A Roux of Revenge
Page 26
“Sure is,” Lucky said. “Congratulations, Tommy.”
Tommy received another round of applause. He grasped the prize card—a printed piece of cardstock that Lucky had created on the computer, and she and Jack had officially signed—and slipped it into his shirt pocket. Tommy, excited, rushed to Guy’s side, and Guy reached out to give him a high five.
“Great job, Sophie,” Jack said. “Couldn’t have done better myself.”
Sophie winked at Jack, smiled at Lucky and headed back to the kitchen.
Chapter 55
“ARE YOU AN idiot or what?” Sophie shouted. Lucky flinched, remembering how Elias had called himself an idiot. She couldn’t respond to Sophie’s accusation. They had retired to the office with mugs of coffee after the customers had left for home or for trick-or-treating with their children. Guy had offered to take Tommy out for Halloween, but Tommy couldn’t wait to tell his mother about winning the prize. Only Horace, Hank and Barry were still in the restaurant with Jack.
“I thought you were crazy about Elias. What’s going on, Lucky?”
Lucky took a deep breath. “I’m not really sure. It’s like a part of me just shut down. It’s hard to explain. When I thought Elias might have lied to me, when I thought the rumors might be true”—She glanced at her friend; Sophie’s face was heavy with concern—“a part of me just couldn’t believe it, but another part of me was sure it was true. It’s not that easy to just say, ‘Oh, yes, that’s fine. I’m still in love with you. The fact that Paula had decided she wanted you is just fine with me. I understand. I understand that, of course, you had to hire her. That you didn’t tell me you had had a relationship before. Never once mentioned it, in fact.” Lucky shook her head. “I felt needy and dependent. And I hate feeling that way. That’s not me.”
“Ha!” Sophie laughed derisively. “That’s everybody who’s in love. Get over yourself. You’re just afraid of being hurt.”
Lucky didn’t answer.
Sophie shook her head, a disgusted look on her face. “Advice from a good friend?”
“What?” Lucky lifted her chin defiantly.
“Get off your damn high horse!” Sophie exclaimed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I was right. You are an idiot. A stubborn idiot.” Sophie reached across and grasped Lucky’s hand. “Okay, so even if his head was turned a little bit, which I don’t believe, not really, I don’t think he was getting reinvolved with Paula. I think Paula was a calculating witch, and you can spell that with a B.” She continued, “I think he was blindsided. I don’t think he ever meant to hurt his relationship with you.”
“So why was he so distant and dismissive when I got upset?”
“’Cause he knew he hadn’t really been forthcoming about his past. He felt defensive. And in truth had you actually asked him about prior romances?”
“No,” Lucky replied grudgingly.
“Well, there. Think about it. You’re angry because he never mentioned something that you had never asked him about. That’s twisted logic if I ever heard it.” Sophie paused for breath. “What Paula did was pretty obnoxious but not illegal. She was worried about her own survival. If this case goes against her, it’ll certainly hurt her career. She used Elias. She hurt you, but the way she saw it, she had to survive.” Sophie waited, but Lucky didn’t respond. “Are you listening to anything I’m saying?”
“Yes, of course I am.”
“Bottom line is, you’re angry at Elias because of what Paula’s done. He may have been a real jerk, but he didn’t do anything totally unforgivable.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I know I’m right. So stop sulking and go after the guy.”
Chapter 56
LUCKY PULLED HER collar up and snuggled into her jacket. Indian summer was over. It was cold enough tonight that her nose was red and her fingers were chilled. It didn’t help that she was sitting on the hard wooden steps in front of Elias’s house. She was waiting for him. Perhaps it was Cecily’s words, or perhaps it was seeing the love in Eamon’s eyes when he gazed at Miriam. She couldn’t begin to conceive of the pain that he and Miriam had borne for so many years. To love so deeply and to have that love ripped away. To spend years wondering and railing against the fates. No matter how closed Miriam’s heart had become, she hadn’t been able to completely deny the love she had for Eamon, the love she had hidden, even from herself, for so many years. While she, Lucky, had rejected Elias when he opened his heart to her.
She had called the Clinic and spoken to Rosemary and learned Elias had spent the day at the hospital in Lincoln Falls. Eager to gossip, Rosemary had babbled for almost a half hour with the latest juicy news about Paula. Lucky did not let on she had already heard the story—mostly because she didn’t want any questions asked about her relationship with Elias.
Sophie was right. She was an idiot. She had been doing the very thing that Miriam had been forced to do her entire life—deny her heart. Why? Why had she hesitated when Elias declared his feelings? Fear? Uncertainty? She had used her parents’ death as an excuse, but it was only an excuse. She had told herself she wasn’t ready, that it was too soon after too many life changes, but it hadn’t stopped her from falling in love.
When will he ever arrive? she thought, shivering inside her jacket. She could have waited another day to see him, but she felt an urgency, a necessity to tear down the barriers, to not delay in telling him how she felt. If only he would listen.
A car was approaching. It slowed to turn into the driveway. She stood, suddenly illuminated by the wash of headlights that raked across the yard. She only hoped she wasn’t too late.
Recipes
BEET MUSHROOM BARLEY SOUP
(Serves 4)
½ medium onion, chopped
6 mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon olive or vegetable oil
4 cups chicken broth
3 beets, peeled and cubed
1 apple, peeled and cubed
½ cup pearl barley, uncooked
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
In a large pot, sauté chopped onion and sliced mushrooms together in olive oil.
Add chicken broth. Add the beet and apple cubes to the pot with the barley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let the soup sit for 30 minutes, making sure barley is thoroughly softened.
Garnish each bowl with crumbled feta cheese.
PUMPKIN RICE SOUP
(Serves 6 generously)
1 small pumpkin (approximately 20" in circumference)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or walnut oil
½ medium onion, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 apple, peeled and diced
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
A few dashes of white pepper
½ cup uncooked white rice (jasmine rice can also be used for a more interesting flavor)
1 cup water
½ cup walnuts, chopped
Cut a circle around the pumpkin stem and remove it. Cut the pumpkin into large sections and remove the seeds and fibrous material. Brush oil on the pumpkin sections (reserving a small amount to sauté the onion) and place the pumpkin sections on a cookie sheet or pan, skin side down. Bake for 1 hour at 350°. Remove from oven, and when pumpkin has cooled, peel away the skin and scrape the meat of the pumpkin into a bowl. This should yield approximately 4 cups of pumpkin meat.
Sauté the onion in a large pot, add pumpkin meat, add the chicken broth, rice, apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and white pepper. Heat almost to boiling, lower heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover and let stand for 30 minutes until the rice is completely soft. The soup may be quite thick at this point. If so, add 1 cup of water, stir and then purée with a food processor or wand. Reheat and serve garnished with chopped walnuts.
If you like to experiment, as Sage DuBois does, you can
make your own spice mixture in place of the nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves listed above. Advieh, according to Wikipedia, is a spice mixture used in Persian and Mesopotamian cuisine often with rice, chicken or bean dishes. Common ingredients include turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, rose petals or rose buds, cumin and ginger. It may also include golpar (seeds of the Persian hogweed), saffron, nutmeg, black pepper, mace, coriander or sesame.
Some of these ingredients might be hard to obtain, but following is a much simpler recipe for advieh:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground rose petals
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Add one teaspoon of this mixture to the pumpkin rice soup in place of the other spices, and save the rest of the mixture for use with other dishes.
BEEF AND BERRY SOUP
(Serves 4)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound tender beef steak
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
4 cups beef stock or beef bouillon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup fresh blueberries, slightly mashed
½ cup fresh blackberries, slightly mashed
1 tablespoon honey
In a large pot, add the vegetable oil and quickly brown the steak on both sides over medium high heat. Remove the steak from the pan. Add onions and butter to the pan, and sauté on low heat until the onions are softened. Add beef stock or bouillon and salt, and bring to a boil, continuing to stir. Add the berries and honey. Simmer for 20 minutes. While the soup is simmering, cut the steak into very thin slices. Add the steak pieces to the pot and cook for another minute or two. Add a bit more honey or salt to taste and serve hot.
ZUCCHINI BREAD
(Serves 10)
1½ cups flour
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup shredded peeled zucchini
¼ cup cooking oil
1 egg
1 cup water
¼ teaspoon lemon peel, shredded
¼ cup walnuts, chopped
In mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well. Add shredded zucchini, cooking oil, lemon peel and egg. Mix well, and add 1 cup of water to the mixture. Stir the batter until completely mixed, and add the chopped walnuts.
Pour the batter into a greased 8×4×2 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 60 minutes or till a knife inserted at center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, wrap and store the bread overnight in the refrigerator before slicing.
ROSEMARY BISCUITS
(Serves 12)
2 cups self-rising flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped (If using dried rosemary, soak the leaves in hot water for a few minutes to soften.)
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
2⁄3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 450°. Grease a baking tray with a small amount of butter or cooking spray. Mix flour, salt and baking powder together. Add the chopped rosemary, butter and milk, and mix thoroughly to form a soft dough. Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface. Roll it out to approximately ¾" thick, and cut out biscuits with a biscuit cutter. This should provide 12 biscuits. Brush the tops of the biscuits lightly with the beaten egg, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden. Cool the biscuits for a few minutes on a wire rack.