On Cookbooks @LucyBurdette

 LUCY BURDETTE: I confess that when I'm making something new, I often search for recipes online at my favorite sites (among them Once Upon a Chef, Feasting at Home, New York Times Cooking) but I also love a good hard copy of a new cookbook. Here are two that I requested (aka bought for myself LOL) for Christmas: 

I’ve also been involved with producing two cookbooks this year. Lucy Burdette’s Kitchen, Recipes and Stories from the Key West Food Critic Mysteries, came out as an ebook this summer, but now it’s out as a hardback (large print!) 

It’s expensive—sorry!—but really lovely, actually exceeded my expectations. If you have leftover gift certificates or some spare change, a true Key West food critic mystery fanatic might love this.

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

My second cookbook project was editing the out-of-print editions of the Key West Woman’s Club Cookbook into a new version. It’s wonderful because it retains the charm of the older books, but has some recipes from current members too. I don't know how much I'll cook from it, but I love it for the history. I’ll keep you posted on where this will be sale, very soon!

The cookbook team, Aundrea Wagner, Ed Swift, Marlene Thorn, and me

Do you still use actual paper cookbooks these days? Which are your favorites?

Losing Your Identity @ChristineFalcone

 

LUCY BURDETTE: I especially love today’s blog, not only because Chris is a dear friend with a wonderful new book out this week, but also because her subject hits so close to home. About ten years ago I was struggling with the same question when the time came to renew my psychology license. But I’ll let Chris tell it…welcome, and congratulations!

CHRISTINE FALCONE: Lucy, thank you for having me back on Jungle Red Writers today.

It’s hard to give up a part of your identity. 

Melanie Bass, the protagonist in my mystery series, is a visiting nurse. I chose her profession because I am a retired RN and I was following the write what you know mantra. Melanie is deeply invested in providing the best care for her patients, and frequently gets involved in their personal lives. While Melanie’s biggest problem in book three of my series, Cutting Remarks, is clearing her close friend Lynn Duncan of murder, she also has another issue thrust onto her plate. The Home Healthcare agency she works for has hired a new nurse, Nora, and Melanie is charged with mentoring her as she settles in at the agency. In spite of Melanie’s efforts to get to know her better, Nora is reluctant to share any information about herself or her background. Melanie can accept the woman’s right to privacy, until she begins to question some of the care her new colleague is giving. She then becomes determined to find out what the woman is hiding. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the fact that Melanie’s profession is so deeply ingrained in her identity.

When asked about what I do, I always say I am a nurse; but in the next couple of months I am due to renew my license to practice as an RN. I have been retired for three years now and have renewed my license each year – “just in case”. But this year I think I finally must admit I don’t feel confident I can go back to active status. Therefore, I may not renew my license. This feels odd – and a bit frightening. But I know deep inside I will always be a nurse – licensed or not. When I became pregnant with my first child and decided to take a break from my position in the neonatal intensive care unit where I worked, I said good-bye to one of the doctors there and he said “Oh, you’ll be back! You nurses are like old fire horses – you hear the call and you come back!” Maybe not this time. I guess after three published books under my belt I can finally admit that I also identify as a writer.

Have any of you felt like you have given up a part of your identity once you no longer worked or practiced in a former profession?

ABOUT CHRISTINE FALCONE: Christine Falcone’s short stories have appeared in publications such as Imagine, Larcom Review, and Deadfall: Crime Stories by New England writers. After working for nearly forty years as an RN in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Christine was delighted that retirement coincided with the publication of her first full length mystery, EX’D OUT, published in October 2022. The second in the series, BORROWED TROUBLE, was published in October 2023. CUTTING REMARKS is out this week! Chris is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She lives on the Connecticut Shoreline with her family and a dog who is not nearly as well behaved as Bruno, the beloved canine in her novel.

Find Cutting Remarks on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Your Flamingo Moment of Zen @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Believe it or not, Key West is not a relaxing place during the holidays! The town is mobbed with families and partiers and everything in between, and the crowds can feel quite stressful. However, following on yesterday's post about gifts, one of the things I planned for my sister and brother-in-law and John and our friends Stan and Zita was a private trip to the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory, including a flamingle, which I booked last spring. 

After the rest of the crowds leave, and after you are given instructions about flamingo visits (don’t touch, no sudden moves, will hose you off if they poop on you) we were let inside. Six people sit on the bench and the flamingos are let out of their pond. Alex, our guide, says they very much look forward to these visits. Here are some photos from this wonderful experience! We loved it and here’s hoping you will too. 

Here they on are the way to meet us:

the conductor

taking a breather

And finally...Do you like my hat?

How about you Reds, were you able to find a quiet moment amongst the holiday zaniness?

Memorable Gifts

LUCY BURDETTE: Happy New Year's day Reds! Here's wishing a great one for every one of you... now on with the blog.

The science of happiness (and common sense) tells us that spending money on other people makes us happier than spending on ourselves.  I thought I’d share a couple of gifts I gave this year that were BIG HITS. 

First, a couple of years ago on this blog we hosted guest Gail Donovan talking about her middle grade book, Sparrow Being Sparrow. I bought it for my granddaughter Thea, and her father told me it had become her favorite book. So we bought her SPARROW SPREADS HER WINGS for Christmas—you should have seen the joy on her face when she opened it!

I also gave out signed copies of Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid books, acquired when I visited An Unlikely Story this summer. Very well received by kids ages 6 to 10!

And finally, my sister in law Margaret brought her famous and beloved sesame noodles to many gatherings. We miss her and we miss her noodles so I had tea towels made with the recipe written in her handwriting. 

Over to you Reds--did you give (or receive) any particularly memorable gifts this year? Be sure to come back tomorrow to hear about my very favorite...