Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Avenue of the Dead - Brian L. Porter, Author



White Chicken Chili
(A Brian Special)


3 15 ounce cans Great Northern, pinto, or cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 1/2  cups chopped red, green, and/or yellow sweet peppers (2 medium)
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
2 fresh jalapeno chile peppers, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
3 1/2 cups chicken broth 
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)
Broken tortilla chips (optional)



1.  In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker combine drained beans, chicken, sweet peppers, onion, jalapeno peppers, cumin, garlic, salt, and oregano. Pour broth over mixture in cooker.
2.  Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
3.  If desired, top each serving with cheese and/or tortilla chips.

Avenue of the Dead - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds, A Book and A Dish

The remaining hours of that first day of the investigation proved as frustrating as they did fruitless for the two detectives.  Little progress was made by any of those involved in the investigation.  A painstaking search of the area surrounding the site of the discovery of the body had revealed no physical or trace evidence whatsoever.  They were nowhere nearer to identifying the unfortunate victim, and Doctor Hernandez had telephoned Tamayo to inform him that the autopsy results wouldn't be available until the following day.

Mexican Police Captain Juan Morales decided to take a vacation after the death of his brother Father Rodrigo who had spent his last years in the sanctuary of the seminary.  Rodrigo had been a Priest who fell from the bell tower and never recovered mentally nor physically.  Juan's vacation came to a halt when his old time buddy Tamayo received a call informing him that a body had been found at the ancient ruins of the city of Teotihuacan.  With Juan tagging along, Tamayo finds himself standing on the Avenue of the Dead looking at the horrific sight of a corpse whose chest cavity shows evidence that the man's heart is missing.  Now the search is on to find the identity of the man as well as his killer before he kills again.  As Morales finds himself being drawn ever closer to the beautiful archaeologist Sophia, developments in the case lead the two of them into grave danger as the killer senses an opportunity for another outlet for his (or her) escalating bloodlust."

As I read the story about the Priest Rodrigo whose mind kept seeing the devil I couldn't but feel that even after his death, there had to be a connection to the body with the missing heart.  Then another body turned up making me truly believe there was a connection.  Could this be the Priest coming back?  Could it be that the devil has decided to visit yet another human?  Or is this the doings of a truly sick person on their own?  I will tell you this, I stayed on the edge of my bed the whole time I read this book.  It really grabs at your heart!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The Apocalypse Calendar - Emile A. Pessagno, Jr., Author

ALICE’S QUICK AND EASY BRISKET
(Alice is Emile Pessagno's wife)
1 4 to 5 pound beef brisket.
2 packages of dry Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix.
Place on heavy duty aluminum foil. Sprinkle with dry Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix all over brisket. Place on foil with fatty side up. Fold edges and seal well. Bake at 300 degrees for 3 to 3 ½ hours.
Enjoy!
 
The Apocalypse Calendar – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
Felipe said, “When we visited the shrine to the Virgen de Montserrat in the Sierra Crullas, we saw a strange diagram carved into the limestone wall of the small cave. It showed a pyramid with a flying-saucer-like object in the pyramid’s center. There was a knob-like structure at the top of the disk, which seemed to depict beams of light radiating out from it. There was also an arrow that pointed to the south. We asked the natives what they knew about the diagram. They claimed that it had always been present in the cave, long before the Virgen de Montserrat made her appearance.”
 
Felipe, is part of Professor Frank Miller’s Geology team that has descended deep into Mexico to do research on the rocks and faults to provide proof as to how the continents were shaped. During their trip they discovered not only the markings on the cave walls but also a find that would change the world as we all know it today. They found what was believed to be Moctezuma’s Treasure, which consisted of a limestone box with a disk inside, the same disk that they had found drawn on the cave walls.
 
The team brought their find back to the states for testing and to determine what the disk was made of as well as the green ‘rock’ that was imbedded within it. Tests proved that the materials were not created on earth but, as the Indians’ stories go, was apparently something that was brought to earth by aliens.
 
As harmless as the disk appeared, it wasn’t until Professor Miller’s grandson turned a knob, causing the green stone to emitted light, that all earth began to change. The end of earth was on the threshold and no one knew how to stop it.
 
As I read The Apocalypse Calendar I couldn’t help but stop and think about the changes in earth’s weather. Our seasons are changing. Normally cold weather has reached warm weather areas. Dry areas have received an abundance of rain. We’ve had earthquakes and volcano irruptions in areas that have been quiet for years. So could the Apocalypse Calendar be real? Can the events that take place, such as global warming, be caused not by humans but by the shifting of our earth? After reading this book I’m starting to wonder, as Professor Miller puts it, if Mother Earth is ridding herself of her problem inhabitants and preparing to start over again just as she did with the dinosaurs. This book is so full of history, education and the possibilities of earth’s future that it actually scared me and I loved it!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Kidnapped by the Cartel - Karen D. Scioscia, Author

 

 
Salmon Tacos
(A true favorite!)

For Salmon:
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 lb. center-cut salmon filet
½ tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. all-purpose seasoning
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For Salsa:
5 mini red bell peppers
6 pineapple slices, about 1/2” thick
¼ cup sliced green onions
¼ cup diced red onion
1 dash of lime juice
Chop all and mix together

For “Sour Cream”:
1 cup Greek yogurt
¼ cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Juice from ½ a lime
Mix all together

More fixings:
8 cups mixed field greens
Olive Oil
Red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat grill to medium.  Place the salmon on a plate and rub with about 1 Tbsp. olive oil.  Season with the paprika, all-purpose seasoning, salt and pepper.  Cook salmon with skin on.  Remove skin before cutting.  Set aside.

To serve:  Warm tortillas slightly in a pan, cut salmon into strips, add salmon and salsa inside tortilla. Along with the salsa, add in mixed greens, olive oil and red wine vinegar to taste. Add “sour cream” mix.

This is also fantastic with tilapia instead of salmon, and mango instead of pineapple.
 

 Kidnapped by the Cartel - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
 
 
Day three in hell began with Steve finally falling into a fitful sleep around three o’clock in the morning. He woke up at five. It took almost an entire pot of java to clear his head. He sat at the kitchen table, reviewing the situation. The previous night he had called all of Amanda’s friends listed in their address book, and no one knew anything. Or at least they weren’t saying. Someone has to know something. Other occasions when Amanda had “seemed to vanish,” someone had known where she was. This time, all of the players appeared clueless… Where the hell is Amanda?

 
Amanda couldn’t believe a stranger had driven away with her car and she’d done nothing. While upset by this, she remained consumed by her desire for drugs. I won’t freak out, Amanda thought, trying to calm herself. These guys said I can get my car back when I want. I’ll just have them take me to my car after I get high… “Where are we going? Amanda murmured, desperate for drugs. She knew she was in bad shape. Neither man answered. They could see that the girl was too messed up for the question to matter… Where the hell is Amanda?

 
Amanda Tate’s parents Steve and Diane had tried everything to control her addiction to drugs but to no avail. She had been in and out of rehabs only to meet others that could help her score once she got out. When Amanda called Steve asking that he pick her up he knew she was strung out and took her straight to the center only to be turned away because they had a full house. The only option he had was to take her home and guard her well as her body brought itself down from the drugs. He just didn’t count on her slipping out while he and Diane went to the store. And when calls to her cell phone were answered by a Spanish speaking man in Mexico he knew his daughter was in deep trouble.

 
Kidnapped by the Cartel a parent’s worst nightmare. Author Karen D. Scioscia takes us into the bowels of Tijuana, Mexico where young girls are kidnapped, drugged, tortured and used. We as Americans have always heard about young girls running off to Hollywood only to end up on drugs and becoming prostitutes to support their habits. What we don’t hear about are those that go south and end up in Mexico where drugs are plentiful and free – but for a price. As long as you’re in with the Cartel you can count on only the best drugs to sniff, snort and shoot up. They are hooked so deeply into the drugs that they will do anything to keep them coming. But what if you want out? There is only one way out for these girls and that is by death. Either the drugs will get them, they will serve their use and no longer be useful or they try to run. Either way the end is almost always the same… death.

 
Amanda’s story is fiction but it is based on a true story and taken from the notes, recollections and interviews of people and agencies involved in an abduction of family member of the author. Even if there was no truth to this story its one that I have no doubt tells the true happenings going on every day within the areas controlled by the Cartel. This is a book that every parent should read and pray that your daughter nor granddaughter is never put into this type of situation. That goes true for your sons and grandsons too because it’s not just the girls that are used but the boys are too.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Covert Element - John L. Betcher, Author


Mexican Cartel Fajitas
(A John L. Betcher favorite)
Ingredients

  • 4 Boneless and Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets, sliced into thin strips
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 oz lime juice
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 yellow pepper
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 crushed garlic clove
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 8 flour tortillas
  • 1 lb guacamole dip
  • 2 oz fresh cream
  • Fresh lime wedges for garnishing.
Directions
  • Place the sliced skinned chicken in a bowl with salt, pepper, garlic and lime juice. Toss to coat chicken. Let stand for thirty minutes.
  • Peel the thinly sliced onion, de-seed and slice the peppers.
  • Heat the oil in a heavy pan. Then fry the onions and peppers for 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken and cook for additional 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through.
  • Place the tortillas under a broiler or on a flat fry pan, for about a minute and turn once.
  • Spoon chicken and pepper mixture onto each tortilla, then the top with a spoonful of guacamole and fresh cream.
  • Roll up the tortilla and serve hot with lime wedges.


The Covert Element – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat and Think With Your Taste Buds
 
‘Whether drugs or not, it was hard for me to imagine that the scene I had observed this morning could possibly portend anything but headaches and misery for the residents of Ottawa County.  “But twenty-three dead…When’s the last time that sort of mass execution happened in the U.S.?”  Beth stared into space.  “Gotta be when that crazy Hennard guy drove his pickup truck through the front window of Luby’s Café in Texas way back in – what was it – ’91?  Long time ago, anyway.”  “This morning’s atrocity looked like something out of Kosovo.  Like an ethnic cleansing.  Or like the mob sending someone a message.  But we don’t have ‘the mob’ in Minnesota…just a few rag tag street and motorcycle gangs that shoot each other once in a while.”  I thought for a moment.  I could see Beth was trying to make some sense of all this, too.  “I s’pose Hells Angels is the closest we’ve got to any organized crime syndicate,”  I said.  “But if it was a biker gang, the BCA should find evidence of motorcycles all over the place.  I didn’t see any tracks around that house this morning.  Still…you never know.”  I was out of ideas.  Maybe some solid police work would give me new options to consider soon.  In the meantime, while ruthless killers roamed loose in or around Ottawa County, I would sleep very lightly indeed.’
 
James Becker, Attorney-at-law, called “Beck” for short, came back from a smoldering meth cooking lab where 23 men had been killed.  Beck had been invited to go to the scene by his friend Ottawa County Chief Deputy Sheriff, Doug Gunderson, also known as “Gunner.”  The biggest problem was, how were 23 men talked into lying down on the ground while each one was individually shot in the head with the same gun?  But that is exactly how they were found outside the lab as it burned.  Beck believes there has to be more to the story but after the BCA appeared on the scene, he and Gunner are left out of the loop.  So what do they do?  They create their own “loop.” 
 
After Beck is contacted by another friend Terry "Bull" Red Feather, an American Indian who served his country as an Army Ranger, he becomes convinced that this “little” meth lab is just the beginning of something even bigger.  And after a conversation between Bull, Beck and Bull’s military comrade Master Sergeant Fuentes, they know that the Mexican drug cartel known as Los Cinco, is involved. 
 
Following Beck, Bull, Gunner and Beck’s wife Beth, as they take on one of the largest cartels in existence, keeps you on the edge of your seat.  And then there is Ralphael Santos who has worked his way up from the ground floor to become the head man and leader of Los Cinco.  He will have you quickly turning the pages just to see what evil he will inflict on his next victim.  But wait until you see who his victims really are.
 
I’ve read several books written by Author John L. Betcher.  He has a way of writing that makes you feel as if you’re on the sidelines watching the events take place.  His knowledge of the topic he is writing about educates to happenings that you only read bits and pieces of in the local papers.  He brings out the full truth as to how things are toned down and released on a need to know basis only.  The Covert Element is a perfect example of his great style of writing.
 
2011
264 Pages
ISBN# 978-1461084532

 
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