My Munds Park writing group is the best of the very many writing groups I have been part of over the years. And how lucky I am to count Vy Armour among one of its members. Last summer we worked on Vy's remarkable debut novel, I'll Always Be With You. This summer we are having fun with her new romantic suspense. Two very different novels, but each rich and engaging. You will find her post today laugh-out-loud funny!
Case in point:
my recent attempt at zucchini bread. I mean WHO
could mess that up? Moi!
Those of you who have followed by baking disasters are
probably laughing already. Recalling twice-baked, once-dropped potatoes,
Mexican wedding cookies that looked like a fire took place at that wedding…flat
instead of round and edges burned to a crisp. (But I discovered that butter is
good even when burned. I’m sure Paula Deen would agree.)
Here’s my sad saga.
It started quite innocently with a beautiful large zucchini from my friend’s
garden here at Munds Park, AZ. (altitude 7000 feet-which plays into the story)
I prepared all the wet ingredients as the recipe called for….except I didn’t
have lemon juice so I used a little buttermilk. Besides, at high altitude
you’re supposed to add a little more liquid and a little more flour. Not sure
about the liquid but I remembered reading that somewhere. And I needed to get
the quart of buttermilk out of my frig with company coming and lots of other
goodies in there.
Now the dry ingredients: 3 ½ cups flour—well, I only had about 3 cups and you’re
supposed to have a little more at high altitude rather than less, but I found
half a yellow cake mix in the pantry (don’t even ask why I have ½ a cake mix).
And I thought that was a good substitute for the flour because I was also 2
cups short on sugar (wow-who would have thought 3 cups sugar in a healthy
veggie bread?) Now at Munds Park, we borrow from each other like crazy cause
Safeway is 15 miles away unless you want to get a mortgage for a staple at the
corner convenience store. But it was too early to start knocking on doors. I
was baking early cause had a 9:30 tee time and wanted the bread to be done
before I left the house. (I
digress).
One other variation:
The recipe called for one cup oil.
I only had garlic flavored olive oil (I know you’re surprised that I
didn’t use this), so I melted one cup of coconut oil paste to a liquid and used
that. A healthy touch.
Pans: Called
for 2 loaf pans. Of course, I didn’t have them so used a bundt pan. I baked for
the hour. Outside was done nicely. Inside raw as cake batter. I put back in-(after
I had flipped it,) so put it back
with the serving dish. No, it did not melt…oven proof.
After 10 minutes the middle was still kinda gooey but didn’t
want the outside to bake any more…so voila. Done.
Not the prettiest creation but very tasty. A little butter
or cream cheese. Perfect.
Well, not exactly.
Perhaps I can blame my cooking disasters on my Mother. Isn’t
everything we struggle with in life ultimately our mother’s fault? Fortunately I can also give her credit
for my any success I have had in the kitchen. When it comes to savory, she was the best –without recipes
of course. She came from Bulgaria to America in 1927 and married my father in
1934 with a brief honeymoon at the Chicago World’s Fair.
That’s not the only thing that was brief. They knew each
other one week before they exchanged vows. First recorded speed dating? Their marriage was arranged by
two aunts in Pennsylvania who knew they were both looking for a life
partner. It only lasted 47 years
till he passed). She told me she had no cooking experience when first married, but by the time I was enjoying her
culinary masterpieces some ten years later she had evidently mastered the art
of fine Eastern European cuisine.
I never once saw a recipe card in her kitchen, but I saw her stirring,
chopping, frying and throwing ingredients together like a seasoned pro. A
little of this, a pinch of that.
My mouth waters as I write this to recall the taste of her
stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbage, stuffed cucumbers (yes, with a lovely lemon
sauce), banitsa (phyllo dough with feta cheese), lamb kabobs, and chomlek, a
delicious beef, onion and garlic stew.
So it was no wonder that my mother and her recipes surfaced
in my debut novel, I’ll Always Be With You, through the character of Baba, a
grandmother who consoles her family with food as they struggle through a
tragedy.
Grandson, Teddy, age 16, was getting a driving lesson with
Dad when a drunk driver slams into them. Dad is killed. Teddy lives but with
tremendous survival guilt although he was not to blame. When the family moves
from the home of that fatal intersection to Dad’s hometown across the country,
Teddy faces the challenge of starting over in a new school. Living in Grandma’s
house, she not only provides comfort food but old-age wisdom that guides Teddy
through this difficult time.
Meanwhile Teddy’s mother, Mary, discovers a few secrets about the Dad
that cause her to question the “perfect” life they had together. As she puts the clues together about
Dad’s past, she must make a choice—does she choose happiness or regret?
As Teddy and Mary struggle with life choices, Baba, her
kitchen and her laden table remain a constant source of nourishment in many
ways. Some of her recipes are
included at the end of the book.
I’ve decided—whether writing or cooking—often throwing in
the unsuspecting and mystery ingredient can add a unique flavor. Just don’t try it in baking.
Violetta Armour is a first-generation American who cherishes
her Bulgarian heritage. In her debut fiction novel, I’ll Always Be with You, she captures the spirit of her ancestors
and their love for America. She is currently writing a romantic suspense.
She lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where she owned an Ahwatukee
neighborhood bookstore in the early 90’s, Pages.
She has written for Highlights for
Children and Chicken Soup for the Soul.
You can find many more recipes as well as her monthly book reviews on
her blog at http://serendipity-reflections.blogspot.com/
