Author Leena Clover - Cozy Mysteries

Cozy Mystery Books with food, cats and dogs, crafts and hobbies

recipes

Tropical Drinks with Umbrellas [RECIPE]

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Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing great this week. We have five days to launch and the excitement is ramping up.

That also means the Pancakes and Parrots Preorder Giveaway is ending soon. Head over and participate if you haven’t done so already.

The flash giveaway from last time is now closed. Winner has been chosen and should be hearing from me soon.

Croissants and Cruises, the 10th book in the series, is on sale at 99 cents this week. If you like fast paced action and adventure on the high seas, you need to read this book.

Jenny and her friends go on a Caribbean cruise in this cozy mystery. There’s plenty of sun, sand and frozen tropical drinks. Today, I am sharing a recipe from the book. It’s Heather’s favorite cocktail and also has a non-alcoholic version.

Naughty Mama Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup guava juice or nectar

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 banana

1/4 cup coconut cream

 2 oz spiced rum or dark rum

2 oz white rum

2 cups ice

Method

Blend it all together and serve.

Wanna be Nice? Just leave the alcohol out!

I hope you try this recipe and let me know how you like it.

I have plenty of events lined up for Launch Week so make sure you save my email address and also like my Facebook page if you don’t want to miss out on the fun.


Summer Recipe

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Hello! How are you? I hope you enjoyed the sample chapter I shared with you last time.

The clock is ticking and we have exactly two weeks before Pancakes and Parrots goes live! If you haven’t entered the preorder giveaway yet, head over there right now. Remember, there is an option for a daily bonus entry too. All you have to do is click and increase your chances of winning.

Grilled cheese has to be one of my favorite comfort foods and go to meals. Give me a nice crispy grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup and I’m a happy camper.

Today I am sharing a recipe from Pancakes and Parrots. It is super simple and great even for novice cooks. What happens when my love for grilled cheese meets Jenny’s penchant for strawberries? Strawberry grilled cheese, of course.

You gotta try this one!

New Cozy Mystery Releases

Fellow author Chelsea Thomas has a new release in her Apple Orchard series. Dread and Butter is now available on Amazon. And Peaches and Scream, another book in the series, is FREE until August 12 only.

The body was found face down in a loaf of bread.

Chelsea has always been scared of too many carbs. But this is worse than she ever imagined. Bread is too delicious to be used as a weapon. Especially Miss May’s fluffy sour dough.

Good detectives follow every clue.

This time, those clues include a mysterious note, a fallen toupee and a literal trail of bread crumbs. But will Miss May, Chelsea and Teeny be able to find the killer while the crime is still fresh? Or will the clues get so stale they’re too tough to chew?

You’ll love this cozy because everyone loves cute mysteries that keep you turning the pages. Get it now.

Life’s a peach. Murder is the pit.

Peaches are back in season at the orchard and everyone’s got that warm, fuzzy feeling.

Miss May throws a “Peach Party” to celebrate. The whole town turns up for the bash. They munch on Peach pie, they drink Peach Sangria. Everything is, well, peachy. Until…

…a dead body turns up in the bakeshop.

Will Chelsea end up in prison for a crime she didn’t commit?

You’ll love this story because it has a mystery that’s tough to solve, plus a peach pie recipe that’s been in the family for generations.

Strawberry Grilled Cheese Recipe

Perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I love using crusty multigrain bread for this. You can use any bread you like.

Ingredients

4 slices bread

1 cup strawberries, sliced thick

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup shredded mozzarella or 4-5 thick slices

1/4 cup smoked gouda

1/4 stick soft butter

1/4 cup fresh basil or arugula

balsamic reduction (optional)

Method

Core the strawberries and slice them thickly, about 4 slices per berry.

Soak in balsamic vinegar and marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Butter the bread and place slices of fresh mozzarella or a generous amount of shredded mozzarella on each slice.

Place the marinated strawberries on the cheese.

Add some fresh basil leaves or arugula leaves.

Add a layer of smoked gouda.

Cover with mozzarella cheese and the other slice of bread.

Grill on a pan or in a panini press until the cheese melts and the bread is crispy and browned to your liking.

Cut into two and serve with a drizzle of balsamic reduction.

I hope you liked this recipe and are rushing off to try it out. We’ve got more fun stuff coming up soon. Stay tuned!

Quick and Easy Tomato Dip [RECIPE]

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Hello everyone! Hope you are staying safe and enjoying summer, as much as you can under the circumstances.

I have been busy working on Pancakes and Parrots. I can’t wait to share an excerpt or sample with you. The book is available on Amazon, Nook and Apple Books. Recently, I thought I hit a snag when a few readers reported they could not see the Buy button when they clicked on the Apple link.

PREORDER LINKS

After further investigation, it turns out this appears only for people on Apple devices. So if you want to preorder Pancakes and Parrots from Apple, make sure you are on an Apple device! Whew.

By the way, if you still haven’t started the Pelican Cove series, now is the time. You can get the two box sets at a hefty discount.

Giveaways!

I got some fantastic ideas from you. I am going to implement them very soon. So don’t miss these newsletters. LOL.

ARC

Many of you have written to me regarding the ARC group. I am sorry I haven’t replied yet. But I have read and appreciated all the reviews you are leaving on various platforms. I am going to try and get back to you this weekend.

Recipe of the Month

I am going to make this a thing! The recipes may or may not be from the books but they will certainly be something you can enjoy.

Many of you loved the Hard Times Tomato Soup. That is one reason I chose a tomato recipe. Other reasons? I love tomatoes, it’s summer, tomatoes are available everywhere, many people grow tomatoes at this time, etc. etc.

This recipe is more of a guideline. You can modify this in many ways and make it your own. I will suggest variations, hoping it doesn’t become too confusing.

Quick and Easy Tomato Dip

Ingredients

6-8 medium tomatoes

2 Tbsp chopped ginger

2 Tbsp blanched almonds

2 Tbsp light oil

½ tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

¼ cup plain yogurt or Greek yogurt

Method

Cut the tomatoes into chunks.

Heat oil in a pan and add the tomatoes, ginger and the almonds. Stir them till they are bruised and softened. Add spices and seasonings. The tomatoes will sweat a bit, releasing some juice. That is perfectly normal. Switch off heat at this point and cool the mixture completely.

Blend the tomato mixture without adding more liquid.

Your dip is ready. You can add in the yogurt at this point and pulse a few times until it is mixed in.

Refrigerate and use as a dip for chips or crudite, slather on toast, wraps or crackers.

Options – if you don’t like ginger, you can use garlic. Absolutely. Each will give a different flavor to the dip.

I used light oil because I want the tomatoes to shine but you can use extra virgin olive oil.

Use cashews instead of almonds. Or go nut free and use sunflower seeds.

Liven things up a bit by using dried herbs like oregano or mint.

Want more heat? Try adding half a fresh jalapeno pepper, or a dried chipotle or ancho chili.

That’s it! Something fresh and zesty for the next time you are curling up on that couch and going on a cozy mystery binge.

My Favorite Summer Soup

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Hello there! Hope this week finds you healthy and well.

Do you think summer and soup don’t go together? Well, I’m about to change your mind. Have you heard of gazpacho? It’s a cold Spanish soup made with ripe tomatoes, stale bread and a bunch of other vegetables. It’s totally yum!

Many of you wrote in to tell me how much you liked the Hard Times Tomato Basil Soup. Thanks so much for giving it a try. This one is going to be a riot on your taste buds, promise.

A writing update – I finished the first draft of the latest Dolphin Bay book. It goes on the back burner for now until I finish the next Pelican Cove book, Pancakes and Parrots. If you haven’t booked your copy yet, head over to the preorder page and do it now!

I spent an intense planning session this week for Pancakes and Parrots. My mind is reeling and I know writing this one is going to be a challenge. Expect plenty of suspects and twists and turns.

Gazpacho Recipe

You will need plenty of nice ripe tomatoes, some cucumbers, a little onion and green pepper, a sweet pepper or two, some garlic, some stale bread and really good extra virgin olive oil. I use smoked paprika to give it that authentic Spanish kick and also the smoky flavor. But if you don’t like it, you can just use sweet paprika instead.

This recipe is pretty forgiving in terms of proportions. So please use the recipe just as a guideline.

Ingredients

6 plum tomatoes
1 English cucumbers
1 small red onion
½ green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2-3 slices whole grain bread
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 cups+ water as needed
Salt to taste
2-3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method

Peel tomatoes and chop roughly.
Peel half cucumber and leave the skin on the other half. Chop these.
Finely chop quarter cucumber and set aside for garnish.
Chop the peppers, reserving some to finely chop for garnish.
Chop the red onion, reserving some to finely chop for garnish.
Add all ingredients to food processor or blender.
Add spices/seasonigs and grate or crush the garlic before adding it in.
Add a little water and blend until smooth. Add more water based on how thin you want the soup to be.
Refrigerate and serve garnished with the minced veggies and a squirt of more olive oil.
Optional – you can strain the soup through a colander if you want it super smooth.

That’s it. Isn’t it super easy? You can sip this any time of the day whenever you need a pick me up. I don’t have any recent photos so I am just sharing an old picture here, taken with an ancient camera!

Please send me your photos so I can share them with other readers here or on Faecbook.

I am going to try and write to you every week. You can look forward to more writing updates and cozy mystery recommendations at the very least.

Until next time, stay well!