I started reading about the antics of ‘Charlotte Holmes.’ Charlotte and her friend Mrs. Watson have apparently invented an imaginary brother named Sherlock so that she can use her brilliant powers of deduction to earn money in a Victorian society that doesn’t trust the opinions of women. The writing is descriptive, the conversations witty, the crimes interesting and the atmosphere compelling. Thomas’s has received lots of honors and is a bestselling author. She immigrated from China at age 13. She is also a two-time winner of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® Award. I hope she continues writing this charming series. Previous Next

< Back Sujata Massey Author of The Perveen Mistry and Rei Shamuro Mysteries January 5, 2022 Born in England to parents from India and Germany, Sujata Massey was raised primarily in St. Paul, Minnesota, and she’s lived for over thirty years in Baltimore, Maryland. She’s written fourteen novels, two novellas, and numerous short stories published in eighteen countries. Sujata earned a B.A. in Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University and wrote features for the Baltimore Evening Sun newspaper before becoming a novelist. Her novels have won the Agatha, Lefty and Macavity awards and been finalists for the Edgar, Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark prizes.Sujata spoke about her journey, “The Journalist’s Guide to Mystery,” at our Sisters-in-Crime-Chicagoland November 2021 Zoom meeting! What a lovely, engaging woman! Her story included pictures of her at different times of her life and she gave us glimpses of her writing process. I already loved the first three books in her Purveen Mistry series – set in 1910 India and filled with observations about the cultural/political landscape. Good thing I’ve only read the first book in her Rei Shimura series, set in contemporary Japan, so I’ll have more time with Sujata down the road. Previous Next

< 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

< Back Best Chocolate Cake/Muffins GF. V. September 10, 2019 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 30-40 Minutes Serves: 12 Slices of Cake Tags: Muffins and Breads, Baking, Vegan, Gluten Free, Cakes & Pies & Icing About the Recipe p.184 Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery He handed Alene one of his little blue towels and she looked at him closely. Both Dennis and Gary had trained with him. He was strong enough to murder someone with his bare hands. “Where were you last night, by the way?” He smiled. “I thought we’d resolved this, Alene. Are you asking because of your prodigious investigative skills, or has someone hired you as a private eye? Does this mean you suspect me – again?” He rolled his head, as if in agony, and then pointed to the calendar above his desk near the door. “My mother’s birthday is celebrated every year on that very date, the twenty-second of June. Didn’t I tell you I was going to be at my Aunt Ivy’s for a barbeque dinner at which I ate purely protein with no extraneous carbohydrates and merely a sniff of the watermelon and the chocolate cake?” Alene realized she’d been holding herself tightly. She plopped down on the mat and smiled up at Michael. “Sorry.” “But thanks for your thoroughness in checking up on me, Sherlock,” he added. Ingredients 1 15.5 ounce can of chickpeas, drained 4 eggs 1 tsp pure vanilla extract ½ tsp chocolate extract (optional, but worthwhile) 3/4 cup sugar ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp cinnamon (up to 1 tsp if you love cinnamon) 1 TBSP instant decaf coffee or espresso 1 1/3 cups or 9 oz bag of semisweet chocolate chips Preparation Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan or a muffin tray Process beans, eggs, and extracts until smooth. Process in sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and coffee powder Pour in chocolate chips and process about 30 seconds. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven (15-18 for muffins), or until a knife inserted into the center of cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan before inverting onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, or whip up a rich chocolate frosting Previous Next

< Back Mashed Cauliflower and Acorn Squash December 10, 2020 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Serves: 4 Servings Tags: Dips and Sauces, Entrees, Vegetarian, Vegan About the Recipe ​ Ingredients 1 small cauliflower 1 small acorn squash, seeded 1 small red onion ¼ cup olive oil 3 or 4 cloves garlic, or 2 tsp ground garlic 2 tsp basil 1 tsp kosher or sea salt ½ tsp pepper 2 cups water Preparation Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C . Cover a large baking pan with foil. Cut acorn squash into quarters (with skin), cauliflower, and onion into quarters and toss in a large bowl with the oil, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Spread out on the baking pan and roast for about 45 minutes uncovered until soft and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and let the vegetables cool. Then blend with water in a large food processor or blender until creamy and smooth. Add additional water to make this into a filling soup. Season to taste, sprinkle with dehydrated onion and chopped parsley. Sometimes I reserve some of the roasted onion and chop it up to garnish the top. Previous Next

< Back Cocoa-Bear Cake (AKA Dragon’s Milk Cake) July 30, 2019 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 50-55 Minutes Serves: 12 Slices of Cake Tags: Vegetarian, Cakes & Pies & Icing About the Recipe 173 Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery Alene had gone off to college and forgotten all about Neal Dunn, until a summer day after her third year at Northwestern, when they had bumped into each other at a Wrigleyville bar. Neal bought her a beer and invited her to a Cubs game. That had been her first stout, and she thought it was so yummy she bought a six-pack and shared it with Ruthie, who went on to invent a stout cake. They changed “beer” to “bear” so as not to alarm the customers, and it worked. Ingredients For the Cake 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup packed dark brown sugar ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tsp instant decaf or coffee powder 2 tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 1/4 cup Dragon’s Milk (room temp) or any dark beer ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips For the Icing 1 can full fat coconut milk ½ cup cocoa powder ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips ¼ cup dark brown sugar 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 tsp instant decaf or coffee powder 1 tsp ground cinnamon Pinch of salt Preparation Preheat oven to 350 degrees Grease and sugar an 8” springform Combine dry ingredients in food processor Add wet ingredients except beer, pulse a few times Add beer and mix enough to blend well Pour batter into greased and sugared prepared pan. Bake 50-55 minutes until cake springs under pressure Cool before removing from springform pan Drizzle with icing (recipe below) While the cake is in the oven, mix the icing ingredients in a blender until it’s completely smooth Previous Next

< Back Dairy-free Chocolate Frosting September 3, 2019 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: Varies Serves: 2 Cups of Spread Tags: Vegan, Gluten Free, Baking, Dips and Sauces, Cakes & Pies & Icing About the Recipe P.11 Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery Alene cut through the alley, unlocked the back entrance and stepped into Whipped and Sipped’s kitchen. The comforting smell of yeast, the enticement of cinnamon and the complexity of chocolate all soothed Alene, who realized she’d been holding her shoulders and neck in awkward stiffness. Ruthie approached with a steaming cup of her favorite espresso topped with whipped almond milk, cocoa and cinnamon powder.” Ingredients 1 ¼ cup water 1 small baked sweet potato (with skin) ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Higher quality powder will taste better!) 1 TBSP instant decaf or coffee powder or crystals 1 tsp cinnamon (optional – you can also just use 1/2 tsp) ½ cup pure maple syrup 1 tsp pure vanilla extract ¼ tsp salt Other options: replace ¼ cup of water with a liquor Replace ¼ cup of water with any kind of milk add a whole peeled orange add ¼ brown sugar for a sweeter frosting or sauce only 1/2 tsp of cinnamon replaced with extra 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract Preparation In a high-powered blender, use the ‘soup’ setting that heats up the ingredients. This heat is enough to temper the chocolate, which will turn shiny. It should be smooth enough to pour or spread. If you don’t have a soup setting, use your blender to mix everything until completely smooth, pour into a microwave-safe container, then zap in the microwave for one minute. Stir, zap another 30 seconds, and stir again until the sauce is a little steamy and silky looking. Add one of the options if you like it sweeter, or more liquid if you need it to be thinner right away. After a night in the refrigerator, it will be thick like a ganache. Zap it again if you need it to be easily spreadable after being in the fridge. Use it to frost a cake, or dip strawberries, or enjoy teaspoonfuls of it all week (if it lasts that long). Previous Next