Thursday, July 13, 2017

Recipe and Book with Norma Huss #Guppies #SINC #leftovers


Recipe and Book with
Norma Huss
         I wrote the following scene for Jo Durbin in my book, thinking about how I often cook in my own kitchen—gathering together whatever I find for a meal.

         “You’re taking advantage of my good nature.” Of course he wasn’t, and he knew it. In my customary life I was an innovative but often haphazard cook, however, Mel was such an appreciative audience. And face it, I did need a break from outdoor research now and then.

            I found a package of ramen noodles, a few nuts, a can of mushrooms, and a half jar of peanut butter. I lined up his spices, decided which bits of veggies from the crisper in the bottom of the refrigerator were usable, and did my magic.

         Then I invented the recipe to fit the book, tweaking it until it tasted quite tasty. It’s one way to deal with leftovers.

Garlic Chicken with Peanut Sauce, Noodles and Vegetables

Leftover rotisserie (barbecue) chicken
Noodles (rice noodles, egg noodles, ramen noodles or any pasta of your choice)
Veggies (broccoli florets, onion chunks, carrots sliced thin, mushrooms, celery, or any others of your choice)  Note: You won’t find any peppers in Jo’s recipes because she doesn’t like them - but feel free to use them as well.
Garlic - 1 clove minced, or ½ tsp of canned chopped or minced (or more if you prefer).
Peanut Sauce - see recipe below
Peanuts - unsalted dry-roasted - may be chopped

1.  Whisk peanut sauce ingredients together.
2.  Cut bite-size chunks from left-over barbecue chicken.
3.  Prepare veggies.  (Peel &/or chop.  If necessary, zap in microwave until done to tenderness you prefer.)  Note: many veggies, especially frozen peas and mushrooms, may not need extra cooking.
4.  Break noodles into 2 to 4 inch lengths then cook according to box instructions (rice noodles, egg noodles, ramen noodles, etc.)
5.  Cook garlic in the peanut sauce for 2 or 3 minutes.  Add chicken and heat for another 2 or 3 minutes.  Add cooked noodles and veggies.  Stir and heat through.
6.  Stir peanuts in before serving, or sprinkle a handful of peanuts on the topafter serving. 

Peanut Sauce - 2 servings (all measurements are approximate)
Whisk together:

1 TB creamy peanut butter
1 tsp hazelnut oil (or any oil)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 shakes ground red pepper
6 twists of pepper mill
3 shakes onion powder
3 shakes ground ginger



The building was vacant, the keys were almost a gift. Vacant, sure—except for the body. Now Jo knows one downside of acting the homeless bag lady. No one will believe she just happened to find the very dead Francine.

         I turned on my phone for Sylvie’s call, but she must have given up trying. As I relaxed on a bench overlooking the boats in Ego Alley and thinking about my next meal, the call came.
         “Hi, Sylvie,” I said.
         “Not Sylvie.” It was Mel. “Thought you’d like to know. The police are looking for a woman. Description, five, five. Weight, one fifty. Medium brown hair. Blue plaid coat.”
         “Well then, it’s not me. At least ten pounds too much.” But of course, it was me, or my identical twin, and we both knew it. I jerked my head to the right to watch a woman walk by.
         “I didn’t say it was.”
         Not a police woman. I looked to the left. A waddling duck took to the sky. Wish I could do the same. He added, “Heard it on the police scanner, not the radio.”
         At least the whole population wasn’t in on the search. “Where are they looking?”
         “It was an alert to all patrol cars.”
         Which meant the cops were looking for me everywhere. Me and my blue plaid coat. Mel didn’t ask questions. I didn’t explain.
         My two extra days were up tomorrow. Sunday. Always a good day for travel. Except—there must be a few of my fingerprints at the scene, and with a witness who saw me, how could I leave? I had to find the killer.

Find Yesterday’s Body at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006HJLFHU

Find Norma’s Author Facebook page at: fb.me/writerNormaHuss

How wonderful to have you today, Norma, and thank you for sharing your recipe.  So what is your favorite kind of cake?
 

10 comments:

Angela Adams said...

Peanut sauce sounds good! Thanks for the recipe.

Norma Huss said...

Lovely to be here, Vicki. My favorite cake is rich, moist chocolate with a boiled chocolate frosting filled with walnuts. But my family's favorite is chocolate cake with brown butter icing. Guess which one we have more often.

Vicki Batman, sassy writer said...

Hi, Norma! I have never had brown butter icing. So you had better send me the recipe. My aunt makes a Texas Sheet Cake with boiled chocolate frosting, but being from Texas, she uses pecans instead of walnuts. It is absolutely delicious. Thanks for being here today.

Melissa Keir said...

Sounds like me. I have a pasta recipe that is never the same because I'm always throwing different things in the mix. Wonderful excerpt. I wish you much luck on your book!

Norma Huss said...

Vicki, heat some butter until it browns (don't let It burn, though), then add powdered sugar (10X) and milk and stir until it's the right texture to spread. As the butter cools, the frosting thickens. If you want you can add vanilla (or probably anything else) for a different flavor zing. Sometimes I use maple flavoring.

Melissa, thank you. (Yep, that's the way I cook too.)

Cheryle said...

Norma, your recipe sounds delicious!

Unknown said...

Both the recipe and the book sound delicious!! Can't wait to eat and read! Sharon catwoman-1(at)comcast(dot)net

Vicki Batman, sassy writer said...

Thank you, Norma, for the recipe!

Joanne Guidoccio said...

Thanks for the recipe, Norma. It sounds delicious and so does Yesterday's Body. Best of luck with sales. :)

Norma Huss said...

You're welcome, Vicki. I'm delighted that I just found out about a delightful new blog to read! Thank you for that, as well as the opportunity to be your guest.