Terri's Easter Frittata

A recipe I made up yesterday for Easter (it was really yummy)

Terri’s Easter frittata

1 bunch spinach cleaned and cut

1 small onion, diced

½ carton button mushrooms

1 tsp garlic

4 slice Canadian bacon cut up

9 eggs

½ cup cream (or milk)

½ cup cheese

Put spinach in pot with water and lid.  Steam on high until wilted down

In oven proof skillet sauté onion, mushrooms garlic and mushrooms in olive oil.  Add Canadian bacon and sauté until nice and soft.

Add spinach to skillet

Mix eggs and milk until fluffy then pour into skillet on high heat.  As it starts to cook, lift from sides to allow some of egg mixture to slide under spinach et al.

When about half way set up – add about ½ cup cheese of your choice (I used romano) on top and put skillet into pre-heated 400 degree oven

Cook about 13-15 additionally minutes until cooked through and cheese is melted and golden.

Cool before cutting and  serving

Guest Blog - Duffy Brown

The Blog:




How I got into writing mysteries isn’t much of a mystery...it’s what I read, watch on TV, go to the movies to see. I’m guessing that pretty much sounds like most of you.

I think mystery loves are born that way. As soon as we learned to read there were all these books out there and we chose the ones with questions involved. I loooove Trucks and Cars and Things that Go as a kid because I had to find Gold Bug. Then there was Encyclopedia Brown. Those books are the best because there are clues and you solve the mystery. I read every Nancy Drew and then went on to Sherlock and the rest of the gang.



Have you ever started rewriting the stories you read or saw? Have you ever thought...Gee, that was stupid. They should have done this or that and only someone with an IQ that matches their shoe size wouldn’t have seen that clue.

I did that a lot so, I started writing stories of my own. Just a side note...if your life sounds like mine, maybe you should try your hand at writing mysteries too. J

Dreaming up the characters is as much fun as writing the mystery. I’ve set my Consignment: Murder series in the South because I love Savannah, true Old South. And Paula Deen lives there and cooks. Is there anything better than real Southern food? You may live a few less years ‘cause of butter, cream and lots of eggs but I’m willing to take my chances on fried chicken, creamed potatoes and pecan pie. Lordy.

Now you know a bit of how I got into mysteries. I’d like to know when and how you got into reading them. Do you remember the first mystery your read? Who is your favorite sleuth?



I’ll give a copy of Hot Southern Nights, a romance with a mystery I wrote as Dianne Castell from the answers. I'll mail off Duffy Brown goodie bags to anyone who wants one. Just send your snail addy to: Duffy Brown@DuffyBrown.com

DuffyBrown@DuffyBrown.com

Consignment: Murder

-Iced Chiffon 3/’12

-Killer in Crinolines

-Pearls and Poison











Duffy Brown

Berkley Prime Crime

Consignment: Murder

-Iced Chiffon 3/12

DuffyBrown.com

New Family Member

NEW FAMILY MEMBER:







Frank and I are very lucky people this week. Over the weekend we found the perfect pet for us and she is adorable. She is a Corgi (just like in the Rita Mae Brown Mysteries) and she is five years old. Her name is Lady Mystery and she is making the perfect pet for us.

I hope you will agree that she is a real beauty.

Let's Add Some Flavor

Okay so let us add a little flavor to our mystery reading today. I love to read mysteries that feature coffee I love all of our mystery titles that have coffee in them. Tea is also good for flavor and great titles and who could forget ice cream titles by our very own Wendy Watson. Of course we have pie shoppe mysteries out and cupcake, donut mysteries are on the market. I am waiting for a cook channel mystery because will definitely spice up my mystery series reading.


Give us some of your most flavorful titles from some of your favorite authors.

One or two of mine are MURDER MOST FROTHY (What a great title) another SCOOP TO KILL (just perfect) another A PEACH OF A MURDER just perfect and so the list goes on for me.

I think I have discovered I like mystery titles that lend flavor in one form or another.

Hugs,

Pamela

Guest Blogger - Ritaestelle Christiano

Ahhhh... to be immortalized in print! One of life's little joys! Oh, hi all! It's Ritaestelle and if this name sounds familiar, it's because Ritaestelle is the damsel (albeit elderly) in distress in Leann Sweeney's latest book in the Cats in Trouble Mystery Series, "The Cat, The Lady and The Liar". I'm thinking Ritaestelle is the Lady and I mean that with a capital 'WEALTHY'. A very likable, authentic character who has her quirky moments and truly loves her precious feline diva, Isis. Murderer, I think not. Anyhoo, little did I know growing up as a little Ritaestelle with my parents' relatively frequent reminders to correct misguided people that my name is Ritaestelle - not Rita, not Estelle - that this unique name would inspire a literary creation and a very charming character at that. I have never had a nickname - well, actually, my Daddy often called me Blondie - yet I have a sister, Terry, and 2 brothers, Sonny and Buzzy ----- all nicknames. Hmmm. Interesting. My parents must have known instinctively that I could handle this mouthful of a name and I proved them correct with the help of Leann and Ellery Adams whose latest in the Books by the Bay Mystery Series, "A Deadly Cliche", features a certain seafaring vessel named 'The .......(altogether now...) Ritaestelle". Yippeee!! I must say I feel honored to lend my name to these TALENTED authors and it is beyond fun to read and learn the character that bears my name. I feel kindred to Ritaestelle Longworth - perhaps an identification of sorts being somewhat quirky myself, a huge animal lover, from SOUTH Philadelphia (thus the southern connection :D), not as elderly at 58 as opposed to 70 but, alas, not wealthy and emphatically not living in a Greek Revival antebellum house. (trivia fact: Ritaestelle means Daisystar) When Leann first asked to use my name a year and a half ago, I couldn't wait to read how she would write about the character. I purposely did not want to friend her on facebook because I did not want to influence her creative juices. I am happy to say we are now facebook friends! Well, I could not love this character more and to know how much everyone LOVES this book and series makes the experience even more joyful!!!! Viva la RITAESTELLE!!!!!!

Squirrel Season

It's Squirrel Season:




What I mean by squirrel season is that our phones lines went out one day last week. So I've had no phone service for days except when the ind blew just right and then maybe for fifteen minutes. We called the phone company and of course they told us we had to wait until this morning for a tech to come out and fix it. Bright and early this morning he came and took a huge later propped it against a huge tree in the backyard and started working he was here almost an hour and said the problem was up the stree. Three hours later he's back and says that squirrels ate five holes in the phone line and of course it's rained and they filled up with water. He then said that he spliced things etc for a tempoary fix but that he would have to come back at some point and because he has to clear it with his boss but he wants to replace all the phone lines between our pole and the next two poles all the way to the end of the block. So this is part one of the squirrel saga. LOLOLOL

More to come I'm sure..



Pamela

Review - Sex & The City 2

When I sat down to watch this I expected REALLY bad.  that was based on media comments I had heard back when it was released.  So expecting bad, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did enjoy it.  Not a oh I must watch this over and over again movie or a Wower or what not, but a fun escape nonetheless.  Carrie and the girls head to Abudabi (??) on a PR trip of Samantha's.  They have typical adventures and predictable moments but hey - great clothes and lots of silliness and fun.  Sex and the City was never meant to be heavy drama.  Like the Muslim women in the film who wear designer clothes under their black gowns and veils, I envy the girls their fashions and fabulousness.  Sure it is superficial to a degree but it is entertaining.  A fantastic film? No.  A fun escape on a Sunday afternoon for a couple hours - Yes.

Terri