Billie burst into the room and looked around as if wondering what he’d missed. Then he spotted pizza! The child is a bottomless pit. Then, again, he’s also a perpetual motion machine until he conks out to sleep.
I ran to greet Ron Lewis, Brandy’s dad, who I heard laughing in the hallway in his hearty, distinctive way. I glanced around the room, and marveled that, despite the horrible events we’d been assembled to discuss, the air was filled with goodness. I remembered what Judy had said about Aunt Lettie sending Austin to me amid one of the worst moments of my life.
Now, Billie stood there, alive with youthful energy. A testament to resilience, and to the light that can come from even the darkest circumstances. Leonard Cohen has written a beautiful song, Anthem, telling us there’s a crack in everything and that’s how the light gets in.
It’s not that song I heard, though. It was Aunt Lettie’s soft voice quoting Hemingway as she often did when I was down about something bad that had happened:
“Calla Lily, ‘the world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.’ Be strong.”
—THE END—
Thank you so much for reading A Tangle in the Vines Calla Lily Mystery #2. Please take a moment and leave a review on Amazon, Bookbub, and Goodreads. Reviews are so important when it comes to helping readers know if a book is for them and reviews are vital to me as a writer. Thank you in advance for your support.
There’s more to come for Lily, Austin, Marlowe, and their friends. In Fall’s Killer Vintage, the Taste of Napa Challenge turns out to be more challenging than anyone imagined. One of the wines entered in the competition is more than a little disappointing when it turns out to be a killer vintage. When one of Aunt Lettie’s old friends becomes a suspect, Lily is soon caught up in the mystery. Is the murder of a federal judge about a rivalry among vintners, or is someone out for revenge?
Recipes
Crispy Butterscotch Praline Cookies
About 24 cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
24 pecan halves
Preparation
Preheat oven to 3500 F.
Mix all ingredients except for the pecans and butterscotch chips and blend well.
Fold in the chopped pecans and butterscotch chips, reserving pecan halves.
Drop cookie dough a tablespoon at a time onto ungreased cookie sheets about two inches apart. Press a little and place a half pecan in the center of each cookie.
Bake for 13-14 minutes.
Remove from oven and let the cookies cool.
Mississippi Mud Cookies
36 cookies
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookie
2 sticks butter softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs beaten
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
3 cups miniature marshmallows
3 cups pecans coarsely chopped
Chocolate Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup milk
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Chocolate Cookie
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Blend the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and blend until combined. Fold in half of the chopped pecans—1 ½ cups.
Drop the dough a tablespoon at a time onto baking sheets, 12 cookies per sheet, and bake 9-10 minutes. Take the baking sheet from the oven and add about 6 miniature marshmallows to each cookie. The cookies are hot so the marshmallows will start to melt and should stick to them.
Return the cookies to the oven for another minute or so. Remove them and top the marshmallows with a teaspoon or so of chopped pecans, pressing lightly so they stay put! Allow the cookies to cool on a baking rack before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting
In a medium saucepan combine butter, milk, and cocoa and place over medium heat. Stir constantly until butter the butter melts and the ingredients are blended. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla. Then add half of the powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Add another cup of powdered sugar and stir again before adding the last half cup using a little less or a little more as needed for the frosting to be the consistency that you can drizzle it over the cookies. Using about a tablespoon for each cookie, frost each cookie. If there’s frosting left, go back over the cookies again and add more! Allow frosting to cool and set up before serving the cookies.
Molasses Spice Cookies
30 Cookies
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup demerara sugar
Preparation
In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter. white sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and molasses.
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger until well-blended.
Add to the molasses mixture.
Cover, and chill the dough for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Create walnut-sized balls of dough and roll them in the demerara sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven—you want the tops to crack. Cool before serving.
Figs and Prosciutto
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
12 firm ripe figs, stemmed
4 to 6 Ounces fresh goat cheese
12 paper-thin slices prosciutto sliced in half
1 cup arugula
Saba for drizzling [or substitute balsamic vinegar]
Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Freshly ground pepper
Preparation
Preheat oven to 3500F
Slice each fig in half.
Place about a teaspoon of goat cheese in the center of each fig half.
Wrap each stuffed fig half in prosciutto.
Place on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes.
Remove, allow to cool slightly, and place the baked figs on a platter covered with arugula.
Drizzle with Saba [or a Balsamic Vinegar] & EVO. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper, to taste, and serve.
About the Author
Dr. Anna Celeste Burke is an award-winning, USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author who enjoys snooping into life's mysteries with fun, fiction, & food—California style! She writes five mystery series set in California: The Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery Series, The Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series, the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery Series, the Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery Series, and the Calla Lily Mystery Series. To get the latest news, subscribe to her newsletter at: https://desertcitiesmystery.com.
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A Tangle in the Vines Page 19