1/2 bag of rice pasta 14 small medallions of breaded/baked eggplant (breading was flax egg (4 TBSP water, 1 TBSP ground flax)...eggplant slices dipped into flax mixture then dunked into a mixture of 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 Cup bread crumbs and baked.) 4 Chickpea cutlets from Friday night's dinner.
Here's what I did.
Eggplant-Olive Italiano.
1 TBSP Earth Balance Diced eggplant (1 or better yet breaded cutlets chopped into 1 inch squares) 3 cloves of garlic, minced 2 cans (or 1 large) diced tomatoes (or if you've got fresh ones, use three.) 8-16 green olives (stuffed is fine) thinly sliced (I used 8 jumbo ones)
Heat Earth Balance until it melts and sizzles. I used pretty high heat, I wanted this stuff to caramelize. Toss in eggplant chunks and garlic. Cook until golden and cooked through, stirring regularly. Toss in olives and mix. Finally, dump in tomatoes and simmer, scraping the pan bottom to get all the good bits incorporated.
Set aside to let the flavors marry. Prepare pasta. Put hot pasta on plates, top with cutlets or skip the cutlets and just drench the pasta with the eggplant mixture.
Our SWAT team doesn’t arrive in a big black ATV
that belches stealthy, studly killers like we see on movies. Our SWAT team members each have a
day job. Whether it’s being a detective plodding through the required
paperwork that makes up the majority of his job. Or as a sergeant who gets to review all the red-light runners
video footage, these guys put in their time. But when THE phone call
comes they spring into action.
Action
might mean, as it did a couple weeks ago, standing in place for nine
hours, watching a garage door. Not exactly what you see on television.
Okay, he was given hourly five-ten minute pee breaks. Oh, while watching
the garage
door for any sign that the armed man inside might be making a deadly
move, said officer was holding a body shield. This weighed about twenty
pounds, if I
remember my number correctly, and had to be held at an awkward angle to
protect himself from any stray or intended bullets. Oh, and he also wore a sixty
pound vest. The vest was passed around the room, and though I consider
myself
to be a pretty strong female, it was a challenge to lift it. He
wore it for nine hours...plus he also had weapons…and let’s not forget
the
shield. Then when the situation was safely neutralized he then got to
jump into the required paperwork.
Our
SWAT team is called EST (Emergency Services Team). They are summoned for
high-risk situations, depending on when they occur. Three a.m. or 3:00
p.m. makes no difference. They are also scheduled for high-risk search
warrants. The team is made up of team players, no lone wolf gun men are
“hired” because without trust in each other the team is handicapped.
Rigorous training and testing is required to make the team.
These officers are no doughnut eating stereotype. They are fully loaded professionals who carry
their weight, the weight of others and sometimes the weight of the
world. And lest you think the game is all physical think again, it’s mental, too.
The commander has to assess situations, make decisions and has to
consider the full consequence of their choices, and that the actions of their team may land them
in hot water and in front of a grand jury. And they need to know that an
order will be followed without question by the officer who receives it.
For example, a flash bomb or distraction device is generally
a non-lethal, lots of noise, shock and awe tool. But to deploy one requires
answers and those answers better be acceptable to the powers that be.
If
you ever have wondered why, in hind sight and with the limited facts given to we civilians, a better decision was not
made, the above paragraph is your answer.
The EST members
told a story of a stand off that ended with the perpetrator’s death.
The guy had been slippery for months, hiding in special places that were
booby trapped and loaded with days worth of supplies, food and drugs.
He’d set up a compound that was going to be one of those the media talks
about for days, weeks, months if it was not neutralized. The team was
called in and they used the stealthy approach of over land and through a
creek bed. When there was a clear shot and the perpetrator was heading
for a room full of fire power he was taken down. And the department was raked
over the legal coals. The "victim" had not been actively shooting at the moment,
just headed for the literal big gun.
Bottom line. This job is one that requires a grown-up with guts.
And
for those of you who wondered about the nasty looking flesh-eating
hook. It’s a break and rake. The point breaks windows, the hook
rips out mini-blinds and curtains etc. so the guys can do their work. I know. I thought it was something really scary.
I can't do a write-up of the Citizen's Police Academy quite yet. It's been a crazy few days. And I definitely don't want to do a too quick overview of a fascinating night. Here are some pictures. Expect a few stories tomorrow.
Michelle expects my male character building skills will grow after this Citizen's Police Academy. I think she might be right. After all, my level of respect and admiration have grown considerably. The men we've encountered are polite, friendly and take their jobs and the safety of the citizens in our city very seriously.
Gotta fly...
And, can anyone guess what the wicked looking hook is used for?
Best-selling novelist Robert Liparulo is a former journalist, with over a thousand articles and multiple writing awards to his name. His first three critically acclaimed thrillers—Comes a Horseman, Germ, and Deadfall—were optioned by Hollywood producers, as well as his Dreamhouse Kings series for young adults. Bestselling author Ted Dekker calls The 13th Tribe, released in April 2012, “a phenomenal story.” Liparulo is currently working with director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive, The Guardian) on the novel and screenplay of a political thriller. New York Times best-selling author Steve Berry calls Liparulo’s writing “Inventive, suspenseful, and highly entertaining . . . Robert Liparulo is a storyteller, pure and simple.” Liparulo lives in Colorado with his family.
Their story didn't start this year . . . or even this millennium.
It began when Moses was on Mt. Sinai. Tired of waiting on the One True God, the twelve tribes of Israel began worshipping a golden calf through pagan revelry. Many received immediate death for their idolatry, but 40 were handed a far worse punishment-endless life on earth with no chance to see the face of God.
This group of immortals became the 13th Tribe, and they've been trying to earn their way into heaven ever since-by killing sinners. Though their logic is twisted, their brilliance is undeniable. Their wrath is unstoppable. And the technology they possess is beyond anything mere humans have ever seen.
Jagger Baird knows nothing about the Tribe when he's hired as head of security for an archaeological dig on Mt. Sinai. The former Army Ranger is still reeling from an accident that claimed the life of his best friend, his arm, and his faith in God.
Supernatural suspense done well. Sigh. Robert Liparulo is a terrific author. His writing is concise but visual, and suspenseful without going over the top into gore just because he can. I’m not saying his stuff is tame…oh no, it is not tame. And it Is not without violence. There are some intense bloody battles within. At some points this suspense read hit horror levels -- Chickens you have been warned. Liparulo’s characters are imperfect and ones I want to cheer on. Many of Liparulo’s novels have included children and he rachets the overall tension with them. There was one point in the 13th Tribe that I nearly lost it. Sensitive readers may want to take note of said tear-jerker scene so you’ve got tissue handy during your 2:00 a.m. can’t-put-the-dang-book-down read-athon. Liparulo also excels at setting up seemingly impossible to escape plotlines.
With The 13th Tribe Liparulo ramps up his storytelling with supernatural elements based on religious history. Fascinating archeological and historic details pop up regularly making this book a page-turner from page one. Every time I opened the book I ended up playing the “just one more chapter” game over and over again. If you love suspense with dusty, ancient details or supernatural good vs evil tales you might want to check into this one. If you like a great, heart-pounding story to escape into, this is definitely one of those.
Veganized from the Better Homes and Garden 70’s version. The big red-checkered cover : ).
1/3 Cup Earth Balance
1/3 Cup coconut oil
1/3 Cup applesauce
2 Flax eggs (2 TBSP ground flax seed, 6 TBSP water. Stir together and set aside to gel)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp soda
1 Cup Turbindo sugar or Succanet
1 ½ Cups whole wheat pastry flour, unbleached white or white whole wheat or combo of any of these
1 Cup oatmeal
1 Cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
Other as desired….nuts, dried fruit bits, vegan white chocolate chips, extra chocolate chips.
Cream
sugar with coconut oil, Earth Balance and applesauce, add Flax egg,
salt and soda. Mix well, add vanilla, mix well. Add flour and oatmeal
and stir until it is all incorporated. Add chocolate chips and/or other
add-ins. (I didn’t chill my dough or use parchment paper. I will do both
next time. I’d chill for at least a half hour). Grease baking sheet or
line with parchment paper. Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet. Bake at
350 for 12-13 minutes. Makes about 40 cookies. These guys are soft and chewy. I kept them in the fridge the short time they lasted. : )
As the Owner/Director of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Bonnie has helped use the 220+ blogs of the Alliance to promote many titles on the Christian bestseller list. She also owns and publishes the Christian Fiction Online magazine which is devoted to readers and writers of Christian fiction. She is the Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). At ACFW she was named the ‘Mentor of the Year,’ for 2011, and she is the current President of (CAN) Christian Authors Network. Bonnie is also the Appointment Coordinator for both the Colorado Christian Writers Conference and the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference.
In her spare time she is an avid social media junkie, and teaches Facebook, Twitter, Blogging and HTML as recreational occupations. She also has a novel coming out in the Abingdon Quilts of Love series. Her novel Pieces of the Heart will publish August of 2013.
Bonnie and her husband Bob live in a log cabin on 15 acres in upstate area of Binghamton, New York with a dog and cat who consider the humans as wait-staff.
ABOUT THE BOOK
After her mother dies from a heart attack, Sloane Templeton goes from Cyber Crimes Unit to bookstore owner before she can blink. She also "inherits" a half-batty store manager; a strange bunch of little old people from the neighborhood who meet at the store once a week, but never read books, called the Granny Oakleys Book Club; and Aunt Verline, who fancies herself an Iron Chef when in reality you need a cast iron stomach to partake of her culinary disasters. And with a group like this you should never ask, “What else can go wrong?”
A lot! Sloane begins to receive cyber threats. While Sloane uses her computer forensic skills to uncover the source of the threats, it is discovered someone is out to kill her. Can her life get more crazy?
Sloane
Templeton finds herself book-ended by problems. Her mother passed away
leaving a bookstore, a grieving daughter, a cast of quirky characters,
and a rare book behind.
If that wasn't enough, Sloane also has a recent divorce under her belt
and an ex-boyfriend who didn’t mind giving her a good belt when she
needed it. Sloane is attempting to heal and figure out life. But
circumstances keep her on her toes, and her emotions on eggshells. The
new man in her life seems oh so perfect, too perfect? An offer exists
for the bookstore property, and the sales force seems a little too eager
to slide that sale through. Sloane’s Aunt Verdene holds the interest of
the law enforcement and fire professionals in her neighborhood…and an
occasional hoodlum.
This
novel has sass and lots of it. Quirky supporting characters show up in
every chapter. Sloane grows from insecure to a new awareness of steps
she needs to take to ease the chaos in her life. Verdene does not blow
up a section of her block. Sloane discovers the true meaning of the word
neighbor. And, the book ends on such a note that there better be a
follow up or two.
Readers
who go for quippy, sassy Chick-lit style reads will want to check into
sassy Sloane. Folks who like both heavy topics and t humor in the same
novel might find Calhoun’s handling of some serious issues cathartic.
Mystery lovers who want t’s crossed and I’s dotted might feel frustrated
with the open-endedness of the final few pages. Not for the clean-cut,
feel-good inspirational fans, the subjecmatter got a little tense in a
few spots.
Fun happenings over the weekend. &, one of her buddies, and I went to the farm. Yay! We planted about 350 tomato plants in one of the high tunnels. I'm telling you. You want a good core workout, three and a half hours of squatting, crawling, twisting, digging and pressing is a good one.
We probably won't be going weekly quite yet, but it's just around the corner. It felt so good to get dirty and sweaty planting those little babies.
And there are baby buds everywhere in our yard, our apple tree, blueberry bushes are raring to go. & started some baby vegetables which have begun to grow, too.
The weather has been so beautiful it's hard to believe we are just in April. High 80s and low 90s is just crazy. Our farmer says we are exactly five weeks ahead of schedule.
It's been so nice & has been riding her cute bike to work. Sunday she even rode to church. Isn't she cute. She arrived a hot, sweaty, quirky mess. Ha. Ha.
