Travel Disaster

 

 It's been a stormy time lately, literally and figuratively. Below, result of a straight-line wind in Birmingham, Alabama.

Attributed to:  Grace Williams

Venice, FL, the setting of most of my mysteries

For some reason the size of the yacht motoring south just off shore in Venice provoked a lot of negative remarks on the Venice e-loop. Yes, it's bigger than the yachts that visit our harbor each winter season, but really, let's face it, some people just have so much money they can actually acquire an ocean-going yacht. 

 

Below, practical advice with a touch of humor . . .

 

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 Grace Note:  Facebook Friends have already seen bulletins about this story, as it was happening. 

 

TRAVEL DISASTER

 My son and and his wife had a long-planned cruise scheduled for mid-March, including a four-day stay here in the Orlando at the end, which would include his birthday. The delays, oddities, and utter disasters that piled up have made me wonder if it was merely Fate, or was there some kind of Grand Scheme to keep my son in the U.S. Here is what happened . . .

My son is a bargain-hunter, pleased to find a small airline with the right schedule and the right price. They were informed the terminal opened at 6:00 am for a 7:00 am flight. They arrived on the dot of 6:00. Oops. Miscalculation. Umpteen people, more aware of the current TSA problem, were already lined up at the door. They checked their luggage, got all the say to final check-in, only to be turned away a few feet short of their goal. Plane full, doors closed. That was it. Rescheduled for a flight to Orlando, arriving at noon. Son frantically called his sister in Florida—could she drive them to Fort Lauderdale? She informed him it was a 3-hour drive. There was no way he was going to make a 3:00 sailing. 

Which might have been all right for an earlier-than-planned visit to the Orlando area, EXCEPT . . . their luggage had gone to Fort Lauderdale.  So they had to take Brightline (high-speed rail) to Lauderdale, Shuttle to the airline—only to find it locked up tight. So . . . rental car, Rte. 1 motel (which was surprisingly well-appointed, the only plus for the day). Almost two hours on hold as they tried to straighten out both luggage problem and cruise problem. They made the decision, despite the additional expense, to join the cruise in Cozumel.  

Breakfast at a 1950s-style diner, off to the airport. Still locked up. I have no idea how many phone calls it took to get someone there to retrieve their luggage, but it was 3:30 pm before they had it in hand and could safely book a flight to Cozumel, which would arrive at 8:00 pm, followed by a 3-hour trip to Cancun, where their cruise ship was scheduled to arrive at 8:00 am the next morning.

They were still going for flying to Mexico, when . . .

A fire in New Haven put paid to it all. (My son manages c. 100 apartments in New Haven, and the owner really, really needed his manager to manage (in addition to the barrage of phone calls from his workmen faced with the clean-up). So, Brightline back to Orlando—a ride for which they had only praise for their last-minute seating, food, luggage handling, etc. My daughter picked them up, dropped them at my house for an hour's visit, where I learned my son had insisted on a one-day vacation (this past Tuesday). The much-traveled couple then drove up to Sanford in my car, where, with all three of my grandchildren in college, there was a ample sleeping room for guests. 

And finally, on Tuesday, something besides Brightline went right. We toured nearly every inch of Leu Gardens, which was still impressive despite considerable damage from the hard freeze a month ago. And Tuesday night, even though we were thoroughly exhausted, we had a big extended family dinner at Bahama Breeze, where we celebrated David's birthday, which is actually next week (when he planned to be here).

Oh yes, when they tried to make arrangements to fly back to NYC, Hartford, or New Haven, they were quoted a price of $1200 EACH. Fortunately, Sanford, where my daughter lives, is slightly closer to Daytona Beach than Orlando. They were able to get a flight out of Daytona late Wednesday afternoon to White Plains, NY, where a friend was waiting to pick them up. I was picturing them safely home, when my son called me at midnight, admitting that after he picked up his own car, instead of returning to the peace of his apartment and love of his two kitties, he had gone to inspect the fire damage!

I do, at least, have the satisfaction of knowing they made it safely home, even though poor David was immediately plunged into a different kind of nightmare. By the way, he agrees with me that there may have been some special twist of Fate that kept him in Florida when he should have been on the high seas on the way to Mexico when he was informed he needed to return home.

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 Featured Book of the Week

 Headlines dictate that I should feature my book that actually has a scene in Iran (not easy to research, believe me!) Limbo Man is as close to a Thriller as anything I've ever written. I am happy to say, that I have first-hand knowledge of the remainder of the many international settings in the book (yes, even Siberia!) If I show compassion for the Russian characters, it's because that is how I found the Russian people, face to face, one on one. I will never forget the excitement on our Intourist guide's face when she emerged from a Siberian woods with a basket full of blueberries to take home to her family in Moscow! I hope you'll take the time to enjoy this change of pace from Blair Bancroft Regency Gothics and SciFi Fantasy.

 

 A lost Russian nuke plunges FBI Special Agent Vee Frost into a world-wide chase, from the East Coast to the Mid-West, from Florida to Siberia, on to Iran, and back again. Her only companion, an amnesiac Russian who may have the key to the location of the lost bomb locked in his head.

Author's Note: During the chaos of the break-up of the Soviet Union (c. 1990), ten nuclear bombs went missing. Limbo Man is a tale of "what might have been."

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For a link to Blair's website & editing info*, click here. 

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War - Reminiscenses & Reactions

Welcome to more controversy than I've offered in a quite a while.

 

Floating Bridge, Tampa Bay, Feb., 2026 (no attribution)

Not surprising this road sign is sitting on the side of the road. Sigh.

 

Another great deer pic from Susan Coventry . . .

 

 

Tariff Opinion from Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch: 

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WAR - REMINISCENCES & REACTIONS

 

As news broke this week that we had gone to war with Iran, I was shocked into thinking back over the years to the beginnings of far too many wars I have known—from Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) to, oh horrors, just this week. And yes, I actually remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor, my experience at that time a caution to parents to provide gentle but accurate information to children in times of stress. My parents were both educators, but I have always felt they erred in this particular matter. Their attempt to protect me from such catastrophic news ended up with me thinking Pearl Harbor was an island not far off the East Coast. (I recalled living on Cape Cod when I was four and knew all about "coasts," even if I had mixed up East and West, imagining an imminent threat that was actually thousands of miles away.)

 

But even a child of eight could appreciate the solemnity, the sincerity, the magnificent turns of phrase of Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, all heard over the radio or seen in newsreels at the movies - there was no television.  

 

When V-J Day finally happened (August 14, 1945), we truly believed we had fought the war to end all wars. We had the United Nations, world peace. And then in my last year of college, for some reason I've never understood, we were suddenly engaged in a war in Korea. Nearly every male in my senior class was drafted the moment he graduated, but - oh happy day - they were all musicians, promptly assigned to various bands, thus avoiding combat. A fact that has stuck in my mind through all the years since.

Another short gap - until people's memories of the horrors of war faded a bit - and for equally mysterious reasons we found ourselves committed to war in Vietnam. Vietnam, where on God's green earth is that? And gradually, oh so gradually, the frustrations of jungle warfare and an enemy fanatically dedicated to their cause wore down the military traditions of centuries—things like honor, not killing prisoners, not using poison gas, etc., etc. A horror forever dramatized by Robert Duvall's iconic line in the movie, Apocalypse Now:  "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning!"  I was among those who supported our troops when they came home; many did not. It was one of the most disgraceful periods in American history. Until now.

We should have taken the cure, but alas . . .

On the eve of the First Iraq War (August 2, 1990), I was listening, as usual, to the nightly news from a Tampa TV station. And whoa! It was primarily an excited account of how many hundred pizzas had been ordered delivered to Central Command at McDill Air Force base outside Tampa (a 45-minute drive north of my home in Venice, FL). The obvious speculation:  the U.S. was going to war.  (I had been on that base once, delivering my Air Force middle son and his friend back from weekend leave.) Directly after, came ABC National news. I waited eagerly to hear more. And what did I get? The usual national news, not so much as a hint of a impending war. I was so shocked, I called ABC news in New York. (This was back in the days when you could do that without getting a robotic evasion of anything relevant.) And I was told by a real live person:  "We were asked to keep the news quiet." I laughed and told him, clearly, that bit of censorship hadn't made it to Florida.

I'll mention the Second Iraq War only to say it began on March 20, 2013, and seemed to be as futile as all the other wars since World War II. And ended in a frantic evacuation almost as humiliating as our evacuation from Vietnam.

So why in the name of all that's holy would ANYONE think our going all Pearl Harbor over Iran is going to have any better ending than the debacles of the previous eighty years? Except to distract our attention from the heinous crimes at home:  our convicted-criminal, Epstein-tainted president; ICE killing our citizens without justification, the gutting of Environmental Protection, Health Care, and on and on. Most importantly, the replacement of our Democracy by an Autocracy that is downright Evil, intent on enslaving the majority of Americans to the whims of oligarchs who care only about themselves.

That's it, folks—my more than two cents on the State of the Union. Not from history books, newspapers, etc., but straight out of memory. (Okay, I looked up the exact dates - except Pearl Harbor, a date that "will forever live in infamy.") May God save us all, because we're not doing a very good job of it on our own. 

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 Book of the Week:  The Sometime Bride

 My first, and all-time favorite, book. A saga of a young girl caught up in the final seven years of the Napoleonic Wars. Almost half-again as long as Historical Romances of the 1990s, it took an early e-publisher to be willing to present it to the world (in both e and print versions). FYI, it began at 140,000 words, as I recall, and then I added a Prologue! Also, although The Sometime Bride was my first book, my second, Tarleton's Wife, was published first.

A very young bride finds herself married to an enigmatic British spy "for her safety." And is plunged into a seven-year, highly personal view of the Peninsular War—ending, after years of blind devotion, in discovering a betrayal of her trust so immense she can only wonder: Is she the sometime bride of a man who never existed? A discarded mistress? Or a beloved wife whose only rival is her husband's expediency in a time of war?

Author's Note: In addition to being a saga of young lovers caught up in a war, The Sometime Bride is the history of the Peninsular War, Britain's fight against Napoleon in Portugal and Spain. The story moves from France's invasion of Portugal and British troops being driven into the sea at La Coruña to the return of British troops under General Sir Arthur Wellesley, the fortified lines at Torres Vedras, and the gradual push of French troops across Spain and back to France. Plus the chaotic times in Paris after Napoleon's surrender and the Emperor's triumph as he gathers up his old troops, only to be stopped in one of the most famous and bloody battles in history—Waterloo.

Reviews:

Reviewers Choice Award. "Sometimes a reviewer gets a book so powerful, it's hard to know where to begin to tell about it. The Sometime Bride is such a book. . . . Bride passes every criterion for a successful book that I was given as a reviewer. Ms Bancroft weaves a most unusual love story in among the threads of history that cover eight years. . . . I highly recommend both Tarleton's Wife and The Sometime Bride as companion books. They are totally independent, but together give a vastly enlightening and entertaining view of the period through use of wonderful characters and page-turner plots—definite keepers, both." Jane Bowers, Romance Communications

"The writing talent displayed by the author is wonderful . . . Ms. Bancroft's detail for historical events is phenomenal. . . ."
April Redmon, Romantic Times

 

Five Stars. "Set against the bloody Napoleonic wars, The Sometime Bride is ambitious, engrossing and absolutely wonderful."
Rickey R. Mallory, Affaire de Coeur

Five Stars. "The Sometime Bride by Blair Bancroft is a riveting and well-written story. . . . The tension between the hero and heroine sizzles. . . ." Janet Lane Walters, Scribes World

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Suspended Disbelief Doesn't Always Work

 

My daughter, Susie, learned a lot about using Chatgpt to create images while designing T-shirts and other items for her "fossil-oriented" online store. Recently, she applied her new skill to creating family pics.

Flight training at Age 10?

  

Susie - self-portrait

To take a look at the AI-assisted fossil-oriented merchandise Susie has created,

click here.

 Susie sells custom-built homes in the very special town of Mt Dora, FL. Here is a sunset she captured this past week from the building site.

Sunset, Mt Dora, Lake County, FL

 To take a look at the Custom-built homes Susie is selling in beautiful Mt Dora, FL,

click here.  ("Custom-built" is really rare these days!) And Mt Dora, a lakeside mini-city with unique character, is a truly special place to live.

 

Below, a bit of humor on the importance of correct punctuation . . .
 

 And on a more serious note, the Seven Deadly Sins by Mahatma Ghandi.

 

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SUSPENDED DISBELIEF

 As my long-time readers know, this blog was begun primarily as a "how to" for beginning or would-be authors, with grandgirl photos and occasional pics and articles on other topics to fulfill the "Mosaic" of Grace's Mosaic Moments. After somewhere around ten years, I organized all those "how to" articles into Making Magic With Words, and settled down to blogs that are mostly "Mosaic" instead of "How-to." 

But every once in a while I read something that inspires me to break out my "how to"—or perhaps I should says, "how NOT to" hat and write about a topic I've mentioned back in the Good Ol' Days. This time:  "Suspended Disbelief."

For those who are going, "Huh? Suspended Disbelief? What's that? A brief explanation:

Many novels, particularly in the genres of Romance, Mystery, & Thrillers, require "Suspended Disbelief":  A romantic situation that should have us shaking our heads instead of sighing. The amateur or professional detective stumbling all over the place before that inexplicable "Eureka" moment. The action scene that is so "over the top" even the strongest hero/heroine could not survive, yet inevitably does.

As readers we accept this. If basic plot, characters, and setting are well done, we shrug off the unbelievable. Hey, it's FICTION!

An example from a series of cruise-set mysteries I've been reading.

In real life, if a murder occurred every time a certain cruise ship set sail . . . say, after the first three or four times, it seems likely the cruise line would a) hire an exorcist; b) change the ship's name & sell it at a loss to a country on the far side of the world. INSTEAD, the series goes happily on, a murder on every cruise, and not a complaint in sight. The setting is exotic, the characters well done, the plots suitably tangled, and dash of romance for mystery fans so inclined. What more can one want?

This, then, is Suspended Disbelief. We willing give up a scornful, "Aw, come on!"  for "Isn't that clever," a romantic sigh over the romance, even if it's minimal, or maybe just,  "I wanna take a cruise!" 

To reinforce the point:

In one of my all-time favorite series, an assassin becomes the hero (well, anti-hero) and goes ELEVEN books before he gets to kiss the heroine. Now, there's another good example of Suspended Disbelief. It works because the action—well, lack of action—is perfectly justified by the nature of the two people involved.

There are, however, moments when Suspended Disbelief absolutely, positively does not work. I eagerly downloaded the first book in a new series by an author whose works I always enjoy, but Oops! Only a few pages into the first chapter, I'm shaking my head, saying, "No way, no how!" Yet knowing this author had never let me down, I kept reading. The impossibility of the set-up mounted; the decisions of the supposed main character so stupidly egregious, I was grinding my teeth. I did NOT want to know this character. I did not care what happened to her. There was simply no way I could justify either the plot or her behavior. And yet, I went so far as to read Book 2. More bad decisions, more impossible ignorance, and only the faintest hint of these books developing into an intriguing mystery series. I did not torture myself with further books, although I'm still wondering how a good author could fall so low. If an experiment doesn't work, chuck it, but according to my Kindle research, this series went on for many more books. Sigh. It does, however, provide an excellent example of the fact that Suspended Disbelief does not always work. Surprise, surprise, readers have brains, and there's only so far we can allow our imaginations to stretch.

Personal "Disbelief" Question 

I am currently writing a novella with a Regency heroine ripped from today's headlines. Somewhere around Chapter 8, I had to face the fact that the only possible ending I could see when I started—emigration to the Americas—was too much of a downer. But how could I find any other way for this poor girl to rescue her life? The answer that finally popped into my mind was so outrageous I could only wonder if readers would accept it. Would Suspended Disbelief stretch that far? I can only keep my fingers crossed and hope so! (This week, I totally committed to the new ending, so no going back!)

SUMMARY.

I suspect avid Fiction readers (like me) are devoted to that vast genre because these stories not only entertain but make it possible for us to ignore reality—if only for a short space of time. We want to suspend reality. We want to believe in Happily Ever After. But if an author takes advantage of our Suspended Disbelief, then we readers have the right to say, "Enough! I'm not wasting my money and time on any more of this nonsense."

Which brings me back to the Lost Lady in my current Work in Progress? Instead of a "ruined" lady fading sadly into the dimness of history, can she make a comeback without society turning on her with cries of condemnation? Only time will tell.

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 Featured Book of the Week  - The Captive Heiress

No need for Suspended Disbelief when reading this book. Many of the characters are straight out of the history books, if at a younger age than history usually records them. The fictional characters and plot are based on actual events and practices of the time. Please see "Author's Note" below.  

This is a my only "Young Adult" book, my only Medieval setting, but I think you'll find it a fascinating read for all ages. It also has my favorite cover.

 Alecyn de Beauclaire, an orphaned heiress, is taken captive at age nine by the Earl of Rocheford who wants to enjoy the income from her estates. Her first friend in the strange new world at Castle Rocheford is Ranulf Mort à Mer, a descendant of Vikings and a penniless squire with no hope of ever being able to afford a horse and armor so he can become a knight. As the years go by, their friendship is unwavering, even when tested by the preaching of monks who declare that all women are evil and should be shunned.

When Alecyn is almost fourteen (a marriageable age in Medieval times) King Henry II makes Alecyn his ward. She is thrilled because she knows the king will want to keep her money for himself and, therefore, will not marry her off for several more years. Perhaps there is still time for Ranulf to become a knight and distinguish himself in battle.

In her position as companion to the royal children and songstress to the royal court, Alecyn learns not only the epic romance of chivalry, but the dark side of romance as she witnesses the love/hate relationship between the king and queen. Ranulf, meanwhile, learns to fight side by side with a new friend, William Marshall. But even Ranulf's eventual elevation to knighthood is not enough to qualify for the hand of an heiress to four fine estates.

Until, one day, Queen Eleanor goes for a hunt on her lands in the Aquitaine, and Ranulf and his friend, William Marshall, are among her escorts. Perhaps, just perhaps, if the three young people survive captivity by Eleanor's rebellious knights, they may have a future after all. But which young knight will King Henry choose for Alecyn?

Author's Note: The Captive Heiress was written as a painless way for people from nine to ninety to learn about Medieval times, particularly the tumultuous twelfth century. In addition to a look at the dramatic lives of King Henry and Eleanor of Aquitaine, readers will catch a glimpse of the early days of their many children, including Richard and John who became famous through the Robin Hood legend. Another very important character is William Marshall, often called the greatest knight who ever lived. Please see the "Whatever Happened to . . ." section at the back of the book for the rest of the story of the many real characters in The Captive Heiress..                           

 

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For a link to Blair's website & editing info*, click here. 

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Mini Rant & Major Gallery

NEXT BLOG - FEBRUARY 21, 2026 

 

WEATHER BULLETIN:  During last weekend's record-breaking deep-freeze, Central Florida was colder than Iceland! A major blueberry farm (40% of Florida's output) lost its ENTIRE crop, 300 pickers & packers out of work, no blueberries for our supermarkets. I lost a mass of vines that were impossible to protect. Major cleanup. Sigh. 

 

Mini Rant:

I keep a notebook with lists of authors I enjoy, their series, and frequently, the titles, in order, of the books within that series. Mostly, so I always have a handy-dandy list of what I've read and where to look for my next book. Also, so when I wish to re-read a series, I can do it in the right order without painstaking research on Amazon Kindle. Recently, I have been making my way through the many series of a highly prolific author I didn't discover until this past year. Light reading but enjoyable. (Eye & brain candy, if you will.) And then I started a series where the errors in grammar, even word definition, were so appalling they knocked me right out of the story. Even the college-educated characters spoke English as if they belonged to what my father called the "dese, dose, and dem boys."

I can only assume this was one of the author's early series, but Wow! Did that person not realize he/she wasn't paying attention in English class? Please, would-be DIY authors, if you know English was not your strong-point in school, do your readers the courtesy of having someone check over your book before you self-publish it.

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Below, an unusually extensive Gallery—I seem to have acquired a remarkable number of interesting pics over the last couple of weeks.

Headline news first 

 

 

By Michael F. DuBois

Florida

Panther sightings extremely rare

Monster Grouper, caught 100 miles off Sarasota

And even more amazing - in Venice, the Gulf-front town where I lived for 25 years . . . (I saw icicles once & a tornado, but SNOW . . . ?)

WOW!

 

Sunset Trailer, Flagstaff, AZ

Extra Special Deer Photo by Susan Coventry

And last for this week . . . our hope for future space exploration. Sadly, imminent crewed moon launch postponed due to a hydrogen leak & some other unacceptable event in this week's "final" test before launch. Astronauts released from quarantine, allowed to return to families. The Space Coast - and all of Central Florida - are keeping our fingers crossed. We're told, "Nothing before sometime in March." (If you still don't get it, this will be the first crewed mission around the moon in FIFTY years.)

 

Artemis II - on the launch-pad

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Featured Book of the Week

This is a mystery with really authentic background. For three of the twenty-five years I lived in Venice, FL, I ran a costume shop, call DreamWeaver. It was a truly fun time. My daughter Susie was in high school and helped out during our busy Halloween Season. The description of the Venice/Nokomis setting is also authentic. Amazing town, Venice—turned into an "island" by the building of the Intracoastal Waterway, access only over one of three bridges. 

 

 

Costume designers are not detectives. But when a customer ends up dead in Gwyn Halliday's best Santa suit and a senior friend is threatened, what's a girl to do? And besides, a bit of investigation might promote a better acquaintance with the hunky new police chief, not to mention reestablish an old acquaintance with a friend suffering from PTSD, who now needs her as much as she needs him. 

Main Street, Venice, FL

 

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For a link to Blair's website & editing info*, click here. 

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Hoppin' John, a Southern Tradition

 

MAJOR milestone - the first grandchild to graduate college (in May) - has just accepted a job offer from Lockheed Martin (where she has been interning for some time) at a figure that made our eyes pop. Then again, anyone who could survive the agony of getting a degree in Astro-Engineering is likely worth the salary offered. As mentioned before, you'd never guess just by looking at her! Our extended family got together at Kobe Steakhouse for a celebration dinner. Below, Hailey getting Kobe's "birthday cupcake" as I doubt they have many Job-celebration dinners. P.S. It's one of those jobs to which the question of what will she be doing can only be answered by that classic:  "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

 

Gramma Grace got into the act, telling a story with a surprise Lockheed Martin twist. Thank you, Tim Hanes!

 

Although Cassidy was back from her trip to Costa Rica, she was not able to make the long drive from Florida Tech to Longwood & back in the middle of the week. But here she is in the pic below.

 Terry Baber, who used to play in a band with Mike and whose girls played with the grandgirls, moved to the West Coast quite a few years ago, but he has kept in touch through Facebook, with both musical posts and belly laughs. Below, "Couch Potato."

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Below, the last of three recipes that come under the category of "Recipes My Mother Never Taught Me." My mother, whose background was several generations of mid-Westerners, with an ancestry of English, Welsh, Irish, and French, was an excellent cook, but from the era of fried chicken, fried pork chops, baked ham, pot roast, etc. All her spare time was used to write children's books, so where I got my fascination with recipe books, recipe books, and more recipe books I have no idea.

My last two blogs have featured recipes with Spanish and French origins. Today's is just as "foreign" to me (born in Nebraska but raised in New England). Hoppin' John is evidently a New Year's tradition in the South, allegedly bringing Health, Happiness, and Long Life. Though its flavor is not quite as exotic as Picadillo or Cassoulet, it's a one-dish meal that is easy to put together. It's tasty, reheats and freezes well. So why not give it a try?

This recipe is from Taste of Home's Cast Iron Cookbook, March 2022. 

Grace Notes:  Cast iron skillet not needed. But, as with other recipes with a good number of ingredients, it's less hassle if you "prep" the actual assembly: cut up bacon, pepper, celery & green onions (refrigerate); lay out all the spices, so you're not rummaging through the spice cupboard while the water boils away!

HOPPIN' JOHN

½ lb. sliced bacon, cut in 1" pieces

1 small green or red pepper, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped (or thinly sliced)

6 green onions, sliced

1 cup uncooked long-grain rice

2 cups water

¼ teaspoon salt

½ - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper*

½ teaspoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 15-oz. can black-eyed peas, rinsed & drained

*I use no more than a ¼ teaspoon 

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels. Discard drippings, except for 2 tablespoons. Sauté pepper, celery & onions in drippings until almost tender. Add rice, water, and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add black-eyed peas and bacon; simmer, covered, 10 minutes longer or until liquid is absorbed. Discard bay leaf.

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Featured Book of the Week:

The subject of Brides of Falconfell, my first Regency Gothic, came up at Hailey's party, so I'm making it my Book of the Week. This is the result of my missing that staple of the fifties and sixties, as well as realizing that Gothic novels did not have to be Victorian or Contemporary. The combination of Suspense, Mystery, and Romance could be placed in any setting or time period. Hence the creation of what became my specialty, as well as favorite genre—the Regency Gothic.

                                 

 Miss Serena Farnsworth, spinster, is a managing female, the crutch for her extended family, for whom she functions as nurse, companion, and household organizer. In short, she lives a life of service, devoid of romance. Until she is invited to attend an invalid at a gloomy Gothic-style estate in Northumberland, where she encounters two suspicious deaths, personal animosity, a needy child, and even needier father. Add witchcraft, shake (sink) holes, Mid-summer Eve revels, and a variety of odd characters, as well as the certainty someone is trying to killer her, and Serena finds herself surrounded by a miasma of evil. The lord of the manor should be of help, but he, alas, is a prime suspect in the murder of the Brides of Falconfell.

Author's Note: "Brides of Falconfell" is a tribute to the great era of Gothic novels, written by Victoria Holt, Jane Aiken Hodge, Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, and other talented authors of that time. The books—more "Jane Eyre" and "Rebecca" than "Pride and Prejudice"—have several common elements: they are told in first person, as both heroine and reader must be isolated, unable to know what the other characters are thinking. Frequently, the heroines are married and begin to suspect their husbands of murder. There is often a child, usually the hero's from a previous marriage. A large, gloomy mansion is a must, where murder, madness, and evil abound, with the heroine escaping death by the skin of her teeth. I have put all these conventions in Brides of Falconfell and chosen an isolated location at the very "top" of England as a setting. I hope you will enjoy my personal attempt at "Gothic Revival." 

Blair Bancroft

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For a link to Blair's website & editing info*, click here. 

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