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Leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of Crime and Parchment!
DAPHNE SILVER: Want to know a secret? Like Juniper Blume, the main character of my new cozy mystery Crime and Parchment, first in the Rare Books mystery series, coming out this Tuesday, November 21, I’m not a good cook. However, also like Juniper, I enjoy eating. In Crime and Parchment, Juniper is always happy to taste test anything her sister Azalea makes. More often than not, Azalea is using recipes passed down by their late grandmother, nicknamed Nana Z. Many of those recipes come from their Ashkenazic Jewish traditions, stemming from Germany and Eastern Europe. Throughout my books are references to delicious East European Jewish recipes like lokshen kugel, a sweet egg noodle casserole, and tzimmes cake, a spiced sweet potato and carrot cake.
Also like Juniper, I’m deeply interested in Jewish history. Juniper is a rare books librarian, and I’ve spent more than twenty years working in museums, including several years as the education and program coordinator for the Jewish Museum of Maryland. Even if I’m not spectacular at baking, I love looking up traditional recipes. It helps me feel connected to my own ancestors, including my great-grandparents who came through Ellis Island at the turn of the 20th century. If you’ve ever visited the Tenement Museum in New York City, my grandfather’s first home was on the same block!
Jewish culture and traditions are important to me, whether that’s listening to Klezmer music, attempting micrography (creating drawings using words, typically in Hebrew), and of course eating amazing foods. Wanting to connect more deeply with my heritage, I took on the task of creating a tzimmes cake. My deep appreciation to my best friend Kristen Harbeson for helping me out. She’s a much better baker than me and made sure I wouldn’t steer you all astray.
I chose tzimmes cake to share, because the spiced carrot and sweet potato cake is great for any holiday - including Thanksgiving!
Tzimmes Cake
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 large sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 cup matzo meal or breadcrumbs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (adjust to taste)
zest of one orange (or 2 tablespoons of orange juice)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the grated carrots, grated sweet potatoes, matzo meal or breadcrumbs, sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, orange zest (or orange juice), and salt. Mix well until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
If desired, fold in raisins and chopped nuts.
Pour the mixture into the greased baking pan and spread it evenly.
Bake 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is set and the top is lightly browned.
Allow the tzimmes cake to cool before cutting into squares.
Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar before serving.
Is there a recipe or food that makes you feel connected to your heritage? Share in the comments! One winner will receive a signed copy of Crime and Parchment. (Be sure to include your email. US and Canada only. Winner will be announced Wed, Nov 22.)
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From the cover: Rare books librarian Juniper Blume knows this much… an ancient Celtic manuscript shouldn’t be in a Maryland cemetery. But that’s exactly what her brother-in-law claims.
Last year, Juniper saw the 1,200-year-old Book of Kells in Ireland. She learned how their bejeweled covers were stolen centuries ago, never to be seen again. So how could they have ended up in Rose Mallow, a small Chesapeake Bay town? Being Jewish, the Book of Kells might not be her sacred text, but as a rare books librarian, the ancient book is still sacred to her, making it important to Juniper to find out the truth.
Rose Mallow is the same place where Juniper used to summer with her sister Azalea and their grandmother Zinnia, known as Nana Z. Ever since Nana Z passed away, Juniper’s avoided returning, but her curiosity is greater than her grief, so she heads down in her vintage convertible with her rescue dog Clover.
Juniper discovers that her sister Azalea has transformed their grandmother’s Queen Anne style mansion into the Wildflower Inn, backing up to the Chesapeake Bay. Although Juniper isn’t much of a cook, Azalea has kept their grandmother’s legacy alive, filling the house with the smells of East European Jewish treats, like sweet kugels and tzimmes cake. Will coming back here feel like returning home or fill Juniper with a deeper sorrow? Can she apologize to her sister for not being there when she was needed most?
About Daphne Silver
Daphne
Silver is the author of Crime and
Parchment, the first in the Rare Books Cozy Mystery series from Level Best
Books and Blackstone Audio. It comes out on Tuesday, November 21st! Purchase it
at Amazon at https://amzn.to/3QExQtZ
or Bookshop.org at https://bookshop.org/contributors/daphne-silver.
She’s
worked more than twenty years in museums and has the great fortune of being
married to a librarian. When she’s not writing, she’s drawing and painting. She
lives in Maryland with her family. Although she’s not much of a baker, she
won’t ever turn down a sweet lokshen kugel.
Sign
up for her newsletter (and get the free short story A Midsummer’s Night Scheme) at www.daphnesilver.com.
Follow her online at www.facebook.com/daphnesilverbooks
and www.instagram.com/daphnesilverbooks
