The Accidental Alchemist (28 page)

author’s note

Though this book is a work of fiction,
The Accidental Alchemist
is based on fascinating historical facts that were too good not to run with in fiction.

Dorian’s “father,” Jean Eug
è
ne Robert-Houdin, was a French stage magician who lived from 1805 to 1871. He’s considered the father of modern magic, for donning formal attire and moving magic from the streets into theaters. The biographical information in the book is true—including the facts that Robert-Houdin was a clockmaker who stumbled across magic by accident, and that he was asked by the French government to avert a crisis in Algeria. He helped convince Algerian rebels called the Marabouts that his “magic” was more powerful than that of local Marabout elders, therefore impressing the Algerian mullah leaders and helping the French cause. Fiction takes over where Dorian enters his life; his autobiography does not include anything about bringing a stone gargoyle to life.

French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879) was a contemporary of Robert-Houdin. Viollet-le-Duc is famous for restoring Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, not only repairing it but also bringing new life to the cathedral. It was he who added the gallery of gargoyles—technically “grotesques” or “chimeras” because they don’t serve as functional water spouts.

I took the liberty of making the two men friends and having Viollet-le-Duc give a prototype stone gargoyle to Robert-Houdin as a gift. As far as history has recorded, no such exchange took place.

Nicolas Flamel was a fourteenth-century bookseller and scrivener in Paris. He and his wife Perenelle donated large sums of money to charity, which Nicolas claimed was gold he had acquired through alchemy. The two lived exceptionally long lives for their time, and when their graves were exhumed years later, no bodies were found.

Many early scientists were alchemists who practiced their craft in secret. Isaac Newton was one such scientist who carried out alchemical experiments secretly, and it’s speculated that a nervous breakdown Newton suffered may have been caused by mercury poisoning.

———

The Accidental Alchemist
is very much my “cancer book.” The month after my thirty-sixth birthday, I was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. The Elixir of Life was a powerful idea during that time, as was life transformation in general. For National Novel Writing Month du
ring the year of my cancer treatments, I wrote a draft that became
The Accidental Alchemist
.

I’ve always loved all things mysterious, and have been fascinated by gargoyles from an early age. I run the Gargoyle Girl blog of mysterious photography (www.gargoylegirl.com) and had toyed with the idea of writing a gargoyle as a minor character in a book or a short story. When I began jotting down notes about Dorian, he refused to stay in the shadows.

The cooking thread of the book emerged because my husband and I had recently moved from a tiny apartment to a house with a large kitchen and a little bit of land in the backyard. A passionate gardener, my husband planted an organic vegetable garden. I took cooking classes, wanting to take advantage of the biggest kitchen I’d ever had, as well as the herbs and vegetables we were growing. I didn’t expect it, but I fell in love with cooking.

After my cancer diagnosis made me take charge of my health, I taught myself to cook vegan meals from scratch that were just as good as—and often better than—anything I’d eaten before. Through a combination of more classes and experimentation, I discove
red tricks that transformed foods into decadent savories
without using bacon
. Once I’d done that, I knew I was ready to write a book involving cooking.

I hope you enjoy the transformations in
The Accidental Alchemist
. Recipes, like life, aren’t set in stone, so definitely try out your own variations on the recipes I’ve included here. Since this book takes place during the winter, the foods in this book are seasonal winter foods. Next time around, it’ll be springtime …

In the meantime, you can find more information, including how to get in touch with me, at www.gigipandian.com. I love hearing from readers.

recipes

Kid-Friendly Green Smoothie (Vegan)

Total prep time: Under 15 minutes

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 green apple or 1 ripe green pear (use an apple for a tart smoothie, or a pear for a sweeter one)
  
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled
  
• ½ ripe avocado, skin and pit removed
  
• 1 ½ cups frozen broccoli
  Tip: For creamy sweetness, frozen broccoli works much better than fresh.
  
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled (or more to taste)
  
• 1 heaping tbsp cacao nibs or unsweetened cocoa powder
  Tip: If you use cocoa powder instead of cacao nibs, it will turn your green smoothie brown—similar to a chocolate milkshake.
  
• 1 heaping tbsp peanut butter or almond butter
  
• Approx. 1½ cups of coconut water
  Tip: You can find canned coconut water at health food stores, often in 11 fl. oz. cans that provide the perfect amount of liquid for this smoothie. If you can’t find coconut water, substitute water plus a little bit of added sweetener of your choice.
  
• Optional: a few fresh mint leaves
  

Directions:

Chop the above ingredients roughly, then blend together in a blender. Add more or less liquid depending on how thick you’d like it.

Variations for a less sweet smoothie:

• Greens substitution: a few leaves of fresh kale instead of frozen broccoli
  
• Protein substitution: a heaping tbsp of hulled hemp seeds or 2 tbsp soaked chia seeds instead of peanut butter
  Tip: Unlike hemp seeds, chia seeds expand in water and benefit from soaking. Soak 3 tbsp dry chia seeds in ¾ cup water. Let sit for 10 minutes or longer, shake or stir the mixture to avoid clumping, then store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
  
• Liquid substitution: plain water instead of coconut water
  
• Additions: Lots of green vegetables work well in this smoothie, such as celery, spinach, and parsley—try out your favorites.
  

Cherry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)

Total cooking time: Under 30 minutes

Makes 12 cookies

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  
• ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  
• ¼ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
  
• 2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 tsp baking soda
  
• ¼ tsp sea salt
  

Wet ingredients:

• ¼ cup maple syrup
  
• 1
  ⁄
  3
  cup olive oil
  
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla
  

Mix-in ingredients:

• 1
  ⁄
  3
  cup chopped walnuts (or substitute a favorite nut)
  
• 1
  ⁄
  3
  cup unsweetened dried tart cherries (or substitute chocolate chips or a favorite dried fruit, such as cranberries)
  Tip: Even if you’re not a fan of plain dried cherries, try them here at least once because this flavor combination brings out the best in them.
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Stir the combined wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in the mix-in ingredients.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Form approximately 12 cookie dough balls with your hands, and place them on the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 12 minutes.

Roasted Butternut Squash
with Lemon Tahini Sauce (Vegan)

Total cooking time: A little over an hour

Makes a side dish for 4, or a light main course for 2

Note: This is a great dish to serve meat-eaters who are skeptical that hearty vegan foods exist. The creamy, flavorful tahini sauce is a crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients for squash:

• 1 large butternut squash
  
• 1 large white onion (or substitute a smaller yellow onion; white onions are milder)
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• ½ tsp dried rosemary
  
• ½ tsp dried sage
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• Optional: ¼ cup raw pepitas, a.k.a shelled pumpkin seeds
  
• Optional: paprika, for garnish
  

Ingredients for tahini sauce:

• ½ cup tahini
  Tip: Tahini is a sesame seed paste. You can often find it in a jar in the peanut butter aisle or with Middle Eastern foods, but if you find it to be expensive or hard to find, you can always make your own from scratch. See www.gigipandian
  .com/recipes for a recipe to make tahini from scratch.
  
• 3 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  
• ½ cup water
  
• ¼ tsp granulated garlic (for a chunkier sauce, substitute 2 minced garlic cloves)
  
• ¼ tsp sea salt (or more to taste)
  
• Optional: cayenne to taste
  

Directions:

Preheat oven t
o 425. Peel butternut squash and cut into ½-inch cubes, discarding the seeds. (
Tip: If the squash is difficult to cut, pierce with a knife and microwave it for a minute or two to soften it.)
Peel the onion and chop roughly. Toss squash and onion with olive oil, then spread out on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle spices on top. Bake for approximately 40 to 50 minutes, stirring once after 20 minu
tes.

While the squash mixture is baking, prepare the sauce. Whisk all the sauce ingredients together, then taste to adjust for salt and spice levels.

Tip: You’ll most likely have extra sauce. It’s a versatile sauce, which also works well as a salad dressing. Pour into a lidded glass jar and it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Tip: You can use more or less water, depending on preferred consistency, keeping in mind that the sauce will thicken in the fridge.

Optional touch for a tasty garnish: Toast ¼ cup raw pepitas in a dry skillet on medium heat for a few minutes, until they begin to pop.

Tip: Always watch toasting nuts, as they burn quickly.

To serve: Transfer squash mixture to a serving bowl, drizzle with tahini sauce, toss pepitas on top, and sprinkle with a dash of paprika.

For more recipes and tips, visit www.gigipandian.com/recipes.

About the Author

Gigi Pandian lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with an overgrown organic vegetable garden in her backyard. A breast cancer diagnosis in her thirties taught her two important life lessons: healing foods can taste amazing, and life’s too short to waste a single moment. Therefore she writes the
Accidental Alchemist
mystery series while drinking delectable green smoothies and eating decadent home-cooked meals. Gigi was awarded the Malice Domestic Grant for her debut mystery novel. She does not apologize for loving kale. Find her online at www.gigipandian.com.