Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
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- Author: Mia P. Manansala
- Language: English
- Genre: Asian American Literature
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
You do realize we’re a cafe, not a plant shop, right?”
I stared at the array of blooms and greenery filling the front of the
Brew-ha Cafe, all lovingly grown and arranged by Elena Torres, the cafe’s
resident green witch. Her plants, dried herbs, and teas had always been an
important part of our business, but they usually had their own corner, which
she carefully tended.
Today, they spilled out over almost every surface in the shop: Our
floating shelves held potted spring flowers, adding a riot of color that
popped against our brick accent wall. Long tendrils of lush greenery trailed
down our pastry cases. And the invigorating aroma of fresh herbs wafted
around the cafe from their places at each table, the fragrance of basil,
rosemary, mint, and lavender providing a wonderful antidote for those
getting over the winter blahs. You’d think it’d be overwhelming combined
with the cafe scents of coffee, tea, and pastries, but they somehow worked
in harmony and created our own version of Brew-ha Cafe aromatherapy.
Elena just grinned at me. “We are a business that likes to make money,
and I guarantee you that all the plant parents and aspiring plant parents who
come here will snatch these up in no time. Besides, spring is so beautiful
and fleeting, we should really take advantage of it. Our customers love our
seasonal offerings.”
Spring had most definitely sprung in my little hometown of Shady
Palms, Illinois, and all the residents were preparing for the Big Spring
Clean taking place in about two weeks, an annual monthlong event where
local business owners offered discounts to entice customers out after a long
winter. It was also the perfect time to clear out old stock and start
advertising our new seasonal offerings.
My best friend and other business partner, Adeena Awan, was embracing
spring’s floral vibes by pushing her signature lavender chai latte as well as
her new seasonal creations, including a lavender honey latte (the honey
sourced from Elena’s uncle’s local apiary), lavender calamansi-ade, and a
sampaguita matcha latte (I didn’t really like floral flavors, but even I had to
admit the matcha drink was stunning).
As for me, I was leaning into “spring means green” and had prepared
pandan-pistachio shortbread and brownies with a pandan cheesecake swirl.
I also came up with a red bean brownie recipe, which wasn’t particularly
spring-like, but hey, I was in a brownie mood. And for a quick no-bake
option, I developed buko pandan mochi Rice Krispie treats, which would be
sure to delight our younger customers (or anyone, really; I had to keep
smacking Adeena’s hands away from the tray when I was testing it because
she kept snatching bits of it while it cooled). I finished stocking the pastry
case and moved to prop open the cafe door—we weren’t due to open for
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