While some might say that McDonald’s shouldn’t be handing out toys with its Happy Meals in an effort to entice the younger set, customers at a Golden Arches in New York City were apparently getting an even more controversial item with their orders: Police say the night shift manager of a Bronx location was selling drugs to customers, and hiding it inside bags of food.
According to the authorities, undercover officers investigating the alleged drug dealings in “Operation Off the Menu” say a night shift manager at a 24-hour McDonal’d franchise was using his position as a cover for conducting drug deals involving crack and cocaine.
Even though restaurant customers could only order through the drive-thru window at night, the manager allegedly gave special treatment to his drug customers, and would unlock the door and invite them inside.
Officials say the manager sold drugs to an undercover officer over the restaurant counter on two occasions, hiding the cocaine inside a cookie bag which he then put inside a larger McDonald’s order with two cheeseburgers, a soda, and fries. Other McDonald’s employees were also working at the restaurant at the time.
His last alleged transaction involved 100 grams of cocaine as well as some crack to an undercover officer for $6,520. That time, the manager allegedly sold the drugs to the officer inside the restaurant’s restroom, retrieving the cocaine from a soap dispenser. The undercover officer then took a seat at a booth, where the suspect served him a bag of food.
According to authorities, he also sold cocaine in the vicinity of the McDonald’s parking lot.
In the lead-up to his arrest this week, officials claim the manager of
making eight sales of cocaine to an undercover officer in increasingly larger quantities, amounting to nearly $10,900 worth of the drug.
A search of the manager’s home recovered 200 grams of cocaine and about $5,300 cash hidden in a dresser in a child’s play room, investigators say.
He’s now been charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminally using drug paraphernalia and unlawfully dealing with a child.

Source: http://lslink.info/?c=Zvs

Buy Clotilde’s latest book, The French Market Cookbook!

If you’ve been feeling blah about the official arrival of fall this week, I have a lovely and easy recipe to make you feel every shade of happy about the shift of seasons and the new produce it brings.
{Related: Never sure what’s in season when? Grab my free seasonal produce calendar right this minute!}
Today’s recipe is a simple dish of noodles dressed in a peanut sauce, and tossed with garlicky kale and sautéed mushrooms.

It is the kind of vegan dish that feels satisfying and savoury. One you can serve to conventional omnivores without them complaining about being fed rabbit food; one that you will look forward to when you go home to make it on a weekday night and suddenly realize that, wow, the days are getting shorter fast.
These peanut noodles with kale and mushrooms taste vibrant and rich, they are nourishing and well-balanced, and they also fit easily into a busy schedule. You can have it ready in about 30 minutes start to finish, and you can break down the preparation by preparing the sauce and sautéing the vegetables the day before, and cooking the noodles the day of.

These days, the noodles I like to buy — the ones pictured in this post — are organic rice noodles flavored with turmeric from Autour du Riz, and the bright yellow color does help with morale.
As a bonus, if you make a full recipe of these peanut noodles for four but there’s just two of you at home, you can divide what’s left into handy lunch boxes, and take it to work the next day. I like to eat the leftovers cold as a salad, but they reheat well in the microwave as well.

Oh, and spoiler alert, this fine dish of peanut noodles with kale and mushrooms is one of the recipes featured in the vegetarian batch cooking plan for fall that I am preparing for you! Very excited to share this with you soon — stay tuned.
For My Friends Down Under
I’m sure you’re feeling great about the arrival of spring! Celebrate with this Greens and Walnut Quiche.

Have you tried this? Share your pics on Instagram!
Please tag your pictures with #cnzrecipes. I’ll share my favorites!

PrintPeanut Noodles with Kale and Mushrooms Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutesCook Time: 10 minutesTotal Time: 30 minutes
Serves 4.

Ingredients2 tablespoons all-natural unsweetened peanut butter
The juice of 1 organic lime
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce
400 grams (14 ounces) dry noodles of your choice
1 tablespoon olive oil
150 grams (5 1/3 ounces) kale, about 4 stalks, center stem removed, leaves sliced into ribbons
400 grams (14 ounces) brown mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1 clove garlic, finely mincedInstructionsIn a small bowl, thin the peanut butter with the lime juice, whisking until smooth. Whisk in the sesame oil and soy sauce. Stir in a little water as needed to get a pourable sauce, creamy and not too thin.

Cook the noodles according to package instructions, and drain when cooked.
In the meantime, in a large skillet, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil, add the kale and mushrooms and garlic, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until softened.

Add the vegetables and peanut sauce to the noodles, and toss to combine. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve.Notes
The peanut sauce can be made up to a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
The kale and mushrooms can be cooked up to a day ahead. Cover, refrigerate, and reheat before serving.
If there are leftovers, I like them cold as a salad the next day.
3.1http://chocolateandzucchini.com/recipes/pasta/peanut-noodles-kale-mushrooms-recipe/Unless otherwise noted, all recipes are copyright Clotilde Dusoulier.

The post Peanut Noodles with Kale and Mushrooms Recipe appeared first on Chocolate

Yesterday President Trump announced (among other nominations) the nomination of Kyle Duncan for a seat on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Much of Duncan’s career has been devoted to religious liberty concerns.  Reporting on the nomination, the Baton Rouge Advocate calls Duncan a

On Wednesday the EEOC announced the filing of two separate religious discrimination lawsuits.  One suit (press release) was brought against the Sacramento, California-based supermarket chain Raley’s for refusing to continue accommodating the religious needs of a Jehovah’s Witness employee. The employee was fired after insisting that she needed to attend religious meetings on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons.In a second suit (press release), the EEOC sued  the Florida-based Publix Supermarket chain for refusing to accommodate a Ratafarian new hire’s religious need to wear his hair in dreadlocks.

Source: http://lslink.info/?c=Yh2

In Adorers of the Blood of Christ v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, (ED PA, Sept. 28, 2017), a Pennsylvania federal district court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction a RFRA challenge by a Catholic order of nuns to the construction and operation of the Atlantic Sunrise gas pipeline through land owned by the order.  The nuns say their religious beliefs require them to protect and preserve creation.  The court held that the Natural Gas Act sets out a procedure for challenging a FERC grant of a certificate to build an interstate pipeline.  Plaintiffs here did not follow those procedures which require first that challengers request a rehearing from the agency, and then review by the Court of Appeals.  The court concluded that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not supersede the exclusive jurisdiction provision of the Natural Gas Act. Lancaster Online reports on the decision. (See prior related posting.)

Source: http://lslink.info/?c=Yh1