Read Murder in Cottage #6 (Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) Online
Authors: Dianne Harman
Murder in Cottage #6 (Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (14 page)
There's a surprise following the
recipes.
JONAH'S MUD PIE
Ingredients:
1 ½ quarts of ice cream (I like
caramel or butter pecan)
½ cup Nabisco chocolate wafers, made
into crumbs
1/3 cup melted butter
9 oz. jar fudge sauce
¾ cup whipped cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Mix together butter and chocolate
cookie crumbs. Press into 9” pie plate to make a crust. Bake in oven for 8
minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack.
When crust is cool, spoon ice cream
into it and smooth with the back of a spoon. The ice cream layer should be
about 2 inches thick. Put in freezer for two hours or more. Take out of freezer
and spread the jar of room temperature fudge sauce over the ice cream. Return
to freezer for two hours or more. Take out of freezer and smooth whipped cream
on top. Put back in freezer and when ready to serve, remove from freezer, cut
into pie shaped wedges and serve.
PORK MEDALLIONS WITH WINE SAUCE
Ingredients:
1 large garlic clove
1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into ¾ inch
thick medallions
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup white or red wine (I’ve used
both – whatever is on hand)
¼ cup chicken broth
Directions:
Smash the garlic clove with the flat
side of a knife, remove papery covering, and roughly chop. Combine rosemary,
sage, and garlic on cutting board and finely chop. (If fresh rosemary and sage
aren’t available, you can use dry Italian seasoning.)
In a 12 inch skillet, heat 2 tbsp.
olive oil over high heat. While the oil heats up, season both sides of the
medallions with salt and pepper. Wait until a drop of water sizzles when
dropped in the oil, then place medallions in the pan in a single layer and cook
on each side for 1 ½ minutes. (Doesn’t seem long enough, but trust me, it is.)
Transfer the medallions to a plate to rest or put in a warming oven.
Add remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil to
the pan. Add garlic, herb mixture, white wine, chicken broth and any juices the
pork has released on the plate. Boil the mixture for 1 ½ minutes. Spoon the
sauce over the pork and serve. NOTE: I like to serve it over rice or noodles.
ONION BITES
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
½ cup finely chopped onion
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup firmly packed grated
Jarlsberg cheese
3 tbsp. dehydrated minced onions
3 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
2 large egg whites
¾ lb. challah bread (You can
substitute either Hawaiian or brioche bread) crusts removed and cut into ¾ inch
cubes
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in small
skillet over medium heat. Add fresh onion, salt, pepper, and cook about 4 minutes.
Put cream cheese, Jarlsberg, and
dehydrated onions in top of a double boiler set over water. Cook on low heat until
melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add onions, remaining 7
tablespoons of butter, and chives. Mix well.
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks
form. Fold ¼ of egg whites into cheese mixture and combine. Fold in remaining
egg whites. Dip bread cubes, one at a time, into cheese mixture and place on
parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake until puffs are golden brown, about 15
minutes.
NOTE: You can freeze the puffs on a
baking sheet and transfer to a container. Take from the freezer and bake as
directed, without thawing.
MEXICAN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
Ingredients:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly
chopped
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, roughly
chopped
4 oz. Mexican chocolate, roughly
chopped (I like Iberra)
2 eggs
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. Amaretto (optional)
Pinch of salt
4 strips of bacon, cooked and
crumbled
1 ½ cups heavy cream, heated to
boiling over medium heat
Directions:
Put all ingredients except cream and
bacon in blender and blend on high for 30 seconds. With blender running, pour
in hot cream and blend for 1 minute.
Pour mixture into individual serving
dishes. Refrigerate until set, about an hour. Sprinkle bacon on before serving
or let diners may help themselves.
HOT SAUSAGE GOODIES
Ingredients:
1 package Jimmy Dean hot sausage at
room temperature
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. sage
2 ½ cups Bisquick
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together and roll
into balls. Freeze on a cookie sheet. When frozen, bake for 25 minutes or can
be put into container until ready to bake. Keep frozen. NOTE: Sometimes I have
a dish of mustard out for dipping.
Here's an incredible book
that turned my life upside down, literally.
I wish I'd read it 40 years back. It
would have saved me a lot of heartache and made life so much easier. I've never
come across something this good in recent times, and boy do I read a lot. The
author (
http://www.vivekrajanvivek.com
) has been endorsed by
Brian Tracy and T Harv Eker.
The Best Book on
Money and
Success
That'll Take You to the Top
CHAPTER 3
- Plugging Massive Energy Leaks
CHAPTER 4
- Empty Yourself First
CHAPTER 5
- Resistance Explained
CHAPTER 6
- Sin, a Wretched Invention
CHAPTER
9 - Actionless Action - Act Without Acting
CHAPTER
10 - Mother's Special Recipe for Success (Reader's Favorite)
CHAPTER
11 - The Power behind a Choice or Decision
CHAPTER
12 - Why do some people never get what they want?
CHAPTER
13 - Be Very Selfish & Don't Forget the F Word
CHAPTER
14 - Reverse Engineering your Deepest Fear
CHAPTER
15 - Living in the Now & The Secret of a Billion Bits
A
New Beginning
It was the first week
of March and Spring was just around the corner, eager to burst forth and bless
everyone with life and warmth once more. A beaming sun and blue skies dotted
with white fluffy clouds greeted all those who had assembled. Smiles abounded,
and even those who were grouchy couldn't help flashing their pearly or not so
pearly whites.
The organization
catered to those who needed someone "to listen" to them in their
moment of crises, and in the long run steer them away, tactfully, from committing
suicide. It had been in existence for decades, tucked away in a quaint house in
a leafy neighborhood in the suburbs. What these callers didn't realize was that
loneliness was killing them, slowly and softly.
Those who called the
helpline came from all walks of life and over the decades the clientele
included shop owners, taxi-drivers, cashiers, celebrities, office clerks, fast
food workers, engineers, nurses, waiters, waitresses, CEO's, customer service
reps, truckers, actors, actresses, loaders, baggage handlers, authors,
directors, producers, janitors, warehouse workers, journalists, secretaries,
bookkeepers, teachers, maids, pilots, maintenance people, lawyers, hoteliers,
government officials, pimps, hookers, bankers, ex-convicts etc.
Twice a year the
organization would hold a get-together where the Chairman would host a feast
for the volunteers who were educated, compassionate, eclectic, enthusiastic and
inspiring. The Chairman was a wise and generous man revered for his wisdom,
both, from a monetary and spiritual angle. He wanted to share his secrets,
"real secrets of life", with them.
There are principles
and then there are tactics or techniques. Principles are few and far in-between
whereas tactics range in the hundreds or thousands. He wanted to share his
life-transforming principles (and a few techniques), the best of the best, with
these good Samaritans; they deserved it. The possibilities were limitless once
the foundation was laid.
The chairman had a
handsome forehead, deep-set eyes, lush eyebrows, an aquiline nose and a head
covered with silvery-white hair. The volunteers could invite their family and
friends, and the event was always a memorable one.
The post lunch session
was the most precious part of the day. By then everyone had melted into each
other and the gathering resembled one big, complete, happy family. The Q&A
session would begin where they could ask the Chairman absolutely anything. No
topic was deemed inappropriate or juvenile, and they were free to go in any
direction. The volunteers came from all walks of life and despite vast
differences, both economic and social, they all shared a common thirst for
love, money and happiness. Yet, at times, the intensity of that thirst seemed
to get in the way of everything they yearned for.
What
do you want?
“So what's the first
question going to be?” asked the chairman, as he smiled magnanimously.
“How do we make money?
Lots of it?” asked one man.
“Yeah, that's a good
one. We’re not happy living like this," said an older man. "A fat
bank balance is always welcome.”
“Anything else other
than money?” asked the chairman, with a twinkle in his eye.
“Ooh, ooh, and
happiness at all times,” said a young woman.
“Yeah, and a stress
free life,” said an elderly lady.
“All three if
possible,” said one girl.
“That would be asking
for too much, I guess,” said a young guy.
“So money, happiness
and a stress free life are your top three wishes for the year. That’s doable,
although there are far more interesting challenges in life,” said the chairman.
“We’ve had enough
challenges. There's so much pain and suffering even amongst the educated. A few
on top shittin' on the rest of us,” said a man, in a slightly frustrated tone.
“That’s understandable,
so let’s start with money,” said the chairman. "Before we start, wouldn't
it be nice to know the personality traits that the rich possess?"
"We already know
that. They're smart and intelligent and come from rich backgrounds…," an
impetuous young man retorted before he was cut off by an older man.
"We're here to
listen and learn from him. I think there's more to it than meets the eye. Yes,
we'd like to know the personality traits the rich possess," said the old
man, sounding a little irritated.
"They're not
smart, not intelligent, not rich, not lucky, not talented, not beautiful, not
privileged, not confident, not achievers, not the most popular, not likely to
succeed, been laughed at the most and have failed more than most," said
the chairman, much to the astonishment of all those gathered.
"That gives us so
much hope," said a young man. "You just described me perfectly."
"That means you'll
be rich, happy and stress free," a middle aged woman chimed in.
All of a sudden the
mood changed. There might be a chance after all, everyone thought. Something
deep within them stirred. Really? Was it really true that most rich people came
from such wretched backgrounds? Wow, who would have thought?
"If that's the
case then what about the things we see on TV and read in the papers?"
asked a young woman, still not convinced.
"The media gives
people what they want. If they portrayed boring people who wore boring clothes
and drove old, ugly cars and lived in modest homes then no one would watch the
TV or read the papers anymore," said the chairman.