The Death Card: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery (12 page)

There's a surprise following the
recipes.

CANTALOUPE SALAD DRESSING

Ingredients:

1 cup cantaloupe pieces

2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

4 tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. salt

Directions:

Combine ingredients and puree in
blender until smooth. Place in a container and refrigerate until needed to
serve over melons as a fruit salad.

MAPLE BACON CINNAMON ROLLS  

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

3 tbsp. maple syrup, divided

¾ lb. thick cut bacon, preferably
applewood-smoked, sliced crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces

½ cup light brown sugar

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

2 tbsp. cream cheese

2 tbsp. butter

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. sifted powdered
sugar

2 tbsp. milk for thinning glaze

Silpat cookie sheet liner or
parchment paper 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Open the
can of rolls and separate them into triangles. Place them on a silpat or
parchment paper lined cookie sheet, approximately ½ inch apart. Fry the bacon
for about 15 minutes until crisp. Reserve 2 tbsp. bacon grease.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter
and add 2 tbsp. maple syrup. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the brown
sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.

Brush the crescent roll dough
triangles with the butter-maple syrup mixture and sprinkle with the brown sugar
mixture. Top with bacon bits keeping 1 inch empty along the long side of the
dough triangle. Roll each triangle into a tube beginning with the long side and
ending with the point. Place the rolls, seam side down on the lined cookie
sheet. Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes or until brown. Remove the rolls
from the cookie sheet and cool for a few minutes on a baking rack.

While rolls are cooking, make the
glaze. In a medium bowl with a hand mixer combine the cream cheese, powdered
sugar, 1 tbsp. each bacon grease (melted) and maple syrup. If too thick, add
the milk until the desired consistency is reached.

Plate and drizzle the glaze over the
rolls. Enjoy!

NOTE:
  These can be assembled the evening
before and refrigerated. Take them out of the refrigerator and let them come to
room temperature, then bake as directed.

WARM ASIAN NOODLES

Ingredients:

12 oz. thin Asian noodles

¼ cup soy sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

2 tbsp. brown sugar

3 tbsp. sesame oil

2 tbsp. cooking oil

3 tbsp. hot chili sauce (start with 1
tbsp. until desired heat is reached)

4 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

Cook noodles in boiling water
according to package directions. While they’re cooking, combine the rest of the
ingredients with the exception of the green onions. Pour the sauce over the
warm noodles and toss to combine. Sprinkle the green onions over the noodles
and serve. Enjoy!

SALMON OVER SPINACH WITH BÉRNAISE
SAUCE

Ingredients:

1 large fillet of salmon or steelhead
trout (skin on)

1 pkg. Knorr béarnaise sauce

¼ cup butter

1 cup milk

3 bunches of fresh baby spinach
(stems removed)

1 tsp. Lowry’s Lemon Pepper seasoning
salt

½ tsp. paprika

3 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

Prepare béarnaise sauce per package
instructions in small saucepan. Set aside and keep warm on low heat until
salmon is finished and ready to serve.

Heat the barbecue to medium hot.
Lightly brush olive oil on “good side” of fillet and place “good side” down on
hot grill for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, using two thin spatulas loosen the
fillet from the grill and flip the fillet away from you so it is now skin side
down.

Lightly baste “good side” with olive
oil and lightly sprinkle Lowry’s Lemon Pepper salt on fillet. Cook another 4
minutes with skin side down. One minute before fillet is removed from grill
shake very small amount of paprika on it (for color only).

After 8 minutes total cooking time,
remove fillet from grill to cookie sheet. Slide fillet onto cutting board.
Using long-handled flat spatula, slide it under the fillet lengthwise and flip
fillet so skin side is up. Using sharp edge spatula and your fingers, gently
pull the skin off. It will come off in one piece.

Using sharp edge of spatula gently
scrape off the “dark matter” that’s left after the skin is removed. When
finished, flip fillet so “good side” is up. Place the uncooked spinach leaves
on the plate. Cut the fillet into serving size pieces and place on top of the
spinach leaves “good side” up. Spoon warm béarnaise sauce over fish and serve.
Enjoy!

FORGIVING STUFFED ZUCCHINI BOATS

Ingredients:

4 medium zucchini, washed and halved,
lengthwise

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ cup mushroom, chopped

2 tbsp. white wine

1 lb. extra-lean hamburger meat

3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

2 tbsp. butter

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. pepper

Directions:

Preheat
oven to 375 degrees. Scoop out zucchini halves with a small spoon. Reserve the
inner pulp.

Heat
the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until oil is hot. Add the
mushrooms and sauté for 1 minute. Add the garlic and the reserved pulp of the
zucchini and cook for 3 minutes. Add the white wine and cook for one minute.
Add the hamburger and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until brown,
approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in herbs and cook for 2 minutes. Remove
from heat, place in bowl and let cool.

When
cool, mix in egg, butter, cheese, salt, and pepper. Fill the zucchini shells
with the mixture and fill a baking pan with ¼ inch water. Place the zucchini
halves in the pan and bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Place the cooked
zucchini halves on plates and serve. Enjoy!

NOTE:
I have substituted
ground pork or veal for the hamburger as well as a finely chopped rib eye
steak. Cook as per directions for hamburger. I have also used whatever cheese I
had on hand and Panko crumbs to bind the mixture and change the taste. This is
something you can play with. Enjoy!

*****

Here's an incredible book
that turned my life upside down, literally.
I wish I'd read it 40 years back. It
would have saved me a lot of heartache and made life so much easier. I've never
come across something this good in recent times, and boy do I read a lot. The
author (
http://www.vivekrajanvivek.com
) has been endorsed by
Brian Tracy and T Harv Eker. 

 
The Best Book on
Money and
Success
That'll Take You to the Top

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1
- A New Beginning

CHAPTER 2
- What Do You Want?

CHAPTER 3
- Plugging Massive Energy Leaks

CHAPTER 4
- Empty Yourself First

CHAPTER 5
- Resistance Explained

CHAPTER 6
- Sin, a Wretched Invention

CHAPTER 7
- Nothing can kill

CHAPTER 8
- The Turnaround

CHAPTER
9 - Actionless Action - Act Without Acting

CHAPTER
10 - Mother's Special Recipe for Success (Reader's Favorite)

CHAPTER
11 - The Power behind a Choice or Decision

CHAPTER
12 - Why do some people never get what they want?

CHAPTER
13 - Be Very Selfish & Don't Forget the F Word

CHAPTER
14 - Reverse Engineering your Deepest Fear

CHAPTER
15 - Living in the Now & The Secret of a Billion Bits

CHAPTER
16 - The Essence

CHAPTER
1

A
New Beginning

It was the first week
of March and Spring was just around the corner, eager to burst forth and bless
everyone with life and warmth once more. A beaming sun and blue skies dotted
with white fluffy clouds greeted all those who had assembled. Smiles abounded,
and even those who were grouchy couldn't help flashing their pearly or not so
pearly whites.

The organization
catered to those who needed someone "to listen" to them in their
moment of crises, and in the long run steer them away, tactfully, from
committing suicide. It had been in existence f or decades, tucked away in a
quaint house in a leafy neighborhood in the suburbs. What these callers didn't
realize was that
loneliness was killing them, slowly and softly.

Those who called the
helpline came from all walks of life and over the decades the clientele
included shop owners, taxi-drivers, cashiers, celebrities, office clerks, fast
food workers, engineers, nurses, waiters, waitresses, CEO's, customer service
reps, truckers, actors, actresses, loaders, baggage handlers, authors,
directors, producers, janitors, warehouse workers, journalists, secretaries,
bookkeepers, teachers, maids, pilots, maintenance people, lawyers, hoteliers,
government officials, pimps, hookers, bankers, ex-convicts etc.

Twice a year the
organization would hold a get-together where the Chairman would host a feast
for the volunteers who were educated, compassionate, eclectic, enthusiastic and
inspiring. The Chairman was a wise and generous man revered for his wisdom,
both, from a monetary and spiritual angle. He wanted to share his secrets,
"real secrets of life", with them.

There are principles
and then there are tactics or techniques. Principles are few and far in-between
whereas tactics range in the hundreds or thousands. He wanted to share his
life-transforming principles (and a few techniques), the best of the best, with
these good Samaritans; they deserved it. The possibilities were limitless once
the foundation was laid.

The chairman had a
handsome forehead, deep-set eyes, lush eyebrows, an aquiline nose and a head
covered with silvery-white hair. The volunteers could invite their family and
friends, and the event was always a memorable one.

The post lunch session
was the most precious part of the day. By then all barriers had been broken and
the gathering resembled one big, happy family. The Q&A session would begin
where they could ask the Chairman absolutely anything. No topic was deemed
inappropriate or juvenile, and they were free to go in any direction. The
volunteers came from all walks of life and despite vast differences, both
economic and social, they all shared a common thirst for love, money and
happiness. Yet, at times, the intensity of that thirst seemed to get in the way
of everything they yearned for.

CHAPTER
2

What
do you want?

“So what's the first
question going to be?” asked the chairman, as he smiled magnanimously.

“How do we make money?
Lots of it?” asked one man.

“Yeah, that's a good
one. We’re not happy living like this," said an older man. "A fat
bank balance is always welcome.”

“Anything else other
than money?” asked the chairman, with a twinkle in his eye.

“Ooh, ooh, and
happiness at all times,” said a young woman.

“Yeah, and a stress
free life,” said an elderly lady.

“All three if
possible,” said one girl.

“That would be asking
for too much, I guess,” said a young guy.

“So money, happiness
and a stress free life are your top three wishes for the year. That’s doable,
although there are far more interesting challenges in life,” said the chairman.

“We’ve had enough
challenges. There's so much pain and suffering even amongst the educated. A few
on top shittin' on the rest of us,” said one man, in a slightly frustrated
tone.