Meet Margaret Welch from Lawn Order!

Molly: Hi, thanks for stopping by Vintage Cookbooks today. And special thanks to Amy for letting me spend the next five Mondays interviewing my longtime friends from Stonewall, Tennessee. This is a group of people I’ve grown fond of over the last, gosh, more than twenty years. They’re a fun bunch and have been kind enough to let me write up some of their adventures. The resulting stories have appeared in the pages of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine off and on since January 1990. And now they have some exciting news to share and a few recipes, too. Today I’m talking with Margaret Welch, owner of Blue Plum Books, a combination new and used bookstore located in a – well, you describe it for us, Margaret. You’re looking great, by the way.

Margaret: Really? Thanks. Let Bitsy know you think so when you see her, will you? She seemed to think I should wear heels. Okay, Blue Plum Books. The business and I live symbiotically in a Craftsman-style foursquare that’s about a hundred years old. It’s a nice space. The books take up most of the downstairs and I take up some of the upstairs. We’re on Main Street in Stonewall, in case anyone wants to stop by. We’re always happy to see people.

Molly: It’s a charming bookstore. Lots of atmosphere. So, Margaret, what’s your big news?

Margaret: We’re all in a book. Holy cow, can you believe it? I mean, we told you that story about the poisoned pigeons and the exploding fish pond, what, ten years ago? And now it’s out there. Of course, you know that because you wrote it. Still, I’m amazed. You even called it Lawn Order. Bitsy will love that part.

Molly: Well, I’m glad you’re pleased. Now, to keep this interview at least somewhat in line with the focus of Amy’s blog, quite a bit of food is mentioned in the book, isn’t it? Including a flaming dessert?

Margaret: Oh yes, and they’re big flames, too, but that comes later in the book and it isn’t my contribution. I brought the recipe for salmon loaf Cousin Leona wrote out for me. It’s one of my favorite recipes and it’s pretty much foolproof.

Molly: It doesn’t look spicy, though.

Margaret: That depends on whether you mistake cayenne pepper for the paprika and use it liberally.

Molly: Yow.

Margaret: Yeah. That’s why I qualified the “foolproof” with “pretty much.”

Molly: Okay, well, thank you, Margaret. The recipe looks delicious. We’ve been talking to Margaret Welch from the new book Lawn Order. Next Monday Margaret’s sister, Bitsy, will join us with her recipe. Any idea what that will be, Margaret?

Margaret: Not a clue, but I’m looking forward to it. She’s a good cook.