Ropa Vieja Recipe - Old Clothes Never Tasted So Good!

  Ropa Vieja

Ropa Vieja actually means "old clothes" in Spanish. Ugh! Why would anyone want to eat something called old clothes? Well, if you let the name stop you, you're going to miss out on a real treat! I've never met anyone who's tasted ropa vieja who doesn't like it!

Below is my ropa vieja recipe. I hope you enjoy!

*4 pounds of pot roast or beef chuck (get the toughest -- i.e. cheapest -- piece of beef here. For ropa vieja, it won't matter!)
*3 large onions (1 sliced, 2 chopped)
*Salt
*Black pepper
*1 large bell pepper (sliced)
*1 large red pepper (sliced)
*1/4 cup of olive oil
*3 cloves of garlic (peeled and crushed) or 4 teaspoons of minced garlic
*1 large can of crushed tomatoes
*3 bay leaves
*1/2 cup dry sherry
*1/2 cup capers

1.  Season beef with salt and pepper, and let sit for an hour.

2.  Place beef in iron skillet with enough water to cover, add sliced onion, cover skillet, and put on low heat. Let cook for three hours (keep adding water as needed) then remove beef from pan, and let cool.

Catya Washington from Bad Girl Club Season 5 in Jail on Drug and Gun Charges

Catya Washington, the DDD buxon beauty from Season 5 of the Bad Girls Club, was arrested in Philadelphia on November 5th on drug and firearm charges.

According to police, Catya was found to be in possession of mushrooms, ecstacy, cocaine, and one gun. Bail has been set at $500,000, and sources say that her family has set up an online fundraiser to raise the ten percent of that figure ($50,000) to get her out of jail. They've allegedly already raised $20,000 in just a week.

But it seems that this is not the only time the Bad Girl Club vixen has been in trouble. Sources say that she was arrested a few weeks before the drugs bust on charges that she beat up the wife of the guy she was dating.

Catya allegedly rear-ended a car that was driven by the woman, and when she and Catya got out of their vehicles, Catya repeatedly hit the woman in the face with a chain, and sprayed her with mace.

Yeah, so okay . . . I believe it. Catya is a REALLY bad girl.
UPDATE----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, for those who want to make a donation to get your favorite Bad Girl out of jail (and Catya was my favorite Bad Girl on the show . . . too bad she left early!), you can go to http://www.touchpaydirect.com/ and put in the password cat2010. Also, according to her twitter account (which is now locked!), there was a Fish & Chicken Fry for her on November 12th (we missed it!!!!!!!!!!!!), and tickets were going for $15.00

Cat vs. Alligator

Now I know what they mean when they say the power of the . . . um . . . the kitty. <smile>

SAMPLE QUERY LETTER - NON-FICTION

SAMPLE QUERY LETTER - NON-FICTION


(((Go back to look at my previous posting about how to write a query letter, than use this post as a sample of what to say. Good luck!))))


Dear Ms. ___________

Al Capone may have ruled Chicago. Lucky Luciano may have run most of New York City. But from the 1930s to the late 1960s, when it came to Harlem, the undisputed king of the underworld was Bumpy Johnson.

He was called an old-fashioned gentleman. He was called a pimp. A philanthropist and a thief. A scholar and a thug. A man who admonished children to stay in school, and a man who some say introduced heroin into Harlem.

Bumpy was a man whose contradictions are still the root of many an argument in Harlem. But there is one thing on which both his supporters and detractors agree in his lifetime, Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson was the man in Harlem. People best remember him as the hot youngblood who fought to keep the notorious and murderous Dutch Schultz from taking over the Harlem numbers racket. In reality he was so much more.