Character Corner
Welcome to Character Corner. Here you can meet characters from my current or upcoming releases and learn more about what makes them tick. Please note the links to additional vignettes in the sidebar.
Cooking with Cordelia
To some the Lord gives five talents, to others two, and to Cordelia Tucker he gave one—the ability to cook like a dream. And Delia is determined not to bury her gift. Therefore, she pours an abundance of love into the food she prepares. Love for her brother, for her community, and for one special man who has yet to discover the depth of her secret feelings.
 Being raised without a mother since the age of four, Delia learned her way around a kitchen at an early age. Her father and older brother did their best to pass on their limited knowledge of stoves and kettles, but she achieved most of her skill by figuring things out on her own. After all, the two males in her family were better at shooting supper than cooking it, unless you happened to like dried out boot leather with your potatoes.
So before she was even in long skirts, Delia became known as one of the finest cooks in the county. Church picnics, town socials, funerals—she never brought home as much as a leftover spoonful. And though the town raved about her fried chicken, sweet potato pudding, and pickled cucumbers, it was in baking that she found her passion.
 She started selling bread in the mercantile hoping to relieve some of the financial burden thrust upon her brother, Jericho, after their father's death. Her efforts met with success, and as demand for her baked goods increased, she expanded her offerings to include muffins, cinnamon buns, and other sweets. It wasn't long before she started turning a modest profit. After everything Jericho had sacrificed to take care of her, she was finally able to give something back, contributing funds to help him get his livery business off the ground.
When a new dressmaker comes to town, Delia supresses her shyness and welcomes Miss Richards with some of her famous apple muffins. Perhaps you'd like to sample them as well. Here's Cordelia's recipe, updated for your modern kitchen:
Apple Muffins
Makes 1 Dozen
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 large egg
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 ½ cups finely diced (¼ inch) peeled green apples (2 large)
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ½ cup of the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the milk and lemon juice to sour the milk. Whisk in the egg and melted butter. Pour this mixture all at once over the dry ingredients. Stir quickly to partially blend the ingredients. Add the apples, raisins, and walnuts; fold together to moisten. The batter will be thick and lumpy. Spoon it into paper-lined or greased muffins cups. The cups will be full. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
Bake about 25 minutes. When done, the tops will spring back when lightly touched. Cool 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm with butter.
*Recipe taken from Jim Fobel's Old-Fashioned Baking Book: Recipes from an American Childhood (Ballantine Books:1987). |
