Lakeside Cottage

by Susan Wiggs

  (larger brookies work, too)

  corn on the cob

  onion

  tomato

  lemon

  butter

  herbs

  salt and pepper to taste

  Husk corn carefully, keeping the husks intact while removing the silk. Sauté the onion in butter. Add the chopped tomatoes. Toss in herbs and seasonings. Stuff the fish with this mixture and layer slices of lemon on the sides. Wrap individual fish in the corn husks, using twine or kitchen string to fasten the husks around the fish. Lay the bundles on the grill or the coals and cook about 10 minutes per side, until the fish flakes with a fork. Brush the corn with seasoned butter and grill alongside the fish.

  CROWN OF ARTICHOKE HEART SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE

  Courtesy of C’est Si Bon restaurant, Port Angeles, Washington (www.cestsibon-frenchcuisine.com).

  2 large artichokes

  1/3 lb goat cheese

  ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

  salt, pepper, green peppercorn to taste

  parsley, chives to taste

  1 15 ½ oz can whole tomatoes

  1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

  1 mint leaf

  Boil the artichokes and remove and save the leaves. Cut off the fuzzy part of the artichoke heart. Cut the artichoke heart into six wedges. In a food processor, add goat cheese, pinch of cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and green peppercorn. Grind up mixture, then place it in the middle of a salad plate. Surround the cheese with artichoke pieces, place chopped parsley and chives on top of the cheese. In a blender, mix tomato with mint, pepper, salt, vinegar, then strain, dribble it over the cheese and artichoke bottoms. Use the rest to dip the artichoke leaves.

  ALL-SHOOK-UP ICE CREAM

  Designed to keep restless children busy.

  1 tbsp sugar or equivalent sugar substitute

  ½ cup half & half or cream

  ¼ tsp vanilla

  6 tbsp rock salt

  1 pint-size Ziploc plastic bag

  1 gallon-size Ziploc plastic bag

  ice cubes

  Fill the gallon size plastic bag half-full of ice and add rock salt.

  Put cream, vanilla and sugar into the small bag and seal it completely.

  Place the small bag inside the large one and seal it, too.

  Shake until mixture has turned into ice cream, about 6–8 minutes.

  Rinse off the small bag, then open carefully and enjoy.

  Optional: Add fresh fruit or nuts.

  S’MORES FOR DUMMIES

  This is the perfect remedy for burnt marshmallows. Toast a marshmallow, slip off the skin and roll the gooey marshmallow in miniature M&Ms. Sandwich between graham crackers and eat.

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for spending time at the lake with Kate, JD and the kids. Lake Crescent in the Olympic Peninsula is truly one of the most magical places in the world. I hope your own summers are filled with as much love and personal discovery as Kate’s was.

  Researching Callie’s story line was an eye-opener for me. According to the Centers for Disease Control, over the past five years there has been a tenfold increase in type-2 diabetes among children. This is due in large part to a sugar-rich diet (think about how many soft drinks some kids consume each day) and a sedentary lifestyle (all those hours online, playing video games or watching TV). Teenagers also tend to disregard the long-range consequences of their behavior, and they’re notorious for putting off lifestyle changes for another day. A life-threatening disease like diabetes directly contradicts a teen’s illusion that she’s invincible. The good news is, diet and exercise will dramatically improve a young person’s prognosis. Simply participating in a sport or even taking a daily walk or bike ride can change a patient’s life. She can achieve glycemic control through exercise and healthy eating.

  For more information, I recommend the website www.diabetes.org and the book In Control: A Guide for Teens with Diabetes by Jean Betschart-Roemer and Susan Thom.

  Acknowledgments

  Heartfelt thanks to my first readers, the Port Orchard Brain Trust: Rose Marie, Lois, Susan P., Krysteen, P.J., Anjali, Kate and Sheila. I’m grateful to Lori Cross, the best reader and proofreader in the world. I am indebted to paramedic and writer Andy Gienapp, and to the Office of Public Affairs of Walter Reed Army Medical Center—per your request, I’ve fictionalized significant details about the hospital layout and security routine so no one gets in trouble.

  I’m grateful to Annelise Robey of the Jane Rotrosen Agency for her input. And to my agent, Meg Ruley—thanks for being a true believer.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-0707-3

  LAKESIDE COTTAGE

  Copyright © 2005 by Susan Wiggs

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Mira Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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