Sauteéd Swiss Chard with Garlic, a Pun, and a Giveaway from Molly MacRae

 

Chard is lovely stuff—to look at and to eat. Here’s a delicious side dish that’s a combination of slightly caramelized, crisp-tender stems and tasty, tender greens made lively with the zip of garlic and the brightness of lemon.

This might sound like a non sequitur but bear with me. We’ll get back to chard in a few paragraphs. Have you ever attended the International Edible Book Festival? It’s actually many individual festivals, taking place around the world, on or close to April 1^st each year. Started in 2000 by Books2Eat, the festival is the brainchild of Judith A. Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron. From the Books2Eat website: “This event unites bibliophiles, book artists, and food lovers to celebrate the ingestion of culture and its fulfilling nourishment. Participants create edible books that are exhibited, documented then consumed.”

The women chose April 1^st because that’s the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), author of Physiologie du goût. Also because April Fools Day is a fine time to play with words and eat them, too. Many of the entries are gorgeous, artistic creations. But just as cozy mystery writers love puns, so do the many cooks whose entries involve puns.

The Chard in the Scone

Circling back to lovely chard, in 2008 I entered the International Edible Book Festival here at the University of Illinois. My creation? The Chard in the Scone. It won an award, possibly for best literary pun, but I only remember the thrill of winning and not the exact award.

April 1^st is approaching. Is there an International Edible Book Festival in your area?  

*** Giveaway ***

For your chance to win a copy of There’ll Be Shell to Pay, book 2 in my Haunted Shell Shop Mystery series, answer either (or both) of these questions:

What book title did I play around with for my edible book entry?

What book can you imagine turning into an edible masterpiece?

Put your answer(s) in a comment below and remember to give your email address, too. I’ll choose a winner at random on Brillat-Savarin’s birthday – April 1^st. (Canada and U.S. only, please)

 

Sauteéd Swiss Chard with Garlic

Adapted from The Complete Diabetes Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1 1/2 pounds Swiss chard, stems sliced diagonally 1/4 inch wide, leaves sliced into strips 1/2 inch wide

2 teaspoons lemon juice  

 

Directions

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just shimmering. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown and crisp-tender, about 6 minutes.

Add half the chard leaves and cook, stirring and tossing with tongs, until just beginning to wilt, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the rest of the leaves and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until they’re tender, about 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, season with pepper to taste, and serve.

 

click here for a free, printable pdf of this recipe

 

Now available for pre-order – All Shell Breaks Loose

book 3 in the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries!

 

On North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island, Maureen Nash sells exquisite seashells to locals and tourists—with Bonny the shop cat and the ghost of a Welsh pirate for company. And when needed, she steps in to help the police solve a murder . . .

Dr. Irving Allred is boasting around town that he’s about to get his hands on an authentic haunted sword. But minutes after Maureen hears the story, a woman walks into the Moon Shell, sword in hand. She found it while walking her bulldog on the beach—and its blade is stained with what looks like blood. Looks like it’s time to call the sheriff’s department.

Allred is furious that his prize is now in police custody—and even more agitated that an unknown buyer was trying to outbid him. He’s convinced the sword will lead him straight to the ghosts he’s been hunting. He’s not the only one on the Outer Banks who’s been searching for spirits, though. An odd visitor also showed up at Maureen’s shop claiming the ability to sense them . . . though somehow she didn’t seem to notice Maureen’s spectral friend hanging about.

When a man who’d been camping nearby is found cut down along the shore, Maureen starts providing some unofficial assistance to Captain Rob Tate by digging into the island’s maritime history. But it’s not the only mystery she’s facing—because the shop’s resident ghost is seeing ghosts himself . . .

  

Happy reading! 

 

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 and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomato Shrimp Curry @MaddieDayAuthor #giveaway

MADDIE DAY here. 

When I was in San Francisco last month for Left Coast Crime, my cousin took me to Burma Superstar, a popular restaurant. I loved the food (especially the tea leaf salad), and when I learned there is a cookbook by the owners, I had to order a copy. 

This recipe is adapted from one I found in the book.

I might make the tea leaf salad one day, but I'll need to acquire some special ingredients for that. This curry, on the other hand, was simple and tasty and quick to prepare for a weeknight dinner.

Tomato Shrimp Curry

Adapted from the cookbook Burma Superstar: Addictive Recipes from the Crossroads of Southeast Asia by Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy.

Ingredients

1 pound large shelled shrimp, thawed

1 tablespoon fish sauce

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 finely diced onion

1 sweet red pepper, diced

2 stalks celery, minced (not shown in photo)

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ to 1 teaspoon Thai green chile paste

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon turmeric

2 cups diced Roma tomatoes

 

Directions

In a bowl, mix the shrimp with fish sauce and salt and let sit at room temperature.

 

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to brown, about six minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add chile paste, paprika, and turmeric and stir. 

Add celery and tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes lose their shape and soften and the sauce is thick enough to stand up on a spoon, about 7 minutes. If the tomatoes are on the dry side, add about ¼ cup of water to help them cook down.

Stir in the shrimp and gently coat in the sauce. (Sorry, I forgot to snap a photo of this stage.) Cook gently 3-5 minutes until shrimp are cooked through. Taste, adding more salt or fish sauce as desired. Serve over hot white rice or rice noodles.

 

Note: the book recommends adding 1 teaspoon shrimp paste and 1-2 Thai chiles instead of the chile paste to the sauce, and providing both cilantro and lemon wedges as garnishes. I had none of that and can’t tolerate hot peppers, thus the adaptation.

Readers: What's your favorite Asian dish? I'll send one commenter one of my special Author aprons!

🍛🍚🍛

Murder at Cape Costumers is out and available wherever book are sold!

Next up is A Poisonous Pour! This third Cece Barton mystery releases April 28.

My most recent releases are Scone Cold Dead, #13 in the Country Store Mysteries,

 Deadly Crush, 

and A Case for the Ladies.

Check out all my writing.

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and sweet cat Martin north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.

Crockpot Ranch Chicken #recipe @vmburns

 VMBURNS: I love cooking with my crockpot. Most of the time, you just dump items into the crockpot and let it do all of the work. The only work in this simple recipe comes from browning the meat in a skillet before putting it in the crockpot. Browning helps with presentation. It also adds to the depth of the flavor by sealing in the juices. You can even skip the browning part if you're strapped for time. I used to like tossing the ingredients into my crockpot in the morning, leaving for work, and coming home to a finished meal. The house always smelled amazing, too.

This easy recipe is like chipped beef (only with chicken). I ate this over rice, but it would be great over mashed potatoes. Next time, I'll top with shredded cheese and crumbled bacon.

Crockpot Ranch Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 packet ranch seasoning mix
• 1 can, 10.5 oz cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil (optional for searing)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Sear the chicken breasts on both sides until golden brown.
   
   
   
2. Combine the cream of chicken soup, ranch seasoning, chicken broth, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper in the crockpot. Stir thoroughly.
   
   
   
3. Add the chicken breasts into the crockpot and ensure they are well coated with the sauce.
   
   
   
4. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, until fully cooked through.
5. After cooking, use two forks to shred the chicken in the creamy sauce.
   
6.  Stir in sour cream for added creaminess and flavor. You can also add shredded cheese (optional)
   
   
   

READERS: What's your favorite crockpot meal? Let me know in the comments below. 

MURDER FROM A TO Z

Nana Jo has volunteered her lawyer granddaughter, Jenna, to teach estate planning to retirees—with Sam providing her bookshop as the venue. But during the seminar, entitled Getting Your Ducks in Order, it quickly becomes clear someone’s up to Fowl Play. When elderly Alva Tarkington, accompanied by her niece, sits down for a consultation, Sam realizes the woman’s frequent blinking is actually Morse Code—S.O.S. The sisters get her alone, and Alva tells them she believes her life is in danger and must change her will . . .

Unfortunately, Alva is found dead the next day—seemingly from natural causes. But Nana Jo and the sisters suspect otherwise. In between penning her latest historical mystery, set in 1939 as England declares war on Germany and Lady Elizabeth Marsh pursues stolen paintings and a traitor, Sam teams up with the senior sleuths of Shady Acres to search for motives—beginning with Alva’s family. They soon learn not everyone is who they say they are, and someone is more than qualified to teach a class on cold-blooded murder . . .

BUY LINK

Poke Wonton Cup Appetizers with Cream Cheese #recipe by @LeslieKarst

 

These tasty delights, baked in mini muffin tins, are simple to prepare and would make for a fun appetizer for a dinner party, or something to bring to a potluck.

Poke (pronounced poh-kay), a sort of Hawaiian-style ceviche, is now a well-known dish on the Mainland and can be found for sale at many grocery stores. (I even saw it for sale in Paris, France, the last time I was there!). 

But if you can’t locate any poke, feel free to substitute ceviche, or chopped cooked chicken or pork seasoned with any of the above flavoring agents, or even leftover sautéed vegetables! The sky’s the limit, because most everything goes with cream cheese and crispy wonton wrappers!

 

Or you can make your own poke--it's easy! (Recipe here.)

 

Poke Wonton Cup Appetizers with Cream Cheese

(makes 24 cups)

Ingredients

24 wonton wrappers

vegetable oil

1 package cream cheese

1 lb. poke (or other savory cooked filling)

(note: you’ll likely have more cream cheese and poke than you need for 24 cups)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Using a pastry brush, spread a thin layer of oil on the front and back of the wonton wrappers. (Or, if you have it, use spray-on oil to coat the wrappers.)

Place each oiled wrapper into your muffin tins, using your finger to press the wrappers into the edges of the tin, allowing the corners spread out like a flower. (If you only have one tin, simply bake the first batch, then reuse the tin to bake 12 more cups.)

Bake the wrappers for 8-10 minutes, until they are golden brown, then let cool.

Using a butter knife dipped into a glass of water between cuts, slice the cream cheese into 1” squares, about ¼ to ½” thick.

If your store-bought poke came in large chunks, cut them up into smaller pieces if you wish, as I did:

Place a square of cream cheese on the bottom of each cup.

Then top with poke (or whatever savory filling you’re using), and you’re done! (I used two kinds of poke: sesame and soy sauce, and mayo and sriracha sauce).

Enjoy!

 

🌱  🍋  🌿

 

Coming April 7!

Orchid Isle Mystery  #3

MURDER, LOCAL STYLE

Available for pre-order here.

 

"The beauties and customs of Hawai‘i provide a striking backdrop for a murder with an unexpected motive."

Kirkus Reviews 

 

 🍍 🌴 🍹

 

Out now in paperback!

Orchid Isle Mystery  #2

WATERS OF DESTRUCTION

Buy link here. 

 

2026 Lefty and Agatha Award Finalist

for Best Mystery/Contemporary Mystery!

 

"Immerse yourself in Hawaiian lore and savor the portrayal of the stunning landscapes
while enjoying the entertaining mystery."

Kirkus Reviews

 

Also available

in paperback!

MOLTEN DEATH

Orchid Isle Mystery  #1

Buy link here

 

2025 Lefty Award Finalist

for Best Mystery!

 

“Karst’s first Orchid Isle novel is part murder mystery, part vividly evocative, colorful sketch of Hawaii and its history, geography, tradition, culture, food, language, and people. Armchair travelers and mystery aficionados alike will find it entertaining.”

Booklist

 

This first book in my brand-new Orchid Isle mystery series features retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen who, on a trip to the Big Island of Hawai‘i, swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions when a hike to an active lava flow turns deadly. 

 

Praise for MOLTEN DEATH:

“a compelling read that will enlighten, engage, and entertain, leaving readers longing for their next trip to the Orchid Isle.”

--New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay

“a terrific debut to a series that will go on my must read list!”

--USA Today bestselling author Deborah Crombie

 

 

A SENSE FOR MURDER

2024 Lefty Award Finalist

for Best Humorous Mystery!

This newest Sally Solari mystery

is available for purchase here !

 

Praise for A SENSE FOR MURDER:

 

“[Sally is] sassy, irresistible company... Culinary cozy fans will be in heaven.”

 --Publishers Weekly

 

“An enjoyable read for mystery mavens and foodies alike.”

--Kirkus Reviews

Justice is Served:  A Tale of Scallops,

the Law, and Cooking for RBG

is the 2024 Silver Medal Winner for both the

IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award

and the IPPY Award!

Buy link here

 

 

 

Praise for Justice is Served:

 

"a suspenseful, exhilarating memoir; Karst relays her determination to serve the 'perfect' meal to RBG alongside an uplifting, enlightening portrayal of one of the most admired justices in the history of the Supreme Court." 

 

-Foreword Reviews (starred review)

 

"[This] book is a romp from cover to cover—and, just like a great meal, left me ready for more."

-Karen Shimizu, executive editor, Food & Wine-

All of the Sally Solari Mysteries (as well as my other books) are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.