Funny thing is, I’m suddenly getting many requests for a class on fiber art and even—heaven help me—knitting graffiti. Just want you all to know that I’m working on it and will announce a session soon.
I can’t promise any late-night, subversive field trips—but we will have lots of fun.
As always, happy knitting!
Maggie
Dear Everybody—
You know I hate posting stuff on this board. It’s so archaic. Why not just paint your message on a cave wall?
But the Valentine’s Day party I gave for my knitting group was such a smash everyone’s been asking me about the decorations and recipes and all that.
Hey, do I look like Martha Stewart to you? I sure hope not!
But, by popular demand, here goes. First, decorate. Loads of red, pink, and some white stuff should do it. Whatever you’ve got—tablecloths, napkins, ribbon, and scarves are nice, too. Especially flowery patterns, just wrap them around things. Be creative. Get the toxins out.
Lights are nice—especially little white ones. No worries if you don’t have any around the house. Find some candles and candle holders, different sizes and shapes gathered together look cool. A scented candle or two is a good thing, too. It’s Valentine’s Day. The world should smell good.
So you gather all the stuff, and spread it around. A vase or two of fresh flowers totally nails it.
To set the mood for a really awesome party, a special cocktail to greet your guests does the trick.
Here’s my original recipe for the Queen of Hearts Cocktail. And you can make it nonalcoholic by substituting sparkling cider for the prosecco.
I’m also posting the recipe for my special appetizer, Cold Beet Salad with Goat Cheese.
Beets are really awesome. The magenta color always gets me. You can cut the slices into heart shapes, if you’re super crafty (crazy?). Only kidding. :) It tastes good either way.
From my kitchen to yours!
Yeah, I know, that’s a little scary. But I didn’t have any leftovers. Ask my friends if you don’t believe me.
XO Phoebe
Phoebe’s Queen of Hearts Cocktail
One bottle prosecco sparkling wine, dry or extra dry
(Or one bottle of nonalcoholic sparkling cider)
One bottle of cranberry-pomegranate juice, regular or diet
3 large navel or juice oranges
Several fresh strawberries or raspberries
Long toothpicks
Ice
Large pitcher
Long-stemmed glasses (martini or margarita will do nicely)
Granulated sugar
First, prepare the glasses by rinsing with water and chilling in the freezer.
Mix 2 cup of cran-pom juice to 4 cups prosecco (or sparkling cider) in the large pitcher.
Squeeze two of the oranges and add juice, including some of the pulp.
Slice the third orange, and make a slit from the radius to the peel, so the slice will balance on the edge of the glass.
Clean strawberries, pat dry. Slice in half and string on toothpicks. (Or clean raspberries and pat dry, reserve for bottom of each glass.)
Store pitcher in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to serve. Don’t prepare the mix too far in advance, or the sparkling wine will go flat.
Just before serving, add several ice cubes to the pitcher and stir vigorously.
Don’t allow ice to melt. Quickly remove cubes with a slotted spoon.
Just before it’s time to serve, sprinkle a few tablespoons of sugar on a dish or in a soup bowl and dip the rims of each glass in the sugar. If the sugar doesn’t stick, lightly wet just the edges of the glass rims and try again.
Pour the sparkling wine mixture into each glass, garnish with an orange slice and a toothpick of strawberries. Or toss a few raspberries into the bottom of each glass.
Cheers!
Cold Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
3–4 raw beets
(Or a package of whole, cooked beets, sold in some supermarkets in the fresh produce section)
6–8 ounces of fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup slivered, toasted almonds
8–10 ounces of arugula
8–10 ounces of mixed greens
1 fresh lemon
2 tablespoons of white vinegar or sherry vinegar
Olive oil
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard (optional)
Sea salt
Prep tips: Rinse and chill salad plates in the refrigerator or freezer.
Also, best to cook the beets the day before. Or very early the day of serving so they have to chill out in the fridge. (Unless you’re using pre-cooked beets, of course.)
When handling beets, wear rubber gloves. Especially after they’re cooked.
Enough said.
Wash and trim beets. Cut off green stems and hard tips on bottom and top.
Cover with cold water in a large pot and bring water to a boil. Lower to a simmer and boil with a cover on the pot until the beets are soft enough to push a sharp knife through easily.
Pour off water and run the beets under cold water a few minutes to cool them off.
Drain and place in a metal or glass bowl and cool in the refrigerator.
Rinse arugula and greens, let them drain thoroughly.
Squeeze lemon and grate some of the zest into the juice.
Mix the dressing by combining the olive oil with the Dijon mustard. Add the juice of one lemon to the vinegar. Add a dash of sea salt, if desired.
In a large mixing bowl, mix greens with some of the dressing, until they are lightly covered.
Slice the beets about 1/2-inch thick. (At this point, you can decide if you really want to make heart shapes from the beet slices. You can use a cookie cutter, paper template from cardboard or parchment paper. Or just wing it.) Crumble the goat cheese and set it aside in a small bowl. It tastes best at room temperature.
Just before serving, remove salad plates from the fridge.
Arrange a mound of greens on each plate.
Set three or four beet slices overlapping across the greens.
Drizzle a small amount of dressing on top. Sprinkle on 2–3 tablespoons of cheese and 1–2 tablespoons of slivered almonds.
Author photograph by Katherine Vibbert
ANNE CANADEO is the bestselling author of more than thirty books, including her popular Black Sheep Knitting Mystery series and the Cape Light series, written as Katherine Spencer. She lives in Northport, New York. You can contact her at [email protected] or visit her on Facebook.
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Also in the Black Sheep Knitting Mystery Series by Anne Canadeo:
Silence of the Llamas
Till Death Do Us Purl
A Stitch Before Dying
Knit, Purl, Die
While My Pretty One Knits
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Gallery Books
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Anne Canadeo
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s reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Gallery Books trade paperback edition January 2014
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Cover illustration by Mary Ann Lasher
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Canadeo, Anne
A dark and stormy knit / Anne Canadeo. — First Gallery Books trade paperback edition.
pages cm
Summary: “The Black Sheep Knitters are initially amused by the antics of the Knit Kats, a local knitting graffiti group that applies its stitching to public protest. Like covering the new parking meters along Main Street with knitted hoods that have silly cat faces. The amusing act of civil disobedience causes a stir in quiet Plum Harbor. But it’s not the first time the Knit Kats have made local news. . . . The Black Sheep know about killers, who always leave behind a tell-tale thread. With clever detection skills and their own, irrepressible curiosity, Maggie and the knitting friends soon uncover the truth about the Knit Kats — and snag the guilty stitcher.”— Provided by publisher.
1. Messina, Maggie (Fictitious character) 2. Knitters (Persons)—Fiction. 3. Knitting—Fiction. 4. Massachusetts—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3553.A489115D37 2014
813'.54—dc23
2013027090
ISBN 978-1-4516-4480-7
ISBN 978-1-4516-4482-1 (ebook)
Contents
Epigraph
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Notes from the Black Sheep Knitting Shop Bulletin Board
Decorations and Recipes
Phoebe’s Queen of Hearts Cocktail
Cold Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
About Anne Canadeo
A Dark and Stormy Knit (Black Sheep Knitting Mystery) Page 24