#COOKING WITH CLORIS--SPINACH QUICHE IN A PINCH

Thanks to the pandemic, I had to quarantine recently. Although I started out a well-stocked fridge, freezer, and pantry, towards the end of the quarantine period, I began running low on dinner options. But I did have a frozen pie crust, half a bag of frozen spinach, and some grated cheese left, along with a few eggs. The result was a rather tasty quiche. 

Spinach Quiche

Serves 4

 

9-inch  frozen pie crust

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup dehydrated minced onions

1 tsp. dehydrated minced garlic

1 tsp. Herbes de Provence

4 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, packed 

1/2 cup shredded taco cheese, packed

1 cup chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and wrung free of water, packed

 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Thaw frozen pie crust about 10 minutes. Prick bottoms and sides about an inch apart with a fork. 

 

Place the pie pan on a cookie sheet. Bake on middle rack of oven until lightly golden, about 10 to 15 minutes. If crust puffs up while baking, make additional pricks to deflate. 

 

Set baked crust aside. Lower oven to 325 degrees F.

 

In a small skillet, heat the butter over medium to low heat. Briefly sauté the onions, garlic, and Herbes de Provence in the butter just until onion is translucent. Allow to cool.

 

In a stand mixer, whisk together eggs, milk, and salt.

 

Spread the sautéed onions and garlic over the bottom of the pie crust. Next, sprinkle the cheeses evenly over onions and garlic, then spread the spinach evenly over the cheese. Pour the egg and milk mixture over the spinach.

 

Bake 50-55 minutes at 325 degrees F until the quiche sets and top is lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow quiche to continue setting for 10 minutes before serving.

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--MYSTERY AUTHOR MARIAN ALLEN SERVES UP BUMBLEBEE STEW AND A NEW SERIES

Marian Allen writes science fiction, fantasy, mystery, humor, horror, mainstream, and anything else she can wrestle into fixed form. She blogs daily at Marian Allen, Author Lady ():Learn more about Marian and her books at her blog where she has daily topics: Monday with nail art, Tuesday on food, One-Liner Wednesday, Thursday Doors, Fridays For Future, and Sunday Snapshot. Her cats take turns blogging for her on Caturday … er … Saturday.

Bar Sinister is the first of a projected series called the Spadena Street Mysteries. Spadena Street is a two-block Storybook Style neighborhood with a past as corporate housing for privileged employees of a now-defunct factory. Some of its mysteries are connected to that past, some are connected to the characters of the people who lived there or live there now. Some are connected only by the networks of the current residents. Some just are.

Juss has a hobby: She collects people. Or, as her foster mother and lapsed hippie, Doris, puts it, “She’s a people junkie.” It’s Juss’s nostalgia for community involvement that leads her to her profession, and it’s the same nostalgia that fuels her impulse to stick her nose into other people’s business. At the same time, the bitter memory of “tourists” from outside the commune coming around to rubberneck and judge makes her resistant to her neighbors’ attempts at friendliness. It takes a neighbor coming to her for help (sub-plot!) to open Juss to the perfectly collectible people right on her own block.

That neighbor, Chickapoo Tomaneck, brings Juss and Doris a chocolate lava cake, although that’s not the recipe I’m sharing today. Doris is a firm believer in the medicinal value of dark chocolate and wine, but she preferred me to share something more nutritious. She also wanted me to tell you that Bumblebee Stew is great with shrimp in it. Or chicken. Or pork belly.

This recipe wasn’t in the book, but Juss and Doris love to garden and cook. They would have made this from scratch, not out of nasty old cans. Nasty old cans is what I use.

Bumblebee Stew

Ingredients:

olive oil

chili powder

cumin

onion powder

garlic powder

salt

flour

can black beans, undrained

can corn, undrained

can chopped tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

cilantro

semi-sweet chocolate

Heat the oil and toast the spices. Stir in the flour, adding more oil, if necessary. Add the vegetables, cilantro, and chocolate and heat until thickened. 

Serve over rice.

Bar Sinister

A Spadena Street Mystery, Book 1

Juss -- Injustice H. Chocolate (named and raised by hippies) -- questions the usefulness of her Life Coach work and hires a secretary to prove its importance. Prim and efficient Kerry Dashingly can hardly wait to tell his wife that his latest secretary temp job is in a miniature castle in a neighborhood of Disneyesque architecture. Kerry hasn't even begun when he gets a call from his hapless cousin, Abby: A man she openly hated is dead, and the police found unspecified evidence in the back of her car. Juss immediate attaches herself to the problem, determined to help, even if it kills her.

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--CELEBRATING NATIONAL CHOCOLATE MINT DAY

Today is National Chocolate Mint Day, a holiday dedicated to all those lovers of chocolate mint. And what better time to celebrate a day that extols chocolate mint than right in the middle of the Girl Scout Cookie season?

Who doesn’t love those Thin Mint cookies?

Did you know that Thin Mints have been around since 1953 and are still the most popular of all the Girl Scout cookies? Bet you can’t eat just one!

However, if you can exercise a bit of self-control and not gobble up that entire box in one sitting, there are quite a few ways to use Thin Mints in baking. Here’s one of them:

Super Moist Thin Mint Cupcakes

Yield: 12-14 cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 lg. eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

8 Thin Mints, crushed

Note: eggs and buttermilk should be at room temperature before adding.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together first five ingredients and set aside.

Beat eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla until smooth. Alternating dry ingredients and buttermilk, gently stir into sugar/egg mixture. Don’t overmix. Fold in crushed Thin Mints.

Spoon batter evenly into cupcake liners, filling only halfway. Bake 18-21 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean.

Allow cupcakes to cool completely before icing with your favorite chocolate icing.

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--MYSTERY AUTHOR NANCY J. COHEN'S HANUKKAH BRISKET RECIPE

Nancy J. Cohen returns today to celebrate offer us a Hanukkah recipe. Nancy writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Her books have won numerous awards, including her instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery. Her latest title is A Bad Hair Day Cookbook: Recipes from Nancy J. Cohen’s Cozy Mystery Series. When not busy writing, Nancy enjoys cooking, fine dining, cruising, visiting Disney World, and shopping. Learn more about Nancy and her books at her website and blog.

Hanukkah Traditions

Hanukkah was never as big a deal as Christmas when I grew up. Nonetheless, we made the holiday festive and celebrated the traditions. When I had kids, I continued these practices and added blue and silver decorations as they became prominent in stores.

As I prepared the holiday meal, I would play a CD with Hanukkah music. The strains of “I Have a Little Dreidel” played in the background as I made the brisket and potato latkes for a traditional meal. After dinner, we’d light our eight-branched menorah with the shamashcandle and exchange gifts. Staring at the lit candles, I would remember how an oil lamp had started the holiday.

In the old days, the Syrians—under the leadership of a tyrant named Antiochus—defiled the holy Temple in Jerusalem and abolished the practice of Judaism. Jews were given a familiar choice: conversion or death. But a resistance movement grew strength, led by Judah Maccabee. His forces liberated the Temple from Syrian armies. To purify the Temple, the saviors lit the eternal lamp that is in every synagogue to this day. But there was only enough oil to last for one night. Miraculously, the lamp burned for eight days. Hence, Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights. It symbolizes freedom from oppression. This is why we eat potato pancakes, because they’re fried in oil. Jelly doughnuts are another traditional food.

Each night, we add another candle from right to left. Normally, the kindling is done from left to right so the newest candle is lit first.

Children play the dreidel game and eat the foil-wrapped chocolate coins known as gelt. At our house, we gave a gift each night of Hanukkah. Our kids got used to having at least eight wrapped presents over the holiday. It’ll be interesting to see how they celebrate these traditions with their offspring.

Brisket with Dried Plums

If you want a recipe for Hanukkah, try this one. You get a side of tzimmesout of it with the sweet potato chunks, prunes and apricots. You can serve potato latkes on the side with a dollop of applesauce.

Ingredients:

3-1/2 lb. flat cut beef brisket

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 medium onions, sliced

1 cup beef broth

1/4 cup sweet Marsala wine

3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

3 Tbsp. honey

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 cup pitted dried plums (prunes)

1 cup dried apricots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Trim fat off brisket. Heat olive oil in Dutch oven. Sear meat on both sides until lightly browned. Remove brisket and set aside. 

Add onions and sauté until wilted, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix beef broth, Marsala wine, balsamic vinegar, honey, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon in a bowl. Place brisket on top of onions in pot. Pour broth mixture over meat.

Cover and cook for 3 hours. Then add sweet potato chunks. Scatter dried fruit on top. Cover and bake 1/2-1 hour more until meat is fork tender.

Transfer brisket to cutting board. Cover with foil and let rest for 15 minutes. With slotted spoon remove fruit and sweet potatoes from pot into a separate bowl. Ladle any pan juices into gravy boat. Slice meat and serve warm with fruit and potatoes on the side along with pan juices.

Facials Can Be Fatal is my book with a Hanukkah theme.

Facials Can Be Fatal 

Salon owner Marla Vail’s new day spa hits a snag when a client dies during a facial. The victim, Valerie Weston, was a major donor for Friends of Old Florida, a historic building preservation society. Marla’s stylists are scheduled to work backstage at their upcoming fashion show, but Val’s demise might put a crimp in their plans. Hoping to salvage her reputation, Marla determines to track down the killer. As she learns more about Val, she realizes the benefactress might have stumbled onto secrets others would kill to keep. She’d better prepare for a body count that has nothing to do with hot stone massages and everything to do with murder.

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--BAD HAIR DAY RECIPES FROM NANCY J. COHEN

Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Nancy’s books have won numerous awards, including her instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery. Her latest title is A Bad Hair Day Cookbook: Recipes from Nancy J. Cohen’s Cozy Mystery Series. When not busy writing, Nancy enjoys cooking, fine dining, cruising, visiting Disney World, and shopping. Learn more about her and her books at her website and blog.

Fun and Fumbles in the Kitchen

I like to cook and experiment with recipes in the kitchen. Wanting to share my favorite dishes, I created A Bad Hair Day Cookbook: Recipes from Nancy J. Cohen’s Cozy Mystery Series. This is written from the viewpoint of my hairstylist sleuth, Marla Vail. Marla shares her comments and tips on each page. Her experiences in the kitchen mirror my own.

Trial and Error

Like any trial and error experiment, not everything I tried turned out successfully. Let’s examine my mint recipes, for example. I wanted to use up a bottle of Vandermint in our liqueur cabinet, so I found recipes using this ingredient and put my own twist on them.

After cooking the lamb in the oven for the allotted time, the roast was still raw inside. I’d forgotten the advice to remove the lamb roast from the refrigerator an hour before cooking to let it warm to room temperature. Oops! I put it in our slow cooker for another two hours and it came out just right. 

For dessert, I thought the chocolate mint cake sounded tempting. I baked the cake as directed in a rectangular pan and turned it out onto a powdered-sugar dusted surface. Then I attempted to roll it up as instructed. The cake broke apart. Uh-oh. Maybe I should have let it cool more first? Not to worry. I decided to make it into a torte instead. And so I did, adding filling in between three layers of cake.

NOTE: Leave a comment below for a chance to win an ebook copy of A Bad Hair Day Cookbook.

Minted Roast Lamb

Serves 8

Ingredients:

5 lb. boneless leg of lamb

1/2 cup water

1 cup Vandermint liqueur

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 Tbsp. lime juice

3/4 oz. package fresh basil, trimmed and chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

Remove lamb from refrigerator one hour before cooking to bring to room temperature. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place lamb on rack in roasting pan. Pour water into bottom of pan. Roast uncovered for 1 hour. 

In a bowl, combine Vandermint liqueur, melted butter, lime juice, and chopped basil. Baste lamb with mixture. Roast for 1-1/2 hours more, basting occasionally. Meat thermometer should register 135 to 155 degrees F, depending on how well done you like the meat.

Transfer lamb to cutting board. Cover with foil and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Meanwhile, skim fat from pan juices. Add remaining basting liquid and 1/2 cup white wine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour into gravy boat. Serve on the side with lamb. 

Chocolate Mint Torte (pictured above)

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup Vandermint liqueur

Powdered sugar

Filling

8 oz. whipped topping

2 Tbsp. Vandermint liqueur

2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 10”x15” baking pan with wax paper. Coat with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat eggs in a large bowl until well blended. Gradually add 1 cup sugar. Mix in Vandermint liqueur. Stir in dry ingredients in batches until smooth.

Pour into baking pan and bake for 15 minutes. Invert cake onto towel sprinkled with powdered sugar and remove wax paper. Allow cake to rest. Meanwhile, blend whipped topping with 2 Tbsp. Vandermint liqueur and 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar. 

Cut cake into thirds cross-wise. Spread filling on top of first third. Place second cake piece on top. Cover with another layer of filling. Top with remaining third piece of cake. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice and serve cold. 

A Bad Hair Day Cookbook: 

Recipes from Nancy J. Cohen’s Cozy Mystery Series 

Are you having a bad hair day? Whip out your whisk, snatch up your spoon, and prepare your palate. Inside the pages of this cookbook are recipes that will bring you good cheer.

Enjoy 160+ tasty recipes from Nancy J. Cohen's popular Bad Hair Day cozy mystery series. Included in this cookbook are excerpts, cooking tips, and anecdotes written by hairstylist and savvy sleuth Marla Vail. From appetizers to desserts, Marla offers cooking tips and tricks along with commentary about the dishes she prepares for her family. Whether you're a skilled cook or an eager novice, this cookbook will unravel the mystery of cooking. Put on your apron and plan to make some killer recipes! Bonuses Include:

*Meet the Sleuth

*Introduction by Marla Vail

*Cooking Tips

*Excerpts from Series Titles

*Themed Menu Suggestions

*"A Sabbath Dinner" by Nancy's Mother

Recommended for Home Cooks, Food Lovers, Mystery Fans and Cookbook Collectors

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--WEEKEND EDITION WITH ROMANCE AUTHOR CARIDAD PINEIRO

Welcome to a special weekend edition of Cooking with Cloris at Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers. Today we welcome romance author Caridad Pineiro. Caridad is a transplanted Long Island girl who has fallen in love with the Jersey Shore. A NY Times and USA Today bestselling author with over a million romance novels sold worldwide, Caridad is passionate about writing and helping others explore and develop their skills as writers. She is a founding member of the Liberty States Fiction Writers and has presented workshops at national and regional writing organizations throughout the country. Learn more about Caridad and her books at her website. 

I love to cook and to share my recipes with family and friends and in stories like my upcoming releases, Never a Bride (January 2020) and South Beach Love (June 2020).  Both of these stories feature chefs in one way or another, and I guarantee that both stories will not only leave you fulfilled emotionally, but hungry for something tasty as well.

In Never a Bride, the hero, Carlo da Costa, is a caterer and in love with a wedding planner who doesn’t believe that she can ever have her own happily-ever-after.  Carlo is an amazing chef and it was fun to show off some of his creations as well as his family’s Portuguese food traditions.  My Spanish grandparents grew up not far from Portugal and many of the foods are quite similar and often include fish since the two countries have lots of coast along the Atlantic.

In South Beach Love, the hero, Tony Sanchez, is a celebrity Cuban chef who returns home to Miami to help his niece have the most epic quinceañera, the Cuban equivalent of a Sweet Sixteen. What Tony doesn’t know is that he’s going to run into an old family friend, Sara Kelly, who has also become a chef and is helping out with her niece’s big event.  Soon Sara and Tony find themselves competing to create the most amazing food for the two competing events.  It was a blast to play around with the different recipes that each of the chefs prepare to outdo each other. I also found out a lot about the new field of molecular gastronomy and how you can do something like turn oil into a powder!

But for now, I want to leave you with an easy recipe for a vegetable you might not have tried before: plantains.  Many people find plantains confusing because they are often referred to as bananas and look like very big bananas, but they are actually a vegetable and you cannot eat them raw.  Cubans and other Latins eat plantains in various forms.  When the plantains are green, you can make them like potato chips by slicing them thinly and frying them.  You can also make a double-friend and flattened plantain known as a tostone or boil and mash them and top with bacon and fried onions.

As tasty as plantains are when green, they’re even better ripe because they get incredibly sweet.  How can you tell when a plantain is ripe?  It gets yellow and soft.  I even let it go further until it starts getting some black spots, making it even sweeter.

What can you do with a ripe plantain?  For many Latinos ripe plantains are usually fried or baked, but you can also make them like they do in Mexico, and today I’m sharing that recipe with you, and you may find it in South Beach Love.

Baked Plantains with Crema and Cotija Cheese

Ingredients:

1 ripe plantain*

1 cup Mexican crema** 

1 cup grated cotija cheese*** 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel the plantain and slice on the diagonal into1/4” slices. If using the frozen ripe plantains, follow oven directions on the box.

Toss plantain slices with vegetable oil. Grease a baking tray and lay out the plantain slices.

Cook for about 15 minutes, then turn the slices.  Cook for another 10 minutes until brown.

Drizzle with the crema and cotija and heat for another 5 minutes.

Serve next to a nice steak or roast pork.

* If you can’t find plantains, look in the GOYA frozen food section for ripe plantains (also known as maduros)

** Or thin some sour cream with half-and-half

*** Or substitute grated feta cheese

I hope you’ll try out this recipe and also check out my new releases, especially if you love stories with chefs like I do!

For more of my recipes, please visit http://bit.ly/CooksTreat.

Never a Bride

At the Shore Series, Book 3

Emma never dreamed that the happily-ever-after would change her life. . .

But as her two best friends find love, Emma worries about what her future will bring. She has seen all too often what happens once husbands and children arrive. She puts on a brave face because she wants her buddies to be happy, but as a wedding planner, she has seen one too many marriages go south. Not to mention her parents' bitter divorce which has soured her on the idea of marriage for herself. She can't imagine ever finding a man who can bring her a forever kind of romance.

He's been in love with her forever and can't understand why she can't see it. . .

Carlo da Costa knows why Emma avoids relationships and yet he can't help but wonder how someone who puts such love and care into others' dreams can't allow herself to believe in the fairy tale. He sees the yearning on her face when she spends time with him and his big boisterous family and knows that deep inside, she wants the same thing. Carlo hopes that one day he can provide her with that because he's sure Emma holds the key to his heart in her hands.

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--TACO SALAD FROM MYSTERY AUTHOR MARILYN MEREDITH

Marilyn Meredith, who writes the RBPD mystery series as F.M. Meredith, is the author of more than forty published books. She once lived in a small beach town much like Rocky Bluff, and has many relatives and friends in law enforcement. Learn more about Marilyn and her books at her website and blog.

Kayla Makes Taco Salad

In the latest mystery of the Rocky Bluff mystery series, Bones in the Attic, teenager, Kayla Duvall makes a taco salad to serve to her father and his guest, his romantic interest, Chandra Taylor.

We have Taco Salad a lot at our house and it gets made many different ways depending on who decides to put it together, and what ingredients happen to be on hand.

The basic ingredients are:

Lettuce, shredded, Iceberg or Romaine

Tomatoes, cut up—or grape tomatoes.

1 can black olives

1 can kidney beans, black beans, or pinto beans. (My family prefers pinto beans)

Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

1 red onion, chopped

Tortilla or taco chips, crumbled into fairly large pieces.

1 lb. lean ground beef, cooked. (Could add taco seasoning when cooking.)

(Any kind of dressing, whatever your family prefers—or use taco sauce)

Mix it all together and top with sliced avocados if you like.

And you can have sour cream available to dollop on top. 

Best if eaten right away. 

When my grandson makes it, he always uses Thousand Island dressing.

My daughter-in-law likes to add chopped cilantro and use mango salsa for the dressing.

We have a houseful of family all the time and I love it. Makes for great times around the table.

Bones in the Attic 

In a small town like Rocky Bluff, personal and professional often overlap, so Detective Doug Milligan is not surprised when his daughter Beth is the one who informs him a body has been discovered.

What is surprising is that the body is in a long-abandoned home that Beth and other students are turning into a haunted house as a fund raiser. The city granted permission for the project as long as it was limited to the downstairs for safety reasons. But one student, Mike Patterson, couldn't resist the temptation to look in the attic.

Detective Milligan stepped carefully a trunk and peered inside. Only a musty unpleasant smell emanated from the contents, not the noxious decomposition odor he'd expected. The skeleton crammed inside was still clothed in the remnants of what may have been pajamas.

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--CRANBERRY BANANA ZUCCHINI BREAD

Last week I offered a recipe for Apricot Applesauce Zucchini Bread. Today I’ve altered the recipe, substituting bananas for the applesauce, cranberries for the apricots, and walnuts for the pecans.

Cranberry Banana Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

1 large egg

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour 

1/2  teaspoon baking powder

1/2  teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (from about 2 medium/large bananas)

1 cup coarsely grated zucchini, laid loosely in cup and not packed (don’t wring out)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 1 4” x 8” loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.

Soak cranberries in a bowl of water. Set aside.

To a large bowl, add the first six ingredients, whisking to combine.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to bowl, stirring to combine. 

Drain cranberries. Stir together the bananas, zucchini, cranberries, and pecans. Stir to combine with other ingredients.

Pour batter into loaf pan. Back 1 hr. or until top spring back.

Allow to cool before slicing and serving serving.

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--AUTHOR JOANNE GUIDOCCIO'S LAZY WOMAN'S SOUP

Today we welcome back author Joanne Guidoccio who writes cozy mysteries, paranormal romance, and inspirational literature to talk about her Gilda Greco Mystery series and share what she calls her Lazy Woman’s Soup recipe. Learn more about Joanne and her books at her website.

About the Gilda Greco Mystery Series

A cross between Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher, and Cher’s character in the movie  Moonstruck, protagonist Gilda Greco brings a unique perspective to the amateur female sleuth.

The teacher-turned-lottery winner returns to her hometown, only to find herself embroiled in a series of murder investigations. Before you start imaging thrillers with high stakes and police chases, pause and take a yoga breath. The three novels in the series—A Season for Killing Blondes, Too Many Women in the Room, and A Different Kind of Reunion—are cozy mysteries, written in the Agatha Christie tradition. All the crimes take place “off stage” with very few graphic details provided.

While the pace may be more relaxed than that of thrillers and police procedurals, there are no steaming cups of herbal teas, overstuffed chairs, or purring cats in these contemporary cozies. Prepare yourself for interfering relatives who don’t always respect boundaries, adult mean girls, deserving and undeserving men, multiple suspects, and lots of Italian food.

A Lazy Woman’s Soup

On one of my “sloth” days, I decided to create a puréed soup that would require the minimum of chopping and preparation time. I came up with this tasty concoction that has become my favorite go-to soup during the warmer months.

Yield: Approximately four one-cup servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 cups of frozen vegetables (I recommend California Style Mixed Vegetables)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

3 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth

1 cup water

2 cups loosely packed spinach leaves

1 cup of fresh parsley

Note: When I’m feeling extra slothful, I quarter the onion and halve the garlic cloves.

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic.

Add the frozen vegetables, Italian seasoning, and water. Blend for 5 to 8 minutes, or until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the broth. Increase the heat to medium high, and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and parsley. Cook for one minute.

Remove from heat and purée the soup in batches using a hand or immersion blender.

A Season for Killing Blondes

A Gilda Greco Mystery, Book 1

Hours before the opening of her career counseling practice, Gilda Greco discovers the dead body of golden girl Carrie Ann Godfrey, neatly arranged in the dumpster outside her office. Gilda’s life and budding career are stalled as Detective Carlo Fantin, her former high school crush, conducts the investigation.

When three more dead blondes turn up all brutally strangled and deposited near Gilda’s favorite haunts, she is pegged as a prime suspect for the murders. Frustrated by Carlo’s chilly detective persona and the mean girl antics of Carrie Ann’s meddling relatives, Gilda decides to launch her own investigation. She discovers a gaggle of suspects, among them a yoga instructor in need of anger management training, a lecherous photographer, and fourteen ex-boyfriends.

As the puzzle pieces fall into place, shocking revelations emerge, forcing Gilda to confront the envy and deceit she has long overlooked.

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