Funerals Can Be Murder (A Baby Boomer Mystery Book 5)

by Susan Santangelo

  6 garlic cloves, minced.

  Simmer for 1 to 1.5 hour, till meat is tender.

  Add:

  2 c carrots, cut chunky

  5 potatoes, peeled and cubed

  Simmer for additional 20-30 minutes until veggies are cooked

  Serve in bowl with slices of buttered wheaten bread.

  Irish Wheaten Bread

  Mix together, dry:

  3 c whole wheat flour

  1 c white flour

  ¼ c rolled oats

  2 T sugar

  1 T baking soda

  pinch salt

  Add 2 c buttermilk gradually to make a soft, not sticky, dough. (Can also add up to ¼ cup melted butter if wanting a buttery flavor in the bread.)

  Add flour, 1-2 T at a time, to reduce stickiness, if needed.

  Cover your hands with flour, and knead dough until smooth.

  Shape into one round loaf, place on greased baking tray.

  Bake in 200 degree oven for 1 hour.

  Irish Spiced Beef

  Soak overnight in cold water:

  4 lbs grey corned beef

  Next day, drain and place in large pot on top of:

  1 onion, sliced

  1 small turnip. peeled and sliced

  3 carrots, peeled and sliced

  1 bay leaf

  Cover with cold water and simmer gently for 3-4 hours.

  Leave to cool in liquid.

  Drain meat and dry, place on roasting pan.

  Insert 12 whole cloves into top of meat.

  Mix into paste consistency:

  ¼ c brown sugar

  juice of 1 lemon

  ½ t ground cinnamon

  ½ t ground allspice

  ½ t ground nutmeg

  1 t mustard powder

  Cover top of meat with paste.

  Add 1-2 c of boiling liquid to bottom of roasting pan. Transfer beef and vegetables to pan, and bake in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.

  Let cool completely, slice thin and serve on Wheaten Bread with mustard.

  Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

  Place the following in slow cooker in this order:

  3 carrots, cut into 3 inch pieces

  2 celery stalks, into 3 inch pieces

  1 onion, cut into 1-inch wedges, leaving root end intact

  ½ pound small potatoes, quartered

  1 -2 T pickling spices

  Add 4-6 c water.

  Arrange ½ head Savory cabbage on top of veggies and meat.

  Cover and cook for 1-2 hours on low heat.

  Slice corned beef against the grain and serve with veggies, some cooking liquid and grainy mustard.

  Irish Farm House Barley Broth

  Place all ingredients in soup pot:

  1 lb neck of lamb

  ¼ c dried split peas, soaked overnight

  5 pints water

  ½ c barley

  Bring to boil and simmer for 1 hour.

  Add and simmer for ½ hour:

  1 onion, peeled and chopped

  2 carrots, peeled and sliced

  2 stalks celery, chopped

  Remove meat and allow to cool.

  Remove meat from bone and return to soup.

  Serve warm with bread and butter.

  Bangers and Potatoes

  Shallow fry 4 potatoes, peeled and sliced, in 1 inch oil or melted lard.

  When potatoes are half cooked, add 8 banger sausages, cut into 1 inch pieces.

  Toss and finish cooking.

  Serve warm with heated baked beans.

  Irish Apple Pie

  Mix:

  2 c all purpose flour

  pinch salt

  Cut into flour:

  ¼ c cold butter

  ¼ c cold lard

  Add just enough to make firm dough:

  1-2 T ice cold water

  Roll out ¾ pastry on floured board.

  Line 8 inch pie plate. Fill bottom crust with:

  2 pounds tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin

  Sprinkle apples with:

  1 t cinnamon

  3 T brown sugar

  ½ t ground cloves

  Roll out remaining crust, place on top of pie, close edges.

  Cut vent in center, brush top with milk.

  Bake at 400-degrees for about 30 minutes.

  Top with warm cream or custard.

  Chef Paulette DiAngi is an international award winning Vintner, food alchemist and Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant. She indulged her passion for cooking at the Connecticut Culinary Institute after receiving her PhD in Nursing from Case Western Reserve University. Her goal is to create food to ‘fall in love with’ that engages all the senses. In addition to her regular day job, she has two cable TV shows: Paulette’s Red Kitchen and Love On A Plate). She also teaches classes in cooking and does demonstration parties for small groups, as well as provides private lessons in her kitchen or yours. Email her at: www.paulettesredkitchen.com.

  About the Author

  An early member of the Baby Boomer generation, Susan Santangelo has been a feature writer, drama critic, and editor for daily and weekly newspapers in the New York metropolitan area, including a stint at Cosmopolitan magazine. A seasoned public relations and marketing professional, she has designed and managed not-for-profit events and programs for over 25 years, and was principal of her own public relations firm, Events Unlimited, in Princeton, NJ for ten years. She also served as Director of Special Events and Volunteers for Carnegie Hall during the Hall’s 1990-1991 Centennial season.

  Susan divides her time between Cape Cod, MA and the Connecticut shoreline. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Cape Cod Writers Center, and also reviews mysteries for Suspense Magazine. She shares her life with her husband Joe and one very spoiled English cocker spaniel, Boomer, who also serves as the model for the books’ covers.

  A portion of the sales from the Baby Boomer Mysteries is donated to the Breast Cancer Survival Center, a non-profit organization based in Connecticut which Susan founded in 1999 after being diagnosed with cancer herself.

  You can contact Susan at ssantangelo@aol.com or find her on Facebook and Twitter. She’d love to hear from you.