Saturday, June 1, 2013

Welcome, Edith Maxwell!


Many of us at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen have known Edith for quite a long time. She has had other books published, but we've been waiting with excitement for her foodie mystery, A TINE TO LIVE, A TINE TO DIE, which was just released on Tuesday. We're all wishing her much luck with her new series!

And now, Edith!




Thanks so much for having me over to the Kitchen, ladies. It's one of my favorite – and most useful – blogs! I'm so excited about my new Local Foods Mysteries series finally hitting the bookshelves and e-readers. Long time ago and a few miles away, I co-owned and operated a small certified-organic farm, so it was an easy stretch to write a cozy mystery based on an organic farmer, a nutty group of locavores, and locally sourced murder. I never found a body in the hoophouse, of course, but it's been fun to construct a fictional version of the world I lived in for some years when my children were small and life was simpler.

In A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die, former software engineer Cameron Flaherty is just beginning her first season as an organic farmer. A group of local foods enthusiasts are her some of her customers, but even they need help knowing how to use the produce they'll find in their share every week. Cam decides to hand out a couple of recipes every week that incorporate at least some of the vegetables in that week's allotment.


And since the book opens on June 1, you can make this quiche right now (okay, you can make it year round). Feel free to substitute regular minced garlic or regular scallions for the spring garlic if you can't find any, or add other seasonal vegetables you like. Added benefit? It's tasty, healthy, vegetarian, and includes no wheat!

Cam's Herbed 

Spring-Garlic Quiche


Preheat oven to 375° F

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups cooked medium- or short-grain brown rice
3 eggs
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 cup milk (use any type from whole to non-fat)
2 stalks spring garlic (garlic scallions)
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely minced
1 Tbsp fresh garlic chives, finely minced
1 Tbsp fresh basil, finely minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.     Use your clean fingers dipped in water to press the rice into a glass pie dish, about 1/4 inch thick. Make sure you press it all the way up the sides.

2.     Remove the rough outer leaves of the spring garlic. Chop the white section and as much of the green as is tender.

3.     In a small mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork.
4.     Add the rest of the ingredients and blend with a fork.
5.     Pour the mixture into the pie crust.

6.     Bake in a preheated oven until golden brown and a knife comes out clean in the center, about 35-40 minutes.
7.     Let cool ten minutes before serving. Can also serve at room temperature.



You can use a conventional pastry (non-sweet) pie crust if you prefer, and swap in whatever fresh    herbs and vegetables you like. With larger chunks, like broccoli florets, reduce the milk by ½ cup.





Edith  Maxwell writes the  Local Foods Mysteries.  A TINE TO    LIVE, A TINE TO DIE introduces geek-turned-organic farmer Cam Flaherty, a colorful Locavore Club, and locally sourced murder. Edith once owned and operated the smallest certified-organic farm in Essex County, Massachusetts.

Tace Baker, Edith Maxwell's pseudonym, is the author of SPEAKING OF MURDER (Barking Rain Press, Sept 2012) featuring Quaker linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau. Edith holds a PhD in linguistics and is a long-time member of the Society of Friends.

Edith has also published short crime fiction, most recently in the Fish Nets anthology and in Thin Ice from Level Best Books.

A mother and technical writer, Edith lives north of Boston with her beau, three cats, and a small organic garden.

www.edithmaxwell.com

16 comments:

  1. Welcome, Edith Maxwell. Lovely to have you to the Kitchen today, too. Anything garlic for me! YUM!!! Good luck with your new series. What fun to write about what you really do know. :)

    Daryl / Avery

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    1. Thanks so much Daryl! It is a really fun series to write.

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  2. The brown rice crust is brilliant, Edith, and I can't wait to try your recipe. Thanks for visiting us in the Kitchen today and big congrats on the launch of your new series. The reviews are wonderful, and with your personal experience as an organic farmer, I know it will be a delicious read. Cheers and have a sweet release week!

    ~ Cleo

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    1. Thank you, Cleo! I love the brown rice crust - it gets crunchy at the edges and is fat-free in the best of ways (that is, no fat!).

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  3. It sounds great; both the recipe and the book! I can't wait til my farmer's market opens for the season. Some are already going-but the one I can walk to doesn't open til July. I love eating local-and am glad I live near great farmland including orchards, vineyards, and cows!

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  4. Katreader, thanks for stopping by. You are lucky to be able to walk to a market, and to live near farmland!

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  5. I have green onions, sugar pod peas, carrots, tomatoes, banana and bell peppers, and flat leaf parsley growing in my garden right now. I think I'll experiment with some of these in the quiche. The rice crust is a wonderful idea!

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    1. Sounds great, Jackie! Thanks for visiting.

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    2. Jackie where in the world do you live? we're all green with envy!

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  6. Thanks for joining us, Edith. I have to tell you that I've never heard of a pie crust made out of rice! Very clever, indeed!

    Best wishes for a hugely successful release!

    ~Krista

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    1. Krista, thank you! I think it was my Buddhist sister, Jannie, who taught me that crust. I suppose you cold try white rice, but it might not stand up so well. And I really love the nutty flavor of short-grain (or medium-grain) brown rice.

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  7. And Edith--congrats on the book! I love the rice crust too--did you grease the pan?

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    1. Thank you, Lucy/Roberta! No, if you grease the pie pan I don't think you'd be able to get the rice to stick. I haven't had a problem of it cooking onto the dish. (I just finished reading Topped Chef a few minutes ago on Old Orchard Beach! Loved it.)

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  8. I concur--the rice crust is a great idea.

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