Killer Green Tomatoes
Page 22
Angie glanced the way she pointed, but when she turned to ask who Felicia was talking about, her friend was already making her way through the crowd. Angie tried to watch to see where she stopped, but when Ian grabbed her arm, she turned back to him and lost her friend in the crowd. She leaned close, trying to hear his words. “What?”
Instead of answering, he pointed to a side street where Estebe stood, waving them closer. They finally made their way through the dancing crowd, and when Angie turned to see where Felicia had ended up, her friend was gone.
“Looking for Felicia?” Ian asked. The building they stood behind muffled the crowd noise a bit, and now she could hear him.
“She said she had a ride home unless she texted, but I hate just having her disappear like that. I hope she’s all right.” Angie pushed the thought away. Her friend was a survivor. She knew her way around, as she’d grown up in one of LA’s tougher neighborhoods. “Where’s Estebe?”
As if she called him, he reappeared with three cans of beer. “Sorry, we don’t do bottles at the festival. Sometimes that’s just not a good idea.”
“No problem. This is cold and it hits the spot.” Ian glanced around at the people sitting around tables in the area. “I didn’t know you had this street set up too.”
“We tend to spread out. The older generation likes to participate but not in the crazy crowd that’s on the main street. Besides, we have our own band, and the food’s better here.” He led the way to a table that had a paper tent that was marked Reserved. “Have a seat.”
“Did you enjoy your cooking experience?” Angie sipped on her beer, letting the icy liquid cool her throat. It had been a long night. Week. Month. Maybe she’d add in year, if she was going to be totally up front with herself.
“It was challenging, but I like feeding people. Besides, I enjoy telling people what to do. Now I know how you feel in our kitchen.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he waited for an answer.
“I don’t tell you all what to do. But I have to say, you’ve been training Hope well. We almost didn’t miss you at service.” She watched his reaction.
“She’s a good student.” He turned and looked up at someone walking by. “Mrs. Stockwell, so nice of you and your husband to join us. Do you want a chair?”
Angie turned to see Missy Stockwell gaping at the three of them sitting together and drinking a beer. Angie could just see the thoughts running through that woman’s mind. She bit back the first sentence she wanted to say and instead smiled. “Yes, please join us. We were just talking about our next outing. Do you think Sun Valley is affordable this time of year for a getaway, or would you recommend something in the northern area?”
“I’m sorry, we can’t stay.” She glared at Ian. “I can’t believe you are condoning this behavior.”
“Estebe and I are friends, Missy. Nothing more, nothing less.” He cocked his head sideways. “What exactly were you thinking I was condoning?”
She grabbed Herbert by the hand and aimed him toward the opening in the street and back out to the crowd.
Angie turned and looked at Ian and Estebe, who were both grinning. “You set that up.”
“People shouldn’t gossip.” Estebe smiled. “Ian was kind enough to help me.”
Heaven help her, she thought. Now the people in her life were collaborating on projects, even those that stopped a town busybody from gossiping. “You know, the rumors are just going to be more pointed now. She’ll think we’re all in a relationship.”
“Maybe, but I’m sure she won’t be telling her women’s group about seeing us here tonight. She knows I’m well liked in that group. No one would believe her.” Ian took her hand and kissed it. “It’s nice to be boring again.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Angie held up her bottle. “To boring days ahead.”
They all clinked their glasses together and drank. Angie wasn’t sure if it was making a wish or just wishful thinking. Either way, she hoped her toast would keep her out of the investigating business for at least a few weeks.
A note from the author:
As I’m writing the Farm-to-Fork series, my thoughts are always brought home to family. Angie and I have a lot in common when talking about connections of food to family. I grew up on the family farm with meals that were hearty and filling. We raised our own beef and pork and the freezer was always full of the season’s bounty, even when the winter was long and the garden frozen over.
We didn’t do Fried Green Tomatoes. Tomatoes were for canning to be used later for chilis, stews, and spaghetti sauces. Mom cooked a different summer treat, Fried Zucchini. Breaded and battered, the crispy treat made my mouth water, and even now I don’t have much luck getting the appetizer on the table before the slices are stolen from the paper towel where they sit waiting to be plated.
Viola’s Fried Zucchini
One large zucchini—these are typically too small in the grocery store. Look for ones about 12 inches long and 3 inches around. But get them fresh, before the seeds harden. Wash the outside, then slice into fairly thin rounds.
Make a breading station:Three eggs beaten with ¼ cup of water in a flat bowl. Season to taste. (For me, garlic salt, pepper, and maybe some Season-All.)
Flour, seasoned as well. Also in a flat bowl or Tupperware. (If you want to fancy this up, you could use a third bowl of seasoned panko breading. But it’s not needed.)
Heat up oil in a cast iron skillet. (Mom used Crisco or lard, depending on what she had. I like the cleaner taste of vegetable oil.)
Dip zucchini in flour, egg mixture, then flour again. Then place each slice carefully in the hot oil. You only need to cook these a few seconds on each side. The thinner the rounds, the faster the zucchini inside will cook. Get a nice brown crunch on the outside, take them out, and lay on a paper towel. Season with sea salt (my addition) while hot, and then serve.
Repeat with the rest of the slices.
Enjoy. Fair warning: This is not diet food.
Lynn
Love the Farm-to-Fork Mysteries?
Don’t miss the first book in the series
WHO MOVED MY GOAT CHEESE
And be sure to check out Lynn’s other cozy mystery series
The Tourist Trap Mysteries
And
The Cat Latimer Mysteries
Available now
Wherever books and ebooks are sold
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Lynn Cahoon is an Idaho expat. She grew up living the small town life she now loves to write about. Currently, she’s living with her husband and two fur babies in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi river where her imagination tends to wander. Guidebook to Murder, Book 1 of the Tourist Trap series, won the 2015 Reader’s Crown award for Mystery Fiction.
WHO MOVED MY GOAT CHEESE?
A Farm-to-Fork Mystery
Angie Turner hopes her new farm-to-table restaurant can be a fresh start in her old hometown in rural Idaho. But when a goat dairy farmer is murdered, Angie must turn the tables on a bleating black sheep…
With three weeks until opening night for their restaurant, the County Seat, Angie and her best friend and business partner Felicia are scrambling to line up local vendors—from the farmer’s market to the goat dairy farm of Old Man Moss. Fortunately, the cantankerous Moss takes a shine to Angie, as does his kid goat Precious. So when Angie hears the bloodcurdling news of foul play at the dairy farm, she jumps in to mind the man’s livestock and help solve the murder. One thing’s for sure, there’s no whey Angie’s going to let some killer get her goat…
A STORY TO KILL
A Cat Latimer Mystery
Former English professor Cat Latimer is back in Colorado, hosting writers’ retreats in the big blue Victorian she’s inherited, much to her surprise, from none other than her carousing ex-husband! N
ow it’s an authors’ getaway—but Cat won’t let anyone get away with murder…
The bed-and-breakfast is open for business, and bestselling author Tom Cook is among its first guests. Cat doesn’t know why he came all the way from New York, but she’s glad to have him among the quirkier—and far less famous—attendees.
Cat’s high school sweetheart Seth, who’s fixing up the weathered home, brings on mixed emotions for Cat…some of them a little overpowering. But it’s her uncle, the local police chief, whom she’ll call for help when there’s a surprise ending for Tom Cook in his cozy guest room. Will a killer have the last word on the new life Cat has barely begun?
GUIDEBOOK TO MURDER
A Tourist Trap Mystery
In the gentle coastal town of South Cove, California, all Jill Gardner wants is to keep her store—Coffee, Books, and More—open and running. So why is she caught up in the business of murder?
When Jill’s elderly friend, Miss Emily, calls in a fit of pique, she already knows the city council is trying to force Emily to sell her dilapidated old house. But Emily’s gumption goes for naught when she dies unexpectedly and leaves the house to Jill—along with all of her problems…and her enemies. Convinced her friend was murdered, Jill is finding the list of suspects longer than the list of repairs needed on the house. But Jill is determined to uncover the culprit—especially if it gets her closer to South Cove’s finest, Detective Greg King. Problem is, the killer knows she’s on the case—and is determined to close the book on Jill permanently…