Cucina Povera The Art of Makin a Three-Course Meal When There's “Nothing to eat!” by Ang Pompano Plus a giveaway!

There's nothing to eat!

Ang Pompano: When I was a kid, I had a habit of opening the refrigerator and just standing there, staring inside, trying to decide what I wanted. My mother would inevitably say, "Choose what you want and close the door. The food's not going to grow in there."

Still today, I'm one of those people who sometimes insists there's "Nothing to eat," even when the refrigerator is perfectly full. But let’s face it, no matter how well-stocked your kitchen usually is, there are those nights when you haven’t had time to shop, the weather is too miserable to go out, and ordering takeout feels like too much effort. 

So, the other day, I decided to run a little experiment. What could I make for dinner when it felt like there was nothing to eat? The idea comes from the Italian tradition of Cucina Povera (poor kitchen), a way of cooking that’s less about recipes and more about resourcefulness and using what you already have, wasting nothing, and turning the simplest ingredients into something comforting and satisfying.

Here’s what I found in the kitchen.

• Stale Italian Bread

• Pasta

• An orange and ½ lemon

• An almost empty jar of oil-cured olives (Italian olives)

• A can of cannellini beans

• Ritz crackers

The challenge I set for myself was simple: make a three-course meal using just these items, along with olive oil, garlic, and a few basic spices. It’s funny how a supposedly "empty" fridge suddenly reveals a “gourmet personality” once you stop looking for a specific recipe and start looking at ingredients.

The Appetizer: Creamy White Bean & Olive Appetizers

Remembering a creamy white bean dip from one of our favorite Todd English restaurants, I decided to try my hand at a quick homemade version. Into the mini-blender went half a can of cannellini beans (including a tablespoon of the packing liquid for extra body), a handful of the olives, olive oil, black pepper, fresh rosemary, a squeeze of lemon, and some zest.
To keep it light on garlic, I added just a hint, letting the savory olives take center stage. After processing the mixture until smooth, I spooned it onto Ritz crackers. While not quite Michelin-starred, I have to say it was pretty good.

    

The Main Course: "Poor Man’s Parmesan" Pasta

While researching my WWII homefront story, Minnie the Air Raid Warden, I learned that during the Depression, and later, the years of wartime rationing, pasta with garlic, olive oil, and toasted breadcrumbs became a common staple. Known as poor man’s Parmesan, it took hold when imports from Italy dried up and real cheese was hard to come by.

The Method:

• Cook the pasta until al dente.

• While the pasta cooks, sauté sliced garlic in olive oil. Once the garlic starts to turn golden, remove it from the pan (this flavors the oil without the bitterness of burnt garlic).

• Add the shredded stale bread to the same pan and toast it in the remaining oil until crisp and golden. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

• Add a little more olive oil to the skillet, then add the remaining half-can of cannellini beans. Mash them with a fork until they break down into a creamy sauce.

• Drain the pasta, reserving about a half cup of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the white bean sauce, loosening it with a splash of pasta water as needed.

• The Finish: Shower the dish with the homemade breadcrumb “Parmesan,” then season with salt and red pepper flakes. Add the remaining olives, a little fresh parsley, and a slice or two of lemon to brighten it all up.

Dessert: Citrus with Olive Oil & Sugar

For dessert, all you need to do is separate the orange into slices. Finish with a drizzle of good olive oil, a sprinkle of sugar or honey (I used honey), and a crack of black pepper. The pepper sounds unusual, but it makes the citrus sing.

Dinner is served!

Readers, there’s something deeply satisfying about letting what you have on hand dictate the menu. Do you ever cook that way? This week I’m celebrating the release of my new book, Diet of Death. Comment below and leave your email address to be entered to win a copy. (U.S. residents only, please.)

Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency, and the Reluctant Food Columnist series, both published by Level Best Books. In addition to his writing, Ang is a co-founder of Crime Spell Books and serves as co-editor of the Best New England Crime Stories anthology. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and their two rescue dogs, Dexter and Alfie.

Just Released!

Diet of Death

by Ang Pompano

The first in the Reluctant Food Columnist series.

Buy Link

Betty Ann Green is a beloved culinary icon…who doesn’t exist. She is the brilliant, beautiful illusion created by two unlikely collaborators. Behind the façade is Quincy Lazzaro, a culinarily challenged writer whose witty, sharp prose is the public face of Betty, while those flawless, genius recipes are all thanks to his octogenarian neighbor, Mary Ticarelli.

When the arrogant diet guru, Dr. Alan Tolzer, inventor of the Westport Diet, demands a face-to-face interview, Quincy reluctantly steps in as Betty’s frontman, only for Tolzer to drop dead. The police call it natural causes, but Quincy knows better. He sees it as the investigative break he’s been waiting for.

Now, caught between a crime-solving grandma, a no-nonsense detective girlfriend, and a killer who may be one step ahead, Quincy must unravel the mystery before the killer strikes again.

When It’s Time for Leaving

by Ang Pompano

Buy Link

Al DeLucia walked away from the police—and his past. But when his long-lost father leaves him a detective agency in Savannah, Al finds himself trapped between family secrets and a murder on the agency’s dock. Partnered with Maxine Brophy, a fierce detective who doesn’t trust him, Al is pulled into a deadly search through Savannah and the Okefenokee Swamp—where the truth about the case, and his father, may cost him everything.

Blood Ties and Deadly Lies

by Ang Pompano

Buy Link

Al DeLucia returns to Sachem Creek expecting a kayak race and a chance to confront his childhood bully, Abe Cromwell. Instead, he finds a dead lawyer, a web of deceit, and Abe claiming they’re brothers by DNA. Reluctantly joined by Maxine Brophy, his formidable partner and girlfriend, Al dives into a murder investigation that exposes land swindles, hidden maps, and buried family secrets. In a town where the past won’t stay buried, Al must face truths that could upend everything.

Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025

Edited by

Christine Bagley, Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler

BUY LINK

Every year the anthology brings welcome surprises and satisfactions, and this year is no different, featuring stories by 21 of New England’s best crime writers.

Includes “Minnie the Air Raid Warden” by Ang Pompano.

Remembering Maya Corrigan

Leslie Budewitz:  Some of you may have heard of the January 3rd passing of our dear friend and former Kitchen member, Maya Corrigan, author of the Five-Ingredient Mysteries as well as several short stories, written as either Maya or Mary Ann Corrigan. Maya's daughter Nora says she suffered a stroke in late December, was improving, then took a turn, but was never in pain, and for that, we are grateful. 

And we are grateful for her stories, the recipes and food history she shared here, and above all, for her friendship.
Like others among us, I first met Maya at Malice Domestic, the fan convention celebrating the traditional mystery. We were also on a panel together at Bouchercon, another fan convention, in Toronto in 2017, and I'll admit, I got weepy when this photograph showed up the day after she died, as one of Facebook's suggestions for celebrating another panelist's birthday.

Back: Barbara Ross, Maureen Walsh
Front: Leslie Budewitz, Suzanne Trauth, Maya Corrigan, Linda Wiken (aka Erika Chase)

We invited our friend Korina Moss, another former Kitchen member and a good friend of Maya's, to share her memories.  

📚🕮📕

Korina Moss: I first knew Maya (Mary Ann) Corrigan through her writing, but I was fortunate to get to know her on a more personal level when I joined the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen group. Our virtual acquaintanceship became an in-person friendship when we promoted our books together at Virginia’s One More Page Books and months later, when we sat beside each other on a Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen panel at Malice Domestic. She had wonderful stories to tell about the inception of her Five-Ingredient Mystery series. I admired her vitality, regardless of a long day, an evening presentation, or even more recently, wearing a neck brace. Her positive can-do attitude is something I’ll take with me through my author journey. 

Mystery Lovers' Kitchen panel at 2025 Malice Domestic
Back: Cathy Wiley (moderator and friend of the Kitchen), Maya Corrigan
Front: Libby Klein, Leslie Karst, Korina Moss

Maya's daughter Nora Corrigan was also happy to share thoughts of her mother:

Nora Corrigan: Looking through my mom’s blog posts brings back so many memories. Many of the recipes she posted at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen were family favorites, some handed down from my grandmother, others introduced into her repertoire over the years. She often recruited family members to contribute recipes or help with the cooking and photography, and I recognized an epic pierogi-making session with my brother and sister-in-law. (It took three of us to do what our Polish great-aunt did singlehandedly, but we were very proud of ourselves.)

Maya and her husband on a trip to France a year and a half ago

Something that people might not know about my mom was that she wrote her first novel when she was twelve. It was about a cross-country road trip based on one that she had taken with her family. She shared it with her friends; decades later, she would recall how thrilling it was to find an audience.

It was not until late in life, after retiring from a series of careers that ranged from college teaching to working as a technical writer at a startup, that she became a published novelist, and one of the things that encouraged her to make that leap was finding a community of writers and participating in groups like Sisters in Crime, Malice Domestic, and of course Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. My father, brother, and I were touched by the many messages from her friends in those communities, especially ones from other writers who recalled her mentorship and encouragement.

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Maddie Day: Thank you so much, Nora, for sharing those memories.

I loved Maya's five-ingredient mysteries. Almost every recipe she posted here and included in one of her books made me say, what? Only five ingredients? But yes. She - and her fictional Val and Granddad - pulled it off.

I saw Maya over the years at the Malice Domestic and Boucheron conventions. The only photo I can find of both of us in one shot is the 2018 group picture of the Sisters in Crime chapter, the Guppies.

Maya, in a lovely jewel-toned blue jacket, is in the center of the mixed back row. I'm over to the right in the picture in a purple boa, next to blogmates Leslie Karst and Leslie Budewitz, plus Valerie Burns to the far left in the second seated row.

May Maya's memories bring comfort to Nora, their family, and Maya's many friends, and may her books continue to delight readers for many years to come.

📚🕮📕

Lucy Burdette: I knew Maya from conferences too, first was probably Bouchercon in St. Petersburg FL. But we had a chance to talk again in Nashville, with other members of our kitchen, including Molly, Libby, and Leslie K. I also was in awe of her five ingredients, but here on the blog, I loved the posts she did on the history of certain dishes. Here's one for example on the history of gingerbread. In Nashville, Maya told us she was planning to retire in order to travel more and spend time with family. I sure hope she got the chance to do all of that!

Kim Davis: While Maya may have already left Mystery Lovers' Kitchen by the time I came along, I had the pleasure of connecting with her via my blog and meeting up with her at the Left Coast Crime conference one year. Maya had a gentle and kind soul and it reflected in her Five-Ingredient Mysteries. I adored her protagonist, Val, and especially the delightful and sweet relationship she had with her granddad, aka the Codger Cook. I always felt comfort when I read her cozy mysteries. Maya also developed so many delicious five-ingredient recipes and I enjoyed highlighting a few of them on my blog, like Nero Wolfe's Lemon Sponge Cake. It was an honor knowing Maya and I hope that our memories of her bring comfort to Nora and her family.

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Leslie Karst: Like so many of us here in the Kitchen, I first met Maya/Mary Ann at Malice Domestic, where we shared many foodie panels together over the years. Her dry wit was always a hit with the audience--as well as her fellow panelists--and her stories about coming up with her 5-ingredient recipes fascinating and educational. Over the years she and I started having meals together on occasion, and we'd also have a hoot-and-a-half getting together in one of our MLKer's hotel rooms to make up our recipe card packets over wine and good cheer. I shall miss Maya--as an author, but mostly as a friend. 

Malice 2019

Ang Pompano: I joined Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen after Maya had already moved on and never met her in person. But I do remember her posts, and it was clear why she was so admired. Her Five-Ingredient Mysteries and the food history she shared reflected both her ingenuity and her generosity of spirit. Maya’s presence clearly left a lasting mark on this Kitchen, and I hope these memories bring comfort to Nora and her family. 

📕

VMBurns: I didn't know Maya personally, but because of her blogs on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen and her books, I feel like I knew her. The concept behind her Five-Ingredient Mystery series was brilliant. Here was someone that understood that good food didn't have to be complicated. I didn't need to be a professional chef to create good food. Her recipes and her books were approachable by the masses. Condolences to her family. She will be missed. 

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Cleo Coyle: Maya (Mary Ann) was a bright light in our Kitchen and in the mystery writing community. Although I never had the pleasure of meeting her in person, I appreciated the stellar contributions she made to our blog and the mystery genre. Our hearts go out to Maya's husband, daughter, and the rest of her family. We are so sorry for your loss. We will all miss her. 

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Molly MacRae: Maya was one of my writing heroes. I loved getting to know her through Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen and spending time with her over meals at conferences like Malice Domestic and Bouchercon. Always upbeat and curious, she would have made a great amateur sleuth. I’ll miss you, Maya, and any new recipes you might have sent our way. Thank goodness for all your recipes still available here in the kitchen. Happy memories.

📚🕮📕

Learn more about Maya 

and her books at her website.

Readers, we welcome your memories 

of Maya and her books and posts. 

💕🌸💞

Creamed Chicken à la Paula Deen

I

t was one of those days where I didn't feel like going to the grocery store. (It was cold and snowing.  it's always cold and snowing in Michigan in the winter).  I googled the contents of my fridge and freezer and this recipe of Paula Deen's popped up.Not only did I have all the ingredients but it was quick and easy and total comfort food on a frigid night.  I poached a chicken breast for the recipe but you could easily use chicken leftover from a roast or a rotisserie chicken to make it even easier.

1 TBSP butter

1 TBSP flour (I used gluten free)

1/2 cup chicken broth  

1/2 cup half and half  

1 TBSP dry sherry  

2 cups chopped or shredded chicken breasts  

1/2 tsp dried thyme  

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup frozen peas (optional) 

 

Shred or chop one large or two smaller cooked chicken breasts.

 

Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour.  Stir until flour is incorporated.

 

Whisk in the chicken broth, half and half and sherry.  

 

Cook, whisking, until combined.  Bring to a boil while whisking.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until mixture is thickened.

Add in shredded chicken, thyme, optional peas and salt and pepper to test. Simmer until peas are thawed and warm.

 

 

 

  

 

When a wealthy local benefactor is slain on the farm, Monica has to figure out who wanted to cash in on the killing . . .

As Sassamanash Farms hunkers down for the long winter, Monica agrees to let the local animal shelter host their Christmas-themed fundraiser there. The draw of the event—a chance to have your pet’s picture taken with Santa—brings in animal lovers from far and wide. But when the crackling fire dies down and the festive holiday props are all carted away, Monica discovers a very un-jolly sight next to the barn—the dead body of one of the shelter’s biggest donors. With the farm’s good name in jeopardy, Monica goes to work to root out the killer.

By all accounts the victim was a charming and generous supporter of the shelter, but Monica discovers that he was loathed by those who knew him for being tight-fisted and unscrupulous. Suspecting money might be the motive, she turns her sights on his stylish wife and her lavish lifestyle, along with the manager of the struggling shelter, who stood to collect a hefty bequest from his will. But as Monica closes in on one final clue, the culprit closes in on her. Caught unawares, she’ll have to survive the brutal winter weather, as well as a cold-blooded killer . . . 

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