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October 2024 Newsletter

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Life in Calgary

It’s back to Manzanillo this month; we’re looking forward to seeing old friends and enjoying the great (post hurricane) winter weather!

In the meantime, we’ve had a wonderful time in Calgary; it’s been over a decade since we lived here, and it’s grown and matured in so many ways.

Our neighborhood in Eau Claire is now surrounded by summer concerts and events that feature music and culture from around the world. Here’s a small sample;

The Mexifest with wrestlers and tacos!

Beaches the Musical playing at Theatre Calgary!

Book readings by authors who really appreciate you buying their books (ahem).

Crystal Ball is now Available on Amazon!

FBI AGENT JACK KENYON is back! When a bomb in Myron Buckstar’s software lab kills an innocent woman, Jack and the crew are called in to find out if terrorists are targeting the flamboyant billionaire. They soon discover that the victim was a member of Scotland Yard working undercover on a mysterious case. As Jack pursues her murder, he uncovers a race to steal the Crystal Ball, an invention that allows its owner to peer into the future. Follow Jack from San Francisco to London as he pursues a host of murderers, conmen and criminals who will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.

Recipe; Zucchini Stuffed Italian Boats

A big thank-you to our wonderful friend Wilma for supplying us with her home-grown zucchini for this tasty recipe. This is a delicious meal and easy to make – your family and friends are going to give you plenty of compliments! By the way, this recipe is keto, vegan and no kittens were harmed.

Ingredients

2 large zucchinis,

1 Tsp of olive oil.

1 cup of tomato sauce

1 tsp of salt

1 Tsp of Italian seasoning

1 cup of tomato sauce

1 cup of mushrooms, chopped

1 Tsp of butter

1 cup of grated cheese.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cut the zucchinis lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Rub them with olive oil and place on a cookie tray. Bake for 20 minutes.

Fry the mushrooms in butter in a medium-sized pan then add the tomato sauce, salt and Italian seasoning. Let simmer on low while the zucchini is baking.

Fill the zucchini boats with the sauce then cover with cheese. Bake in the oven a further 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and toast the cheese for two minutes.

Let them cool for a few minutes, then serve. Enjoy!

Book Review

The Briar Club

By Kate Quinn

Quinn is an American author who has written a series of tremendously enjoyable novels about brave women who defy the Nazis. If you haven’t read The Huntress, the Rose Code or The Alice Network, then you’re in for a treat.

Her latest work, The Briar Club, is set in Washington, DC, in the 1950s. It veers from her focus on WWII, but I think it’s her best work yet.

The story takes place in the Briarwood boarding house, set in the neighborhood of Foggy Bottom.

Mrs. Nilsson and her children Lina and Pete are hosts to a bevy of women who have come to Washington in search of jobs. They include Nora, escaping her cloying family, Bea, a former player for the All American Girls Baseball League, and Felicity, a young mother whose husband is fighting in Korea.

Into their midst strolls Mrs. Grace March, a widow who soon captivates everyone with her worldly manners and Thursday night potluck. The author unfolds their individual lives and the manner in which they become a family with skill and insight.

And did I mention the prologue features a grisly, blood-spattered corpse? This ain’t no pedestrian stroll through the Eisenhower Era; someone in the boarding house is a cold-blooded murderer. I highly recommend The Briar Club!

TV Series

The Tragically Hip No Dress Rehearsal

Streaming on Prime

This is a four-episode documentary on one of the most original bands to ever come out of Canada; The Tragically Hip. From their origins in Kingston, Ontario, to Gordon Downey’s tragic death from brain cancer at the age of 53, the documentary traces the many potholes and detours on their journey to success.

I have never been a Hip Head. As we stood in line waiting to see its debut at the Calgary International Film Festival, however, I had a chance to talk with some devoted fans. They mentioned how, even in the biggest arenas, Gord would make them feel as though he was personally communicating with them, reaching out to their hearts with his poetic lyrics.

(By coincidence, we met the band in the mid-80s while staying with friends in Toronto. Alan Gregg, their manager, invited the band over on New Year’s Day for a drink and we were charmed by their youth and good manners).

But back to the doco. There’s a lot of shots from the picturesque Lake Ontario city of Kingston as the group walks through the events that brought them together and formed life-long friendships.

There’s lots of footage of the band on the road, performing the day-to-day tasks of hanging out in laundromats and noodling with lyrics and instruments.

And there’s lots of live performances of their most famous songs, with Gord writhing around the stage like a poor soul possessed by a demon as he performs.

The final episode covers the country-wide tour after Gord has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Rather than being maudlin, however, it captures the beautiful relationship that the band had with both themselves and their fans. I highly recommend No Dress Rehearsal!

Bonus Book Review

Here One Moment

By Liane Moriarty

Liane Moriarty is one of our favorite authors. She is an Australian writer who lives in Sydney and writes about the lives of ordinary suburban Ozzies in such an extraordinary manner that she captivates you from the very first page.

Even if you’ve never read Moriarty, the chances are that you are very familiar with her work, as her book Big Little Lies was made into an award-winning mini series starring Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.

Big Little Lies was my favorite Moriarty book until I read Here One Moment. The premise of the book is audacious; during a routine flight from Hobart to Sydney, a 70-year old widow named Cherry walks down the aisle predicting everyone’s cause of death and age of death.

Some of the passengers are amused, while others are thrown into profound anxiety. She tells one young woman that she will die in a car accident within the year. She predicts that the infant sitting in a mother’s lap will drown at the age of seven.

Turmoil erupts when her predictions begin to come true. The young woman does indeed die in a car accident, and others pass away as stated. Suddenly, Cherry has become the mysterious Death Lady, with a website tabulating her prophesies.

Moriarty writes following a code; no ghosts, divine intervention or phantasms ever determine the outcome of her books. So it was with great anticipation as I read this novel; how would she resolve what clearly appears to be a paranormal phenomenon at the heart of the story without compromising her inner tenet?

She pulls it off brilliantly, and, I promise, the ending will delight you. I highly recommend Here One Moment!

beautificia

August 2024 Newsletter

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Life in Calgary

Back in the summer of ‘67, my pal Bennie bought Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and invited me over to hear it.

I was especially intrigued by one song; Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

“What’s that all about?” I asked.

“LSD,” said Bennie.

“Ooh.”

Before it was banned in the late 1960s, chemistry undergraduates at McMaster University were enthusiastically whipping up batches of a potential stress reliever called lysergic acid diethylamide. While the relief of stress was negligible, a microgram of LSD did have the side effect of glorious hallucinations.

Alas, that era is long past, but the visual effects live on in Beautifica, a highly entertaining music and visual extravaganza created by the musician James Hood.

We caught a showing at the TELUS Spark Science Center in Calgary, and were treated to the wonderful sensation of zooming through the universe in a psychedelic starship. The show is on its last leg in Calgary, but you can catch it at various locations in the US this summer.

Available this Fall!

Click Here to Read Excerpt

FBI AGENT JACK KENYON is back! When a bomb in Myron Buckstar’s software lab kills an innocent woman, Jack and the crew are called in to find out if terrorists are targeting the flamboyant billionaire.

They soon discover that the victim was a member of Scotland Yard working undercover on a mysterious case.

As Jack pursues her murder, he uncovers a race to steal the Crystal Ball, an invention that allows its owner to peer into the future. Follow Jack from San Francisco to London as he pursues a host of murderers, conmen and criminals who will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.

Recipe: Veal Burgers

This is easy to mix together and creates a delightful summer BBQ meal!

Ingredients

1 lb. of minced veal (if the butcher doesn’t have it, check the frozen food section).

2 oz. of parmesan, grated

1 tsp salt

1 tsp of paprika

Garnishing

Cob’s Bakery buns.

Directions

Mix parmesan, salt and paprika into the veal. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then form in to patties.

Grill on the BBQ, and garnish with onions, pickles, caramelized onions etc., and serve on lightly toasted buns from Cob’s Bakery.

Enjoy!

Book Review

A Death in Cornwall

By Daniel Silva

This is the 24th  book in the Gabriel Allon series, and it’s a peach.

Allon is an Israeli secret agent who served for many years as a Mossad assassin, rising through the ranks to become the boss of ‘The Office’. His legendary exploits took him around the world, hunting Israel’s sworn enemies in Europe, the Middle East and North America.

Now retired, he devotes his life to restoring the Masters, whether it’s an altarpiece by Raphael or a painting by Rothko. He lives the quiet life with his wife Chiara in Venice with their two children, striving to stay out of the limelight.

Until something royally pisses him off, that is. The effrontery in question is the brutal hatchet murder of an Oxford professor. Allon soon discovers she was on the trail of a Picasso painting, looted from a Paris art collector by the Nazis in WWII.

His investigation leads him to the Geneva Freeport, a tax-free haven where billionaires and crooks store their tax-free loot, including gold and valuable paintings.

Naturally, the bad guys hiding trillions would rather not have the light of the law shone on their shenanigans, and the body count starts to climb. Allon relies on his coterie of contacts and faithful sidekicks to stay one jump ahead of the pack as he dashes across Europe, pursuing his goal with laser focus.

You don’t have to read any of the previous series; each book stands on its own. But it you aren’t familiar with Silva’s work, I highly recommend you start at the beginning and peruse through the lot; you won’t be disappointed!

TV Series Review

The Perfect Couple

Streaming on Netflix September 6, 2024

I don’t normally review something I haven’t seen yet, but there’s a first time for everything!

The Perfect Couple is based on the novel of the same name by Elin Hildebrand. She has written several dozen books set on the island of Nantucket; they chronicle the lives of both the rich summer residents as well as the full-time citizens who (literally) cater to them.

Greer and Tag Winbury (played by Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber), are hosting the wedding of their son Benji and his bride Celeste at their fabulous beachside mansion on the island of Nantucket. Hundreds have been invited to the lavish affair, which is expected to be the talk of the island.

The eve of the wedding is tragically marred by the death of the maid of honor, however. Merritt is found on the beach below the mansion, apparently drowned. But when Chief of Police Ed Kapenash begins to investigate, he soon discovers an undercurrent of deceit and chicanery that belies the reputation of ‘the perfect couple’ and their family.

The novel is a very entertaining mix of whodunit and soap opera as the author explores both the backstories and the unraveling of the mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and I look forward to seeing the mini-series!

Upcoming Book Launch in Calgary!

Join me on Sunday, September 15, 2024, 4 pm., at Owl’s Nest Books for the launch of Crystal Ball. I’ll be doing a reading and signing and greeting all our pals from Calgary!

2024-07-05

July 2024 Newsletter

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Life in Calgary

It’s Stampede time! For ten days every July, the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth takes over the city and turns it into a very large punch bowl.

Folks outside town tend to think of The Stampede as an excuse to wear a cowboy hat and get drunk (and they’re generally correct), but there’s also an international cultural aspect that often gets overlooked.

Take, for instance, the Mexifest located across the street from our condo in a downtown parking lot. Mariachi bands and churro vendors compete with Lucha Libre wrestlers for the admiration of thousands of Mexican people who now call Calgary home.

Until you hear La Bamba sung with a country twang, you ain’t heard nothing yet.

Coming this Fall: The Official Launch of my latest FBI Agent Jack Kenyon series takes place at Owls Nest Books in Calgary on Sunday, September 15, 2024, at 4 pm.

I’ll be doing a reading and signing paperbacks. You can also order previous books in the series on Amazon.

Book Review

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

By Holly Jackson

I love reading (and writing) murder mysteries. I enjoy everything from police procedurals (Michael Connelly’s Detective Bosch series), to ‘cozy’ murder mysteries in which an amateur sleuth finds the killer when the authorities are baffled.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder falls into the latter category. The town of Fairview is rocked when high-school sweetheart Andie Bell goes missing. Her body is never discovered, but her boyfriend Sal commits suicide, leaving behind a note confessing to murder.

The police close the file, but enough disturbing questions remain to motivate young Pippi to dig further; as her senior high-school assignment, she chooses to investigate the tragedy. Along with the help of Sal’s older brother Raji, she interviews Andie’s gang, sifting through their recollections and social media postings for inconsistencies.

Her snooping soon attracts scoundrels who threaten her with harm if she doesn’t desist. Like all good sleuths, however, she toils on, placing herself at personal risk in order to uncover the truth.

The author (pictured) has written two sequels, and the series has just been made into a TV series by the BBC. I highly recommend you check out the novel first, however; it’s a great summer read!

Recipe: Ceviche

This is the perfect summer meal, and easy to prepare!

Ingredients

1/2 lb. of raw chopped white fish (basa)

1/2 lb. raw chopped shrimp.

1 cup lime juice

1 Tsp salt

1 tomato, chopped

1 mango, diced

½ red onion, slivered

1 avocado, diced

3 Tsp cilantro, diced

½ chili pepper, diced

Tortilla chips

Directions

Mix fish, lime juice and salt. Seal in a container and marinate in fridge for at least 4 hours (this cures the raw fish).

In a bowl, mix tomato, mango, onion, avocado, cilantro and chili.

Add cured fish. Garnish with cilantro and sliced onion.

Serve with tortilla chips and lots of cold cerveza.

Enjoy!

TV Series

The Sopranos

Created by David Chase

It’s been 25 years since the launch of The Sopranos? Fuggedaboudit!

For a quarter of a century, Tony, Carmela, Christopher, Silvio and the rest of the crew have been robbing, racketeering, whacking and screwing each other with criminal abandon.

This isn’t one of the best TV series every made, it’s the best TV series ever made. The show was so faithful to the mob life that James Gandolfini, who played the patriarch of the family, noted that he was frequently complimented by real ‘wise guys’ on its authenticity.

But most of all, it was tremendously entertaining. The mix of violence, irony and slapstick keeps you constantly riveted, even when you’ve seen each episode time and time again.

Creator David Chase and HBO, of course, had no idea how much the series would change modern American culture. The set, which is available on DVD and download, contains never-before-seen clips, as well as a documentary in which the cast and crew reflect on the show.

You don’t have to be a die-hard fan to enjoy it, but if you are, then no matter how hard you try to get out, they’ll pull you back in!

2024-05-12

May 2024 Newsletter

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Life in Calgary

They recently held the annual Calgary Comics Expo. Tens of thousands of fans came out to Stampede Park, many dressed up as their favorite superhero.

It’s my theory that everyone has a super power of some kind. For Linda, it’s her talent to organize a kitchen so that I can immediately find the cherry pit remover or pickle bottle opener, even in the dark.

My super power is the ability to pick the slowest till line. I don’t care if it’s a bank, a grocery store or a funeral parlor, the little old lady in front of me is going to pay her bill with nickels.

It’s spring in Calgary and that means the potholes are in season! That’s right, the city can find enough asphalt to build speed bumps from here to eternity but for some reason there’s none available to fill in the holes that rip a tire off your ride in zero seconds flat.

Movie Review

Anyone But You

Streaming on Netflix

Yes, it’s a Rom-Com!

And a cute one, at that. Sydney Sweeney plays Bea, a law student who hates law. Glen Powell plays Ben, who hates Bea.

Well, kind of. They meet at a coffee shop where Bea proceeds to pull her jeans off and dry them with a hand dryer in the loo. Ben, always a gentleman, offers to go on a date which ends disastrously.

And that’s that until Ben’s friend Claudia decides to marry Bea’s sister Halle in Australia. When Ben and Bea realize they’re going to be spending a great deal of time together, they arrange a truce so as not to suck all the oxygen out of the wedding.

Off to Sydney and the fantastic mansion that Claudia’s mummy and daddy own on the beach. They all go on a hike and Ben gets a spider down his shorts and has to strip buck naked before it bites him somewhere sensitive.

You get the picture. Every conceivable obstacle stands in their way, including old boyfriends, match-making mommas and the Sydney Opera House. One moment they hate each other, the next they’re ripping clothes off. It’s not the best Rom-Com ever, but it has a lot of funny moments and is well worth watching. I highly recommend Anyone But You!

All my novels are available to Kindle Unlimited subscribers!

You can also buy eBooks and paperbacks on Amazon!

Recipe: Butter Chicken

Easy to make and delicious to eat, this is the perfect recipe for guests who enjoy Asian food!

4 tsp butter

1 onion chopped

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cups tomato sauce

½ cup cream

1 tsp tandoori seasoning1

1 tsp garam masala2

2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1If you can’t find it at the grocery store, mix together 1 tsp of cumin, coriander, paprika and cayenne.

2If you can’t find it at the grocery store, mix together ½  tsp of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Basmati rice, cooked

Shallots, caramelized

Cilantro, minced.

Directions

Fry onion, ginger, garlic, tandoori and masala in butter.

Add chicken cubes and brown on all sides. Remove.

Add tomato sauce and simmer for 30 minutes

Return chicken. Add cream. Let simmer until chicken is cooked through.

Serve on basmati rice.

Sprinkle on shallots and cilantro.

Enjoy!

TV Review

Bridgerton, Season 3

Streaming on Netflix

This is a wonderfully-campy bodice-ripper set in a fictionalized pre-Victorian era. Based on the novels of Julia Quinn, it follows the antics of the upper-class Bridgerton clan as Lady Violet, the matriarch of the family, tries to wed her children.

Season 3 revolves around Penelope Featherington (played by Nicola Coughlan), a hapless redhead facing ghastly spinsterhood unless she finds a groom. She is also the anonymous publisher of a scandal rag that titillates the bored socialites who orbit around the court of Queen Charlotte.

Enter Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), Lady Violet’s swaggering eldest son, intent on stealing the hearts of as many debutantes as he can. Colin gets entwined by Penelope, however, who needs his help finding a mate.

Most of it makes no sense whatsoever, but there’s lots of dashing about and bonking in carriages to entertain. I highly recommend Bridgerton!

Book Review

Get Shorty

By Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard has always been a big favorite of mine. The author populated his novels with a colorful array of drifters, con artists and the law, and his ability to create unique dialogue was so finely honed that he often didn’t bother with quotation marks – you simply understood who was talking by the pace and vocabulary of a character’s words.

Leonard began writing Westerns in the 1950s, so it comes as no surprise that he was well-acquainted with the process of adapting his popular books to film. Get Shorty was written in 1990, and it’s essentially a book about making a movie.

Of course, that’s where the author takes a dog-eared concept and turns it into high satire. Chili Palmer is a loan-shark based in Miami who goes to Los Angeles in search of an errant client. Once in Hollywood, he discovers that being a movie producer is not that different than being a mobster, and decides to switch careers.

He teams up with Harry Zimm, a producer of B-Grade horror flicks, and Karen, his leading lady. They set out to snare Michael Weir, (a rather short) A-list actor, to star in Mr. Lovejoy, an unbelievably bad script. (Fun fact; Leonard based Michael on his dealings with Dustin Hoffman.)

It wouldn’t be an Elmore Leonard novel without a cast of low-life trying to muscle in on the action, including a delightfully nefarious Ray Bones who Chili once shot in the scalp over a stolen jacket and now is hell-bent on revenge. Mayhem of all sorts quickly ensues, with the good guys eventually triumphing.

There’s one more delight; as you read through the book, it’s impossible not to imagine John Travolta, Rene Russo, Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito from the 1995 adaptation gleefully chewing up the scenery. I highly recommend Get Shorty!

2024 04 09

April 2024 Newsletter

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Life in Paris

Sigh. It’s snowing like hell in Calgary so I thought I’d dig through the vault and find a bit of happiness in Paris. This is the El Vecino Mexican Restaurant located near Place de la République. We didn’t eat there, but the sign out front caught my eye and I couldn’t resist a selfie. Fu*K your Diet is the name of their signature German ginger beer.

Life in Mexico

Years ago, the area around Club Santiago was a castor oil plantation. The beans from the plant were used to make plastics, varnishes and paints. When cheaper alternatives were found, the plantations were abandoned. But the plant itself is quite hardy, and descendants can be found growing in ditches along roads throughout the area.

Unfortunately, the beans contain ricin, one of the deadliest poisons known to mankind. Even a speck as small as a grain of sand can kill you. Casual contact with the skin can also lead to burning and blistering.

The reason I’m calling it to your attention is because the plant grows around the Club Santiago golf course; you can see them in profusion along the third and fourth fairways where they border the highway.

If the beans are inadvertently ground up and dispersed by the ground crews mowing the fairways, you can accidentally come in contact with traces of ricin.

Soviet agents have used ricin to poison their foes, so you should avoid them too. (That’s Xenia Onatopp, the deadly spy from Goldeneye, in case you’re wondering.)

Should you break out in a rash or blisters, treat it with over-the-counter cortisone cream or Calamine lotion.

TV Review

The Gentlemen

Streaming on Netflix

I’m not the biggest fan of film producer Guy Ritchie. He loves to do British crime gang movies with lots of Cockney low life and grisly shot-gun duels. So it was with trepidation that I approached The Gentlemen.

On the surface, it’s much like his usual fare. A career officer by the name of Eddie inherits a dukedom from his father Lord Halstead when the latter prefers him over his dissipated eldest son Freddy. Freddy is flamboyantly aghast at this turn of events, mainly because he owes 4 million to a nasty bit of business to whom Theo must cough up lest his brother suffer defenestration

That’s not the worst of Eddie’s problems. It turns out that a gang run by a carbuncle named Bobby Glass has established a grow-op on the estate and isn’t about to up sticks. His daughter, the delicious Susie Glass, must play intermediary as various shenanigans, including heists and murder, complicate matters.

What makes the TV series so much fun is the fast-pace, plot twists and general eccentricity that seems to permeate every character. It’s a lot of fun to watch, and I highly recommend The Gentlemen!

All my novels are available to Kindle Unlimited subscribers!

You can also buy eBooks and paperbacks on Amazon!

Movie Review

The Holdovers

Streaming on Amazon Prime

It’s a quirky premise; a cranky professor at a prestigious prep academy is forced to stay on duty over the Christmas holidays along with a stranded student and a grieving school cook.

So, why did this period piece set in 1971 receive 5 Academy award nominations, including Best Picture of the Year?

Paul Giamatti is reason number one. The award-winning actor brings his rumpled everyman persona to the role of Paul Hunhan, a life-long bachelor who has dedicated his career to nurturing the pampered spawn of America’s elites. His efforts at Barton Academy in the face of supreme apathy has completely depleted his passion for teaching, leaving a bitter husk of a man.

Angus, the student (played by Dominic Sessa), has been abandoned at the last minute after his mother and his new step-dad elope to St. Kitts.  He vows to make the holiday as miserable as only an angst-filled teenage boy can do.

Mary, the head cook (brilliantly portrayed by Da’Vine Joy Randolph), has lost her drafted son in the Vietnam War. Her grief and anger toward the deferred boys who attend Barton is palpable.

Together, the three form an unlikely alliance in an effort to survive their odious fortune. Slowly, they forge bridges between their emotional isolation. Each character grows in self-esteem and maturity, achieving the gift of Christmas that no mere present beneath the tree could achieve.

Although the only winning Oscar went to Da’Vine Joy Randolph for Supporting Actress, all of the nominees, including Giamatti as Leading Actor and David Meningson for Best Original Screenplay, are highly deserving.  This is a gem of a movie; I highly recommend The Holdovers!

Recipe: Roast Pork Belly

Cooking dinner literally doesn’t get any easier than this. You can pick up fresh pork belly at any Chinese butcher (a big shout-out to T&T market in Calgary!) and make this tender, succulent dish in under an hour.

Ingredients

1 kg of pork belly

Instructions

Score the top fat layer in a diamond shape pattern. Place in a shallow tin pan (I line the pan with parchment paper to make the clean-up easier).

Roast for 40 minutes at 400F.

Slice and serve with baked sweet potato and corn. Enjoy!

Book Review

Table for Two

By Amor Towles

Creating a short story is undoubtedly one of the most difficult tasks a writer can face. You have to create the main characters, setting, story and outcome to the satisfaction of the reader, all in a fraction of the space that a novel allows you. In addition, you have to include a twist in the plot, one that is both totally unexpected and, at the same time, totally believable.

I’m not an avid short story reader for that reason. I find that contemporary writers fall short of the mark when compared to O. Henry.

The exception is Amor Towles. We’ve always enjoyed his novels (A Gentleman in Moscow), so I didn’t hesitate when his latest fictional effort, Table for Two, was published. It’s a set of six short stories set in New York, and a novella set in Hollywood. The short stories are crafted like a fine Swiss watch, every word and phrase so exact that each tale captures the frailties and aspirations of the characters with exquisite precision, and each ending comes as both a surprise and a wish for the story to continue.

As an aside, people often ask me where I get my ideas. As any writer will tell you, it’s a combination of observation and inspiration. I’ll give you an example of the former. I was driving down McLeod Trail adjacent to the Stampede Grounds one evening when I glanced over and spotted a woman sitting at a bus shelter clutching a giant stuffed panda and crying her eyes out. Now you know there’s gotta be a story there.

Well I didn’t write about my observation, but Towles did. I will Survive involves a happenstance encounter that the author must have made while walking in Central Park that was so unique that it inspired him to cut a fascinating tale out of imaginary cloth. I won’t tell you and spoil it, but you’ll recognize immediately what I’m talking about when you read it. I highly recommend Table for Two!

2024 03 03

March 2024 Newsletter

by Newsletter

Life in Mexico

It’s the little things in life that makes living in Mexico so enjoyable.

Every other week, we go down to the Santiago market where the chicken ladies have a stall under a staircase. Their counters are festooned with broilers and eggs and poultry appendages.

Their free-range produce is classified as Mexi-organic, because Tia Maria who raises them can’t afford hormones or antibiotics, so you get them the same way they’ve been sold for the last 500 years.

Mama Angelica is in charge. When I ask for ‘Milanesa’, she picks up her razor-sharp cleaver and slices a breast so thin it’s the size of a bread board when she’s done.

Whenever I want to make paté, I always buy my livers there; although ‘buy’ is a misnomer as they just give me a bag.

And the price? I can buy enough chicken for twenty servings for around twenty-five bucks. Read it and weep.

Recipe; Mariposa Chicken

Mariposa (or butterfly) chicken is easy to make in less than an hour, and it always comes out moist, tender and delicious!

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

½ cup of butter, soft

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp of salt

½ tsp of black pepper

2 Tsp of parsley, chopped

Directions

Heat the oven to 425F. (You can also cook it on the BBQ).

Split the backbone so that the whole chicken lies flat. You can do it at home if you have a good pair of meat shears, but it’s also sold pre-prepared; if you don’t see one out on the shelf, just ask the butcher to split one for you (butterfly translates as ‘mariposa’ in Spanish – easy to remember).

Lay the chicken skin-side up in an oven tray that has been sprayed with oil or covered with parchment paper and allow it to warm to room temperature.

Mix together the butter, garlic, salt, pepper and parsley into a paste. Place half the paste under the skin of the breast and legs, and spread the rest on top of the skin.

Roast for 45 minutes, then cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Enjoy!

Read all my books with a subscription to Kindle Unlimited!

You can also purchase eBooks and Paperbacks on Amazon!

Book Review

The Appeal

By Janice Hallett

The novel attracted quite a bit of attention when it debuted in 2021 due to the unusual structure; rather than telling the story of a murder using chronological narrative, the majority of the book is told through a series of emails and instant messages sent between the primary suspects.

This is a bit of a spoiler, but it will help you understand the premise right from the first paragraphby rather than having to fumble through several chapters trying to figure out what’s going on. Two independent investigators have been hired by the lawyer representing the imprisoned murderer in an attempt to overthrow the conviction. They are trolling through messages sent between friends and acquaintances prior to, and after, the murder in an attempt to find the real killer.

The story itself points to an intriguing range of motives. A two-year old girl is suffering from a rare brain cancer, one with little chance of survival. Her parents and grandparents are part of an amateur theatre company in an affluent English village, and they decide to launch a Gofundme appeal to raise money for an expensive, experimental treatment developed in the US.

As the investigators work through the correspondence, however, troubling questions emerge. Is someone stealing money from the appeal? Does the experimental cure, in fact, even exist? The reader is drawn through a series of interpersonal disputes that could very well escalate into nasty repercussions.

Even though the author creates a dozen potential suspects, in the end, Hallett wraps it up neatly with a bow, much to the satisfaction of yours truly. This is a unique twist on the Agatha-Christie English village murder mystery. I highly recommend The Appeal!

TV Series Review

Expats

Streaming on Amazon Prime

This six-part mini-series set in Hong Kong is based on the novel by Janice Lee. Normally, I would give the domestic drama a pass, but it stars Nicole Kidman, and I’d be a fool not to give it the sniff test.

I’m sure glad I did. Nicole stars as Margaret, the mother of three children, who is stationed in HK with her husband Clarke (played by Brian Tee). One day, she takes the children with their young nanny Mercy (Ji-Young Yoo), to the night market, where her four year old son Gus suddenly disappears.

The abduction sets off a series of crises in her family, with Margaret searching the city for signs of her son, and Michael retreating to the comfort of religion. The remaining two children are traumatized by fear that they might be next, and there’s nothing their parents can do to protect them.

The series explores a further layer of trauma within the extended community of HK’s domestic service industry. The opportunity for work draws hundreds of thousands of Filipina and Indonesian women to Singapore, HK and the North America seeking to support their families back home. Mercy is wracked by guilt, and Essie, who raised Margaret’s children from infancy, experiences the same nightmare that every mother faces.

The series is brilliantly cast, but it is Nicole who rises a level above with her unrivaled ability to evince her character’s grief through the tiniest of micro-expressions, magnified by the intense close-ups used by the cinematographer. You feel her pain, not through cries of anguish, but the immense, deep distress in her eyes.

This is a feast of Nicole Kidman’s talent that equals her best performances on both the big and small screens; I highly recommend Expats!

Documentary Review

American Symphony

Streaming on Netflix

For years, Jon Baptiste was well-known as the bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

He is also an accomplished song writer, singer and performer, teaming up with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Ed Sheeran. He has won 5 Grammy awards, including Album of the Year for We Are, in 2021.

The documentary, directed by Matthew Heineman and executive-produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, follows the artist as he composes American Symphony, an orchestral arrangement featuring black musical styles, and simultaneously deals with his wife Suleika’s relapse into leukemia.

This is a portrayal of their struggles to beat a deadly disease and to finish the biggest musical challenge of his career. The documentary is both intimate and majestic, as they suffer the pains of chemotherapy and celebrate the debut at Carnegie Hall. I highly recommend American Symphony.  

2024-02-09

February 2024 Newsletter

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Life in Mexico

There’s a line of coconut vendors at the side of the toll road heading toward Colima. Just past that is a shady cantina consisting of half a dozen picnic tables and a cow.

The cantina serves ‘pajarete’, which is made from milk straight from the cow. The vendor then adds vanilla, chocolate, strawberries and pure cane liquor. Essentially, it’s a milk-shake for alcoholics.

Because cows are milked in the morning only, pajarete is consumed at breakfast, and you can see many a thirsty truck driver at the cantina bracing themselves for the windy mountain roads ahead.

Pajarete tastes best when drunk from a clay mug, but if you’re in a hurry, they have go-cups that fit into the beverage holder on your console. The nice thing is, if you run out of gas, you can probably pour it into the tank and it will work just as well as the stuff you buy at Pemex.

FYI: Pajarete is also known as the ‘drink of death’, due to the fact that unscrupulous vendors swap out the cane liquor with wood alcohol. About two dozen people have been killed in the last year.

Recipe; Fish and Shrimp Curry

This is a great way to enjoy the fresh seafood we have in abundance in Manzanillo. Easy to prepare, and delicious to eat!

Ingredients

1 lb of dorado (or any white fish), cut into 1-in cubes.

12 peeled shrimp

2 Tsp of butter

Half an onion, chopped

Half a red pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp of ginger, minced

1 Tsp of curry powder

1 tsp of cumin

1 tsp of paprika

1 can of peeled tomatoes

Fresh coriander and mint.

Directions

In a Dutch oven or large pan with lid, lightly fry the fish and shrimp in butter. Remove.

Fry the onion, garlic, ginger, pepper, and spices (add a little more butter if it gets dry).

Add the tomatoes, cover and simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

Return the fish and shrimp to the pan and simmer for another two minutes.

Serve on rice with mint and coriander topping.

Enjoy!

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Book Review

The Paradise Trilogy

By Elin Hilderbrand

We’ve always been big fans of Elin Hilderbrand, who has written about a million novels set in the island of Nantucket. As an author, she creates a background ‘bible’ for every major fictional character, in which their life is lovingly detailed with everything from their favorite childhood sundae to the designer jeans they wear.

I know, it sounds a little over the top, but this allows the celebrated ‘Queen of the beach read’ to take the dramatic circumstances of the main characters (death of a child, a cheating spouse), and weave a rich tapestry that literally pulls you into their lives.

The Paradise Trilogy (Winter in Paradise, What Happens in Paradise, and Troubles in Paradise), is an outlier for two reasons. Most of Hilderbrand’s novels are stand-alone, in that they rarely have sequels. The trilogy is also set in the US Virgin Islands, which happens to have an identical tropical environment to what we experience in Manzanillo.

The series revolves around Irene Steele, wife of Robert Steele and mother to two adult sons, Baker and Cash. She lives in Iowa City in a Victorian house; its restoration has been her main occupation while her husband travels the world on business.

Irene’s life is turned upside-down, however, when her husband dies in a helicopter accident in the US Virgin Islands. When she journeys there with her two sons, she learns that Robert owned an immense mansion overlooking the St. John harbor.

She also discovers that he has been living a secret life with a mistress in the mansion. As the plot unfolds, her bewilderment turns to anger as she realizes the depths of duplicity that her husband has descended. One twist follows another as she and her sons try to adapt to the new reality of their lives.

We both found the series very addictive, and read all three books in a matter of days! I highly recommend The Paradise Trilogy.

Documentary Review

The Greatest Night in Pop

Streaming on Netflix

In January 28, 1985, three dozen of the greatest pop stars on the planet got together for a single night to record We Are the World, a pop tune designed to raise money for the relief of starvation in Africa.

The original idea came from Harry Belafonte, who had been inspired by the Christmas Carol, Do They Know It’s Christmas? He asked friends Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson to write the tune and lyrics, and encouraged American and European stars to participate.

The challenge, of course, was to get all the singers in one room for one night. They chose the evening of the American Music Awards, knowing that the majority of participants would be in Los Angeles to celebrate, and then cajoled stars like Bruce Springsteen who were on tour to make a special detour.

The documentary largely relies on taped footage that was recorded during the rehearsal and performance, as well as interviews conducted by director Bao Nguyen with participants such as Richie, Springsteen and Huey Lewis. In the end, the documentary is much more than a stroll down musical memory lane as it is a revealing insight into the real people behind the carefully crafted public personas of the performers.

The song was rewarded a Grammy and ended up raising $100 million in aid. I highly recommend The Greatest Night in Pop.

Mexican Strawberry Champagne Cocktail

We’re celebrating Linda’s birthday this month, and there’s no better way than Champagne on the beach!

Ingredients

Strawberries

1 Tsp of lemon juice

½ tsp of vanilla extract

Champagne (or any dry sparkling wine)

Gently pulse the strawberries, lemon juice, vanilla extract and crushed ice in a blender, then mix with bubbly in a large wine glass. Enjoy!

2023-10-02

October 2023 Newsletter

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Life in Calgary

We’ve been residing in Mexico for the last 12 years, so a lot has happened in our old home town in the intervening decade. We’ve had a chance to spend the last two months in town, and here are a few things I never thought I’d live long enough to see.

Co-op Cannabis

For those of you not from Alberta, the Co-op grocery chain was founded by the United Farmers of Alberta in the 1940s and is about the least likely organization in the province to open a chain of pot stores (except for the RCMP).

They have great names for the various weed varieties, including Purple Haze (too bad Buzz Light Year was already taken). But I’m kind of nostalgic for the days when you’d purchase a dime bag behind the high-school from the local JD. Somehow, paying GST on reefer is a bit of a buzz kill.

Calgary Central Library

The City of Calgary began planning this about the same time as the Pyramids of Giza.

The award-winning design was completed in 2018 at the cost of around $250 million. When it finally opened, thousands of citizens waited patiently in line to gaze upon the wood-clad interior and pinch CDs.

When we recently visited, the vast interior echoed with the sound of children’s delight as Librarians performed favorite books.

Best of all, however; they carry copies of Secret Combinations, Magnus the Magnificent and A Paris Moment! If you are a Calgary Library member, be sure to sign in on your card and request Joan the Saint and The Hotel Seamstress.

The Big Head

This sculpture, formally entitled Wonderland, was installed a few years ago in front of the Bow Tower in Calgary. The Spanish artist Jaume Plensa drew inspiration from the head of a young Spanish girl, and the interior the 12-m work of art can be accessed through a door. I recommend a visit to Co-op Cannabis before entering.

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Joan the Saint!

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Book Review

The Last Devil to Die

By Richard Osman

The concept of this mystery novel series is disingenuously simple; a quartet of retirees living in a seniors’ complex near Brighton start a club in which they investigate unsolved murders.

They are led by Elizabeth, a legendary former spy who is ruthless in her pursuit of perfidy. Her best friend Joyce loves to cook pound cake, while retired union leader Ron and former psychiatrist Ibrahim round out the crew. They are, in turn, aided by Bogdan, a mysterious Polish émigré, and Donna, a police inspector for the rural constabulary.

In this fourth installment, a delivery of heroin from Afghanistan goes astray and a friend of the murder club is found, well, murdered. The intrepid gang vows justice and goes in search of both the heroin and the killers.

The series is in the delightful tradition of the English cosy mystery in which amateur sleuths bring their unusual talents to bear on murder most foul. They are invariably a delightful blend of eccentric characters, convoluted plots and dry British wit. If you aren’t familiar with the Thursday Murder Club series, I highly recommend you give it a try!

Recipe: Chamorro de Cerdo

Chamorro de cerdo

Pork shank is a popular Sunday meal in Mexico. It is inexpensive, easy to make and absolutely delicious!

Ingredients

1 pork shank.

¼ cup of flour

1 Tsp of chili powder

1 Tsp of butter

Four carrots

1 cup of baby potatoes

½ a white onion

½ cup of water or broth

1 tsp of salt

Ground pepper

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 400 F.

Mix the flour and chili powder together in a plastic bag. Insert the pork shank and lightly coat the meat. (Save 1 Tsp of the remaining flour and chili powder).

Fry the shank in butter, browning on all four sides.

Cut the carrots, onion and potatoes and place in the bottom of a cast-iron pot. Pour in the water or broth.

Place the shank atop the vegetables and bake in the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Cover and reduce heat to 350 F. Cook for a further two hours.

When the meat is tender, remove from the oven and separate the meat and vegetables.

Tent the shank and let rest for 10 minutes while preparing the gravy by mixing 1 Tsp of the remnant flour and chili mix with the drippings.

Serve each portion whole, or flake the meat off and serve on a platter. Enjoy!

TV Review

Lupin

Streaming on Netflix

This is a French series following the adventures of Assane Diop, the modern reincarnation of Arsene Lupin. The latter was a fictional gentleman thief popular in the early 20th century, a self-styled Robin Hood of the Paris underworld.

Diop, a master of disguise, uses his abilities and general chicanery to steal from the rich and, (ahem), keep it. In the latest series, his arch nemesis kidnaps his mother and extorts him into stealing some of the world’s most precious jewelry, including the invaluable Black Pearl.

Our anti-hero and his intrepid team pull a host of outrageous heists that bamboozle the police and infuriate the pampered owners of pricey baubles. Although the first installment of the series was delightfully entertaining, the writers and producers have taken the concept to a whole new level in this latest season. I highly recommend Lupin!

2023-08-03

August 2023 Newsletter

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Life in London

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.”

Samuel Johnson said that over two hundred years ago, but it still holds true today. Whatever turns your crank, you’ll find it within the shadow of Big Ben.

We spent a week at the end of July in a lovely AirBnB flat located in Earl’s Court. We were in walking distance of Kensington Palace and a thousand curry take-outs. A short ride on the Tube took us everywhere else in town.

Our favorite pastime is always the West End, where you can see some of the best musicals on earth. We went to see two shows, Guys and Dolls and Cabaret; a head-to-head comparison follows below.

We also love to travel around town on the double-decker buses, the fare of which is included when you purchase a week-long Oyster Card. They are far less crowded than the Tube, and you get to see all the attractions, like Buckingham Palace, as you roll by.

If I have one gripe, it’s that the folks in London don’t know how to walk on the sidewalk. They stagger along, heads bent over cell phones, totally oblivious of everyone else. Fortunately our flat had a big umbrella with a pointy end that I could use to goose them into oncoming lorries.

Alas, our time in Europe passed too quickly. We’re back in Calgary for the next little while, so I have to remind myself not to drive like a Mexican or I’ll end up in jail.

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Head-to-Head Theatre Review; Guys and Dolls vs Cabaret

We had the pleasure of seeing two musicals in London this summer; Guys and Dolls and Cabaret. Both have many similarities – they are set in the 1930s, feature hit songs, innovative immersive sets, and the best singers and dancers that the West End can offer.

Cabaret first appeared on Broadway in 1966. It starred Jill Haworth as Sally, a role that was reprised by Liza Minnelli in the 1972 movie.

The show is set in 1930s Berlin, at the end of the jazz age and the rise of Hitler and fascism. American writer Clifford is involved with Sally, a singer at the seedy Kit Kat Club. The debauched world of the Weimar Republic swirls around them as they stagger toward the nightmare that awaits.

The stage is set up in the center of the theater, and audience members sit at tables surrounding the performing area. Waitresses bring Champagne and snacks before the performance. Once the show starts, the cast sings and dances through a dozen songs, including the hit Cabaret.

Guys and Dolls is based on a series of short stories that Damon Runyon wrote about hard-scrabble con artists and gals down on their luck in New York. The stage is also set in the center of the main level, with audience members milling about as risers lift the actors up. The cast of 24 also performs a dozen songs, including the Sinatra standard, Luck be a Lady Tonight.

So, how did the compare?

Keep in mind that we saw matinees, so several of the main characters were played by understudies. That said, the cast of Guys and Dolls had a significant edge when it came to belting out the tunes, soaring above the competition with heart-felt gusto.

I also preferred the story line of Guys and Dolls, which had a more light-hearted theme of pursuing the American dream. Mind you, the sub-plot of Cabaret was focused on the rise of fascism, so one could hardly expect a laugh-riot. The director gamely explored the dark humor of the situation, but the comedic timing was off.

Out of five stars, I give Guys and Dolls a four, and Cabaret a three.

Movie Review

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Back in 1984, I went with my sister Marlene to see the first Indiana Jones movie, and was utterly entranced by this big-screen, throw-back to the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Over the ensuing 40 years, I have faithfully viewed each sequel in a theatre as they came out.

Linda and I went to see Dial of Destiny at a cinema in Paris. I hate it when they dub in the voices, but fortunately it was shown in VO (Version original), so that wasn’t a distraction. True to form, the movie opened with an extended scene in which ruthless bad guys (Nazis!), try to off Indie during a New York parade honoring the crew of Apollo 11.

The premise of the story is that the no-goodniks want to get ahold of the Antikythera mechanism, a time-traveling device built by Archimedes 2000 years ago so that they can use it for nefarious stuff.

Indie sets off to thwart them, aided by his god-daughter Helena. As usual, there are pits full of snakes, chases on horseback, fights on trains and a dangle or two out of a plane. Needless to say, the scoundrels get their comeuppance in the end. My recommendation; go see Dial of Destiny while it’s still playing in the theatres; you won’t be disappointed!

Book Review

The Beach at Summerly

By Beatriz Williams

Beatriz Williams has long been feted as a master of the summer read. Most of her books feature a strong female lead, usually a young, feisty woman making her own way in the turbulent world of the first half of the 20th century.

The Beach at Summerly is set on Winthrop Island, just off the coast of Long Island. Secluded for most of the year, it comes to life in the summer when rich New Yorkers occupy their palatial summer homes.

Emilia is a native Islander, her family having arrived some three centuries ago to settle the rocky isle. She lives with her father and mother in a cottage adjacent to the Summerly Mansion, owned by the Peabody clan. As a child in the 1930s, Emilia grew up with the Peabody children, whiling away the summers swimming, cycling and picnicking in the dunes.

But WWII interrupts their idyllic existence; the young men go off to fight the Nazis. Emilia’s older brother is killed, as is the eldest Peabody son. When the survivors finally return, Emilia finds comfort in the arms of Shep Peabody, a kind and gentle younger brother who has had a crush on Emilia since they were children.

Enter, stage left, Olive Rainsford, a relative of the Peabody’s who has just returned from Europe. A twice-widowed woman of elegance and mystery, she asks Emilia to help care for her three young children.

Suspicions arise when undercover agents arrive on the island and begin to surveil the locals. Is there a spy in their midst? Death soon stalks their cloistered existence.

The author enjoys using split narratives. In this case, the main tale is set in 1946, and the ensuing flash-forward in 1954. I personally enjoy split narratives, as they keep the reader on their toes. Williams wraps it all up in the end; I highly recommend The Beach at Summerly!

2023-06-04-small

June 2023 Newsletter

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Life in France

Linda and I have once again traded Manzanillo for a visit to France! We are in Antibes, staying in the seaside community of Juan le Pins. It’s great to be back; rather than doing my usual Life in Mexico, for the next few months I’ll be highlighting some of the lovely food, experiences and activities of Provence.


You immediately notice how fresh all of the meat and vegetables are in the grocery stores. But the biggest bonus is the quality of the wines and the fact that they are much cheaper than Canada or Mexico. People say France is expensive, but we’re saving thousands and thousands on the wine alone!

This is a typical Tuesday night meal; duck breast a la orange with white asparagus. I roasted both sides of the duck breast in its own fat until the center was pink, then fried slices of peach in butter and reduced a 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier to make the sauce. The white asparagus is in season this week, so all the shops are stacked with spears. Divine!

We arrived during the Cannes Film Festival, which is just a few kilometers down the coast from Juan les Pins. The marinas are full of mega-yachts, including Jeff Bezos Koru. This behemoth is over 400-ft long and cost half a billion to build. It sets the owner of Amazon back $25 million a year just to maintain it; I assume that’s a good reason to use the sails to cut down on the gas bill.

They love posters here. This one is for a hotel overlooking the Juan les Pins marina. It’s right next to the park where they hold a jazz festival every year; we’re looking forward to seeing some of the acts in July.

Most posters are for luxury goods. As you can see, Freya bathing suits are pitching to a certain body type. Makes me wonder what Trojan goes for.

A lot of theaters also advertise upcoming performances. Not sure who’s behind this one.

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TV Review

Unstable

Streaming on Netflix

This is an engaging comedy series created by John Owen Lowe, son of Rob Lowe. Rob plays Ellis Dragon, an eccentric genius running an innovative biotech firm. His erratic emotional state is putting his company in jeopardy, however; his son Jackson Dragon (played by John), is called in to help save the day.

The father/son duo is supported by a brilliant cast. Anna, the CFO of the firm, is played by British actor and producer Sian Clifford (Fleabag), while Ellis’s aide Malcom is portrayed by Second City Chicago standup alumni Aaron Branch.

Each episode is only half an hour long, but the dialogue is so witty and the pacing so impeccably timed that it feels like a full-hour. I highly recommend you watch Unstable!

Recipe: Duck Breast


This is a classic French dish that is easy to make and tastes delicious! Cook’s tip: make sure you have a spatter screen on hand to keep fat under control.

Ingredients

1 duck breast

½ cup Grand Marnier

1 peach, pitted and sliced

1 Tsp of butter

Directions

Score the fat on the duck breast and cook at medium heat for 7 minutes. Flip the breast and cook for another 7 minutes. Take off heat and let rest.

Melt the butter and fry the peach slices for a minute. Add the Grand Marnier and reduce.

Cut the breast width-wise into ½ slices (it should be pink and juicy on the inside). Serve with sauce on the side.

Enjoy!