Month: October 2022

Cocktails With Christie!

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This Week’s Recipe: A Maiden’s Prayer

Inspiration: Okay, in honor of the spooky season, we’ve got a Pumpkin Spice Liqueur (produced by Bellewood Farms in Lynden, Wa.) to try in a cocktail called a Maiden’s Prayer!

So I managed to find Valencia Oranges (hand squished), Meyer lemons (the very best kind, imho), triple sec (which is seriously cheap), and this pumpkin spice liqueur…the full recipe’s found here.

And my oh my, if you enjoy pumpkin spice, this is very, very drinkable!

Smooth, citrusy (without being overpowering), and with autumn distilled down to its’ alcoholic essence — this drink is everything I’d hoped it would be!

I think I’m in heaven…

Christie: I do believe if Ariadne Oliver had one of these after discovering the body bobbing amongst the apples in the tub — it might’ve calmed her nerves…

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This Week’s Recipe: Cranberry Orange Chicken

Inspiration: Whilst perusing recipes one day, I was listening to Bob’s Burgers with half an ear and their Holiday Special came on…and I’d a sudden hankering for cranberry sauce. However, since I don’t generally eat it by the spoonful, I looked in the fridge and spotted….chicken thighs.

Whereupon I tilted my head and thought — why not?

So I emptied an entire bag of frozen cranberries into a pan with a third of a cup of water and a cup of sugar, then cooked them until the berries just start to burst.

While the sauce is simmering away, I added the bone-in-chicken thighs to a crock pot — then added the juice and zest of an orange, a couple of teaspoons of ginger, and several (eight) Calabrian chilis. Once the cranberry sauce thickened, I chucked it in as well and set the cook timer for ten hours.

The chicken turned out delicious….However, it was an odd shade of purple when it finally finished cooking….which was interesting. But once we’d stuffed it into a taco, the slightly unappetizing hue was disguised.

Christie: Griselda Clement, the Vicar’s wife from Murder at the Vicarage, strikes me as an experimental cook — should the mood strike!

Mystery Review!

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Deanna Raybourn – Killers of a Certain Age

Ready to retire, four women (of a certain age) are treated to a boat cruise by their former employers as a reward for their exemplary service. A vacation which they enjoy right up until one of the group spots a former colleague on the same boat. 

The only problem — Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie’s former job title: Assassin.

Deanna Rabourn’s tale is a rollercoaster ride of the first water! Blending together the librarians from Gunpowder Milkshake, the general premise of Burn Notice, and Lana’s origin story from Archer — you’ve now got an inkling of the wild ride between the covers of Killer’s of a Certain Age.

Seriously, I couldn’t put Killers of a Certain Age down. 

I’d recommend this book to anyone who needs a fantastic, fast-paced read for the bath or a holiday. Seriously, I love how these women outwit, outmaneuver, and outshine their pursuers using experience their younger counterparts don’t yet possess…

Plus, it was just lovely to sit down for a few hours and read a book from cover to cover — especially when Raybourn penned such a satisfying ending! 

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This Week’s Recipe: Kid-Friendly Bread and Butter Pickles

Inspiration: This year, we planted several cucumber vines in our garden. Which, of course, led to a large number of fruit ripening all at the same time at the end of summer…So I decided to make pickles!

Surprisingly, I didn’t adjust the recipe a jot. And by using a recipe designed for kids — it was easy to follow and turned out beautifully the first time!

Christie: Again, I think any of Christie’s detectives would enjoy these sweet pickles. I can also see Miss Marple or Tuppence making these in their kitchens!

Cooking With Christie!

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This Week’s Recipe: Hearty Mushroom Barley Soup

Inspiration: So, on a random Saturday, we were driving randomly around and spotted a new cash & carry grocery store and decided to check it out. Inside we found all kinds of nummy treasures! One of which was a very reasonably priced and nice looking three-pound carton of mushrooms. Upon arriving home, I realized I now needed to figure out what to do with them all…

Hence, soup!

Perusing my cookbooks and the internet, I discovered this recipe!

Unsurprisingly, I did make a few alterations to the original recipe by adding an extra pound of mushrooms (because they are delicious), a couple of bay leaves, two small sprigs of tarragon, soy sauce (for the salt) and lots of pepper! And it turned out great!

Next time I may add some finely diced dried mushrooms for some extra flavor.

Christie: Honestly, I can see any of Christie’s character’s whipping this up or ordering it at a restaurant to feel all warm, toasty, and lovely inside on a fall or winter’s day!