How to Make Fresh Garden Tomato Sauce and Survive Depression by author Cleo Coyle

  

During the Great Depression, my father's father kept his large family fed by working a small farm from which they sold produce. Every spring, my dad helped his father plant 2,000 tomato plants for their family. Years later, when my dad had a family of his own, he continued that tradition, raising more than 100 tomato plants in back of our suburban home for us every summer, without fail.

My late father, Tony Alfonsi, 
with his Italian-born mother (my
grandmother) Grazia. My dad was a

tough guy with a tender heart.
He served in the Army Air Corps
and worked for years in a Pittsburgh
area steel mill. (You can see the mill's
smokestacks in the background.)
Garden tomatoes helped his family

survive the Great Depression.

Fresh garden tomato sauce was always part of that yield. Below is the recipe I now make in my home. The amazing smell of the sauce cooking brings me right back to my childhood and memories of my beloved dad.

The nutrition in freshly cooked tomatoes is a mood lifter, and this process, shared with friends or family, will uplift your spirits, as well.

May you cook it with love and make lifelong memories of your own. 

🍅 ~ Cleo

(aka Alice Alfonsi)

To download my recipe now in a free PDF document that you can print, save, or share, click here. 

To continue reading this post,
scroll down or click here.

Click here to download
Cleo's recipe in PDF form.

To continue reading this post,
scroll down or click here or
on the "read more" link below...

Foolproof Stuffed Mushrooms with Ricotta and Spinach from Cleo Coyle #LowCarb #Keto #Vegetarian

Today I'm sharing a recipe for Foolproof Stuffed Mushrooms. Why are they foolproof? Because you won't have to worry about under- or over-cooking them. Ever. 

To download my recipe for Foolproof Stuffed Mushrooms as a free PDF, click here or on the image at right. >>

To read my full blog post and see my step-by-step photos, scroll down or click here or on the "Read more" link below, and...

Eat with joy!

~ Cleo

How to Make Fun, Fizzy #DairyFree Coffee Milkshakes and Old-Fashioned New York Egg Creams by Cleo Coyle

To celebrate National Coffee Milkshake Day, I'm sharing an "old school" New York soda fountain milkshake known as an egg cream. For those of you who are new to this refreshingly fizzy drink, the traditional New York egg cream was first made with a mix of chocolate syrup, milk, and carbonated water. 

You read that right. There is neither egg

nor cream in a New York egg cream.

Many stories exist about its origin, but food historians generally believe the drink is a simplified (and more affordable) version of a soda fountain beverage from the late 1800s that did use eggs and cream along with chocolate syrup and carbonated water.

Click for Cleo's free recipe PDF.

At one point, the cream was replaced with milk and the egg eliminated. By the 1920s, this simplified version was served throughout New York City. Vanilla egg creams arrived in the 1950s along with (yes) coffee flavored ones... 

To download the recipe now as a free PDF, click here. 

To continue reading my blog post, click here or on the "Read more" link below, and...

Drink with joy! 

~ Cleo

How to Make Queso Fundido by Cleo Coyle

In Spanish, fundido means molten; consequently, queso fundido means molten cheese, and if you've sampled it, then you may agree it's about the best cheese dip on the planet. Originally served in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern US, queso fundido has culinary roots that take it back to campfire eating, which is why it's traditionally served bubbling hot.  

Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery

 series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

The recipe in this blog post is the version my husband and I enjoy. That's why we included it in the pages of our Coffeehouse Mystery series, and we're delighted to share it now to help you celebrate a...

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

~ Cleo

To download this recipe 

as a free PDF, click here

To download our recipe now
as a free PDF, click here.

To see our recipe in blog post
form, scroll down or click here. 

How to Make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting without Butter or Cream by Cleo Coyle #Dairyfree

This "buttercream" frosting has no butter or cream, yet it tastes like a chocolate fudge dream. So what's the mystery ingredient to this frosting? It's one that vegans and vegetarians may have guessed by now...avocado. 

Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery

 series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

If you've never used avocado as a substitute for butter in baking, I can tell you that it's a lot of fun to play with...

To continue reading this post,

scroll down or click here.

If you'd like to subscribe to

Cleo's Newsletters and join her

"Coffee Club," click here.

To continue reading this post,

scroll down or click here.

Cheddar Corn Spoon Bread: A No-Fail American Souffle from Cleo Coyle

This no-fail "American soufflé" is incredibly easy to cook and makes an impressive comfort-food side dish for fall and winter dinners, especially roast chicken or turkey.

Click for Free Recipe PDF

My husband (and partner in culinary crime writing) finds it hard to stop eating this one, and so do I.

May you, too, eat with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle, author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries

To download a free PDF of this recipe right now, click here.

To continue viewing this post and its big, step-by-step photos, scroll down or click here.

How to Make Meatless Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes: A post for my Dad (Tony Alfonsi) by Cleo Coyle

I swear this 2-hour meatless sauce will fool anyone into thinking it was simmered for 6-hours with meat. The rich depth of flavor is amazing and well worth a Saturday afternoon making it the way the "old timers" did. Even if you make it only once in your cooking life, the experience is one you'll never forget.

For those of you who've made pasta sauce from fresh tomatoes, you know the very smell of the sauce cooking is like nothing else on earth. With all my heart, I wanted to experience that little piece of heaven again to bring back some very sweet memories of my father, Antonio "Tony" Alfonsi...

Free Recipe PDF.

To download my recipe now

as a free PDF, click here. 

To continue reading my post 

and recipe, scroll down or click
on the "Read more" link below...

How to Make Queso Fundido by Cleo Coyle

In Spanish, fundido means molten; consequently, queso fundido means molten cheese, and if you've sampled it, then you may agree it's about the best cheese dip on the planet. Originally served in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern US, queso fundido has culinary roots that take it back to campfire eating, which is why it's traditionally served bubbling hot.  

Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery

 series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

The recipe in this blog post is the version my husband and I enjoy. That's why we included it in the pages of our Coffeehouse Mystery series, and we're delighted to share it now to help you celebrate a...

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

~ Cleo

To download this recipe 

as a free PDF, click here

To download our recipe now
as a free PDF, click here.

To see our recipe in blog post
form, scroll down or click here. 

How to Make Low-Carb Pizza Crust from Cauliflower (No flour, no yeast, no kidding!) from Cleo Coyle

This low-carb pizza, mentioned in our 13th Coffeehouse Mystery, Billionaire Blend, tastes as good as it looks, yet the crust is made from nothing more than cauliflower, egg, and mozzarella cheese with some salt and spices thrown in. 

Click here for the
free Recipe PDF.

No flour, no yeast, no kidding! 

While versions of this recipe have been around for years (dating back to the early days of the Atkins diet), they aren't all equal. My recipe includes a key step to making it work. 

Yes, I was skeptical at first. My husband was, too, but he's a believer now. He enjoyed half this small pie with me, beer in hand, smile on his face. May you, too, eat with joy!

~ Cleo




To download this recipe now in a free PDF format, click here.

To read the rest of this blog post,
click here or on the Read More link below.

How to Make Queso Fundido by Cleo Coyle

In Spanish, fundido means molten; consequently, queso fundido means molten cheese, and if you've sampled it, then you may agree it's about the best cheese dip on the planet. Originally served in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern US, queso fundido has culinary roots that take it back to campfire eating, which is why it's traditionally served bubbling hot.  

Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery

 series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

The recipe in this blog post is the version my husband and I enjoy. That's why we included it in the pages of our Coffeehouse Mystery series, and we're delighted to share it now to help you celebrate a...

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

~ Cleo

To download this recipe 

as a free PDF, click here

To download our recipe now
as a free PDF, click here.

To see our recipe in blog post
form, scroll down or click here. 

Alone in the Kitchen with a Cabbage: An Insanely Easy Recipe from Cleo Coyle

I give you The Cabbage...

It looks like a big green planet, doesn't it? See the solar warmth on the left and the chilly dark side on the right? As the subject of a photo, I think it should have its own atmosphere. As the basis for a recipe, it's a smart choice. It's low in fat and calories and high in nutrition. As for what to do with it, there are countless ways to go. 

Click here for
the free PDF.

I found myself alone in the kitchen with this cabbage the other day, and decided to try Extreme Simple Cooking. Let's abbreviate it to ESC, like the Escape key on your computer keyboard. Seems appropriate because recipes like this one let you escape from the kitchen as fast as possible. And to that end, away we go! 

To get my cabbage recipe, scroll down, click here or on the read more link below. To download a free PDF click here.

Eat with joy!
~ Cleo Coyle, author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries

No-Crust Mini Pizzas: My No-Guilt Writer's Snack by Cleo Coyle

   

As a kid, I took all my pop's homegrown veggies for granted. As an adult, I miss them dearly, especially at the end of summer. This recipe for mini pizzas makes great use of zucchini. My Italian-born mother and aunt used to make them as a kid-friendly lunch for me when I was a little girl. As a grown woman, I now make them in the afternoons as a no-guilt writer's snack.   

Click here to download
Cleo's free recipe PDF.

Click here to download a free recipe PDF right now or click here to read the rest of this post.

5 Minute Honey-Cinnamon Peach Sopapillas from Tortillas by Cleo Coyle

Cleo Coyle has a partner in

crime-writing—her husband.

Learn about their books

by clicking here and here.

Summer fruits make the best desserts, don't they? Here's an idea for an easy way to dress up that summer peach and serve it as an elegant dessert. It's fast, healthy, and absolute ambrosia to eat. To read more click here, scroll down, or hit the read more link below...

How to Make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting without Butter or Cream by Cleo Coyle

This "buttercream" frosting has no butter or cream, yet it tastes like a chocolate fudge dream. So what's the mystery ingredient to this frosting? It's one that vegans and vegetarians may have guessed by now...avocado. 

Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery

 series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

If you've never used avocado as a substitute for butter in baking, I can tell you that it's a lot of fun to play with...

To continue reading this post,

scroll down or click here.

If you'd like to subscribe to

Cleo's Newsletters and join her

"Coffee Club," click here.

To continue reading this post,

scroll down or click here.

No-Guilt Mini Pizzas: A Writer's Snack from Cleo Coyle

   

Writing novels for a living appears to be a perfectly safe occupation. As my fellow authors know, however, the writing life comes with one major hazard. No, we don't dodge flying bullets or psychotic killers (though our characters may). What we combat every day is a more sinister villain: Excess Calorie Man. He lurks behind every extra handful of peanuts or just-one-more-silver of pie.

Even when our diet is relatively healthy, the hours of sitting in front of our computers take their toll as EC Man gets his jollies from as little as a sliced-up banana on a peanut butter sandwich or an extra hunk of cheese with your crackers.

As you can imagine, it’s even worse for a culinary mystery writer. Testing recipes, especially delicious ones like the cookies in Holiday Buzz (my latest Coffeehouse Mystery), give Excess Calorie Man free reign. Well, today I’m going to show you one way this writer reigns him in...with a lunch of my No-Guilt Mini Pizzas