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A What's Cooking Introduction
Busy authors, especially those with a day job, have cooking the easy way down to a science. So many of these recipes are for quick and easy practical meals. Or for meals that cook by themselves while you are off doing something else – like writing. With authors from so many places and different ethnic backgrounds, the book certainly offers variety. You’ll find recipes for everything – from Karon Booth’s “Spam Shortcake” to David Smith’s “Shipwreck” to Joan Bramsch’s advice on how to construct an “Igloo Cake”.
Not only the authors, but their characters, too, like to prepare special dishes . For instance you will find the recipe for the “Cinnamon Donuts” prepared by Jan Springer’s feisty heroine Jessie Brady in her five star romance, As Big as the Sky. Louise Ulmer contributes, “Aunt Belle’s Old South Punch” from Serenade of the South, and Toby Heathcotte includes directions for making the favored “Fish House Punch” and “Pocketers” served by Alison MacPherson in her excellent 18th Century novel, Alison’s Legacy.
A professional caterer in her day job, Aggi O’Brien, author of Snar: an Eternal Love, has included several of her favorites, as well. Others allowed their sense of humor to creep into the recipe. Just ask Ed Turner, Dean Hinmon, and Kerry Schaeffer about that.
Please note that we have not yet tested all these recipes ourselves. Anyone who has seen our pictures will know how much we like to eat, so we probably we will try them all sooner or later – with exceptions, maybe for Dorie’s Savannah Artillery Punch and Dredge Boat Coffee. We figure if it sounds like it would taste good, it will. On the other hand authors, especially those suffering from Writer’s Bloc, will eat almost anything. So read all the directions carefully – look for the occasional tongue-in-cheek – and then proceed with caution.
With a little attention to detail, we’re sure you’ll dish up some of your favorite foods, with recipes from some of your favorite authors. Bon appetit!
Sandra List and Arline Chase Publishers@ebooksonthe.net
Jessie Brady’s Mulled Apple Cider * as served in the five star romance As Big as the Sky
¼ cup brown sugar 3 whole allspice 3 whole cloves 1 stick cinnamon 1 quart apple cider Juice from ½ an orange or lemon
Combine the juice and spices with the cider. Boil for about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and return it to boil and boil for 5 more minutes. Ladle into cups. Makes about 6 servings.
Contributor’s Note: Want to feel warm all over? Have some of Jessie Brady’s Apple Cider. This spicy drink will take the chill out of your bones. In the old days, people sat around the fire and sipped the cider as they chatted away with their friends, using the popular drink as an excuse not to go outdoors into the cold.
Jessie Brady’s recipe will take the chill out of you. You can spike the cider with rum for some added holiday flavour. Instead of brewing the cider you can also heat it by taking a red-hot fireplace poker directly from the fire and hold it in the cup. The poker as well as the rum are optional.
Contributed by Jan Springer, author of As Big as the Sky, Nominated as Best Electronic Book of the year by Romantic Times...Private eye, Jocelyn Brady locates missing Daniel McCullen in a transplant hospital.... According to his medical charts, Daniel McCullen is BRAIN DEAD. But why does he have a cast on his wrist? And why is he breathing on his own? Her first instinct is to leave the louse in the hospital to rot. After all, he's betrayed her before.
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Mary Cox-Bilz’s Russian Tea
2 1 qt. (large jars) containers Instant Iced Tea, sweetened and with lemon (any brand) 1 1 qt. Jar Tang 3 tbsp. Cinnamon
Since I am a quadriplegic, for this tea, I get someone whose fingers work to mix all ingredients well and store in an air tight container. I use one I can flip open with my mouth stick, but any cannister, or even a large Ziploc bag works well. Mix two teaspoons with half a glass of water. Add ice, and enjoy a refreshing treat any time you like. You can also use it as an instant hot tea. Or we sometimes make it by the pitcher using 3/4 to 1 cup of mixture to a 2 quart container.
Contributed by Mary Cox-Bilz, author of At the Gate Called Beautiful...Quadriplegic author Mary Cox-Bilz tells of Jesus’s healing from the New Testament Book of Acts....Read a new account of the story of Jesus, told through the eyes of the disabled people he healed, at the “Gate, Called Beautiful.”
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Barfer Robinson’s Dredge Boat Coffee
In a percolator pot, fill basket with about as much ground coffee as it will hold – add a dash of salt and throw an empty egg shell in the bottom of the pot. Fill the coffee pot up with water level to the basket.
Percolate on high heat until liquid in the bubble top is good and dark. Remove from fire and when it has stopped perking, remove the percolator basket. Fill up the rest of the pot with white lightning, if there’s no white lighting, bourbon or dark rum will do.
Serve black to six hungry crewmen along with bacon, eggs, and pancakes smothered in molasses and it will help keep them warm even when sailing against the wind on a frosty morning.
Contributed by Arline Chase, whose character, Barfer Robinson is ship’s cook aboard the Hope V. Rogers. “Barfer”, so called by his mates because he is often seasick, made his first appearance in The Drowned Land...The novella won The Governor's Award in 1984 in Maryland, and the short story collection was an Eppie Finalist in 1999. Many of the same characters appear in the later novel Killraven.
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Mary Cox-Bilz’s Dandelion Wine
1 ga1lon Boiling water 2 qt. Dandelion blossoms 3 lb Sugar 1 Lemon; thinly sliced 1 tbsp Good yeast (If using powdered yeast, mix 1 pkg. in half a cup of lukewarm water before adding to the pot and do NOT add it until after pot cools to lukewarm.
Put blossoms in a large kettle and pour boiling water over them. Let stand 1 hour. Strain, add sugar to liquid, boil a little and skim. Allow to Cool.
When lukewarm, add lemon and yeast. Let stand 24 hours, then strain and put into sterilized clean Mason Jars or wine jugs, filling full as it’s working (with some room at the top) until only the impurities (lemon, etc.) are left in the bottom of the pot. The wine will be a beautiful pale gold color.
(In making this wine, be careful to keep all stems out, as they make the wine taste rank and give it a dark color). Seal tightly.
Contributor’s Note: Since I’m quadriplegic, I’ll get my sister Donna or my niece Jennifer to pick the dandelions. Then my Mom or Dad will do the thing with the boiling water, sugar, and Mason Jars. Then if it turns out well, I’ll just smile and say, “It’s my recipe!”
Contributed by Mary Cox-Bilz, author of How to Promote Advertise and Market Your Published Book (with Arline Chase)...A step-by-step guide that offers tools you can integrate in your own marketing plan....Marketing strategies that have been used by authors to pull their books out of boxes, onto book store shelves, and into a customer's hands. ***
Kate Stanhope's Lemon Balm Tea (Non-Poisonous)
2 cups boiling water 3 tbsp lemon balm leaves Honey to taste Few drops of lemon juice
Wash the lemon balm leaves and put them in a tall drinking glass. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the leaves. Strain. Add Tbsp of honey and 1/4 Tsp of fresh lemon juice. This is good for frazzled nerves, headaches and is an all-around delightful drink.
Contributed by Nancy Madison, author of Clues to Love...Investigating a murder, DCI Nick Connor concludes Kate was the intended victim....While Nick struggles to find the elusive killer, he falls in love with Kate, in spite of his vow to never love again. Can Nick catch the killer before he finds Kate?
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Barbara J. Cooper’s Spicey Tea Punch
2 1/2 cups boiling water 5 tea bags or 5 teaspoons loose tea 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 3/4 cup sugar 2 cups cranberry juice cocktail 1 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup orange juice 1/3rd cup lemon juice
Pour boiling water over tea and spices. Let steep (covered) 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and add sugar, stir till dissolved and cool. Add remaining ingredients, chill. Server over ice cubes. Makes about 7 cups of delicious spicey tea. Good summer drink.
Contributed by Barbara J. Cooper and Grover C. Cooper, who is the author of Island in the Bay...An insufferable young socialite finds danger at sea, pirates, and perhaps redemption .... when he finds himself aboard a Chesapeake Bay work boat. How a selfish young man adapts to the people and way of life on a remote Bay island is a satisfying story for all readers.
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Terry L. White’s Mountain Tonic
3 oz Sassafras Bark, dried and ground* 2 oz Sarsaparilla, dried and ground 1 oz Dandelion Root, dried and ground 1 oz Burdock Root, dried and ground 1/2 oz Ground Ginger 1/2 oz Ground Cinnamon 1/4 oz Orange Peel, dried and ground * you can pound them in a mortar or grind them in a food processor, either way works
Reminiscent of old-fashioned root beer, due to the sassafras. It has a cleansing, revivifying effect from the dandelion, burdock and sarsaparilla.
Mix together all ingredients and store in a tightly closed container. In a large pot combine 1 quart of water and 4 tablespoons of dry mixture. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey or stevia (also called "sweet herb") if desired. Makes about 4 cups
Variation: For iced tea, chill the simmered mixture, then dilute it with 1 quart of sparkling water. Serve over ice with a twist of orange peel.
Contributed by Terry L. White, author of Hell or High Water...Cheryl Mae has the power to stop blood and to heal, but she can’t find love to stay.... and she can't stop the rural electrification project that will flood the Sacandaga valley. Forced to leave her home at last, Cheryl Mae is dogged by a stalker as she enters nursing school and fights to find a new life in a strange world.
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