Category: Annie DeMoranville

Book ‘Em, Daffy

I TOLD you ducks were shady.

The final scene in my newest novel, Jennifer McCaffrey Mysteries, (spoiler alert!) has to do with rescued ducks in a bathtub. Available soon!!

So, of course, this came across my FB feed yesterday:

Respite Open Thread: You Do The Crime

This guy is my new hero:

Mark Luther: For everyone inquiring, these two fellas, now named Denzil and Beau, were owner surrenders that were being rehomed to Oinking Acres Farm Sanctuary here in Indiana by a couple that recognized they were not equipped to care for them properly! With the owner unable to self-transport, I volunteered to go and pick them up! However, they were Jumbo Pekins (size of a Goose), and they wouldn’t fit in any carrier! So we got crafty and made a box seat for to keep them contained for the drive!

https://www.facebook.com/oinkingacres/

Seems he does this tranport a LOT:

Respite Open Thread: You Do The Crime 1

Oinking Acres Farm Rescue doing their best to rescue and educate:

More ducks!!! I got a call today about 3 ducks in need of rescue. We quickly arranged transportation, huge thanks to my friend Mark! He is becoming quite the expert in duck wrangling 🤩 We definitely need more kind hearted, selfless people like Mark in the world.

These big babies were rescued off a neighborhood pond. Domestic ducks CANNOT fly. They are NOT a wild animal. They cannot survive on their own. Please please please stop dumping your ducks!! These guys were lucky enough to have been rescued before they were mauled or eaten by a wild animal.

Another big thank you to my friend Mark who has been transporting ducks for the third night in a row 😂😂🌟🦆

Book ’em, Daffy!

(x-posted at What’s 4 Dinner Solutions)

Another Whodunit

My morning meeting asked to delay till afternoon, so I took advantage of the extra time to put a coat of paint on my dresser, then jump in the shower to scrub off the paint. When I came out, this is what I found:

 

It was almost dry, so the prints are very clear. I decided to leave them.  The dresser is almost 100 years old, with a not so great finish (did my best decades ago, but it was always so-so, which made paint the best solution this time), so two cute little pawprints seemed fitting.

But who did it? The cats were nowhere to be found and I needed to get to my meeting. I was sure there would be tell-tale prints on the floor leading to the culprit, but nope.

It would have to wait until I returned and I had to hope I wouldn’t be greeted with white pawprint all over the house.

Finally, after examining everyone’s paws, the culprit was found:

Continue reading Another Whodunit

Cross-Posted: Food In Fiction, Underway Recipes

Cross-posted from What’s 4 Dinner Solutions.

One of my favorite things is recipes in fiction novels. I’ve featured quite a few of them here. 

So when I began to write my own fiction, I wanted to include recipes. Run Aground (Book 1 in the TJ Wilde Trilogy – for sale here) featured Smashed Potatoes and Lemon Piccata Chicken

My newest book, Underway (Book 2 in the TJ Wilde Trilogy) features two recipes.  Tahini Walnut Rolls (recipe here) and Sausage and Grapes below.

Underway is on sale now, here. You can read Chapters 1 and 2 here.

From 2015:

…I decided to experiment with flavors I would have never thought of on my own. Facebook and blog friend Michael F, shared a recipe on Facebook from Italy, in Italian no less, and the photo intrigued me. I let google translate the recipe (which was a hoot) and went about putting my touches into it.

It was so unusual, my most reliable recipe testers politely declined my dinner invite. Totally understandable. But I will tell you I was pleasantly surprised how well this turned out. If you like pork and apples, this has a similar flavor palate. It was also quick and easy to prepare. I’m glad I decided to experiment.

All right, if you’re up for something new and different, here you go, tonight’s featured recipe.

Sausage and Grapes

  • 8 links Italian sausage (I used spicy, but you could use any style sausage you favor)
  • 1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
  • 2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 cup green seedless grapes, washed, dried and halved lengthwise
  • 1 cup red seedless grapes, washed, dried and halved lengthwise
  • salt and pepper to taste (I used none, didn’t need it)
  • angel hair pasta
  • freshly grated Parmesan

skillet

Slice sausage links into four pieces each, add to skillet and fry on medium high for about 10 minutes. Add onion and fennel seeds, cook another 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent. Add grapes, stir until well mixed, cover and let simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes while pasta cooks.

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain well.

You can toss with the sausage mixture, or serve separately. Serve with Parmesan.

The pasta was my addition. When I asked Michael what would be a good side, he suggested eggplant or roasted potatoes. Roasted zucchini spears would probably work well, too.