A very warm welcome to our friend, Edith Maxwell. Edith writes three series. Her latest book, MULCH ADO ABOUT MURDER, will be in bookstores on May 30th. Don't miss Edith's giveaway!
Kale and Couscous Salad
I’m delighted to
be back here to share a taste of my fifth Local Foods mystery, Mulch Ado About Murder, which releases
at the end of this month. I’ll send an ARC to one commenter here today, too!
In the book, it’s been a hot, dry spring in Westbury, Massachusetts. As organic
farmer Cam Flaherty waits for much-needed rain, storm clouds of mystery begin
to gather. Once again, it’s time to put away her sun hat and put on her
sleuthing cap when a fellow farmer is found dead in a vat of hydroponic
slurry—clutching a set of rosary beads.
Showers may be scarce this spring, but there’s
no shortage of suspects, including the dead woman’s embittered ex‑husband, the
Other Man whose affair ruined their marriage, and Cam’s own visiting mother,
one of the two Drs. Flaherty. Lucky for Cam, her father turns out to have a
knack for sleuthing—not to mention dealing with chickens. Will he and Cam be
able to clear her mom’s name before the killer strikes again?
Cam orders this
delicious and easy locally grown salad for her dinner when she takes her
visiting parents to Throwback Brewery in North Hampton, New Hampshire. The
actual brewery’s co-owner, Nicole Carrier, was kind enough to share a version
of the recipe for my book, which I have modified slightly.
Ingredients
1 cup pearl
couscous
4 cups washed and
finely chopped kale leaves (discard the stems)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped
walnuts
1/4 cup dried
cranberries
1/4 cup grated
Parmesan
1 tablespoon
cumin
1 tablespoons
good olive oil
1 tablespoon rice
wine vinegar
Pepper
Directions
Cook the couscous
until al dente and drain well.
Sprinkle the salt over the kale in a big bowl and rub with your hands for a few
minutes until it wilts. Add the cooled couscous, walnuts, cranberries, cheese,
and cumin, and mix. Stir in two tablespoons olive oil and one tablespoon
vinegar. Adjust oil and vinegar to taste, and grind black pepper over the
salad. (The picture shown here omits the cranberries because of a non-fan at
the table.)
Enjoy!
Readers, how do you feel about kale? Where is your favorite farmers’ market? Do you have any local-foods based restaurants you enjoy eating at? And remember I’ll send an advance copy to one commenter.
2017
double Agatha-nominated and national best-selling author Edith Maxwell writes
the Local Foods Mysteries and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries; as Maddie Day she
writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries.
Her award-winning short crime fiction has appeared in many juried anthologies
and journals, and she serves as President of Sisters in Crime New England.
A
fourth-generation Californian and former tech writer, farmer, and doula,
Maxwell now writes, cooks, gardens (and wastes time as a Facebook addict) north
of Boston with her beau and three cats. She blogs at WickedCozyAuthors.com,
KillerCharacters.com, and with the Midnight Ink authors (http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com).
Find her on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and at edithmaxwell.com.
