by Jillian Stone is part of her delightful 'The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard' series and returns the reader to the fascinating Industrial Age of England.
This author does a wonderful job of conjuring up the awe and excitement of the inventors of the era even as she pens an occasionally very gory murder mystery. I love strong heroines who are independent yet open-minded enough to accept help when it is needed and of course I enjoy romances so I found this a delightful additional to an imaginative series which explores a side of the British Isles that I don't normally glimpse in my beloved Regency Romances. There is an sobering reminder of the trial and error which risked life and limb before inventions became safe for general usage but this is nonetheless a intriguing look at a very significant period of history. Characters from the very entertaining first book in the series, An Affair With Mr. Kennedy are briefly seen and I think the covers are a nice change from those which seem to be so popular (and yes, the people have heads!). My Amazon review for A Dangerous Liaison With Detective Lewis is at this link and for An Affair With Mr. Kennedy is at this link.
So, thus far, everyone who has tasted my hubby's oatmeal cookies agrees that they are very tasty (and no, I didn't share my version...I only made 5 cookies and all of those were eaten that night, lol). We actually eat oatmeal for breakfast pretty often but we tend to use the instant packages that we add our own ingredients to. As usual, I am relatively oblivious of the true instructions and I have managed to indoctrinate my by-the-book hubby into my method. I add milk and zap in the microwave for a minute while I gather my additions, which usually include pecans or walnuts and dried cherries or cranberries (I also tend to throw these in my cold cereal as well). If we have cooked bacon in the fridge, a strip or two of that is added as well and everything is crumbled into the bowl with a good stir and another minute in the microwave results in a nice steaming bowl. I personally, like my oatmeal very creamy whereas my hubby is a more soupy cereal consumer so butter and/or additional milk (or half and half) may be added before one more minute of cooking (don't forget to stir). Yum, a filling breakfast which doesn't require the addition of sugar since the fruit serves as a sweetener.
I will mention that we experiment with the nuts...occasionally I bake them (although I am usually reading so occasionally they bake a tad longer than they should), particularly the walnuts, which enhances their flavor. We tend to buy the large packages from our local Costco and keep them in the freezer, removing only a week's supply to keep at room temperature. A single sheet in a pie pan or on a baking sheet, 350 degrees Farenheit, 5 minutes then a shake of the pan followed by another 3-5 minutes...and, lovely, a great snack as well as a healthy addition to oatmeal or granola. I alternate between adding salt, if you like your roasted nuts salty, add just a little olive oil before shaking salt over the nuts then stir before baking.
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