Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Summer/Winter Sale
The price is only $1.50 for: Murder Before The Bell, The Fishy Chips, The Winning Certificate, Death In The Science Classroom, and Death Of A Foster Child. Mellow Out--Lessons Learned From Household Cats is only $.99.
Sunday, June 18, 2017
A Little Less Earth Shaking
Mellow Out--Lessons Learned From Household Cats is now available in paperback from Amazon ($3.99)
This book is a fun read that explores the influence cats have on our lives. The book delves into twenty areas where their behavior provides a calming effect. Each section begins with a quote that reflects mainstream thinking on the topic. This is followed by comments on how this concept plays out in society, and then, how the cats respond. Finally, there is a discussion on how to use the behaviors of the cats to improve our lives.
The broad themes of the book focus on how to take care of ourselves, how to tolerate adversity and how to embrace our emotions. Topics include such things are dealing with getting high, being overweight, love, and brown-nosing at your place of employment.
Friday, June 9, 2017
An Earth-Shaking Announcement
It's absolutely earth-shaking. The five books in the Rick Podowski and The Hefty Trio series are now available in paperback.
Each of the five books in the Hefty Trio series features information about seven wineries from the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. Included are food pairings with Rick's favorites from each of the wineries The books can be purchased for $5.99 from Amazon. The ebook format is still $2.99.
Death In the Science Classroom —When Rick Podowski, the head grievance representative for the teachers
' union enters the science lab and finds the body of a teacher hanging by a braided rope from the metal frame of the overhead florescent light fixture, he and the Hefty Trio are launched on an investigation which uncovers the dark secret behind a death.The Winning Certificate — After the death of her adopted mother, Sylvia develops an
insatiable desire to find her birth mother in the process of which she becomes a teenage gang member, trapped
i n a lifestyle of violence and hopelessness until Rick Podowski encourages her to become a poet and change her lifestyle in a way that results in her finding her birth mother and becoming an unwilling participant in a plot by her mother's two stepsons to have her killed. Rick Podowski and the Hefty Trio discover the plan and they help put the stepsons in jail. This book won the 2011 Global Ebook Award in the amateur sleuth category.The Fishy Chips — General Zhow in Beijing, knows that a simple assassination is often the easiest
way to eliminate problems. And there are big problems with his operation half a world away in Santa Clara, California where a group of students and college instructors have been recruited to steal the secret chip that is at the heart of the U.S. Military's anti-ballistic missile system. Rick is recruited by the FBI to pressure one of his students and eventually Rick and The Hefty Trio foil the plan and save the chip from getting into the enemy's hands.Murder Before the Bell — When the administration building at Central High School is set on fire to cover up the death of the principal and his successor is charged with the murder, Rick Podowski and
the Hefty Trio work to prove their friend's innocence. As the plot thickens, they discover their friend's involvement in illegal activities including prostitution and police corruption.Death of a Foster Child—The novel focuses on the failed placement of a teenage girl and the brutal murder that occurred after she left the home. Rick Podowski and The Hefty Trio work to find the
Saturday, May 20, 2017
A Dish Designed To Help You Survive The Current Political Situation
When you start feeling depressed about the direction of our country and when things aren't going well in your life, there are two things you have to do--eat and study nature for guidance. Every culture has a comfort food and all of us have that special food we loved in our childhood. The dish in this blog entry is Irish and it's the favorite of Erin, a member of the Hefty Trio. The dish can be found in Murder Before The Bell.
Henry David Thoreau lived in a troubled time and he went to Walden Pond to learn the secrets of nature. "The Battle of the Ants," a chapter in his book Walden shows what he learned by studying ants. Below the recipe, we have included another animal from whom we can learn a great deal--the household cat.
Eat
Erin's Beef Stew
Zinfandel provides a spicy contrast to the heavy flavor of the broth. Some people like to serve this stew with Colcannon, this one is served with noodles.
Serves 6
Serves 6
2 pounds lean beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons of butter
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons of butter
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 large carrots, peeled, sliced
2 cups pearl onions
2 cups pearl onions
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
3/4 cup canned beef broth
1 can of stout or dark ale
Beef, onions, garlic and carrots
Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper and coat it with the flour. Melt butter in a heavy medium skillet over high heat. Add the beef and sauté until it is brown on all sides about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic, carrots, and onions to skillet and cook for one minute. Add broth, tomato paste and stout. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 to 3 hours until beef and carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
1 can of stout or dark ale
Beef, onions, garlic and carrots
Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper and coat it with the flour. Melt butter in a heavy medium skillet over high heat. Add the beef and sauté until it is brown on all sides about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic, carrots, and onions to skillet and cook for one minute. Add broth, tomato paste and stout. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 to 3 hours until beef and carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
Prepare noodles as per the directions on the package. Pour the beef stew over the noodles and serve.
Study Nature
Mellow Out--Lessons Learned From Household Cats is a fun read that explores the influence cats have on our lives. The book delves into twenty areas where their behavior provides a calming effect. Each section begins with a quote that reflects mainstream thinking on the topic. This is followed by comments on how this concept plays out in society, and then, how the cats respond. Finally, there is a discussion on how to use the behaviors of the cats to improve our lives. The broad themes of the book focus on how to take care of ourselves, how to tolerate adversity and how to embrace our emotions.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Introduction
Part 1—The Lessons
Chapter 1 Paperwork Is Evil
Chapter 2 Protect What’s Yours At All Costs
Chapter 3 It’s OK To Be Pleasantly Plump
Chapter 4 Complain About The Little Things
Chapter 5 No Guilt—Getting High Is Natural
Chapter 6 Love Is Overrated
Chapter 7 A Little Brown-nosing Isn’t So Bad
Chapter 8 Jealousy Is A Good Thing
Chapter 9 Patience Is Not Always A Virtue
Chapter 10 Pretend Like You Don’t Care
Chapter 11 It’s OK To Embrace Both Sides Of Your Personality
Chapter 12 Bury Your Crap
Chapter 13 Don’t Let the Fleas Gain Control
Chapter 14 Macho Guys Finish Last
Chapter 15 Respect People Who Are Not Very Bright
Part 2—And Then There Was Willie
Chapter 16 Change Sucks
Chapter 17 Curiosity Is The Fabric Of Life
Chapter 18 Tragedy Strikes Again
Chapter 19 Friendship Requires Work
Chapter 20 It’s OK To Be Vulnerable
The Recipe For Becoming Mellow
Purchase Mellow Out--Lessons Learned From Household Cats for only $1.99. Click here.
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
The Mexican Irish Connection
What is the connection between Mexico and Ireland?
In 1846, thousands of immigrants, mostly Irish, joined the US army and were sent with Gen. Zachary Taylor's army to invade Mexico in what some historians have called a war of Manifest Destiny.
Dubious about why they were fighting a Catholic country, and fed up with mistreatment from their Anglo-Protestant officers, hundreds of Irish and other immigrants deserted Taylor's army and joined forces with Mexico. Led by Captain John Riley of County Galway, they called themselves the St. Patrick's Battalion---in Spanish, the San Patricios.
They fought bravely in most of the campaigns of the two-year conflict, but their efforts failed to stem the Yankee onslaught. Soon the US Army occupied the halls of Montezuma, and Mexico eventually surrendered, ceding nearly half its territory to the United States.
Toward the end of the conflict, at the Battle of Churubsco, 83 San Patricios were captured, and 72 were court-martialed. Of this number, 50 were sentenced to be hanged and 16 were flogged and branded on their cheeks with the letter "D" for deserter.
Mexicans see them as heroes, honoring them every Sept. 12 with a special commemoration. In 1993, the Irish began their own ceremony to honor them in Clifden, Galway, Riley's hometown.
From The San Patricios: Mexico's Fighting Irish by Mark R. Day
In honor of this special day, we present a Mexican and an Irish dish for Cinco de Mayo.
Ceviche and Roasted Asparagus and Red Onion Quesadillas
Irish Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
Sunday, April 9, 2017
The Winning Certificate
In The Winning Certificate, Sylvia Medina, a student at Central High joins a teenage gang after her adopted mother's death and is trapped in a lifestyle of violence and hopelessness. Can the school's Literary Club and an image on the computer of her birth mother provide the hope necessary for Sylvia to survive?
Antonio Medina, after his wife's death from cancer, tries everything to get Sylvia back on track. However, nothing helps until Rick Podowski and Leti Rios, advisors to the high school Literary Club, get Sylvia involved. Sylvia reluctantly shares some of her poems. Then, as Sylvia becomes more committed, she begins to change and becomes in touch with her feelings.
As Sylvia develops her ties to the Literary Club, she gets more intrigued by the picture of her birth mother and tries to find her. She learns that her mother lives in New York and when members of the Literary Club go to Columbia University to attend a conference and receive an award for their magazine, Sylvia goes along. Instead of going to the conference, she visits her mother.
She finds out that her mother married a very rich man, and she has two stepsons. The stepfather is dead, and the two sons along with her lawyer are trying to get her farm and include it as part of a land trust being used as a means to launder money for the mob. Murder, kidnapping, money laundering, and mob activities are included in this novel.
Included in this book are the following recipes and wine pairings.
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