Category: My Mediterranean Garden

Celebrate the Launch of the Good Neighbor with Pesto

What better way to celebrate the launch of The Good NeighborFireworks 2016  today (cue the fireworks!) than by sharing some of the August recipes from the book, beginning with – PESTO!

The Good Neighbor is Frankie and Sean’s story (characters I introduced in Summer of Fortune).

In this book, Sean moves into Augusta’s cabin while he searches for the daughter he gave up for adoption fifteen years ago, and struggles to come to terms with the fact that he just might not find her. How, then, can he stand to see Frankie and her father so estranged, when a simple phone call might be all it would take?

The Good Neighbor begins in August, and since Sean is an excellent cook and there are a lot of cooking and gardening references ,

PESTO seemed like the perfect choice of a recipe to feature on today’s blog. And let me tell you, good pesto made from freshly picked basil is truly a gift.

If you don’t grow basil in your garden (yet) or don’t have room for a garden, you can treat yourself to a meal of fresh pesto before the summer is over by buying a plant, sold at most grocers at this time of year.

The best ingredients make the best pesto.
The best ingredients make the best pesto.

Once you try pesto made in your own kitchen with garden fresh basil leaves, you will never go back to the store bought variety.

And it’s easy! Since tastes and ingredients vary (types of basil, sizes of cloves of garlic & lemons, amount of salt) every batch will be slightly different.

You be the final judge of exactly how much of each ingredient to add. And with these ingredients, how can you go wrong?

I will be featuring more recipes from The Good Neighbor  all week, so stay tuned.
To read the “meet scene” at the start of the book, click HERE to go to The Good Neighbor page.
TGN COVER MED

You can buy The Good Neighbor in eBook or paperback on Amazon, kobo, and nook.

And don’t forget, for this last, beautiful week of summer, Lake of Dreams is free in eBook form on online retailers until the end of August. See the sidebar. No excuses!

Happy eating, and good reading,

 Judy sig

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Introducing – The Good Neighbor

Cue the trumpets! Ta -da! Here is the gorgeous cover for The Good Neighbor, the next book in the Fortune Bay series.

(For those of you who have read Summer of Fortune, TGN  is Sean and Frankie’s story. 🙂 )

I’m moving right along. Since the launch party for SOF, I finished the final edit of The Good Neighbor.  (Whose bright idea was it to put out another book every two months this year?! Oh yeah. Mine! This falls under the category of, “it seemed like a good idea at the time.” LOL)

The release date is August 23rd, and I know it will be here before we know it. The Good Neighbor is already up for pre-order on amazon, with more platforms coming soon. (See the side bar for links.)

Now I’ve taken a week off before going back to work the final book.

The original recipe with currents and spice.
The original recipe with currents and spice.

A week to do some normal things, like baking cookies. Not just any cookies, but the original recipe for Children’s Delight that I promised at the end of Summer of Fortune I would share on my website.

Currents and spice – these are delicious!

(More about the Great Cookie Battles of 2016 next week when, I promise, I’ll put up the recipe.)

 

Great graphic set. They always do a good job.
Great graphic set for Footloose. They always do a good job.

 

And I went with a friend to see a rousing version of Footloose at the Chemainus Theater. I have fun memories of volunteering there a few years ago, helping with props.They always do a fabulous job of set design, and of course the food, in this case lunch, was great.

 

DAYLILLIES AND LAVENDER
I love the bright orange-red of the day lilies against the purple lavender.

And let’s not forget weeding. This is one of the better areas of my wild garden.

After all the rain we’ve had, I really will get out this weekend and weed.

They said in the paper that the weather will be warming up, so here’s hoping next week I’ll be ensconced on the back porch, deep in the fun part of being a writer again – writing new scenes for Home for Christmas.

I can hardly wait.

Come back for the cookie battles next week, but until then, get out and enjoy the summer.

Judy sig

 

 

 

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Celebrating Summer of Fortune Launch with a Long Weekend Sale

It’s been a whirlwind two weeks, launching the first full length book of the Fortune Bay series, Summer of Fortune, with a party under the grape arbor in my garden last weekend.

Commemorative Gwertztraminer wine made specially for the launch with the Summer of Fortune cover on the label.
Commemorative Gewürztraminer wine made specially for the launch with the Summer of Fortune cover on the label.

I was selling and signing paperback books at cost at the party for all of my friends, and would like to pass on the savings to everyone this weekend with an online eBook sale.

From July 1-4, for Canada day and the Fourth of July weekend, I’m offering the ebook of Summer of Fortune for $1.99 on Kindle and kobo. (Read more about the book here.)

DSCN2474 copy
Judy reading the Solstice party scene from Summer of Fortune.

 

 

 

The party was really to celebrate the launch of the whole series. I had been working on it for eight years, and it was wonderful to have so many friends and family were there who had been so supportive for so many years.

I know, so many “so’s”, but so true!

I come from a tradition of painters, and in that world, they do a bunch of paintings then have a show. You might sell some you might not, but either way, it’s a great excuse for a party! That’s really what this was.

It was a beautiful day, the food was wonderful, the weather cooperated and the sun shone, and old friends and new, painters, writers,musicians and readers all came together to celebrate. Thank you all for all your support.

So if you read eBooks, go to Kindle or kobo and get your copy. (You can download a free app to your tablet or phone.) Then curl up in your favourite chair outdoors and enjoy the long summer weekend.

Welcome to Fortune Bay

Judy sig

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Rosemary recipes – Anyone?

My Rosemary monster in the garden.
My Rosemary monster in the garden.

I love growing herbs. They are so easy, forgiving of not-perfect conditions, fragrant, useful all year round and they flower!

Rosemary thrives in the hottest spot in my garden, and earlier in the spring I heavily pruned the rosemary shrub to make room to plant my tomatoes. I laid the prunings out on a screen and left it to dry on the porch. I don’t really even need to dry any since Rosemary stays fresh in the garden all winter, but I couldn’t bear to throw it away. This will give us enough dry rosemary for the year, and I think I’ll be giving bottles of dried Rosemary for hostess gifts this year.

Rosemary skewers for Lamb kebobs.

We use fresh rosemary branches to skewer lamb kabobs for the barbecue to add even more flavour.

Just marinade lamb pieces for a few hours in olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, bruised rosemary leaves, salt and pepper.Thread onto rosemary branches before barbecuing. The sticks are quite oily and don’t burn easily.

I also like to sprinkle fresh rosemary leaves, with salt and pepper, on sliced potatoes to roast, but you can also use the dried herb. Easy and delicious.

If you have any ideas for other uses for rosemary, I’d love to hear them.

Judy sig

 

 

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