Quick and Easy Eggplant Casserole

Krista had a funny post last week about neighbors sneaking paper bags full of garden veggies onto doorsteps.

I laughed because it rang true for me. I can’t even escape paper bags from my own family. I was leaving from a quick visit with my mother and she shoved a bag into my hands. “Take this,” she said.

“What is it?” I was a little anxious.

“Eggplant.”

“It’s all eggplant? This huge bag? Mama, I can’t eat that much eggplant!”

“Just take it.”

So…I ended up with a bunch of eggplant. :) Guess what my recipe is for today?

This is probably the easiest recipe for eggplant out there. Because these veggies were so young and tender, I didn’t even peel the eggplants…but if yours have tougher skin, feel free to.

I also substituted crushed cheese crackers for the bread crumbs. I can’t really explain why….but it was very tasty. :)

Easy Eggplant Casserole

1 medium eggplant, sliced and peeled
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 egg
1 C grated cheese
1 t salt
dash of pepper
2 T melted butter
1 C bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil sliced eggplant and onion in water until tender. Drain and add egg, cheese, salt, and pepper. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Combine bread crumbs and butter and sprinkle mixture on top of casserole. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

What do you do with your eggplant? :)

Riley/Elizabeth
Finger Lickin’ Dead (Riley Adams)
Progressive Dinner Deadly ($2.99 on Kindle—Elizabeth Craig)

Fresh Baked Doughnut Muffins and a Chance to Win $25 in Books from Cleo Coyle

Ever since Roast Mortem first hit the shelves in hardback last year, fans have asked me to post this doughnut muffin recipe. Well, today is the day! But first two quick contest announcements…

Cleo Coyle, who does not know
the muffin man, is author
of the Coffeehouse
 Mysteries

Dru, a follower of this blog, is also a dedicated book reviewer. Mysteries are her specialty, and she’s running a contest this week. Leave a comment on her new review post, and you’ll be entered to win a signed copy of Murder by Mocha. 

BTW, Dru's blog is a great one to follow, with authors who regularly post creative entries. Click here to jump there and have fun! (If you're wondering what Dru said about Mocha, here's a quote I think any writer would be proud to hear. Thank you, Dru...)

Win a signed copy
at Dru's blog by
clicking here.

"This wonderful story boasts a brilliant cast, a great setting, tantalizing conversation and recipes that will whet your appetite...." 

Fresh Fiction is also running a Coffeehouse contest. Prizes are spiffy and include a $25.00 gift card to your favorite online bookstore; a Gimme Coffee Latte Cup and Saucer (made in Italy); and signed copies of my newly released culinary mysteries (Murder by Mocha and Roast Mortem). Click here to jump there, and good luck!

And now…

Let's Eat!

(at least with our eyes...) 

CLEO COYLE’S

COFFEE SHOP
DOUGHNUT MUFFINS

Photos (c) Alice Alfonsi who writes as Cleo Coyle in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. All rights reserved.


Tender and sweet, these muffins taste like old-fashioned cake doughnuts, the kind you might order at a diner counter with a hot, fresh cuppa joe. Clare, my amateur crime-solver, bakes them up one morning to calm her nerves after a ruthless firebug torches her friend's cafe. "The coffee shop arsonist" is only getting started, but then so is Clare Cosi....

You will find this recipe, along with many others, in the recipe section of my culinary mystery Roast Mortem, now a national bestseller in paperback. 

Makes 12 standard-size muffins (Note: The muffins make look big in the photos, but these babies were made with my regular, old muffin pans.)

For the batter:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten with fork

1 cup whole milk 

2-½ cups all-purpose flour

2-½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the cinnamon-sugar topping:

½ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Step 1—Prep your oven and pan: First preheat your oven to 350° F. This recipe bakes up nice, coffee shop-sized muffins with generous tops, so lightly spray the tops of your muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. This will prevent the tops from sticking to the pan. Line the muffin cups with paper holders.

Step 2—Make the batter: Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the eggs and milk and continue mixing. Stop the mixer. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg and mix only enough to combine ingredients. Batter will be thick. Do not over mix at this stage or you will produce gluten in the batter and toughen the muffins.

Step 3—Bake: Using two tablespoons (one to scoop, the other to scrape in the thick batter), fill each cup to the top, dividing any remaining batter among the 12 cups.

Bake for 20-25 min­utes, or until the muffin tops spring back lightly when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. After a few minutes out of the oven, remove muffins from the pan and cool on a wire rack. (Muffins that remain long in a hot pan may end up steaming, and the bottoms may become tough.)

Step 4—Finish with cinnamon-sugar topping: Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Melt the butter, brush it lightly over the muffin tops...

Roll the buttery tops in the bowl of cinnamon-sugar, and… 

Eat with joy!

Cleo Coyle, author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries

To get more of my recipes, win free coffee,
or learn about my books, visit my online
coffeehouse by  clicking here.

See more of the recipes featured in
Roast Mortem by clicking here.

“Coyle's strong 9th coffeehouse mystery pays tribute to New York City firefighters.…Coyle even provides an appendix of useful tips and tempting recipes.” ~ Publishers Weekly 

A Reviewer's Pick: "Favorite Book of the Year"
~ Bookreporter.com  


“Fast pacing and clever dialogue…a fantastic mystery.” 4-1/2 stars ~ RT Book Reviews 

Now a National Mystery
Bestseller in Paperback! 

To visit Amazon's Roast Mortem page, click here. 

To visit Barnes & Noble's page click here.

Or try your favorite bookseller.

Life in the Country

Virginia is usually a fairly calm state where weather is concerned, but as you know, we were hit by a one-two punch last week with an earthquake and a hurricane.  I live in the mountains in the western part of the state, where neither impacted us.


Normally one of the lovely things about
country life is the interaction with nature.  It's not unusual to see wild turkeys strolling through the yard or deer helping themselves to fallen apples.  I had to include this photo of a luna moth that I saw in the spring.  It didn't mind me getting up close and personal with my camera.



But this week I was having my own little uncomfortable moments with nature that Mary Jane compared to a horror movie. I'm hoping locusts aren't next.



First I found a baby snake winding through my house at warp speed.  I grabbed the closest thing, which happened to be a dog dish, and tossed it over the snake.  Thankfully, my aim wasn't too bad for someone in a panic.  Then I finally found a good use for the exercise weights that I'm always
tripping over -- they went into the dog dish to weigh it down.  I'll admit that I had a somewhat sleepless night knowing that the snake was there.

A neighbor came over to help me in the morning.  My first fear was that it would get away, and I wouldn't know where it was.  My second fear was that we would lift the bowl, and it wouldn't be there.

All turned out fine. The snake was still under the dish and has been removed from the premises.

To be on the safe side, I went out to buy propane for the grill -- what with the hurricane coming and all.  Better to be prepared in case we should lose electricity. Believe it or not, I haven't had a chance to grill at all this summer so I was looking forward to it.

But when I lifted the cover off the grill, wasps had moved in.  Yikes -- part two of the horror show.  No one was stung because I left them alone, which is why my recipe today was cooked on a pan instead of grilled as intended.

An early morning raid on the wasp compound rescued the grill from the wasp encampment, and I hope to actually use it sometime soon!

There must be something about summertime and grilling that makes me reach for bourbon.  I posted a recipe with a bourbon marinade last summer, too.  This one differs by being a bit simpler and not having a sauce.  It's a nice choice for busy days because you can make everything ahead of time and grill the meat when you're ready.

Bourbon Pork Medallions

1 pork tenderloin
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
pepper to taste
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

2 peaches, diced
1/4 Vidalia onion, diced
1 teaspoon lemon juice


Slice the pork tenderloin into 3/4 inch rounds.  Combine all the other ingredients in a food storage bag, and mix well.  Slide the pork rounds in, press out the excess air and close.  Marinate about four hours.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan.  Add the pork tenderloin and brown on each side, cooking until just cooked through.  (Do not overcook or they will become tough.)  These can also be cooked on the grill.

Toss the peaches, onion, and lemon juice together and serve on the side. Serves 3-4.

Easy Blueberry French Toast

As I mentioned Wednesday, this was a back-to-school week for my children.

Everything seemed to go pretty well. Oh, I still have a few specific school supplies that I need to get (notebooks in specific colors for particular classes, etc. And wide packing tape? Not sure what’s going on in that high school health class…) but I’m feeling like the family is getting back into the swing of things.

I decided to make something sweet as a treat for my children for surviving the first couple of days of school. And French toast is so easy! It tastes like more work went into it than it did.

Krista posted a delicious strawberry French toast a few weeks ago, Avery made an amazing gluten-free variety of French toast in July, and MJ had French toast as part of a delicious brunch in April. And now, here’s a quick and easy blueberry French toast.

Quick Blueberry French Toast

21 oz. can of blueberry pie filling
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 t vanilla
10 slices bread
2 T melted butter or margarine
1 T sugar
1/8 t ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9x2 dish. Spoon pie filling into dish. Beat eggs, milk, and vanilla together. Dip sliced bread into egg mixture for about a minute. Place 2 rows of slightly overlapping bread on top of the pie filling. Brush top of the bread with melted butter, then sprinkle the tops with sugar and cinnamon. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes.

Enjoy!

Riley/Elizabeth
Delicious and Suspicious (Riley Adams)
Finger Lickin’ Dead—June 7 (book 2 of the Memphis BBQ series!) It’s here! Download it on Kindle: http://amzn.to/kh7MAp
Mass market paperback: http://amzn.to/lfUE2N

Tostadas con Papas

It's that time of year again ... sleepy little Denton, Texas, hums with crowds of new students, parking becomes a nightmare once again, and every trip across the street involves a silent pact with the traffic gods (lest you be run over by some 18-year-old trying to drink a mocha with one hand while texting with the other, having no clue that she's going the wrong way down a one-way street).

Yep, school has started.  So my week has been filled with graduate student orientation, new student convocation, an open house for my new academic building, last-minute revisions to syllabi, meeting with teaching assistants, attending workshops on using classroom tech ... you get the idea.



The result is that Mr. Wendy and I are eating the quickest meals we possibly can.  But I cannot stand just ordering in every night or--gasp--eating straight convenience foods (don't get me wrong:  I have a long menage a trois with cheese puffs and Little Debbie cakes, but they don't cut it for dinner).

Thursday night, faced with the prospect of heading back into the wilds of crazy, new-student traffic jams or making do with what was in our pantry, we opted for the latter.  And the Tostadas con Papas were born ... I have to say, for something impromptu, they turned out pretty dang good.

And, for the record, we repeated the meal on Friday night, subbing Misa Ramirez's Spanish rice for the potatoes.  Equally delish.

What's your go-to, don't-have-time-to-shop meal?  Until the kids stop coming to classes (about week four), we'll have many of these nights of scrounging ...

Tostadas con Papas

pre-made tostada shells (or corn tortillas toasted in the oven)
canned refried beans
about a pound (ish?) new potatoes
1 tsp. salt-free southwest seasoning + 1/2 tsp. salt
OR  1 - 1 1/2 tsp. taco seasoning
2 Tbs. canola oil
shredded cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes (or halved grape or cherry tomatoes)

Scrub the potatoes and put them in a lidded casserole.  Poke holes in the potatoes with a fork.  Add about an inch of water to the casserole, cover, and microwave on high 12-15 minutes (until potatoes are fork tender).  Drain the potatoes and cut into a 1/2 inch dice.

Heat the oil on medium high in a large skillet.  Add the potatoes and sprinkle with seasoning.  Cook, turning occasionally, until brown (about 10 minutes).

Preheat oven to 350.  Smear the tostada shells with refried beans and heat (on a cookie sheet) for about 3-5 minutes.

Top the tostada shells with potatoes, tomatoes, cheese, and lettuce.  Add a little sour cream and/or taco sauce if you're so inclined.

Yum!

~~~~~~

Wendy is the author of the Mysteries a la Mode. Visit her on the web or on Facebook.

Apple Custard Cake

by Sheila Connolly

I'm a sucker for old cookbooks.  You know, those tattered, stained ones you find at flea markets and yard sales for a dollar each.  They offer wonderful insights into how people used to eat, and, indirectly, what products were available.  Among my favorites are:

How to Cook Casserole Dishes, by Marion H. Neil (1912), which the author opens with the statement, "There is no doubt that the fashion of cooking in casseroles has come to stay in this country."  You think?  In the rest of the 200+ page book the author managed to put just about anything you can imagine in a casserole format–the first picture includes a skinned rabbit.

Mary Arnold's The Century Cook Book (1896), which in addition to recipes includes detailed instructions on etiquette and presentation and offers chapters on "Cooking as a Pleasure and an Accomplishment" and "To Train a Green Cook" (the frontispiece shows a table set for fourteen with a lace tablecloth).

The Settlement Cookbook (23^rd edition, 1940) by Mrs. Simon Kander (she gets an author photo up front) which includes on the cover "The way to a man's heart".  This is a well-organized book, with alphabetical tabs and multiple indexes.  

But recently in a prowl in a local antique store I came upon a December 1914 copy of American Cookery (formerly The Boston Cooking-School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economics).  Two things intrigued me: first, the advertisements, many of which were for products that are still available, and that I have in my own pantry: Cream of Wheat, Crisco, Carnation Milk, Knox Gelatine, and Ivory Soap, to name a few.  (I could go on, but this is about food).

The second thing that I found interesting was an article titled "Censoring the Christmas Dinner."  It's told as a story, in which Mrs. John Smith, married to the "American John Smith", has declared war on foreign food products.  The writer, Stella Burke May, goes on to say, "the Smith household was being constantly menaced by the air fleet of Imported Products...which has dropped a High-Cost-of-Living bomb."  Remember that the First World War had just begun in July of that year, although the US was not yet part of it.  In any event, Mrs. Smith, presumably for both patriotic and economic reasons, decides to eliminate all foreign elements from her Christmas Dinner menu, using only products grown or produced in the US (she drew from a surprisingly broad geographic range, from California to Florida, but she had to fudge a bit to include Brazilian coffee).

Alas, Mrs. May did not include any recipes. But since I am always on the lookout for new (to me) apple recipes, I did find an interesting one in another article by Janet M. Hill (who just happened to be the editor of the magazine, and who contributed multiple articles).

Let me note that Janet, while provided the recipes, didn't both to talk about pesky details like oven temperature or cooking time, so I had to make some educated guesses.  And the cake pan she suggested–six by twelve inches–is not a modern size.  I found that this recipe fits nicely into a nine-inch square pan.

Apple Custard Cake

Cake:

1 3/4 cups flour

½ tsp salt

4 level tsp baking powder

½ cup sugar

1/4 cup (½ stick) butter

1 egg

1 cup milk

3 apples

3 Tblsp currants

sugar for sprinkling (about 1/4 cup)

Custard:

2 Tblsp butter, softened

1 egg, well beaten

3 Tblsp sugar

½ cup milk

½ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter the baking pan.  Sift together the dry ingredients for the cake.  Work in the butter with two knives/a pastry cutter/a food processor.  Beat the egg lightly and stir it into the batter along with the milk.

Peel and core the apples and slice them thinly.  Lay them on the cake batter in rows (narrow edge down).  Strew the currants over the apples and sprinkle with sugar.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.

While the cake is baking, make the custard.  Beat the egg. Cream the butter, then beat in the sugar, then the beaten egg, the milk, and the vanilla.

When the cake is set but not browned, open the oven and pull out the rack with the cake on it (Janet says, do not remove the cake from the oven) and pour the custard over it.  Return the cake to the oven and finish baking, for another 15-20 minutes.  The cake will be done when the custard layer is lightly browned.

Confession: I tried this recipe according to Janet Hill's rather vague instructions, and the result may be better suited to 1914 tastes than to ours:  it was doughy and not very sweet.  I made some changes, and my version produces an almost puddingy texture.  It also makes a difference what kind of apples you use.  I'd recommend a fairly soft apple, like a Macintosh or a Golden Delicious (the latter holds its shape well in cooking).

I almost recommended cooking this at a higher temperature, but I'm not sure the apples would cook through before the batter did.  Feel free to experiement–and report back!

Winner of Lost and Fondue

Liz V.

You won the copy of Lost and Fondue! Congrats.

Contact me at avery@averyaames.com and give me your info so I can send you your copy!

Best

~Avery

BBQ Artichokes & Parmesan

It's still barbecue season and it's still artichoke season. What a perfect combo.

For me, at least.

You all know by now that I love barbecue. I haven't been quiet about it. We're hitting the 100 degree mark in Los Angeles right now, so barbecue is one of the best ways to keep the house cool. No ovens on.

The great thing about artichokes is you can make them one to two days ahead, keep in the refrigerator, and then grill when ready.

Artichoke Trivia:


Ancient Greeks and Romans considered artichokes a delicacy and an aphrodisiac. 


The Roman naturalist Pliny called the artichoke "one of the earth’s monstrosities."


They were first written about in 371-287 B.C.,noted in the writings of Theophrastus.


Catherine de Medici (in 1500's) who was married to King Henry 11 (at the age of 14!)  is credited with making the artichoke famous: She was heard saying, "If one of us had eaten artichokes, we would have been pointed out on the street. Today young women are more forward than pages at the court."


Martha Washington's "Booke of Cookery" has a recipe entitled "To Make Hartichoak Pie."


More info than you wanted to know, right?


But artichokes have been around for ages and will continue to be, because they are now seen as a delicacy...these hard, almost angry looking plants that resemble cacti.


But they're easy to cook. I learned this method from a French chef at the restaurant where my husband proposed.

Perfect Artichokes

Bring a large pot of water to boil (12 cup or more). Squeeze in one lemon and add one teaspoon salt. [The lemon is to help the artichoke retain their color.]


Trim the stems from 2-4 large artichokes (3" in diameter). First cut off the butt end. Then trim off the hard and likely damaged outer leaves. I usually cut off 6-8 leaves. 


Next, trim off the upper thorny edges. I use a serrated knife. That seems to get through the hard flesh of the artichoke the easiest.


Lastly, fill the artichokes with water and then turn upside down to drain. This way you ensure that  any unfriendly critters will find their way into the sink. 




When the water is boiling, carefully set in the artichokes. They will bob and float. That's okay. Put on a lid and set the timer for 25 minutes. Pour off the water and let artichokes steam for 5 for more minutes.  Drain the artichokes, tips down, and cool.


These may be made 2 days ahead. 


When ready to barbecue, bring artichokes to room temperature. Cut the artichokes in half, remove the fine leaves and "hair" of the artichoke by using the tip of a knife. It will look like you've scooped out the artichoke.


Prepare your barbecue, setting it on high. [If using briquets, you want them hot!]


Baste the artichokes well with olive oil on all sides.  Set them on the barbecue round back side down first, after 1 minute, flip them to the flat (hollowed-out) side and grill for 3-4 minutes.


When ready to serve, sprinkle with lots and lots of Paremsan. It melts immediately. You can serve with drawn butter or a little more oil for dipping.

Enjoy!


P.S.

This is a perfect Labor Day side dish. Say cheese!

GIVEAWAY NEWS

I'm having a giveaway of LOST AND FONDUE on Goodreads. If any of you are participating there, please go to your account, click on "explore", click on giveaway, search for LOST AND FONDUE or my name, and enter.

And I'll give away one MORE book to one of you today, if you mention right here on today's post that you're going to enter the Goodreads giveaway.

Good reading to all.

* * * * * * **

 

BOOKSELLERS LINK

Quick and Easy Back to School Cookies

It’s back to school time here. My kids have their first day back…tomorrow.

And one of my babies is going into high school! How did this happen?! Time has flown by and I didn’t believe any of those people who told me it would. The days are long and the years are short. :)

I’m planning on having a little first-day-of-school debriefing tomorrow. But I have to be subtle with it or else the children will shut up like clams! What better way to gently find out information about their days than by providing them with a little milk and cookies?

Here are the cookies I’m making. These cookies aren’t just perfect for back to school, they’re actually wonderful before holidays…because you shut the oven off and leave the cookies in there for hours.

Easy Drop Cookies

2 egg whites, beaten
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients and drop by teaspoons on foil-covered baking sheet. Put cookies in the oven and turn the oven off. Let the cookies stay in overnight or for five hours.

Unfortunately, my cookies hadn’t quite stayed in the cold oven long enough, but I needed to take them out and take a picture before I turned in for bed! Hope it’ll give you an idea. They’re very tasty! :)

Riley/Elizabeth
Delicious and Suspicious (Riley Adams)
Finger Lickin’ Dead—June 7 (book 2 of the Memphis BBQ series!) It’s here! Download it on Kindle: http://amzn.to/kh7MAp
Mass market paperback: http://amzn.to/lfUE2N

Former Mystery Bookstore Owner Reviews Murder by Mocha and Its Guinness Mole Mashup

"While I am sure many people will file this as a

cozy, in fact, Cleo writes in a fast paced manor, plenty of action, plenty of suspense and drama and just enough whimsy to lighten the mood. Think early Lawrence Block has coffee with Donald Westlake and the best of both pops out."

~ Dave Scott,
mystery bookstore owner
turned fervent foodie blogger,
on Murder by Mocha

Many of you already know Dave. He has a passion for cooking, food, and foodie blogging, and he often comments on our posts. But did you know he once owned a mystery bookstore? 

This is just one reason why we are always delighted when Dave takes the time to review our culinary mysteries. Sometimes, if we're lucky, Dave will even whip up a recipe or two from our published books. 

That's what he did yesterday with my new Coffeehouse Mystery MURDER BY MOCHA. That's why I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled post to entice you over to Dave's online Kitchen and check out his fun, funny, and frank review, which includes a review of the book's...

CHICKEN MOLE WITH 

GUINNESS STOUT

Dave cooks up an adaptation of my original recipe, which blends Mexican, Italian, and Irish flavors. "What?" I hear you gasping. "You cooked a mole mashup?!" Indeed, I did...

My series has always carried the theme of blending, including blending cultures, families, and flavors. The fictional approach itself is a hybrid, and the coffeehouse is named Village Blend.  If you've read Murder by Mocha, you also know that "blending in" is even a key to the murder mystery plot.    

Comment on Dave's Post
to Win the Book!


Heads up - Dave is also giving away a copy of my (now official) bestselling hardcover. Read his post to learn the "magic words" you need to say in the comment, and you are entered for his drawing later this week. 

Click here to jump there, 

get the recipe, read the review,
and maybe win a book.  

Have a great time
with Dave!

A few more links "To Go"...

$25.00 Online Bookstore 
Gift Card Contest!

YES! This is a sweet contest for readers. Jump to Fresh Fiction.com's Murder by Mocha contest by CLICKING HERE. Prize package includes $25.00 gift card to your favorite online bookstore. (Entering is free and easy.)

If you missed my Chocolate-Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies post, this past Sunday, you can get the recipe by clicking here. (I've replied to comments by now and thank you for your patience with me on that!)

The post also tells you about my new audio books, now in production by AudioGo (BBC America Audiobooks) for release to iTunes, audible.com, and other outlets. I'll post more about this again soon.

Finally, if you own Murder by Mocha (or are considering picking it up), I put together a free guide for you on the book's 18 featured recipes, including the No-bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites that you see pictured below. 

If you print this PDF document by clicking here, you can then tuck it into your copy of my book and, voila, you have an illustrated recipe section to help you see what the finished recipes should look like...

Click here to download my illustrated
guide to Murder by Mocha's recipe section. This doc is a PDF with several color photos, it may take a moment to load.
Please be patient.

One last thing... 

(I know, I said "finally" already, but this really is the last one.) For our mystery lovers, you have got to see these Nancy Drew earrings. They were designed by a frequent follower of this blog...

Pattie Tierney, 

these are fantastic!

To read Pattie's profile and learn how you can get these for your own little lobes, click this link: http://www.etsy.com/people/ptierneydesigns?ref=ls_profile

OK. Now I'm done.

Eat (and read) 

with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle, author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries

To get more of my recipes,
sign up to win free coffee or
learn more about my two national
bestselling mystery series,
visit my online coffeehouse at...

CoffeehouseMystery.com