Writing and Recipes… And Werewolves

For the first Appetizing April blog post, this one certainly packs a punch. It has a vegetarian caterer, a cult, werewolves, suspense, a delicious recipe for lasagna, a writer after my own heart (she loves wine; we bonded instantly), a website with a super cool name, and of course, love! Are you ready? Read on…

Frank Lloyd Wright said: “Dining is and always was a great artistic opportunity.”

Lucy Callahan, the heroine of And Jericho Burned, is a vegetarian caterer. Because she’s a chef, she was assigned to the cook house when she was held captive in her crazy brother-in-law’s cult. There wasn’t much there for her to cook: ancient, withered carrots; bug-infested rice; and dried beans. She didn’t even have onions, garlic, or other seasonings with which to make the thin soup more palatable.

And because the members of the cult were hungry, Lucy thought she knew the perfect way to reach them: a wedding banquet to celebrate her marriage to Stoker. Who happens to be a werewolf. You know: a carnivore. A guy whose favorite restaurant is a sushi bar.

So what does a vegetarian caterer cook for flesh-loving werewolves?

Lucy’s wedding feast was strictly vegetarian. Greens were good for belly aches, but not much else, or so Ethan had told her, earning a smack from Stoker for his rudeness.

I didn’t go into details in the book, but I did think about what Lucy would have made for the banquet.

There would have been berries of some sort. Berries are a very important part of a werewolf’s mating ritual.

From Moonlight Serenade (March 2014, Soul Mate Publishing):

“Find me some blueberries or strawberries instead.” Tokarz reached for his wallet as he gave the order.

Restin wanted to laugh at the expression on Luke’s face. Luke gulped, nodded, and took Tokarz’s money.

“You’re serious about claiming the woman as your mate,” Restin said once Luke had left.

“That’s what the traditional mating meal usually means,” Tokarz said.

 

From And Jericho Burned (February 2015, Soul Mate Publishing):

“Offering berries to one’s mate–one’s wife–is a custom with us,” Stoker said. “They make her smell sexy.”

Lucy’s brows rushed together, the skin between them furrowing into a deep vee. “Is that why you order blueberry muffins for my breakfast every morning? So I’ll smell sexy?”

Stoker nodded, his gaze never leaving her face.

She grinned. “Cool.”

 

So there definitely would have been berries of some sort at the feast. After all, the groom and his entourage are all werewolves.

Vegetarian Lasagna would have been a good entrée to feed a crowd of people. It would also be a good way to sneak some important nutrients into the cult’s diet. Lucy’s soft-hearted like that.

This recipe makes one 9×11 pan of lasagna. (Lucy would have made several batches.)

• 1 15-oz container ricotta cheese
• 3 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup finely shredded carrot
• ½ cup finely shredded unpeeled zucchini, excess moisture squeezed out
• 1 tsp dried parsley flakes OR 1 TBS fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil leaf OR 1 TBS fresh chopped basil
• ½ tsp garlic powder (more if you’re afraid of vampires)
• A few grinds of black pepper
• 12 lasagna noodles, partially cooked
• 64 ounces of tomato sauce (homemade or your choice from a jar)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Additional grated Parmesan cheese

 

PREHEAT OVEN TO 375F

1. Combine the first 8 ingredients to form filling
2. Spread ¼ of the sauce on bottom of lasagna pan to cover
3. Lay down 4 lasagna noodles
4. Spread one half of filling over noodles
5. Cover with ¼ of the sauce
6. Sprinkle with ½ of the shredded mozzarella cheese
7. Lay down 4 lasagna noodles
8. Spread remaining filling over noodles
9. Cover with ¼ of the sauce
10. Sprinkle with remaining shredded mozzarella cheese
11. Lay down 4 lasagna noodles
12. Cover with remainder of sauce.
13. Cover with grated Parmasan
14. Bake 45 minutes at 375F. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares and plating. Makes 12-15 servings.

 

Let’s have a look at the cover, and check out the blurb for And Jericho Burned:

 

AND JERICHO BURNED

By MJ Compton

Lucy Callahan will do anything to rescue her sister from a cult, even marry a werewolf she’s just met. But the werewolves are working undercover for the government, and Lucy fears a confrontation between the agents and the cult could be deadly.

Stoker Smith longs to be the best thing that ever happened to his human mate. He wants to take her home, start their family, and compose his music. And although his pack’s treaty with the government says he doesn’t have to work undercover now that he’s mated, he promised Lucy he’d get her sister out of the cult’s heavily armed compound. Lucy’s sister is now family and to a werewolf, family is everything.

But Operation Jericho quickly turns ugly, thrusting Lucy into the middle of her worst nightmare, where she must choose: her sister or the mate she’s grown to love.

Website & Blog www.comptonplations.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/Comptonplations

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMJCompton

Tsu http://www.tsu.co/mj_compton

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8075221.M_J_Compton

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/MJ-Compton/e/B00J9DFFIG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

 

 

MJ Compton has a few books for your reading pleasure:

AND JERICHO BURNED

http://tinyurl.com/ml9wzc4

MOONLIGHT SERENADE (Kindle)

http://tinyurl.com/lpsradw

MOONLIGHT SERENADE (Paperback)AMAZON:

http://tinyurl.com/mmohq7wBARNES & NOBLE:

http://tinyurl.com/kc79v8v

 

Who is this MJ Compton anyway?

MJ Compton grew up near Cardiff, New York, a place best known for its giant, which turned out to be a fiction so incredible, PT Barnum himself borrowed it. That’s a tough act to follow, but MJ tried—by composing her own stories.

Although her 30-year career in local television included such highlights as being bitten by a lion, preempting a US President for a college basketball game, giving a three-time world champion boxer a few black eyes, a mention in the Drudge Report, and meeting her husband, MJ’s urge to create her own stories never went away.

MJ still lives in upstate New York with her husband. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and Central New York Romance Writers. Music and cooking are two of her passions, and she enjoys baseball and college basketball, but she’s primarily focused on wine . . . and writing.

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