by Webb, Peggy
“Let’s all drink to that,” Mama says. She and Fayrene have already found the Prohibition Punch in the refrigerator and are sitting around the table with four filled glasses. “Hear. Hear.” I lift my glass. “To the four women who could have handled this whole mess by ourselves, but who are glad that if somebody had to help out it was Uncle Charlie and Jack.”
My dog sidles up to me and gives me such and aggrieved look I get tickled.
“And Elvis, of course.”
Elvis’ Opinion #9 Beauty, Canine Divorce and Responsibility
I could have told Jack and Charlie that Mertis and the duck man were the ring leaders of the baby kidnapping gang. I smelled them all over Sally Riker Cunningham the night I saved the lives of my human mom and dad. Still, all’s well that ends well, as Charlie is fond of saying.
Besides that, the way things went down at the funeral home, I got to eat all that fried chicken splattered all over the floor. Besides that, when 666 heard about my part in busting up the kidnapping ring, she sent Jack a silver canine detective badge to hang on my collar. One of these days, I’ve got to get back over to Birmingham and treat her to a private concert of my best solid gold hits.
Things are back to normal now, if you can call anything about the Valentine clan normal. Ruby Nell and Fayrene are planning a little restorative trip to the casinos, Jack and Callie are enjoying trying to get pregnant, and Lovie… Who knows what she’s up to? Just between you and me, I think she’s still half in love with Rocky but carrying on secret telephone conversations with the formidable Britt. For the first time in this dog’s memory, she’s not telling Callie everything.
As for me, I’m taking full advantage of summer nights and willing hearts. There’s a reason August is called dog days. It’s perfect for sneaking through the fence, picking up my old pal Trey and heading up to Mooreville’s Truck Stop to meet a certain sexy French Poodle.
Rumor has it, she’s seeing Darlene’s ridiculous, crooked-legged Lhasa Apso on the side, but I guess I’m blinded by beauty. Nothing looks better to me in the moonlight that a pair of flirty brown eyes and a canine who knows how to switch her tail.
Besides that, I don’t believe in divorce. And Ann Margret has been mine from the minute I laid eyes on her.
She’s already waiting for me when I get to the truck stop.
I ask her if she’s lonesome tonight, and she tells me she’s almost always true.
That’ll cool a dog’s fever. Still, I sidle over and lick her on the face. That’s when Ann Margret drops her bomb. She’s not in the mood. Besides that, she’s pregnant, and if I don’t own up to paternity, I’ll never see her again.
Who does she take me for? Some stray who loves ‘em and leaves ‘em? I tell her I’m a handsome and loyal dog who always accepts his responsibilities. For good measure, I ask Trey to vouch for me.
That seems to satisfy my still-sexy Frenchie, and she lures me off with the promise of some left-over chopped steak and gravy in the garbage can. She promises more, but I’m not the kind of dog to kiss and tell.
Elvis has left the building!
The End
Thanks for reading! Please do leave a review. Now, enjoy this selection of soup recipes from Lovie’s kitchen.
Lovie’s Luscious Soups
Note from Peggy Webb: I love to make soup, and I particularly enjoy experimenting.
Most of these recipes are concoctions I threw together, using whatever I had on hand in my kitchen. The first two recipes are my favorites. I don’t know how I’d get through the winter without Lemon Chicken Soup. Enjoy!
Summer Soup
1 medium onion, chapped
dash of red pepper
2 medium yellow squash, cut into chunks
½ stick, plus 2 T. butter (the real thing)
½ pound of baby carrots, cut into chunks
1 cup half & half, or real cream
1 box of chicken broth, 32 oz.
In a large soup pot, saute onions with 2 T. butter until onions are clear. Stir in carrots and squash. Add chicken broth and dash of red pepper then cook until veggies are soft and can be pierced with a fork. Pour hot mixture into a good blender (I use the NINJA because it has two blades and a wide base). Add ½ stick of butter and puree until all vegetables are liquefied. Pour the pureed mixture into a large serving bowl while simultaneously pouring in one cup of half and half. Delicious hot or cold.
Lemon Chicken Soup
1 medium onion, chopped
Half a cabbage, finely chopped
1/2 cup of rice
1/2 a pound of baby carrots, chopped
1 box of chicken broth, 32 oz.
Black pepper and salt to taste
Juice of 1 lemon or comparable amount of reconstituted lemon juice
2 Tbs. olive oil, more or less
1 pkg. of chicken breast strips
Season chicken as you wish. I put minced garlic in the skillet with about 1 T. of olive oil then completely cook the chicken strips and set aside. (If you are out of fresh chicken, open a large can of white chicken, drain and use that.) In a large soup pot, add the other T. of olive oil and saute the onion until it is clear. Add all other ingredients (except chicken) to the soup pot and cook until rice is tender. Shred the cooked chicken breasts and stir them into the soup pot right before serving. (Saving the chicken for last will retain its full flavor.) Serve soup hot, topped with a generous dollop of sour cream.
Hearty Winter Soup
1 lb. of good quality, low-fat ground round
1 onion, chopped
2 cans of red kidney beans
1 pkg. of Taco seasoning
1 large can of tomato juice
1 pkg. of buttermilk Ranch dressing
2 cans of corn (kernel, not cream style)
2 Tbs. sugar (more or less, to taste)
2 Tbs. olive oil1 small can diced tomatoes
Black pepper to taste
Put olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot and add chopped onions. Cook till they are beginning to turn clear. Add ground round and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is done and you can see no signs of redness. Add Taco and Ranch seasonings and stir. Add beans, corn, chopped tomatoes, tomato juice and mix well. Sprinkle with generous helping of black pepper and then add sugar to your taste. When you’re making acidic soups with a tomato base, the sugar reduces the tart taste and makes the soup very mellow. Let the soup simmer about an hour to blend all the flavors. Serve hot, as is, or add a generous dollop of sour cream to each bowl and stir it in before eating. This gives the soup a lovely, creamy consistency.
(For a variation of this soup, use a large can of V-8 juice instead of plain tomato juice.)
Note from Peggy Webb: I’ve always enjoyed cooking exotic dishes, and sometimes fancy myself a gourmet cook. Two of my friends also love cooking, and we try to outdo ourselves at private dinner parties. I first discovered this delicious soup when I was traveling in Honolulu on the Island of Oahu. It quickly became a favorite of my “foody” friends!
Macadamia Nut Soup
1 qt. chicken broth
3 cups macadamia nuts, chopped
¾ c. of onions, minced
6 Tbs. butter
6 Tbs. flour
4 cups of heavy cream
Salt and white pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley to garnish
In a blender, coarsely chop nuts and place in a soup pot, reserving a small amount of nuts to garnish. Add onions and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. In a separate pan, melt butter and stir in flour. Cook, stirring with a wooden spatula for 2 minutes. (Do not brown.) Slowly spoon a bit of the hot broth into the flour mixture, constantly stirring until smooth. Then slowly add the flour mixture back to the soup pot, stirring constantly so you don’t create lumps. Fold in the cream and let soup simmer for 3 – 4 minutes. (Do not use high heat. Do not let the cream reach a boil as it causes separation of the cream and ruins the soup.) Add salt and white pepper to taste.
Serve hot and garnish with reserved chopped nuts and fresh parsley.
Football Season Soup
3 cups cabbage, shredded
2 14-oz. cans of tomatoes
1 16-oz. pkg. of Kielbasa, chopped ½ cup onions, chopped
2. T. brown sugar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 t. minced garlic
½ t. ea., salt and pepper
½ t. red hot sauce
1 small can of chicken broth
2 T. olive oil
Put olive oil into a large soup pot and saute onion, sausage chopped into small pieces, and garlic. Add all other ingredients, bring to a slight boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
Lovie’s Quick Fixes for Canned Soup
Almost any soup can be made better with some tinkering from a good cook. Here are some quick fixes:
For canned tomato soup, add ¼ stick of butter, heat through, then add a pinch of sugar and a bit of half and half or real cream until soup turns creamy and orange. Never bring soup to boil after you’ve added cream.
Add butter and cream to canned chicken corn chowder for a richer taste.
Sometimes soups served in restaurants are too strong and the flavors overpowering. Ask the waitress for lots of half and half for your coffee, and then dump the cream into your soup and stir. Much better!
You can turn almost any soup recipe into “cream of such and such” by adding half and half to taste.
You can create your own soups by using either chicken broth or beef broth. Beef broth is stronger and typically used with red meats and hearty winter soups.
This is my favorite tip! If you have been put on a liquid diet, stock up on chicken broth. Pour a serving size into a big soup cup, add a generous squirt of reconstituted lemon juice and a heaping tablespoon of sour cream then heat until the sour cream has melted. Stir until smooth. You instantly have a delicious drink that changes the broth from bland to grand!
Happy soup making! Lovie (one of the alter egos for the author)
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If You Enjoyed This Book…
If you enjoyed Elvis and the Rock-A-Hula Baby Capers, you can get Elvis and the Buried Brides, Elvis and the Bridegroom Stiffs and the prequel to the Southern Cousins Mystery series, Jack Loves Callie Tender.
Coming soon! Magnolia Wild Mystery series. New Orleans has never been this funny. Meet an Olympic gold-medal shooter, her two eccentric great aunts who own The Charmed Cat (a lotion and potion store in the historic French Quarter) and the sexiest private eye in the Deep South. Of course, the sleuthing basset hound Elvis’ three offspring will be there, and they can’t wait to get paw-deep in murder and mayhem.
Coming in December, 2015! Elvis and Wild in New Orleans, a Christmas short story duo. The first story is a Southern Cousins Mystery and the second introduces the Magnolia Wild Mystery series. Don’t miss it!
Details on these all Peggy’s books are at www.peggywebb.com. Join Peggy on Facebook and Twitter. Win giveaways at her blog at www.elainehussey.com.
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About Peggy Webb
Peggy Webb is a USA Today best-selling author from Mississippi with more than 75 books to her credit. She writes romance, romantic comedy, women’s fiction and comedic cozies. Her peers call her a “comic genius.” She also writes literary fiction and is a member of PEN under the name Elaine Hussey. Pat Conroy calls her literary work “astonishing.” This critically acclaimed author has won many awards, including a Romantic Times Pioneer Award for creating the sub-genre of romantic comedy. Several of her romances have been optioned for film.
Peggy is a member of Novelists, Inc., International Thriller Writers, and Romance Writers of America. Her award-winning books, Touched by Angels, A Prince for Jenny, the Donovans of the Delta series and her boxed sets have all been Kindle Top 10 bestsellers.
Though she lives in the Deep South, her two children and four grandchildren live in Florida and New Hampshire. She plays piano, composes blues lyrics, sings in her church choir and loves gardening. She’s passionate about theater, has written two screenplays based on her work and has starred in several community theater productions, including Steel Magnolias. Her screenplay based on her novel, Driving Me Crazy, is slated for community theater production in the spring of 2016.
Follow the author on her websites: www.peggywebb.com and www.elainehussey.com and on Facebook and Twitter.
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Other E-Books from Peggy Webb
Classic Romance
Dark Fire
Touched by Angels (RT Reviewer’s Choice)
A Prince for Jenny, sequel to Touched by Angels
The Edge of Paradise
Duplicity (Rave review, RT Reviewer’s Choice)
Where Dolphins Go (RT Reviewer’s Choice, women’s fiction, optioned for film)
Night of the Dragon (time travel romance)
Christmas in Time (time travel, prequel to Only Yesterday)
Only Yesterday, (time travel, sequel to Christmas in Time)
Summer Jazz
Taming Maggie (#1 on romance bestseller list)
That Jones Girl (sequel to the Mississippi McGills series)
Indiscreet
The Donovans of the Delta Series:
Donovan’s Angel (Paul Donovan’s story)
Sleepless Nights (Tanner Donovan’s story)
Hallie’s Destiny (award winning book, Hallie Donovan’s story)
Any Thursday (Hannah Donovan’s story)
Higher Than Eagles (Jacob Donovan’s story)
The Mississippi McGills Series (spin-off from Donovans of the Delta)
Valley of Fire (Rick McGill’s story)
Until Morning Comes (Jo Beth McGill and Colter Gray Wolf’s story)
Saturday Mornings (Andrew McGill’s story)
Forever Friends series
Can’t Stop Loving You (Book 1, Helen’s story)
Only His Touch (Kat’s story, Book 2)
Bringing Up Baxter (B. J.’s story, Book 3)
Angels on Zebras (Maxie’s story, Book 4)
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Belinda
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Janet
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Molly
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Bea
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Clementine
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Joanna
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Catherine
Sunday Cove Series
Naughty and Nice
Birds of a Feather
Disturbing the Peace
….5 more to come
Romantic Suspense
Witch Dance
From A Distance
Boxed Sets
Donovans of the Delta
Forever Friends
Finding Mr. Perfect
Finding Paradise
Time’s Embrace
Warrior’s Embrace
When I Found You
Southern Cousins Mysteries
Elvis and the Dearly Departed, 2008
Elvis and the Grateful Dead, 2009
Elvis and the Memphis Mambo Murders, 2010
Elvis and the Tropical Double Trouble, 2011
Elvis and the Blue Christmas Corpse, 2012
Jack Loves Callie Tender (series prequel and companion guide), 2013
Elvis and the Bridegroom Stiffs, 2014
Elvis and the Deadly Love Letters, a short story, 2014
Elvis and the Buried Brides, 2014
Elvis and the Rock-A-Hula Baby Capers, 2015
Women’s Fiction/Literary Fiction
Stars to Lead Me Home: Love and Marriage, June, 2015
Her Secret Hero, March, 2014
The Language of Silence (Gallery, Simon & Schuster), July 30, 2014
The Tender Mercy of Roses (Gallery, Simon & Schuster), written as Anna Michaels
The Sweetest Hallelujah (MIRA), written as Elaine Hussey, July 30, 2013
The Oleander Sisters (MIRA), written
as Elaine Hussey, July 30, 2014
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Letter from the Author
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading my books, for your generous reviews, and for your wonderful letters telling me how much you love Callie, Elvis and the Valentine gang. I hope you will take the time to review Elvis and the Rock-A-Hula Baby Capers. Your reviews provide valuable feedback for me and help new readers find this series.
I’m happy to offer Elvis and the Rock-A-Hula Baby Capers in both digital and paperback formats. I want everybody to have a chance to enjoy the quirky original art created by my beautiful granddaughter, Cecilia Griffith. She’s been drawing since she was a little girl, and still continues to do so in between her college classes.
