FUN, FOOD, AND FAMILY SERIES/GIVEAWAY - SAOCHING MOOSE - CUCUMBER THAI SALAD

When I was ten years old, I watched my mom in the kitchen. I thought she was an incredible chef. She always knew what to make and never used any recipes. One day when she was in the kitchen, I asked her if I could help. She smiled at me and told me to come over so I could learn how to make her famous cucumber salad. I was so excited! I washed my hands, got on my stool and patiently waited for instructions. 

She told me to slice the cucumbers and put them in a bowl. I did this and my mom smiled watching me. We mixed everything together. When I asked her why she doesn’t use any measuring tools, she simply stated, “Because you will learn how much to add when you get older. Trust your tastes.” 

I laughed because it sounded ridiculous. 

We finished everything and when we served the meal, my dad said that this was the best salad he ever had. 

To this day, I rarely use measuring tools. I just go with my instincts and it is the same with life. Everything happens for a reason so I go with the flow. I listen to my heart and feel what the right decision is. My mom still teaches me how to cook but also, teaches me about life. 

Cucumber Thai Salad

-Large cucumbers (the amount varies due to how many people but typically 3 large cucumbers can serve 2 people) peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into ¼ inch slices

-2 tablespoons of fish sauce (add more for flavor)

-1/2 of a lime

-1 tablespoon of sugar (add more for flavor)

-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

-1/4 cup of cilantro

-1/2 cup of peanuts

Directions:

-Toss the cucumbers in a bowl and add in the fish sauce, lime, sugar and jalapeno peppers.

-Mix very well.

-Top if off with the cilantro and peanuts.

SAOCHING MOOSE writes as S.Moose. She lives in Webster, NY with her husband and enjoys being with her family and friends. She graduated from St. John Fisher College with her BA in 2011.

Saoching is a self-published author and she loves every moment. She has met some amazing people and is very excited about what's to come. She loves writing and it's always been a dream of hers to publish her work. She's an avid reader who loves reading books with a happy ending-She's a sucker for romance. She wants to inspire others with her words the way she has been inspired through countless works of literature. She thinks that everyone has a purpose in life, it just takes time to find it.

Her debut novel, Reaching Out For You, was published on June 8, 2013. This novel is the first of the Never Letting Go Series. 

Saoching's second novel, Teach Me Love, will be released  September, 2013. 

The next book of the Never Letting Go Series, Holding Onto You, is due out in October, 2013. The last book of the series, Next to Forever, will be out at the end of 2013. 

Find Saoching Moose Online:
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Buy Reaching Out For You:

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In celebration of In Need of Therapy's one-year anniversary and the book's Cuban heroine, enter to win a copy of the cookbook Celebrate Cuban - 100 Great Recipes for Cuban Entertaining by Three Guys From Miami. You can enter up to 6 times using the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway will end at midnight on Wednesday, July 31st, and a winner will be announced on Thursday, August 1st. This contest is open to residents of the USA only. 

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FUN, FOOD, AND FAMILY SERIES/GIVEAWAY - SHARON ARTHUR MOORE - MRS. ROTH'S RICH BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Dear Tracie--

Thank you so much for the opportunity to present a recipe (and my new culinary mystery) to your readers.

I have a recipe in my first culinary mystery (Mission Impastable, Oak Tree Press, summer, 2013) with a story that begins more than 50 years ago in Ohio farm country. I had a very good friend from those days, but we lost touch over the years due to our various moves.

I found Pat Roth Cory again in early summer of 2009 through a high school classmate, and I called her. We talked for more than an hour, and then we began exchanging e-mails. In one of the e-mails, she told me her mother was still living at age 98, though not doing well, in Ohio. Pat lives in Tennessee these days.

Excerpted E-mail Exchange:

From me:

Aug. 27, 2009

Your mother had a lasting impression on me as a young teen. I didn't know her well, of course, and I only saw her a few times, but one night I spent at your home changed me.

As you may or may not know, we were very poor. When I was younger, food was sometimes an issue. We lived on farms, but that was for free rent, garden space, and half a cow and pig once a year if we would take care of the farm for the owner (not even as high a status as share cropper).

I didn't know much about the finer things in life. I babysat for a couple who played classical music all the time. I learned to love it, and to this day we play classical music a good bit.

At your home, your mother served blueberry muffins with dinner! I had never seen anything but biscuits or rolls served with dinner. Muffins were for breakfast. It seems trivial now, in the retelling, but it swung my world on its axis. There could be more to this culinary thing than fried foods and green beans cooked in lard. There was a grace and an elegance about the meal that was unlike what I knew. Your mother gave me a vision of a better way of life than what I knew up to then.

I know she probably won't even remember who I was, but next time you see her, give her a hug and a thank you from me. She gave form to my yearning for a different life I didn't even know I wanted until I glimpsed the alternative. I am grateful to her. To this day, I often serve fruit muffins with dinner! 

This was Pat’s reply:

Sept 18, 2009

I went home over Labor Day. Had a great day with my mother on Friday; took her for a ride out in her car. It was a beautiful day and we went over to Buckeye Lake, got a burger and a frosty from Wendy's for lunch and then drove by the cemetery and her old house. Saturday she was tired so we didn't go out. I pulled up her e-mails so she could see the letter you sent--she said she would like to read it again. Sunday I went out and thought she was asleep but unfortunately she had a stroke. She wasn't able to talk or swallow after that. She passed away last Friday (September 11).

Just wanted you to know that we both appreciated the email you sent.  And I thought you might like the recipe for the muffins.

Mrs. Roth’s Rich Blueberry Muffins

12 muffins

½ c blueberries (frozen okay)                                   

¼ c butter                                                           

1 egg                                                                       

1¾ cups flour                                                           

2½ t baking powder

¼ t salt

½ c milk

½ c sugar

Cream sugar into softened butter. Add the egg. Mix well. 

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and sugar together into the bowl. Add milk.  Beat until smooth.

Pour into greased muffin tins. Press 4 or 5 blueberries into each muffin.  Sprinkle tops with sugar.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. 

I am so grateful I found Pat at that time so I could thank her mother for what she couldn’t have imagined she did for me. I had no idea the timing would be so a propos. I put the recipe in my book as a tribute to her and her terrific daughter.

After 39 years as an educator, SHARON ARTHUR MOORE  "transitioned" to the life of full-time fiction writer. She's an intrepid cook, game-player, and miniatures lover. She writes culinary mysteries, women's fiction, historical fiction, short stories, plays, and erotic romance (Under the pen name Angelica French). Sharon has lived in every region of the country except the Pacific Northwest and loved every single one of them. Her current favorite region is the desert Southwest. She is married to the most extraordinary man and claims four children, one daughter-in-law, a grandson, and dog Maudie.

Find Sharon Arthur Moore Online: 

Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time (Blog)

Write Away (Blog) 
Website

Amazon Author Page 

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Twitter

In celebration of In Need of Therapy's one-year anniversary and the book's Cuban heroine, enter to win a copy of the cookbook Celebrate Cuban - 100 Great Recipes for Cuban Entertaining by Three Guys From Miami. You can enter up to 6 times using the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway will end at midnight on Wednesday, July 31st, and a winner will be announced on Thursday, August 1st. This contest is open to residents of the USA only.

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FUN, FOOD, AND FAMILY SERIES/GIVEAWAY - ELIZABETH MARX - AUINNIE'S BBQ BEANS

Food, Family and Fun Southern Shenanigans… 

I’m a Yankee girl. I was born and raised in Chicago, but I have strong southern roots. My mother moved to Chicago with her parents when she was thirteen years old, just about the time most of the mill jobs in Alabama dried up. During the summers my grandmother’s sister, Auinnie, would come North to ‘Chicargo’ for a visit and then take me back south with her. During my mother’s childhood, Auinnie owned a little café called Blondie’s Café on Main Street in a small town in Alabama. I grew up on my mother’s stories about working the counter there, where most of the businessmen ate just as many meals at Blondie’s tables as they did at their own home.

This is a picture of me and Auinnie, I think I was 9.

Auinnie was the oldest of her siblings and my grandmother was the youngest so they had a mild sibling rivalry, but it never simmered hotter than when it concerned food. When Auinnie would come for a visit it was like a southern version of Chopped. My grandma and Auinnie would cook for days, I remember a fried chicken cook-off that not only required several cans of Crisco, but the scouring of a city block in search of another good cast iron skillet. Grandma and Auinnie each tried to get the crispiest crust and the juiciest meat. Once there was a meringue contest that actually required a ruler to determine a winner. It made me no never mind whose pie won, because I got a sliver of lemon meringue and coconut crème that afternoon. There was also a pressure cooker incident that required the painting of the kitchen ceiling. I was too young to get the whole story on what exactly they’d accidentally blown up, but when I pounded my way up the back porch steps they both smelled of highly suspicious Strawberry Hill.

So the tradition of southern food was the thing that tied Grandma and Auinnie together. It was a bind that hundreds of miles of southern cotton fields nor smoking northern factories could ever break. They did other things together like sewing, quilting, and gossiping, but the richness of their life experience was layered like a good, made-from-scratch biscuit and they were as thick as thieves when they were in the kitchen together on a summer evening.

My grandmother and Auinnie grew up as sharecropper’s daughters, and in the south pinto beans are a staple at every meal. Here’s Auinnie’s enhanced version of BBQ beans and my grandmother’s little ditty that she’d sing when I complained about beans again: "Beans, beans, the musical fruit. The more you eat, the more you toot. The more you toot, the better you feel. So we have beans at every meal!"

Enjoy these, they’re so good you can eat them like chili with a slice of cornbread, or serve them at your favorite outdoor get together!

 

 

Beans & BBQ

AUINNIES BBQ BEANS

6-8 STALKS CELERY DICED
2 BELL PEPPERS DICED
2 MED ONIONS DICED

The veggies

1 LB BACON SLICED INTO ½” STRIPS
1 LB GROUND BEEF
1 LB GROUND PORK (CAN USE  BREAKFAST SAUSAGE)

The meat

1 BOTTLE TIGER SAUCE

1 BOTTLE BBQ SAUCE (KRAFT/HUNTS)

1 TBL SPOON SOY SAUCE (SALT)

2 TBL SPOONS HEINZ 57 SAUCE

2 TBL SPOONS A1 STEAK SAUCE

2 TBL SPOONS LEA & PERRINS WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

PEPPER TO TASTE

5-6 15oz SIZE PORK AND BEANS OR 2-3 LARGER CANS, DRAIN HALF THE LIQUID FROM EACH CAN

The sauces

INSTRUCTIONS: 

FRY BACON PIECES IN SKILLET AND REMOVE THEM WHILE THEY’RE SOFT & RUBBERY. TRANSFER THEM INTO ANOTHER PAN, LEAVING THE DRIPPINGS. BROWN THE DICED ONIONS, CELERY AND BELL PEPPERS IN BACON FAT (DO NOT DRAIN FAT AWAY). AT THE SAME TIME YOU CAN BROWN THE GROUND BEEF AND PORK IN ANOTHER SKILLET, DRAIN THIS FAT (WE DON’T WANT TO GET TOO CARRIED AWAY WITH ANIMAL FATS) COMBINE GROUND MEAT, BACON, AND VEGETABLES. STIR ALL INGREDIENTS.  ADD ALL THE SAUCES EXCEPT THE BBQ SAUCE: SO ADD TIGER, SOY, HEINZ 57, A1, WORCESTSHIRE AND BRING TO A LOW SIMMER FOR 20 MINUTES, ADD BBQ SAUCE & LET SIMMER ON LOW FOR ANOTHER 20 MIN. ABOUT 15 MIN BEFORE SERVING ADD BEANS AND KEEP ON LOW HEAT. DO NOT BOIL OR BEANS WILL BREAK APART.

ENJOY!!!

So my personal experience as a Yankee girl who spent a considerable number of summers down south was the basis of my novel. It’s a New Adult/Contemporary romance novel titled: STAINED.

 

If you’d like to add STAINED to you to be read list, you may do so at Goodreads.

Also feel free to visit my website to learn more about my other titles.

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Windy City writer, ELIZABETH MARX, brings cosmopolitan life alive in her fiction—a blend of romance, fast-paced Chicago living, and a sprinkle of magical realism. Elizabeth resides with her husband, girls, and two cats who’ve spelled everyone into believing they’re really dogs. She grew up in the city, has traveled extensively, and still says there’s no town like Chi-Town. 

In celebration of In Need of Therapy's one-year anniversary and the book's Cuban heroine, enter to win a copy of the cookbook Celebrate Cuban - 100 Great Recipes for Cuban Entertaining by Three Guys From Miami. You can enter up to 6 times using the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway will end at midnight on Wednesday, July 31st, and a winner will be announced on Thursday, August 1st. This contest is open to residents of the USA only.

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FUN, FOOD, AND FAMILY SERIES/GIVEAWAY - ST BENDE - MORMOR'S NORWEGIAN PANCAKES

I think it’s pretty safe to say Scandinavians are not renowned for their cuisine. One word: Lutefisk. Oh, wait. You like fish jello? Well good for you. Here, take my share. Please. (Sorry, Lutefisk.)

But my people have got pastries down to a science. I’ll tip my hat every day of the week and twice on søndag for Scandinavian desserts. Lefse? Norwegian Waffles? And Olaug’s Pancakes? Great Odin, hand me a fork and call me to the table. I’m there. 

My long-suffering Norwegian teacher and sort-of grandma is queen of the Norwegian Pancakes. Actually, she’s queen of pretty much everything in my eyes. I adore her. She’s the inspiration behind Elsker’s Olaug, and she’s one of the most remarkable women I’ll ever know. There just aren’t enough words to express how much I love her. 

But there are enough words to share her pancake recipe. It only has four ingredients. Pretty epic, right? Not quite as epic as the measures I had to take to get the darned recipe. Let me explain. 

One afternoon I was visiting Olaug, enjoying a fresh batch of her Norwegian Waffles with strawberry jam, and sipping a glass of lemonade she’d squeezed from her lemon tree. (Because every Norwegian grandma hand squeezes lemons into juice for her guests, right? No? Just mine?) I’d had Olaug’s waffle recipe for years, but I’d never asked for her pancake recipe. And so I did. If you’ve read Elsker, this exchange might be a little familiar. You just can’t make stuff like this up. 

Me: Olaug, would you be willing to share your Norwegian pancake recipe? 

Olaug: Oh, dear. I don’t know it. 

Me: You don’t know your pancake recipe? 

Olaug: Well, I’ve been making it for so long, I just make it. I don’t know how much of anything I use.

Me: Huh. Well, what if we made pancakes together and I held measuring cups underneath the ingredients as you pour them in? Would that be okay? 

Olaug: I suppose. 

At this point Olaug started laughing at me. I guess it did sound a little silly. But I really, really wanted that recipe. And so we stood in her kitchen, me with my little measuring cups underneath the sugar and flour, and her chuckling all the while. 

But I got the recipe. And I use it all the time. It’s that good. I hope you love it as much as I do!

 
Mormor’s Norwegian Pancakes: 

Whip 4 eggs and ½ cup sugar together until the mixture is slightly stiff. 

Add 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of milk. Mix. 

Set skillet to low heat, add butter until melted. Pour a thin layer of pancake batter into a skillet and flip when cooked.

Add your favorite toppings and enjoy! 

Now, Olaug serves her Norwegian pancakes with butter and lemon and sugar, on account of that fabulous lemon tree in her backyard. But they’re equally delicious served with nutella and whipped cream. Because who among us does not appreciate the hazelnutty awesomeness that is nutella? Be sure to let me know when you whip up a batch of Mormor’s treats -- I’ll be right over with a nice brew from Peet’s Coffee, and we can have a lovely chat over dessert. And I’ll tell you all about Olaug’s other amazing dessert recipe. You’re gonna love that one too. 

Skal!
 

Before finding domestic bliss in suburbia, ST BENDE lived in Manhattan Beach (became overly fond of Peet’s Coffee) and Europe… where she became overly fond of the musical Cats. Her love of Scandinavian culture and a very patient Norwegian teacher inspired the Elsker Saga. She hopes her characters make you smile and that one day pastries will be considered a health food.

Find ST Bende Online:
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Buy Elsker: 
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In celebration of In Need of Therapy's one-year anniversary and the book's Cuban heroine, enter to win a copy of the cookbook Celebrate Cuban - 100 Great Recipes for Cuban Entertaining by Three Guys From Miami. You can enter up to 6 times using the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway will end at midnight on Wednesday, July 31st, and a winner will be announced on Thursday, August 1st. This contest is open to residents of the USA only.

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FUN, FOOD, AND FAMILY SERIES/GIVEAWAY - SHANI STRUTHERS - SQUID WITH CHILLI & MINT

Rob’s Squid with chilli & mint (serves 4 as a starter)

You will need:

4 medium size squid, cleaned and cut into large bite sized pieces, or rings

Juice of 1¹/₂ large lemons

Large bunch of mint roughly chopped

2 fresh chillies, finely chopped, seeds and all - this is supposed to be hot. 

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 shot glass of Pernod, Ouzo, Ricard or any aniseed spirit

Rock salt & black pepper

Crusty bread or Ciabatta to accompany

Firstly:

This is a squid dish for those that like to be smacked around the head with flavour. It isn’t subtle; it’s hot and salty and you treat it like knocking back a shot of vodka. You can’t be delicate because it’s rustic like an Italian dish eaten al fresco in the sunshine. I have found when people try cooking this they tend to be shy regarding the amount of chilli, garlic and Pernod they’re throwing at it. Be brave and really go for it! Also, fennel & aniseed complements seafood very well, hence the Pernod!

Ready:

Cut up the bread and put in a basket on the table. Get four bowls warmed and ready, because this will only take a couple of minutes.

Get a frying pan properly hot and put in a good glug of olive oil. Throw in the chilli & garlic and shake the pan. Before the garlic burns throw in the squid and shake the pan again or stir with a long handled spoon. Get the pepper mill and grind some black pepper over it. Now, lots of liquid is coming out of the squid. This is good, trust me. Get the Pernod (or similar) and have yourself a shot, after all, this is fun stuff and you’ve got to be relaxed about it! It also sets the palate and will give you a perfect background to the squid when you get to it. If you’re feeling generous - let your guests have one too! Now, get a good pinch or two of the rock salt and throw it in. Don’t overcook the squid, but give it a minute in the pan, then add the lemon juice immediately followed by the mint (all of it). Give it a final stir, taste it and season accordingly. You’ll know when it’s ready, because you’ll go ‘wow!’ If it isn’t, add more lemon juice, salt or chilli. If that has taken over three minutes, it’s overcooked, so be quick!

Serve in bowls and make sure you share out all that juice - you’ll be dipping your bread in it at the end.  

Backstory

My husband likes to ‘invent’ dishes and this is one he conjured up about 3 or 4 years ago. He tested it out on us (me and our three children - his willing guinea-pigs!), adjusting the chilli for the youngest members. Guess what? We loved it! We beg him to make it for us on a regular basis (especially when the sun is shining, it seems to taste even more magnificent then!). It’s also a real hit with friends, served either as a starter or a main and accompanied, of course, by a glass of wine. 

Born and bred in the sunny seaside town of Brighton, one of the first literary conundrums SHANI STRUTHERS had to deal with was her own name – Shani can be pronounced in a variety of ways but in this instance it’s Shay-nee not Shar-ney or Shan-ni – although she does indeed know a Shanni – just to confuse matters further! Hobbies include reading, writing, eating and drinking – all four of which keep her busy enough. After graduating from university with a degree in English and American Literature, Shani became a freelance copywriter. Twenty years later, the day job includes writing novels too. Her debut novel The Runaway Year was released on 2^nd July 2013 from Omnific Publishing. 

Find Shani Struthers Online:

Website

Blog

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Twitter

Buy The Runaway Year:

Amazon

Amazon UK

In celebration of In Need of Therapy's one-year anniversary and the book's Cuban heroine, enter to win a copy of the cookbook Celebrate Cuban - 100 Great Recipes for Cuban Entertaining by Three Guys From Miami. You can enter up to 6 times using the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway will end at midnight on Wednesday, July 31st, and a winner will be announced on Thursday, August 1st. This contest is open to residents of the USA only.

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FUN, FOOD, AND FAMILY SERIES/GIVEAWAY - MARTHA REYNOLDS - BAY SCALLOP CHOWDER

You’ve no doubt enjoyed some variety of seafood chowder. If you live in New England, you’d better know your chowders, because they’re not all the same. I’m a native Rhode Islander, and our chowder is distinctly different from those creamy white (New England) and spicy red (Manhattan) chowders.

Traditional Rhode Island chowder has a clear broth, and it’s not always available, since restaurants know that only die-hard natives will ask for Rhode Island chowder.

My late mother, whose roots go back to the original settlers of this region, was pure Yankee. She made traditional Rhode Island chowder, but when we had cook-outs with guests, she’d end up adding milk, acquiescing to my dad’s suggestion that certain family members might not care for cream-less chowder.

And while most chowders are loaded up with clams or quahogs (‘hard clams’), this recipe features bay scallops.  A hundred years ago, Rhode Island was the top supplier of bay scallops, but environmental concerns have really decimated the bay scallop population around here. They’re mostly raised now in Florida aquaculture. Bay scallops are preferable for chowder because they’re small and sweet.

Here’s my mom’s recipe for Scallop Chowder:  

2 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ½ cups of mushrooms, chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced small
4 cups of fish stock or bottled clam juice (fish stock is better)
1 cup of milk (go ahead and use cream if you dare)
3 Tablespoons dry sherry 
½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce (Tabasco) 
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup water
1 lb. bay scallops

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and mushrooms, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened. Add fish stock and potatoes; cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in milk (or cream), sherry, pepper sauce and Parmesan.

Dissolve cornstarch in water and stir it slowly into the chowder. Cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Add the scallops, cook another 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve piping hot.

4-6 servings   

MARTHA REYNOLDS published her debut novel, Chocolate for Breakfast in 2012. It follows a young woman into adulthood during a year abroad in Switzerland. Chocolate for Breakfast was voted the 2012 Book of the Year in the category of Women's Fiction by Turning the Pages Books. 

Her second novel, Chocolate Fondue, is the sequel to Chocolate for Breakfast. Both books are available in digital and print versions. If you haven't read the first book, you can still enjoy the second, but it's better to start with Breakfast!  

Martha and her husband live in New England, never far from the ocean.

Find Martha Reynolds Online:
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Buy Chocolate for Breakfast/Chocolate Fondue:

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In celebration of In Need of Therapy's one-year anniversary and the book's Cuban heroine, enter to win a copy of the cookbook Celebrate Cuban - 100 Great Recipes for Cuban Entertaining by Three Guys From Miami. You can enter up to 6 times using the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway will end at midnight on Wednesday, July 31st, and a winner will be announced on Thursday, August 1st. This contest is open to residents of the USA only.

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