Death of a Country Fried Redneck (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mysteries) (25 page)

Island Food & Spirits by Hayley Powell

 

Whew! Can I just say these past few weeks have been one wild ride, as I imagine they must say in the south? Never in a million years would I have thought that I, Hayley Powell, of Bar Harbor, Maine, would in my lifetime meet my favorite country singing idol, Wade Springer, so up close and personal—and, to top it off, become his personal chef! But I can honestly say that with all the excitement and changes that came with his visit, it just made me appreciate living a quieter life on this beautiful island.

Of course, I was sad to see everyone go. But, as you all know, this town is usually filled to the brim all summer long with lots of interesting people visiting our treasured Acadia National Park, restaurants, and stores, and, since we are also a cruise ship port, you never know who you might meet!

Speaking of never knowing who you might meet, the other night after all the brouhaha had finally seemed to settle down, it was time for me to wind down, too, so I mixed up a nice Lemon Drop Martini and planted myself in a chair out on the deck next to Leroy, who was already fast asleep and exhausted from his own little romance and adventure.

I must have dozed off for a bit, because I was suddenly startled awake by Leroy’s frantic barking, coming from behind the garage. I struggled up off the deck chair and headed in the direction of his now high-pitched barking, which could only mean one thing . . . a cat. Whenever Leroy spots a cat, he just starts shaking and whining and barking as if he’s having some kind of seizure. It’s one of his annoying habits, which all of my neighbors are acutely aware of, but luckily seem to take in stride.

As I raced off in the direction of his barking, I tripped over a skateboard lying in the driveway. I cursed myself for not replacing the outside motion detector spotlight bulb, because it only seemed to pop on when it wanted to, and right now it was pitch-black outside and I could barely see Leroy jumping up and down in the grass behind the garage. I called to him, but, true to form, he didn’t listen.

“Leave that poor cat alone!” I screamed.

I could barely make out the poor animal’s black outline in the tall grass just about ten feet from Leroy. I figured it must be our neighbor’s large black cat, Midnight, who always takes a perverse pleasure in tormenting Leroy.

Leroy had now worked himself up into a frenzy and was darting and lunging and snapping at the poor cat. My only course of action was to rush him from behind and grab the little bugger before he sensed my presence and ducked away from me. I was almost in the perfect position to grab his collar when he suddenly lunged at the cat and out of my reach. I tripped over a branch and fell flat on my face.

Face down in the dirt with a free mud facial (I like to look at the bright side), I heard a strange hissing sound and then Leroy yelped. I pushed myself up on my knees, and at that exact moment, my motion detector spotlight finally decided to snap on. I just stared in horror as Leroy came racing at me, suddenly bathed in light. But it wasn’t him I was looking at. It was the biggest skunk I had ever seen, staring right at me. I swear he winked at me, as if to say, “Joke’s on you,” before he turned around and lumbered away.

I now focused my attention on the dog running at me and it was in that moment that I realized the joke truly was on me.

Just as Leroy leapt into my arms, the foulest, most awful stench wafted up into my nostrils! It made my eyes water. The poor dog reeked to high heaven. Yes, I had to face the truth. He had just been sprayed by the big old skunk and was now wiggling in my arms and licking my face. Yup. Now I was going to be a skunk spray victim, too.

As I trudged back to the house with my horribly smelly dog in my arms, I actually found myself thankful for last summer’s tomato bounty in the garden. I had made quarts and quarts of homemade tomato soup to freeze for the winter. I had plenty left, so I had the necessary ingredients to give myself and Leroy a tomato bath to get the smell off us.

And, after the last couple of busy weeks, I think I just might have a nice hot bowlful of homemade tomato soup, too!

 

Homemade Creamy Tomato Soup

 

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
3½ pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups vegetable broth
teaspoon ground cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup Half & Half

 

Melt the butter with the oil over low heat in a pot.

 

Add onion and garlic and cook over low heat until translucent, stirring occasionally.

 

Sprinkle with the flour and cook 3 more minutes.

 

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and broth.

 

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

 

Season with cloves, and salt and pepper to taste.

 

Remove from heat.

 

Puree the soup in a food processor or blender, a little at a time.

 

Pour soup through a strainer into a pot.

 

Stir in the Half & Half.

 

Warm soup before serving.

 

A delicious treat after scrubbing off the stench from a skunk!