A very warm welcome today to Edith Maxwell. Remember her name, because you'll soon be adding her to your cozy reading list!
Speaking of Murder, a mystery featuring Quaker Linguistics professor Lauren
Rousseau, was published under Edith Maxwell’s pen name of Tace Baker in
September, 2012, by Barking Rain Press. You can find Tace at www.tacebaker.com, http://www.facebook.com/TaceBaker, and @tacebaker.
Edith Maxwell also writes the Local Foods Mystery series,
featuring organic farmer Cam Flaherty a Locavore Club, and murder in the
fields. A Tine to Live, a Tine to
Die will be published by Kensington Publishing in May, 2013. She has
also had short stories in two Level Best anthologies and elsewhere, and has one
forthcoming in the Fish Nets anthology. Edith blogs at www.edithmaxwell.com,
posts at www.facebook.com/EdithMaxwellAuthor, and is at @edithmaxwell.
And now, Edith!
For a change of pace this weekend
from turkey sandwiches and creative reuse of mashed potatoes, here's a scene
from my recently released traditional mystery, Speaking of Murder.
Lauren Rousseau twisted her ankle badly while out running and her Haitian-American
boyfriend Zac invited her to dinner.
“Okay, lady. Á
table,” Zac announced with a bow and a flourish. “Soup’s on.”
He helped me
move to a chair at the table. A tie-dyed West African tablecloth I had given
him covered the round table, centered with a cluster of so many red carnations
they threatened to spill out of the pewter pot that held them. Zac positioned
my injured foot on a pillow-topped chair. He served me a plate of aromatic
seafood and vegetables in sauce on a bed of rice, kissing me on the forehead
after delivering it to my place. He set a wooden bowl on the table. It held
salad greens glistening with olive oil topped with morsels of cherry tomatoes,
pears, and pecans.
“Here’s to
us,” Zac proposed, lifting his glass. “And to no more accidents.”
I lifted my
glass in return, nodded, and sipped. We ate in silence for a few minutes. The
food was hot, delicious, and spicy. Perfect for a night like this.
But what happens next changes the
mood drastically!
For the next time you want a
delicious seafood meal from warmer climes, here's Zac's Haitian recipe.
Pwason Nan Sòs
Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh
firm fish (sea bass, snapper, swordfish, or other)
2 limes
¼ tsp freshly
ground black pepper
1 ½ tsp salt
1 habanero
pepper – carefully remove membrane and seeds and then slice thinly (and don't
rub your eyes...)
1 Tbsp minced
scallions
½ tsp Dijon
mustard
1 ½ T apple
cider vinegar
¼ c white
onion shavings
¼ sliced
shallot
2 sprigs thyme
¼ c olive oil
6 garlic
cloves, peeled and minced
1 T tomato
paste dissolved in 1 c water
2 c kale,
washed and sliced thinly
1 sweet red
pepper, cut into 1/2”-squares
1. Rinse fish and
pat dry. Using a sharp knife score fish twice diagonally on each side, ¼ inch
deep.
2. Put in a
shallow dish, coat with juice of one lime, pepper, salt, habanero, scallion,
mustard, vinegar, onion, shallots, and thyme. Turn a couple of times to coat
evenly then cover with plastic wrap and marinate in a cool place for at least
an hour.
3. Heat oil in a
large non-stick pan on medium-high setting. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
Add kale and red pepper and saute for another 4 minutes.
4. Add the
diluted tomato paste and boil until no liquid remains, 10-15 minutes, stirring
frequently.
5. Wipe the fish
marinade off the fish and add the marinade (but not the fish). Strip the thyme
leaves from their sticks, discarding the sticks.
6. Continue to
cook for several minutes.
7. Mix in ½ c
water and reduce heat to medium.
8. Add fish and
cook covered until fish is cooked through, about 7 minutes per inch of
thickness.
9. Squeeze all
the juice from another lime over the fish and remove it carefully from the pan
to a plate.
10. Continue to
cook until most of the liquid has cooked off, then add the fish back in and
heat until warmed through.
11. Serve hot over
rice and wait for the rave reviews. Fried plantains or bananas on the side adds
a nice Caribbean touch.
This looks wonderfully exotic, Edith! And congratulations on your new series (plural)!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was, in fact, very tasty.
DeleteThis is such a lovely, light and health recipe. I think it may go on our "seven fishes" menu for Christmas Eve! Thank you for sharing it with us, Edith, and I must join Wendy with warm congratulations on your (three!) new mystery series. Enjoy the weekend and the coming holidays! ~ Cleo
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cleo! I think it would be a great addition to a Christmas Eve menu.
DeleteThis is a great healthy recipe. I am going to have to try this next week.
ReplyDeleteBabs Book Bistro
Hope you enjoy it, Babs Book Bistro, and the book, too!
DeleteThanks for joining us today, Edith. This dish sounds wonderful. Healthy, light, and undoubtedly full of flavor. It's on my list to try!
ReplyDelete~ Krista
Appreciate it, Krista. It is, in fact, full of flavor. And healthy, too, although it tastes very rich.
DeleteEdith, congrats on your new series. Food, glorious food! Love the ingredients in this dish, even though I can't pronounce the title. LOL Definitely will delight in this one. Thanks for coming to MLK!
ReplyDelete~Avery aka Daryl
Merci, Avery/Daryl. The words in Kriol are pretty much phonetic: pwa-sohn nahn sohce (think French: poisson en sauce).
ReplyDelete