I should've done this my last post, but here it is, the text on the back cover of THE DEATH OF RAFAEL.

On a cold and rainy spring day in 1944, Giselle Haussman gives birth to a son in the back of a truck taking her through war-torn Central Europe to a Nazi forced labor camp. She names the newborn Rafael, and in a hopeless bid to save him from certain death, she leaves the two-day-old infant in a forest outside an unknown town. Her desperate act is witnessed by three local women, but also by a German officer and the town’s priest.

 

Almost half a century later, Rafael’s younger sister, Daniela, now a lawyer in San Francisco, is obsessed by her brother’s fate. She embarks on a long journey to find what had really happened to Rafael. But Giselle’s strange hostility and fears oppose Daniela. The three local women may have never existed. The German officer is dead and the priest seems to have slipped into madness. Fantasist memories, trickery and mendacious silence obscure and derail the truth. It all points to Rafael’s death.

 

In this dramatic page turner built around powerful, morally complex characters, Adriana Renescu takes the reader across continents, from the Carpathians to the Andes, from Berlin to San Francisco, from Buenos Aires to Rome. THE DEATH OF RAFAEL tells the story of opposing destinies caught in a web of guilt and secrets. This is a tale of loss and heartbreak, fear and despair, and ultimately hope and redemption.

My return to the LJ, with colors.

First, the primary colors.

 

 ...SOMEWHERE, IN A GALAXY FAR AWAY...






HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

My graphics card is ailing, so I can't create anything thing or use the photos... so, this is a very plain, but HEARTFELT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARTHA!!

...in a far away galaxy I stole this from portiareigns
Hmmmmmm... not sure about this. I always thought Obi-Wan Kenobi to be an insufferable pedant, although not as bad as that little guy with big ears, Yoda. Note, I'm 72% Yoda... And who the heck is Boba Felt?

Darn, dang...

 I WANT TO BE DARTH VADER!!!! I don't want to be civilized; I want to be badass and kick ass!!!!

HOWEVER, I do get to handle one of those nifty swords.  YES!

Your results:
You are Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi 77% Yoda 72% Padme 70% Princess Leia 67% Boba Fett 67% Han Solo 64% Luke Skywalker 61% Qui-Gon Jinn 61% Emperor Palpatine 55% Mace Windu 55%

You are civilized***truffles, champagne and opera, that's me***, calm, ***moi, calm?***and have a good sense of humor, even when those around you don't ***those without sense of humor ar enot tolerated***. You can hold your own in a fight ***I go for the shin and the balls***, but prefer it when things don't get too exciting *** true. I don't like when I break in a sweat.***.

(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)


Click here to take the Star Wars Personality Quiz

Yesterday, for the first time in more than a week, I felt human enough (well... human for me) and normal (don't say it!) enough to finally tackle the Argentine recipe I had been contemplating for a while. With all the pumpkins in the market, I just simply had to try something interesting.

This being a South American dish, like all such dishes born in the kitchen of the Spanish masters with an abundant supply of servants, while using native food stuff, it is quite complicated and has lots of ingredients; however, not as many, or as time consuming as some other Latin American dishes I have attempted.

It turned out to be a very therapeutic experience. Although the  ingredients in themselves are earthy, hearty stuff, the resulting combination of flavors turned out to be unexpectadly distinctive and refined while very satisfying.

CARBONADA CRIOLLA

(the following is the recipe for 4 people. I used half the quantities, for 2 people)

1 large pumpkin (I used a Kabocha squash. It has a sweeter taste than the usual pumpkin)
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tbs. olive oil
2 pounds lean beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic
4 cups beef broth
1 cup chopped, drained canned italian tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes
2 zucchinis, cut in thick slices
kernels from 2 ears of corn (do NOT use frozen)
a small peach ( I didn't use this, because I thought the pumpkin and the sweet potatoes would give it enough sweetness; besides, I am not a believer of fruit with meat. Not even duck...)

1. Scrub the pumpkin and cut a lid. Scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff. Coat the inside with the melted butter.




Close the pumpkin with the lid and place on a baking sheet (I  used my perforated pizza sheet) and put in the middle of a 375 F oven.
Let it bake for 45 minutes or so until the 'meat' has softened, but it is still a bit resistant when tested with  the tip of a knife. Be careful that it does not become too soft and collapses when filled with the stew.

Place it in a large dish (in case the stew overflows during the second baking) and set aside while preparing the stew.





2. Preparing the stew





(I spared you the rather bloody looking meat...)


In a heavy caserole dish, preferrably cast iron, heat the olive oil and brown the meat in batches until nicely brown. Put in a bowl as they brown.
In the oil left in the pan, saute until soft but not brown, the bell pepper, garlic and onion. (About 5 minutes). Pour in the beef broth and bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add oregano, bay leaf and tomatoes, salt and pepper. Return the meat to the pan with the juices accumulated in the bowl. Bring to a boil, cover tightly and then simmer for about 30 minutes, depending on how tender you like the meat. I like it VERY tender, so I simmered it until the meat was done.

Add sweet and white potatoes, and simmer for another 15 minutes. Then add the zucchini and the corn, and simmer for another 15 minutes. If you are using the peaches, add them at this point and let simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Ladle the stew into the pumpkin, making sure you've got enough liquid. don't over fill it, or it will cause a mess. cover with the lid.

Place in the 375 F. and bake for about 20 minutes until it is all hot and hopefully bubbly.

Serve at the table, from the pumpkin.



I had with it a very nice, fruity Argentinean red wine.

This was followed by some cool grapes and a couple of plums. Nice...

"There is no distinctly American criminal class -- except Congress."
                                                         -- Mark Twain


(stolen from 14theditch )

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WORMHOLE;

1 : a hole or passage burrowed by a worm

2 : a hypothetical structure of space-time envisioned as a long thin tunnel connecting points that are separated in space and time

A wormhole is also a science fiction writer's favorite deus ex machina. When everything fails, throw a wormhole in there.

( The Story.  )