Reflections of the Mind

Murder, She Wrote S2:E6

Jenny Hammerton

Jul 6

If you had a music box that repeatedly played all by itself in the middle of the night, you’d be spooked, right?

When your pet canary died suddenly and then appeared to live again, that would be weird too, wouldn’t it?

When a dead man appears in her bathroom, it’s almost the last straw for Ann Blyth’s character, Francesca Lodge.

Francesca seems to be a victim of gaslighting; many things make her think she is losing her mind.

When Jessica comes to her aid, she finds her friend in a hospital psychiatric ward. J.B. is, of course, more than happy to offer support at this challenging time.

However, the two old chums don’t have much time to catch up, as Francesca’s young husband Scott dies when his car mysteriously runs off the road. Jessica naturally suspects foul play and is determined to get to the bottom of things.

Blueberry Muffins would be a lovely thing to bake if your nerves are a bit frazzled like Francesca’s. So, sit yourself down with a nice pot of tea

and a few of these and enjoy the tall tale we are told.

Ann Blyth’s Blueberry Muffins
1 egg
4 tablespoons shortening
1 cup milk
2 cups sifted all-purpose/plain flour
⅓ cup of sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries
Grease 8 muffin tins and preheat oven to 425℉.
Beat the egg until foamy. Melt the shortening and add this to the milk. Then combine this mixture with the beaten egg.
Sift the dry ingredients together saving one tablespoon to shake with the berries (this stops them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins).
Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture. Combine them using 15 strokes of your spoon. Beat in the lightly floured berries with 5 more strokes only. The batter will, and should, look lumpy.
Drop the batter from a spoon into the muffin tins. Fill the tins about ⅔ full. Bake for 20 minutes and you'll have 8 luscious muffins. Hope you enjoy them!
Makes 8

Next time on Murder, She Cooked a recipe from the kitchen of Lee Meriwether.