G IS FOR GILDA GRECO (AND ME)

Please welcome guest blogger Joanne Guidoccio.

Joanne, we're so glad you could join us again. We are so tickled you wanted to 'play along' with our A - Z challenge.

While imagining the protagonist of

A Season for Killing Blondes, I

realized she could easily be my

literary twin. In fact, I like to tell

people that Gilda Greco is 70

percent of me. As to how I came

up with that particular number,

let’s just say my well-honed left

brain did all the work.


Some similarities...

1. Born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, Gilda and I lived in Gatchell, the Italian section of town.

2. We love to read and could spend hours curled up with our favorite books.

3. In school, we were high-achieving, happy nerds who majored in mathematics and then decided to pursue teaching careers.

4. In spite of our mathematical knowledge of probability, we buy lottery tickets. Gilda hit the jackpot and won $19 million in Lotto 649. As for me, I’m still buying tickets and hoping! BTW...the probability of winning Lotto 649 is 1 in 13,983,816.

5. We spent the early years of our teaching careers in Sudbury.

6. We relocated to Southern Ontario and ended up teaching in Guelph.

7. We completed the Career Development Practitioner program at Conestoga College. I had hoped to pursue a second career as a career counselor but personal and health circumstances intervened. Instead, I am living vicariously through Gilda who has set up her own ReCareering office in Sudbury.

8. We love our zebra colors. Black pantsuits are staples in our wardrobes.

9. We are non-foodies. That’s right, we don’t like to cook or bake. But we have a great appreciation for all foodies who possess that special gift.

10. We love cheesecake. And one of our favorites is Blueberry Delight, an easy-to-prepare recipe that actually calls for frozen blueberries. We invite all non-foodies (and foodies) to try our recipe.

Blueberry Delight

Ingredients:

½ cup brown sugar
2 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
¾ cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
32 ounces sweetened whipped cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 ½ cups frozen blueberries

Procedure:

Combine brown sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and butter.
Press into the bottom of a 9” x 13” rectangular pan.
Bake for ten minutes at 325o F.
Cool the crust.
Cream together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice.
Add whipped cream and fold in blueberries using a wooden spoon.
Pour mixture into the pan.
Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Servings: 15

Note: Seven more easy-to-prepare desserts are featured in A Season for Killing Blondes.

Amazon: http://is.gd/jADjPp
Website: http://joanneguidoccio.com/

A lucky commenter will receive a free eBook of A Season for Killing Blondes.

Joanne, thanks so much for guesting with us again! You are welcome back anytime...