Back Cover Image - Gail Foulkes
I'm so excited to be collaborating with downtown Petaluma's Sonoma Spice Queen store this holiday season, pairing my Petaluma, Sonoma County-set novel The House on Liberty Street — Home of Second Chances with a hand-selected range of Italian-inspired herbs, spices and treats. It's an invitation to recreate the wonderful meals made by the book's main character, Adamaria, the Italian American matriarch of a rambling Victorian home and its busy kitchen.
Sonoma Spice Queen is one of my favorite local purveyors and friends. Owner, Wind McAllister works tirelessly to bring us the best hand crafted organic, small-batch herbs, spices and innovative, top quality rubs. Through her love of cooking and cultural exploration, the world is at our fingertips with a tantalizing range that exceeds anything you can buy in the supermarket.
Adamaria cooks up a storm for an old-fashioned family Christmas for herself, her daughter, Gracie and Gracie's two little girls. The family is making ends meet but the festive season is honored in traditional Italian American culinary style, with fresh crab meat, homemade biscotti, cannelloni, a roast leg of lamb, tiramisu and other favorites.
The story starts with Adamaria's granddaughters Izzie and Rosa playing a game of festive make believe on the afternoon of Christmas Eve:
"A rich scent of stovetop onion, garlic, celery and carrots sauteed in olive oil had snaked its way upwards, despite an absence of heat, into the confines of the second floor. A diffusion of odor particles had infused the crumbling insulation with the warming notes of Adamaria's bubbling, stovetop Ragu. This comforting aroma registered in Izzie's mouth before it hit her nose, coating the tiny taste buds inside her tongue, her throat, the roof of her mouth."
Located at 9 Fourth Street in Petaluma's historic iron front boutique shopping district, Sonoma Spice Queen uses only non irradiated ingredients with no gluten, MSG, salt, sugar or other fillers found in many mass produced herbs and spices. All, attractive packaging is produced in USA and is 100% recyclable. If you're not in Sonoma County, Sonoma Spice Queen is happy to ship from online orders. A selection for the cooks in your life makes a wonderful gift during the holidays or anytime of the year.
This special, seasonal Sonoma Spice Queen & The House on Liberty Street Gift Box is available in the store and costs $95. It includes a copy of the book, Sonoma Spice Queen's Italian Herb and Garlic Mix, Bodega Bay Seafood Mix , Sonoma Herb and Garlic Salt, Vanilla Bean Hot Chocolate, and a cute handmade, holiday chocolate and toffee stocking.
There are lots more items in store to add to this gift if you're going all-out. Local olive oils and vinegars, baking spices, dishtowels, salts and spreads . . .
The audiobook version of The House on Liberty Street — Home of Second Chances is available wherever you buy your audiobooks. Narrated by fellow Petaluman, Jennifer March, of Jen's Voices, the audio version is a fantastic way to soak in this unforgettable story, set between December 24th and 25th, 2019. I like to tell people to put another log on the fire, make a pot of tea and settle in for an immersive holiday read, or listen, but the addition of the audiobook lends itself perfectly for those long, holiday journeys.
Here are links to the audiobook on Audible and AMPlify (best platform for author royalties) and Audiobooks.com and Barnes and Noble. Also find it on Spotify, Googlebooks and elsewhere.
If you choose to buy a print copy of the book at Sonoma Spice Queen, know you'll be supporting local women in small business. Copperfields has copies or will order if out and its widely available in print online. Message me if you have a bulk order for holiday gifting.
The following image I took a photo of in a tiny Italian restaurant in the countryside several years ago. I found it after I had written this book and it is Adamaria and her late husband Aldo all over, back in the day before her hair went white!
Click here for some of Adamaria's recipes on my author website.
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