Sunday, April 3, 2016

Welcome guest Edith Maxwell with book #giveaway!

Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and the Local Foods Mysteries, the Country Store Mysteries (as Maddie Day), and the Lauren Rousseau Mysteries (as Tace Baker), as well as award-winning short crime fiction. Her short story, “A Questionable Death,” is nominated for a 2016 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. The tale features the 1888 setting and characters from her Quaker Midwife Mysteries series, which debuts with Delivering the Truth on April 8.
A former childbirth educator, farmer, and technical writer, Maxwell is Vice-President of Sisters in Crime New England and Clerk of Amesbury Friends Meeting. She lives north of Boston with her beau and three cats, and blogs with the other Wicked Cozy Authors. You can find her on Facebook, twitter @edithmaxwell, Pinterest, and at her web site, edithmaxwell.com.

Take it away, Edith!

White Stew of Chicken, 1880
I’m so pleased to be back on Mystery Lovers Kitchen, and equally excited that my first Quaker Midwife Mystery releases April 8. Midwife Rose Carroll lives with her late sister’s children and their father in a modest home in 1888. Rose and her eldest niece, Faith, bear the burden of cooking the meals when Rose isn’t out delivering babies and Faith isn’t at her job in the textile mill down the street. I’m giving away a copy of Delivering the Truth to one commenter here.
This recipe is a hearty dish Rose and Faith might have prepared. It’s loosely adapted from a recipe taken from old Willimantic/Windham, CT newspapers that I found here: http://www.ctgenweb.org/county/cowindham/records/other/recipes1800s.htm\

White Stew of Chicken
Serves six or more.
Ingredients:

1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 large carrot (or 2 small), scraped and cut into one-inch pieces
2 potatoes, in one-inch cubes
1 tsp salt
3 cloves
6 peppercorns
1 whole habanero pepper (Edith’s addition)
2 sage leaves, chopped
Cooking oil
1 chicken, plucked, cleaned, and cut up (reserve neck, back, and organ meat for soup later)
1 T butter
1 T flour
2 egg yolks
1T each finely chopped fresh parsley, thyme, and rosemary
Salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large soup pot, simmer the vegetables, herbs, salt, and spices in a quart of water for two hours. Float the habanero on top.




Add oil to a skillet and sauté the chicken pieces on both sides until browned; add to soup pot (being careful not to lose the habanero). Deglaze the skillet with a bit of water and add to the stew pot. Stew for two hours steadily but don't let it boil too fast.







After two hours, remove the chicken and vegetables to a serving platter and keep warm. Discard the habanero.


Strain the sauce and return to the stew pot. Rub a tablespoon of butter and flour each smoothly together in a small bowl. Add the egg yolks and the parsley. Stir gradually in a cup of boiling water. Pour the egg mixture into the chicken sauce. Let it boil for five minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn't curdle. Add salt and pepper to taste.




Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables and serve hot.


Quaker midwife Rose Carroll experiences equal parts joy and tribulation while serving the mothers and newborns of her 1888 community. But when arson destroys many of the town’s carriage factories and murder tears apart the town, Rose is driven by a desire to keep her loved ones safe and seek justice for the victims. She begins asking questions of her clients and others in the community—including the famous Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Yet these questions lead Rose into danger, and it takes all of her strength and resourcefulness to bring the perpetrators to light.

To enter to win a copy of Delivering the Truth, tell me what spicy dishes you like! Remember to include your email (in cryptic form is fine) so I can contact you if you win!




39 comments:

  1. Wonderful stew recipe; and the book sounds great! My favorite spicy dish = Pasta Fra Diavlo

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  2. The book looks very interesting, as does the chicken stew -- new chicken recipes are always welcome to me.
    As far as spicy dishes go, I'm very much a wimp, but I do have a weakness for Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao).
    email: ellieanne at email dot com.

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  3. Love the sound of this new series. As to spicy I love all Mexican and Indian. Thanks for the chance to win. poohwine1217@gmail.com

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  4. The stew looks wonderful. Thank you for the recipe and giveaway.
    myrifraf(at)gmail(dot)com

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  5. This stew looks great. Chili comes to mind. That's my cold weather comfort food. Dspinlexo@aol.com

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  6. My favorite spicy cuisine is Thai.
    sgiden at verizon(.)net

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  7. My stomach doesn't tolerate spicy much so I usually skip it. Stew looks wonderful - minus the pepper!
    New series sounds terrific.
    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

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  8. I like spicy Indian food. Thanks for the chance :)
    jslbrown2009 at aol dot com

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  9. Our family favorite is Buffalo Chicken Soup made in the crockpot. Everyone loves it and it is spicy. This book sounds amazing.
    PennyMarksfrontier.

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  10. This book sounds interesting. Thank you for the chance to win. I love spicy food, especially Mexican and Thai.

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  11. I really love the chicken sauce and the habanero is a great addition. I like to spice up almost anything, but the particularly way you add the spice is important. I'll be trying this dish.

    I really enjoyed "A Questionable Death" and would love to read this book. Thanks for the giveaway.
    sallycootie@gmail.com

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  12. Great recipe, thanks for sharing. I like mildly spicy foods of all kinds, especially Italian and Mexican. Thanks for the chance to win. doward1952@yahoo.com

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  13. Thanks for the great giveaway! I love mildly spicy food like nachos and bque. Kristieleigh1976@hotmail.com

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  14. I like just about anything spicy---but not my hubby so it's a real treat when I can have some super spicy chili. I think I'll try the chicken recipe, but no hot pepper to keep the hubby happy.
    Thanks for the giveaway contest.
    suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

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  15. Pat (patdupuy@yahoo.com)April 3, 2016 at 12:07 PM

    Well of course, chili! And Mexican food. I made a curried yogurt chicken recently that was quite good and stunk up the house for days. But worth it! I'm looking forward to your new series Edith. I need to get caught up on the Local Foods stories. Cop or chef. I know which I would pick!

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  16. I love spicy foods! Soups, sauces, sausages etc.

    Dawnn89us@yahoo.com

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  17. I don't do hot spices very well, stomach can't handle it. I do like mild chicken cheese enchiladas. Thanks for the giveaway! crossxjo(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  18. A spicy chicken stew would be wonderful. Flavorful and delectable. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. I'd love to win a copy of the book but I'd pass on the White chicken stew even with the addition of a hot pepper. Maybe if it was a different color I'd feel different.. I know this new series is going to be great, strong women even then. Ruth Nixon ruthenixon@sbcglobal.net

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  20. I love spicy food! My favorite is a Cajun gumbo served at a favorite restaurant. Whoooo! It can clear out your sinuses...

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  21. I love chicken enchiladas so good but with the meds i take i have to make it mild. I love my cozy mysteries with a little spice to them as that is what makes them mysteries. This one sounds so good and also I have never read this author. ptclayton2@aol.com

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  22. I love to get in one the first book of a series! Hope I win! One of my fav recipes is Swiss steak done in the crock pot and served on wide noodles. So good!!!

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  23. Best wishes on the new series.

    This does sound comforting to eat. But what a long time for cooking. How are any of the vegetables still identifiable?

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  24. I'm not particularly fond of spicy food but I do love a little zing to my chili. Thanks for the opportunity to enter the giveaway. robeader53@yahoo.com

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  25. Chili and certain Mexican dishes. Thanks for a chance to win a copy of your book. elainehroberson@gmail.com

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  26. This recipe sounds great. As for spicy foods chili is about as spicy as I get. Now my Grandson on the other hand cooks with ghost peppers. Even has ghost pepper salt so he is the one who likes spicy. Thanks for chance
    lhxp73@yahoo.com

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  27. This recipe sounds great. As for spicy foods chili is about as spicy as I get. Now my Grandson on the other hand cooks with ghost peppers. Even has ghost pepper salt so he is the one who likes spicy. Thanks for chance
    lhxp73@yahoo.com

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  28. Look at all this fabulous interest! Thanks, everybody.

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  29. The recipe sounds great! My stomach can't handle anything too spicy, so I go for the milder items. Thanks for the chance to win. dhazelton(at)myfairpoint(dot)com

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  30. I love all spicy Thai food. Thanks for the recipe and contest, lilflynracer at msn.com

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  31. I am not a fan of spicy food. I think it detracts from the real flavor of the food. I know most people don't agree with me because spicy food is every where. Looking forward to reading your book, on my TBR list.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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  32. I'm in love with chicken wings or anything chicken wing related. When I was pregnant all I ate was chicken wing dip and its still one of my favorite things to eat. utaker555@gmail.com

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  33. The chicken recipe sounds delicious! About the spiciest food I can tolerate is very mild chili. Our daughters love spicy, but they have to add it to a dish if desired. servedogmom@yahoo.com

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  34. I love shrimp fra diavolo which is very spicy! Zeta@iwon.com

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  35. I'd have to leave out the potato (darn that latex allergy). The book, though, is perfect, except that the library will want it back. ;-)

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  36. Gailarnold25@yahoo.comApril 4, 2016 at 9:27 AM

    Love all spicy Asian and Mexican food! Favorite is Pad Thai. This book sounds so interesting and different. Thanks for the chance to win.

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  37. I don't care too much for anything too spicy. A good shrimp boil is about as spicy as I like.

    ElaineE246 at msn dot com

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  38. i'm not a fan of spicy....
    the most I can handle is Dorito Nachos..........

    thank you for the giveaway.......

    cyn209 at juno dot com

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  39. I like spicier food more than my husband does. So, I let him make the chili and I add hot sauces or extra chili powder.

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