WINNERS OF THE GIVEAWAY LISTED AT THIS STOP ARE:

(1) Sponge and Soap or copy of The Lady of Tarpon Springs –  Kathy Newcomer

(2) Copy of The Lady of Tarpon Springs — Rebekah Miller

(3) Copy of The Lady of Tarpon Springs — Julie B

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’re just joining us, the hunt begins with Lisa Bergren, at Stop #1. If you complete the loop of 26 stops, writing down the clue on each author’s site, you can enter to win all 25 books as well as Amazon gift cards, an iPad and more!

Without further ado, it’s my pleasure to introduce Sandra Byrd. Just in case you haven’t read any of Sandra’s more than fifty books, you should treat yourself. Sandra will soon become one of your favorite authors–she’s one of mine!

Here’s Sandra’s Professional Bio: Award-winning and bestselling author Sandra Byrd has published fifty books in the fiction and nonfiction markets, including the historical novels To Die For, Mist of Midnight, and her most recent, Lady of a Thousand Treasures. For nearly two decades, Sandra has shared her secrets with the many writers she edits, mentors, and coaches. She lives in Seattle.

Here’s a short summary of Sandra’s latest book, Lady of a Thousand Treasures: Miss Eleanor Sheffield is a talented evaluator of antiquities, trained to know the difference between a genuine artifact and a fraud. The death of a longtime client, Baron Lydney, offers an unexpected complication when Eleanor is appointed the temporary trustee of the baron’s legendary collection. She must choose whether to donate the priceless treasures to a museum or allow them to pass to the baron’s only living son, Harry—the man who broke Eleanor’s heart, but whom she still loves, and who claims to still love her.

And here is her EXCLUSIVE content that you’ll only find in this hunt!

As the author of contemporary foody books, The French Twist Series, I am accustomed to including tasty food and recipes in my novels. It was, therefore, a delight to include Cornish pasties in a historical, my new book, Lady of a Thousand Treasures. Proper Cornish pasties are particular to Cornwall, England’s far west county, though meat and potato hand pies are eaten in many different countries around the world. The word pasty sounds very much like the word pastry, though we tend to think of pastries as sweet and not savory. Both derive their names from Latinate words for paste—a mix of flour and water—and they can include other delectable combinations such as pasta. No wonder hungry schoolkids have been known to eat paste!

Cornish pasties were thought to be a perfect lunch for blue-collar workers, especially the coal miners of Cornwall, who descended into the coal pits and often could not come back up for lunch. They took their comestibles with them. I love the Agatha Christie television series starring her famous detective, Hercules Poirot, and Cornish pasties have a cameo toward the end of The Cornish Mystery episode when one of my favorite people, Chief Inspector Japp, has a nibble. A friend pointed out that Cornish pasties even appeared in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, “The Return of Malcolm Merriweather.”

I thought you might enjoy munching on one of these lovelies while reading my book or someone else’s, or watching Poirot or old returns, so I thought I’d include a recipe. The traditional pasties include uncooked meat and potatoes as well as turnips (they all bake together in the oven), but I adapted this for our family’s taste. If you like turnip, or carrots, or anything else, feel free to adapt this to your family’s tastes! With no further ado, here is my tweaked recipe. “Enjoy your meal” (British for Bon Appetit)!

Cornish Pasties, Quick and Easy, American Style

One pound skirt steak, cubed

One pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cooked and cubed

One large leek, finely chopped, up to and including one inch of the green

Four tablespoons butter, divided

Two extra-large beef bouillon cubes, crumbled

Four large piecrusts (homemade or store bought)

 Stir chopped leek and 2 Tbs butter in a frying pan until the leek is soft and just browning. Add the skirt steak and cook till the outsides are brown, but the insides are still pink. Add potatoes and bouillon crumbles, then stir to combine. Remove from heat.

Using a biscuit cutter or a glass approximately four to six inches across, cut out circles from the piecrust. Reroll scraps and keep making circles until the crust is all used up. Fold meat and potato filling into the crusts, either by folding the crust over the top of the filling or by placing one circle upon the other. Crimp or roll edges to seal. Bake at 350 degrees until crust is golden brown; then remove from oven and brush with remaining butter. Serve!

 Download recipe card: Recipe Card

Thanks for stopping by on the hunt! before you go, make sure you WRITE DOWN THIS CLUE:

Secret Words:  a tale

Got ‘em down? Great! Your next stop is #11, Sandra Byrd’s site. If you happen to get lost, a complete list of the loop with links can be found on Lisa Bergren’s website.

BONUS GIVEAWAY:

 

You’ve already read about the sponges of Tarpon Springs, so for my bonus gift, I’m giving a Tarpon Springs sponge and soap to the first prize winner and a copy of The Lady of Tarpon Springs to two other winners. To be eligible, sign up for my newsletter (if you’re not already signed up), like me on Facebook or follow me on Bookbub. Just leave a message on this page telling me what you did. I’ll be drawing names and announce the winners at the same time the winners are announced for the Scavenger Hunt. Happy Hunting!