Around the Kitchen Table: What We Cook When We’re Eating Alone + 5-Book #Giveaway!

 

ANG POMPANO: I was thinking about the protagonist of my soon-to-be-released book, Diet of Death, Quincy Lazzaro. Quincy writes a hugely successful cooking column under protest, made worse by the fact that it runs under the name Betty Ann Green, while his real identity must remain hidden.

Quincy also has some questionable eating habits, like eating tuna straight from the can when he’s in a hurry (guilty) or mixing Coke and orange juice when there’s only a little of each left (guilty again).

And then there’s me. Even though I live in the land of good pizza, when I’m on my own I’ll warm a flatbread for 30 seconds in the microwave, spread it with tomato sauce, add some cheese or whatever toppings are around, anchovies included (I’m the only one who likes them here), plus oregano and a drizzle of olive oil, then pop it under the broiler for a minute or two. Not fancy, but it works. 

Which got me wondering: what do my fellow Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen bloggers cook when they’re eating alone and no one is watching?

🍷 🧀 🌮

 

MADDIE DAY: I love this topic, Ang. It's not cooking, exactly, but one of my favorite solo dinners is as follows: I grate or slice some cheese (whatever's at hand, usually a sharp cheddar) onto a flour tortilla and put it in the toaster oven to melt. Add a dollop of salsa and a handful of lettuce, fold it over, and enjoy alone at the kitchen table with a glass of wine and a good book. Simple, tasty, and fast.

Another easy meal I'll do when alone is a plate of salad greens and whatever else is around. A hard-boiled egg? Sure. Half an avocado? Add it. Last week there was one handful left of my homemade Chex Mix - guess what makes a great crouton addition? Drizzle it all with olive oil and call it dinner.

 

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LESLIE KARST: My wife Robin isn't a fan of eggs for breakfast (unless it's a poached egg added as a garnish to something like a salad), so when she's gone, my go-to dish for dinner is creamy scrambled eggs and toast. Sometimes I'll add grated cheese or a little salsa (in which case I might eat the eggs with a tortilla), but truly, there is nothing like the perfect scrambled egg, unadulterated with anything but some butter, salt and pepper. And then I'll savor the meal as I work the crossword puzzle. Heaven. 

🌱 🍋 🌿 

 

PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON:  I'm rarely alone for dinner but when I am, I make something that hubby doesn't particularly like.  Recently it was mussels in white wine sauce.  Or, I might whip up a batch of pasta.  Hubby likes pasta but doesn't want to eat it too often because "it's a carb."  Apparently, cookies, cake and candy don't count as carbs because he will happily eat those.  I could eat pasta every day with just about anything on it that's easy and simple like garlic and oil or a quick tomato sauce.  If I am feeling totally unmotivated and don't want to cook, crackers and cheese will suffice!  
 

 

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LUCY BURDETTE: John is a very good eater, so it's hard to find something he won't eat to have when alone. I thought I was going to be this recipe for sauteed dumplings in a chili crunch and fresh tomato sauce, but then he requested it the other night! One thing I used to eat when I was single was a can of El Paso tamales. Remember those, with a layer of disgusting orange fat around the edges? I would scrape that off, heat the tamales up and eat all of them!

MADDIE DAY: I have to jump in here and say, Lucy, that I grew up in Southern California with cans of tamales being just a staple of everyday life! My family has no ties to Mexico, but when you're blessed by growing up among immigrants, you crave a comfort tamale, whether it comes from a can, the high school cafeteria (which offered steamed tamales way better than canned), or these days, one frozen by Trader Joe's.

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KIM DAVIS:  Maybe because I cook so much for my family (including my granddaughters and their parents), and for blogging, and my book recipes, when I have the rare evening to myself and no obligation to provide a meal for anyone else, I want something simple and snack-y... which generally means a huge bowl of popcorn and a glass of crisp, white wine. I'm not a fan of microwave popcorn, and instead, like to use some avocado oil in a large pot with organic heirloom popping corn. Instead of butter, I season lightly with salt and grated parmesan cheese. My dog, Missy, loves it too! If I have several evenings to myself (when my husband travels), I will sometimes make simple nachos with bagged tortilla chips, canned black beans, and pre-grated cheese, and heated in the microwave (I know it would be better heated in an oven 😀) then topped with sour cream, salsa, and chunks of avocado. 

Of course there's dessert popcorn to consider. Our own Leslie Budewitz created the most decadent Jewel Bay Critter Crunch, which is by far the BEST caramel corn I've ever had! I featured her recipe on my blog in 2015 and it's still a favorite. When I make a batch, I keep some hoarded away just for myself to nibble on when alone because I don't want to share. 

Jewel Bay Critter Crunch

And, Ang, there is nothing wrong with eating tuna from the can when in a hurry! It's a go-to for me when I have three minutes for lunch before needing to dash out the door, lol.

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MOLLY MacRAE: Like Peg, I’m rarely home alone at mealtimes. We have a small, multigenerational household that works well for us. But it means that I can’t remember the last time I was alone in the house for a meal since 2018. At some point before 2018 there was an amazing convergence of potato chips in the cupboard, blue cheese in the refrigerator, and me on my own for supper. Remembering a friend’s description of chips with blue cheese that a restaurant up in her part of the state served, I indulged. What a treat! I probably had a sandwich, too, but who knows? More to the point, who cares? Those were the best potato chips ever.

And that reminds me—there’s a piece of leftover pizza in the fridge, right now, and the last of the stilton from Christmas Eve. It’s almost time for lunch, and the others will fend for themselves, so what do you think? I know what I think.

Best leftover pizza ever. 

🌱 🍋 🌿 

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: I'll admit, I had to think about this. It's not often that I'm home alone for dinner -- more likely to be the other way around, and Ang, Mr. Right would approve of your tuna habits. Some women would take the opportunity for a big bowl of popcorn -- Kim, good to hear I'm not the only one who doesn't care for microwave popcorn -- followed by a pint of ice cream. I'm all for whatever you love, but am pretty sure the carb-butter-sugar combo would make me feel lousy. Like Lucy, I've got a honey who's a pretty good eater so it's hard to make a meal of things he doesn't like -- although split pea soup with cornbread and a dose of cauliflower on the side would touch all his 'no, thanks' bases. (To be fair, when I decided to make cornbread despite knowing his thoughts, he loved it. Turns out what he didn't like was his mother's cornbread -- dry and taste-free, in his account, though she was otherwise an excellent cook.) 

So what would I eat? I spotted this photo from last spring while cleaning up my camera roll, a vegetable saute of red onions, asparagus, a handful of grape tomatoes, and the last few baby white potatoes. I've always got fresh herbs in pots on the deck (in winter, the survivors huddle by the back door, or when the Christmas tree is up, on the tub surround in our bathroom), and snipped in some tarragon, topping it off with a bit of goat cheese from a neighbor's goats. Added a glass of white wine. Voila! A lovely May evening home alone on the back deck! 

Clearly, leftovers and stray bits in the fridge are key. Lacking those, pasta with basil pesto -- and maybe a few shrimp. And just a little of that ice cream!

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VICKI DELANY: I'm obviously the outlier here. I live alone, so I almost always eat alone. That means I can have the same thing every day for a week, if I want. And I sometimes do. One quick meal I favour is to saute chicken breast with onions, mushrooms, peppers, chilli powder to wrap in a tortilla with sour cream and tomatoes. Yes, I might have that five nights in one week. One of the things I most love about being part of the MLK crew, is it gives me the incentive to occasionally try something new. To that end, I make dishes in the slow cooker or try a big casserole, something that I can put in the freezer for future meals. Otherwise, it might well be chicken tortillas every night of the week.  

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VM BURNS: Like Vicki, I'm single, so almost all of my meals involve me eating alone. It may sound lonely, but I don't mind. I cook what I want to eat. I don't have to worry about pleasing anyone else. If I want it, I cook it. Sometimes, I feel adventurous and like to pretend I'm Julia Childs and cook elaborate meals (I made prime rib for Christmas). But, I can only eat leftovers for so many days. I like meals that are versatile and work well as leftovers or that freeze well. IF I have to choose one favorite, then I'd go with Egg Roll in a Bowl. I will often serve with rice or Ramen noodles. I NEVER have leftovers for more than one day.

☕ 🍕☕

CLEO COYLE: When I’m alone, these Mini Zuke Pizzas are high on my list of no fuss noshes. They make a wonderfully quick, low-carb, low-calorie snack. They're kid friendly, too. My Italian-born mom and aunt used to make them for me when I was a little girl. In fact, I'm pretty sure those two could have written a book on 101 things to do with squash! Click here or below for the easy recipe. Whether you're eating alone or with friends or family, we wish you buon appetito!

Click here to learn more about
Cleo's Mini Zuke Pizzas.

 

GIVEAWAY!

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join us in the comments, and be sure
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What about you? What do you cook when you're eating alone and no one is watching?  

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conversation!

👇

Diet of Death by Ang Pompano

Bulletproof Barista by Cleo Coyle

Essentials of Death by Kim Davis

Murder Uncorked by Maddie Day

Murder From A to Z by V.M. Burns

🔎📚🔍

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January 7

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Heart & Soul Warming Crockpot Split Pea Soup

From Peg Cochran

Growing up, there was no way I would touch pea soup.  Yuck!  It's green.  My first exposure came from the canned variety, and I have to tell you that homemade is a world apart!  This soup can be put together in the morning, simmer in your slow cooker all day, and when you get home you have a delicious dinner waiting for you.  Top with a grating of parmesan cheese, a handful of croutons and serve with some crusty bread and butter.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
3 carrots peeled and chopped 
1 15-ounce can of chicken broth
3 cups water
2 or 3 turkey sausages, squeezed out of the casing and broken into small bits
1 16-ounce bag of split peas, picked over and rinsed

Chop carrots in food processor until desired size (or you can slice them thinly--my husband prefers his vegetables disguised!)  Add along with the rest of the ingredients to your slow cooker.  Cook on low until peas are tender--approximately eight hours.  Soup will be thick--add more water if desired.

Carrots chopped in food processor

Carrots can be chopped or sliced

Carrots and chopped onion ready for the slow cooker

1 lb. rinsed split peas

Carrots, onions, split peas and sausage in slow cooker

A delicious warm dinner on a cold night!

Sign up for my newsletter at my website and join me on Facebook or Twitter @pegcochran!

Coming February 4!

For Valentine’s Day, Emma Taylor and her aunt Arabella have organized a special evening for men only to shop for their sweethearts in the Sweet Nothings lingerie shop, complete with champagne and hors d’oeuvres. But when a former valentine shows up, Aunt Arabella is not her usual bubbly self.

Art dealer Hugh Granger is still a charmer, though. He invites the women to a ball he’s having to celebrate his birthday and his return to Paris, Tennessee. But when Granger is pushed from the balcony, it paints a sinister picture for Aunt Arabella, who gets framed…for her old flame’s murder.

Out now!

For middle-aged “Jersey girl” Lucille Mazzarella, only two things in life really count—her family and her friends. When her brother-in-law’s body falls out of a church confessional, everything she holds dear is threatened, especially when the police arrest her husband for the murder. 

Plagued by hot flashes, a thickening waistline, a mother addicted to the home shopping channel, and a sexy old flame who’s come back to town, Lucille really has her hands full. And while she may not know much about solving crimes, this traditional churchgoer with very modern attitudes knows that with some prayers, some fast thinking, and some even faster talk she might just be able to nail the killer and restore order to her life. 

Stop by my Facebook page and click on contest for further details!

Split pea soup and cornbread by Lucy Burdette

LUCY BURDETTE: I'm sure no one's going to feel too sorry for me, but sometimes the research for the food critic mysteries is hard work. And Hayley Snow tells me that those rich meals and decadent desserts can wreak havoc on your digestion and your shape. Here for example is the yellowtail snapper and shrimp dish from Pisces in Key West--you can't tell from the photo, but they are both swimming in butter.

And here's another rich shrimp dish from El Siboney, a well-know Cuban restaurant. And then blueberry bread pudding from the tapas restaurant, Santiago's Bodega, which is absolutely to die for.

So after a run of these kind of nights, I'm dying for something plain and hearty. One of my go-to meals (and something that Hayley Snow would make too) is split pea soup with cornbread and a big salad. Plain but utterly satisfying and delicious!

LUCY'S SPLIT PEA SOUP

1 bag dried split peas, washed and sorted
3-4 carrots, chopped by hand or in food processor
1 large onion, chopped as above
3 stalks celery, minced
cilantro, washed and chopped
1 32 oz box organic chicken broth

Saute the vegetables in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, until soft. Add the peas and the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the peas are soft and starting to lose their shape, adding water or more broth as needed. Stir in chopped cilantro just before serving, and add a spritz of sesame oil to each bowl.



BUTTERMILK CRACKLING CORN BREAD (adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

(The J of C calls for fatty salt pork, I substitute butter.)

3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 TBSP baking powder
1 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425. Put the butter in a square baking pan and place in the oven until the butter melts. Tilt the bottom so melted butter covers all.

Whisk dry ingredients together. Beat the eggs, add the buttermilk and whisk, then add wet ingredients to dry. Mix and pour in pan containing the hot butter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean. Err on the side of undercooking, so the edges of the bread look crispy and buttery but the center isn't dry.

Oh boy, making my own mouth water looking at these!

Lucy Burdette is the author of the Key West food critic mysteries, including AN APPETITE FOR MURDER. You can follow her on facebook or twitter. She eats and writes in Connecticut and Key West.

Split Pea Soup

by Sheila Connolly

Pease Porridge hot,

Pease Porridge cold,

Pease Porridge in the Pot

Nine Days old,

Spell me that in four Letters?

I will, THAT.

This is the earliest recorded version of Pease Porridge Hot, found in John Newbery's Mother Goose's Melody (c. 1760).

Here at MLK we seem to have a tradition of offering split pea soup recipes in January, and who am I to scoff at tradition?  Besides, there's a practical reason: we had a ham for New Year's.  There are three people in our family.  The ham weighed maybe six pounds.  Do the math:  no way three people could consume six pounds of ham, even after a few recycled meals.

But!  There is a ham bone, and to me that means split pea soup.  After all the wonderful (butter and sugar rich) cookie recipes we've been wallowing in lately, it's almost a relief to return to something simple and earthy—and maybe even healthy for us. All the recipes are good, but this is definitely the simplest one, and now that the holidays are over, I'm definitely in the mood for simple!

This kind of pea soup (aka pease porridge or pease pottage) seems to have a life cycle of its own.  At heart it is very plain:  dried peas, a pork product (salt pork, bacon, sausage or leftover ham) if you're not a vegetarian, salt and pepper, and water.  What I did notice is that if you google contemporary soup recipes, they started out with the basics (back in the 1990s) and then the industrious and/or bored cooks starting adding things—mostly spices, but also an occasional other vegetable.  Much as I love spices, now and then it's nice to go back to fundamentals.

I have an 1846 cookbook, called Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book (which, the author tells us, was a supplement to her Treatise on Domestic Economy).  It is replete with recipes that we'll probably never need (I don't plan to cleanse a calf's head and feet any time soon, and I'm still trying to figure out what Ivory Dust is—not soap, I'm fairly sure, because it went into a sauce).  There are also plenty of good plain recipes, including two for split pea soup.  Guess what:  Miss Beecher's recipe is pretty darn close to the modern ones.

Here's the basic modern recipe for Split Pea Soup:

1 lb split peas (yellow or green)

2 qts (8 cups) water

½ lb meat:  salt pork, ham bone or leftover ham

5 onions, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Herbs of your choice

Rinse the peas (aren't you glad you don't have to soak them overnight any more?) and put them in a 6-8 qt havy pot with water, the ham bone, and half of the chopped onions.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the peas are tender but not falling apart, 1 to 1 ½ hours. (Not that there is no salt in this yet—cooking the dry beans with salt makes them tough.)

Cook the remaining onions in butter over moderate heat until softened, about 10 minutes.  Add to soup along with salt, pepper, and herbs and continue simmering, partially covered, until the peas are falling apart and the soup thickens, another 1 to 1 ½ hours.  Remove any remaining meat from the hambone and add it to the pot.

This can be varied in countless ways. You can replace some of the second batch of onions with leeks.  You can use stock instead of water (and you may need to add water after it's done cooking because it tends to thicken). I've been known to add shredded carrot for the second simmering because it adds a nice touch of color.  You can add smoked meats or bacon.

And I'll bet you that it won't last nine days!

Vegetarian Split Pea soup

Sometime back I posted my go-to recipe for split pea soup and lamented the fact that it wasn't vegetarian because I start with a chicken broth base and add ham. Now, we love this soup, but our youngest is vegetarian and she misses it.

Several Mystery Lovers' Kitchen readers contacted me and pointed to a recipe online for a vegan split pea soup at The Perfect Pantry. You can find that recipe here.

Game for finding a vegetarian option, I tried it. Verdict: not bad, but not great. There was a flavor in there I didn't like. Same for our daughter. We think the thyme was misplaced, so in my version, I skip that entirely and make up for it with bay leaves and garlic powder. My husband loved it, but I thought it needed a tweak. Here's my version:

Vegetarian Split Pea soup

1 lb green split peas

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 - 3 Tbsp Hickory flavored barbecue sauce

Handful of baby carrots, added about 1-1/2 hour before serving

6 cups water

The Perfect Pantry recipe tells you to put all this in a large slow cooker set on high, then after 4 hours, transfer to a food processor to smooth it out.

Here's a photo of my attempt to do this.

It took forever for the peas to break down, and then the soup got way too thick.

Not cool.

Me, I much prefer to simmer this on my stove. This way the peas break down completely, and there's no messy transfer-to-a-food-processor-and-back to deal with. You'll need to keep an eye on this so that it doesn't get too thick too quickly. I found myself adding a bit more water, until the peas broke down completely.

What I found odd about the Perfect Pantry site, was their note "if you're adding smoked turkey or cooked sausage..." Umm... isn't their version supposed to be vegan? Made me a bit suspicious and so I double-checked my barbecue sauce to make sure it didn't include any meat by-products. Safe.

If you love pea soup, and you're not vegetarian, I suggest you check out either Krista's wonderful split pea soup for a rainy day Krista's split pea soup, or my favorite recipe Split pea soup.

This picture is actually of my original soup. For some reason, I can't find the photos we took of the vegetarian version. And now the entire pot is gone and I can't take a new one.

Ooops!!

In any case, soup seems like the best answer to the cold, the snow, and the general yickiness outside these days.

Enjoy!

Julie

Rainy Day Split Pea Soup

After all my complaining about hot and humid weather, Mother Nature flipped a switch and shot us straight into temperatures cold enough to turn on the furnace and want to snuggle by the fireplace.


Is it just me or does anyone else hear evil cackling?


Consequently, I went for a bracing soup this week. Based on a recipe in The Best of Gourmet 1988, it's been a favorite of mine for a long time. I've monkeyed with it, of course, but it turns out delicious every time. The good news is that it's an easy recipe in that everything basically goes into a big pot and simmers for three hours. The bad news is that after ignoring the soup for three hours, it needs to be pureed, which is messy but worth doing because it results in a lovely velvety texture.

The original recipe called for 10 cups of water, but I prefer the denser consistency achieved by using less water. If you don't have kielbasa handy, the recipe also works with pork chops or ham. I think it's best if you have leftover pork bones to toss into it (be sure to take them out before pureeing!). It's a nice way to use the leftover bone from a ham. Kielbasa probably adds more flavor since it's already laden with spices, but I've made it many times with ham and it's always great. On one notable occasion, since I didn't have an onion, I substituted an entire bulb of garlic, chopped. It was still delicious.

One other big bonus is that this can be made ahead of time. It keeps nicely in the fridge for a couple of days. Serve by the fire with a loaf of crusty bread and a creamy cheese.

Rainy Day Split Pea Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion (or, should you be avoiding vampires, 1 entire garlic bulb)
1 pound dried split peas
2 cups carrot slices (about 5 average carrots)
3/4 cup sliced celery
1 kielbasa
1 ham bone (or several pieces of leftover bone from pork)
8 to 10 cups of water
1 large bay leaf
salt (to taste -- depends on how salty the kielbasa is)

Over medium low heat, melt the butter and saute the onions until soft. Add the peas, carrots, celery, kielbasa, pork bones, water and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle boil, cover and simmer for three hours. Hint: for a thicker soup use 8 cups water, 10 cups for a thinner soup.

Puree in a blender or food processor. Hint: no matter how large your food processor or blender, do this in batches and pour them into a large container so you can stir them all together when done. Serve hot.

If you want to dress it up, toss some croutons on top. No croutons? Use mini cookie cutters to cut pieces of soft bread and toast them at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Add to soup at last minute as a garnish.

Enjoy!

Split Pea Soup and NEWS!

News first!!

Today is the official release day for Krista's newest book - THE DIVA PAINTS THE TOWN. I know I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. I love this series!

I know Krista will be talking about it a bit more on Saturday, but I didn't want the day to pass without acknowledgment!

Congrats Krista!

My family loves split pea soup. I started the girls on it very young before they were old enough to think that eating something green was yucky. It worked for broccoli, salads, and other good-for-you foods, and now my daughters are all happy veggie eaters and they all love split pea soup. My youngest, the vegetarian, has been after me to come up with a version that doesn't use a hambone as its base, but I haven't managed that yet. Soon, I hope. And if it's a success, I'll post it here. But I can't imagine a great pea soup without delicious ham undertones....

Anyway, my mom was the one who first suggested I make this. I had no idea how. She told me to buy Jack Rabbit brand peas, and just follow the recipe on the back of the bag because it was the best. There was no way I believed that a recipe from the back of a cellophane bag would be any good, but it was fabulous. I've modified it a bit since then, but the Jack Rabbit recipe is still pretty excellent. If you need peas, pick up a bag of that brand and follow it to the letter. You won't be disappointed.

Here, however, is my modified version. I've added a bit more water, simmered a bit less time, eliminated an ingredient or two and traded garlic powder for fresh minced garlic.

Personally, I think this is the best pea soup on the planet. Perfect for this weather, perfect to serve at SuperBowl parties ("Soup"-erbowl ... get it?), and just great for bringing back that great feeling of home and warmth and comfort.

Split Pea Soup

16 oz bag of peas

2 chicken bouillon cubes

4 quarts water

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves crushed, minced

1 ham shank (or butt, if that's what you have)

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

Carrots (I like the baby carrots that come cleaned and pre-peeled)

Wash peas and pick out any bad ones.

Combine peas, water, ham shank, onions, bouillon, oregano, pepper, bay leaf, and garlic in a deep soup pot. Bring to a gentle boil and then simmer for about an hour or so. Remove shank and trim any meat off (this is a great time to snack!). Cut this meat into bite-size pieces and return to the pot. Add carrots. Simmer again, uncovered, for about another hour and a half. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

I used to simmer it for 2 and a half hours the second time, but then the soup gets really, really thick. I like thick, but, this was a bit too much. Keep an eye on the pot after an hour and judge appropriate simmer time for yourself.

Yum.

Enjoy! This is a great soup to sip while reading mysteries. Trust me!

;-)

Julie

* * *

I'll bet you thought I forgot about the truth and lies.... and I almost did! Here's a reminder of what my "claims" were:

1 - FALSE - although I did buy a goldfish for my fraternity initiation, I did not have to swallow it! Whew!!

2 - TRUE - I have Synesthesia. My youngest shares this "affliction," but I wouldn't trade it away even if I could. Life is so colorful this way ;-)

3 - FALSE - Never met Christian Bale. Never tried to be an extra in Batman. But a lot of folks around here did try to get in and we know a few who succeeded.

Hope you're enjoying our "tall tales"!