Upcoming & Potstickers

The Ebook of this is out now, but the paperback cover is so gorgeous, I wanted you to see it now. Thank you, NajQamberDesigns.

Amazon/Nook

The Basket Maker's Wife:
 Safely hidden away from her horrifying past, single mother Nora loves her elderly friend, the inituitive owner of The Basket Shop. A young woman on-the-run arrives, and the three women's lives unite, changing Nora forever. Amid a cast of characters who love her, Nora fearfully faces the past, a new full life, and the terror of a shocking gift that has waited for her....

 A Different Kind of Story from Cait London:

 The Basket Maker’s Wife concerns the Celtic trio: The Maiden, The Mother, and The Crone (Elder woman). Those are the three stages of a woman’s life, and I hope you enjoy the women, their lives and loves in The Basket Maker’s Wife.

I usually write about things I know, rather the elements involved and am working on another book in which I'll use the following Freeze Now, Serve Later Recipe. It's great for Brrr Weather.

These are ground pork dumplings, sometimes called potstickers by our family. I usually put these together while watching a movie and freeze for later.

Some of my family likes them browned in sesame oil, but I prefer them in chicken broth. (Broth is usually onions, garlic, some red pepper flakes, parsley or chives, maybe mushrooms.)

The Big Tip is to use plenty of flour on your parchment paper/cookie sheet and to separate them. The Dumpling Wrappers are delicate.

There are several "Korean Mandu" videos on YouTube. Isn't YouTube great? I call it my University. :)

Here's the basic recipe:
1 lb ground fresh pork
tofu if wanted
finely chopped green onions
garlic
2 TBS corn starch
2 TBS sesame oil
soy sauce, not much
salt as needed

Use in the proportions you like. I mix this and separate, working with 1/2 and keeping the other cold. Put a teaspoon of meat mixture in the center of the wrapper, smooth water around the edges, and crimp. Freeze.

I've used green chives and white onions in lieu of green onions. I've skipped the tofu at times, and added different available greens, i.e. kale. Be sure to keep everything finely chopped. These dumplings are great to freeze on the cookie sheet and later place into plastic bags. Kids love them fried in sesame oil.

A supply of dumpling wrappers is always at the ready in my freezer.

I hope you have time to enjoy the upcoming holidays, either with family and/or friends, or just settling into a quiet time with dumpling soup and perhaps reading The Basket Maker's Wife Amazon/Nook :)