#COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR JOANNE GUIDOCCIO AND QUICK SALMON FOR ONE

In 2008, Joanne Guidoccio took advantage of early retirement from a 31-year teaching career and decided to launch a second act that would tap into her creative side and utilize her well-honed organizational skills. Slowly, a writing practice emerged. Her articles and book reviews were published in newspapers, magazines, and online. When she tried her hand at fiction, she made reinvention a recurring theme in her novels and short stories. Joanne writes cozy mysteries, paranormal romance, and inspirational literature. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

In Search of a Quick-And-Easy Salmon Recipe (For One)

At my last appointment with the specialist oncologist, I struggled to pay attention. After ten months of treatments, I longed to leave the whole cancer experience behind me. While that wasn’t possible in the short-run—I still needed to report for check-ups every six months for the next five years—I believed that all the hard stuff was behind me.

In spite of my restlessness during that appointment, I did pick up three nuggets of information: spinach, salmon, and yoga.

Spinach wasn’t a problem. Each morning, I add several handfuls to my smoothies. I also enjoy spinach salads.

Once I recovered from radiation, I started a yoga practice that I have maintained since 2005.

Salmon presented the greatest challenge of all. I prefer white fish such as halibut and tilapia. I have several foolproof recipes that appeal to my non-foodiness (I don’t enjoy cooking or baking), a quality I share with the protagonist of the Gilda Greco Mystery Series. Unfortunately, none of those foolproof recipes work with salmon.

Friends and colleagues eagerly shared their recipes. Grateful, I did experiment with all their suggestions but found myself rebelling against the lengthy list of ingredients and prep time involved.

My goal: A quick-and-easy recipe (for one) that appealed to my taste buds.

Last year, I discovered the following recipe (that’s closer to a hack) while eavesdropping on a conversation at the beauty salon. With only three ingredients (four if you count the water) and six minutes of cooking time, it’s the ideal solution for non-foodies.

Ingredients

Half a lemon

One salmon fillet

Greek seasoning

Thinly slice the lemon. Cover the bottom of a small microwaveable dish with the lemon slices.

Sprinkle the salmon fillet with Greek seasoning. Place the fillet on top of the lemon slices. Add two tablespoons of water. Cover and microwave on High for five to six minutes.

Murder & Mayhem

A boxed set featuring six murder mysteries from the following Wild Rose Press authors: J L Wilson, Misty Simon, Michelle Witvliet, Vicki Batman, Cindy Davis, and Joanne Guidoccio.

My contribution: A Season for Killing Blondes. A teacher wins a $19 million lottery and returns to her hometown, only to find herself the primary suspect in the murders of four blondes. Can she prove her innocence and solve this case?

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR KIMBRA KASCH AND CIOPINNO

Kimbra Kasch stops by today to give a Killer Cooking Class on Ciopinno. Learn more about Kimbra and her writing at her website. 

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

That’s what little girls are made of.

QUESTION: But what are ladies made of?

ANSWER: It’s a complete mystery. Just like deciding what makes a dynamite dinner or delicious dessert. It’s hard to say.

One person likes chocolate; another wants the tart taste of lemon meringue. So, how do we decide between sweet and savory?

Sometimes the best answer is not to decide at all but instead to have a little bit of both. We do this exact thing when we serve dinner with dessert. If you want to see what I’m talking about, simply follow along on this Killer Cooking Class and learn how to make homemade Ciopinno.

First you might ask: just what is Ciopinno?

Italian fishermen came up with Ciopinno (or Seafood Stew) back in the mid 1800's. It was probably the first potluck. The Fishermen would come home from sea hungry after a hard day on the water, and someone would called out, “Chip in” or “Ciopinno.” Everyone threw a little something they’d caught into the pot, and it became a beautiful blend of seafood.

I begin with a little homemade fettuccine:

Ingredients:

5 eggs

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon water

Pile the flour up in a circle, crack the eggs in the center of the flour, and slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs with a fork. After you have the dough formed into a ball, add the water, olive oil and salt. Blend until smooth being careful not to overwork or the dough will become rubbery.

Roll out the dough. Using a pasta machine, work the dough through the rollers until it’s thin. Then run the dough through the cutters to prepare your fettuccine. If you don’t have a pasta machine simply roll the dough up, like you would for a Christmas yule log, and slice the ribbons by hand.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta for 3-5 minutes at a full boil. Strain pasta and cover to keep warm while you make the stew.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of clams, mussels, scallops and shrimp

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

1 package of mushrooms

2 jalapeno chile, finely chopped

1-1/2 cups dry white wine (Chardonney)

Zest and juice of 2 large or 3 small limes

1 cup chopped parsley

Using a small saucepan, sauté onion until clear.

Using a large saucepan, heat olive oil then add garlic, then onions, mushrooms and chile.

Pour in wine. Add zest and juice. Add clams, mussels scallops, and shrimp. Heat 5 minutes, then turn off and cover.

Place a helping of pasta in bowl and pour some of the Cioppini over the top and serve with a side salad.

For dessert serve a store-bought sweet. This is the simple part of the dinner…the dessert. The sexy part is the Cioppini.

Having a dinner that’s sweet and spicy is like reading a story that’s sweet but with a romance woven into the middle, just like The Cats of Cullaby Creek. There’s plenty of mystery stirred into the story because when Savannah meets Kyle, its love at first sight. And why wouldn't it be? He's perfect, as far as she can tell. But Kyle appears whenever things go wrong. Maybe he isn't everything she thought he was. This is another complete mystery until she discovers the water in Cullaby Creek is being bottled and sold as vitamin “infused” water. Mistic Water promises the impossible. And then, like a magical elixir, it delivers. People who drink it feel younger, smarter, faster...healthier. But it doesn’t take long before side effects hit. Literally. The secret has to be in the water…or is it something more? To find out, you’ll want to read the entire delicious story. And, if you do, I’ll want to hear what you think of it. Was it savory enough for you?

The Cats of Cullaby Creek

Savannah meets Kyle and quickly starts to fall for him. And why wouldn't she? He's per-fect, as far as she knows. But when she starts finding dead animals in her yard and hears something scratching at her window, after the sun goes down, she starts to worry. Maybe Kyle isn't everything she thought he was - maybe he's something more.

It's a complete mystery until she discovers something about the water in Cullaby Creek, which is being bottled and sold as Mistical Water. And there’s definitely something mystical about that water, everyone who drinks it begins to change. They are “morphing” or mutating into animals. The secret to the animal they morph into is in the water.

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Want a chance to win a free copy? Kimbra is giving one away. Post a comment to enter the drawing she'll be holding.

WE'D RATHER BE #WRITING #COOKBOOK

Last year I had an idea for a cookbook featuring my fellow authors. The result was Bake, Love, Write: 105 AuthorsShare Dessert Recipes and Advice on Love and Writing. My hope was that people who bought the book for the yummy recipes would be introduced to authors new to them, thus gaining new readers for my fellow authors and me. I donated a portion of the profits from the sale of the book to my local food bank.

When Bake, Love, Write: 105 Authors Share Dessert Recipes and Advice on Love and Writing became an Amazon bestseller, many of the participating authors suggested a follow-up cookbook.

After giving it some thought, I came up with:

We'd Rather Be Writing

88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips

Have you ever wished you could find more time to do the things you want to do, rather than just doing the things you have to do? Most authors juggle day jobs and family responsibilities along with their writing. Because they need to find time to write, they look for ways to save time in other aspects of their lives.

Cooking often takes up a huge chunk of time. In We'd Rather BeWriting: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips you'll find easy, nutritious recipes for meat, poultry, pasta, soup, stew, chili, and vegetarian meals. All of the recipes require a minimum of prep time, freeing you up to read, exercise, garden, craft, write, spend more time with family, or whatever.

Within the pages of We'd Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors ShareTimesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips you'll be introduced to authors who write a wide range of fiction—everything from mystery to romance to speculative fiction to books for children, young adults, and new adults—and some who write nonfiction. Some of the authors write sweet; others write steamy. Some write cozy; others write tense thrillers.

Some are debut authors with only one published book; others are multi-published and have had long publishing careers. Some are New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors who may or may not be familiar to you, but being a bestselling author doesn't mean they still don't have to juggle their day job along with their writing.

The authors who contributed to this book are a rather creative and resourceful bunch when it comes to carving out time from their busy lives. So in addition to timesaving recipes, within the pages of this book you'll find timesaving and organizational tips for other aspects of your life. And if you happen to be a writer, you'll also find a plethora of great ideas to help you organize your writing life.

Once again, a percentage of the profit from the sale of this new cookbook will be donated to charity. The charity I’ve chosen this year is No Kid Hungry.

Authors who contributed to We'd Rather BeWriting: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips include: Lisa Alber, Reggi Allder, Judy Alter, Krista Ames, Rose Anderson, Cori Lynn Arnold, Judy Baker, Beverley Bateman, Donnell Ann Bell, Paula Gail Benson, Kris Bock, Maureen Bonatch, Ava Bradley, Susan Breen, Lida Bushloper, Michelle Markey Butler, Ashlyn Chase, Judy Copek, Maya Corrigan, Mariposa Cruz, Melinda Curtis, Lesley A. Diehl, Conda V. Douglas, Nancy Eady, Helena Fairfax, Jennifer Faye, Flo Fitzpatrick, Kit Frazier, Shelley Freydont, Mariana Gabrielle, Rosie Genova, Marni Graff, Joanne Guidoccio, Margaret S. Hamilton, L.C. Hayden, Linda Gordon Hengerer, Heather Hiestand, R.Franklin James, Kathryn Jane, M.M. Jaye, Elizabeth John, Stacy Juba, Gemma Juliana, Carol Goodman Kaufman, Melissa Keir, Kay Kendall, A.R. Kennedy, Lynn Kinnaman, Marie Laval, B.V. Lawson, Claudia Lefeve, Alice Loweecey, Cynthia Luhrs, Sandra Masters, Lisa Q. Mathews, J.M. Maurer, Sandra McGregor, Kathy McIntosh, Claire A. Murray, Ann Myers, Tara Neale, Stacey Joy Netzel, Jayne Ormerod, Alice Orr, Laurel Peterson, Irene Peterson, Pepper Phillips, Caridad Pineiro, Kathryn Quick, Renée Reynolds, Josie Riviera, Elizabeth Rose, C.A. Rowland, Cindy Sample, Sharleen Scott, Terry Shames, Susan C. Shea, Judy Penz Sheluk, Joanna Campbell Slan, Karen Rose Smith, Lynette Sofras, Kaye Spencer, Skye Taylor, Lourdes Venard, Lea Wait, Regan Walker, Lois Winston, and Aubrey Wynne.

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