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Ginger-Tea Lemonade

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

2 cups water
3 black tea bags, preferably English breakfast tea
1-1/3 cups Ginger Simple Syrup, recipe follows
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice, from 3 to 4 lemons
1 cup sparkling water or club soda, chilled
2 cups ice
Lemon slices, for garnish, optional

1. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the tea bags. Stir and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Add the Ginger Simple Syrup, lemon juice, and sparkling water.

2. Put the ice in a large pitcher. Pour the lemonade mixture over the ice. Garnish with lemon slices and serve.

Ginger Simple Syrup

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine the sugar, water and ginger. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes. Strain before using.

(Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

Brown Eyed Baker

12 eggs (or a combination of whole eggs and egg whites – egg whites count for 2 whole eggs. As an example, I did 9 whole eggs and 6 egg whites)
Splash of milk
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 cup shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
12 slices cooked bacon, torn into pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Add 1 piece of bacon, ripped up, and some cheese to each muffin cup.

3. In a large bowl (one with a pouring spout works great for this!) beat the eggs, milk and scallions. Pour the egg mixture into each muffin cup. Be careful not to overfill.

4. With a fork, turn the bacon and cheese in each cup over to mix it all up. Top each with a sprinkle of cheese.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes and then keep an eye on them – they can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes depending on your oven (mine went about 23 minutes). When they are puffy and slightly brown on top they are done. Be careful not to overcook them or they will be rubbery.

*~* I can’t use Meghan’s recipe and not announce that we have known each other since the fall of 1998 when we happened to be on the same floor of good ol’ St. Martin’s freshman dorm at Duquesne. We were hall mates our freshman year and then suite mates our sophomore year with a group of 12 girls. We happened upon each other again on The Nest and on MySpace. Hi again Meghan! 

www.browneyedbaker.com

·       rinse and drain beans

·       dice onion, bellpepper, jalapeno and garlic:::sauté until translusive

·       pulse::onion, bell pepper,garlic, and jalapeno until fine

·       add beans to seasoning(I had a small blender/chopper so I had to blend mine into 2 parts)

·       blend until pasty andmostly smooth

·       add salt and pepper (Ijust used season all to my taste)

·       add egg and process inblender/chopper until completely combined

·       add bread crumbs (Iput everything in a bowl to mix bread crumbs)

·       add more bread crumbsbit by bit until mixture starts to stiffing up

·       use flour on a plateso it don’t stick to your hands when forming into patties

·       med frying pan on medheat:::::heat olive oil and place patties into hot oil

·       fry on each side forabout 5 to 10 min or until it has a crispy coating

·       Then serve like aburger (bun, mayo, mustard, etc…)

(c) Southern Bell

Winona, MS, Letter Carrier Joe Miller was delivering to an apartment complex serving elderly and disabled residents. He saw smoke coming from one of the apartments, knocked on the door and helped the wheelchair-bound resident outside. Miller returned to find a smoking pot on the stove. He removed the pot, opened the windows and asked the apartment manager to stay with the resident until it was safe to return inside.

Colombia plans to deliver an American teenager who was mistakenly deported from the United States to the US embassy in Bogota, the Foreign Ministry said.

The 15-year-old — who apparently speaks no Spanish — was deported to Colombia last May after convincing a US judge and Colombian officials she was a 21-year-old illegal immigrant following her arrest in Texas for theft.

Colombian authorities are investigating why their consular officials in Houston issued her a temporary passport and how she obtained documents in Bogota that gave her civil registration and access to employment.

The ministry said authorities had located the girl, Jakadrien Larise Turner, after her US family reported her missing. She had entered a government protection program called the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF).

Turner was deported to Colombia on May 23, 2011, the same day she arrived at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota, where she was met by officials of the Department of Administrative Security.

The confusion appears to have resulted from Turner using a fake identity as Tika Lanay Cortez, a 21-year-old illegal migrant from Bogota.

In the weeks that followed, everyone who dealt with her — from the lawyer at her trial to the Colombian diplomat who met her prior to deportation — never suspected she was another person.

“At no time during these criminal proceedings was her identity determined to be false,” a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency told AFP in Washington.

She said the agency — the branch of the Department of Homeland Security that polices US borders — was “fully and immediately investigating this matter in order to expeditiously determine the facts of this case.”

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Oklahoma Mom, 18, Shoots Intruder Dead After Asking Advice of 911 Operator : MyFoxHOUSTON.com

Letter Carrier Diana Adamson was delivering mail to a home when she heard the customer’s dog barking inside the house and a TV blaring. Adamson also saw that two newspapers had not been collected. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. Adamson told several neighbors, who contacted the police. Emergency responders found the customer lying near a space heater, unconscious and with burned legs. They took her to the hospital.