A Taste of History, an August Promotion and a Special Note

Friends,

I hope you are enjoying the summer days and all the beauty and bounty it brings. It is hard to believe 2015 is already half spent. It is a year that has brought significant change for Mr. KK and I in that we have been “transplanted” across country, from our desert cactus patch to the east coast, lush with woodlands, valleys and even water in the rivers!

We are now full-time caregivers to both of my “nonagenarian” parents who are 90 and 91 years of age. We do so with grateful hearts that we might share this time together and ease their lives. These priorities do mean a further delay in the release of PIRATES’ MOON, and I do beg your patience. The many visits to PIRATES’ dedicated webpage — presumably seeking information on the book’s release — has not escaped my attention.  A specific date cannot be promised, but rather than removing the webpage altogether, I’ve re-tagged it to simply read “In Progress.”

If there is a silver lining to the present challenges, it is in that I’m now living onsite to the novel’s setting and surrounded by its history. This has opened up fresh opportunities for research, including an unexpected one that proved as delicious as it was informative. I speak, of course, of culinary historian Joyce White’s recent presentation of “A Taste of Maryland” at the historic Port Tobacco Courthouse, (which also happens to be one of the locations featured in PIRATES’ MOON!)

Joyce traced Maryland’s food traditions from its Colonial settlements, pointing to its rich resources (land and sea), plus the tremendous impact its “cash crop” tobacco had on culinary choices and developments. For instance, people depended upon a corn-based, rather than wheat-based diet since tobacco was a labor intensive crop. Wheat was time sensitive with its own harvesting demands. Corn, on the other hand, could be left to sweeten on the stalk while hands were needed in the field. Rye was a companion crop to the tobacco, planted after the harvest. No surprise that the state became known for rye whiskey!

At the program’s conclusion, Joyce offered a sampling of historic Maryland fare. It was all scrumptious, but my hands-down favorite was White Potato Pie. Think pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie, substituting white potatoes but using the same spices. The result is a lighter taste yet just as delicious. Joyce made the pie recipe into small tarts, perfect finger food for entertaining.

Visit Joyce’s website for the recipe at www.atasteofhistory.net and listen to her radio interview discussing Maryland Food Traditions on the link provided. Have fun searching through her website and blog. It’s truly fabulous.
 

Last of all, I invite you to take advantage of my current promotion.

THE VALIANT HEART, is available for 99 cents ($0.99) on Amazon from now until the end of August.

Wishing you the all the best,

Kathleen