Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **AUTHOR SPECIAL** with SUE HINKIN!
Welcome to my Friday bonus feature called Karen’s Killer Fixin’s **Author Special**!! Today, instead of one of my recipes, I will introduce you to a new author who will share a favorite recipe. Not only will you and I occasionally learn how to make something new and delicious, but we’ll also get a chance to check out some fantastic authors. Introducing author SUE HINKIN and her favorite recipe for Mexican-Norwegian Tacos!
THE SERPENT HANDLER’S WIFE
A Vega & Middleton Novel
BY SUE HINKIN
Blurb
When photojournalist Lucy Vega’s war correspondent significant other, Michael, suddenly takes a job in Iraq, Lucy is left alone with their young child on her isolated California ranch. His unstable, college drop-out daughter shows up hoping to meet her half-brother who is Lucy’s 4-year-old son, Henry. Despite Michael’s warnings, Lucy hires the girl to help care for their child. Weird things begin happening—Lucy’s beloved horse is bitten by a rattle snake, animal enclosures are vandalized, and young Henry finds a loaded gun he thinks is a toy. Lucy doesn’t know the daughter has fallen under the spell of a sexy, snake-handling religious cult leader who will do anything to get Lucy’s ranch and her child.
THE SERPENT HANDLER’S WIFE
A Vega & Middleton Novel
BY SUE HINKIN
Excerpt
Editor’s Note: Sensitive readers, please take note of the title before proceeding.
Mark 16:18
“They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink the deadly poison, it will not hurt them…”
CHAPTER ONE
It was beginning.
The Man walked stealthily through the pre-dawn darkness. A single yard light cast tepid shadows along the ranch’s outbuildings. The scent of horse flesh and creek willow filled his nostrils, soothing a hint of nervous anticipation as he entered the barn.
The faint rattling sound emanating from the basket he carried, calmed him further.
The first step in this divine plan came upon him in a holy vision. Directed by God, like the Israelites in Israel, he would own this land and inhabit it for His glory.
Approaching the stall, the gravel beneath his boots crunched like soft tissue paper. The Paint horse nickered. The Man stroked the equine neck and spoke reassuring words as he slipped inside the enclosure. The brown and white stallion watched him carefully, stomped once, but showed little sign of concern.
The Man opened the basket in the far corner of the stall and watched the serpent slither from its confines into the straw. The rattle’s ominous susurration accelerated.
The Man whispered to the horse, “As in the Book of Genesis, The serpent shall be in your path and bite your heel so the rider will fall…”
He kissed the animal’s warm cheek, reflecting on serpents in the Garden before leaving the barn. The horse snorted and shook his head. Don’t do this, he seemed to say, but it was prophesied.
Shutting the stall door, The Man further reflected on the next step toward fulfillment of his sacred ambition. It was in the hands of an unsure blonde girl who loved him with an addict’s compulsion. The snakes etched on his body stirred. He had to have her, now.
The Man disappeared into the darkness just as the sky began to lighten in the East.
About Author Sue Hinkin…
Sue Hinkin is the author of the award-winning thriller series, the Vega & Middleton Novels, featuring the investigative team of Los Angeles TV news journalist Bea Jackson and best friend, photographer Lucy Vega. BestThrillers.com called Lucy and Bea one of the top 10 female detectives of 2023. A former Cinematography Fellow at the American Film Institute, Hinkin has worked in higher education and was a TV news photographer like her character, Lucy. Now living in Colorado, she was voted Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s Writer of the Year. She is active in that organization as well as Sisters in Crime and the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. She loves her friends and family, growing things, and long walks with her puffy white rescue dog, Harley. Visit Sue at www.suehinkin.com.
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Links to Sue’s website, blog, books, #ad, etc.:
AMAZON
https://www.amazon.com/Snake-Handlers-Wife-Middleton-Novel/dp/1956615547
BARNES AND NOBLE
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-snake-handlers-wife-sue-hinkin/1147737097
GOOGLE BOOKS
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Snake_Handler_s_Wife.html?id=TDBf0QEACAAJ
LITERARY WANDERLUST PUBLISHER
https://www.literarywanderlust.com/product-page/ebook-the-snake-handler-s-wife
YOUR LOCAL INDIE BOOKSTORE
www.bookshop.org
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I hope you enjoy Sue’s favorite recipe today on Karen’s Killer Fixin’s. Happy Eating!
Karen
P.S. We’re at 759 recipes and counting with this posting. Hope you find some recipes you like. If this is your first visit, please check out past blogs for more Killer Fixin’s. You can even look up past recipes by category in the right-hand column menu. i.e. Desserts, Breads, Beef, Chicken, Soups, Author Specials, etc.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: If an author’s favorite recipe isn’t their own creation and came from an online site, you will now find the entire recipe through the link to that site as a personal recommendation. Thank you.
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MEXICAN-NORWEGIAN TACOS
NOTE FROM SUE: My heroine, Lucy Vega, had a Mexican mother and a Norwegian father, both children of diplomats from those countries. After her parents died when she was just a youngster, she was raised by her uncle of Mexican heritage and a Norwegian grandmother from Oslo. The two women enjoyed spending time dreaming up recipes that combined the cultures. Mex-Norge tacos was one of their favorites.
The Taco Shell: Norwegian Lefsa
The most important part of this recipe is to substitute Mexican tortillas with lefse, a traditional, soft Norwegian flatbread, similar to a tortilla, but made with potatoes, flour, butter, and cream. The recipe for lefsa is below.
Fish Taco Filling
- The fish: Some might suggest Norwegian lutefisk (definitely an acquired taste), but I go for Atlantic cold smoked salmon which is readily available at supermarkets (365 Organic, Kroger Private Selection, Trader Joe’s etc).
- Shredded red cabbage with a squeeze of lime
- Chopped cilantro
- Shredded cheese of your choice
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Guacamole or avocado slices
How to Make Traditional Norwegian Lefse
Lefse is a delicious Norwegian flat bread that gained popularity in the mid-1700s when potatoes became a common food in Scandinavia. When I was an undergrad at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, it was a regular presence in the dining hall. Learn how to make a delicious lefse recipe using real potatoes. For the winter holidays, roll lefse in sugar, cinnamon, and butter to enjoy lip-licking decadence.
Make lefse fresh (recipe follows) or save time and order online from Norske Nook: https://norskenook.com/shop/lefse/norske-nook-lefse/
There are many good lefse-making videos on YouTube, all with the maker’s unique family tips.
Ingredients
- 2-and-a-half pounds peeled potatoes (approximately 4 medium russet potatoes).
- 1 stick salted butter, chopped or riced, room temperature
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Simmer peeled potatoes in water for 45 minutes or until tender, then strain.
- Mix the potatoes and butter.
- Let sit at room temperature for an hour to cool.
- Cover and put in fridge overnight.
- Next day, mix potatoes & butter mixture with the cream, flour, and salt. Combine by hand like you would bread dough. It will be of similar consistency but crumbly.
- Divide lefse into eight portions and roll each into a ball. Put back in the refrigerator until you are ready to grill them.
- Preheat lefse grill (if you have one) to 500°, or use a flat pan of your choosing. I don’t have a grill that allows me to calibrate temperature so I use the flat pan I make pancakes on and heat it to the hottest setting. Most of you, not being traditional Norwegians with lefse-making tools, will have to improvise
- Add flour to both your rolling surface and rolling pin. Generously flour up to avoid sticking.
- Take a lefse ball out of the fridge and gently flatten. Then roll it out into a circular shape that looks like a tortilla or pizza.
- Once the lefse is flat as possible, use a turning stick or other kitchen tool (large spatula etc) to get under the lefse without tearing it.
- Lift the rolled-out dough and drape it onto the edge of the preheated pan. You should be able to gently lay the lefsa onto the grill or flat pan.
- Start your timer. When it hits 1 minute and 30 seconds, carefully flip the lefse.
- Once your timer hits 3 minutes, remove lefse from your grill and put on a large plate to cool for an hour.
Add your fillings and enjoy your first Norwegian-Mexican fusion dish!
Happy Reading!
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Special Giveaway: Sue will gift one print copy (U.S. only) of THE SNAKE HANDLER’S WIFE to one lucky reader and one ebook copy to another lucky reader who comments on her Karen’s Killer Fixin’s blog. Good luck!
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Thanks, Sue, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
Welcome to Karen’s Killer Fixin’s, Sue! Snakes. Ugh. They make for some really creepy scenarios in books and movies. I’m sure this antagonist is going to be a nightmare for Lucy and Michael. I’m looking forward to reading it! LOL Thanks for sharing your book with us today.
What a creep! Terrible thing to a horse!
I’ve made lefse with my great Aunt Florence, many times…but I still won’t eat lutefisk, even if she made her own!
Thanks for the excerpt and recipes, Sue, and thanks, Karen , for the showcase
Good afternoon and welcome! Your book sounds and looks intriguing! Thank you for sharing the excerpt. The Norwegian Tacos sound delicious especially with the Norwegian Lefse sounds delicious, Thank you for sharing the recipe. Have a Great weekend. ( I am not entering the ebook giveaway as I am not tech savvy, but Thank you)