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Greetings!

Happy Holidays! It's a busy cooking time this month of year, and for ParamedicCooks.com that means: MORE RECIPES! Send us your delicious Thanksgiving recipes to share with our website viewers, and if you're an EMT (Basic, Intermediate, Paramedic, etc) you're automatically entered to WIN! The prizes are impressive so don't pass up this opportunity! Go to www.ParamedicCooks.com for details! 
ParamedicCooks.com is getting a facelift...
...and a tummy tuck, and liposuction, and botox...and possibly even Lasik! Thanks to the wonderful design masterminds at Green Valley Web Designs, ParamedicCooks.com is undergoing a transformation that will make it more user friendly, easier to navigate, and really make it a Star (of life) !


Featured Chef: Carol Svoboda!
November's Featured Chef hails from the Volunteer State: Tennessee. She was born and raised in Massachusetts, and has been living in TN for 15 years. I've known Carol for 34 years, since August 31, 1977 when she gave birth to me at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford, Massachusetts! Her cooking style is largely influenced by Portuguese spices and palette, but when she first moved to TN it was impossible to find some of her staples: Linguica, Sazón, and Hot Chopped Peppers to name a few. Some of the signature dishes I remember Mom cooking while growing up: New England Boiled Dinner, Soft Boiled Eggs and torn pieces of White Bread mixed in a bowl with salt and pepper (when I was sick), Beef Pot Roast with Linguica, Hot Chopped Pepper fried Pork Chops and Applesauce, and Breakfast Link Sausages with Mashed Potatoes to dip them in (weird, huh?!)

Love you Mom :)
Paramedic Students:
Interns, Interns, Interns! What am I going to do with you?! I spent weeks writing instructional blogs for you and guess what?! I'm taking you on the ambulance, and watching you make the SAME MISTAKES over and over! You're missing I.V.'s because you're not holding the skin taut. You're getting left at the hospital because you wandered away from us and we got another call. You're going hungry because you didn't bring snacks. You're palpating the first b/p on a non-critical patient, in a stable environment, on a safe scene. DON'T DO THAT. I don't like it. It's unnecessary. Lazy. Incompetent. Assess Systole AND Diastole on at least your first blood pressure recording.

Do you think I typed all of those blogs just to watch myself read? Just to hear my own digits tapping the keyboard keys? Nope :) I wrote them for you, and I stand behind everything I said 150%! If you haven't read them, they're worth a gander. If you have, re-gander! Make me proud.

Here's the links to all 4 of the blogs: 





Guest Speakers?!
I'm tossing around the idea of having "Guest Speakers" on the Nichole' Blog page of the website. Not that I don't have plenty to talk and write about, but sometimes life is so busy, it takes me awhile to produce a written blog entry. If anyone has an interesting hobby, opinion, instructional essay, or in general any appealing subject jotted down in a blog format and wants it published on the website, send me an email!
 
In closing, I should probably tell you this: I'm going to leave you with a recipe to one of the most delicious, souped-up potato dishes for your Holiday meals. It's not mine, I wish I could claim it but every time I've made it, someone asked for the recipe. The best part is you can make it a day or two before, then add the topping and bake on serving day. Happy Thanksgiving! 


Sincerely,
 
Nichole Perry
ParamedicCooks.com
Featured Chef
E-Interview with Carol: 
Q: What is your favorite meal to cook?
A: Beef roast, potatoes, and carrots in the oven, slow roasted
 
Q: What is your favorite meal to eat?
A: Chicken Mozambique
 
Q: Do you have a "signature" ingredient, and if so what is it?
A: Garlic
 
Q: Favorite kitchen gadget/tool?
A: Garlic Press
 
Q: Growing up, what was your favorite meal that Mom prepared?
A: Fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, peas, crusty bread
 
Q: If you were on death row, what would be your last meal?
A: A grilled steak, sweet potato, asparagus, and a big fudge brownie!
 
Q: You're marooned on a deserted island. What 5 foods would you want with you? What would you cook?
A: Meats, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, and water. I would be able to grill meat and potato dishes and make stews
 
Q: What is your best tip for eating healthy?
A: Grilling or Baking. No pan frying in oil. Lots of vegetables and not very many carbs
 
Q: Best cooking tip for a novice?
A: Keep it simple. Simple ingredients and easy preparation until you become more knowledgeable with cooking
 
Q: When you entertain, what dishes are a necessity at your house?
A:  Cheese, fruit, meats, side dishes, and desert.
 
Q: What's your regular comfort meal?
A: Macaroni and Cheese
 
Q: Favorite Cook Book?
A: An old cookbook that was my mothers "The Joy of Cooking"
 
Q: Funniest kitchen/cooking incident?
A:  One of my first Thanksgiving meals that I was preparing. My husband was in a silly mood that evening as I was preparing the turkey for stuffing, and decided that he was going to fight with the turkey. Watching this fully grown man playfully slapping this turkey around was quite comical