A Whisker in the Dark: A purrfectly unputdownable cozy mystery (The Oyster Cove Guesthouse Book 2)

Recipes

Pumpkin Bread

This recipe sure is an oldie—I know because my mother has written on the side that she uses Crisco instead of the oil. She used to be very big on Crisco. Do people even use that anymore? I’m sure Millie still does.

Makes 3 loaf pans.

Ingredients:

2 cups tinned pumpkin (a 14 or 16 oz can)

4 eggs

2/3 cup water

1 cup oil (or if you’re like my mom, you’ll want to use 1 cup Crisco)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of ground cloves

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F or 177 degrees C or Gas Mark 4.

Combine eggs, oil (or Crisco) water and pumpkin in a large bowl and mix well.

Sift flour and add sugar, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves.

Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well.

Turn into 3 greased loaf pans (regular size) and bake for 45 minutes.

Broccoli Quiche

Millie likes to prepare this the night before and slide it into the oven to warm up the next morning for breakfast.

The recipe claims this serves 3. It’s a 9-inch pie plate though, so those are some big servings!

Ingredients:

3 eggs

3 oz cheddar cheese grated

10 oz package frozen broccoli (cooked)

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

3/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons skim milk

Optional: add 3/4 cup drained cooked mushrooms. Heck, while you are at it, you could add some ham or bacon too. Maybe even some spinach or chopped peppers.

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F or 190 degrees C or Gas Mark 5.

Beat 1 egg. Add the rice, 1/2 the grated cheese and salt. Mix well then press firmly in an even layer on the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate.

Beat remaining eggs slightly. Stir in broccoli, milk, pepper, and whatever else you are adding, plus the rest of the cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Peanut-Butter-Banana Bread

This recipe is actually a low-calorie one I found in my mother’s stash. It says each serving is only 28 calories, but I’m skeptical about that. Then again, it doesn’t say the serving size so maybe it’s only a crumb.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons peanut butter

2 teaspoons reduced-calorie margarine (Margarine? Yech! This recipe is from the seventies when margarine was all the rage. I’d use butter, but then of course each serving will be more than 28 calories!)

1/8 cup skim milk

1/8 cup water

1 banana, mashed

1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk

10 teaspoons low-calorie sweetener (I’d use Truvia but they didn’t have that back when Mom wrote this recipe)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

9 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F or 177 degrees C or Gas Mark 4.

Mix peanut butter and margarine together then stir in mashed banana. Add skim milk and water.

Combine dry ingredients then mix into peanut-butter-banana mixture.

Pour into a greased loaf pan.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Apple-Pecan Bread

This thing takes forever to cook but I’d start checking early if I were you… you wouldn’t want it to burn!

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups apples, diced

1 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 300 degrees F or 150 degrees C or Gas Mark 2.

Beat eggs, oil and vanilla.

Combine sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add egg mixture and stir well. Batter will be very thick. Fold in apples and pecans.

Divide batter into 2 greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pans.

Bake for 90 minutes.