It's
Cozy Food Friday!
That means it's time to share a recipe from
another great cozy mystery!
Today's recipe comes from
THE COZY CHICKS KITCHEN
A Killer Collection of Recipes by the Bestselling Authors of the Cozy Chicks Blog
SECOND EDITION
Welcome to our kitchen! The kitchen is the heart of the home. This sense of warmth and companionship is what The Cozy Chicks try to invoke in our novels. And now, our cookbook will allow you to enter the heart of our cozy mystery worlds—the stories of our characters, of their authors, told through food. For a short while, our heroines have taken a break from crime solving to don aprons and wield spatulas and wooden spoons. And they’d like nothing more than to spend some time with you. THE COZY CHICKS KITCHEN is chock full of mouthwatering gems. Everything is here: main dishes, desserts, salads, soups, drinks, and did I mention desserts? Don’t miss this fabulous collection. I’ve got both the ebook version and a hardcopy. Get yours today! --Julie Hyzy, New York Times bestselling author of the White House Chef and Manor House mysteries The Cozy Chicks Are Bestselling Authors: Ellery Adams / J.B. Stanley, Deb Baker / Hannah Reed, Lorna Barrett / Lorraine Bartlett, Kate Collins, Mary Kennedy, Mary Jane Maffini,
Maggie Sefton, Leann Sweeney
This book contains recipes from cozy mystery favorites,
Ellery Adams / J.B. Stanley
Deb Baker / Hannah Reed
Lorraine Bartlett / L.L. Bartlett/ Lorna Barrett
Kate Collins
Mary Kennedy
Mary Jane Maffini
Maggie Sefton
and
Leann Sweeney
You can follow The Cozy Chicks blog here...
Today's recipe is from
Kate Collins
author of the
Flower Shop Mysteries
IRISH LEEKS AND POTATO SOUP
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup onion, 1/4 inch dice
2 diced leeks, well rinsed
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups chicken stock
4 cups dice Idaho potatoes or 1 5-pound bag new red potatoes
1 large carrot, diced
salt and pepper to taste
chives (optional)
bacon bits (optional)
bouquet grani (see below)
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium high heat.
Lower the heat; add onion and carrots and cook gently for 2 minutes.
Add the leeks and cook for 6-7 minutes or until the onions are soft but not brown.
Add flour and stir for 2 minutes to thicken, making a roux, without browning.
Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Add the bouquet garni.
Add the potatoes and simmer over medium heat for 40-45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked thoroughly.
Remove from the heat and discard the garni.
Garnish with bacon bits or chives.
Finished soup - Yield: 4 servings
BOUQUET GRANI
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
Tie the ingredients in a small piece of cheesecloth or wrap in foil pricked with small holes.
NOTE: All images are from Google Images and/or Pinterest.
Your dish may vary in appearance.
I think a bowl of this with some warm crusty bread would be perfect on a snowy day like I have here in DE.
But I bet it would also be very refreshing in the summer time if served chilled.
Author Kate Collins
writes
The Flower Shop Mystery series.
The newest book in the series,
A ROOT AWAKENING
is available now!
Abby Knight's marriage may be in full bloom, but house hunting is no bed of roses in latest novel in the New York Times bestselling Flower Shop Mystery series...
Now that they’ve tied the knot, flower shop owner Abby Knight and her husband, Marco, want to put down roots. When it comes to picking a house, Marco can’t wait to get his hands dirty, while Abby isn’t ready for a fixer-upper. But conflict really sprouts when they’re checking out a dilapidated Victorian and watch a construction worker take a life-threatening tumble.
Since witnesses claim the man shouted for help, suggesting that the fall was no accident, the victim’s flamboyant wife hires Marco to find the person responsible. Meanwhile, Abby keeps secret from Marco her own investigation into the home’s inhabitants, a family whose off-kilter behavior has aroused her suspicions. If only Abby’s very pregnant cousin, Jillian, will stop distracting Abby with false labor pains, she can conclude her own inquiries before Marco finds out…and her case blossoms into a disaster.
MY REVIEW
I found A ROOT AWAKENING to be every bit as entertaining as
the other volumes in this series. With the same great writing style, it’s
packed with mystery, fun, and colorful characters.
It’s hard to believe this is already the sixteenth
installment in the Flower Shop Mysteries. Yet, somehow, Ms. Collins has kept
this series as fresh as the flowers she writes about. For indeed, it is a wonderful
bloom in an ever growing bouquet.
There is a superb “whodunit” with plenty of false leads to
keep you guessing. I had no idea who the culprit was until lead character, Abby
Knight, knew herself. While I do love to be able to guess sometimes, I really
enjoy when a book like this one leaves me with my mouth hanging open and
saying, “No way!”
One of my favorite parts of the story was the house hunting
involving Abby and her new husband, Marco. It reminded me so much of looking
for a new house a couple of years ago. Some of the “fixer uppers” we were shown
were in pretty rough shape. Like Abby, I was not enthused with the prospect of
being the one to do the fixing.
You’re really going to enjoy A ROOT AWAKENING. If you
haven’t read this series yet, please start adding them to your TBR stacks! You
won’t be sorry. And if you already read this series, well, you are in for the
same wonderful treat you always get when reading the Flower Shop Mysteries.
Check out the end of the book for a blurb on, FLORIST GRUMP,
coming in November 2015!
Keep reading to check out my installments of
Book Beginnings on Fridays
and
The Friday 56
Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading
Keeping my Cozy Food Friday theme going...
Book Beginnings this week is from
A ROOT AWAKENING by Kate Collins
Book 16 in the Flower Shop Mystery series
Monday
"Are my newlyweds ready to go inside for a look?"
Our Realtor pressed her hands together as though praying, her smile as desperate as her enthusiastic nods, as if to say, Of course you're ready! At that price, you'd be fools not to be. Please, please, please?
I glanced at Marco, who was studying the dilapidated Victorian home with a shrewd and, yes, disdainful eye. Good. We were on the same page.
"No," I said, just as Marco said, "Sure."
Rules: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's okay.) *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you. *Post it.
Continuing with the A ROOT AWAKENING theme
My Friday 56
He wasn't hard to locate. There was only one laborer in the back, a broad-shouldered man with coal black hair tied back in a ponytail, a square-jawed face, and a well proportioned body.
A ROOT AWAKENING is
Book 16 in the
Flower Shop Mysteries.
You can find the rest of the great titles in this series at your local bookstore,
Follow Kate at her website
As always, please leave a comment and
let me know what you think!
Also, become a Follower of my blog by
clicking on the link in the
upper right hand corner of this page.
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Whodunit Wednesday Solution
"According to Bernidi's story, he lay down in the narrow space behind one of the display counters. His face was to the wall, and the lower wooden panels of the counter would have obstructed his vision even if he turned. Since he supposedly did not arise until after the thief left, he could not have known that the thief used a burlap sack."
Business had been bad for Bernidi. He fabricated the entire robbery for the insurance money and was sent to prison for his trouble.
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