FOODFIC: Please Welcome Margaret Mizushima, Author of the Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries

My Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries feature K-9 Deputy Mattie Cobb, her four-legged partner Robo, and Cole Walker, Robo’s veterinarian and Mattie’s love interest. Together they investigate and solve crimes in their Colorado mountain community. But in the midst of all the murder and mayhem in that small town, Mattie does take time to eat, and the one person she loves to sit down and share a meal with is Mama T, her childhood foster mom.

As a Latina who has raised many children, Mama T infuses lots of love in the food she cooks. After a hard day, Mattie might stop by to check on her mama, and she’ll take home a bowl of green chili with pork laced with love, as well as a package of warm homemade tortillas fresh from the skillet. (See my husband’s version of green chili below.)

On a Sunday morning, Mattie will share some quiet time with Mama T before her current set of foster kids wake up. They feast on one of Mattie’s favorite meals, huevos rancheros with green chili sauce. 

In Burning Ridge, the fourth book in the series, an older foster daughter returns to Timber Creek to visit Mama T. Mattie joins them in her foster mother’s kitchen so the three of them can make tamales together, a ritual that speaks of love from their childhood. This scene takes place shortly before a killer from her past stalks Mattie and kidnaps her, taking her to a cave in the mountains where he tries to force her into giving him information she doesn’t even know.

Mattie is involved in plenty of action scenes in which she and Robo work together. They might be searching the high country for a missing person or tracking down a fugitive. They search for evidence at crime scenes and sweep vehicles for drugs. They might follow trails for miles to take down killers. It’s a good thing that Mattie fuels her body with good food, so she has the energy to keep up with her dog.

There are currently seven mysteries in the Timber Creek K-9 series, starting with Killing Trail, which introduces Mattie and Robo, Mama T, Cole Walker, and all the people who work at the Timber Creek County Sheriff’s Department. I invite you to enter the lives of some good folks who work hard to protect their community, to get to know what’s important to them, and to also answer the question—but what are they eating?

My husband’s recipe: Mama T’s Green Chili with Pork

4 lbs. pork roast, shoulder or butt

1 large can peeled chili peppers

1 small can adobo

1 diced bell pepper

1 large chopped onion

2 large cans diced tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

2 cloves minced garlic

1 t. ground cumin

1 t. salt

¼ t. black pepper

½ t. red pepper flakes

1 T. chili powder

(Seasonings may be adjusted for desired spiciness)

Slow cook for four hours. Shred pork. Serve with tortillas and enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your food for thought, Margaret!

You can find Margaret here:

MargaretMizushima.com

Twitter @margmizu

Facebook Fan Page

Books on Amazon

Margaret Mizushima writes the award winning and internationally published Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries. She serves as immediate past president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and was elected Writer of the Year by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writes. She lives in Colorado on a small ranch with her veterinarian husband where they raised two daughters and and a multitude of animals.