Red Snapper, Veracruz Style
Serves 6
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, well drained, juices reserved
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 small bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped pitted green olives
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons drained capers
6 4- to 5-ounce red snapper fillets
Place drained tomatoes in medium bowl and crush them to a coarse puree. Drain again, reserving juices.
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and stir 30 seconds. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add tomato puree and cook 1 minute. Add bay leaves, parsley, oregano, garlic and 1/4 cup reserved tomato juices. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Add olives, raisins, capers, and all remaining reserved tomato juices. Simmer until sauce thickens again, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
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| Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread 3 tablespoons sauce in bottom of 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange fish atop sauce. Sprinkle fish lightly with salt and pepper. Spoon remaining sauce over. Bake uncovered until fish is just opaque in the center, about 18 minutes. |
An Excerpt From My Newest Book On Cats
In a male-dominated environment, things are very macho, and you
can't show weakness
Hyder Akbar
Macho Guys Finish Last
We live in a culture where we have to be strong—macho. When
in doubt, send in the police and the military. If the police are needed in a
civilian action, be sure they are well-armed with shields, tear gas and items
needed to subdue the crowd. The United States Army has been providing military
weapons to local police forces, so it is not uncommon to see armored vehicles,
bayonets, grenade launchers and .50-caliber ammunition as part of the police
arsenal. In recent years, there have been peaceful demonstrations and the
police have treated the participants like they were enemy combatants. In some
cases, the police have tear-gassed or pepper-sprayed the protesters, and beat
others with clubs.
Often we see scenes on cop shows where unarmed civilians are
on one side and the police are on the other, carrying shields and weapons, or
we see twenty armed policemen with battering rams and shields racing into an
apartment to arrest one individual. It seems in a civilized society, the police
would negotiate, but here—no way. In our media and in real life, the police
have to be macho.
Bringing this closer to home, on January 5, 2011, the
Monterey County Sheriff’s SWAT team descended on the property of a 31-year-old
father of four. They drove an armored vehicle into his yard, and a team of
paramilitary enforcers surrounded the property with the intent to extract the
man or kill him if necessary.
The Sheriff’s Department mistakenly believed that this man
may have been a suspect in a non-fatal shooting. However, he was not involved
in the shooting and was unarmed in the house. Officially, the police were just
going there to execute a search warrant on the property.
In the execution of this search warrant, the SWAT team
launched a military-style operation. With their troops in position, they
demanded surrender through a “thunder hailer” megaphone. The man remained in
his home, so the raid team broke his front window and threw a flashbang grenade
into his living room. The grenade lodged itself between two couches and quickly
caught them on fire. The flames then led to a nearby Christmas tree and
escalated to the ceiling.
An officer holding a fire extinguisher immediately halted
his attempts to extinguish the fire when they saw someone in the home. SWAT
officers drew their weapons and pointed them at the man, who was standing in
his smoky living room, wearing only shorts and holding nothing in his hands.
They refused to put out the fire or help the man leave the house.
The man succumbed to the toxic smoke filling his house and
died of asphyxiation in his bedroom, leaving his four children without a
father. Later, the Sherriff called the actions of the deputies heroic, and the
family eventually settled their suit against the county for 2.6 million
dollars. The deputies were never punished for their behavior.
This whole macho thing is reinforced by the courts. You
receive what you believe to be an unwarranted traffic ticket, and you decide to
fight it. In Santa Clara County, CA, a letter comes with the date and time of
your court appearance. The commissioner who will hear the case is on a raised
platform. First, everyone promises to tell the truth. Then, the commissioner
will ask defendants one at a time how they want to plead: innocent, guilty or
no contest. If you plead guilty, the commissioner will suggest traffic school
and, of course, you have to pay the fine plus more money to attend the school.
For a fee of $30, you can have extra time to pay the ticket; for $35, you can
do an installment plan. If you don’t show up, then a $300 service fee is added
to your fine. A fix-it ticket costs $25.00, and the same amount is due if your
ticket is dismissed. This moneymaking operation is in full swing. Those people
pleading innocent will be scheduled for a trial.
I watched 37 trials. In 13 of the trials, the policemen did
not show up. If the defendant hadn’t shown up, there would have been a $300
fine, but there’s no punishment for the police. Everyone was found guilty in
the trials I attended, with three exceptions. One ticket was from 2007 and the
officer had lost his notes, so he asked that the case be dismissed. In the
second case, the officer sent a note that it should be dismissed in the
interest of justice. In the last case, the woman was incarcerated when the
ticket was issued, so obviously she could not have also been receiving a ticket
on a light rail train. In every other case, the police had to win.
My cats have a better idea. As I have mentioned before, they
stake out a mole hole or an area where there are birds and mice. Chubby will
start and sit perfectly still for an hour or so, then the Mitzer will take her
place. They understand the idea of cooperating. Suddenly, the cat on duty will
pounce and successfully catch a small bird a mouse or a mole. Then, they bring
the dead animals into the house as gifts. There’s no macho behavior involved.
Cooperation is the key.
One time, there was a horrible smell in the house. I moved
the piano and found a decaying mouse. Last week, there was a mole and a small
bird under the dining room table. My cats cooperate with each other, catch the
prey and then provide a gift to me. Not totally flawless, but it’s a great
system.
Barack Obama understands the theory that my cats are using,
and he has been the first president in recent history to choose negotiation and
cooperation over military action. His Iran deal is the perfect example of this
theory in action. Over the objections of Israel, the United States plus seven
other countries cooperated together and were able to forge a deal so that Iran
wouldn’t be able to develop nuclear weapons. In fact, during January 2016, Iran’s
nuclear stockpiles were shipped to Russia. Negotiation proved to be much more
effective than being macho. Unfortunately, Obama has been rebuked and hated by
many of the people in this country. The gift he has given to the American
people is not to be involved in another ground war.
Typically in negotiations, both sides come in with
unreasonable positions and then, through discussion and sometimes workplace
actions, both sides finally agree to a solution. This is the macho process
where the leader of each side has to appear tough.
There is a better way, as Obama has demonstrated; it’s
called interest-based bargaining. The first step in a negotiation is to break
up the items into smaller pieces. Then, you start with the least controversial
parts. Both sides look at what they really want and what they can give up until
an agreement is reached on that issue. As they go up the ladder trying to solve
more difficult issues, trust is built, and if all goes well both sides will
reach a compromise on the main item. This method is far superior to the macho
method. In fact, this method was used at Camp David in 1978 to sign a historic
agreement between Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister
Menacham Begin. In life, we have to value teamwork and drop our macho stance.
As my cats have shown, being macho doesn’t get you much.
Instead figure out what you really want, work as a team and make sure everyone
is a winner.