BONES TO PICK, the debut cozy mystery in the Brie Hooker Mystery series by Linda Lovely starts out with humor in her acknowledgement and the chuckles continue throughout this delightful read! The quirky characters add to the charm of the story and captured my attention from the very first page. I found the protagonist, vegan chef Brie Hooker, to be an entertaining character from her ironic name to the situation she finds herself in helping her aunt run a goat farm, to her dilemma of the handsome vet and the moonshine man showering her with attention. The author provides many clever names and sayings that are quite entertaining. “Limburger and Liverwurst” is one of many creative cheese and meat swear words that Brie uses and just might find their way into my own vocabulary.
Click on book to visit Amazon
There’s nonstop action in the plot, especially after Tammy the pig digs up bones belonging to Brie’s long-gone uncle by marriage. The local sheriff seems to have it in for Brie’s family with her Aunt Eva in his crosshairs. Brie shows her devotion to her family and jumps in to prove her aunt’s innocence even to the peril of her own life. There are plenty of people who are viable suspects in the decades old murder mystery and when one of Brie’s suspects is murdered, the stakes are even higher. I was intrigued with how the cold case was woven into the new murder along with fraud and forgery that kept me guessing at how the threads were going to come together. But come together they did in a very exciting, suspenseful conclusion!
While I could easily become a vegetarian, I would personally struggle with being a vegan as I adore cheese too much! I have friends who are vegan and I admire their commitment to their lifestyle and frequently enjoy the foods that they prepare… especially the desserts. Linda has graciously provided a recipe for Vegan Pumpkin Brownie Pie with Pecan Streusel for me to share. Vegans and non-vegans alike will swoon over this decadently rich-tasting treat! You will never miss the lack of eggs or dairy and if you don’t spill the secret, no one will even know. The three layers are each deliciously flavorful on their own, but when put together, the resulting dessert is absolutely amazing!
Amazon Synopsis
Living on a farm with four hundred goats and a cantankerous carnivore isn’t among vegan chef Brie Hooker’s list of lifetime ambitions. But she can’t walk away from her Aunt Eva, who needs help operating her dairy.
Once she calls her aunt’s goat farm home, grisly discoveries offer ample inducements for Brie to employ her entire vocabulary of cheese-and-meat curses. The troubles begin when the farm’s pot-bellied pig unearths the skull of Eva’s husband, who disappeared years back. The sheriff, kin to the deceased, sets out to pin the murder on Eva. He doesn’t reckon on Brie’s resolve to prove her aunt’s innocence. Death threats, ruinous pedicures, psychic shenanigans, and biker bar fisticuffs won’t stop Brie from unmasking the killer, even when romantic befuddlement throws her a curve.
A special thanks to Linda Lovely for providing an e-book copy of BONES TO PICK for one lucky winner! Contest ends Friday, October 27, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil softened
- 1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot
- 1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (regular unsweetened cocoa will work)
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tblsp non-dairy milk (such as cashew, almond, coconut)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot
- 1/3 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or more if you want it spicy)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (vegan if necessary, otherwise regular are fine)
- 1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine
- 1/2 cup Sucanat or brown sugar
- 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
-
Grease a 9-inch pie plate.
-
Use a hand or stand mixer to mix pumpkin, sugar, coconut oil and vanilla together.
-
Sift the flour, cornstarch, Dutch cocoa, salt and baking soda together and add to the pumpkin mixture. Spread into the pie plate.
-
Mix together the pumpkin, vanilla, and non-dairy milk.
-
Whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and spices. Slowly whisk dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture, then spread over the brownies.
-
Sprinkle pumpkin pie layer with the chocolate chips.
-
Mix all the topping ingredients together and sprinkle over the chocolate chip layer.
-
Bake 35 - 40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1-1/2 hours.
Pin to Pinterest:
If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.
I was provided a copy of this book with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I don’t usually make any because my family loves meat but I think this looks delicious.
I’ve never prepared a vegetarian or vegan dish.
I have never prepared a vegetarian or vegan dish
Sometimes I prepare a vegetarian dish.
I am amused by people who say they have never made a vegetarian dish – cheese pizza is vegetarian, as are scrambled eggs, for example. I am looking forward to reading this book.
The closest I get to preparing a vegetarian dish is when I make a green bean casserole for the holidays. I could eat the whole dish by myself, lol.
I prepare vegetarian meals for myself, have never tried vegan. The recipe sounds good but it’s way too many ingredients for me. I like simple and easy.
We are all definite carnivores and if we have meatless days it’s simply due to what we have in the pantry or fridge LOL
I don’t usually prepare vegan or vegetarian dishes.
I make both.
We’re finishing a multi-bean soup I made. It was a huge hit. My one year old granddaughter can’t get enough of it.
I never used to on purpose, but, you know, some recipes just happen to be vegetarian. Now, my brother-in-law’s fiance is gluten and dairy free due to some recent health issues so we’ve all started dabbling and experimenting together to find yummy alternatives to the things she used to love. It’s kind of fun and also frustrating at the same time.
Amanda, I successfully made this dessert substituting gluten-free flour, like a cup for cup mix (King Arthur Flour has one and some grocery stores carry a cup 4 cup mix) and it was amazing. Good luck with experimenting!
I do prepre vegetarian dishes but not vegan. Thank you for the chance.
i do on a rare occasion when i can sneak it past hubby although he does most of the cooking! Thank you kim and hope if i win it can be a print hugs!
I eat a lot of veggies but I don’t prepare just vegetarian dishes.
I guess I have made vegetarian dishes but I’ve never made vegan.
I do if I have guests who are vegan. A friend of my daughter’s came to visit and made us delicious vegan chocolate cookies and pancakes ~
I don’t prepare vegetarian or vegan dishes. But thank you for the chance to win an e-book copy of Bones To Pick.
I haven’t prepared vegan or vegetarian desserts before, but I make vegetarian entrees and sides quite frequently.
I don’t make vegan or vegetarian dishes.
Occasionally I do fix vegetarian meals or dishes. I was vegetarian for a few years and it is what I would prefer but it takes a lot of work and even money to do it right and get all your essential amino acids and whatnot. I took nutrition classes and everything but now that I am older and my health is not quite so good, I don’t follow it much and I do eat chicken and fish.
Side dishes
I’ve prepared vegan dishes on occasion. I’m not big on red meat but am certainly not a vegetarian.
Yum, looks delicious!! Thanks
I eat Vegetarian Dishes all the time…I can make a meal off vegetables…I try to eat fish mostly but I am not Vegan…”more is the pity!!! ” as we say in the South…
I have prepared a few vegan dishes…..and I do prefer veggies to meat a bit too
Have not prepared any vegan.
Hmm . . . a recipe that combines my favorite pie elements – pumpkin and pecans!
I’ve never personally prepared anything vegan, but I have eaten several vegan dishes that coworkers have brought in for potlucks.
Yes, I make vegetarian and vegan dishes. Most common are soups and stir fries. Love vegetarian dishes.