Life in Mexico
Mexicans are hard at work spiffing up the graves of their beloved ancestors in anticipation of Day of the Dead.
The festival is often compared to Christian ceremonies such as All Saints Day, but the pre-Columbian celebration is a lot more light-hearted, with gifts of sugar skulls and lots of rum. Grannies are remembered through irreverent verse and beloved uncles with scurrilous eulogies.
All are welcome, of course. On November 1, take time to visit your local cemetery and party with Mexicans honoring their rich ancestry.
Official Release of Joan the Saint
The much-anticipated sequel to Magnus the Magnificent is finally available!
Joan of Arc, born in northeast France during the Hundred Years War between England and France, arose from obscurity to become her nation’s greatest hero. Guided by the voices of St. Margaret and St. Catherine, she defeated the English army at Orleans and crowned Charles VII king of France in Reims.
The year is 1431. Joan of Arc has been captured by the English and is being tried for heresy in their stronghold of Rouen. Joan has been abandoned by the French; Magnus the Magnificent sets out on a quest to foil her fiery fate.
Join me at the Mujeres luncheon at Oasis restaurant on Wednesday, November 2 where I’ll be signing paperbacks.
You can also purchase the eBook edition and paperback on Amazon!
Recipe: Home-Made Thin-Crust Pizza
I get a lot of requests for this recipe from dinner guests!
Making your own pizza is quite easy and the result is both healthy and delicious! All it takes is a little preparation and you’ll be the toast of your family and friends!
(Makes four pizzas)
DOUGH
5 ¼ cups of OO (fine) flour.
1 tsp of salt.
1 tsp of dry yeast.
1 tsp of brown sugar
400 ml of warm water.
Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl.
Mix the yeast and brown sugar in the warm water and let stand for 15 minutes.
Pour the liquid into the flour and knead until the consistency of soft Play-Doh. (You may have to sprinkle some flour on if it’s too sticky).
SAUCE
1 jar of tomato sauce
3 Tsp of Italian seasoning mix.
1 tsp of salt.
1 Tsp of olive oil.
Mix the first three ingredients together in a bowl. Pour the olive oil into the jar of tomato sauce and swish around then add that to the mix. Let rest for at least half an hour.
TOPPINGS
Pepperoni, ham
Chopped onion, peppers, olives, etc.
Shredded cheese
PREPARATION
Heat the oven to 450F. Divide the dough into four balls (any dough you don’t need can be frozen for later use). Roll out the ball flat with a rolling pin (hint; I cut a piece of parchment paper into a 12” circle as a rolling surface). You will have to sprinkle some flour on the dough to keep the rolling pin from sticking.
Place the rolled dough into a pizza pan and bake it in the oven for 5 minutes. (You can do this in advance and keep the crusts in the freezer indefinitely).
Spread 5 Tsp of sauce on the pizza crust and add desired toppings. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve hot!
Book Review
Suspect
By Scott Turow
I’ve been a big fan of Turow for several decades, ever since I read his break-out novel Presumed Innocent (made into a great movie starring Harrison Ford), so I always look forward to a new chapter in the canon.
Suspect is the latest installment of his multi-generational saga of courtroom dramas set in the fictional Kindle County. Clarice “Pinky” Granum is a paralegal working for a criminal law firm run by her cousin Rik Dudek. A young, single woman sporting a nail through her nose, Pinky is a bane to her long suffering family but a talented and tenacious sleuth.
Rik is defending Lucia Gomez, the chief of police for the city of Highland Isle. The first black woman to hold the post, she is incorruptible, and fiercely dedicated to cleaning up the reputation of her force.
She is also charged with sexual assault by three of her male subordinates. The men allege that she garnered sexual favors from them in support of their promotions. The case has been placed before the Police and Fire Commission for adjudication.
Pinky quickly uncovers a connection to local crime kingpin Moritz “the Ritz” Vojczek. On the surface, the Ritz is a wealthy property developer, but his real profession is big-scale drug dealing. Wily and ruthless, he uses his filthy lucre to pay off the police – and destroy those he can’t.
While Rik works diligently to clear his client’s reputation, Pinky finds herself romantically embroiled with a mysterious neighbor who seems to be spying on a big defense contractor operating in Highland Isle. All the loose strings come together in patented Turow style as the case against Chief Gomez reaches a dramatic climax.
I highly recommend Suspect!
TV Series Review
A League of their Own
Streaming on Amazon Prime
Penny Marshall’s original 1992 movie, starring Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Geena Davis featured a host of talented actors portraying the trials and tribulations of an all-female professional baseball league in World War II.
Now, 30 years later, the original premise has been recast as an 8-part series that follows the struggles that the women endured to make their mark in a male-dominated world.
Series creator Abbi Jacobson stars as Carson Shaw, a small-town slugger with a husband serving in war-torn Europe. She finds herself as the unlikely sparkplug for the Rockford Peaches, a rag-tag collection of talented women seeking fame on-field.
Her story is mirrored by Max Chapman, a gifted black pitcher striving for a chance to spotlight her talents on an all-male team. Played with grit and determination by Chanté Adams, Max refuses to take no for an answer.
While on-field struggles dominated the original movie, this series has time to fully explore the personal challenges that women in the 1940s faced, from sexism and racism to family expectations and gender identity. It is a much warmer, more intimate story, one that takes the opportunity to delve into each character and make their aspirations more authentic. This is not so much a tale about baseball; it is an adventure into the complex yearnings that inspire all women.
I highly recommend A League of Their Own!