A good cup of coffee cures a lot of ills. I recently went to The Savory Spoon in Menominee, MI for lunch with a friend. The whole meal was great including the coconut caramel cheesecake at the end. The coffee hit a high note. I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee lately, mostly at home, as I finish up my second Noshes Up North culinary mystery. I’m excited about my new book and hope my readers will enjoy it as much as they did the first one – Death Nell. I’m almost done, so I better take another sip of coffee and get busy!
Sail Away
I wasn’t exactly sailing the high seas here, but enjoyed some time on a catamaran. My friend, Kathy and I went to Traverse City, Michigan to visit another friend, Barb
. That’s where we took our ride. It was wonderful and so relaxing. My mind wandered to the possibility of incorporating a catamaran in one of my books. The possibilities are endless!
Bear with me
Just like Nell in Death Nell, I sometimes have a bear in the neighborhood. One early morning (about 5:00 A.M.) I chased some turkeys off my patio. I glanced over to my neighbors’ house and saw this bear walking past their garage. Luckily my camera was close and I was able to snap this picture. That bear just may need to be a character in another Noshes Up North book!
The Great North Woods
One of the best things about my home is being able to look out my window and see various forms of wildlife. Turkeys are a regular visitor and one day I counted thirty-three of them in my yard. They do creep me out a bit when they perch on the fence. It reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds only they’re gigantic! I also enjoy watching the deer jump gracefully over the fence. Sometimes watching wildlife interferes with my writing. Right now there’s a new fawn in the neighborhood. I drop everything when doe and baby appear. The writing will get done eventually.
Book Signing at the WisRWA Conference
A large group of Green Bay area writers went to the Wisconsin Romance Writers of America Conference in Brookfield last weekend. We listened to speakers, editors, agents, and other authors. There was lots of discussion on independent publishing which seems to be the way to go.
I had a chance to get to know other authors in the area better and we all enjoyed the book signing. A great weekend!
Peaceful days
I’ve been enjoying the beautiful weather of Northeast Wisconsin these last few days. A good portion of each day had been spent working on the sequel to “Death Nell.” It was so peaceful here that I almost hated to kill someone off – but I did it anyway. 😉
Author Talk in Oconto
My author talk at Farnsworth Public Library on May 8 was well attended and enthusiastic. I gave the audience a bit of my personal history and then how I came to write Death Nell. We then had a question and answer session and I found that I have a group of readers that are quite interested in the sequel. I better get busy.
Death Nell Recipe – Spicy Shrimp Pasta
Here and there in the book, Nell prepared delicious dishes. But she only generalized amounts of ingredients. Several readers have asked for the recipes to be included in the next book and specifically inquired about Spicy Shrimp Pasta. I’ve written it here. I hope you give it a try. It’s one of my favorites.
Put the first eight ingredients on a plate and set aside.
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons ground white pepper
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped parsley
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups half and half
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 pounds penne pasta
1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente.
2. Saute the shrimp in garlic in a large skillet about two minutes per side. Remove from heat.
3. Cook cream/half and half in the shrimp skillet over medium heating, stirring constantly. When it looks like it is almost ready to boil, reduce heat, and add the items from
the plate. Simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes.
4. Stir in the shrimp and cheese at the end, so the shrimp doesn’t become tough and the cheese doesn’t curdle. Be sure and blend well.
5. Serve over pasta.
***The last time I made this, I had a lot of sauce left over. I had some leftover quinoa and mixed it into the sauce. It made a thick and rich soup.
And Now Starring . . .
Imagine my surprise when I was driving down Main Street today, and saw my name in big letters in front of the library! Granted, it wasn’t written in lights, but no one ever told me it would be, so I’m ahead of the game. I’m giving a talk about my book, Death Nell, at 6:30 on Thursday, May 8th at Farnsworth Library in Oconto.. Hope to see you there!
I couldn’t help myself. I was so excited I went right home and got my camera. 🙂
Then and Now
Here are a couple quick shots of winter views. One shows Florida and the other is a photo of Northeast Wisconsin – right out my window at home. These were taken three days apart. As you can imagine it took some time to get used to the cold and snow when I came home.
The bumps in the bottom picture are tops of fence posts in my backyard. After Barb left me off that day she still had six hours to drive before she arrived at her house in Traverse City. There was plenty of snow waiting for her there, too.
I am so ready for summer!