Word Has It (Wordplay Mysteries Book 1)
Page 17
Todd rolled his eyes but grinned. Betty Sue laughed, and Evelyn gave her the thumbs up sign.
The crowd erupted in louder cheers and Chief Brooks, of all people, led them in a “hip-hip-hooray.”
Wanda gulped back tears of gratitude as she pressed her hands to her heart.
The meddling little old widow was a respected member of her community at last.
Recipes
Honey Mustard Deviled Eggs
Ingredients:
1 dozen eggs, boiled, halved and yolks removed to a bowl
1 celery stalk finely chopped
Real bacon crumbles (2-3 crisply cooked strips)
3 heaping tbsp mayonnaise - I use Blue Plate
1 ½ tbsp honey mustard dip
2 tsp dried chives
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Mix the yolks and other ingredients in a bowl. Stuff the egg white “boats” with the mixture then sprinkle with paprika. Arrange on a serving dish garnished with parsley or cilantro.
Makes 24
Tarragon Chicken Salad for 6
Ingredients:
2 boiled, boned full chicken breasts (or 4 halves) finely chopped or pulled. I prefer pulled.
1 tbsp fresh tarragon (or cilantro) finely chopped
3 tbsp mayonnaise – Blue Plate is best
4 oz whipped cream cheese spread, room temperature
12-16 seedless grapes (green or red) halved
½ - ¾ c finely chopped pecans or walnuts
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground white pepper
Directions:
With a whisk or hand blender, mix the mayo, tarragon, salt, pepper, and cream cheese in a bowl until a smoothe mixture. Fold in the rest of the ingredients using a spatula or flat spoon. Chill for two-three hours. Just before serving, arrange leaves of Batavia or Green Leaf lettuce and scoop a generous portion onto each lettuce “boat.” Garnish each scoop with a sprinkle of paprika and a sprig of parsley.
Cheesy Eggs
Ingredients per person:
2 eggs
1 tbsp softened room temperature cream cheese spread.
¼ cup shredded cheese blend (ex: Monterey jack and cheddar)
Dried chives.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions:
With a whisk or bullet blender, blend together the eggs and cream cheese. The cream cheese may not blend all the way. That is all right.
Turn the burner onto medium high.
Pour into a skillet and place on the burner.
Begin to blend with a wooden spatula or spoon. Keep folding the cooking egg into the raw portion until all is evenly cooked.
Remove from heat and sprinkle in the shredded cheese and chives, folding them into the fluffy eggs.
Let it stand for a minute for the cheese to melt in, then serve with breakfast meats, along with toast, muffins, or biscuits.
High Tea Cucumber Sandwiches
Ingredients:
One 5-6 inch fresh cucumber
Six-eight slices of bread
Mayonnaise (I use Blue Plate or Dukes)
Salt to taste
Directions:
Skin a large cucumber. I use a carrot scraper.
Thinly slice it into “disks”.
Remove the crust from the bread slices.
Lather both sides of the bread with mayonnaise until moist, but don’t drench the bread.
Layer the cucumber slices on a piece of bread and cover with another piece.
Slice diagonally or in three “strips”.
Easy Crisp Bacon
f you like baked bacon but hate setting off the smoke alarm or cleaning up the mess in the oven, try using the microwave.
Place 3-4 strips of bacon on two layers of paper towel squares.
Cover with two more layers.
Microwave on High one minute plus one more minute per slice.
No need to flip them over.
Let them sit for a minute, then peel them from the paper towels with a fork or tongs.
Toss away the paper towels once cooled.
Bacon will be crisp, evenly cooked, and not very greasy at all.
You can buy ribbed bacon pans for the microwave. Much better than the kind you hang and let drip while cooking - they tend to smoke.
Mouth-Watering Brownies
Ingredients:
¾ c Wesson oil
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp of salt
4 tbsp of cocoa
1 tsp of cream of tartar
½ tsp of cinnamon
4 whole large eggs
2 tsp of vanilla
½ tsp of almond extract
1 ½ cups of finely chopped pecan pieces
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine the dry ingredients until well blended.
Add eggs and extracts, then whip with a fork until smooth.
Fold in pecan pieces.
Pour into a greased and flour-dusted 9x6 glass baking pan.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.
Cool, then slice into squares.
Yields 9-12 depending on slice size
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Marji Laine of Write Integrity Press for contracting me to write this series, and also Teri Caldwell who carefully edited it for any typos, overused words, and discrepancies.
I would also like to thank the members of the Cozy Mystery Facebook groups such as Crazy for Cozies and Cozy Mystery Village, especially Michelle Wicker, for their support and suggestions. Y’all are a great group of writers and readers. It is fun to hang out with you.
I have included, as a thank you, several real people’s names in this book. You now know who you are. I hope you accept my small gesture of gratitude by honoring y’all as loyal friends, readers, and supporters of my mysteries.
To Mike and Wanda Agee and the DJ’s at The Journey, 88.3 FM Christian Radio―broadcasting out of Keene, Texas and streaming live―thanks for the background music as I write. The uplifting music, uninterrupted by commercials, helps to keep my mind pure and focused on writing about godly characters.
Finally, I praise my Lord who has given me this talent and desire to write about active, fun, and vibrant seniors. We are never too old to be used for His glory. Life is a mystery, but His love certainly is not. It is faithful and everlasting.
May you always know, no matter what happens in this imperfect world, God is there, and He cares.
Julie B Cosgrove
About the Author
Julie B Cosgrove has been making up stories almost as long as she has been walking. Not falsehoods, heaven forbid. But tales, plots, and plays, often starring her stuffed animals and dolls.
Growing up with an attorney for a father who also loved nature, Julie learned to observe things many never see like a spider web under a leaf or a sparrow peeking through the lush leaves of a live oak tree. She also developed early on how to methodically gather evidence in order to plead her case.
Her mother loved wordplay games and soon Julie, under her tutelage, became enthralled with the jumbles, crossword puzzles, and find-the-words in the daily newspaper. They had many a battle of wits over games of Scrabble. Julie still has the board and tiles from the set she grew up playing.
At the age of ten, Julie was introduced to the suspense romance novels by the late British author Mary Stewart, who captivated Julie with her vivid descriptions and excellent wordsmithing. When not reading or solving word puzzles, Julie curled up on the floor of the living room to absorb the old Sherlock Holmes (starring Basil Rathbone), Charlie Chan, and Agatha Christie movies offered by the local TV station.
At thirteen, she came to know the mercy and grace of God through His Son, Jesus, and desired to help others discover it in their lives. Her stories took on a deeper purpose, some winning recognition in high school and college.
Then life, work, and motherhood took cen
ter stage. But stories still floated in her mind and she continued to dive into whodunnits for entertainment and to play word games with friends offline and online.
As the nest emptied, Julie began writing devotionals for several publications and for the past ten years, her blog, wheredidyoufindgodtoday.com, has touched readers in over fifty countries. She became a writer and editor for CRU as well as an inspirational speaker. Storytelling remained her passion, though.
After publishing seven suspense and romance novels, her sister challenged Julie to write what she loved most to read and watch . . . cozy mysteries, but to write them with a message. Julie queried her publisher who gave her a shot at it.
She was awarded contracts for two cozy mystery series, published between 2015 and 2020. Then Julie had another idea. Combine her two loves of mystery and word games into a series.
Her seventh published cozy, which is the first novel in her third series, The Wordplay Mysteries, is in your hand. Julie hopes you've enjoyed reading how the mystery unfolded in the fictitious town of Scrub Oak, Texas and will return to find out how Wanda, Betty Sue, and Evelyn continue to use the clues through wordplay to solve crimes in future books.
Also by Julie
Three best friends delve into the past, simply building family trees. But sometimes simple things can lead to trouble, and the roots of these trees have deep and perilous connections. Secret ones that don’t want to be unearthed.
Find all of the Relatively Seeking Mysteries at Amazon.
Suspense and Mystery from Pursued Books
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