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Today’s guest post features G.P. Gottlieb, author of the Whipped & Sipped Mystery series. Below, she shares a look at one of her characters and the themes of food, tradition, and personal values found throughout the series.
Respect and Other Ingredients
by G.P. Gottlieb
Ruthie Rosin, the pastry chef in my Whipped and Sipped Mystery series, is sweet-natured, quick-witted, and spiritual. She observes centuries-old Jewish traditions but lives in the contemporary, real world with her husband and three children.
When Alene and Frank, her fiancé, bring her children to Ruthie’s house for a meal, she reminds them about the Rosins’ practices. In addition to keeping a kosher home, Ruthie is vegan. She doesn’t wear or eat any animal products: no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no honey.
Ruthie allows her children to make their own decisions about what they eat, as long as it’s kosher. “But if it comes from an animal,” she says, “I will not even touch it.”
Alene’s children love when they’re invited for a Friday night dinner, celebrated as the Sabbath in the Rosin’s house. They sit attentively through the songs and prayers even though they don’t understand the words, and their favorite part is the assortment of desserts. What Alene most admires is Ruthie’s beautiful platters of vegetables and grains drizzled with tahini and topped with pomegranate seeds.
Frank is usually in awe of the combinations of flavors and textures. “I never imagined vegetables could taste this good,” he said the first time he attended a Sabbath dinner at the Rosins. “But my favorite thing is the warm, fluffy challah with dips,” he added as he tore a chunk off the loaf, inhaled its warm yeastiness, and dunked it in a bright red beet dip. Later that night, he told Alene that he never expected a meal without animal or fish protein to be so filling.
When asked, Ruthie explains that her love of animals was the core motive for becoming vegan. “They shouldn’t suffer,” she says. “And eating animal products has not been proven to be necessary for living a long, healthy life.”
Ruthie’s view is that food is more than survival. “It’s family and memories,” she says “It’s about home and being together with those we love. It doesn’t have to involve meat.”
One Friday night, when she described calves being separated from their mothers, the children listened with tears in their eyes. “And the way poultry is slaughtered is horrific, whether or not it’s kosher,” Ruthie said. “I won’t go into detail while we’re eating.”
Alene’s eldest child, Sierra, immediately decided to give up meat, but within weeks, went back to eating whatever Alene prepared. “I totally agree with Ruthie, Mom,” she said, “but it’s too hard, and I love eggs.”
Before Alene bought the café, Ruthie made clear that she wouldn’t work with animal products. But working together was part of Alene’s dream. After barely surviving the pandemic shutdown, Alene tried to convince Ruthie to allow eggs and dairy in the café. Ruthie agreed to continue as pastry chef if there were no butter, honey, or eggs in the baking section. The baked goods had to be strictly vegan.
Some customers praise the pastries as fluffy and not too sweet, some complain about the lack of butter and eggs, and some argue that because the pastries are vegan, prices should be reduced.
I am not vegan, and neither is Alene, but we both admire the intention with which Ruthie approaches food. When she first met Ruthie at college, Alene tried to be vegan and found it exhausting. She became anemic, had stomach problems, and understood that it was her personal struggle.
Alene believes in respecting food preferences. After her 7th grade daughter made a face and exclaimed, “Yuck,” when a visiting friend put raisins in her cereal, Alene admonished her. When her 5th grader spit out a piece of pineapple at a restaurant, Alene sent her to the restroom to wash her hands and later discussed nicer ways to respond. And when her 3rd grade son loudly complained about the smell of someone’s order, Alene pulled him aside for a little talk about not needing to share every opinion in every situation.
How much nicer would the world be if everyone learned some of Alene’s lessons? In Alene’s home and Ruthie’s kitchen, the key is respecting others, both how they live and what they choose to eat.
About The Whipped and Sipped Cozy Mystery Series
Welcome to Whipped & Sipped—where the pastries are guilt-free, the coffee is strong, and the gossip might just get you killed. Murder is on the menu—served warm with muffins and lattes.
Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Illinois
Publisher : Anamcara Press LLC
Publication date : September 10, 2025
Print length : 284 pages
Paperback
ISBN-10 : 1960462695
ISBN-13 : 978-1960462695
Digital
ISBN-13 : 978-1960462701
ASIN : B0FQJTGGLJ
Audiobook
ASIN B07Z8XLRBL
Alene Baron has built more than a café—she’s built a community. At Whipped & Sipped, customers linger over Ruthie’s decadent-but-healthy desserts, children flock to Saturday story hour, and knitting groups craft blankets for refugee families. Alene prides herself on knowing her patrons so well she can often place “a wholegrain blueberry muffin on the counter before the customer themselves knew” they wanted it.
But when her neighbor and close friend is murdered, Alene’s cozy world begins to unravel. Suddenly, everyone she knows could be a suspect, and she starts noticing the smallest inconsistencies, furtive glances, and unexplained comings and goings around the café. With each clue and misstep, Alene pieces together a tangled web of secrets, realizing that danger may be closer than she ever imagined—and that her own family could be in the killer’s sights.
With her sharp eye for detail, wry sense of humor, and fierce devotion to her children, Alene steps into the role of amateur sleuth. But in a community where tempers flare over hot chocolate, grudges linger for years, and secrets hide beneath friendly smiles, finding the killer may prove harder than whipping up the perfect soufflé.
Battered, the first in G.P. Gottlieb’s Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series, is a delectable blend of mouthwatering recipes, quirky neighborhood drama, and page-turning suspense. Perfect for fans of culinary cozies, it’s a tale where friendship, food, and murder are always on the menu.
Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Illinois
Publisher : Anamcara Press LLC
Publication date : January 30, 2026Print length : 272 pages
Paperback
ISBN-10 : 1960462792
ISBN-13 : 978-1960462794
Digital
ISBN-13 : 978-1960462800
ASIN : B0GKNS2QY5
Murder is on the menu—served warm with muffins and lattes.
In the second Whipped and Sipped Mystery, café owner Alene Baron isn’t exactly grieving when the neighboring business owner is found dead in his office. Stanley Huff was shady, sloppy, and smug about his dubious food supplements—and his watery smoothies didn’t help. He also never cleaned up his trash in their shared alley. Stanley had plenty of enemies. Unfortunately, one of them may be Alene’s own employee—who has now vanished.
The real surprise isn’t who wanted him dead—it’s how many people did. Drawn into the investigation, caterer and reluctant sleuth Alene uncovers a snarl of family drama involving a missing will, bitter heirs, and long-buried financial secrets. Every lead contradicts the last, red herrings pile up, and resentments simmer just beneath the surface.
As the mystery deepens, Alene juggles more than suspects. Between running her café, caring for her family, and protecting her staff, she finds herself relying on sharp instincts, quiet observation, and a steady supply of inventive vegan dishes. Food and detection go hand in hand, adding warmth, humor, and heart to every turn of the case. With its cozy charm and relatable heroine, Smothered is more than a clever whodunit. It explores family ties, the corrosive pull of greed, and the small truths people reveal underpressure. Rich in character, culinary flair, and emotional insight, this mystery delivers satisfying twists—and leaves a lasting aftertaste.
Charred: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Illinois
Publisher : Anamcara Press LLC
Publication date : May 30, 2026
Print length : 250 pages
Digital
ISBN-13 : 978-1960462831
ASIN : B0GQ1PY589
At the Whipped and Sipped Café, Alene Baron knows how to handle a kitchen fire—but this blaze may burn far beyond her control.
When a suspicious fire draws Alene, her loyal friend Kacey, and Kacey’s boyfriend Kofi to a charred property in search of salvaged wood, they expect nothing more than a little trespassing and a lot of soot. Instead, whispers of arson swirl through their tight-knit community—and before long, a body turns up amid the ashes.
Kofi fears the police will come knocking. Kacey fears someone saw them. And Alene is caught in the middle, torn between protecting the people she loves and telling the truth to her partner, homicide detective Frank. Shaw Because in this town, secrets don’t stay buried. They smolder.
About G.P. Gottlieb
G. P. Gottlieb has been a musician, teacher, and administrator, but she’s happiest writing recipe-laced murder mysteries and inventing mostly vegetarian recipes that are nothing like what she learned in courses at Chicago’s French Pastry School. Gottlieb is active in Sisters in Crime (Chicago and Colorado) and has interviewed over 275 authors as a host for New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network. She writes stories and essays that are published in a variety of journals and blogs, is a mother and grandmother, and lives with her husband in a Chicago high-rise that is strikingly similar to the building portrayed in the Whipped and Sipped Mystery series.
Author Links
WebsiteBluesky
Medium
Substack
Purchase Links
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Thank you to G.P. Gottlieb for visiting Salty Inspirations and sharing this thoughtful perspective from her series. If this glimpse into her world has you curious, be sure to add the Whipped & Sipped Mystery series to your TBR.
While you’re here, feel free to browse more cozy features, guest posts, and bookish inspiration around the blog.
As always, thanks for stopping by for some Salty Inspirations! —Michelle❤️
