The ladies of the Women’s Murder Club have new adventures in the 12th of Never. The opening paragraph was so captivating, I wanted to drop everything and just immerse myself in the book.
This may be the 12th in the series, but it is as fresh as if it were the first. It is fast passed, full of excitement and intrigue.
We highly recommend this well written book.
You can purchase this from Amazon, our affiliate link, if you would like!
Everyday I thank God for the people in my life. You see, I am the luckiest person alive. Of course some days are better than others, but they are all good. Let me tell you what I mean.
I wrote a post recently called Knowledge. It covered several subjects, one of them cholesterol. More specifically, my cholesterol problem. I have very high cholesterol and I am allergic to cholesterol medications.
Susan Murphy tweeted the link. Ellen Cagnassola, in New Jersey happened to read the post. We tweeted back and forth and she mentioned Plant Sterols as a way to lower cholesterol.
Let me tell you about Ellen. She is known as @sweetsoaps on Twitter. She makes all kinds of soaps. Some even have pictures and monograms on them. When Steve and I spoke at the #140 Conference in New York last year, Ellen made a #BA75 soap for me. She drove from New Jersey into the city, just to meet me in person and deliver the soap. How special is that. Ellen is a fun person to follow on Twitter.
Back to the cholesterol story. Ellen also recommended other things I could try for cholesterol, including exercise. I asked if she had a cholesterol problem. She told me she did when she was younger. Then she directed me to this outstanding article in the Huffington Post that tells the whole story.
Thank you Ellen for sharing your story with me. Thank you for continuing to carry the torch for good health. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me.
Aren’t you amazed at how many wonderful people you know?
Once upon a time, when Steve and I were young and could and did eat anything and everything, we enjoyed popovers. With the help of my neighbor, Sue Kimball, I found the perfect recipe. Our popovers were yummy and became an often requested favorite.
Recently I remembered the delectable taste of those popovers. Of course things have changed and we now eat gluten free. Thanks to Google, I found a recipe at gluten free easily. There were many to choose from. This one said “better than sliced bread” so it was the top choice. In our book, it is a winner.
It is a good recipe. The only decision I had to make was what type of milk to use. I used almond milk in the first batch I made. The popovers tasted divine, but they were tough on the outside. I was not happy. And they did not turn out golden brown.
A day later I made another batch using rice milk. Perfection! The popovers were light and airy. Everything was completely satisfactory. The beautiful brown does add to the enjoyment.
Do you like popovers?
I am so happy and fortunate to be living in the digital age. Yesterday was Mother’s Day and I had a wonderful day interacting with messages on email, Twitter, Facebook, Skype and the telephone.
Our son Thom is like his father. He has a wealth of information, but does not share it until it comes up in conversation. So many times I say to Steve, “did you know blah blah blah?” Steve always replies yes, and usually fills in details about the story I didn’t know.
Our son Chris is more like me. When he learns something, he shares it with the world. I have learned a lot from Chris, especially from his Sunday newsletter. If you are not receiving it, I suggest you sign up for it, here. You just never know what you are going to get.
Action
For instance, this week Chris talked about HIIT (high intensity interval training). That happens to be the same training his brother Thom has been talking about for years.
Chris pointed out the fact that “You and I can read all we want. We can “collect ideas” all we want. Until we give it a go, we won’t know how it “really” works.”
Reading
Chris says read. Read everything. You never know when that information will come in handy. That is a true statement. Let me give you two examples.
Steve an I are big fans of Michael Connelly. He writes murder mysteries. His main hero, Harry Bosh, spent time in Vietnam. In more than one book, Harry talks about being a tunnel rat and relives his experiences in Vietnam. I could never really wrap my head around it. I envisioned a short tunnel.
In Satori, by Don Winslow, he explains the tunnel system in Vietnam. When it was fully functional, it was more like an underground city. Satori was a great book with lots of action and I highly recommend it. It gets a double recommendation for explaining the tunnel system. That was an “ah ha” moment for Steve and me.
Plant Based Eating
Steve and I are trying to be more mindful of what we eat. We are eating more plant based food. We feel better. Not only that, we are having a fun time in the kitchen experiencing new foods and food combinations.
TMAO has shown up in my reading a lot recently. It is found in red meat. Now for the most recent shocker, to me, TMAO is also found in egg yolks. According to Wikipedia: TMAO alters cholesterol metabolism in the intestines, in the liver, and in artery wall. In the presence of TMAO, cholesterol is increased deposition of cholesterol in, and decreased removal of cholesterol from, peripheral cells such as those in the artery wall. Vegan and vegetarian diets appear to select against gut flora that metabolize carnitine (in favor of other gut flora more coordinated with their food supply).
The good news is that “the gut” can process TMAO in small amounts. That means I can have steak every few weeks or eggs every few weeks. That is important to me because I have excessively high cholesterol.
Hooters
We recently visited our godchild, Kathleen Cassidy and her husband Tom, in Phoenix, AZ. She will be attending the Phoenix School of Law there in September. For lunch we decided to go to Hooters. Steve and I had never been there.
I was quite surprised. I honestly believed that the waitresses were topless and that it was a bar for rowdy men. That is not true. They are fully clothed. You can just look at the picture above and make your own evaluation of their clothing. The clientele were mostly business people.
Our waitress, Britney, was the most adorable young lady. She has personality plus. She and Kathleen, who had been there before, chatted it up like they were long lost buddies. Service was great. The food was good.
I later learned, from an article in USA Today, Hooters is 30 years old. They plan several updates including a more robust menu. More dinner salads will be included too.
When we were ending our meal, Kathleen asked, Britney, if she would ask “the girls” to have their picture taken with Steve and me. I have to tell you, Steve gets quite a bit of mileage out of that white beard.
There was soon a flurry of activity as everyone hurried to get in place for the picture. Everyone was kind, friendly and generous of spirit. I am so happy we went to Hooters.
Recommendation
Just keep on learning – all that you can learn. Google can be your best friend.
What can you add to this list?
Last week, we went to Phoenix, AZ to meet our Godchild Kathleen Cassidy and her husband Tom. Kathleen will be attending the Phoenix School of Law there in the fall. It is an amazing trip between Las Vegas and Phoenix on Route 93.
We passed White Rock Canyon that we want to explore further. It is close to Lake Mead and has many hiking trails.
We stopped at Chloride, AZ. Their website, ChlorideAz.com, says “Chloride, Arizona is an old mining camp that never quite died. Consisting of about 250 people, this ghost town mining camp still has the flavor of the old west.” The people in Chloride are friendly and we think it is worth your time to stop and visit.
The most amazing thing we saw along the way was the large Joshua Trees. Previous to this, we had only seen small ones with one or two branches. Not only that, there were whole fields of these protected trees. There is even a Joshua Tree National Park. That is located in southeastern California. Joshua Trees are important in this area.
According to Wikipedia, Cahuilla Native Americans who have lived in the southwestern United States for generations still identify with this plant as a valuable resource and call it “hunuvat chiy’a” or “humwichawa”. Their ancestors used the leaves of Y. brevifolia to weave sandals and baskets in addition to harvesting the seeds and flower buds for meals.
Saguaro cactuses (Photo credit: Vlastula)
The other amazing thing we enjoyed seeing was the Saguaro Cactus. When we first visited the southwest, I was disappointed to learn this beautiful plant in not prevalent everywhere. The Phoenix area is blessed.
This picture was taken at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens. I wish I had taken more. There were whole fields of Saguaro Cactus.
Where are your favorite botanical gardens located?
I was so excited to have created the Quinoa and Parmesan Cheese treats. They are so tasty, they must have something wrong with them. Well for some of us they do have a drawback. I can’t have excessive amounts of cheese. I thought for some time, wondering what I could use as a substitute for the cheese. Then I remembered how great kale chips are, except for the fact that they are very fragile. Kale. Quinoa. Why not. The picture is above. The recipe is below. Give it a try and see if you like this new treat as much as we do.
Quinoa and Kale
1 cup cooked quinoa
3 cups of kale shredded. Heat in microwave at high power for 45 seconds
1/4 cup egg beaters – or 1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
Mix all of the ingredients together.
Using a tablespoon to measure, spread the mixture, a spoonful at a time on parchment paper.
NOTE: Sprinkle salt on each piece before baking.
Cook for 20 minutes in 400 degree oven.
Quinoa and Parmesan Cheese
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup egg beaters – or 1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
Mix all of the ingredients together.
Using a tablespoon to measure, spread the mixture, a spoonful at a time on parchment paper.
Cook for 20 minutes in 400 degree oven.
What do you think?
Plain – Chocolate Chip/Pecan – Parmesan
The other day, on our blog post, Pizza by Request, Francisco Caselles Torrescasan asked questions. Can another cheese be used in the crust? Can you make the crust without cheese?
Good questions need answers, so I went to the kitchen to find out. I made the following.
Quinoa Crust – Plain
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup egg beaters – or 1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
Mix all of the ingredients together.
Using a tablespoon to measure, spread the mixture, a spoonful at a time on parchment paper.
Cook for 20 minutes in 400 degree oven.
I suppose you could make one large crust. I made individual servings to be used for the base of an horderve.
Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup egg beaters – or 1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sugar free chocolate chips
1/4 cup broken pecans
1 packet Susta or other sweetener
Mix all of the ingredients together.
Using a tablespoon to measure, spread the mixture, a spoonful at a time on parchment paper.
Cook for 20 minutes in 400 degree oven.
Quinoa Crust with Parmesan Cheese
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup egg beaters – or 1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
Mix all of the ingredients together.
Using a tablespoon to measure, spread the mixture, a spoonful at a time on parchment paper.
Cook for 20 minutes in 400 degree oven.
We now have three great additions to our diet. Thank you so much for your questions, Francisco Caselles Torrescasan.
Does anyone else have any questions that may turn into great recipes?
Alex Cross is on another case where young women and young men are being murdered. Is it one killer or many killers? There are common denominators, but why are these people being singled out?
As if Alex Cross doesn’t have enough problems trying to figure out “who done it,” Ron Guidice turns up at every scene and badgers Alex Cross until Alex losses his temper. Then Alex is in trouble.
Throw in problems at home and Alex and Brie have a plethora of questions that need answers.
It is a fast paced book with the Alex Cross charm we all love.
We hope you enjoy the book as much as we did.
(Affiliate link)
Steve and I use this awesome tasting, no sugar added, treat for desert. We also use it as a fill in meal if we are sort of hungry, but the timing is off for a full meal. It is simply blueberries, banana, and walnuts mixed together. Yummy!
Do you have a no suger added treat to share?
Diane Brogan