Book Review Innocuous

 

At Pines & Quill, a prestigious writing retreat in the Pacific Northwest near scenic Bellingham, four resident authors have checked in. One is a best-selling crime thriller novelist Jane, desperate to steal a plot; Nora, a former nun hiding in silence; a comedian Kay who’s lost her laugh and seems sad; and a fiery human rights activist, Sara—converge. Each one is harboring secrets. With the discovery of two grisly murders, the idyllic setting is fractured, and events spiral out of control.

Book #6 in the Sean McPherson series, “Innocuous,” is a standalone mystery thriller. Author Laurie Buchanan skillfully weaves much of the backstory from the other books into Book 6, while bringing in some characters from the previous books. A misplaced grudge by the criminal boss against Sean (Mick) McPherson is the threat that runs through the series. Mick hopes that now that they got rid of the crime boss Gambino, Pines and Quill will be a safe haven. But no such luck, because new criminals are lurking in the shadows. 

"Innocuous" is suspenseful and gripping, with twists and turns. Multiple red herrings keep the reader guessing as tension builds with each chapter. An atmospheric setting creates an ominous, uneasy mood throughout the storyline. Characters are complex, well-developed, flawed but relatable, and diverse. Each has their own story to tell and a wide range of motives. With Buchanan's writing expertise, she draws readers inside the characters' minds so you can see and feel their emotions. As relationships develop at the writing retreat, so does a sense of community. Buchanan explores themes of self-identity, belonging, and how the ripple effects of past choices can impact the present. The plot develops smoothly, and all subplots merge in the final chapters. It's noteworthy that the author did extensive police procedural research to create this story, which lends authenticity to the storyline.

An interesting story element added to the storyline is food. Each day, guests at Pines and Quill feast on gourmet meals deliciously served by Niall and Libby. Enticing sensory details describing these meals perhaps will make the reader wish they were a guest. Pines and Quill might be the ideal setting for a writing retreat except for the discovery of dead bodies. Can one overlook this detail, knowing they serve such scrumptious meals?

ALL ABOUT THE AUTHOR LAURIE BUCHANAN

https://lauriebuchanan.com/

A blend of Dr. Doolittle, Nanny McPhee, and a type-A Buddhist, Laurie Buchanan is an active listener, observer of details, payer of attention, reader and writer of books, kindness enthusiast, red licorice aficionado, and lover of the Oxford comma.

As a novelist, photographer, and voracious reader, she never travels without three essentials—a laptop, a camera, and a book. 
Growing up, she dreamed of being a magician, an international spy, and a mad scientist. There’s still time!

Her writing studio is the hayloft of a historic carriage house in the Pacific Northwest, where creativity thrives. Her husband, Len, a private pilot, and Henry, their not-so-standard Standard Poodle, join her on daily walks. She always carries a camera because sometimes, the best word choice is a picture.

Sausage Apple Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing

 Sausage Apple Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing 

Cook's notes: Cooking tip: Dry cornbread and white bread cubes out on a cookie sheet for several hours, or crumble up pre-made cornbread onto a baking sheet and toast in a 250-degree oven for about an hour. If you've got stale bread, rip it up and toast it too. This preparation can be done a day ahead. Optional: Add 2 cups of cooked wild rice. The entire dish can be made a day ahead. Recipe serves 8.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 medium celery stalks, chopped (1-1/2 cups)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (1 cup)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 package of Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage or turkey sausage.
• 6 cups crumbled dry cornbread or 6 cups cornbread stuffing mix (equal to two 8-ounce packages)
• 6 cups dry white (like artisan or sourdough) or wheat bread cubes
• 2 cups peeled and chopped Granny Smith apples
• 1 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or raisins
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh sage leaves or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon each salt and ground black pepper
• 32 oz. container of chicken broth, low-sodium

Directions:

• Heat broth in a separate pan and keep warm.
• In a large Dutch oven, cook the sausage, drain it, and set it aside.
• Melt butter in the same Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté celery, garlic, and onion for about 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat.
• Stir in crumbled cornbread, bread cubes, apples, cranberries, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper into the celery/onion mixture. Add in sausage. Mix in enough hot broth to moisten stuffing, tossing lightly to combine. More warm broth can be added as needed.
• Spoon stuffing into a 3-quart greased baking dish.
• Bake, covered, at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until heated through to the desired moistness.
  
  
  

Cranberry Sauce

Love it or hate it, cranberry sauce is just as much a fixture on the Thanksgiving table as the turkey itself. One year, I made the mistake of not having the traditional canned stuff. Several family members, devoted fans of jellied cranberry sauce, complained quite loudly! Lesson learned from that moment on, you'll always find jellied cranberry sauce on the table but alongside with my homemade sauce.

Ever Ready Special Cranberry Orange Sauce from scratch.

Cook's Notes: A hint of nutmeg, lots of orange zest, and a bit of vanilla all come together to make this yummy cranberry sauce.
Ingredients:

• 1-12 oz. bag of cranberries, rinsed
• 1/2 cup orange juice or freshly squeezed orange juice and 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Optional add ins 1/2 cup golden raisins and 1/3 cup pecans

Directions:

• In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring to a boil sugar, orange juice, water, and zest. Whisk a few times. Add in cranberries, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, a pinch of salt, and raisins, if desired.
• Bring to a boil again, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 10 to 15 minutes. The cranberries will burst, and the mixture will thicken. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.
• Store cranberry sauce in a bowl covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Will keep up to two weeks.

On A Cranberry Roll

Cranberries are a native American fruit and a favorite seasonal ingredient in traditional holiday recipes. They were also a Native American staple. The berry helped Indians and colonists survive. Every schoolchild learns that the Pilgrims couldn't have survived life in the New World without the help of the Indians. The tribes taught them which crops to plant. They introduced them to corn and other nutritional mainstays. One of these, the American cranberry, is still part of the classic Thanksgiving feast.
The Algonquin, Chippewa, and Cree, among others, gathered wild cranberries where they could find them in what is now Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, and as far west as Oregon and Washington, and as far north as British Columbia and Quebec. The berry was called sassamenesh (by the Algonquin) and ibimi (by the Wampanoag and Lenni-Lenape), which translates literally as "bitter" or "sour berries." Cranberries were used for everything from cooking to textile dyes to medicine.
Native Americans ate cranberries fresh, dried them and formed them into cakes for storage, and made tea from the leaves. The Inuktitut of eastern Canada used the cranberry leaves as a tobacco substitute. The berry also had a range of nonculinary uses. Cree boiled the fruit and used it to dye porcupine quills for clothing and jewelry. Chippewa used cranberries as bait to trap the snowshoe hare.
Cranberries are extremely high in antioxidants and are thought to help prevent heart disease. Iroquois and Chippewa used cranberries for an assortment of medicinal purposes.

Cranberry Trivia

• There are small pockets of air inside cranberries that cause them to bounce. Air also makes the berries float in water.
• There are approximately 440 cranberries in one pound.
• Cranberries are 90 % water.
• Fresh cranberries can be frozen up to one year in an airtight container.
The leading cranberry-producing states are Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Oregon. Wisconsin is the top cranberry producer in the country, accounting for more than half of the nation’s supply
• Cranberries do not grow in water but on low running vines in sandy bogs and marshes.
• Americans consume 5,062,500 gallons of jellied cranberry sauce every Thanksgiving. More than 94% of Thanksgiving dinners include some type of cranberry sauce.

 This week, Ever Ready will be on a Cranberry Roll 

Cranberry Orange Pound Cake
Cook's notes: This moist cake is sure to be a crowd pleaser with bursts of tart cranberries and sweet orange icing. It shines as a brunch side or as a dessert for your holiday gatherings. The original recipe called for it to be baked in 2 large loaf pans, but I used a 13 x 9 pan. Recipe adapted from chefintraining.com

Cake Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon regular cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon  Saigon Cinnamon
• 2-1/2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 cup of softened butter
• 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Orange Glaze Ingredients:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice or fresh juice from an orange
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon softened butter

Cake Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 pan or 2 loaf pans.
• Mix 1/4 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon. Add in cranberries and coat with cinnamon sugar mixture. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, vanilla, and orange zest for 3 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
• In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Use a mixer on low speed and add dry ingredients alternatively with the buttermilk to the butter/sugar/orange zest/egg mixture.
• Fold in sugared/cinnamon cranberries.
• If using a 13 x 9 pan, bake for 25 minutes or until the center comes clean using a wooden skewer and the cranberries have popped. If using loaf pans check at 35 minutes.

Orange Glaze Directions:

• Use a whisk and blend ingredients until smooth.
• Add glaze after the cake is cooled.

Roasted Butternut Squash, Apples and Orzo Salad with Spinach and Cranberries.

Cook's Notes: The salad is loaded with lots of fall flavors-roasted butternut squash, apple chunks, orzo pasta, spinach, dried cranberries, pepitas, creamy goat cheese, and red onion. I love making this salad for holidays or to go alongside any fall meal. It is healthy, hearty, and so satisfying! And perfect for those who enjoy a vegetarian salad. Recipe adapted from twopeasandtheirpod and serves 4. If you double the ingredients, you'll still have enough dressing. 

Ingredients:

For the salad:

• Precut butternut squash, 3-4 cups, diced into 1-inch cubes
• 1 large firm apple, diced in chunks
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup orzo, uncooked 
• 2 cups torn spinach, stems removed
• 4 oz crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese
• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped red onion

For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons good quality dark balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  
• Place the squash and diced apple chunks on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Toss until well coated. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange the squash and apple chunks in one layer and roast for 18 minutes or until the squash is tender as well as the apples, turning once with a spatula. The apples may be done sooner than the butternut squash. 
• While the squash is roasting, cook the orzo according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. 
• Plump up the cranberries in 1/2 cup hot water for 3 minutes, and then drain. 
• Pour the cooked orzo into a large bowl. Add the roasted butternut squash, apples, spinach, goat cheese, pepitas, onions, and dried cranberries.
• In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup (or honey), mustard, garlic, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
• Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Looking Ahead to Thanksgiving Day 

Please Pass the Pumpkin- Count Your Blessings

The reality is how easy it is to get caught up in other things in life. Sometimes we need to stop, focus, and be intentional about counting our blessings. Make this the year you start the Gratitude Pumpkin tradition. All you need is a pumpkin (Craft Store), a permanent marker, and a heart full of gratitude. Before your meal, have each person add a few things they are thankful for. Keep turning the pumpkin around to add each person's thoughts. 

Book Review This Never Happened

 

Jessica Chem's debut novel “This Never Happened” is an electrifying and riveting narrative of deceit, manipulation, jealousy, and revenge. It delivers a high-stakes psychological thriller that keeps readers engrossed right to the last page. As characters face mental and emotional issues, their unpredictable, erratic behaviors create dangerous situations. It's a dark novel with an addictive plot that's hard to put down.

Rebecca and Sam (Samantha) meet in college. As their friendship develops, Rebecca continues to manipulate Sam, wanting their friendship to be exclusive. Rebecca seems obsessed with Sam, and sexual tension emerges between them, especially when classmates Dani and Alyssa vie for Rebecca's attention. Obsession becomes a powerful theme as destructive choices spiral out of control. After graduation, Sam realizes the relationship is toxic and moves away to start a new life. Ten years later, Rebecca and Sam reconnect at their college reunion. They decide to repair their fractured relationship. But when Adam, Sam's former boyfriend, emerges as Rebecca's love interest, the story takes a sinister turn. Sam vows to keep it a secret so as not to fracture their newly mended bond. Loyalty is challenged as Sam struggles between lust for Adam and Rebecca's manipulation. The scenes are set for revenge as mind games are played out, increasing psychological tensions.

I found the story's pacing effective. It intensified toward the end as tensions rose between the main characters. Several times during my reading, shocking twists reshaped the story and forced me to rethink what happened before. The author did a great job balancing mystery, tension, and ulterior motives. The climactic ending was superbly written. Jessica Clem has given her readers a well-written psychological thriller with complex characters who wrestle with their own fears, secrets, and psychological demons. 

You may find yourself at the end of reading exploring the question, What if?  

ALL ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Jessica Clem is the author of the thriller This Never Happened: A Novel and the
horror novel In Lieu of Flowers (coming in 2027). Her work has appeared in The Stygian Lepus Magazine, Creation Magazine, Macabre Magazine, Ms Magazine, Literally Stories, on the Creepy Podcast’s Patreon page, and in the horror anthologies Down with the Fallen from Franklin/Kerr Press, D is for Demons from Red Cape Publishing, and After Dark from Rowan Prose Publishing. She is a 2026 Next Step Fund grant recipient, a project made possible by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council through a grant from the McKnight Foundation.
She is also a marathoner, vocalist, and a volunteer with Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota Action Fund, serving as a Super Advocate. Her husband is David Quady, a Minneapolis oil painter who focuses on figurative and plein-air work.

https://jessicaclem.com/

Apple Cider Caramel Sauce with Sea Salt

APPLE CIDER CARAMEL SAUCE 

COOK'S NOTES: This recipe makes 1 ½ cups. The recipe was adapted 

from thecafesucrefarine.com  . I would suggest doubling the recipe so you have an ample amount on hand. It refrigerates well in a jar with a screw-type lid.  

Delicious ways to enjoy the sauce 

• Keep a carton of good vanilla ice cream in the freezer and a jar of this sauce in the fridge and you'll have a fabulous instant dessert. 
• Use it as a dipping sauce for fresh apple slices for a healthy/splurge dessert.
• This is a perfect pairing with any apple dessert and takes whatever you put it on up another delicious level.
• Drizzle a bit over oatmeal topped with fresh apples and a bit of cream for a super delicious weekend breakfast.
• Swirl it through your favorite brownie mix.
• Drizzle it over pancakes topped with diced apples instead of maple syrup.
• Use it as a sauce for dessert crepes filled with Mascarpone or Ricotta.
• Dip chunks of bananas in this apple cider caramel sauce, coat with finely chopped pecans, then freeze for a fun, sweet snack or dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup apple cider
• ¼ cup butter 2 ounces
• ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Dash of cloves
• ½ teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon sea salt, flaky

Directions:

• Place the apple cider in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a high, steady simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the cider becomes syrupy and reduces to 2 tablespoons.
• Add butter to the pan and cook until melted. Add the sugar, cream, and spices. Stir until well blended. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a high, steady simmer and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently.
• Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and flaky sea salt. Stir to combine.
• You're done! The sauce will thicken as it cools. If it gets too thick, just add an extra bit of apple cider or cream and stir well. Sauce should be stored in the refrigerator. You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop in a small pan, as it will thicken in the refrigerator.

• Note: Serving it over ice cream with a sprinkle of nuts is the pièce de résistance! 

 

Another Caramel Sauce recipe to try: use the link below

 https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2021/06/asian-chicken-mandarin-chopped-salad.html