Cooking With Ideas

AGONY OF THE LEAVES

Yes, I capitalized the title of this entry, which is also the title of a book which arrived in the mail a while back: Agony of the Leaves by Laura Childs. And, thanks, by the way, to this site for the wonderful picture of. . . you guessed, it, tea leaves (on a tea plant).

I like Laura Childs' mysteries -- they are entertaining, not too demanding, and the characters are generally believable. This particular one begins with a drowning and SPOILER ALERT the dead person is a series character (a former boyfriend of the sleuthy/ tea shoppe owner, Theodosia). Yep, Parker dies. And, it all starts in an aquarium.for the book trailer, try clicking here. It is truly goofy.

While investigating, of course, as is Theodosia's tendency, she is surrounded by pals -- and interesting tea trivia and serious information. In this case, there is even a bit of coffee trivia sprinkled in, due to a coffee and tea expo which is part of the plot. There is, of course, more. For example, there is a Japanese tea ceremony. (Yep, it is the tea chap for Theodosia's Charlotte tea shop, Granville, who does this.) Also, in this case, one of the attempts at murder is what might be labeled murder by bees, which I found endlessly entertaining since everyone I know seems to have decided to take up beekeeping. Also, there is some hilariously over the top descriptions of driving as well as a pretty loony left turn that reveals the murderer, who is also pretty loony.

Turns out, by the way, that agony of the leaves is not a phrase invented by Childs. It actually has a meaning within the cultures of tea, referring to the way tea leaves unfurl. See this site for a fuller definition and this one if you want to see it actually happen.  I am 100% sure Childs knows this. Also, Childs includes tea periodicals, websites, and etcetera at the end of her book, which is one of the most fun things ever. (Frankly, I do not care really about the recipes at the end of such books; I do like to leanr a tad more, if only because it somehow makes me feel like I know the author a bit more? Not sure why.)

All in all, worth a read.

Want someone else's opinion? Try here. Or even here.

And, if you like mysteries iwth tea shoppe or coffee shop (no idea why one gets two ps and . . . ), try here for a list. And, if you wander around on that site, you can find all sorts of cozy mysteries organized by theme.

 

A Few More Blogs to Watch Out For . . . To Be Specific: Cozy Murder Mysteries Featuring Culinary and Related Themes

Yep, a long title. I found this site a while back focused on thematizing cozy mysteries and lo and behold, there were lists -- yes, multiple lists because they had to be divided alphabetically -- of culinary themes murder mysteries. Here is A through D, here F through K (yes, apparently there are no Es), here is L hrough R, and (finally) here is S through W and a few more. Wait. Did I say "finally" -- well, there is one more part of her site, where she adds more to her list. And here it is -- even more. Still none starting with E, by the way.

And wow, I knew a lot of the authors she cites -- but also did NOT know a large number of them. So, Cooking with Ideas maybe broadening our horizons over the coming months. Who knows? Who knew? Who's your favorite?

Crunch Time

In college, it is exam time for students and grading hell for faculty. For tax people (and in deed for many people), it is April 15 -- or this year April 17. But that is not what I am writing about today. Yep, it is a new murder mystery with a punny title -- Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson. A Wellesley alumna, Davidson has published loads of mysteries iwth food related themes, focused on her key character -- Goldie -- who is a caterer in Colorado in a town called Aspen Meadows. She has been through a marriage to an abuseive husband, is remarried to a (former) cop, and has a son who is in high school. Across the novels, there have been various twists and turns, but in every case it involves food, Goldie's eye for detail, and murder. In fact, I have reviewed prior books by Davidson here. 

In this case, one of the key plot twists/character elements involves a set of Cuban refugees, which makes for some interesting foodie (not to mention political) commentary. There are puppies (lots of them), a school dinner, snow in the Rockies, and trips to Denver, all brought together by the effort to solve some puzzling murders (of course). Have you ever eaten guava marmalade? It is a recurring note here, though inessential to the plot really. Like many mysteries, one question here is whether a friend is really telling all the truth, and if not, why not. And, like all of Davidson's there are tidbits here of fmeinism in the guise of perspectives on marital abuse.

Davidson seems to me to be at the top of her form here, as it is a more full novel than some of hers -- and I do not mean only that it is longish. The characters are multiple and the the possibilities for the core of the murder so many one wonders if Aspen Meadows is where crummy people go to bother each other. But, it is also filled with lovely people who take care of their own -- and of strangers. Small town life.

As always, recipes at the end. As always, a fun romp and a good way to hide from the "real" world -- whatever that is.

Ellery Queen Culinary Truths

I have been a fan of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine for years. (Here's their site.) I usually read it from cover to cover, which is not quite as true of some of the more serious magazines and journals that show up on my doorstep.  I even used to like the Ellery Queen television show. I am not into it so much that I actually know much about the two guys who "were" Queen. Nor am I into it so much as to be willing to pay more than I ought for the silliness of reading the magazine. But, I do enjoy it.

And, this issue (on sale til May 8) tweaked me on the "murder on the menu" front. There is a regular feature in the magazine called "The Jury Box" in which the critic reviews a series of mysteries, often grouped by genre or some other theme that holds them together. (For example, short stories, or parapsychology or. . . . ). The author is Steve Steinbock (who I know absolutely nothing about, but you might try here). In this case, you guessed it -- the focus was on culinary mysteries. He reviews newish books by Leslie Meier (who, by the way, went to William Smith College), Carol Culver, Lucy Burdette, Elaine Viets, Sandra Balzo, Marian Babson, Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden -- and then lists a whole raft of others which he does not even get to. The most crucial thing for me -- I had heard of some of these, and even reviewed some of them on Cooking with Ideas, but wow -- a lot of new authors to consider.

Cape Cod Mysteries

No, I have not been to the Cape, which of course I love. This time I got there via a murder mystery. While its copy editing is flawed -- verboten for verbatim, sight for site, interceded for intercept -- it was a fun read. And as the end of the book itself says (well, of the kindle version) -- this is published by a little organization and they apologize for any errors, we have to forgive these small errors.  As I said, the read was fun. And really, verboten for verbatim made me smile. Of course, I have reviewed Cape restaurants (e.g., here) and . . . so Cape mysteries with food seemed so perfect. Yep, bought it and devoured it.

The title? A Deadly Chocolate Pi and, yes, we're stuck in pun land for titles though this time at least the issue of pi and pie appear in the novel. The author is Cynthia Gallant-Simpson and there are even a few pictures of Provincetown. Turns out if you google chocolate pi, there are lots of folks that like this pun and use it -- for the obvious reasons.  In any case, I liked the way this mystery wove together food, Cape Cod history, characters and there are fun tidbits about the Cape during the off season. The main character is Liz Ogilvie-Smyth and here is a bit of a sub-plot about her need to reveal to her beau (yep, the usual) the fact that she is filthy rich and has been hiding that. Otherwise, the main tale involves death -- perhaps by pi/pie -- and lots of odd characters.

If grammar and word choice are your friends, perhaps not for you. But -- if you want to know weird little bits of chocolate lore or want to smile that it is not only college students who make mistakes -- well, a quick read of a cozy from the Cape. And, I for one, smiled that the notion of pi is hi-falutin' mathematics. Really?

Affairs of Steak

I like Julie Hyzy's White House chef series, and so liked this treat, gifted to me by someone wonderful. I read it in almost one fell swoop, on my kindle, and it relieved stress and made me smile. I do get just a tiny bit tired of the punny titles, but Hyzy is not alone in that -- I suspect it of being a conspiracy of publishers trying to make us smile when all they really elicit is a bit of ruefulness. (For a site with a list of some punny titles in culinary mysteries, try here. The writer likes Tamar Meyers' puns the best I think.)

In any case, the pun issue is probably just a quibble. The mystery was fun, the series characters getting on with their lives, and all in all I enjoyed it. Among the things I liked best is, I missed the main mystery. I was fooled by red herrings (yep, a foodie joke) and I like that. It may have been because I read at such a clip but it is more likely it is because Hyzy did well this time out. I also like the ways [POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT BUT I AM NOT SURE ABOUT THAT]  bipartisanship gets turned on its ear -- we all wish for reasonable facsimiles of intelligence and logic and caring rather than politics as usual -- in which I trade this good for that good and we all end up with. . . . well, you get my drift. In any case, I do think the cliche of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer is a bit tired, but I also think unexpected allies are always useful. It helps keep the vote counters off balance, and it also often leads to creative solutions. Hmmm. This is a theme that in various eays runs through this installment in the series of White House chef meets murderers and can;t control her urge to pursue justice.

So, in this mystery it is Ollie, the chef, and the sometimes annoying (dare I say all too often) chief of protocol as well as others who stand in for this theme. Their pairing allows for a lot of snideness, which I found entertaining. Also, the romance angle is going along without being too annoying in this one; Ollie is trying to be discrete, but it seems as though, if you trust this series, the West Wing might be renamed the "no gossip not fit to share" and people are adroit at guessing.

One thing that always eventually gets to me in series with amateur detective-y types is how often they end up involved in murders. Really, it gets a bit unbelievable. Hyzy does a good job using that to add to the flavor of the series, in a slightly tongue in cheek way. I like that. Otherwise, I would begin to feel like my suspension of disbelief, and indeed I do suspend it, is being stretched just a tad too far.

One silly note: there is a kitchen (pro kitchen) gadget involved, and I like that. . . though not its use.

Wanna try Hyzy's blog? Click here.

Murder By Mocha

I admit it. I love chocolate and I often order a mocha. I know it has more calories than other coffee-based drinks, and it is not perfect, but I can even remember when I first had one in the late 1980s in a very impressive joint in Berkeley when I was there for an NEH seminar. I had them a lot. While I have moved on to caramel in some coffee drinks, I love chocolate and . .  a mocha is one of my favorite things. Few people make them well, though. (Though I am a fan of the Dalai Java in Canandaigua's peppermint mocha to which I was treated recently.)

I also love mole. (and this despite the fact I cannot figure out how to get the accent mark to appear above the e.)  In fact, my New Year's resolutions for this year involved making more mole. I have made one kind and blogged about it here. But I have not made enough. Hmmm.

So: imagine my glee when Cleo Coyle (yes, she of the virtual coffee house) let me know she'd be sending along her new mystery. Why?  It is entitled Murder by Mocha. My glee about the topic was only a tiny little bit of my glee. (And no, I do not mean the television show.) What else made me gleeful? Learning Cleo was acknowledging this very blog (Yes, Cooking with Ideas!) in her opening bits! THANK YOU CLEO! It is one thing to appear in acknowledgements for geeky academic reasons -- and another because of Cooking with Ideas. I may in fact prefer the latter. Did I say THANK YOU CLEO??!??!? And hte thnaks are also for the book itself which came along in hard back, signed and all that!

My glee, of course, also came from my love for mochas and my assumption that the book would be a treat not just because I like the Coffeehouse series but because (I assumed) this volume would have loads of chocoholic tidbits. Little did I know that the book would also include a mole recipe to help me move a bit forward on that New Year's goal. For a change, I may in fact try one of the recipes -- and yes, it will be the mole. (Accentless though it is here in this blog entry.)

But, you ask, what about the book itself?  What did I think? Well, I might be prejudiced because she mentions Cooking with Ideas in her acknowledgements (did I say that already?) but. . . . I burned through the book, glad to meet again various series characters like Madame and Clare and Mike Quinn and. . . others. And, I enjoyed the focus on a women owned and run business (beyond the Coffee House Series' Village Blend itself), though I always hate to see women's efforts include craziness and nastiness and... well, nastiness. In this mystery, one of the "characters" is actually a business which has both a web presence and a wider presence focused on selling to women -- in areas like life style, health, food, etc. There are loads of plays on the relation of commodity fetishism to cults (not quite so directly as I have just stated it) and corporations and cults. (Did I say cults? I often argue cults are just religions no one likes; in this case, the edge to the word seems to me warranted. Not only does the organization use the names of goddesses to mark their various business sectors, but, well, they take competitive business to a whole new level. Ok, not literally a cult, but certainly figuratively. Whatever that means.) The mystery itself reaches forward and backward in time, and as always Cleo lets us into the mind of the relevant nasty people in intriguing ways. For those of us who live in academia, there is even a little bit of content for us -- a tiny glimpse into a college setting. As for non-mystery aspects of the story -- as usual, there are tensions, and kindnesses among the series characters, romance, parental thises and thats, and coffee (and in this case chocolate) learning to be found. While aphrodisiacs are a central part of the plot of this mystery, I particularly like that the tensions between Clare and her former husband Matt are toned down a bit and the romantic tensions for Clare and her Michael Quinn are pretty straightforwardly dealt with.

So: I do not intend to be murdered by mocha, regardless of the caloric content. I intend to continue believing that chocolate is good for me. But, [TEENSY BITSY SPOILER ALERT] I will definitely not take such things for granted just because a company markets its products that way!

Yes, I know I did not tell you much about the content of this book. But, hey, read it. You'll enjoy it. I did.

For more on Murder by Mocha, click here.

Crime Fraiche

Some time ago, I came across a culinary-related murder mystery entitled The Grave Gourmet and reviewed it here. I had never heard of the author, and despite a bit of a zig zag toward the end of plot twists and sudden turns, I enjoyed the book. I read it, reviewed it, read about something all too similar to the plot later, and thought little of it. And then, the author (Alexander Campion -- a pseudonym, and I shall not share his real name) wrote me via email, responded to my critique and asked if I would like to see the next of his efforts into the genre. I was enthusiastic and am pleased to say that Crime Fraiche arrived via post (as a pre-publication copy from Kensington Publishing Corp.) earlier this month, I read it as soon as my day job toned itself down a tad enjoying each morsel (and yes, there is a good mystery here as well as loads of foodie fun). Once again, a flic (aka police person) with a bit of an aristocratic tinge (Madame la Comtesse) and her somewhat older restaurant reviewer husband, are off. And, they are no longer only in Paris (where they reside) but are in the country shooting and eating and picnicking, drinking and sleuthing. Meanwhile, some of the series characters get a bit more flesh on their bones (literarily speaking) and one can see the author growing. (Too many first books are followed by loads of rubbish thereafter -- the author having used her or his plot devices and ideas all in the first book. Book one -- a real novel wiyh a mystery. Book two then becomes a sort of trinket. Not here. This one actually works better then The Grave Gourmet, at least for me. And I enjoyed the first read.)

For more on the author, complete with an interview, try his own site, here. Alas, the book is not due out til July 2011 -- so, unlike me, you'll have to wait for this fresh mystery featuring Capucine and her husband Alexandre (Who is not only older but a bit endearingly pudgy, which warms my heart). Meanwhile, rest assured that if any of the following appeals to you, this book will too:

1. Cattle. . . very special cattle . . . very special French (Normandy) cattle. I think I have never had the pleasure of eating such a thing, but I do know is said to be quite special. . . .(If you're clueless, try here or here. Or, perhaps, that is not quite the right breed. Hmmm. There seem to be a variety of famous french cattle breeds. Here, for example, is another kind. Hmmm. Here's one breed that is obviously from Normandy. I was so engrossed in the mystery I may have missed a major point. But still.)

2. Mushrooming . . . aka foraging -- and finding lovely examples (checked out with a knowledgeable pharmacist prior to cooking them) -- also appears here and so, if you like the names of mushrooms and the idea of foraging for them. . . well, here you go. (A friend of mine who lives nearby found morels recently in her front yard and cooked them up in a wonderful counding way.) Mushrooms.

3. One of the very few cooking classes where I have been well in over my head was actually a demonstration class I saw at the Cordon Bleu in Ottawa. The class was on pheasant. And the end product had the most amazing tastes ever-- a sauce that involves loads of bones and the pheasant that lifted my spirits. I think it was raining that day. I can still see the plate and taste the dish even though it ws years ago. I am not always rah rah pheasant. But if you are -- or if you had one such dandy encounter, you'll find pheasant, too, in Crime Fraiche.

4. Calvados -- don't know what it is? Click here or here. Or ask for some at your favorite place where you imbibe. And yes, it is a region in Normandy. And yes, with a bit of pear brandy it is called (I think) domfrontais. Click here for some dandy recipes involving calvados -- and even, once in a while, pheasant.

5. Couscous, tajine and related foods -- well, yes, they appear here as well. In fact, so does quinoa -- to the utter bafflement of some french traditinalists. The former are somewhat synechdochal for the immigration of many into France from various elsewheres (not a surprise to fans of The Grave Gourmet, since one of Capucine's fellow flics is of such descent) while the latter appears as a result of . . . well, you'll have to wait until nearly the end of the book. . . . so I will not spoil even this not-so-plot-related bit of fun.Meanwhile, if you want more on teh food of Normandy, try clicking here or here. And do not, of course, forget the cheese. Or many other french tidbits from fois gras (Whcih I cooked for the first time recently) to . . . well, you'll see.

Not all the mysteries here are food-related, and I have had to leave out some of contemporary food politics so as not to spoil too much, -- but I hope very much to hear from "Alexander" when the next mystery emerges from his pen.

For another review of this dandy page turner -- and its foodie wonders -- try here.

 

 

Cheese-y Tales II

Locks and Cream Cheese sounds like it should go along with Don't Cry for Me, Hot Pastrami, reviewed here. Right? Plays on deli foods and . . . well, turns out that while I am sure they picked the title to sound like lox and cream cheese, the novel is really not quite as foodie oriented as its title implies. Yes, there's a cook -- named Mollie -- who is a combination of wonderful and crazy making. And yes, there is a murder and a chap named Paco who is the policeman (clearly tilting toward Mollie as a love interest). But the locks are actually locks, and the mystery is also about the folks living in the 1980s trying to understand the past and discovering aspects of it they might not truly have expected, including murder and mayhem in the past that explains various aspects of their present's murder and mayhem.

One of the most memorable aspects of the mystery -- well, the book, not the mystery -- is the persistent malapropisms of the character Mollie. Malapropisms are a hoot -- I even came to wonder if that is why the title is Locks and Cream Cheese. For some examples (beyond thopse in wikipedia, which you can find in the preceding link, check this out.) And, the book was actually enjoyable in part because it was not stuck in the foodie cozy mystery genre. It was longer, had more chapters and complexity to the plot, and seemed to eschew some fo the punniness of the genre in favor of the ongoing, constant flow of malapropisms from Mollie. There are moments when the writing is stiff -- and the descriptions are a bit cliched on occasion, long on others, and wonderful on occasion -- but the writing is clearly trying for a novel not merely a puzzle. There are a whole range of characters -- a New Jersey-ish gangster, a 50-something failure with a gambling problem, arts dealers and thieves, nerdy techie types and newlyweds. And the plot twists include centuries old diaries, keys and mysterious boxes, hidden rooms, and . . . more. A jumble-sale-like assortment sometimes, but on the other hand less predictable than many of the Berkeley foodie/cozy genre.This is the first of a series with lots of other punny titles out there -- including my personal favorite title in a while: Boston Scream Pie. Or wait, might that be Hot Grudge Sunday?

All in all I am glad to have stumbled upon this while looking for cheese-related mysteries!

The authors, Rosemary and Larry Mild, have a website here and they have, of course, written more than one mystery with Paco and Mollie featured. One of the best things about them is, I think, that they are late bloomers as writers. For some reviews of their work and etc click here.

Cheese-y Tales I

Or is that cheesy? Yes, I have been reading books that involve cheese, atarting, of course, with Edward Trencom's Nose, reviewed here. At the time, I was searching for a whole series I had heard of but been unable to locate, focused on a cheese shop. And, then, there was a comment from the author of those -- Avery Aames, and I purchased The Long Quiche Goodbye on my kindle. The book is the first in a series (which so far has two book,s I think), and did, indeed, involve a cheese shop proprietor as the amateur detective type. Though not as cheese-information-y as Edward Trencom's Nose, this was a fun romp, in the more usual genre of cozy mystery meets foodie mystery and . . . there you have it. There are cheese caves and an occasional mention of a technique (like shaving the top of cheeses periodically to have them breath in order to not go off, and of course a wine annex. And, equally a matter of course, of course, is the somewhat uncertain romance of the main character.

Set in Ohio, the cheese shop (called Fromagerie Bessette) was begun by Charlotte's (the detective/proprietor) grandparents who left France after WWII and have an occasional french moment. despite an occasional mention of Amish, for example, the Ohio venue could be anywhere, and the cheeses are multitudious. The shop assistant, Rebecca, has left Amish life recently and is thus a foil for some critique of those who get sucked into believng television portrays detective work accurately, etcetera. I sometimes wonder how small town police feel about all these murder mysteries set in thier midst; too often the police seem like buffoons and the amateurs like geniuses (despite their frequent jumping to conclusions and etc). Here, in this book, the police do not come in for too many snide remarks; in fact, the chief of police seems like a genuinely committed person trying hard to do what's right. [SPOILER ALERT -- but not too serious] That the grandmother is the accused -- and that she is also mayor of the town running for election against a really annoying woman -- means politics gets a little bit of a send-up, though kindly at that. The book ends with a few recipes involving cheese: a cheese/apple sandwich, polenta with taleggio and basil, a ham and pineapple quiche, and a smoked salmon and marscapone risotto.

For more on this book, click here where you can learn about how the author, who had never sold one of her novels, comes to be commissioned to write a cheese shop mystery! And that she did it in 5 weeks is itself amazing. Avery Aames does Thursdays at this site -- which you should know about anyway if you like mysteries!

 

And keep watching Cooking with Ideas: I have just read Locks and Cream Cheese which, despite its title is not about lox. Written by Rosemary and Larry Mild, this is also a 30 chapter (yes, they're short) book set in the 1980s. Who remembers that decade?