Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: A Cookbook Nook Mystery

Showing posts with label A Cookbook Nook Mystery. Show all posts

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Things Happen - Blueberry "Loaf" #recipe + books #giveaway

From Daryl:

Things happen. Often things slip away from us. We thought we had a guest for today and it turns out, mixed signals! We don't.

BUT WE DO HAVE A BOOKS GIVEAWAY. Yes, books. Two of Krista's books plus 2 of my books to one commenter. See below.

I adore blueberries. I also adore brown sugar! I love it added to coffee cake and anything banana. So I recently added brown sugar to my cereal and adorned it with blueberries. Voila. Something new, different, and filled with things I love.

I also adore blueberry muffins. You can see where this is going. I've shared a recipe for gluten-free muffins made with pure cane sugar before. For a change, I added brown sugar to the mix and rather than make the semi-time-consuming muffins, I poured the whole mix into a loaf pan.

When I'm on deadline, easy is important. Mix and dump is important. Faster, faster is important. So I have more time to write.

So here is an easy, fast, blueberry loaf that turned out deliciously moist!

*This is a gluten-free recipe, but it's easy to make it regular. Just switch out the GF flour for regular and omit the xanthan gum.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Loaf
Gluten-free but can be made "normal"

Preheat oven 375 degrees

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

½ cup plus 2 T. milk

½ cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature (I melt it in microwave)

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract (vanillin is okay)

2 ½ cups blueberries

2 teaspoons GF baking powder

½ teaspoon Xanthan gum

¼ teaspoon salt

1/2 cup potato starch

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1 cup sweet white rice flour

1 tablespoon whey powder

Directions:

Mix the milk, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.

Mash 1 cup of the blueberries. Add the berries and the GF baking powder to the mix.

Stir together the gluten-free flours, xanthan gum, whey powder, and salt. Add the flour to the egg mixture.

Add 1 ½ cup MORE blueberries, whole (not mashed). Fold together.

Pour into greased loaf pan.

Bake 45 minutes

Book Giveaway

Things happen. Do you ever miss an appointment?
A date? A birthday?
Leave a comment to win 2 of Krista's books and 2 of my books,
And remember to leave your email so we can contact
you if you win.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Butternut Squash Soup from author @DarylWoodGerber

From Daryl aka Avery:

As we move into the new year, it's getting colder. We'll, maybe not in Los Angeles. We're having a January heat wave, but I "think" colder, so I put on sweaters and crave soup. I made homemade turkey vegetable soup right after the holidays because I had leftover turkey, and it was delicious. I've shared my chicken soup recipe before. Here's that LINK: chicken soup recipe (Made even easier if you substitute the chicken with already cooked turkey.)

This week, however, I wanted to try something new. I've shared a lot of recipes with butternut squash in the past few years. I love the benefits of butternut squash. It's low in fat and has lots of dietary fiber, which makes it heart-friendly! Plus it has potassium, which is good for your bones! I particularly like that my local grocery store has it cut up and ready to go, though I do enjoy cutting up vegetables. There's something quite powerful feeling about slicing and dicing. Especially on a new cutting board. Yep, I got a darling new cutting board for Christmas with the names of all my little helpers carved into it. So cute!

I hope you'll enjoy this recipe. It's flavored with nutmeg and cinnamon to stir your senses.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 medium shallot, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 celery rib, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 carrot, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 tablespoons butter

3 cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped

1/2 tart apple, peeled, cored, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup water

Pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and white pepper

Heat a large pot on medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pot and let it foam up and recede. Add the shallot, carrot, and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Lower the heat. You do not want the vegetables to brown.

Add the butternut squash, apple, broth and water. Bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 25-30 minutes.

If you have one, use an immersion blender to purée the soup. I did not so I worked it in batches in a blender.

Add pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

Here's a bit about my latest book:

Mimi Rousseau is throwing the bistro’s first wedding—the nuptials of a famous talk show host. She is sure things will go awry when the bride’s father shows up drunk to the out-of-towners’ dinner. By the end of the evening, things look sweet again…until the next morning, when her benefactor is found dead at the bistro with an éclair stuffed in his mouth. All fingers point at Mimi, whose loan is forgiven if he dies. It’s up to her to éclair—er, clear—her name before the killer turns up the heat.

"Talk about a culinary delight, this book is the pinnacle of deliciousness as I devoured all that was written in this exciting new series featuring Mimi and her friends." ~ Dru's Book Musings

Savor the mystery!

Friend Daryl and Avery on Facebook
Follow Daryl on Twitter

Follow Avery on Twitter

Follow both of us on Pinterest

Plus check out my website.

A DEADLY ÉCLAIR, the 1st in the French Bistro Mysteries, is coming November 2017. Can Mimi clear her name before the killer turns up the heat? Click here to order.

GRILLING THE SUBJECT, the 5th Cookbook Nook Mystery, is out!

The Wild West Extravaganza has come to Crystal Cove.

Click here to order.

FOR CHEDDAR OR WORSE,
the 7th Cheese Shop Mystery is out!

Finally there's going to be a cheese festival in Providence!

Click to order.

GIRL ON THE RUN a stand-alone suspense

When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare,

Chessa Paxton must run for her life...but will the truth set her free?

Click to order

DAY OF SECRET my new stand-alone suspense
A mother he thought was dead. A father he never knew.
An enemy that wants them dead.
Click here to order.

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Fresh Fruit Popsicles #recipe from author @DarylWoodGerber

From Daryl aka Avery:

I'm off on an adventure with my 13-year-old grandson to Disneyland. We're having a marvelous time and I'll share pictures next week, but that means I'm not around to leave many comments today. Hope you don't mind. I don't get to see him one-on-one very often, but when I do, we have a blast! We walk the same pace; we talk about everything. He's a very cool kid an I'm blessed to have him in my life.

Eli loves supporting my writing efforts!
he's a good reader.

So I'm off to Space Mountain and Guardians of the Galaxy and all worlds other for the remainder of the day.

Enjoy what ever brings you fun!

Here’s a quickie recipe, perfect for the kids anytime of the year but particularly at a BBQ. I found the Mickey popsicle holders at a local store but I know you can find them on Amazon and elsewhere. So cute!

Fruit Pops with Fresh Fruit

2 cups fresh strawberries or raspberries

¼ cup apple juice

2 tablespoons honey

½ lemon, squeezed (no seeds)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Rinse your frozen popsicle mold (four 5-6 ounce)

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the popsicle molds. Place in freezer for at least 5 hours.

Enjoy!