Books by Robert Medina

Yesterday is a mystery solved. Tomorrow is a mystery still to come. It's that funny thing that just hangs out there as a formless shadow on the distant edge of the present. The elusive tomorrow. Something we spend so much time chasing that we sometimes forget to live in the narrow space of the now. Within the covers of this book are observations taken from the present. Small stories to hopefully help you appreciate the moment you live in and perhaps give your tomorrow a bit more space to gather together and shape its mystery's while it waits out there on the edge.

Robert Medina was raised in New Orleans around family and friends where cooking is a way of life. They still get together to watch their beloved New Orleans Saints and have tailgate cook-a-thons that would rival anything, anywhere. Every sporting event, family event, or even a non-event is turned into an excuse for a party. It's the New Orleans way! Robert spent nearly twenty-four years as a firefighter in New Orleans, where he took over duties as the firehouse cook after honing skills he learned from his predecessors. To this day, he sticks with the credo that if you can satisfy a firefighter's palate, you can satisfy anyone's. If You Can't Stand the Heat...a New Orleans Firefighter's Cookbook brings you into the firehouse kitchen.It contains recipes for classic New Orleans fare as well as many original firefighter recipes from this culinary capital. If you've ever wanted to cook a gumbo, make an etouffee, or just master a basic roux, this book is for you. If You Can't Stand the Heat goes a step beyond the typical cookbook by including as many details as possible. Should the pot be covered while cooking? Should the ingredient be hot or cold when mixed in? These step-by-step instructions take all the guessing out of cooking. If you have ever had the desire to try Southern, Louisiana, or in particular, New Orleans-style cooking, Robert Medina breaks it down into easy-to-follow steps that will turn you into a great firehouse cook practically overnight. It is truly Big Easy cooking made easy!

No matter who you are, we all have things in common. Most of those things are on the surface, things that are easily seen by everyone. But there are others that are rooted within us. Things that are not apparent by sight but are still true. Thoughts and feelings about love, loss and life. Things we all can't see but are none the less there. It is universal. We all have loved someone and we have all lost someone we love. And with that experience we come to realize there are no magic words that solve the puzzle of grief or pain. But knowing you are not alone in those thoughts may help ease that pain. The poems inside attempt to reflect those feelings we share. They strive to touch upon a common thread in us and hope to help unravel the mystery that comes with being human.

What's in a name? It is the age old question. Truth be told, we all have names. And for the most part, they are all different, but they are also the same. They are all names. Just as we all have individual thoughts and emotions which are distinctive. The essence of those thoughts and emotions are exclusive but their core is the same. So many similarities but still unique, just like our names. The poems within are culled from my thoughts and emotions then shaped by memories. Once again, like yours. Different but the same. I hope that somewhere within the contrast, you will find the likeness that runs through us all.