Shannon here: Gail Pallotta shares an excerpt from her latest Mystery Romance, Cooking Up a Mystery, plus gluten free recipe for brownies. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a print copy (U.S. residents only). Deadline: April 27th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Gail:
Excerpt from Cooking Up a Mystery by Gail Pallotta:
Laney Eskridge, the heroine in Cooking up a Mystery, needed to hurry back to Laney’s Tea House and catering service to make cookies and brownies for tomorrow. Here she was at Eric Crider’s home delivering pot roast. She had no patience with men after she sent Brian, her ex, through dental school. He left her for another woman. Yet, her client looked pitiful with a cast on his leg.
“Would you like me to get you something to drink?”
“Please. Just water.”
Thank goodness, that wouldn’t take much time.
She went to the kitchen, returned and set Eric’s drink on a table beside his chair. He, quite smitten with Laney, ordered meals for a month under the condition she bring them. She preferred her assistant deliver the food, but she agreed and hurried away to do her baking. Little did she know where the deliveries would lead, or that Eric would help her solve the mystery of strange noises in her kitchen.
***
Gail: My husband and I make the only racket in our kitchen. He started cooking our brownies when our son-in-law needed to leave off gluten. I had always made the dessert from scratch, but I bought a gluten free mix to make sure I met my son-in-law’s diet requirement. I followed the directions on the box and served the treat.
After dinner my husband pulled me aside. “Those were the driest brownies I ever ate. If we have to use that mix, I’ll fix them next time.”
“Okay.” I agreed quickly before he changed his mind.
Before the next visit, hubby stood at the kitchen sink about to pour tons of water into a brownie mix.
“Wait,” I said.
He set his jaw firm. “These will not be dry.”
“That’s fine, but an extra egg will make them moist.”
He studied the mix. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He cooked several versions until he came up with delicious brownies.
Brownies Reinvented – Hubby’s Yummy Treat
He starts with a gluten free mix. He says: Follow the directions on the box EXCEPT…
Add one extra egg
Add one extra tablespoon of oil
Add ¼ cup of water or the amount it takes to make the batter thin enough to pour into the baking pan.
Use the cooking time and temperature on the box EXCEPT at the end, turn the oven off and let the brownies stay in there for 20 minutes. Cool before removing from the baking pan.
He uses a 9 x 9 pan.
Question for Readers: Do you have a favorite recipe, a reinvented one or one you created your family enjoys?
About Gail: Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, Mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. She’s published six books, poems, short stories and several hundred articles.
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About the book – Cooking Up a Mystery: Laney Eskridge worked to put her husband through dental school. Then he left with another woman. She’s on edge from the emotional scars and her parents’ deaths. Then she hears unexplained noises in her new tea house, and her anxiety is tripled. Add a budding romance with Eric—a guy with a fear of commitment—and it’s all too much to handle. She cuts ties with Eric and plunges into making her business pay off.
When Eric discovers that Laney’s in danger, he vows to protect her. But can he make a lasting promise? Will she trust him? . . .and when they overhear a threat that could cause national turmoil, will anyone believe them? There’s more brewing than herbal tea in Cooking up a Mystery.
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Cooking Up A Mystery Gail’s Books
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Yes, a recipe for blonde brownies has been changed to match our taste!
Thanks for sharing. It’s fun to find just the right taste. We love my husband’s brownies. (:
Hubby is gluten free (celiac) so we are all about searching and adapting recipes. Because I like to eat healthy too, we are having shrimp and zoodles tonight. Zucchini sent through a spiralizer instead of pasta! Delicious.
Hi Jenny,
Oh yum. We all like the zucchini spirals, so I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for sharing.
My dad’s gluten free(celiac), still kind of new to him so he still slips up, most of his life other doctors just wrote it off as he had some kind of viruses. We use the All Purpose Flour and sometimes the Almond Flour and do most of the baking ourselves for brownies and cookies and such.
Hi Joannie,
Since we found out our son-in-law needs gluten free, we’ve all discovered lots of products he can have. We use almond flour here, and my son-in-law and daughter sometimes use tapioca and oat. I’ve found a brand of almond flour we like a lot. It’s called Wholesome Yum.
No, I don’t have any favorite recipes.
Thanks for stopping by Diana. Maybe there’s a favorite in your future.
Hi Gail. Brownies are one of my favorite desserts. Mysteries and food are one of my favorite combinations.
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for stopping by. Yes, mysteries and brownies with tea or coffee sounds good. (:
no fav
Homemade pumpkin bread is a favorite in my household.
I have a winner! Joannie Sico won the drawing. I appreciate Gail for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.