“Could be,” Pish said.
Shilo hopped up and down. “A treasure, a treasure! Let’s go look for it.”
“How?” I said. Wait . . . tree names. Slowly, I came to a conclusion and spoke up. “I think that there is something to this, and I think it has to do with the arboretum. If these are tree names, then the woods is the place to look.”
Pish plunked down on the chair next to me as Shilo danced around the kitchen. “You know what, my dear, I think you just may have something. And I want to be in on the fun. I have a proposal to make. I would like to rent a room from you for the foreseeable future, and move some of my things here. This fraud investigation has got my juices going, and I’d like to make it the central story of my book-to-be.”
“Is it going to be that big a story?” I asked, startled.
“Sadly, my dear, I think so. I’m pretty sure it’s going to go national, if the financial papers get ahold of it. I am trying to do all I can to help the Autumn Vale Community Bank stay alive, because it is in grave danger of folding. That is the more important story here. Those federal investigators don’t really care, but I do. I hate to see small, local banks fail. Diversity in the banking industry is unfortunately becoming quite rare.”
“Yikes. I care, too. These folks have been through enough tough times.”
His tone honeyed and persuasive, he said, “If I stay and rent a room, Merry, it would help you with the utility bills, which are not going to be pretty this winter. And I can help, then, with the treasure hunt!”
“Deal,” I said, not adding that he had not needed to sweeten the pot, so to speak. Having him around was a treat.
“Deal, deal, deal,” Shilo sang, spinning around.
I took a deep breath. An adventure had begun. In fact, I was in the middle of an adventure, but hadn’t stopped to realize it. I grinned over at Pish, who smiled back, then we both turned to watch Shilo spinning around the kitchen, out of control with love and joy and happiness, followed by Becket, who lunged and batted at her fluttering scarf.
I couldn’t wait to get started.
Recipes
Golden Acres Banana Bran Muffins
Yield: 12 Muffins
1 1/2 cups bran flake cereal
1 cup mashed ripe banana (2–3 large)
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
3 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease or paper line muffin cups. If greasing, use cooking spray.
Combine cereal, bananas, milk, egg, and oil in a bowl, mix well and let stand. Stir occasionally to break up cereal. Let stand at least 10–15 minutes or however long it takes for the cereal to break down completely.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and nuts (if using) in a separate bowl.
Add flour mixture all at once to cereal mixture, stirring until just moistened.
Divide evenly among prepared muffin cups.
Bake 20–25 minutes until toothpick poked in center comes out clean, or until muffin springs back when top is pushed down.
Bacon Cheddar Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins
1/2 pound bacon
1/3 cup bacon drippings
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (use half all purpose and half whole wheat, if desired)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Cook bacon in a skillet over medium high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan, drain on paper towels. Reserve the drippings and measure out 1/3 cup. Once the bacon is cool, crumble it. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the egg, milk, flour, sugar, baking powder, and bacon drippings. Stir until combined. There will still be some lumps. Stir in the bacon and cheese until evenly distributed. Divide the batter among the cups of a lightly greased muffin tin.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the pan and cool or eat warm.
Gouda and Harvest Vegetable Chowder
2 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups cauliflower finely chopped
2 cups broccoli finely chopped
1 cup grated carrot
3 cups good quality or homemade chicken stock
2 cups milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup shredded Gouda; you can substitute a different cheese if you like. Cheddar works well!
salt and pepper to taste
Melt butter in large saucepan. Cook and stir onion over medium heat until soft.
Add cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
Whisk milk into flour until smooth, add to vegetables. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove pan from heat, add 1 1/2 cups Gouda and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.
Optional, to serve, sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese and buttered croutons.
Enjoy the Bacon Cheddar muffins with the soup! Mmmm!