indispensable sauces, pickles n tasty stuff

I've spent a lot of time over the last couple of years adjusting to a life without gluten, milk and soy. These are some of the amazing recipes I've rejiggered to keep flavor in my kitchen. I admit, I never would have known them if not for my dastardly allergies, so they represent a happy ending.

Worcestershire Sauce

The real stuff has soy and wheat. This is my tasty alternative.

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

1 tsp onion powder

¼ tsp cayenne

½ dry mustard

½ c molasses

½ c fish sauce

1 c vinegar

1 tbsp lime juice

½ tsp horseradish

1. Combine dry stuff. Whisk in wet stuff and bottle. Shake well before serving. Keeps in the fridge for months.

Turmeric Pickled Onions

The food processor or a mandolin makes these quick pickles perfectly thin. Serve these bright yellow onions on a brisket or pulled pork sandwich with homemade Sriracha mayo. Inspired by Central Foods, Spokane.

1 large onion, sliced thin

1 c water

¼ c vinegar

½ c sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

1. Place everything in a pan, bring to a boil. When onions are tender (which only takes a minute), pour everything into a canning jar and let cool. Store in the fridge or process in boiling water bath for 10 min.

Homemade (Sriracha) Mayonnaise

Inspired by Central Foods, Spokane. Who needs nacho sauce when you can dip French fries or sweet potato wedges in this? Pay attention to the method or you’ll end up with broken mayo that won’t mix, and nobody wants that.

1 egg

1 c oil

2 tsp lemon juice

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp garlic powder or 2 roasted cloves

1 tsp mustard or soaked mustard seeds

3-4 tablespoons of Sriracha chili-garlic sauce

1. If using an immersion blender: Put everything in a wide mouthed canning jar or tall beaker. With the immersion blender all the way on the bottom of the jar, pulse for a few seconds. When you see white mayonnaise forming, blend away, slowly raising the blender to incorporate all the oil.

2. If using a blender: Put everything in the blender except the oil. Put the lid on the blender and slowly drizzle the oil through the hold in the top, a few drops at a time. Really slow! When it finally starts to whip, may add a bit faster.

Artichoke (Kale-Spinach) Pesto

Don’t try this with canned artichokes, which taste sour. Ick! Use fresh or frozen, but if you can’t find any, 2 cups of fresh baby kale and spinach works great. It’s also good without the nuts.

8 oz frozen artichokes or 2 c fresh baby spinach/kale mix

1 c fresh parsley, packed, or ¼ c dried

½ c toasted walnuts, pecans or ¼ c toasted sesame

½ c olive oil

2-4 tsp lemon juice

2 cloves roasted garlic or ¼ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1. Combine all in food processor or blender. Pulse until blended, but leave a bit chunky for texture. Enjoy on toast, with crackers or carrot sticks.

Tartar Sauce

This is the tartar sauce I grew up on. Store bought never tastes right for me.

1 c mayonnaise

1 finely diced dill pickle

1 tbsp diced red onion

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dried dill

1 tsp parsley

Salt & pepper to taste

1. Mix and enjoy.

Rosemary Maple Apple (Pear) Butter

Measurements pending. Excellent on pork, turkey sandwiches, toast, squash, etc. Inspired by Central Food, Spokane.

2- 3 apples or pears

2-4 tsp brown sugar or maple syrup

1/8 tsp maple flavor (if you don’t have maple syrup)

Pinch rosemary, roughly chopped

Dash of salt

1. Peel and chop the fruit. Cook in a saucepan with the sugar and spices until softened. Taste to adjust sugar. Serve and enjoy or process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Gargoyles in the Attic

Gargoyles in the Attic

Super-duper book blurb here.

XXX words

Chapter 1

“It won’t work, wife.”

Jordan blinked and accepted a cup of fennel & mint tea from her husband. He’d added honey, and she inhaled the steam gratefully. She’d barely begun to show, but nausea plagued her constantly. Toast and tea had become staples. “What do you mean?”

Griffin nodded at the cello player across the drawing room. It was twilight and a maid was lighting the gaslights, making the cello gleam. The soft light cast the mute girl in a romantic glow, the cello giving her voice, making it soar.

A gargoyle watched her, his expression rapt as he swayed gently to the haunting melody. Thin and purple, he had busy white hair, oversize gargoyle feet and a black leather kilt. A long, sheathed dagger hung at his belt.

“He loves the music, not the girl. Or rather, he feels protective of her. What you see is a gargoyle’s natural protective instinct. They would never make it as a couple.”

Jordan raised a brow. “Oh?”

“’Oh’, indeed. Gargoyles are brutal lovers, my heart. Teeth, claws, thick hides… They have powerful instincts that are perfect for each other, but too much for a delicate human. However, they make excellent guardians. He’s hers.”

“Hm. And how do you know about gargoyle mating habits?” she asked archly. Griffin had a certain reputation before they met, and she wouldn’t doubt that he’d had a former paranormal flame.

Of course, Griffin wasn’t just his given name; he’d been known to sprout claws of his own.

“We’ve had gargoyles in the family for a long time, darling. Men talk.”

“I see. It’s just as well. Abby is young and magic makes her nervous. I think she’s happy here, but she needs to see the wider world. A talent like hers belongs on the world’s stage, and I want to see her shine.” Abby was an orphan. Jordan had heard her playing on a street corner with her father’s battered old violin and struck up a conversation. She’d offered the girl a position as nanny, saying Abby’s music would help her active daughter sleep. She’d also mentioned that Abby was welcome to play any instrument in the music room. Once the girl had time to adjust to the house, she’d supplied lessons.

Jordan was very fond of her, and Abby repaid the favor by taking excellent care of Jordan’s daughter.

Friday release, men are morons. Gargoyle Girl out next week.

Last night John informed me (in guy speak) that he didn't think I cared when he was hurt in AK because I sounded so calm on the phone. Whereupon I hit him with my pillow, called him a moron (and a few other things) and stormed dramatically from the room.

There were a few choice things said about fools in the hospital for five days, of course I care, you-idiot-who-almost-lost-a-major-organ (henceforth to be known as YIWALAM), etc.

After he'd coaxed me back to bed and fell asleep with a happy smile on his face, I got to stay awake and stew. Men make no sense. Next time I'm totally going Southern Belle and having hysterics instead of being stoic and responsible. Ugh!

Also, I need to put that into a book.

Speaking of, Scorched Earth will be released Friday. Gargoyle Girl will be out next week. Working on Gargoyles in the Attic right now.

Sitting on the exercise ball trying to decide if I can defend the use of "entangled". Switched from the chair because rear was numb. Using gold's gym wide stomach wrap thing to support my muscles to keep working until they get used to the long hours. Grateful for leftovers in fridge, because there'll be no cooking today.

I did learn that charcoal tablets work great on sore muscles; took one last night as an experiment and slept without waking from aches. Pretty handy if you can't handle ibuprofen or other pain killers. Maybe it sucks up the lactic acid, but whatever it does, I'm grateful. Can't get addicted, non toxic, won't hurt the body and has other useful properties.

I need to decide on a Gargoyle Girl cover soon, because it's in Judy's hands now.

I mastered mayonnaise! Homemade siracha mayo...yum! The key was to use 4 yolks so my immersion blender blades could reach. Basically doubled the recipe with 4 yolks, 1 1/2 c oil (will use canola with a bit of olive next time instead of rice bran for better flavor). It was fun to watch the pillowy yellow mayo develop, and when I added a bit of salt, lemon (which makes is more salty, oddly) and siracha. I didn't measure, but I added it until the mayo looked like nacho cheese sauce and tasted right. Oh, tossed in a couple of roasted garlic cloves, too. There's lots of examples on YouTube if you're interested.

John was so excited. Speaking of John, I didn't know he rode his motorcycle to work. And he wondered why I gave him a dirty look when he came in. Honestly, the man was in the hospital for five days and is still recovering from the last toy he rode. Men.

Obviously, I can't live in fear, so I'll have to get over it, but it was a bad feeling.

At least there are gargoyles, Creature Shop AND Save My Bakery. Let's not forget the rainy day that makes cooking brisket today perfect. Should probably put the leftover egg whites to use in a cake and the washing machine is humming.

Busy day.

Got the edits back for SE, plan to do them in the evenings so I can save creative writing for mornings. My beta Mary gets it first, then I'll release it, possibly next week, depending on her schedule. I suppose I should work on a cover before then. Hm.

Gargoyle Girl will be a short story, possibly the first of several in the I&H world. I think it'll be good for me to finish a few stories quickly, keep the pace moving, which will be perfect for summer vacation with three teens home. Plus, gargoyles!

After that, maybe trolls. We'll see what comes out of the hat. There's a lot to choose from.

So the bond with the house has a profound effect on Jordan, changing her in subtle ways. What else will it do?

Easter was nice. We had "little turkeys", aka cornish game hens. The kids thought it was great to have a little roast chicken all to themselves. Also made carrot cake, which turned out well but I think I'll tweak it to use less flour. Also made chocolate cupcakes, because I had leftover eggs and oil from my homemade mayo attempt (why is this giving me fits? Gordan Ramsey makes it look so easy. I think my food processor blades don't work on only two egg yolks. Blender also failed. Grr.)

There might be lots of cupcakes in our future, because now it's a challenge. Meanwhile, back to the gargoyles. We're coming up on a mating flight...