LeseLust & LeseLiebe

Modern Greeks start discussing dinner after the first bite of lunch and start discussing the next day’s lunch at dinner. For the unwitting visitor or in-law, like myself, there is a single escape from this circle of culinary obsession: breakfast. In the morning, you’ll find yourself on your own, consuming some undiscussed but tasty yogurt, granola or figs. This preoccupation with food separates modern Greeks from their ancient counterparts -- by very little. The works of classical Greece are teeming with meals, menus, and recipes. Here’s Antiphanes (408-334 B.C.) on how to prepare some choice dishes: “Sea bass?” “Bake whole.” “Galeos?” “Boil with fresh chopped herbs.” “Eel?” “Salt, oregano, water.” “Conger?” “Same.” “Ray?” “Greens.” “A slice of tuna?” “Bake it.” What if you haven’t acquired the ingredients? What if you have to boldly venture to the agora in order to acquire them? In that case, Lynkeus of Samos (early 300s B.C) is ...

In the land of Esperance lived a Cursed Three: A princess, a misfit, and Death’s small prodigy. Though some have perished in this cherished land, Awaiting final judgment, the Three are forced to stand. Yet Esperance’s gnarled and withering hands Still shall welcome you within. To the Underworld’s depths we first must descend, Plunge into liquid darkness at life’s end, To find the little girl that Death has claimed, Zenobia, princess of nothing, is now her given name. Pulsating in the pitch black, her heart fights to beat, Golden marionette strings tugging at her bare feet. Follow after her to Death’s grand dining hall. This is where we’ll witness Zenobia’s daily meal. Picked by two guards made from yellowing bone, Succulent berries rest on plates of precious stones. Shimmering goblets of crystal are filled to the brim; White wine aged for eons glistens by the rim. Delicate pieces of meat jut up from a dish, Picked clean of bones by bones sits the fish. “These are the things on which a...

Thanks so much for the invitation, Shelley!  I always love talking about books…and food! I once had an editor tell me that my characters spent too much time eating.  As someone who enjoys cooking—and eating—I told her I didn’t think that was possible.  Every book I write is a bit autobiographical.  I might not ever have run away from the world like my heroine in Just One Thing , but I have experienced loss.  I might not have ever given a child up for adoption like Pip in Carry Her Heart and Hold Her Heart , but I have discovered family I’d never met.  And I have never accidentally cleaned a murder scene, like Quincy in my Maid in LA Mysteries series ( Steamed, Dusted, Spruced Up, Swept Up and this summer’s 5th book, Polished Off ), but I do relate to her love of food.  And while I enjoy cooking, like Quincy I love having other people cook for me.  I took a bite of the salad.  “Wow,” I managed as I chewed.  This wasn’t head lettuce cut...

Have you ever fallen down the rabbit hole that is food blogging on the internet? It’s a marvellous place, filled with stunning pictures of mouth-watering recipes, and clever people creating new dishes or adding interesting twists to old favourites, who usually have much tidier kitchens than mine. The heroine of my latest release The Country Girl is one of these people, but Tash is a born and bred Australian farm lass. She doesn’t go in for over-styled food or ingredients no one has ever heard of. Her recipes are wholesome and hearty, and loaded with comfort. Which is just as well, because The Country Girl ’s hero Patrick is a man loaded with heartache. He needs every ounce of comfort she can give, and give is what Tash does. As she says to Patrick, “Cooking for other people makes me feel good. And here at The Urban Ranger we smother goodness like we smother butter – thick and with great pleasure.” Tash has returned home to the family farm to write a cookbook and take her blog in a new...

I want each of you to take a deep breath and savor it. The atmosphere inside this gondola is the last breath of free air you will ever taste. As soon as this airship departs the station you will never set foot on civilized land again, not that any of you deserve it. There are two indisputable facts about the Outcast Zone. Number one, it is the most inhospitable place you will ever visit. And number two, it will be the place where you will die. My lieutenant is handing out burlap sacks. This is the only assistance we will provide to you to help you adjust to life inside the Outcast Zone. In it you will find a loaf of bread and a wedge of cheese.  Now, you can eat the bread and cheese which should allow you to survive for a few days. Or, you can use what we have provided you to lure in rats, which are an excellent source of protein and are quite abundant. That should give you about a month before your bait runs out. Or, you could use the rats you trap to attracting larger prey who, w...

When Detective Boyko Stanchev of the Bulgarian State Agency for National Security sits down for lunch at a roadside cafe, he is furious that his partner is an inexperienced data analyst from Israel. Ayala Navon has just flown in from Tel Aviv to join the investigation of a bombing at Burgas Airport which took the lives of five Israelis and their Bulgarian bus driver. Ayala has never previously been to Bulgaria and Boyko feels she will interfere with his work on the case. The waiter brings their lunch: There is the ubiquitous shopska salad—finely cut wedges of tomatoes and cucumbers topped with grated salty white cheese. Next to it were small ceramic bowls of potato salad and the so-called Russian salad, which was nearly the same, except for the addition of carrots and peas. A colorful tomato salad and one made from peppers were also quite appealing; they were served on traditional Bulgarian plates. Off to the side was a bowl of yogurt spotted with drops of green. “Snezhanka salata,” Ay...

Dining with Tom Logan, Hollywood’s Premier Private Investigator They say an army marches on its stomach. The same could be said about a private detective, especially during these hard times ushered in by the Great Depression. The 1930s was not the best era to be out of work. However, that was exactly my situation after being cashiered out of the Los Angeles Police Department on a trumped-up charge of police brutality. Nevertheless, with some help I was able to get my own private investigation business going in Hollywood, but not without sacrifices.  Times were lean, and I had to cut corners where I can, and that included my meals. My earlier detective jobs ( Murder Will Out ) had me munching on hamburgers and sipping on rich, black coffee, usually from some greasy spoon. During the odd times, I would get an opportunity to get a free meal as a perk of my investigation, like during the case where I was protecting a Chinese girl from the mob. Her friends had a restaurant in LA's China...