Sarah Stewart Taylor's Blog, page 3
June 17, 2022
On The Road
Come and say hello! I'm so looking forward to seeing readers again and to saying hello, and signing books, and eating cookies, and just generally being out and about again. And if Zoom is more your thing, I've got some virtual events with fabulous bookstores too.
All the details are right here . . .
June 3, 2022
The Morning Ritual
At the beginning of the pandemic, I started making traditional French crêpes every morning.
It was my youngest child who started the ritual. I had always struggled to find things to give this picky breakfast eater for the first meal of the day. While she loves foods more commonly served at lunch or dinner, cereal, muffins, and scrambled eggs left her cold. One morning, I decided to try crêpes. There may have been Nutella involved and the enthusiastic reaction started a trend that would last until well . . . now.
While I was happy that she was nourished, at some point I realized that making the crêpes had become a meaningful morning ritual for me. There was something about swirling the butter in the pan until it started to brown, then the sizzle of the batter hitting the hot metal and the little competition with myself each morning to see how quickly I could tip the pan to ensure a thin even coating and then most fluttery crêpe possible.
I even got a little superstitious about my crêpe making. If the crêpe came up golden brown, rather than an undercooked beige or overcooked chocolate color, it would be a good day. The designs that the quickly setting batter made as it cooked seemed a bit like divination, shapes in the tea leaves or in the clouds.
At first I followed a recipe that used white flour and contained a half cup or more of sugar, but in deference to well, nutrition, I started using whole grain flours (buckwheat is the traditional choice and I love the bold flavor of it), more and more each time, and eventually subtracting all the sugar. The picky eater was like the proverbial frog in boiling water! I also started putting things other than Nutella in the crêpes. Fresh fruit, yogurt, leftover beef stew. (Chili was not a good fit.) My favorite filling, I think, is perfectly fried or poached eggs with some sharp cheddar or gruyere cheese.
The basic recipe is as follows:
One heaping cup flour (I use almost all buckwheat or dark rye flour with a tablespoon of white but you can start by trying 2/3 cup buckwheat flour and 1/3 all purpose flour and adjusting from there.)
Two cups milk
Three eggs
Two tablespoons melted butter
Throw the liquid ingredients into the blender and blend them thoroughly. Add the flour in a thin stream while the blender is going, to get a smooth, well mixed batter.
Melt a bit of butter in your crêpe pan (or any large, shallow frying pan) and swirl to completely coat the surface of the pan. Then use a pitcher (I have one with a top on it that I use to store my crepe batter in the fridge so I can make enough for the entire week on Monday morning) to pour the batter into the pan, swirling it immediately so you get a thin layer of batter in the hot pan. It should be set within a minute or two and then you can flip it and let the other side get nice and lightly browned as well. When it's done, flip it out on to a plate and add your filling of choice: jam, lemon and sugar, apple butter, Nutella, fried eggs and cheese, leftover stew . . . the sky's the limit! Roll it up and enjoy!
Here's a good recipe that I used as my model, if you want it official!
May 2, 2022
The Mountains Wild Ebook Sale!
Praise for The Mountains Wild
ONE OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL’S BEST OF 2020 MYSTERIESONE OF LIBRARY JOURNAL’S BEST CRIME NOVELS OF 2020ONE OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR’S 10 BEST BOOKS OF JUNEONE OF AUNT AGATHA’S TOP TEN OF 2020ONE OF AMAZON’S BOOKS OF THE MONTHA MOST ANTICIPATED 2020 SUMMER READ FROM CRIMEREADS“Razor-sharp… In addition to her intelligent characters, Taylor has sculpted The Mountains Wild as a valentine to Ireland, delving into its beauty, history and varied landscape...We may not be able to travel to Ireland right now, but Taylor has brought the country to us… a terrific series launch.” ―South Florida Sun-Sentinel“Gripping… the book’s intriguing characters spiral through multiple timelines, plot twists, and lush Irish settings, and Maggie’s quest to finally learn the truth runs parallel to her hopes of reuniting with a lost love.” ―Christian Science Monitor“Sarah Stewart Taylor has written a beautiful, bittersweet novel about loyalty and loss and how they can blind us to the truth.” ―Minneapolis Star Tribune“Perfect summer reading. Maggie is a first-class protagonist―an ace investigator and appealing everywoman with smarts and heart.” ―BookPage“Taylor skillfully switches time periods from 1993 to 2016 in this splendid, atmospheric mystery… The Irish setting is so vividly evoked that you can practically hear the dulcet brogue, taste the Guinness and smell the peat fires.” ―Open Letters Monthly“Far beyond a simple mystery, The Mountains Wild is a gorgeous rendering on paper of Ireland in all of its beauty… this is a five star read.” ―Bookreporter“The atmospheric, intricately plotted story builds to a stunning, unforgettable conclusion.” ―Library Journal (starred and Pick of the Month)
If you've been waiting for a deal, The Mountains Wild ebook is on sale in May across all ebook platforms!
May 1, 2022
A Springtime Champ
Of the three great Irish dishes starring the potato — champ, colcannon, and boxty — I think champ is my favorite. Boiled potatoes mashed with hot milk, butter, and sautéed green onions or other alliums is so simple and so delicious. It's one of my favorite comfort foods in the winter or fall. But I also think of champ as a springy dish because it can incorporate the fresh green shoots of vegetables just poking up through the earth.
Colcannon is essentially the same recipe, but with sautéed cabbage (or kale) instead of the onions. I once waited tables at a restaurant in Dublin where we served both dishes to a touristy clientele. Not having grown up with the dishes, I had trouble at first remembering which was champ and which was colcannon so I could explain it to diners unfamiliar with Irish food. I came up with the mnemonic device "col-cabbage" and I never forgot again.
Champ is easy to make. It's one of those recipes that's barely a recipe. Just boil and mash all the potatoes you have, simmer sliced green onions (scallions) in milk and let the milk soak up all the flavor of the onions. When the milk is hot, add it to the potatoes and keep whipping/mashing until smooth. I like to go one step further with the onions though and also use leeks. I also like to use cream in place of milk. When I made this dish last night, I also ventured out into my just-awakening herb garden and snipped some chives. If you have access to wild leeks or garlic, that would be good too.
Darina Allen's Irish Traditional Cooking has a nice history of the dish and details of all of the variations she's found around the island, including champ recipes using peas, stinging nettles, and dulse (seaweed). Her basic recipe is as follows:
6-8 unpeeled potatoes
3-4 scallions (*I use a lot more than this. A lot more! Plus two or three leeks and chopped chives)
1 and ½ cups milk (*I use cream because . . . )
3/4 stick butter
salt and pepper
Scrub the potatoes and boil them in their jackets. Chop finely the scallions or chives (*or leeks). Cover the scallions/chives with milk and bring slowly to a boil. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes, then turn off the heat and the let infuse. Peel and mash the potatoes and while hot, mix with the boiling milk and onions. Beat in some of the butter and season to taste. Serve with a generous knob of butter melting in the middle.
April 17, 2022
Incentives, Incentives . . .
Thank you to everyone who’s already preordered THE DROWNING SEA! As you know, pre-orders are incredibly important and are a huge help to authors and their books. I’m offering some little incentives (or, if you’ve already preordered, some rewards) for preordering THE DROWNING SEA! Here are the details: Preorder and I'll send you a signed bookplate. Preorder from your favorite independent bookstore and I'll send you a bookplate AND a bookmark, with my own photographs of the book's West Cork setting on the other side. Get your library to preorder and I'll send you a bookmark. Just email me via the contact form on my website with the details of where you preordered/requested (I'm going on the honor system here!) and an address and I'll send you your incentives. Thank you, readers!
April 3, 2022
Guido Brunetti's Risotto
I have long loved Donna Leon's Venice-set mysteries featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. Leon's descriptions of the city, the Venetians who Brunetti meets in the course of his investigations, and his authentically loving family are all part of the series' charm. Also, there's the food.
In almost every book, I wait anxiously for the moment when Brunetti goes home for one of his wife Paola's excellent meals. I'm not the only one. In 2010, Roberta Pianaro and Leon published Brunetti's Cookbook, which pairs recipes for the most memorable dishes contained in the pages of Brunetti's adventures.
I just started reading Leon's latest, Give unto Others, which I'm loving, and was quickly rewarded by a scene where Brunetti comes home to Risotto Radicchio di Treviso. Mmmmm. Risotto. I love risotto. But Risotto Radicchio di Treviso, with red wine and bitter radicchio, is a decidedly autumnal dish and here at the beginning of April, I wanted something a bit more . . . springy.
Then I remembered a scene in one of the mysteries, Friends in High Places, where Paola is shelling spring peas and tells Brunetti she's going to make risotto with peas, or Risi e Bisi. Perfect! But while it is April here in Vermont, it is still much too cold for local peas. To my delight, I found the recipe for Risi e Bisi in Brunetti's Cookbook and it called for frozen peas. Hurrah! I had a (very good) plan for dinner.
I highly recommend this springy and accessible dish!
Rice with Peas
Risi e Bisi
from Brunetti's Cookbook by Roberta Pianaro and Donna Leon
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
12 oz. frozen peas
a pinch of chopped parsley
2 teaspoons crushed meat stock cube
1 3/4 cups risotto rice
3/4 oz. butter
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan or casserole and fry the onion gently with the salt and 2 tablespoons of water. When the onion is transparent, add the peas and cook over moderate heat for 15 minutes. Then add the parsley and stock cube. Reduce and add the rice. Cook, stirring constantly, and adding four cups of boiling water, one cup at a time. When ready, remove from the heat and add the butter, the cheese, and a good grind of pepper.
