Rosemary Potatoes #recipe by Maya Corrigan Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day, when we remember and honor those who died in service to their country. To mark the holiday, my recipe contains rosemary, an herb associated with death and memory. Australians wear a sprig of rosemary on Anzac Day to honor their dead from World War I. 

The herb comes up in Shakespeare. It's placed on Juliet's body, and Ophelia mentions it shortly before her death in Hamlet: "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance." Agatha Christie echoes those words in Remembered Death (AKA Sparkling Cyanide). The plot revolves around the poisoning of a woman named Rosemary. The herb appears on the cover of my paperback of this mystery, one of my favorites.

Ingredients for Rosemary Lemon Potatoes
Serves 3-4

1 pound thin-skinned potatoes (red or Yukon Gold)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary
1 small or 1/2 large lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt, less if you are on a low-salt diet
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Scrub and cut the potatoes into small pieces (a medium potato into 6-8 pieces, smaller ones into 4 pieces).  

Cut the lemon into thin crosswise slices approximately 1/4 inch thick. Note: I cut the lemon too thinly, more like 1/8 inch thick, made the edges char. Next time I'll make the slices thicker.

If using fresh rosemary, chop it fine.

Mix the potatoes, olive oil, salt, and black pepper grinds in a bowl.

Spread out the potatoes in a pan lined with foil or parchment paper. Add lemon slices and sprinkle with fresh or dried rosemary.  

Put the potatoes in the oven and turn them after 20 minutes. Continue to roast them for 10-20 more  minutes until the potatoes have browned to your liking. Roasting time will vary depending on the size of the potato chunks. 

Remove the potatoes from the oven. If you're a rosemary fan, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon fresh or 1/3 teaspoon dried rosemary before serving. 

Serve the potatoes. Garnish with lemon if desired. The potatoes go well as a side dish with meat, fish, or eggs.

Recipe adapted from A Couple Cooks.

What's your favorite way to eat potatoes--roasted, mashed, fried, or?

📚

Maya Corrigan writes the Five-Ingredient Mysteries featuring café manger Val and her live-wire grandfather solving murders in a Chesapeake Bay town. Maya lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. Before writing crime fiction, she taught American literature, writing, and detective fiction at Northern Virginia Community College and Georgetown University. When not reading and writing, she enjoys theater, travel, trivia, cooking, and crosswords.

Visit my website for easy recipes, mystery history and trivia, and a free culinary mystery story.

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Rosemary Metal Press Gin Fizz #recipe by Mia P. Manansala @MPMtheWriter

ARSENIC AND ADOBO was shortlisted for the 2021 CHIRBy Awards in Fiction, and even though I didn’t win (congrats to Julia Fine for THE UPSTAIRS HOUSE) I thought I'd share the cocktail recipe from the award show so you could all celebrate my nomination and the coming new year with me!

Gin and tonics were my go-to bar order in the before times, and even though I love Hendricks, it’s rather pricey so I’ve never kept it at home. This celebration was a great excuse to splurge on a bottle, but you can use any gin that you like.

Rosemary Metal Press Gin Fizz

Rosemary Metal Press Gin Fizz

Ingredients:

• 2 oz gin
• 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
• 1 TBSP rosemary syrup (recipe below)
• 3 oz club soda

Rosemary syrup ingredients:

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• 1-2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Directions:

Make Rosemary Simple Syrup: 

1. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. 
2. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. 
3. Remove pan from the heat, add rosemary, and let steep for one hour. 
4. Discard the rosemary sprig.

Make the cocktail:

1. Pour gin, lemon juice, and rosemary simple syrup in a cocktail shaker/blender cup/jar with lid and add a handful of ice. 
2. Cover and shake vigorously until cold and well-combined. 
3. Pour into a glass then add the club soda. 
4. Add additional ice and garnish with lemon slice and rosemary sprig, if you’d like.
5. Enjoy!

Cast of characters: gin, club soda, fresh rosemary, wedge of lemon

Boil sugar and water until sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat and add rosemary sprig(s). Let steep for an hour. Discard rosemary sprigs.

Pour gin, lemon juice, and rosemary syrup into a shaker cup and add a handful of ice.
Shake vigorously till drink is cold and well-mixed.

Pour drink into a cocktail glass.

Add club soda, and more ice, if desired. Garnish with a rosemary sprig and lemon slice, if you'd like.

For those of you that imbibe, do you have a go-to drink order? Let me know in the comments!

If you liked this recipe, make sure you sign up for my newsletter! I include a Filipino-themed recipe every month, as well as giveaways and book recommendations!

 

Homicide and Halo-Halo (February 8, 2022)

Death at a beauty pageant turns Tita Rosie’s Kitchen upside down in the latest entry of this witty and humorous cozy mystery series by Mia P. Manansala.

 

Things are heating up for Lila Macapagal. Not in her love life, which she insists on keeping nonexistent despite the attention of two very eligible bachelors. Or her professional life, since she can’t bring herself to open her new café after the unpleasantness that occurred a few months ago at her aunt’s Filipino restaurant, Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. No, things are heating up quite literally, since summer, her least favorite season, has just started.

 

To add to her feelings of sticky unease, Lila’s little town of Shady Palms has resurrected the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant, which she won many years ago—a fact that serves as a wedge between Lila and her cousin slash rival, Bernadette. But when the head judge of the pageant is murdered and Bernadette becomes the main suspect, the two must put aside their differences and solve the case—because it looks like one of them might be next.

Pre-Order

 

Pre-order from Murder by the Book and get a signed bookplate, sticker, and bookmark!

Rosemary Watermelon Lemonade from @MysteryMacRae

 

This lemonade is gorgeous and absolutely delicious! And, thanks to Mia's recipe for lavender simple syrup, I know that I've been making rosemary simple syrup without realizing it. Cool! 

I came across the recipe when I was writing the opening scenes of Last Wool and Testament, book 1 in the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries. At the wake for Ivy McClellan, late owner of the yarn shop, everyone is wearing something Ivy knitted or wove, or something made from the wool she spun or dyed. And all the food contains rosemary for remembrance, including an olive oil and rosemary cake with dark chocolate. So good! I'll post a recipe for that on MLK sometime this fall when it isn't too hot and muggy to bake. You can also find the cake and the lemonade recipes in the book.

 I’ve tried two methods for making the lemonade and have come to prefer the second. I’ll include both, though. The first uses a regular blender. The second uses an immersion blender and a soup kettle.

 

Rosemary Watermelon Lemonade

(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

  

Ingredients:

2 cups water

3/4 cup white sugar (sometimes I use brown sugar)

1 sprig rosemary leaves, chopped (I’m never quite sure what’s meant by “a sprig.” I try to use at least two tablespoons of chopped leaves.)

2 cups lemon juice

12 cups seedless watermelon either cubed or scooped

 

 Method 1

 

Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir in the rosemary and set aside to steep for 1 hour.

 Strain the rosemary syrup into a blender. Add a third of the lemon juice and a third of the watermelon. Cover, and puree until smooth. Pour into a pitcher.

Puree another third of the lemon juice and watermelon. Add to the pitcher and repeat with the last of the lemon juice and watermelon.

 Stir the lemonade before serving. Hold your glass to the light and marvel at the beautiful color.

 

Method 2

 Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir in the rosemary and set aside to steep for 1 hour.

 

Put scooped or cubed watermelon into large soup kettle.

Strain the rosemary syrup into kettle with watermelon. 

Add the lemon juice. Blend with the immersion blender until smooth. Pour into a pitcher.

 

Stir the lemonade before serving. Hold your glass to the light and marvel at the beautiful color.

 

 About Last Wool and Testament – book 1 in the Haunted Yarn Shop mysteries 

 

Kath Rutledge is about to learn the true meaning of TGIF—Thank Goodness It’s Fiber . . . 

That’s the name of the group of fiber and needlework artists founded by Ivy McClellan, Kath’s beloved grandmother. Though Ivy has recently passed on, the members still meet regularly at her fiber and fabric shop, The Weaver’s Cat, which Kath has now inherited. But that’s only the first in a series of surprises when Kath returns to the small town of Blue Plum, Tennessee, to settle her grandmother’s affairs.

There’s been a murder, and it turns out her grandmother was the prime suspect. Before she can begin to clear Ivy’s name, Kath encounters a looming presence in the form of a gloomy ghost. It turns out the specter has just as much interest in solving the murder as Kath. So, with a little help from the members of TGIF—and a stubborn spirit from beyond—she sets out to unravel the clues and hook the real killer . . .

Available in paperback, e-book, and audio from your locally owned independent bookstores, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. Or ask for it at your public library. 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine since 1990 and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Twitter  or Instagram.

 

Pork Chops with Creamy Rosemary Sauce

It has been a bumper week for recipes this past week. (You do know that often we at Mystery Lovers Kitchen search widely for recipes, then tinker with them to make them more uniquely our own?)

It all started when I noticed a bright orange sticker on the Sunday Boston Globe. I figured it was probably someone trying to sell me fake wooden flooring, but instead it turned out to be a promotion for (drumroll) a service that will supply New Englanders with grass-fed beef and pasture raised meat from “highly principled farms.”

The various farms that participate provide beef, pork, lamb and chicken. You can sign up for regularly monthly shares for a fixed price, or buy only as much as you need. And they deliver to your door! I would be tempted, because I love meats, but the smallest share is 6-8 pounds and there’s only me at home, and I don’t really want to eat any of the products every day for a week or two. But I applaud their effort.

And they provided recipes on their website—much the way we at MLK do, searching for recipes and then tailoring them to their products. I decided to jump in and try one that sounded good.

PORK CHOPS WITH CREAMY ROSEMARY SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

2 boneless pork loin or rib chops

1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced

2 Tblsp all-purpose flour

2 Tblsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 cup low-salt chicken broth

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup whipping cream

4 teaspoons raspberry vinegar or red wine vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Sprinkle pork with 3/4 teaspoon rosemary, salt, and pepper. Coat with flour and shake off any excess.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté about 2 minutes. Discard garlic.

Add pork chops and sauté until brown and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes per side. Transfer pork to plate and tent with foil.

Add chicken broth, white wine, cream, vinegar and remaining 1/4 teaspoon rosemary to skillet. Boil until sauce thickens about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon sauce over pork and serve with potatoes or noodles.

(I mentioned it was a great week for recipes? The bonus was a complete magazine style insert in the New York Times, with all recipes by Sam Sifton, who is my idol. I'll share one with you soon!)

Oh, right, books. 

Killer in the Carriage House will be published by St, Martin's Minotaur in June--it's the second in the Victorian Village Mystery Series. Kate Hamilton is trying to get the remodeling of her old hometown of Asheboro started, but she seems to keep tripping over bodies . . . At least she has friends to help figure out why.

And I'll be sneaking in another book in the Museum Mysteries, I hope in April, but it doesn't have a name or a cover yet. I can tell you you'll learn a lot about Philadelphia, and (here's a teaser) there will be over four hundred bodies (and no, there's not a war going on).

Remembrance Cookies

by Sheila Connolly

Tomorrow night, October 31st, is Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”), also called All Hallows Eve or All Saints’ Eve, and what we know as Halloween. I’ve probably described it here before (since it comes around every year!). If you’re of a superstitious turn of mind, it’s the night where the barrier between the living and the souls of the dead is at its thinnest, so if you fear spirits, you might want to stay out of your local cemeteries. (Or go out with a crowd of people and beg for candy!) But this may not help, if the dead want to return to their former homes. To welcome them, light a few candles to guide their way, and put out some food and drink for them.

The celebration of the event goes back to medieval times and possibly earlier, and—no surprise—apples have played a part. But I’m not going to talk about apples! I’m talking about Irish cookies.

Rosemary for remembrance

A lot of the traditional Irish Samhain recipes are pretty much like ordinary year-round recipes. I debated about offering you Fairy Spice Cakes, but I don’t think October 31st is a night for fairies, but rather for darker creatures. But I did find a rather unusual cookie recipe that most people label Remembrance Cookies. I’ve read that you should eat the cookies while telling stories about your ancestors (the Irish are great story-tellers, and they have very long memories where people are concerned), and if there are any cookies left, add them to a bonfire outside.


Remembrance Cookies

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened (particularly appropriate for County Cork, where there are over 4,000 herd of dairy cows)
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1-1/2 Tblsp chopped rosemary (for remembrance, of course)

In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, almond extract and rosemary until creamy. (BTW, I used my own home-grown rosemary.)

Includes butter from Co. Cork cows

Chopped rosemary

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Fold the flour mixture into the sugar mixture, then beat until the dough comes together. Refrigerate for three hours. You can keep the dough in the refrigerator for longer, but in that case let it warm up a little before you try to roll it out.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Divide the dough into halves. On a floured surface, roll out one half to just under a quarter-inch thickness.

If you have them, use gingerbread women or men to cut out shapes (these are the ones that you’ll use to celebrate your dead), and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet (or you could use parchment paper). Do the same with the second portion.

Bake in the preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes (don’t let them burn!). Remove from the baking sheet and let cool.

I will confess I was a bit skeptical about how well rosemary would work in a sweet cookie, and one with almond extract, no less, but the combination was surprisingly pleasant.



My Irish family: the four Lawless sisters, their
only brother (Patrick), and my grandparents,
Margaret Lawless and John Connolly

Pour yourself a bit of Irish whiskey and share the old family stories around a nice fire.

And in the spirit of the day, a sneak preview of the next County Cork Mystery, A Turn for the Bad, coming February 2016.

Available for preorder at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

There will be smugglers! And a daring rescue! And whiskey!

www.sheilaconnolly.com

 

On Losing a Pet: Pay Attention to the Cracks. It’s How the Light Gets In ~ Leonard Cohen (A post from Cleo Coyle)

“The birds they sang at the break of day. 

Start again I heard them say. 

Don't dwell on what has passed away… 

Ring the bells that still can ring. 

Forget your perfect offering. 

There is a crack in everything. 

That's how the light gets in…” 

~ lyrics from Anthem by
songwriter and poet
Leonard Cohen 

Inspiration for the annual
"How the Light Gets In"
Festival, taking place next week.
Click here to learn more.

Caring for an animal, making it part of your home or family is an act of courage. We outlive them, and we know we will, which means we commit to witnessing the arc of their lives. No mean feat. 

We watch as they move from puppies or kittens through their active prime years. We play with them, laugh with them, and eventually suffer with them as they decline. 

It’s hard to see those you love in pain, even harder to say goodbye, and real grief follows a beloved pet’s death. 

Why do we do this? 

Those who have never owned a cat or dog or opened their homes to a sentient animal may wonder why pet owners take on the cost and pain and trouble. Everyone has their own answers. Here are mine:

We do it because the joy

outshines the heartbreak...

We do it because cost 

is part of living
(and should be)...

We do it because 

when we experience pain, 

we crack a little, and 

whether we see it or not, 

the cracks in our darkest hours 

are how the light gets in.

Of course, I borrowed that last line from the gifted songwriter Leonard Cohen, who wrote a set of lyrics that helped me through this past week after I lost my little long-haired stray cat to cancer.

(Like me) she was a misfit from the start, a sickly little flea-bitten thing who my husband and I nursed back to health. The health stayed with her for ten very happy years until she died of a fast-moving cancer last week.

Subjects of this nature are usually reserved for great cathedrals, where they are preached with great profundity (and footnotes), but (for me) real understanding truly come during weeks like this. 

I loved my Fluffy-Bunny very much—and she loved me, which I saw (almost miraculously) in those big blue eyes, even at the very end, as I stayed with her while she was put to sleep. It’s something that will always stay with me...

When the pain and fear are over, when the grief begins to fade, one thing is left, in the mind and heart, and that is love. The love is what lasts—and that is what matters.

Who is Cleo Coyle? 

Click here.

~ Alice Alfonsi,
...who writes as Cleo Coyle
in collaboration with her husband,
Marc Cerasini

Because this is a blog where we always share recipes, I’ve chosen an old favorite--Roasted Chicken with Lime and Rosemary. 

Our cat Fluffy always stayed close by the kitchen when we cooked this recipe. She enjoyed the aromas--and, at the end of our evening meal, we would share a few warm, juicy pieces with her in a ritual we called "Fluffy-Chicken" treats. If you make it, I hope you (and maybe your own sweet cat or dog) will eat it with the joy that we did.

🍴

To download a PDF copy of the above recipe 

for Roasted Chicken with Lime and Rosemary 

that you can print, save, or share, click here. 

To see the original blog post, click here, and...

Eat with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author of

The Coffeehouse Mysteries 

Yes, this is me, Cleo (aka Alice). 

Friend me on facebook here.

Follow me on twitter here. 

Learn about my books here.

P.S.  "How the Light Gets In" is also an annual festival of philosophy and music in England's beautiful town of Hay-on-Wye (the internationally famous "town of books"). Learn more about attending (wish I could!) by clicking the link below. The festival begins next week.

Click here for more info on this year's
"How the Light Gets In" festival.