Kale, Orange, and Cannellini Salad - a zesty summer recipe from Leslie Budewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: Not long ago, I spotted a reference to a kale and white bean salad with oranges, dressed with olive oil and a splash of orange juice. I thought it sounded like a great combo, but that it needed a little more zip. None of the recipes I found quite matched what my mouth and eye wanted, so I riffed off a basic recipe and came up with this. The citrus and citrus vinaigrette give this salad a refreshing, zesty spark perfect for this time of year. Make it into a meal salad by adding cooked shrimp or chunks of cooked salmon or chicken.

Now, I know there are kale haters in the world, and if you’re one, this salad might change your mind. Or not. Massaging the kale—simply rubbing it with your hands and a little salt and olive oil—removes the occasional toughness, and leaves it soft and tender. You can buy kale by the bunch or bagged and chopped kale. Baby kale is a good choice, if available. I’ve never grown kale—maybe next year. (The gardener’s refrain!)

You will note no almonds or feta in the ingredients photos. I didn’t think about adding them until I was putting the salad together. Sliced onion is impossible to measure. Eyeball it, keeping in mind that red onion can be strong and tolerance differs.

As my description suggests, this is a flexible salad so add anything your little mouth desires. Enjoy!

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. 

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Kale, Orange, and Cannellini Salad

For the salad: 

1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds 

5-6 cups kale 

1-15 ounce can cannellini or other white beans 

1/4 cup red onion 

1 orange 

1/4 cup crumbled feta, optional

For the dressing:

2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil 

1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 clove garlic, minced 

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste 

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste 

Optional additions: 

cooked shrimp

chunks of cooked salmon or chicken 

Make the salad:

Heat the oven—a toaster oven is handy, if the weather is hot—to 300 degrees. Spread the almonds on a metal baking sheet and toast about ten minutes, then remove from oven. Remember that nuts continue to cook and take on color as they cool. 

Lay the kale leaves on a large cutting board and cut alongside the stems to remove the leaves, or simply tear them off the stem with your hands. (You can leave the stems on if you’re using tender baby kale.) Chop or tear into bite-sized pieces and rinse well in a salad spinner, then place in a large bowl. Add a teaspoon of olive oil and a good-sized pinch of salt, then rub the leaves together with your hands until the kale begins to glisten with the oil. 

Rinse and drain the beans. Slice the onion thinly. Peel and section the orange, then cut the sections into quarters or thirds. Add beans, onion, and orange to the kale. 

Make the dressing: 

Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a small, wide-mouthed glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well until emulsified—that is, until it takes on a creamy appearance. 

Assemble the salad: 

Just before serving, shake the dressing again and add to the kale mixture. Toss well to coat. Add toasted almonds and crumbled feta, along with the shrimp or other additions and toss lightly. Serve. 

With almonds 

With almonds, feta, and shrimp.

Serves 6 as a side salad, 4 for a meal. Leftovers will keep a day or two. 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine. 

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.

One Year in the Kitchen: From Murder Most Fowl to Salmon Wellington (Plus a Four-Book Giveaway!) by Ang Pompano

 

Ang Pompano: Tomorrow, June 16, marks exactly one year since I joined Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen as a regular contributor. I still remember my very first post on Monday, June 16, 2025: Murder Most Fowl: Balsamic Chicken, a dish I could never have pulled off without my wife, Annette, who is both a wonderful artist and a spectacular cook.

I have to say it’s been a fun year hanging out in the kitchen with this incredibly talented group of authors, who also happen to be amazing cooks. I want to thank every single one of them for being so kind and generous to me. If you follow this blog, you already know these incredible talents, but I have to give a personal shout-out to:

* Leslie Budewitz

* Valerie (V.M.) Burns

* Lucy Burdette (my longtime writing group pal!)

* Peg Cochran

* Cleo Coyle

* Kim Davis

* Vicki Delany

* Maddie Day

* Darci Hannah

* Leslie Karst

* Molly MacRae

They certainly disprove the old adage that "too many cooks spoil the broth.” 

One of the highlights of my year was attending Left Coast Crime in San Francisco and sitting on the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen panel. It was great catching up with old friends like Leslie B. and Maddie, and equally wonderful to finally meet Kim and Leslie K. in person. We hit it off immediately.

I think that instant connection comes from the fact that we’ve truly become friends. We communicate by email almost daily, not just about the behind-the-scenes business (and you wouldn't believe how much unseen work goes into keeping a blog like Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen running smoothly!), but also to support one another through the highs and lows of the writing life.

Before I get too long-winded, let me simply say thank you to my fellow Kitchen bloggers, and thank you to the readers who stop by, leave comments, and make this community such a pleasure to be part of.

Now, enough reminiscing. Since anniversaries call for a celebration, I'd like to share a recipe that Annette and I recently made: Salmon Wellington. She adapted it from a recipe by cookbook author Arman Liew. It was a big hit in our house, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Salmon Wellington:

What You Need

1 skinless salmon fillet (about 1 3/4 pounds) 

Salt and pepper

Dried dill 

Chopped fresh dill

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped (more if you like it)

1 package frozen spinach

1 package cream cheese

1 lemon

1 sheet puff pastry (thawed)

1 egg

What To Do

Heat oven to 400°F.

Sprinkle the salmon with salt, pepper, and a little dried dill.

Cook the onion and garlic in a frying pan until soft. Add the spinach and cook until it's hot. If there's a lot of liquid, drain it off.

Stir in the cream cheese, a handful of chopped fresh dill, the grated zest of the lemon, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Mix until creamy.

Roll out the puff pastry a little so it's big enough to wrap around the salmon.

Put half the spinach mixture in the middle of the pastry. Lay the salmon on top. Spread the rest of the spinach mixture over the salmon.

Wrap the pastry around everything. Pinch the seams or use a fork to seal them closed with a little egg yolk.

Brush the remaining beaten egg yolk over the pastry and sprinkle with dried dill.

Put it on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Let it sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Ang Tip: If the pastry is golden and beautiful but you're worried about the salmon, stick a fork into the thickest part. If it flakes easily, you're a gourmet chef. If not, give it another 5 minutes and pretend that was the plan all along.

What about you? What's the most ambitious thing you've ever attempted in the kitchen? Did it turn out beautifully, become a family favorite, or end with a call for pizza delivery?

Tell me in the comments below and leave your email address to be entered in a drawing to win all four of the books I've had published since joining Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: When It's Time for Leaving, Blood Ties and Deadly Lies, Diet of Death, and Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories (co-editor).

Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher, and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency series and the Reluctant Food Columnist series, both published by Level Best Books. In addition to his writing, Ang is a co-founder of Crime Spell Books and serves as co-editor of the Best New England Crime Stories anthology. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and their two rescue dogs, Dexter and Alfie.

Diet of Death

by Ang Pompano

The first in the Reluctant Food Columnist series.

Buy Link

Betty Ann Green is a beloved culinary icon…who doesn’t exist. She is the brilliant, beautiful illusion created by two unlikely collaborators. Behind the façade is Quincy Lazzaro, a culinarily challenged writer whose witty, sharp prose is the public face of Betty, while those flawless, genius recipes are all thanks to his octogenarian neighbor, Mary Ticarelli.

When the arrogant diet guru, Dr. Alan Tolzer, inventor of the Westport Diet, demands a face-to-face interview, Quincy reluctantly steps in as Betty’s frontman, only for Tolzer to drop dead. The police call it natural causes, but Quincy knows better. He sees it as the investigative break he’s been waiting for.

Now, caught between a crime-solving grandma, a no-nonsense detective girlfriend, and a killer who may be one step ahead, Quincy must unravel the mystery before the killer strikes again.

When It’s Time for Leaving

by Ang Pompano

Buy Link

Al DeLucia walked away from the police—and his past. But when his long-lost father leaves him a detective agency in Savannah, Al finds himself trapped between family secrets and a murder on the agency’s dock. Partnered with Maxine Brophy, a fierce detective who doesn’t trust him, Al is pulled into a deadly search through Savannah and the Okefenokee Swamp—where the truth about the case, and his father, may cost him everything.

Blood Ties and Deadly Lies

by Ang Pompano

Buy Link

Al DeLucia returns to Sachem Creek expecting a kayak race and a chance to confront his childhood bully, Abe Cromwell. Instead, he finds a dead lawyer, a web of deceit, and Abe claiming they’re brothers by DNA. Reluctantly joined by Maxine Brophy, his formidable partner and girlfriend, Al dives into a murder investigation that exposes land swindles, hidden maps, and buried family secrets. In a town where the past won’t stay buried, Al must face truths that could upend everything.

Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025

Edited by

Christine Bagley, Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler

BUY LINK

Every year the anthology brings welcome surprises and satisfactions, and this year is no different, featuring stories by 21 of New England’s best crime writers.

Includes “Minnie the Air Raid Warden” by Ang Pompano.

Guest @Holly Danvers, Lie in the Bay, Giveaway, and Recipe for Creamy Italian Pasta Salad

 Darci Hannah: I am so thrilled today to have my dear friend Holly Danvers in the Kitchen with us. Holly and I met years ago having both been brought together through our love of writing cozy mysteries, making good food, and Wisconsin, the state she lives in and the state I visit often. Regarding Holly’s cozy mysteries, you might have read her Lakeside Library Mysteries, or her Handcrafted Mysteries under Holly Quinn, as well as her Mainely Murder Mysteries under Sherry Lynn. Holly and I talk over the phone quite a bit, and boy, can we talk! Over the years, during these conversations, Holly would often express her desire to try her hand at writing Women’s Suspense. We both knew it was a far cry from the world of cozy mysteries, and given our crazy industry, it would be a difficult leap to make. However, I knew that this was her passion. I also knew that one day Holly would write that book she’d been wanting to write. Well, friends, she has written that book and I couldn’t be prouder of my friend. In fact, she has two books in her captivating and suspenseful LITTLE WHITE LIES series and counting! They are so much fun to read, and I hope you’ll give them a try! I’m going to let Holly tell you all about her latest release, LIE IN THE BAY. 

Take it away, Holly Danvers!  

There’s something special about summer in the Midwest. Happy exchanges drifting across backyards, tables filled with well-loved recipes, and the sense that everyone belongs. If you’ve ever been to a neighborhood block party in Wisconsin, you know exactly what I mean.

In Lie in the Bay, the second book in my LITTLE WHITE LIES series (releasing June 2, 2026), one such gathering sets the scene: a lively Booyah party where secrets simmer just as intensely as the stew. Now, I wish I could share the exact Booyah recipe with you, but here in Wisconsin, that’s practically a state secret. You’ll just have to visit and taste it for yourself.

What I can share, though, is a dish that pairs perfectly with any summer gatherings and one that earned a permanent spot in my own “saved recipes” collection.

This Creamy Italian Pasta Salad came together on a day when my friend Darci Hannah stopped by for a visit, and I needed something to wow my culinary friend. I wanted something that could shine at a potluck, and just as good enjoyed on the deck facing the lake with a glass of something cold. One bite in, we both knew it was a keeper.

It’s everything a great summer side dish should be. Creamy but not heavy, tangy with just the right amount of zing, and a refreshingly new spin on an old favorite. You can make it ahead, tweak it to your taste, and even swap in gluten-free pasta for your celiac friends (like me).

Mostly, it’s the kind of dish you bring to a gathering with friends, and watch it quickly disappear as stories are shared and laughter carries into the evening. And that, to me, is what both cooking and storytelling are all about.

As you prepare for your own summer parties, I hope you’ll give this Creamy Italian Pasta Salad a try. Maybe it’ll find a place at your table the way it did at mine. And while you’re there, perhaps you’ll pick up Lie in the Bay. It’s a story filled with lakeside allure, layered secrets, and the kinds of gatherings where not everything is as it seems. If you’re a Fredia McFadden fan, this one will be right up your alley.

In both food and fiction… it’s the little details that make all the difference. I hope you enjoy this one, and if you try it, please reach out and share what you think.

Happy cooking and reading, friends!

  With love,

 Holly Danvers

Creamy Italian Pasta Salad 

(Can be made with gluten free noodles)

Salad:

1 box pasta of choice

1 14 oz can artichoke hearts drained and chopped

1 cup grape tomatoes

1 cup diced mozzarella cheese, diced

1 cup roasted red peppers diced *(I use Mezzetta Red Bell Pepper strips, and I’ll add a photo for reference as these are so flavorful)

1 cup black olives (*I omit as taste preference)

Pepperoni slices chopped

Creamy Italian Dressing: These ingredients make this salad a standout. For best results, don’t skip any! 😊

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon marjoram

1 ½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 cup Hellman’s mayo or Dukes (*because you’re adding sugar Miracle Whip might be too sweet)

1Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring water to a rolling boil. Add salt, olive oil and pasta to the water and cook to box directions for al dente.

After draining the pasta, rinse with cold water.

Add pasta to a large bowl and stir in artichokes, black olives, grape tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and roasted red peppers.

In a small bowl, add all dressing ingredients and stir until fully combined

Add enough of the dressing ingredients to the pasta and stir until fully coated, garnish with fresh chopped basil if you wish. *You might have extra dressing. Just save for later.

Enjoy! Store leftovers in an air-tight container.

NOTE: Once you try the homemade Italian dressing, you’ll want to make it often! Can store any extra in a mason jar with a screw cap for other uses or to refresh leftovers the next day.

Hey friends, for a chance to win a paperback copy of the first book in my Little White Lies series, Lie in the Tide, let me know if you have ever read a Women's Suspense novel? Would you like to try one?

* I will be gifting a paperback copy of LIE IN THE TIDE, * sorry US residents only.

Holly Danvers pens multiple mysteries series under several pseudonyms. A New England Native, she now resides in the Midwest with her husband, where’s she’s already plotting her next novel.

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Purchase Link

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I will be gifting a paperback copy of LIE IN THE TIDE, * sorry US residents only.

Goldie’s Total Blackout Cake #recipe from Molly MacRae

 

 

This recipe was featured during the presentation of Overboard, starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, on TBS’s Dinner & a Movie sometime in the late 90s.

My husband, boys, and I loved watching Dinner & a Movie on Friday nights back in the late 90s. Three of the recipes the hosts made during breaks in the week’s featured movie are still among our favorites. This one for Goldie’s Total Blackout Cake is so wicked we only make it very, very occasionally. Lucky for you, though, I made it this week for a special birthday request.

Be forewarned: this is the kind of amazingly rich, chocolaty chocolate cake that calls for almost no flour but lots of eggs, butter, and a whopping 10 ounces of chocolate (plus 8 more ounces of chocolate for the frosting).

 

You’ll find a free, downloadable, printable pdf of the recipe below the cooking directions.

Goldie's Total Blackout Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

8 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (or bar, chopped)

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

5 eggs

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tablespoon almond flour

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the frosting:

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1/3 cup cream

1 tablespoon butter

 

Directions

For the cake:

Melt the butter and chocolate in a small, heavy bottomed saucepan over a low heat, stirring often. The low heat is important because when chocolate gets too hot it becomes grainy. When the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut a piece of parchment or wax paper to fit the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with the paper, then butter the paper and the sides of the pan. Dust the bottom and sides of the pan with flour, tapping out any excess.

Separate the eggs into two large mixing bowls (yolks in one, whites in the other). Add the sugars and vanilla to the yolks and beat until smooth, about three minutes.

Stir the cooled chocolate mixture into the yolk mixture, then stir in the almond flour and all-purpose flour.

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat them until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until well blended. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. 

Bake in the center of the oven for about 45 minutes. (The original recipe says 30 minutes, so you might start checking yours at that point. It took mine the full 45 minutes.) The cake will still be slightly soft at the center and fully set around the edges.

Allow to cool before turning out onto a serving plate and removing the parchment from what is now the top of the cake.

For the frosting:

Combine the frosting ingredients in another small, heavy bottomed saucepan (or the first one). Heat over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Allow to cool and thicken before spreading over the cake.

Options: serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder or studded with chopped crystalized ginger. 

 

🌻 click here for a free, downloadable, 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, the Haunted Shell 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.