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Book: Curried Lobster Murder: Book 14 in The Darling Deli Series by Patti Benning
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Authors: Patti Benning
Tags: Fiction
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and she smiled. The answer was obvious. She was going to do what she did best; make soup.
She was keenly aware of the time limit. Somehow, she had already wasted four of her forty-five minutes. She rushed to gather the other ingredients that she needed for the brand-new soup recipe that was forming in her mind.
First things first, she measured out some water and set it to boil in the big pot on the stove. While that heated, she began sautéing the lobster meat and bok choy in butter. Once the lobster meat and bok choy looked ready, she turned her attention to the other ingredients. The curry powder was easy; it would be the base flavor of the soup. The red dates and candied ginger were going to be her most difficult ingredients. Both were sweet, and weren’t ingredients that she had ever attempted to use before in a soup. At least lobster meat goes well with sweeter flavors , she thought. As long as I balance everything correctly and there’s enough time to cook it, the soup shouldn’t be too bad.
She cored the dates and sliced them into quarters, then tossed them into the pot of water so they could begin cooking. The carrots she chopped into small pieces and added them as well, then added some chicken bouillon and a scoop of curry powder. The soup was already beginning to smell good. The only question was; would it be good enough to win?
The candied ginger was already thinly sliced. She began by rinsing it in cool water to remove the excess sugar, then simmered it in a shallow pan of water to begin softening it. Hopefully some of the sweetness would be drawn out while it simmered, and when she added the ginger to the soup it wouldn’t affect it as much.
The clock was ticking, and she got everything in at the nick of time. I don’t know if the carrots will finish cooking , she thought anxiously. But there’s not much I can do about that. I just need to grab a few more ingredients, and then I can let it simmer and begin cleaning up the station.
She ended up adding onions, a few spices in addition to the curry, and cubed tofu, which she thought tied the dish together well. After double-checking the list of required ingredients to make sure she had used everything—she had—she began cleaning up the workstation. Although a cleaning crew was supposed to come through later and do it, she had always hated leaving a mess behind, and cleaning gave her something to do besides stare anxiously at her soup for the next fifteen minutes.
On her way to throw out the debris from her cutting board, she passed by the station that Daphne had been assigned to. She was shocked to see that the woman wasn’t even there, and a dried-out lobster tail was sitting on the stove. Concerned, she looked around for the other woman. She knew Daphne hadn’t felt well, but Moira was still surprised to see her missing from the competition completely. It must really be serious , she thought. I wonder if she ate something bad? Maybe something was wrong with that seafood platter she had at the beginning of dinner last night. I wonder if her husband is sick too? Worried, the deli owner returned to her station and began preparing the bowls for the judges.
Daphne still hadn’t returned by the time the buzzer rang and the four contestants were herded into the banquet hall for the second portion of the challenge to begin. Moira overheard a couple of the others talking about Daphne, but no one seemed to know where she was. Charlie was already up on the stage talking to the judges, so it was too late to ask her. I’ll just have to wait until after they’ve judged the dishes to find out , the deli owner thought. I hope she’s all right.
Nadine was called up first. Moira gave her a supportive smile, which the other woman hesitantly returned. She saw her brace her shoulders and take a deep breath before she faced the judges.
“Nadine Jenkins, your lobster over rice was quite good,” Damien said. “Well, the rice was quite good—I love how you
She was keenly aware of the time limit. Somehow, she had already wasted four of her forty-five minutes. She rushed to gather the other ingredients that she needed for the brand-new soup recipe that was forming in her mind.
First things first, she measured out some water and set it to boil in the big pot on the stove. While that heated, she began sautéing the lobster meat and bok choy in butter. Once the lobster meat and bok choy looked ready, she turned her attention to the other ingredients. The curry powder was easy; it would be the base flavor of the soup. The red dates and candied ginger were going to be her most difficult ingredients. Both were sweet, and weren’t ingredients that she had ever attempted to use before in a soup. At least lobster meat goes well with sweeter flavors , she thought. As long as I balance everything correctly and there’s enough time to cook it, the soup shouldn’t be too bad.
She cored the dates and sliced them into quarters, then tossed them into the pot of water so they could begin cooking. The carrots she chopped into small pieces and added them as well, then added some chicken bouillon and a scoop of curry powder. The soup was already beginning to smell good. The only question was; would it be good enough to win?
The candied ginger was already thinly sliced. She began by rinsing it in cool water to remove the excess sugar, then simmered it in a shallow pan of water to begin softening it. Hopefully some of the sweetness would be drawn out while it simmered, and when she added the ginger to the soup it wouldn’t affect it as much.
The clock was ticking, and she got everything in at the nick of time. I don’t know if the carrots will finish cooking , she thought anxiously. But there’s not much I can do about that. I just need to grab a few more ingredients, and then I can let it simmer and begin cleaning up the station.
She ended up adding onions, a few spices in addition to the curry, and cubed tofu, which she thought tied the dish together well. After double-checking the list of required ingredients to make sure she had used everything—she had—she began cleaning up the workstation. Although a cleaning crew was supposed to come through later and do it, she had always hated leaving a mess behind, and cleaning gave her something to do besides stare anxiously at her soup for the next fifteen minutes.
On her way to throw out the debris from her cutting board, she passed by the station that Daphne had been assigned to. She was shocked to see that the woman wasn’t even there, and a dried-out lobster tail was sitting on the stove. Concerned, she looked around for the other woman. She knew Daphne hadn’t felt well, but Moira was still surprised to see her missing from the competition completely. It must really be serious , she thought. I wonder if she ate something bad? Maybe something was wrong with that seafood platter she had at the beginning of dinner last night. I wonder if her husband is sick too? Worried, the deli owner returned to her station and began preparing the bowls for the judges.
Daphne still hadn’t returned by the time the buzzer rang and the four contestants were herded into the banquet hall for the second portion of the challenge to begin. Moira overheard a couple of the others talking about Daphne, but no one seemed to know where she was. Charlie was already up on the stage talking to the judges, so it was too late to ask her. I’ll just have to wait until after they’ve judged the dishes to find out , the deli owner thought. I hope she’s all right.
Nadine was called up first. Moira gave her a supportive smile, which the other woman hesitantly returned. She saw her brace her shoulders and take a deep breath before she faced the judges.
“Nadine Jenkins, your lobster over rice was quite good,” Damien said. “Well, the rice was quite good—I love how you
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