WHEN FOOD REMINDS US OF SUNSHINE

Does anyone else want to go to this Halloween party despite the evil donuts? Ginger Bolton's new book, BOSTON SCREAM MURDER will be here on August 25th!

Check below for the giveaway!

First of all, I have to confess that I have never been to Greece except in movies or the pages of novels set there.

However, one meal in a restaurant in Toronto’s Greektown made me feel like I was sitting in the sunlight on a terrace overlooking the blue waters of the Aegean. I don’t remember exactly what was in the main dish besides chicken, beef, and tomatoes. I’ll have to go back and try it another time. . . .

Meanwhile, the side of roast potatoes also tasted of sunshine and adventure and should be easier to replicate.

One of the fun things about writing a food-related cozy mystery series is, well, needing new kitchen gadgets and appliances. When I started writing about a donut shop named Deputy Donut and its co-owner, Emily Westhill, who makes and serves donuts and coffee while collecting clues from patrons about murders, the first thing I had to have was a deep-fryer.

It is wonderful at cooking many delicious things. But it has a drawback—all that oil! Not only do you have to buy it by the barrel, you have to clean it out of your deep-fryer, and you have to find a way to discard it.

Enter the air-fryer toaster oven. This is actually a small oven with a convection setting. You coat the food with a relatively small amount of oil. Hot air blows around the food giving it a crispy texture and some the flavor of frying.

Also, enter my next-door neighbor with a large bag of new potatoes from her sons’ farm. “They’re seconds,” she said, “but you can mash them, and they taste the same.”

Well! These were beautiful, huge potatoes, the kind you can cut for French fries. So what if some of them had a little bump here or there? What a wonderful gift during a pandemic!

We mashed some, we made French fries, and I played around with Greek seasoning on potatoes cut like French fries. You can find Greek seasoning in your grocery store or in a specialty shop. We order ours from the incredible Silk Road Spices in Calgary, Alberta. I like all things fries, but you can cut the potatoes into slices or wedges if you prefer and if you adjust cooking times accordingly.

OVEN-ROASTED FRIES WITH GREEK SEASONING

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice—fresh or bottled

2 teaspoons Greek seasoning

Salt to taste

Preparation method:

Wash potatoes. Peel if necessary. Cut into fries.

Place fries in microwaveable container and cover.

Preheat oven, convection oven, or air-fryer oven to 400˚.

Microwave until potatoes are just becoming tender.

Sprinkle fries with olive oil, lemon juice, and Greek seasoning. Toss gently to coat fries.

Arrange fries in single layer on aluminum foil in baking pan or air-fryer basket.

Bake at 400˚ for 10 minutes or until fries start becoming golden

Remove from oven and turn fries over.

Turn on convection or air-fry setting, maintaining temperature at 400˚ and cook for two or more minutes until fries are crispy but not burnt.

Salt to taste and serve warm.

 

 

 

 

Ginger Bolton writes the Deputy Donut mystery series—coffee, donuts, cops, danger, and one curious cat. The first three books in the series are SURVIVAL OF THE FRITTERS, GOODBYE CRULLER WORLD, and JEALOUSY FILLED DONUTS. The latter was chosen as the Woman’s     World Best New Cozy Mystery of the week and was named as one of Dollycas’s Best Reads of 2019. Watch for more Deputy Donut Mysteries after BOSTON SCREAM MURDER. When Ginger isn't writing or reading, she's crocheting, knitting, sewing, or generally causing trouble. She’s also fond of donuts and coffee. As Janet Bolin, Ginger wrote the Threadville Mysteries—murder and mayhem in a village of crafty shops.

Connect with Ginger:                             
Website: https://gingerbolton.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorGingerBolton/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ginger_bolton
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16834862.Ginger_Bolton/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ginger-bolton

One lucky person will win a copy of BOSTON SCREAM MURDER! US and Canadian addresses only, please. Leave a comment with your email address to enter.