Legal Assistance

Service members can get free legal advice for a variety of needs, particularly in preparing tax returns and in understanding any contract before signing it, from car loans to rental leases.

All service branches designate lawyers to help active-duty members and, if time and resources permit, their families and retirees. Members assigned to installations too small to provide legal services can use those of any nearby installation.

Legal assistance attorneys do not represent clients facing military or civilian criminal charges, or provide assistance to clients on matters relating to private business ventures.

Attorneys are governed by a strict code of professional ethics that obligates them to keep information provided by a client confidential.

Contact: To find the nearest office, see http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php.

Installation legal assistance offices can help service members and their families with a wide variety of legal issues — free of charge. To find office closest to you, go online to http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php.

Vegetarian Mexican Taco Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

1 16 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup salsa
1 - 12 inch thin crust pizza crust
1 1/2 cups reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
1 yellow or green bell pepper, sliced into thin rings
1 red onion, sliced into thin rings
2 tbsp chopped cilantro or green onions

Preparation:

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Place 3/4 cup beans in small bowl and partially mash with potato masher or back of wooden spoon. Add salsa; mix well.

Spread bean mixture evenly over pizza crust. Top pizza with cheese, remaining beans, peppers and onions.

Place pizza on baking sheet; bake for 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Top with cilantro; cut into 12 thin wedges.

Enjoy your vegetarian taco pizza!

Fleet Week 2009

OCTOBER 7

Military Citizen of the Year (MCOY) Luncheon: Doors open for registration at 11:30 am. Programs begins at noon and the Norfolk Marriott Waterside. Sponsored by Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Norfolk Armed Forces Committee. Recognizes and outstanding (enlisted E-6 and below) for demonstrated active participation in off-duty community events.

OCTOBER 9

Norfolk Admirals Military Appreciation Night: 7:15 pm at the Norfolk Scope Arena. Season opener versus the Manchester Monarchs. $8 per ticket for groups of 25 or more when purchased through the Admirals Sales Office. Individual tickets $9 with military ID. For more info, call 757-640-1212 ext. 23 or visit www.norfolkadmirals.com.

OCTOBER 10

21st Annual Children’s Festival at Town Point Park: 10 am to 3 pm. Hampton Roads' most beloved family festival is filled with more than 100 creative and interactive activities, storytelling, hands-on workshops and educational displays, cultural experiences, arts and crafts, costumed characters and more! This event is designed with children 10 and younger in mind. For tickets or more information, check out the website at www.festevents.org
8th Annual Rumble through the Tunnels: Ride starts at 8 am. at Harbor Park and finishes at approximately 2 pm. at Bayside Harley-Davidson. Register on site at Harbor Park or pre-register at the sponsor, Bayside Harley-Davidson, Portsmouth, VA. Largest motorcycle event in the country honoring USN, USMC and USCG. Proceeds donated to Navy-Maine Corps Relief Society. Check their website for details.
Navy Day at Mariner’s Museum: Includes Navy Dive Tank and divers who worked on the Monitor recovery, U.S Fleet Forces Jazz Ensemble.
DC Olympics at the Beach @ 31st St. Park: From 11 am to 6 pm. Includes food tasting, restaurant tasting, American Idol star Felicia Barton, U.S. Fleet Forces Band performance Bodybuilding Contest Norfolk naval Shipyard. Open to military members only.

OCTOBER 11

Military Appreciation Day at Virginia Zoo: From 10 am to 4 pm. Open and free to all military personnel and their families. Children’s games, music, inflatable rides, face painting, clowns and military displays. Call 757-764-5232 for more info or visit www.usohr.org.

OCTOBER 13

Speaker at Vista Point: Sponsored by the Flagship, the theme is ‘Teamwork’, speaker is Bruce Smith (NFL Buffalo Bills/Redskins fame, known as “The Sack Man” a Norfolk native)

OCTOBER 14

Fleet Week 5K at Dam Neck: Open to all military personnel and their families. Each runner requested to bring non-perishable food which will be donated to the Food Bank.
Fleet Week Golf Tournament @ Sewells Point Golf Course Naval Station Norfolk: Registration and light lunch at 11 am; shotgun start at noon; and BBQ dinner, longest drive, closest to the pin and door prizes at 5 pm. Free practice balls and goodie bags. Entry fee is $55 per person, $25 from every entry will be donated to Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. This tournament is open to all active duty, retirees and the general public.

OCTOBER 15

HRNM Lecture Luncheon @ Vista Point: Subject is “The Navy Cross: Extraordinary Heroism in Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflicts”. Speakers are James Wise and Scott Baron (Vietnam veteran)

OCTOBER 16

Outdoor Rec Day at Cheatham Annex: Includes golf tournament, fishing and 10K run (produced by MWR, open to DoD card-holders only)

OCTOBER 17 & 18

NAS Oceana Air Show: A celebration of flight, A celebration of life. Gates open at 8am. For more information, check out the website at www.oceanaairshow.com

I know I'm totally bombarding you with recipes but Alton Brown was on The View today and had a totally genius recipe that I just had to share! I know I might be the last person to know about this, but he made "noodles" out of eggplants! HaHa. This recipe makes 4 servings with each containing ONLY 322 calories and with only 18 carbs, or if your on Adkins only 7 non fiber carbs. That's incredible for a dinner!

Ingredients:
* 2 medium-large eggplants
* 4 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 4 small tomatoes, seeded & chopped
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 4 tablespoons fresh basil chiffonade
* 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
* fresh ground black pepper
* salt (for salting the eggplant)

Directions:

• Peel each eggplant, leaving 1" of skin unpeeled at the top & bottom. Slice the eggplant thinly lengthwise, about 1/4" thick.
• Evenly sprinkle each slice with salt & lay out for 30 minutes on a sheet pan fitted with a wire rack.
• Rinse with cold water & roll in paper towels. Slice the pieces into thin fettucine-like strips.
• Heat the oil in a large saute pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic & crushed red pepper, & cook until garlic is golden & aromatic.
• Add th eggplant 'pasta' & toss to coat. Add the tomatoes & cook for 3 minutes. Add the cream & increase the heat to thicken the sauce.
• Finally, add the basil & Parmesan. Toss to combine. Season with black pepper but remember the eggplant will already be salty enough!

Pumpkin Pie Brownies

Recipe from: vegancupcakes.wordpress.com

Note: A 15 or 16 ounce can of pumpkin will equal the 2 cups of pumpkin needed for this recipe.

Ingredients:

For the brownie layer

4 ounce bittersweet chocolate, melted

1 cup canned or pureed pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder

1 tablespoon tapioca flour (or arrowroot or corn starch)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

For the pumpkin pie layer

1 cup canned or pureed pumpkin

2 tablespoons tapioca flour (or use arrowroot or cornstarch)

1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used soy)

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch ground nutmeg

pinch ground allspice

To decorate:

A handful of chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 inch springform pan, or use a 9 inch square pan, preferably lined with parchment paper.

To make the brownie layer:

Melt the chocolate (I still don’t need to tell you how to melt chocolate, right?).

In a large mixing bowl mix together pumpkin, sugar, oil and vanilla. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, tapioca, baking soda and salt and stir to combine, then mix in the melted chocolate.

To make the pumpkin layer:

Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.

To assemble:

Use a spatula to spread the brownie layer into the prepared baking pan, taking care to bring the batter to the edges of the pan. Pour the pumpkin layer over it, leaving a little room at the edges if you can. Bake for 30 minutes, until the pumpkin layer looks fairly firm (a little jiggling is okay) and has cracked at the edges a bit.

Let cool for 20 minutes and then transfer to the fridge to set for at least an hour and a half. Once set, decorate with chocolate chips and serve.