I freely admit—I love to cook. I have a secret dream
of starting a cooking blog where I share all my favorite, tried and true
recipes with everyone so a chance to share a recipe at Creatively Green makes
me very happy!
Yes, I love to cook, but I like to cook healthy food that doesn’t
require a ton of prep time or time standing over the stove. I’m not Mrs.
Patmore, you know (Downton Abbey fans will get that joke). While I was working
on my new novel, Down Salem Way, which is set around the Salem Witch Trials, I
didn’t have a lot of time for much else besides researching and writing. My
slow cooker is perfect for those times when I’m busy writing since I can drop
all the ingredients into the slow cooker, turn it on, let it do its thing for a
few hours, and then there’s a fabulous, warming meal waiting. So my cooking
blog would be almost entirely slow cooker recipes.
The recipie I’m sharing today is my grandmother’s
chicken soup recipe, which works well in the slow cooker. Yes, it’s true—grandmas
make the best chicken soup. I have a large slow cooker, so you may need to
adjust amounts depending on the size of your slow cooker.
1 to 1 ½ pounds of boneless chicken breasts (my
grandmother used a whole chicken, but I find chicken breasts work better in the
slow cooker)
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 tbls of fresh dill. That might be a lot for some
people’s tastes, so try it with 2 tablespoons first and see if you want to add
more. We adore the fresh dill taste in our house. I’ve also used dried dill
when I didn’t have fresh.
9 cups of water. Some people prefer to use 9 cups of
chicken broth from cans or bouillon cubes. I’ve never found that necessary. The
chicken cooking in the water with the vegetables and herbs makes its own broth.
But make it your own way. That’s part of the joy of cooking.
1 tsp of salt (adjust to your own taste)
1 cup egg noodles or white or brown rice—your
preference—cooked separately from the soup according to the directions on the
package
cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours
remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred it
with a fork
I hope you have a chance to try my grandmother’s
chicken soup recipe. And if you do, I hope you like it. Enjoy!
Down
Salem Way
Prequel
to Loving Husband Trilogy
Meredith
Allard
Genre:
historical/paranormal/sweet romance
Publisher: Copperfield Press
Date of Publication: 6/25/2019
ISBN: paperback 978-0578500645
ASIN: B07QPBFYRP
Number of pages: 336
Word Count: 93,000
Cover Artist: LFD Designs
Book Description:
How would you deal with the
madness of the Salem witch hunts?
In 1690, James Wentworth arrives
in Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony with his father, John, hoping to
continue the success of John’s mercantile business. While in Salem, James falls
in love with Elizabeth Jones, a farmer’s daughter. Though they are virtually
strangers when they marry, the love between James and Elizabeth grows quickly
into a passion that will transcend time.
But something evil lurks down
Salem way. Soon many in Salem, town and village, are accused of practicing
witchcraft and sending their shapes to harm others. Despite the madness
surrounding them, James and Elizabeth are determined to continue the peaceful,
loving life they have created together. Will their love for one another carry
them through the most difficult challenge of all?
Down Salem Way is the
long-awaited prequel to the bestselling paranormal historical Loving Husband
Trilogy.
Excerpt:
“Would you like
a lesson?” I asked.
“Aye,”
Lizzie said. “Thank you.”
Lizzie has
progressed well in her reading. And quickly too. I believe our nightly lessons
help bond us more quickly than we might have otherwise since our readings
prompt long discussions where we learn much about each other. After we read the
rest of the passage together, I did the impossible: I cajoled my wife into
reading aloud on her own.
“No one has such
a lovely voice as you,” I said.
Lizzie laughed.
“You think your sweet tongue will persuade me to read alone? When you are such
a learned man?” She turned away, her cheeks flushed.
“But you know
how I love listening to you speak. Tis like hearing a serenata by Alessandro
Stradella.”
“Who?”
I reached for
our favorite volume of poetry. “Tis time, Lizzie. Read to me.”
Lizzie turned
the book in her hands, over and over. Finally, she nodded. She tentatively
opened the book. “What would you like to hear?”
“You know.”
Lizzie’s smile
rivals the brightest sunshine. She opened to the page, exhaled, and read,
haltingly, with pauses, some from a struggle to sound out or recall the words,
some from embarrassment that she read alone. After the first two lines, her
voice grew in confidence.
If ever two were
one, then surely we.
If ever man were
loved by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was
happy in a man,
Compare with me,
ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love
more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the
riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such
that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but
love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such
I can no way repay;
The heavens
reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we
live, in love let’s so persever,
That when we
live no more, we may live ever.
Lizzie closed
the book. “Tis true, you know.”
“What is?” I
asked.
“This poem, To
My Dear and Loving Husband. Tis as though everything I feel for you has been
written here, by this woman, a magistrate’s wife I’ll never meet. You are…”
Lizzie blushed, hot along her jaw. I touched her cheek and lifted her head so I
could see into her eyes. “If ever man were loved by wife, then thee. That is
how…”
“Tis all right,
Lizzie. You can tell me anything.”
“That is how I
feel about you. You are my dear and loving husband, James Wentworth.”
I knelt before
Lizzie, pressing her hand to my lips.
“I knew the
moment I saw you over the supper table that you were the one for me. I cannot
imagine waking up every morning for the rest of my life without looking into
your beautiful eyes. I cannot imagine walking through this world without
knowing that you were here waiting for me. I cannot imagine having the strength
to breathe without you. You are my dear and loving wife, Elizabeth Wentworth.
And I love you. I shall never leave you. Ever.”
I swept my wife into my arms and
carried her away.
Meredith Allard is the author of
the bestselling paranormal historical love story The Loving Husband Trilogy and
the sweet Victorian romance When It Rained at Hembry Castle, named a best
historical novel of 2016 by IndieReader. Meredith's latest release is Down
Salem Way, the long-awaited prequel to The Loving Husband Trilogy set around
the Salem witch hunts. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1 comment:
Thanks for hosting me today. I loved sharing my grandmother's chicken soup recipe.
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