The Perfect Witchy Mystery Series For Me! Caught Dead Handed A Witch City Mystery...

I was sent Caught Dead Handed and Tails, You Lose by Carol J. Perry to review. They came on Wednesday and I read 1/2 of Caught Dead Handed before I went to bed that night!

I was intrigued by the write up on the back of the book "She's Not a Psychic- She just plays one on TV"... a few pages in and I found a new Witch Series I love!  This cozy mysteries setting Salem, Massachusetts and how main character Lee finds herself smack dab in the middle of a very complex murder mystery.

 Adding to my enjoyment of this book is that the main character Lee also a NASCAR fan like me...witches, NASCAR, Mystery and Tea, Caught Dead Handed got my attention!

I will say that this particular cozy was darker then most of the cozy mysteries I read and a bit more graphic/stronger subject matter then I usually enjoy in my regular series reads but it was exceptionally well written. I so enjoyed the mystery and the characters in this book and I am looking forward to getting to know each one of them better when I get started on the second book in this series Tails. You Loose.
To order your own copy of Caught Dead Handed by Carol J Perry please click here. 
Thank you for joining me for A Cup of Tea and A Cozy Mystery! As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Congrats To Karen K of Toronto Winner Of The Caught Read- Handed Prize Pack

Thank you to all of you who entered our Caught Read- Handed prize give away. Karen K of Toronto's entry was selected by Random.org and her prize will be on it's way shortly!

I also want to thank you all for making this book release so much fun and for all of you who have purchased this book you are in for a real treat! I do hope you enjoy it and I would love to hear what you thought of it and if you baked my scones! To order your own copy of Caught Read Handed please click here.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Arsenic and Old Books, Why I Should Have Bought This Book And Read It Sooner!

I just finished reading Arsenic and Old Books. I am kicking myself for waiting this long and for not ordering this book when it came out as a hardback book. The writing, story and talent of Miranda James (Dean James) is certainly worth the price of this book. I will not make the mistake again of waiting so long to read the next book in this series.

I waited on a fairly long waiting list at the library to get a hold of this book which came out in February 2015 and I savored every word of this story and the short story that accompanied it. Miranda James Cat In The Stacks series is an incredible read and if you have ever read my blogs here or seen a photo of my cat Squirrel then you may know that it was this series that led to our family adopting her from our local shelter. Though not a  Maine Coon, she is very much an intuitive cat and reminds me of Charlies cat Diesel.

This story was such a good mystery, two mysteries actually tied up in one that I not only was guessing up until the end of the book but had me spinning in circles trying to figure the story out. The story centers around old prominent families seeking political gains. Like in all great political races there is fair amount of bud to be slung, but finding out who was doing the slinging added to the great mystery that Miranda James wrote. The history and the fiction intertwined so naturally and unfolded beautifully.

I feel I owe a great deal of thanks to Miranda James (Dean James) for this wonderful series and my wonderful and constant companion Squirrel. I also feel like I owe him the money for the book I read and checked out of from my library! I think I may need to send him a thank you card with cash!

On the other hand my library was where I found Miranda James (and all of Dean James' books) and I have read and purchased what I could not get my hands on so I thank the library for helping me find Miranda James and Dean James as well as  Charlie and Diesel. So next book in this series I will order and be able to put on my shelf as a trophy and a testament to the wonderful series and friend I found because of Miranda James and my library!

To order Arsenic and Old Books or any of Miranda James works (or Dean James as well) please click here. 
To learn more about this series and visit the official website of Miranda James please click here.
Thank you for joining me for A Cup of Tea and A Wonderful Cozy Mystery. As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Release Party With Terrie and Susan and Mystery Playground today!

In just a few short hours there is going to be a fun release party for both Peaches and Scream and Caught Read Handed on Facebook. The event is hosted by Mystery Playground and to join in today click here.

Part of the festivities is the baking of The Miss Marple's Scone recipe that I developed which is printed in Caught Read- Handed. Here are the step by step photos of how to make your own.
Step 1 in shown above, Combine your flour, sugar, baking powder and butter. Mix until it resembles fine bread crumbs.

 Add your egg and milk and mix until it is just Incorporated.

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop or spoon out your scones.

Place them in your preheated oven for baking.

While they bake prepare your icing.

The fresh juice and rind really make these scones special!

Mix in the juice and work with your spoon to get out the lumps.

This is the consistency you are looking for.

 Remove the scones from the oven ...

Spoon the icing glaze over them.

They are ready to enjoy! Make a pot of tea and sever to your guests or enjoy on your own!

Find the recipe to make my Miss Marple Scones inside each copy of  Caught Read Handed by Terrie Farley Moran 
You can also pick up this wonderful 1st in series from Susan Furlong Peaches and Scream by clicking here.

Thank you for joining me for this cup of tea (Fuzzy Peach black tea) and this cozy mystery recipe!
As with all my post I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Peach Tea Jelly Attempt #1 and Recipe

So I tried to make Tea Jelly for the first time yesterday and here is the recipe and this is how I did it.

Ingredients:

8 tsp peach black tea ( I used Fuzzy Peaches loose leaf black tea from Steeped)
1 3/4 cup boiling hot water
1/4 cup of peach juice
3 cups of sugar
1 pkg of powdered pectin

8- 125 ml jars with rings and lids

Method:
Prepare your glass jars as per the manufactures recommendation. Set them aside.

Jelly Mixture Method:
Into a glass measuring cup place your loose leaf tea and pour your boiling water over top. Allow the tea leaves to steep for 30 mins in the glass measuring cup.
Into a deep pot add 3 cups of sugar. Add 1/4 cup of juice to your steeped tea.

Using a strainer pour your tea liquid into your sugar and stir. Place the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Allow the mixture to boil for two minutes. (this mixture will come to a rolling boil and rise quite high so do not leave un attended.) add your package of pectin stir in and allow to boil for an additional minute.
 Pour equal amounts of jelly into your jars and cap and process them for 20 mins.

At the time of writing this post I have not yet seen the jelly set or opened it to have with scones but in the coming days it will set and if it does I will for sure make a batch of scones to try with it. I did taste it while it was in its liquid form and it was fantastic. I truly hope this recipe sets up. I was disappointed that the original recipe said it would make 4 1/2 pints I was only able to fill 8 125 ml jars (4 cups total liquid 1/2 cup in each jar) so I am hoping I did not do something wrong! My recipe was based on the recipe from food.com see the original recipe by clicking here.

Let me know if you make tea jelly and this is the case for you as well!
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy recipe today! As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Officially Meet Squrriel Our Cat.

Have you ever felt so compelled by something you have read that you spring into action? Miranda James' Diesel was the inspiration for us adding a cat to our family.  Meet Squirrel, our Rescue Cat. She came to us from our local cat shelter at an estimated age of 2 years in January 2013. She is a long haired barn cat who is now a very important member of our family. She came named and the kids did not want to rename her.

Squirrel more adopted us then the other way around. After reading the first three books in Miranda James A Cat In The Stacks Mysteries I knew it was time to add a pet to our very busy lives. If you are unfamiliar with the series it centers around a man named Charlie and his Maine Coon named Diesel. After weeks of my husband and son Oli visiting local shelters Squirrel found Oli and would  not leave his side, I got the call from my husband and we all came down to bring Squirrel to her new forever home.

Squrriel our cat reminds me of Diesel, though she is not a Maine Coon she is a very intuitive cat.
She seems to know what we are saying and is a constant companion and famous in this area for her trapping and gifts of everything from birds, mice, rats and even skunks...we are truly lucky!

Oh she looks innocent enough but I promise she is a fierce protector and amazing cat!

She also likes to let it be known that she is the boss...cats are like that I am told but Squirrel is more then just a cat and a constant companion.

Even though she keeps me up at night I do love this cat so much and think my life would be so boring with out her.

I highly recommend The Cat In The Stacks Mystery series and you can find out more about it by clicking here. I am currently reading the hard cover Arsenic and Old Books and loving every minute of it.
Squirrel has gained lots of fans through my writing work and instagram so I hope you do not mind me sharing her story with you today. Thank you for joining me for A cup of tea and a cozy mystery and a visit with Squirrel the cat.
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

On My Table And In My Cup July 4th-11th

On my table was Juliet Blackwell's fantastic Spellcasting in Silk. I reviewed this book yesterday and I really can not stress just how much I enjoy this series. I love a witchy mystery and this is one of my favorites. If you are looking for a series to read that will keep you engaged this summer this is a good one I highly recommend.

The highlight of my week was being able to donate a copy of Terrie Farley Moran's new book that came out this week called Caught Read Handed. My scone recipe is printed in the back of the book and Terrie kindly sent me a few copies to share. Be sure to enter our give away!

In my cup this week was Neverland Tea Salon's Heavenly Creme,  I did not venture to try anything new this week I am afraid, but when you have such an amazing tea it is best to enjoy it.

Where I live we have had a very ominous sky for the last several days due to the many forest fires burning fairly close to us. We are in drought conditions which is very serious when you consider we live in a rain forest. This last Tuesday my sisters, sister in law and our children met at Amblside Beach in West Vancouver for a photo of all the grandchildren on my parents side. My sister who lives in Montreal and her 4 kids are visiting us for three weeks, my sister in law came with her daughter from Vancouver Island and my sister who lives quite close to me brought her three girls. Yes this really was the color of the sky, I took this photo myself. I had the photo printed in Sepia for my wall as it more truly reflects the color of the actual sky that morning. I think this is a photo I will always treasure. I was asked on social media if these were all my own kids, which made me laugh! While there are 10 children from 7 months - 15 years, and I know there are families out there that size, if I had 10 of my own children my tag line name would not be Karen Mom of Three, now would it?

Thank you for joining me for this week in review and I hope that you will join me again tomorrow for another cup of tea and a cozy mystery. As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com