Reading Aloud

As many of you know, I suffered a serious illness a couple years ago, and spent an extended time in the hospital.  And, as I have talked about before, my husband read aloud to me when I was too weak to hold a book or focus enough to read.

All the nurses on my floor knew him - at 6'6" he stands out - but he was identified more by the way he treated me and looked after me during those weeks.  Especially the reading.  Sometimes he would catch a nurse lingering by the door, listening as he read.  They told me later that he was a keeper, they didn't often see that kind of devotion.  But I already knew that.

What those nurses didn't know was that this wasn't the first time he'd read to me.  In the early years of our marriage we settled the issue of who got to read Dave Barry's Sunday column first with an elegant solution: he got the paper first, but he read the column aloud - at least he did when he wasn't giggling madly over something Barry wrote.  (Confession time: I was usually in hysterics, too.)

Over the years we've been together (32 and counting) we have often read to each other.  I would find a passage especially amusing or amazing or enlightening, and I would read it to him.  He would do the same to me.

That's how he finally read the Harry Potter series.  We were on a car trip, I read him an early passage in Sorcerer's Stone (I was re-reading books 1-6 in preparation for the release of 7.  Yes, I am a nerd!) and he was hooked.  We traded off reading and driving the rest of the trip, and he dove into the remaining books as soon as we got home.

Reading to each other on car trips has become something of a tradition.  We've read thrillers and mysteries and science fiction, but primarily we read non-fiction.  And I look forward to those long hours on the road, listening to my dear husband read me something I might not have chosen on my own.  I hope he feels the same.

All of this is background, leading up to a discussion of the book we read on our last road trip.  Steve found it in Goodwill a few weeks back, we read a few pages, and decided it would be perfect for our upcoming drive to Reno.  It definitely was!

The book is The Lizard King by Bryan Christy.  Set in Florida (just like my Haunted Souvenir Shop series!) Lizard King tells the story of a dedicated Fish and Wildlife agent and the suspected smugglers that become his obsession.

Here's what Amazon.com's reviewer had to say:

Reptile smuggling is big business, and in his book debut, Brian Christy mounts an intense and highly readable investigation into this unique black market's surprising depths. Besides the reptiles themselves, this exciting narrative investigation focuses on two main protagonists: Michael Van Nostrand, a notorious dealer; and Chip Bepler, the Fish and Wildlife Service agent whose single-minded aim was to bring the former to justice. --Jason Kirk

While the Publisher's Weekly review (also on the Amazon/com site) has some issues with the book, we didn't find the narrative disorienting, instead enjoying the fascinating tale of cops and robbers.  It's like The Sopranos, but with snakes and lizards instead of arson, drugs, and murder - though I'm not saying you won't find some of those things in The Lizard King!
This one gets two thumbs up from the York Writers! And just maybe we will see some of those things show up in future Haunted Gift Shop stories...

The Best Tapioca Pudding. Ever!!

YUM!!

Recently I had the best tapioca pudding of my life.  No exaggeration, this was amazing stuff!  I work at a resort hotel on the Oregon coast, and we shared dessert after lunch.  Both my husband and I were bowled over.  Fortunately for me, the chef is a friend, and he agreed to share his recipe with me.

Tapioca pudding is basically cooked pearls of tapioca starch combined with a sweet vanilla custard.  The pearls give it a bubbly consistency and cut the richness of the milk and the sweet of the sugar.  It’s dense without being overwhelming, but a small serving will satisfy your dessert craving.

I tried the recipe at home, and got the same stellar results, confirmed by several friends and co-workers who sampled the pudding.  Fortunately for you, the chef gave me permission to share it with you, so brace yourself for a real treat!

So here it is, compliments of Executive Chef Ken Martin of Fathoms Restaurant at the Inn at Spanish Head.

The process takes time, so don’t try to rush.  You have to start the night before, so if you want pudding for tonight’s dessert and it’s already 4:30 p.m., make another plan.

Tapioca pearls and water for soaking

Start by soaking ½ cup tapioca pearls overnight in 1 ½ cup water.  Don’t use “instant” tapioca, it isn’t the same thing. 

Soaked pearls with the rest
of the ingredients

Sugar and milk before cooking

A couple hours before you want to eat, start the custard base. 

Boiled milk, ready to add pearls

In a large saucepan mix 1 qt whole milk with ¾ cup sugar and bring to a boil.  Watch this carefully, as once it reaches the boiling point, it will quickly boil over if left unattended.  When the milk foams around the edge of the pan, it’s at the correct temperature.

And the magic begins.  You can see where the milk foamed around
the edge of the pan

Drain the tapioca pearls and add them to the boiling milk.  Stir to mix well.  Reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.  

As you can see from the
stove timer the 25 minutes
is just beginning

20 minutes

The pearls should become clear.  

15 minutes

As you can see from this series of photos taken at five minute intervals, change is gradual, but you can clearly see the difference from the first shot to the last.  (I didn’t realize I needed a better background for these shots until partway through.  Maybe I should make another batch so I can get better pictures.  Yeah, that’s the reason I need to do this again.  For the pictures.  Sure.)

10 minutes

5 minutes

Simmering complete!  The pearl is still slightly opaque,
but much clearer than before.

Adding sugar to the eggs

Egg mixture ready to combine with milk mixture

While the milk mixture is simmering, combine 3 beaten eggs with ¾ cup sugar and blend well. 

Slowly mix eggs into milk mixture.  While Ken’s recipe did not specify, I did temper the eggs before adding them to the hot milk.  Tempering guards against curdling or scrambling the eggs.  To temper the eggs, slowly add about ½ cup of the hot milk mixture to the eggs and stir to incorporate.  Repeat two more times.  This will gradually raise the temperature of the egg mixture and make the two mixtures blend easily.

Here you can see a few tapioca pearls in the egg mixture
as it is poured into the saucepan

Bring the completed pudding back to a boil and cook 2 minutes.

Everything is in the pot.  Now we give it a final simmer.

Remove from heat, add ¾ tsp vanilla.

Cover and chill.  

Into a bowl to cool before going in the refrigerator.

To prevent a “skin” forming on top of your pudding, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding.  Pudding can be eaten while still slightly warm, or completely chilled, as you prefer.

This is the finished pudding,
topped with a swirl of whipped cream .

Serving suggestions include layering with whipped cream in a parfait glass, adding fresh seasonal fruit, or spooning still-warm pudding over slices of pound cake.  However you serve it, keep your portions fairly small.  As I said before, this is dense and your guests may fill up quickly.  Or they may demand seconds!!

Cover and refrigerate leftovers (if you have any – this is a perfect “company” dessert).

Tapioca Pudding

½ cup large tapioca pearls

1 ½ cup water

1 qt. whole milk

1 ½ cup sugar, divided

3 eggs, beaten

¾ tsp vanilla

Soak pearls in water overnight.  The next day, mix milk and ¾ cup sugar, bring to a boil.  Drain pearls, add to milk, and simmer 25 minutes.  Combine eggs and the other ¾ cup sugar, add to milk mixture, return to boil, and cook 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, add vanilla.  Cover and chill.

New Book Out Today!!

MURDER TIES THE KNOT is new today from Berkley Prime Crime, and I'm delighted to offer you the chance to win a free copy!

 It's the forth installment in my "Haunted Souvenir Shop" series. More northern-Florida murder and mystery, and more of Bluebeard, the haunted parrot!

Of course, you should go reserve your copy at your favorite book seller right now, but you could also potentially win a signed copy for free! We're trying to build our newsletter mailing list, and as an incentive to join, Chris(ty) has set aside twenty advance copies from her personal stash to be signed and sent out to subscribers.  Here's how it works: For every 25 people who sign up, she sends out a signed copy, until those 20 copies are gone. Every time we get 25 more people, YOU get another chance to win. So don't just sign up yourself. Spread it around and share it with your mystery loving friends.

And don't worry. We'll only send out an occasional newsletter or notification of new books and events. We won't clog your inbox, or share your list with others.

How do you sign up for our mailing list? Just click HERE.

Watch HANG TEN! (The pilot episode)

We're working on a new video podcast series, HANG TEN, with ten minutes (more or less) of Christy and Steve talking about writing, the beach, and other fun stuff. Here's our "pilot episode," as we work the kinks out. Watch for (probably more refined) episodes to come!

Sign up for the "Vacation is Murder!" mailing list

Vacation is Murder! - Mailing list sign-up.