This last week, with no looming deadlines to worry me, I was able to reflect some on my first semester now that it is officially over. First of all, the adage that what you put into your education you'll get out of it is completely true. I put a lot of effort into this class, and that is reflected by my final grade. An online program is hard to accomplish unless you stay on top of your work. A couple of times this semester, I did fall a little behind; each time, it was difficult (but not impossible) to catch up. I would recommend for anyone starting or considering an online program to 1) schedule out your school work time and 2) start readings and assignments as soon as possible. Secondly, there is a LOT of material and a lot of topics that were covered over the course of the semester. My instructor ran the class like a seminar, and we were provided with so many articles and other readings outside the class textbook. I really appreciated this because I was exposed to so many viewpoints and so much information through just the readings that I don't think would have been possible in a traditional classroom setting. My classmates and I engaged in some very valuable discussions, and our diverse backgrounds (many of us came from very different fields) lent even more to the class forums. In this alone, the online program has been a very valuable experience.
My instructor has also been an incredible resource of ideas, topics, and discussion. She is very knowledgeable and active in several areas of librarianship including open access and intellectual freedom, secrecy, government documents, and social responsibility. I think it was my instructor even more than the material that was such an inspiration for me. She brought up a lot of topics that don't seem to get enough discussion in the field, and she asked thought-provoking questions that really made me examine certain aspects of the profession and librarianship as a whole. I got so much out of this class, and I saved everything that was on the reading list in a binder to refer back to in the future.
On a side note, I got my ALA membership card in the mail this last week too. The dues are reasonable and there are a LOT of workshops offered for professional development. There's a webinar next month offered to ALA members that I plan to take; the topic is one that I think the students here on campus would really benefit from. I'll post more general info of the workshop and my impressions after the middle of next month.
Yesterday was the much-anticipated birthday party for my mom's birthday party. I won't disclose her age (it's a number she doesn't like mentioning yet), but it's one of the major years so of course we had to do something special. My older brother came up with the idea of us hosting an open house for her at her place. He also came up with a gift idea: guests could bring Christmas ornaments to put on a jubilee tree, a nod to her penchant for putting up Christmas trees--big and small--all over her house (I have to say that her house always looks so lovely during the holiday season). She got a lot of beautiful and unique ornaments, and the bare tree that had been set up with lights for this day will not need any more ornaments since guests were so generous and several brought more than one ornament. There were so many people in the house--it was standing room only! But Mom had a wonderful time and my dad tells me that she was reading through the guestbook when he left for work this morning. She even got to see friends and relatives that she hasn't seen or talked to in years. I have a feeling that she will remember the party for years to come.
We did have part of the food catered, but we also bought and made some of the food ourselves. My contribution was a large batch of mini red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I have to smile as I post this because red velvet is a trademark of my best friend, and she passed on her recipe to me. Sadly, I couldn't find her recipe, so I turned again to southern cuisine queen Paula Deen for her red velvet cupcake recipe. The original recipe can be found here. I did make a few changes, so the recipe as I made it is below.
What you'll need:
For the cupcakes:
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk, at room temp
2 eggs, at room temp
1 oz. bottle of red food coloring
1 tsp. white distilled vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
For the frosting:
1 lb. cream cheese (softened)
2 sticks butter (softened)
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. powdered sugar
What you'll need to do:
1. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, add the oil buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla and gently beat everything together. You can do this by hand or with an electric mixer on a low setting.
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing them into the wet ingredients until you get a smooth batter.
4. Grease mini or regular cupcake tins or line with cupcake paper cups. Distribute the batter among the tins until cups are slightly more than 2/3 full.
5. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees. For mini-cupcakes bake for 12-15 minutes then check them; for regular cupcakes, bake for 20-22 minutes. Use a toothpick to check the cupcakes; toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center of the cupcakes.
6. Remove the cupcake tins from oven and let the cupcakes cool for 5 min, then remove the cupcakes from the tins and finish cooling them completely on a cooling rack.
7. Using an electric beater, combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together in a large bowl until you get a smooth mixture.
8. With the mixer on a low setting, slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until completely mixed. Increase the speed and mix the frosting on high until it's light and fluffy.
9. Frost the completely cool cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles if desired.
If I don't have the chance to post again before next week, Happy Holidays to you. Enjoy!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
More Holiday Traditions
A little over a month ago, I wrote about my family's ravioli making and the tradition that it comes from. Another tradition that my grandmother started (and one that died when she passed away) was her candy-making.
I have to admit that Gramma was an artiste in the kitchen. She could make the most ordinary of ingredients turn into something fantastic. I would like to think that I got some of her almost magical ability, but I know that I still have a long way to go before I am as good as she is. Every year, for Easter and Christmas, she would make hand-dipped chocolates and other candies to serve with dessert. Her candy grew quite famous among family and friends, and it became a much-anticipated part of our large family gatherings. My mother tells me that she began making her own hand-dipped chocolates in 1980 (when she was 61). I'm not sure where she got the idea, but she perfected it over the next 27 years before she died. She was also very picky when it came to the ingredients she bought. Her chocolate had to come from Ghirardelli. Her other ingredients came from a little shop not too far from where she lived (surprisingly, the shop is still there). She made the candy fondant herself.
At the peak of her candy making, she was rolling out and hand-dipping upwards of 50 pounds of candy. It was given out to family, and friends, and friends of friends. She gave it to her dentist (funny enough, the office loved it and looked forward to their box every year). My sister would take it to work and share it with her boss and her department. Neighbors got some, old neighbors got some. The candy was spread far and wide. Flavors included raspberry, mint, orange, strawberry, coffee, vanilla, chocolate, and more that she would add in as whimsy and taste dictated. Her most famous candy by far, however, were the brandy cherries. Sadly, I have never been able to find any candy anywhere that comes close to these most revered of her candies. This particular candy was not a child-friendly one (lots of alcohol!), and it was almost a rite of passage when you were allowed to finally have one of Gramma's brandy cherries.
After Gramma died, the candy-making tradition seemed to die with her. We never pursued it, although we mentioned often enough how we wished we could make her candy and bring it back. Finally, this Christmas, more than three years since she passed away, we've reignited the tradition. My sister, my mom, and I tried out a couple of her classics using recipes we made up or found online. We put out a batch of English toffee and 24 peanut clusters.
So for you, I will be posting the English toffee recipe we used. The original recipe we used was Paula Deen's English toffee recipe, which can be found here. However, we did change a couple of things.
What you'll need:
14 Tbs. butter
1 c. sugar
2 Tbs. cold water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 dash of salt
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips or baking chips (Ghirardelli chocolate preferred, of course)
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
a candy thermometer
What you'll need to do:
1. Generously butter a cookie sheet. This will keep the toffee from sticking to it.
2. In a medium-sized heavy saucepan, add the butter, sugar, and water and heat it over medium-high heat. Bring to a bubbling boil while constantly stirring.
3. Remove the spoon, lower to medium-low heat, and slowly cook the mixture to a very brittle stage. On the candy thermometer the temperature would read 300 to 310 degrees. If you don't have a candy thermometer, a cold water test will work (when dropped into cold water, the candy will separate into hard and brittle threads).
4. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and salt. Stir together and pour the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet. Spread it around quickly, as it will start to form. Cool slightly, then top with the chocolate and spread it around as it begins to melt. After the chocolate is melted completely, sprinkle the chopped nuts onto the top.
5. Cool the toffee completely. Use a spatula to pry the toffee off of the cookie sheet. Break it into pieces and store in an airtight container.
We may try another batch before Christmas, and we may be doing hand-dipped chocolates next week as well. Unfortunately, since the hand-dipped chocolates are a "family trademark" as my mom calls it, I will not be posting a recipe for those.
Enjoy the toffee!
I have to admit that Gramma was an artiste in the kitchen. She could make the most ordinary of ingredients turn into something fantastic. I would like to think that I got some of her almost magical ability, but I know that I still have a long way to go before I am as good as she is. Every year, for Easter and Christmas, she would make hand-dipped chocolates and other candies to serve with dessert. Her candy grew quite famous among family and friends, and it became a much-anticipated part of our large family gatherings. My mother tells me that she began making her own hand-dipped chocolates in 1980 (when she was 61). I'm not sure where she got the idea, but she perfected it over the next 27 years before she died. She was also very picky when it came to the ingredients she bought. Her chocolate had to come from Ghirardelli. Her other ingredients came from a little shop not too far from where she lived (surprisingly, the shop is still there). She made the candy fondant herself.
At the peak of her candy making, she was rolling out and hand-dipping upwards of 50 pounds of candy. It was given out to family, and friends, and friends of friends. She gave it to her dentist (funny enough, the office loved it and looked forward to their box every year). My sister would take it to work and share it with her boss and her department. Neighbors got some, old neighbors got some. The candy was spread far and wide. Flavors included raspberry, mint, orange, strawberry, coffee, vanilla, chocolate, and more that she would add in as whimsy and taste dictated. Her most famous candy by far, however, were the brandy cherries. Sadly, I have never been able to find any candy anywhere that comes close to these most revered of her candies. This particular candy was not a child-friendly one (lots of alcohol!), and it was almost a rite of passage when you were allowed to finally have one of Gramma's brandy cherries.
After Gramma died, the candy-making tradition seemed to die with her. We never pursued it, although we mentioned often enough how we wished we could make her candy and bring it back. Finally, this Christmas, more than three years since she passed away, we've reignited the tradition. My sister, my mom, and I tried out a couple of her classics using recipes we made up or found online. We put out a batch of English toffee and 24 peanut clusters.
So for you, I will be posting the English toffee recipe we used. The original recipe we used was Paula Deen's English toffee recipe, which can be found here. However, we did change a couple of things.
What you'll need:
14 Tbs. butter
1 c. sugar
2 Tbs. cold water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 dash of salt
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips or baking chips (Ghirardelli chocolate preferred, of course)
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
a candy thermometer
What you'll need to do:
1. Generously butter a cookie sheet. This will keep the toffee from sticking to it.
2. In a medium-sized heavy saucepan, add the butter, sugar, and water and heat it over medium-high heat. Bring to a bubbling boil while constantly stirring.
3. Remove the spoon, lower to medium-low heat, and slowly cook the mixture to a very brittle stage. On the candy thermometer the temperature would read 300 to 310 degrees. If you don't have a candy thermometer, a cold water test will work (when dropped into cold water, the candy will separate into hard and brittle threads).
4. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and salt. Stir together and pour the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet. Spread it around quickly, as it will start to form. Cool slightly, then top with the chocolate and spread it around as it begins to melt. After the chocolate is melted completely, sprinkle the chopped nuts onto the top.
5. Cool the toffee completely. Use a spatula to pry the toffee off of the cookie sheet. Break it into pieces and store in an airtight container.
We may try another batch before Christmas, and we may be doing hand-dipped chocolates next week as well. Unfortunately, since the hand-dipped chocolates are a "family trademark" as my mom calls it, I will not be posting a recipe for those.
Enjoy the toffee!
Monday, December 13, 2010
St. Lucia Day
To give a little history of the holiday, St. Lucia (or St. Lucy) was an Italian saint who died as a Christian martyr. How she came to be celebrated in Sweden is explained in various ways, but Swedish tradition tells of a woman appearing to starving people in Sweden in the Lake Vänern region and bringing them food. She was dressed in white and wearing a crown of burning candles on her head. The woman was believed to be St. Lucy, and this initiated the celebration of her feast day in that region. Eventually, the tradition spread to the rest of Sweden.
As part of the tradition now celebrated, the eldest girl in the family will wake up very, very early before the coming day begins to lighten the sky and dress in a white gown tied with a red sash. On her head she'll put a crown--commonly made of evergreen or lingonberry leaves--with lighted candles in it (the daring will use real lit candles). She'll go around to her family, singing as she goes, to wake them. Often, she will carry food with her, traditionally Lucia buns (called "Lussekattor" in Swedish) and coffee. In Sweden, this tradition takes place everywhere, and even businesses and public buildings like schools and hospitals will participate in their own rendition of the Lucia Day tradition, including having a girl as their own St. Lucia with a train of girls also in white who are her handmaidens; boys join the train too as the "star boys." Do an image search for "St. Lucia Day celebration" and you'll see how big the trains get.
St. Lucia Day celebrations are not held in Sweden alone, although the manner of celebrations differ in other areas. The other Scandinavian countries celebrate this day, as well as Italy and an island in the Caribbean that shares St. Lucia's name. Parts of the US where the population is heavily Scandinavian also have communal celebrations of this day.
In my family, this day is always remembered and the Swedish tradition always kept for two reasons. 1) My father was born and raised in Sweden, and we celebrate this as part of the family's culture. 2) Both of my parents share this day as their birthday, so this has also become a part of their birthday celebration.
When I was a little girl in pre-school, my mother would come to my school as St. Lucia and share this tradition and ceremony with my class. She would wear the white gown and red sash, and on her head would be a crown of greenery with battery-powered candles. Mom would come in, singing Lucia's song, and carrying a tray of goodies for me and my classmates. You can imagine how interesting this was for my classmates whose Christmas figures included Jesus, Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Frosty but no crowned woman in white. At home, she would dress me up in my own Lucia outfit (I was the oldest girl in the household), carefully help me light a candle that I would hold away from my long hair, and jump back into bed with my father to watch me walk in as Lucia's song played on the stereo (since I couldn't memorize the words yet). And of course she would gasp right along with my dad and say how beautiful I looked. This would promptly be followed by coffee (for my parents) and muffins in bed.
As the oldest of my dad's children, I still continue this tradition for them even though I no longer live with them. Years ago, I learned the song so that I could sing it without the help of the stereo. I have a white gown that I pull out of my closet once a year for this holiday, and I wear the sash and crown that my mom wore for me and my classmates so long ago. Since I don't live with them anymore, I sneak into their house very early in the morning, make a pot of coffee, gather a tray of food, and carry it into their bedroom, singing to announce Lucia's arrival (you can see the first verse of the song at the bottom of this post).
I think my mom especially loves having this birthday present every year. Someday, if I have a daughter, this tradition will be passed on to her.
Sankta Lucia:
Natten går tunga fjät
rund gård och stuva;
kring jord, som sol förlät,
skuggorna ruva.
Då i vårt mörka hus,
stiger med tända ljus,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.
Translation:
Night walks with a heavy step
Round yard and hearth,
As the sun departs from earth,
Shadows are brooding.
There in our dark house,
Walking with lit candles,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!
I'll be posting my weekly recipe tomorrow.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wikileaks and me
I know that many people have weighed in on Wikileaks's release of classified US government documents. My purpose in bringing it up and adding my voice to the chorus is not to chastize them, although I have very mixed feelings about their decision to post the cables as expressed in one of my posts on my class's discussion board:
"I don't know what the answer is in regards to information relating to national security. On one side is this feeling I have that the citizens of a country have the right to know what their government is doing, so [government] transparency--something that has been promised in the past but never truly attained--would be necessary for this to happen. Yet, I can understand why such information should be kept from the public eye--leaks can happen like the one Wikileaks was just involved in, and information that's dangerous for other ("enemy") countries to know could be released that harms us in the end."
So on the topic of the ethics of the leak, I'm still on the fence. I honestly don't know whether it's right or wrong. Maybe it'll depend on how many lives are negatively effected by this (and I mean ordinary citizens, not political leaders).
My real concern lies with the fact that the Library of Congress has decided to block all access to Wikileaks from all of their computers, public and staff computers alike. The Library of Congress issued a statement, which is also posted on their own blog as to why they did this. In their statement, they say that as federal agency they are "obligated to protect classified information." This would make sense if the whole world also didn't have access to these cables. However, I fail to see the logic behind this reason for blocking documents posted on a website that is publically accessible from 1) public libraries, 2) public wireless access points, and 3) home computers (I would also bet the leaks can be uploaded on mobile devices too). I hate to tell the US government, but the documents are no longer classified if everyone can access them and read them. They get credit for trying to prevent people from reading them, including addressing federal government workers[1] (and even students looking to get future jobs in the federal government are being told to question the wisdom in looking at the documents[2]); but they won't be able to put "the genie back in the bottle"[3], a term the Progressive Librarians Guild uses in their statement admonishing the LoC for its move to block Wikileaks.
On a related matter, the Library of Congress also houses the Congressional Research Service. For those who don't know what the CRS is, it is a group of researchers in the LoC that provides reports that are "high-level professional analysis"[4] on various topics to the Congressional committees (more information about the CRS if you're interested can be found on their website here). Because the CRS does all of its research out of the Library of Congress, it too cannot view the cables and, according to this article, will be unable to refer directly to any of the cables; they would have to rely on secondary sources, like newspapers that have cited the leaked documents. Finding the secondary sources to cite may prove difficult, especially after an article I read this morning that discusses the list of secret locations that was released early this week. The article states, "the Associated Press has decided against publishing their names because of the sensitive nature of the information."[5] Well, that's very considerate of the Associated Press, but unfortunately the information is still out there. If Congress requires a report on these topics--for example, in order to determine legislature for future protection of sensitive digital US documents--the CRS would not be able to use anything from the leaked cables themselves. I would bet my year's salary that every country the US has its eye on has these documents and is going over them very carefully, including the location list. So these countries can look through that information all it wants, but the CRS can't? How does this make sense?
I remember seeing a couple of articles saying that LoC claimed they were told to block the site. Unfortunately, I can't find which articles mentioned that (I've read of lot of literature on this topic over the last week), so I can't state whether or not I actually saw those articles or even if the LoC did in fact make those claims. I can say, according to a number of articles including this one on Library Journal, that a memo from the White House's Office of Management and Budget did go out directing federal workers that classified information cannot be accessed on non-classified systems. (The original memo can be found on the TPM Muckraker website.) However, at no point was any office, department, or agency told to block the website. So why did the LoC do it?
That is the million-dollar question. Why did the LoC do it? While they may be the federal archives, they are still a library and should follow those tenets that libraries hold so dear, including advocating against censorship. If our national library (which the LoC really is) will not stand up against censorship, then why do the rest of the nation's public libraries fight so darn hard against it? I feel very saddened by the LoC's choice to take the initiative to censor Wikileaks, first because the block wasn't being required of them and second because libraries are supposed to fight censorship, not promote it.
The staff of the LoC are being very quiet about all this, but I wonder what they would say? Do they agree with the move? Do they feel conflicted about it? Sadly, they are probably being directed to say nothing about it, regardless of what they hear. I would like to know their opinion and perspective on this situation; it may help me to understand why a library, an institution that historically has stood for open access and freedom of information, would choose to close its doors the way the LoC did.
For the record, to date I have not looked at the leaked documents.
[1] Lipton, E. (2010, December 4). Don’t Look, Don’t Read: Government Warns Its Workers Away From WikiLeaks Documents. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/world/05restrict.html
[2] Grinberg, E. (2010, December 8). Will reading WikiLeaks cost students jobs with the federal government? CNN.com. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-08/justice/wikileaks.students_1_wikileaks-security-clearance-students?_s=PM:CRIME
[3] Progressive Librarians Guild. (2010, December 4). On Wikileaks and the Library of Congress: A Statement by the Progressive Librarians Guild. Retrieved from http://libr.org/plg/lcwikileaks.php
[4] Aftergood, S. (2010, December 6). Blocking Access to Wikileaks May Harm CRS, Analysts Say. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2010/12/crs_block.html
[5] List reveals secret locations. (2010, December 6). Retrieved from http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_16794319?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com&nclick_check=1
"I don't know what the answer is in regards to information relating to national security. On one side is this feeling I have that the citizens of a country have the right to know what their government is doing, so [government] transparency--something that has been promised in the past but never truly attained--would be necessary for this to happen. Yet, I can understand why such information should be kept from the public eye--leaks can happen like the one Wikileaks was just involved in, and information that's dangerous for other ("enemy") countries to know could be released that harms us in the end."
So on the topic of the ethics of the leak, I'm still on the fence. I honestly don't know whether it's right or wrong. Maybe it'll depend on how many lives are negatively effected by this (and I mean ordinary citizens, not political leaders).
My real concern lies with the fact that the Library of Congress has decided to block all access to Wikileaks from all of their computers, public and staff computers alike. The Library of Congress issued a statement, which is also posted on their own blog as to why they did this. In their statement, they say that as federal agency they are "obligated to protect classified information." This would make sense if the whole world also didn't have access to these cables. However, I fail to see the logic behind this reason for blocking documents posted on a website that is publically accessible from 1) public libraries, 2) public wireless access points, and 3) home computers (I would also bet the leaks can be uploaded on mobile devices too). I hate to tell the US government, but the documents are no longer classified if everyone can access them and read them. They get credit for trying to prevent people from reading them, including addressing federal government workers[1] (and even students looking to get future jobs in the federal government are being told to question the wisdom in looking at the documents[2]); but they won't be able to put "the genie back in the bottle"[3], a term the Progressive Librarians Guild uses in their statement admonishing the LoC for its move to block Wikileaks.
On a related matter, the Library of Congress also houses the Congressional Research Service. For those who don't know what the CRS is, it is a group of researchers in the LoC that provides reports that are "high-level professional analysis"[4] on various topics to the Congressional committees (more information about the CRS if you're interested can be found on their website here). Because the CRS does all of its research out of the Library of Congress, it too cannot view the cables and, according to this article, will be unable to refer directly to any of the cables; they would have to rely on secondary sources, like newspapers that have cited the leaked documents. Finding the secondary sources to cite may prove difficult, especially after an article I read this morning that discusses the list of secret locations that was released early this week. The article states, "the Associated Press has decided against publishing their names because of the sensitive nature of the information."[5] Well, that's very considerate of the Associated Press, but unfortunately the information is still out there. If Congress requires a report on these topics--for example, in order to determine legislature for future protection of sensitive digital US documents--the CRS would not be able to use anything from the leaked cables themselves. I would bet my year's salary that every country the US has its eye on has these documents and is going over them very carefully, including the location list. So these countries can look through that information all it wants, but the CRS can't? How does this make sense?
I remember seeing a couple of articles saying that LoC claimed they were told to block the site. Unfortunately, I can't find which articles mentioned that (I've read of lot of literature on this topic over the last week), so I can't state whether or not I actually saw those articles or even if the LoC did in fact make those claims. I can say, according to a number of articles including this one on Library Journal, that a memo from the White House's Office of Management and Budget did go out directing federal workers that classified information cannot be accessed on non-classified systems. (The original memo can be found on the TPM Muckraker website.) However, at no point was any office, department, or agency told to block the website. So why did the LoC do it?
That is the million-dollar question. Why did the LoC do it? While they may be the federal archives, they are still a library and should follow those tenets that libraries hold so dear, including advocating against censorship. If our national library (which the LoC really is) will not stand up against censorship, then why do the rest of the nation's public libraries fight so darn hard against it? I feel very saddened by the LoC's choice to take the initiative to censor Wikileaks, first because the block wasn't being required of them and second because libraries are supposed to fight censorship, not promote it.
The staff of the LoC are being very quiet about all this, but I wonder what they would say? Do they agree with the move? Do they feel conflicted about it? Sadly, they are probably being directed to say nothing about it, regardless of what they hear. I would like to know their opinion and perspective on this situation; it may help me to understand why a library, an institution that historically has stood for open access and freedom of information, would choose to close its doors the way the LoC did.
For the record, to date I have not looked at the leaked documents.
[1] Lipton, E. (2010, December 4). Don’t Look, Don’t Read: Government Warns Its Workers Away From WikiLeaks Documents. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/world/05restrict.html
[2] Grinberg, E. (2010, December 8). Will reading WikiLeaks cost students jobs with the federal government? CNN.com. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-08/justice/wikileaks.students_1_wikileaks-security-clearance-students?_s=PM:CRIME
[3] Progressive Librarians Guild. (2010, December 4). On Wikileaks and the Library of Congress: A Statement by the Progressive Librarians Guild. Retrieved from http://libr.org/plg/lcwikileaks.php
[4] Aftergood, S. (2010, December 6). Blocking Access to Wikileaks May Harm CRS, Analysts Say. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2010/12/crs_block.html
[5] List reveals secret locations. (2010, December 6). Retrieved from http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_16794319?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com&nclick_check=1
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Christmas Time Is Here
Of course I still have my paper to finish, and I'm starting to feel the pressure from it with the deadline a mere six days away. I'm hoping to get enough time to work on it during the week that I'll be able to finish it up on Saturday, read back over it to edit any mistakes, and submit it with a sigh of relief. We'll see what my time at work and in the evenings looks like.
Of course with Christmas comes a lot of Christmas cooking. We have the raviolis which are already done. Next week, my mom, sister, cousin, and I will attempt to try and make the English toffee and hand-dipped chocolates that Gramma also used to make every year. Originally, tomorrow night was the planned date to try our hand at candy-making, but the weather outlook is not so good with a chance of rain. Gramma never made candy when it rained because the chocolate wouldn't set right; there's too much moisture in the air. So hopefully next week we get to try it out and I'll have much to tell about what we try (maybe I'll have pictures too!).
Another thing I'll be making this year (and something that I made last year) is lemon curd. Last year, I included jars of it in tea-themed gift baskets that also included special teas and fresh scones, a nod to the high teas my best friend and I put together every year for the ladies in my family for Mother's Day. These baskets were given out to my extended family, and I've gotten requests to do lemon curd again this year. The recipe I use is from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Lemon curd is actually a lot easier to make than I thought before trying this recipe.
What you'll need:
1 c. sugar
2 Tbs. cornstarch
3 tsp. lemon peel, finely shredded
6 Tbs. lemon juice
6 Tbs. water
6 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 c. butter or margarine, cut up
What you'll need to do:
1. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar and cornstarch. Mix together, then add the lemon peel, lemon juice, and water. Cook it over medium heat until the mixture has become thickened and bubbly.
2. Remove half of the mixture from the saucepan and add it to the egg yolks. Stir until it is mixed together. Slowly return the egg mixture to the saucepan to keep the egg from solidifying.
3. Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until the curd comes to a gentle boil. Cook and stir for another two minutes.
4. Remove saucepan from heat. Add the butter and stir until it has completely melted. Cover the saucepan with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about an hour.
If your curd has a few pieces of solidified egg in it from when you added the egg yolks into the saucepan, you can strain them out before putting up the lemon curd. It's not necessary, but I know some people (like me) are perfectionists. This recipe will give you about two cups.
With so many of us struggling to make ends meet, there is nothing wrong with giving others homemade things as Christmas gifts. Feel free to use this recipe for your own gift baskets. Enjoy!
Friday, December 3, 2010
The Easiest Chocolate Cake Ever!
I know I'm a little late (ok a lot late) with this week's post, but it's crunch time in school land and I have my last--and biggest--paper due a week from Monday. For the most part, all the research has been done already. However, there is a lot to write, and a lot of concepts from my sources that I want to include. In other words, a lot of work to be done.
My instructor wanted an 18-20 page (including the references) paper. My paper is currently holding at 17 pages, and I still have a lot of ground to cover. Granted, those 17 pages do include 3 pages of appendices, but I still feel like I'm going to end up with a much longer paper than my instructor wanted. I'll keep my fingers crossed that she won't mind too terribly.
And now for this week's recipe. This recipe goes out to all the men and women who love chocolate. I am passing on to you a recipe for a 5-minute chocolate cake that you make in a mug and microwave. It may sound questionable, and possibly "hooky," but I have tried this recipe and it is gooooooood. My mother emailed it to me, and it was emailed to her, and to the person who sent it to her, and so on, so I have no idea where this recipe originated. If anyone knows, leave a comment to that effect so I can update the post and give credit to the maker.
What you'll need:
4 Tbs. flour
4 Tbs. sugar*
2 Tbs. cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbs. milk
3 Tbs. oil
3 Tbs. chocolate chips (optional)
small splash of vanilla
1 large microwavable mug
What you'll need to do:
1. Add the flour, sugar, and cocoa to the mug. Stir so they're mixed well. Add the egg and completely mix it and the dry ingredients together.
2. Add the milk and oil and mix everything well. Add the chocolate chips (if you want them) and the vanilla and mix completely.
3. Put the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. Make sure your microwave runs at least 1000 watts.
4. The cake may rise over the top of the mug, so don't be alarmed if this happens. Allow cake to cool a little. You can tip it out onto a plate if you want.
This is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy! I'm off to continue working on my paper. I will make every effort to get back on schedule next week with another recipe posted on Monday.
*A note in the recipe says that Splenda can be used in lieu of sugar.
My instructor wanted an 18-20 page (including the references) paper. My paper is currently holding at 17 pages, and I still have a lot of ground to cover. Granted, those 17 pages do include 3 pages of appendices, but I still feel like I'm going to end up with a much longer paper than my instructor wanted. I'll keep my fingers crossed that she won't mind too terribly.
And now for this week's recipe. This recipe goes out to all the men and women who love chocolate. I am passing on to you a recipe for a 5-minute chocolate cake that you make in a mug and microwave. It may sound questionable, and possibly "hooky," but I have tried this recipe and it is gooooooood. My mother emailed it to me, and it was emailed to her, and to the person who sent it to her, and so on, so I have no idea where this recipe originated. If anyone knows, leave a comment to that effect so I can update the post and give credit to the maker.
What you'll need:
4 Tbs. flour
4 Tbs. sugar*
2 Tbs. cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbs. milk
3 Tbs. oil
3 Tbs. chocolate chips (optional)
small splash of vanilla
1 large microwavable mug
What you'll need to do:
1. Add the flour, sugar, and cocoa to the mug. Stir so they're mixed well. Add the egg and completely mix it and the dry ingredients together.
2. Add the milk and oil and mix everything well. Add the chocolate chips (if you want them) and the vanilla and mix completely.
3. Put the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. Make sure your microwave runs at least 1000 watts.
4. The cake may rise over the top of the mug, so don't be alarmed if this happens. Allow cake to cool a little. You can tip it out onto a plate if you want.
This is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy! I'm off to continue working on my paper. I will make every effort to get back on schedule next week with another recipe posted on Monday.
*A note in the recipe says that Splenda can be used in lieu of sugar.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Oreo Cheesecake
I know that I promised my Oreo cheesecake recipe. Last year was the first time I made it. Scooter loves cheesecake, and I guess that it had been a tradition for his mom to give him a cheesecake on his birthday every year when she was alive. Last year, when I was planning his birthday party, he asked for a cheesecake. I told him to just tell me what kind he wanted and I would make it for his birthday. He chose Oreo cheesecake (the combination of his two favorite sweets), so on my computer I went to research some recipes.
My searching took me to several places, including Cooks.com where I found a couple of recipes that looked promising. I printed out three that I thought might be good, showed them to Scooter, and had him pick which one he wanted. Well Scooter, unable to choose one, asked for the crust in one recipe with the filling in another recipe. I took a stab at it (this was the first cheesecake I had ever made) and ended up with something that I have to admit tasted pretty darn good. His aunt and uncle were at his birthday party, and his uncle fell in love with that cheesecake.
Fast forward to earlier this month. When we were making plans to spend Thanksgiving with Scooter's aunt and uncle, his uncle mentioned that he would not say no to another cheesecake. To me, that's a big hint that says "please make that cheesecake again!" So into the kitchen I went to put together a cheesecake with the following recipe.
What you'll need:
20 oreos with the filling removed, crushed
1 stick of butter
2 lbs of cream cheese (left out until it reaches room temperature)
2 Tbs. flour
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 c. additional oreos (with filling), chopped small
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 extra large eggs
2 egg yolks
1 Tbs. vanilla
What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and mix with the crushed oreos. Press into a 10-in springform pan. Put into the oven and bake for 8 minutes.
2. Turn up the oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar, flour, eggs and egg yolks, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream. Use an electric mixer and blend on medium speed for one minute, then blend on high speed until all ingredients are well-mixed and the mixture is smooth.
3. Add the chopped oreos, then mix on medium speed for another minute. Oreos should be well-blended in.
4. Pour the filling into the pan with the partially-baked crust. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 50 minutes. I would recommend checking the cheesecake after 40 minutes. Cheesecake will be fairly firm in the center and not move much when you jiggle the pan.
5. Remove from oven and let cool. Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours and serve cold.
Enjoy! This dessert has the Scooter Seal of Approval.
My searching took me to several places, including Cooks.com where I found a couple of recipes that looked promising. I printed out three that I thought might be good, showed them to Scooter, and had him pick which one he wanted. Well Scooter, unable to choose one, asked for the crust in one recipe with the filling in another recipe. I took a stab at it (this was the first cheesecake I had ever made) and ended up with something that I have to admit tasted pretty darn good. His aunt and uncle were at his birthday party, and his uncle fell in love with that cheesecake.
Fast forward to earlier this month. When we were making plans to spend Thanksgiving with Scooter's aunt and uncle, his uncle mentioned that he would not say no to another cheesecake. To me, that's a big hint that says "please make that cheesecake again!" So into the kitchen I went to put together a cheesecake with the following recipe.
What you'll need:
20 oreos with the filling removed, crushed
1 stick of butter
2 lbs of cream cheese (left out until it reaches room temperature)
2 Tbs. flour
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 c. additional oreos (with filling), chopped small
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 extra large eggs
2 egg yolks
1 Tbs. vanilla
What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and mix with the crushed oreos. Press into a 10-in springform pan. Put into the oven and bake for 8 minutes.
2. Turn up the oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar, flour, eggs and egg yolks, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream. Use an electric mixer and blend on medium speed for one minute, then blend on high speed until all ingredients are well-mixed and the mixture is smooth.
3. Add the chopped oreos, then mix on medium speed for another minute. Oreos should be well-blended in.
4. Pour the filling into the pan with the partially-baked crust. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 50 minutes. I would recommend checking the cheesecake after 40 minutes. Cheesecake will be fairly firm in the center and not move much when you jiggle the pan.
5. Remove from oven and let cool. Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours and serve cold.
Enjoy! This dessert has the Scooter Seal of Approval.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Copyright Online
Two posts in one day? I know that's rare for me, but I had to help spread the word about a news story brought up in my class discussion forum today. There seems to be a story that's gone viral on the web regarding copyright infringement.
The story basics: a magazine by the name of Cooks Source seems to be getting a lot of its material via copyright infringement. The magazine is literally taking articles found across the web, doing some light re-writing (or no re-writing) and reprinting the articles without giving credit to the original authors. One article, "The Cooks Source Scandal: How a Magazine Profits on Theft," lists six confirmed cases of blatant plagiarism, with possibly more that have just not been discovered or confirmed yet. One of the writers who had her piece lifted without a by-your-leave wrote about it on her livejournal page. She also posted an excerpt from the response she got from the magazine's editor, Judith Griggs. I think that it's criminal that Griggs told the writer "If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally" and "We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me!" The writer is still comtemplating going ahead with legal action; for her sake and the sake of all past and future victims of this magazine's publishing practice, I hope she decides to sue them.
This writer has gotten a lot of support from around the web from other writers and non-writers alike. Neil Gaiman, a published author (and one I really like) also tweeted about it. People seemed to be outraged, and rightly so. The publicity that this story and the topic of copyright has gotten has really made me think about what I post here. I do post recipes, some of which either me or my family have created, and some which I've found online or from other sources. From the ones that I have no claim to, I do always try to give credit to the original source, even though I end up re-writing the steps in the recipe to match the way I end up preparing the food. Copyright can be a slippery slope, and it's a hot topic both in my class and around the web right now.
So I guess I'll close with a word of caution. Give credit where credit is due.
The story basics: a magazine by the name of Cooks Source seems to be getting a lot of its material via copyright infringement. The magazine is literally taking articles found across the web, doing some light re-writing (or no re-writing) and reprinting the articles without giving credit to the original authors. One article, "The Cooks Source Scandal: How a Magazine Profits on Theft," lists six confirmed cases of blatant plagiarism, with possibly more that have just not been discovered or confirmed yet. One of the writers who had her piece lifted without a by-your-leave wrote about it on her livejournal page. She also posted an excerpt from the response she got from the magazine's editor, Judith Griggs. I think that it's criminal that Griggs told the writer "If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally" and "We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me!" The writer is still comtemplating going ahead with legal action; for her sake and the sake of all past and future victims of this magazine's publishing practice, I hope she decides to sue them.
This writer has gotten a lot of support from around the web from other writers and non-writers alike. Neil Gaiman, a published author (and one I really like) also tweeted about it. People seemed to be outraged, and rightly so. The publicity that this story and the topic of copyright has gotten has really made me think about what I post here. I do post recipes, some of which either me or my family have created, and some which I've found online or from other sources. From the ones that I have no claim to, I do always try to give credit to the original source, even though I end up re-writing the steps in the recipe to match the way I end up preparing the food. Copyright can be a slippery slope, and it's a hot topic both in my class and around the web right now.
So I guess I'll close with a word of caution. Give credit where credit is due.
Back in Action
I've been gone from my blog for awhile. It wasn't intentional by any means; I do enjoy posting about school, issues in librarianship, my family, and of course the weekly recipes. But it's hard to feel the motivation when you are sick and just want to lie in bed nice and quiet and stare at the wall, hoping that swallowing chicken broth won't be so painful next time. All last week, I was effectively put out of commission because of strep throat. I've had it before (I had it a lot when I was a child), so I know what to expect. That doesn't make it fun, just bearable.
Anyway, I'm back in action and a lot has happened in the last few days. I had the exhausting but exhilerating experience of helping my mother cook a grande dîner for some important church dignitaries. It's a very big deal for her, as she's a very devout member of the Church (and she mentioned how happy Nonni--my great-grandmother--would be to have them there as it was her house many years ago and she also loved the Church). I have chosen a different path than my parents (at least in terms of religion), but that doesn't change the fact that I know my duty to my parents and my family. She needed the help, so I offered mine.
Now, about this dinner. It was a ten-course formal French dinner (although we pushed the last three courses together because it was getting very late at that point and us poor folks in the kitchen were getting exhausted). French dining is very different from American dining, even formal American dining. A formal French dinner can easily take 4-5 hours, especially if the courses aren't rushed (something which Americans tend to do). And the French have made a sort of religion of eating--there is a ceremony to the way the courses are planned to allow a person to fully enjoy and appreciate the flavor of every course. Here's a break down of our menu:
Course 1: two kinds of paté with toast points and fig preserves, all served with a black muscat (a wonderful sweet wine)
Course 2: a potage, a type of soup that's made with vegetables in a very specific way that really brings out all the subtle flavors of the vegetables (I'll see if I can convince my mom to let me post this recipe!)
Course 3: bouché à la Reine, which was shrimp and scallop in a white wine sauce over puff paste
Course 4: lemon sorbet with a few drops of brandy over it. The sorbet is to cleanse the palette between the fish and meat courses; the brandy helps to make the flavor of the sorbet pop out even more.
Course 5: the main course (the meat course)--pork with a creamy sauce of wild mushrooms, served with beets and roasted potatoes
Course 6: a simple salad of butter lettuce tossed with oil/vinegar and salt/pepper
Course 7: a selection of 4 French-style cheeses including chevre, a bleu cheese, a Saint Andres, and a hard cheese (I forgot the name of it)
Course 8: whole pears cooked in red wine
Course 9: coffee
Course 10: cognac and port with chocolate truffles
One big difference you may notice between this and American cuisine is that the salad is served after the main course. I don't remember the reason the French do it this way, but my older brother--a true francophone and French culture expert--would know. I will ask him. Another difference is that coffee traditionally gets its own course--it's served solo without any dessert to accompany it. Also, the reason that cheese is served after the majority of the meal is to "close the stomach," as my brother puts it; the cheese helps with digestion after a big meal. A dinner like this is something that many French would only have a few times in their life; Americans probably never have a meal like this presented with the ceremony and ritual of formal French dining. It is a wonderful experience; I would recommend that you try it once.
For the cooking crew, it is a lot of work. With the guests that we had, I don't think that they realized what was coming. I don't think any of them had any idea what a formal French dinner is before now. Regardless, they very much enjoyed it, and one of the dignitaries (a bishop) called it Babette's Feast. So it was a very special night for all.
The other thing that has happened is that a wiki I helped to inspire is up and running. One of the topics that had come up in my class is homelessness and librarians' de facto role as social service providers, which led to my comment on a reading that said no list of social services resources being used in libraries yet exists. My question was "why not?" So my instructor talked to someone she knew who started work on getting a wiki up to act as a resource where people can post those services, resources, and information about social responsibility in libraries. I'll post the link after the semester since we're not advertising it quite yet; right now, there's not a lot up, but as more information is added it will continue to grow. I'm so excited that it's up; I've already made several contributions and plan to continue to do so on an ongoing basis. I really hope that it can grow into a valuable resource for all public libraries (and even academic or school libraries). The people that can benefit from these services and resources are the ones that are most often shoved under the carpet by society, and it's horribly cruel and degrading to them that it should be this way. Libraries should be the leading force behind helping these people to feel valued especially since many libraries are seen as and behave like community centers; this wiki is another step towards that goal. Please don't disregard this part of the population; they are people just like you and me. I'll step down off my soap box (for now).
I'll be posting a recipe for the cheesecake I'm making for Thanksgiving later today or tomorrow (I don't have the recipe with me right now).
Anyway, I'm back in action and a lot has happened in the last few days. I had the exhausting but exhilerating experience of helping my mother cook a grande dîner for some important church dignitaries. It's a very big deal for her, as she's a very devout member of the Church (and she mentioned how happy Nonni--my great-grandmother--would be to have them there as it was her house many years ago and she also loved the Church). I have chosen a different path than my parents (at least in terms of religion), but that doesn't change the fact that I know my duty to my parents and my family. She needed the help, so I offered mine.
Now, about this dinner. It was a ten-course formal French dinner (although we pushed the last three courses together because it was getting very late at that point and us poor folks in the kitchen were getting exhausted). French dining is very different from American dining, even formal American dining. A formal French dinner can easily take 4-5 hours, especially if the courses aren't rushed (something which Americans tend to do). And the French have made a sort of religion of eating--there is a ceremony to the way the courses are planned to allow a person to fully enjoy and appreciate the flavor of every course. Here's a break down of our menu:
Course 1: two kinds of paté with toast points and fig preserves, all served with a black muscat (a wonderful sweet wine)
Course 2: a potage, a type of soup that's made with vegetables in a very specific way that really brings out all the subtle flavors of the vegetables (I'll see if I can convince my mom to let me post this recipe!)
Course 3: bouché à la Reine, which was shrimp and scallop in a white wine sauce over puff paste
Course 4: lemon sorbet with a few drops of brandy over it. The sorbet is to cleanse the palette between the fish and meat courses; the brandy helps to make the flavor of the sorbet pop out even more.
Course 5: the main course (the meat course)--pork with a creamy sauce of wild mushrooms, served with beets and roasted potatoes
Course 6: a simple salad of butter lettuce tossed with oil/vinegar and salt/pepper
Course 7: a selection of 4 French-style cheeses including chevre, a bleu cheese, a Saint Andres, and a hard cheese (I forgot the name of it)
Course 8: whole pears cooked in red wine
Course 9: coffee
Course 10: cognac and port with chocolate truffles
One big difference you may notice between this and American cuisine is that the salad is served after the main course. I don't remember the reason the French do it this way, but my older brother--a true francophone and French culture expert--would know. I will ask him. Another difference is that coffee traditionally gets its own course--it's served solo without any dessert to accompany it. Also, the reason that cheese is served after the majority of the meal is to "close the stomach," as my brother puts it; the cheese helps with digestion after a big meal. A dinner like this is something that many French would only have a few times in their life; Americans probably never have a meal like this presented with the ceremony and ritual of formal French dining. It is a wonderful experience; I would recommend that you try it once.
For the cooking crew, it is a lot of work. With the guests that we had, I don't think that they realized what was coming. I don't think any of them had any idea what a formal French dinner is before now. Regardless, they very much enjoyed it, and one of the dignitaries (a bishop) called it Babette's Feast. So it was a very special night for all.
The other thing that has happened is that a wiki I helped to inspire is up and running. One of the topics that had come up in my class is homelessness and librarians' de facto role as social service providers, which led to my comment on a reading that said no list of social services resources being used in libraries yet exists. My question was "why not?" So my instructor talked to someone she knew who started work on getting a wiki up to act as a resource where people can post those services, resources, and information about social responsibility in libraries. I'll post the link after the semester since we're not advertising it quite yet; right now, there's not a lot up, but as more information is added it will continue to grow. I'm so excited that it's up; I've already made several contributions and plan to continue to do so on an ongoing basis. I really hope that it can grow into a valuable resource for all public libraries (and even academic or school libraries). The people that can benefit from these services and resources are the ones that are most often shoved under the carpet by society, and it's horribly cruel and degrading to them that it should be this way. Libraries should be the leading force behind helping these people to feel valued especially since many libraries are seen as and behave like community centers; this wiki is another step towards that goal. Please don't disregard this part of the population; they are people just like you and me. I'll step down off my soap box (for now).
I'll be posting a recipe for the cheesecake I'm making for Thanksgiving later today or tomorrow (I don't have the recipe with me right now).
Monday, November 8, 2010
Weekend Cooking Marathon
This is the fourth year we've carried on the tradition, and we were joined by my cousin who turned 18 last month and came into her own as a woman of the family. She was very excited to be able to learn how to make raviolis, as she remembers Gramma's raviolis very well and has had the pleasure of eating ours for the past few Christmases. I know that this may seem very old-fashioned, but it's a special tradition and one that I hope to carry on for many years to come.
Raviolis are not easy to make. With our recipe, it's a process that takes three days. Unfortunately, I will not be posting the recipe since I consider it a family secret, but I'll give an overview of the process. The first day involves making the paste (the dough). It needs to be made early in order to allow it to rise a bit and the consistency is so much better if it's left to sit for a long while. The second day is the day we make the filling, roll out the dough, assemble the raviolis, and make the individual raviolis using a special rolling pin (shown in the picture at the beginning of this post). It took us about 2 1/2 hours with five people and a LOT of flour (ravioli paste is very sticky) to finish this part. After the raviolis are rolled out, they are taken to a back room in my parents' house and left on tables to dry before we cut them. On the third day, the raviolis are taken off the drying board and put into boxes with wax paper (and lots more flour!) and put into the freezer until Christmas.
And if all this cooking wasn't enough, Scooter and I made dinner for my parents Saturday night using a menu and recipes that I found in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (I'm really beginning to love this cookbook). The menu included a pear and walnut salad, pork loin, rice pilaf, herb-glazed carrots, goat cheese and grapes (I added this course on to the cookbook's menu), and a homemade applesauce cake that my mom contributed for dessert. I'm posting the rice pilaf recipe here, but please let me know in the comments if I should post the recipes for any of the other menu items in the future. So without further ado, here's the rice pilaf.
What you'll need:
1/2 c. basmati rice
1/4 c. wild rice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. butter or margarine
1 14-oz. can of chicken broth
1/4 c. dried golden raisins
1/4 c. shredded carrot
1/4 c. non-carbonated apple cider or apple juice
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning or Herb de Provence
1/2 c. green onion, sliced (about 4 onions)
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
2 slices of bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
What you'll need to do:
1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the rices and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is a light brown (about 3 to 5 minutes).
2. Add the chicken broth, raisins, carrot, apple cider, and seasoning, stirring until all ingredients are well-mixed. Bring mixture to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has all been absorbed (about 15 to 20 minutes).
3. Stir in the green onion, pine nuts, and bacon and serve hot.
The cookbook does offer a lot of suggestions for substitutions. 1 3/4 c. water and 1 1/2 tsp. instant chicken bouillon can be substituted for the can of chicken broth. Dried currants can be used instead of raisins. Red or green sweet pepper can be used instead of carrot. Dry white wine or water can be used instead of the apple cider. Basil or oregano can be used instead of the Italian seasoning. Toasted slivered almonds or chopped pecans can be used instead of the pine nuts. And 1/4 c. chopped cooked ham can be used instead of the bacon. I make note of them here to allow you to make the choice of which flavors to combine, but I highly recommend the recipe as I posted it here. It turned out very good.
If you're interested in finding more Better Homes and Gardens recipes, check their website. Enjoy!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Information, Knowledge, and Beef Brisket
First of all...GO GIANTS!!!!
Secondly, one of our recent discussions in class has provoked a rather philosophical response from me. The discussion is looking at information vs. knowledge--specifically if there exists a difference between the two--and what characterizes information. I made the point that information doesn't have to be true or false; it really can be either. There are a lot of times where false information can cause problems, especially when considering politics or religious differences. My instructor wanted to know how I would categorize Holocaust deniers or those who believe the moon landing didn't occur. Would this be a case of a knowledge or information problem?
My response:
"I really think that there is a difference between information and knowledge. As I mentioned before, information doesn't have to be right or wrong, so in terms of Holocaust deniers, perhaps the information regarding the Holocaust, while perhaps new (in that it differs from their view and they may not have seen/thought about that perspective), they still see it as false based on their world view. You could almost view this in the same light as religion; a person who follows a particular religious view may (and often does) view the world through his/her belief system. Opposing views, while still being able to be "information" (aka new views that, again, they may not have seen or considered before), could still be viewed as "false" because they don't fit in to the believer's view of the world. So the Holocaust deniers or the folks that don't believe the moon landing happened would be viewing any information on this topic through their own view of those events.
In terms of knowledge, I almost liken it to a philosophical truth, one that would bring us to a higher understanding. This particular thought is hard for me to express in words, but another post you made (mentioning the "truth" of stories and experience) allowed me to focus it a little better. Truth/knowledge can be found in many things, both fact and fiction. For example, in fiction we often times find the truth of our humanity, meaning that we see examples of the true human experience: love, hate, despair, revenge, etc. Did the things in those books actually happen (are they fact?)? No. Is there a greater truth, a message of ourselves that we can learn from them? Yes. But the knowledge (truth) that we each get will be different, based on our personal world view. So maybe then knowledge involves personal interpretation of information.
In answer to the last part of your question, maybe both. These people gleaned truth/knowledge interpreted from information that happens to be contrary to documented evidence (fact). So do we label the information as the cause or their interpretation (where knowledge/understanding occurs) as the cause? For me, it's hard to tell. Since the process of turning information into knowledge (understand/truth) is often times near-instantaneous--as least with me, I find myself judging/interpreting information when I read/see it--it's hard to separate the two in this process."
Anyone want to add to the discussion? Please comment with your own thoughts!
And now this week's recipe. Scooter and I decided to use my crock pot and try a slow cooker recipe. My Better Homes and Gardens cookbook had a recipe for beef brisket with barbecue sauce that Scooter and I agreed to experiment with. It turned out really good and made the apartment smell wonderful!
What you'll need:
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 tsp. instant beef bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 2 1/2 lb. beef brisket
2 Tbs. corn starch
1 c. cold water
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. brown sugar
What you'll need to do:
1. For cooking liquid, in a bowl combine water, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, bouillon, mustard, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and garlic.
2. Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut meat to fit into a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Place meat in cooker and pour liquid over meat.
3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours.
4. Take some of the cooking liquid and put it into a small saucepan. Over medium heat, add the honey and brown sugar, stir, and cook together until liquid is simmering. In a small bowl, combine the corn starch and cold water and stir until completely dissolved. Add slowly to the saucepan, stir, and cook until slightly thickened.
You can serve the brisket and sauce over potatoes, rice, or even use it to make sandwiches. The cookbook also makes the note that if you have to use a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker, double the cooking liquid. Enjoy!
Secondly, one of our recent discussions in class has provoked a rather philosophical response from me. The discussion is looking at information vs. knowledge--specifically if there exists a difference between the two--and what characterizes information. I made the point that information doesn't have to be true or false; it really can be either. There are a lot of times where false information can cause problems, especially when considering politics or religious differences. My instructor wanted to know how I would categorize Holocaust deniers or those who believe the moon landing didn't occur. Would this be a case of a knowledge or information problem?
My response:
"I really think that there is a difference between information and knowledge. As I mentioned before, information doesn't have to be right or wrong, so in terms of Holocaust deniers, perhaps the information regarding the Holocaust, while perhaps new (in that it differs from their view and they may not have seen/thought about that perspective), they still see it as false based on their world view. You could almost view this in the same light as religion; a person who follows a particular religious view may (and often does) view the world through his/her belief system. Opposing views, while still being able to be "information" (aka new views that, again, they may not have seen or considered before), could still be viewed as "false" because they don't fit in to the believer's view of the world. So the Holocaust deniers or the folks that don't believe the moon landing happened would be viewing any information on this topic through their own view of those events.
In terms of knowledge, I almost liken it to a philosophical truth, one that would bring us to a higher understanding. This particular thought is hard for me to express in words, but another post you made (mentioning the "truth" of stories and experience) allowed me to focus it a little better. Truth/knowledge can be found in many things, both fact and fiction. For example, in fiction we often times find the truth of our humanity, meaning that we see examples of the true human experience: love, hate, despair, revenge, etc. Did the things in those books actually happen (are they fact?)? No. Is there a greater truth, a message of ourselves that we can learn from them? Yes. But the knowledge (truth) that we each get will be different, based on our personal world view. So maybe then knowledge involves personal interpretation of information.
In answer to the last part of your question, maybe both. These people gleaned truth/knowledge interpreted from information that happens to be contrary to documented evidence (fact). So do we label the information as the cause or their interpretation (where knowledge/understanding occurs) as the cause? For me, it's hard to tell. Since the process of turning information into knowledge (understand/truth) is often times near-instantaneous--as least with me, I find myself judging/interpreting information when I read/see it--it's hard to separate the two in this process."
Anyone want to add to the discussion? Please comment with your own thoughts!
And now this week's recipe. Scooter and I decided to use my crock pot and try a slow cooker recipe. My Better Homes and Gardens cookbook had a recipe for beef brisket with barbecue sauce that Scooter and I agreed to experiment with. It turned out really good and made the apartment smell wonderful!
What you'll need:
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 tsp. instant beef bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 2 1/2 lb. beef brisket
2 Tbs. corn starch
1 c. cold water
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. brown sugar
What you'll need to do:
1. For cooking liquid, in a bowl combine water, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, bouillon, mustard, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and garlic.
2. Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut meat to fit into a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Place meat in cooker and pour liquid over meat.
3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours.
4. Take some of the cooking liquid and put it into a small saucepan. Over medium heat, add the honey and brown sugar, stir, and cook together until liquid is simmering. In a small bowl, combine the corn starch and cold water and stir until completely dissolved. Add slowly to the saucepan, stir, and cook until slightly thickened.
You can serve the brisket and sauce over potatoes, rice, or even use it to make sandwiches. The cookbook also makes the note that if you have to use a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker, double the cooking liquid. Enjoy!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Online Library Catalog (and some pasta too!)
One of the topics in my current class is the online library catalog and how easy various types of catalogs are to navigate for novice users. We've looked at examples from all over the nation, including the Aquabrowser catalog as it's being used in the Santa Cruz Public Library system. Many of the online catalogs out there have their strong and weak points. The biggest concern of course is if it makes sense to the user and organizes information in a way that the user can 1) easily understand what information is being presented and 2) find the information that he/she was trying to locate. The Aquabrowser reminded me in some respects of Amazon.com in the look of the results (minus the word cloud, a feature I find distracting and useless) and the refine search options that the user is given. While this familiar look to the results would help the novice user, I feel like there should be another even more "friendly" option.
And so I posed the making of a new type of online catalog to my instructor and classmates. This catalog would read (pardon the pun) much like Facebook does--which would lend to user comfort and familiarity since so many people are using Facebook nowadays. Each item, be it book, movie, CD, or other type, would have its own page. The "profile" would include the bibliographic information of each item, including its physical location--or a link if it's an e-source--in the library. Each item would then be "friended" to other items that are related by title, author, subject, genre, or any other way the library deems appropriate to make a connection. Library patrons would be able to "like" items, and even post on each item's "wall" (maybe providing additional information about the item, for example a review). Tags would be initially set by library catalogers, but patrons would be able to then add their own tags, which may end up helping those users who are unfamiliar with formal catalog searching keywords.
My instructor seems to love the idea, even going so far as to suggest I talk about this with someone to make it a reality. The only problem is that I don't know who to talk to. So if anyone with experience in searching programs and online catalogs would like to flesh out this idea, please leave me a comment! Better yet, if anyone from Facebook decides to use this idea to create a program that libraries can subscribe to (for a REASONABLE fee!!!), then please contact me so we can talk about me selling you my idea.
Now for this week's recipe. This is a recipe that Scooter and I came up with. We had only a little help from a pasta sauce we saw on the back of a package of lobster raviolis. We took down the ingredients needed, added some, took some away, changed around the amounts, and came up with the following pasta sauce:
What you'll need:
2 shallots, diced
5 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 sausages, precooked
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 c. white wine (Chardonnay preferably)
1 lemon, juiced
2 Tbs. flour
1 1/2 c. cream
1/2 milk
1 lb. fettuccine pasta, cooked
What you'll need to do:
1. Cut the sausages up into small chunks. You can also substitute 1/4 lb. cooked loose sausage meat.
2. In a large sausepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until the shallots are soft, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the sausage and cook until sausage is heated through, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the flour and stir until completely mixed in.
5. Add the white wine and lemon juice and cook until liquid is reduced, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Add the cream and milk and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened.
7. Remove from heat and serve over fettuccine pasta or another pasta of your choice.
You should be able to get 4-6 servings out of this recipe, and I would highly recommend having a slice of french bread on hand to catch any extra sauce still left in your plate. Also, a disclaimer: this is NOT by any means a low-fat food. However, I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy it!
And so I posed the making of a new type of online catalog to my instructor and classmates. This catalog would read (pardon the pun) much like Facebook does--which would lend to user comfort and familiarity since so many people are using Facebook nowadays. Each item, be it book, movie, CD, or other type, would have its own page. The "profile" would include the bibliographic information of each item, including its physical location--or a link if it's an e-source--in the library. Each item would then be "friended" to other items that are related by title, author, subject, genre, or any other way the library deems appropriate to make a connection. Library patrons would be able to "like" items, and even post on each item's "wall" (maybe providing additional information about the item, for example a review). Tags would be initially set by library catalogers, but patrons would be able to then add their own tags, which may end up helping those users who are unfamiliar with formal catalog searching keywords.
My instructor seems to love the idea, even going so far as to suggest I talk about this with someone to make it a reality. The only problem is that I don't know who to talk to. So if anyone with experience in searching programs and online catalogs would like to flesh out this idea, please leave me a comment! Better yet, if anyone from Facebook decides to use this idea to create a program that libraries can subscribe to (for a REASONABLE fee!!!), then please contact me so we can talk about me selling you my idea.
Now for this week's recipe. This is a recipe that Scooter and I came up with. We had only a little help from a pasta sauce we saw on the back of a package of lobster raviolis. We took down the ingredients needed, added some, took some away, changed around the amounts, and came up with the following pasta sauce:
What you'll need:
2 shallots, diced
5 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 sausages, precooked
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 c. white wine (Chardonnay preferably)
1 lemon, juiced
2 Tbs. flour
1 1/2 c. cream
1/2 milk
1 lb. fettuccine pasta, cooked
What you'll need to do:
1. Cut the sausages up into small chunks. You can also substitute 1/4 lb. cooked loose sausage meat.
2. In a large sausepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until the shallots are soft, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the sausage and cook until sausage is heated through, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the flour and stir until completely mixed in.
5. Add the white wine and lemon juice and cook until liquid is reduced, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Add the cream and milk and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened.
7. Remove from heat and serve over fettuccine pasta or another pasta of your choice.
You should be able to get 4-6 servings out of this recipe, and I would highly recommend having a slice of french bread on hand to catch any extra sauce still left in your plate. Also, a disclaimer: this is NOT by any means a low-fat food. However, I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy it!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Another reason to keep reading the fiction I love
For class this week, we were assigned to read an article regarding fiction and the psychological benefits it might have (Oatley, 2008). As someone who thrives on reading fiction--and loyally collects all published works of three authors as they are released in paperback--I found this study to be particularly interesting. Oatley (2008) and some of his colleagues performed a study in which they examined the short- and long-term effects that reading fiction can have on a person.
To gauge the effects of long-term fiction reading, they used objective assessments with author's and non-author's name to determine how much the participants read. Once that was established, the participants were given "mind-in-the-eyes" tests in which they looked at pictures of people's eyes and tried to determine the emotion the person in the photo was feeling. Lastly, participants were asked to view 15 short video clips depicting various social interactions; participants then had to describe what was going on in the clip (Oatley, 2008). The results? "Fiction readers had substantially greater empathy as measured by the mind-in-the-eyes test, and also performed somewhat better on the interpersonal perception test than people who read predominantly non-fiction" (Oatley, 2008). So what this study turned up was that fiction could quite possibly be teaching readers what it means to be human, at least in terms of emotions and and how we interact with others.
They followed this up with another study to rule out the possibility that fiction attracts more empathic people, which would have skewed the results because they would be scoring high in empathy. Another group of participants were given a piece to read, either a fiction short story or a non-fiction essay of the same length. The participants were then given a social reasoning test and an analytical reasoning test. The social reasoning test asked multiple-choice questions regarding the beliefs, emotions, and intentions of characters in different situations. Again, those who read the fiction piece tested higher on the social reasoning test than the participants who read the non-fiction piece. There was no difference in analytical reasoning between the two groups (Oatley, 2008). So once again, we have some evidence that points to fiction developing social skills and empathy in its readers. And in the case with this particular study, the effect is immediate (Oatley, 2008). Not only does fiction help develop empathy in us, but it starts to do so right away.
I find this interesting, especially when considering the major protest against including "popular literature" during the 19th century when the purpose and intent of the American public library was in a state of evolution. Now, over 100 years later, we find that popular literature--fiction--plays a role in the psychological development of its readers. How ironic. That which was initially thought of as useless and without educational purpose has now been determined to have a psychological purpose. Maybe fiction won't necessarily teach us facts about science or mathematics, but it can teach us about cultures and the myriad of ways in which we interact with and respond to others on many levels.
So don't put down put down your Nora Roberts, Anne McCaffrey, or Dan Brown. Read on!
Updated 10/25/10: I neglected to include the bibliographic information for Oatley's article. Let me rectify that now:
Oatley, K. (2008). The science of fiction: A good novel is far more than mere entertainment. New Scientist 198(June 28, 2008) 42-43. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(08)61619-X
To gauge the effects of long-term fiction reading, they used objective assessments with author's and non-author's name to determine how much the participants read. Once that was established, the participants were given "mind-in-the-eyes" tests in which they looked at pictures of people's eyes and tried to determine the emotion the person in the photo was feeling. Lastly, participants were asked to view 15 short video clips depicting various social interactions; participants then had to describe what was going on in the clip (Oatley, 2008). The results? "Fiction readers had substantially greater empathy as measured by the mind-in-the-eyes test, and also performed somewhat better on the interpersonal perception test than people who read predominantly non-fiction" (Oatley, 2008). So what this study turned up was that fiction could quite possibly be teaching readers what it means to be human, at least in terms of emotions and and how we interact with others.
They followed this up with another study to rule out the possibility that fiction attracts more empathic people, which would have skewed the results because they would be scoring high in empathy. Another group of participants were given a piece to read, either a fiction short story or a non-fiction essay of the same length. The participants were then given a social reasoning test and an analytical reasoning test. The social reasoning test asked multiple-choice questions regarding the beliefs, emotions, and intentions of characters in different situations. Again, those who read the fiction piece tested higher on the social reasoning test than the participants who read the non-fiction piece. There was no difference in analytical reasoning between the two groups (Oatley, 2008). So once again, we have some evidence that points to fiction developing social skills and empathy in its readers. And in the case with this particular study, the effect is immediate (Oatley, 2008). Not only does fiction help develop empathy in us, but it starts to do so right away.
I find this interesting, especially when considering the major protest against including "popular literature" during the 19th century when the purpose and intent of the American public library was in a state of evolution. Now, over 100 years later, we find that popular literature--fiction--plays a role in the psychological development of its readers. How ironic. That which was initially thought of as useless and without educational purpose has now been determined to have a psychological purpose. Maybe fiction won't necessarily teach us facts about science or mathematics, but it can teach us about cultures and the myriad of ways in which we interact with and respond to others on many levels.
So don't put down put down your Nora Roberts, Anne McCaffrey, or Dan Brown. Read on!
Updated 10/25/10: I neglected to include the bibliographic information for Oatley's article. Let me rectify that now:
Oatley, K. (2008). The science of fiction: A good novel is far more than mere entertainment. New Scientist 198(June 28, 2008) 42-43. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(08)61619-X
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Recharging my battery...with biscuits and gravy
The school I work at has graduations four times a year. This may seem strange, but we are a year-round school and we have students starting and finishing their programs throughout the year, so it's hard to pick just one time for graduation. Even so, we do have students that have to wait for 2-3 months after their program is over to be able to walk at graduation.
Graduation is always a big to-do (as it should be). But each ceremony does require a lot of planning, and it just so happens that I am in charge of a good deal of the planning (as well as coordinating at the ceremony itself). I usually have to start 5 weeks in advance to make sure everything gets done in time and nothing is left to the last minute. Needless to say, when graduation is over, there is a profound sense of relief followed quickly by exhaustion as I stumble back to my car to head home. I am lucky that my boss is willing to let me take the Friday off after every graduation so I can pack up my car and head out of town to relax at my aunt and uncle's summer home on the coast. It's always a time for me to relax, recharge, have some good food, and read a couple good books.
Last week was our most recent graduation, so Scooter and I went to the coast this last weekend. It was cold and cloudy all weekend, perfect weather in our opinion for settling in front of the fire (which we did) and soaking in the hot tub (which we also did). And of course, we always plan food to cook. We ended up making lamb again on this trip because we loved it so much last time. Saturday breakfast was biscuits and gravy, which is always a team effort. I make the biscuits and Scooter makes the sausage and gravy to with it. I don't mean to brag, but I haven't yet had biscuits and gravy elsewhere that tasted so good. We were going to have pancakes and sausage for Sunday's breakfast, but we had managed to forget the pancake mix so it was eggs, toast and sausage instead.
For this week's recipe, Scooter has agreed to let me post our biscuits and gravy recipe. I'll be using the variation of the recipe we used on the trip (there were one or two ingredients we didn't have--we wanted to cut out another trip to the store--which we include in our best, and secret, variation). I'll start with the biscuits.
Buttermilk Biscuits
What you'll need:
2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. butter/margarine, chilled
2 Tbs. shortening
1 c. buttermilk, chilled
What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter and shortening and use your fingers to mix everything together until the flour looks like crumbs. Make a well in the center of the mix and add in the buttermilk. Stir everything just until the dough comes together. It will be sticky!
3. Flour a flat surface. Turn dough out of the mixing bowl onto the prepared surface and dust a little flour on the top of the dough. Fold the dough over on itself 5-6 times. Avoid overworking it; your biscuits will be lighter if the dough isn't overworked. Press the dough into a round approx 1 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter (or a glass), cut out biscuits. Reform scrap dough and continue cutting.
4. Place biscuits on a baking sheet. Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until biscuits are golden on top.
While the biscuits are baking, time to put together the gravy!
What you'll need:
1 lb. loose sausage meat (we prefer maple-flavored, but it's not necessary)*
1/2 c. chopped onions (optional)
2 c. milk
2 Tbs. flour
1 Tbs. Worcester sauce
1 Tbs. garlic powder
salt and pepper
What you'll need to do:
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the sausage meat until cooked through. If you are including the onions, quickly saute them in another small skillet until soft and add them to the sausage meat.
2. Add the milk, flour, Worcester sauce, and garlic powder to the sausage. Turn heat down to medium-low and saute until the sauce cooks down and thickens, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pull open a fresh biscuit and use a ladel to pour sausage and gravy on top. Enjoy!
*A side note about the gravy: you will NOT want lean sausage meat for this. The fat that cooks off will help to flavor the gravy and make it really good. If you have it, adding 1 to 2 Tbs. of bacon fat would be even better; the flavor would be a little better and you would be able to cook the onion in the same skillet at the sausage meat because there would be enough fat that the onion wouldn't soak it all up as it cooks.
I will try to get back on schedule with my posts starting next week.
Graduation is always a big to-do (as it should be). But each ceremony does require a lot of planning, and it just so happens that I am in charge of a good deal of the planning (as well as coordinating at the ceremony itself). I usually have to start 5 weeks in advance to make sure everything gets done in time and nothing is left to the last minute. Needless to say, when graduation is over, there is a profound sense of relief followed quickly by exhaustion as I stumble back to my car to head home. I am lucky that my boss is willing to let me take the Friday off after every graduation so I can pack up my car and head out of town to relax at my aunt and uncle's summer home on the coast. It's always a time for me to relax, recharge, have some good food, and read a couple good books.
Last week was our most recent graduation, so Scooter and I went to the coast this last weekend. It was cold and cloudy all weekend, perfect weather in our opinion for settling in front of the fire (which we did) and soaking in the hot tub (which we also did). And of course, we always plan food to cook. We ended up making lamb again on this trip because we loved it so much last time. Saturday breakfast was biscuits and gravy, which is always a team effort. I make the biscuits and Scooter makes the sausage and gravy to with it. I don't mean to brag, but I haven't yet had biscuits and gravy elsewhere that tasted so good. We were going to have pancakes and sausage for Sunday's breakfast, but we had managed to forget the pancake mix so it was eggs, toast and sausage instead.
For this week's recipe, Scooter has agreed to let me post our biscuits and gravy recipe. I'll be using the variation of the recipe we used on the trip (there were one or two ingredients we didn't have--we wanted to cut out another trip to the store--which we include in our best, and secret, variation). I'll start with the biscuits.
Buttermilk Biscuits
What you'll need:
2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. butter/margarine, chilled
2 Tbs. shortening
1 c. buttermilk, chilled
What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter and shortening and use your fingers to mix everything together until the flour looks like crumbs. Make a well in the center of the mix and add in the buttermilk. Stir everything just until the dough comes together. It will be sticky!
3. Flour a flat surface. Turn dough out of the mixing bowl onto the prepared surface and dust a little flour on the top of the dough. Fold the dough over on itself 5-6 times. Avoid overworking it; your biscuits will be lighter if the dough isn't overworked. Press the dough into a round approx 1 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter (or a glass), cut out biscuits. Reform scrap dough and continue cutting.
4. Place biscuits on a baking sheet. Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until biscuits are golden on top.
While the biscuits are baking, time to put together the gravy!
What you'll need:
1 lb. loose sausage meat (we prefer maple-flavored, but it's not necessary)*
1/2 c. chopped onions (optional)
2 c. milk
2 Tbs. flour
1 Tbs. Worcester sauce
1 Tbs. garlic powder
salt and pepper
What you'll need to do:
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the sausage meat until cooked through. If you are including the onions, quickly saute them in another small skillet until soft and add them to the sausage meat.
2. Add the milk, flour, Worcester sauce, and garlic powder to the sausage. Turn heat down to medium-low and saute until the sauce cooks down and thickens, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pull open a fresh biscuit and use a ladel to pour sausage and gravy on top. Enjoy!
*A side note about the gravy: you will NOT want lean sausage meat for this. The fat that cooks off will help to flavor the gravy and make it really good. If you have it, adding 1 to 2 Tbs. of bacon fat would be even better; the flavor would be a little better and you would be able to cook the onion in the same skillet at the sausage meat because there would be enough fat that the onion wouldn't soak it all up as it cooks.
I will try to get back on schedule with my posts starting next week.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Family Time
This last weekend was rather busy. Scooter and I ran errands all over, taking care of things that we had been putting off for awhile (including changing my cell phone carrier--yay for cheaper/better phone plans!). It felt good to finally get those things checked off my mental "to do" list. I also have family visiting--my cousin from Sweden, and my brother from upstate New York, so I've been spending a lot of time with them as well.
One thing that I'm glad that I had the chance to do was just have some hang-out time with my sister and younger brother (the one visiting from New York). The three of us haven't hung out together in a very long time. We ended up going to a nearby mall, as my brother was interested in getting more warm-weather clothing. I ultimately invested in some retail therapy myself, getting a couple of new outfits and a necklace that caught my eye. It was so nice to spend time not thinking about what I still have to read for class or what needs to be done at work (my two biggest worries right now). It was doubly nice to be able to spend the afternoon with my siblings, browsing through stores, joking, talking, and just enjoying each other's company.
And of course, I got some more cooking in. Scooter and I went to a local wholesale store and got a rack of lamb for a good price. And we made the Best Lamb. Ever. It was tender, beautifully rare, and of course absolutely delicious. So I will share with you the recipe that made it magic: Roast Rack of Lamb from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.
What you'll need:
2 1- to 1 1/2-lb. lamb rib roasts (with or without backbone)
3 Tsp. Dijon-style mustard (I used honey Dijon)
3 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. snipped fresh rosemary (I used a little extra)
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. soft bread crumbs
1 Tbs. butter or margarine, melted
What you'll need to do:
1. Stir together mustard, lemon juice, rosemary, and salt. Rub onto the meat. In a bowl, toss together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle onto all sides of the meat.
2. Place meat on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast uncovered in a 325-degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour for medium-rare meat; a meat thermometer should read 135 degrees. (For medium, roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours; thermometer should read 150 degrees.) Remove from oven, cover with foil, and let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Slice the rib roast as desired and serve warm.
One thing to note: the original recipe calls for you to trim the fat from the meat before putting on the mustard rub. Scooter and I are of the opinion that leaving some fat adds flavor. My suggestion is to only trim off the fat that's grizzly when cooked. Using this recipe, our lamb tasted like honey-mustard butter, and it seemed to melt in our mouths. Do give this recipe a try--I hope you enjoy it as much as we did: there was nothing left on our plates when we were done!
One thing that I'm glad that I had the chance to do was just have some hang-out time with my sister and younger brother (the one visiting from New York). The three of us haven't hung out together in a very long time. We ended up going to a nearby mall, as my brother was interested in getting more warm-weather clothing. I ultimately invested in some retail therapy myself, getting a couple of new outfits and a necklace that caught my eye. It was so nice to spend time not thinking about what I still have to read for class or what needs to be done at work (my two biggest worries right now). It was doubly nice to be able to spend the afternoon with my siblings, browsing through stores, joking, talking, and just enjoying each other's company.
And of course, I got some more cooking in. Scooter and I went to a local wholesale store and got a rack of lamb for a good price. And we made the Best Lamb. Ever. It was tender, beautifully rare, and of course absolutely delicious. So I will share with you the recipe that made it magic: Roast Rack of Lamb from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.
What you'll need:
2 1- to 1 1/2-lb. lamb rib roasts (with or without backbone)
3 Tsp. Dijon-style mustard (I used honey Dijon)
3 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. snipped fresh rosemary (I used a little extra)
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. soft bread crumbs
1 Tbs. butter or margarine, melted
What you'll need to do:
1. Stir together mustard, lemon juice, rosemary, and salt. Rub onto the meat. In a bowl, toss together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle onto all sides of the meat.
2. Place meat on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast uncovered in a 325-degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour for medium-rare meat; a meat thermometer should read 135 degrees. (For medium, roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours; thermometer should read 150 degrees.) Remove from oven, cover with foil, and let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Slice the rib roast as desired and serve warm.
One thing to note: the original recipe calls for you to trim the fat from the meat before putting on the mustard rub. Scooter and I are of the opinion that leaving some fat adds flavor. My suggestion is to only trim off the fat that's grizzly when cooked. Using this recipe, our lamb tasted like honey-mustard butter, and it seemed to melt in our mouths. Do give this recipe a try--I hope you enjoy it as much as we did: there was nothing left on our plates when we were done!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
There's politics in everything!
This last week in my class, I was surprised by how much politics is involved with libraries and librarians. I just wanted to note a few of my thoughts about this here.
My instructor brought to our attention a recent piece of news: privatizing libraries. In this story, we hear about LSSI--a privately-owned and run company--taking over public libraries in order to deal with the budget crisis that many libraries are facing. While this may come from good intentions, it really leaves a lot of questions unanswered. How will the libraries be run? Will the libraries still follow the value systems and credos inherent in the public library system? What about privacy--will the private company be as active in protecting its "customers" (patrons) as public libraries are now? I also find several of Mr. Pezzanite's comments to be very misleading, specifically those discussing the work ethic of librarians. "You can go to a library for 35 years and never have to do anything and then have your retirement." Despite what many people may think, librarians work hard. They have to in order to meet the needs of the patrons--and now more so than ever with the recession. Librarians assist patrons in a multitude of ways--and on many levels--while also often managing the administrative side of the library like building collections, managing budgets (which often includes grant-writing), and planning for future development. Many librarians publish in journals and/or teach on top of that. Mr. Pezzanite's practice of automatically getting rid of unionized employees just because they belong to a union isn't ethical either. Employees should be hired/fired based on ability (or lack thereof) and performance. It's not a guarantee that anyone the private company brings in has the level of training that librarians go through either. And I seriously question any company that won't discuss its profitability, especially in this case--it's too close to acting like there's something to hide.
The other hot topic in my class right now is the presence of homeless in public libraries. Some public libraries around the nation are enacting things like "odor policies" and other regulations that, in the end, exclude the homeless from public library services. Putting those policies/regulations on top of other laws that have been put into place, it's turned into a situation where we are criminalizing the poor/homeless by punishing them for something that's out of their control. We've taken their dignity by no longer treating them as human. In one of my posts to my class, I likened them to the Untouchables of the pre-modern Indian caste system. Many times, the local public library is the only sanctuary these folks have to rest, relax, and feel safe. To this end, I would like to see more social workers connected with libraries or groups of libraries (like those that are part of the same county system, for example) in order to provide services to the homeless and the poor that frequent the buildings (we learned that San Francisco Public Library is one of the few--if not the only--libraries that has a social worker on at the library for this reason). I've also decided that my first large-scale (grant) project will be to develop a directory of public libraries that offer any programs that focus on the poor and/or homeless and what those programs are. Librarians have become de facto social workers, but lack the training to effectively help these people. My instructor helped explain why this is--she said that often, this topic isn't taught in MLIS or MLS programs because it's thought to be too radical. I'm hoping the directory can provide guidance to those libraries that have no programs already in place. And maybe something even bigger will come out of it.
There are a lot more political topics in librarianship--censorship (Banned Book Week just went by recently), freedom of information, open access, and others--but I'll leave these other topics for another day.
My instructor brought to our attention a recent piece of news: privatizing libraries. In this story, we hear about LSSI--a privately-owned and run company--taking over public libraries in order to deal with the budget crisis that many libraries are facing. While this may come from good intentions, it really leaves a lot of questions unanswered. How will the libraries be run? Will the libraries still follow the value systems and credos inherent in the public library system? What about privacy--will the private company be as active in protecting its "customers" (patrons) as public libraries are now? I also find several of Mr. Pezzanite's comments to be very misleading, specifically those discussing the work ethic of librarians. "You can go to a library for 35 years and never have to do anything and then have your retirement." Despite what many people may think, librarians work hard. They have to in order to meet the needs of the patrons--and now more so than ever with the recession. Librarians assist patrons in a multitude of ways--and on many levels--while also often managing the administrative side of the library like building collections, managing budgets (which often includes grant-writing), and planning for future development. Many librarians publish in journals and/or teach on top of that. Mr. Pezzanite's practice of automatically getting rid of unionized employees just because they belong to a union isn't ethical either. Employees should be hired/fired based on ability (or lack thereof) and performance. It's not a guarantee that anyone the private company brings in has the level of training that librarians go through either. And I seriously question any company that won't discuss its profitability, especially in this case--it's too close to acting like there's something to hide.
The other hot topic in my class right now is the presence of homeless in public libraries. Some public libraries around the nation are enacting things like "odor policies" and other regulations that, in the end, exclude the homeless from public library services. Putting those policies/regulations on top of other laws that have been put into place, it's turned into a situation where we are criminalizing the poor/homeless by punishing them for something that's out of their control. We've taken their dignity by no longer treating them as human. In one of my posts to my class, I likened them to the Untouchables of the pre-modern Indian caste system. Many times, the local public library is the only sanctuary these folks have to rest, relax, and feel safe. To this end, I would like to see more social workers connected with libraries or groups of libraries (like those that are part of the same county system, for example) in order to provide services to the homeless and the poor that frequent the buildings (we learned that San Francisco Public Library is one of the few--if not the only--libraries that has a social worker on at the library for this reason). I've also decided that my first large-scale (grant) project will be to develop a directory of public libraries that offer any programs that focus on the poor and/or homeless and what those programs are. Librarians have become de facto social workers, but lack the training to effectively help these people. My instructor helped explain why this is--she said that often, this topic isn't taught in MLIS or MLS programs because it's thought to be too radical. I'm hoping the directory can provide guidance to those libraries that have no programs already in place. And maybe something even bigger will come out of it.
There are a lot more political topics in librarianship--censorship (Banned Book Week just went by recently), freedom of information, open access, and others--but I'll leave these other topics for another day.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
What a way to spend a vacation!
I know that I said I would post something about my weekend out of town with Scooter. We drove down the coast to a small town that's very lovely. He wanted to visit the aquarium there, so we got two-day passes for the price of one day through the hotel we stayed at. Between the aquarium, the vast array of restaurants specializing in seafood, all the local shops full of souvenirs and curious items, there was a lot to see and do. Two nights was not nearly enough! Here's a few highlights from the aquarium, the restaurant where we had dinner, and the trip.
Surprisingly, all of these pictures were taken with the camera from my phone. From what we learned using that for our pictures, we need to invest in a better camera--one that can deal better with movement. We had to delete a lot of the pictures simply because they were too blurred.
We also got a photo album that we're going to fill with pictures from this and future adventures. Scooter and I have the travel bug and look forward to our next trip!
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| This was the view from the balcony of our room at the hotel. The weather was perfect the whole weekend. |
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| One of the creatures featured in the jellyfish exhibit at the aquarium |
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| a sea anemone |
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| We caught the feeding time at this tank of kelp forest fish. |
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| I love the exquisite colors of tropical fish! |
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| It was a vacation, and yet we were up early enough to see the sun rise! So much for sleeping in. |
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| This is where we celebrated Scooter's birthday by having an absolutely incredible meal. Scooter is smart--he got us reservations in time to see the sky darken as the sun set. This entire room was covered by a big glass dome (as you can see in the picture). |
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| Around the outside of the room were green trees, some with twinkle lights that were lit as the sky darkened. |
We also got a photo album that we're going to fill with pictures from this and future adventures. Scooter and I have the travel bug and look forward to our next trip!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Dinner & Dessert
Between work, school, and life, I haven't had much time left over for things like posting to my blog. For this, I apologize. There won't be a lot of substance to this post in terms of personal opinion, anecdotes, or more of what I've learned. Rather, I've decided to post two recipes this week instead of just one. I did get the chance to make a good dinner for Scooter and me last night (including dessert!), so I figured I'd share more recipes instead of cutting this post short. So I have for you, my readers, dinner and dessert: beef stroganoff and creme brulee.
First, the beef stroganoff.
What you'll need:
2 lbs. beef chuck roast
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
4 oz. butter (1 stick)
4 green onions, sliced
4 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 10.5-oz. can of beef broth
1 tsp. mustard (I used honey Dijon)
1 6-oz. can of sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. sour cream
1/3 c. white wine
What you'll need to do:
1. Trim off any fat and gristle from the meat and cut into strips 1/2 inch thick and 2 inches long. Put into a bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Feel free to add a little more salt and pepper if you want (I did).
2. In a large frying pan, melt the butter and quickly brown the beef strips over medium-high heat. Once the meat is browned, reduce to medium heat and put the meat to one side of the pan. Add the onions and cook slowly for 3-5 minutes, then push to the side with the meat.
3. Stir the flour into the juices on the empty side of the pan. Pour in the beef broth, mix well, and bring the pan to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat to low and stir in the mustard. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
4. Five minutes before serving, stir in the mushrooms, sour cream, and white wine. Bring the heat back up to medium for 1-2 minutes, then remove the pan from the stove. Salt and pepper to taste (if desired) and serve over egg noodles.
The original recipe can be found here. I added more sour cream than the recipe called for because I like a creamier flavor. Serve with vegetables on the side and a nice glass of wine (the recipe recommends a syrah).
Now for dessert: the creme brulee!
What you'll need:
4 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 c. brown sugar
6 custard dishes
What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and vanilla to simmer. Remove from heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.
3. In a bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together. Whisk in the cream until everything is well-blended. Pour the mixture into custard dishes.
4. Place the dished into a large baking dish. Pour boiling water into the baking dish so that the water level comes half way up the custard dishes.
5. Put the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Take the custard dishes out of the baking dish and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
6. When you're just about ready to serve dessert, top each custard dish with the brown sugar. You can either melt the sugar under the oven broiler until it bubbles or use a kitchen torch to melt it.
Voila! You are finished. I don't remember where I originally got this recipe (I've had it for years), but it's really easy, and creme brulee is such a fun thing to serve. You can also add cocoa powder to the mix before baking it if you want to add a little chocolate flavor. Serve with fruit or a light cookie (like a Madeline or Lady's Fingers) on the side if you wish.
I hope you enjoy these recipes!
First, the beef stroganoff.
What you'll need:
2 lbs. beef chuck roast
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
4 oz. butter (1 stick)
4 green onions, sliced
4 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 10.5-oz. can of beef broth
1 tsp. mustard (I used honey Dijon)
1 6-oz. can of sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. sour cream
1/3 c. white wine
What you'll need to do:
1. Trim off any fat and gristle from the meat and cut into strips 1/2 inch thick and 2 inches long. Put into a bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Feel free to add a little more salt and pepper if you want (I did).
2. In a large frying pan, melt the butter and quickly brown the beef strips over medium-high heat. Once the meat is browned, reduce to medium heat and put the meat to one side of the pan. Add the onions and cook slowly for 3-5 minutes, then push to the side with the meat.
3. Stir the flour into the juices on the empty side of the pan. Pour in the beef broth, mix well, and bring the pan to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat to low and stir in the mustard. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
4. Five minutes before serving, stir in the mushrooms, sour cream, and white wine. Bring the heat back up to medium for 1-2 minutes, then remove the pan from the stove. Salt and pepper to taste (if desired) and serve over egg noodles.
The original recipe can be found here. I added more sour cream than the recipe called for because I like a creamier flavor. Serve with vegetables on the side and a nice glass of wine (the recipe recommends a syrah).
Now for dessert: the creme brulee!
What you'll need:
4 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 c. brown sugar
6 custard dishes
What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and vanilla to simmer. Remove from heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.
3. In a bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together. Whisk in the cream until everything is well-blended. Pour the mixture into custard dishes.
4. Place the dished into a large baking dish. Pour boiling water into the baking dish so that the water level comes half way up the custard dishes.
5. Put the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Take the custard dishes out of the baking dish and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
6. When you're just about ready to serve dessert, top each custard dish with the brown sugar. You can either melt the sugar under the oven broiler until it bubbles or use a kitchen torch to melt it.
Voila! You are finished. I don't remember where I originally got this recipe (I've had it for years), but it's really easy, and creme brulee is such a fun thing to serve. You can also add cocoa powder to the mix before baking it if you want to add a little chocolate flavor. Serve with fruit or a light cookie (like a Madeline or Lady's Fingers) on the side if you wish.
I hope you enjoy these recipes!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Integrity Part 2
I have just a bit more on the topic of library integrity. I think integrity in the library is best outlined with the Library Bill of Rights (originally found here):
I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
VI. Libraries that make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.
This Bill of Rights was adopted in its first form on June 19, 1939. Several amendments have been made since then. I think that it outlines quite well what responsibility and duty the library has to the community, and the standards by which that responsibility and duty is upheld.
I'll move right along to this week's recipe. I didn't do any cooking this weekend. Scooter and I went out of town to celebrate his birthday (which was on Saturday). We had an amazing time, and I will be posting the story of our trip (and maybe a picture) possibly tomorrow or Thursday. This week's recipe is one that I found on the back of a package of manicotti pasta and have made several times since: spinach and mushroom manicotti.
What you'll need:
1 box (8 oz.) manicotti
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
6 oz. mushrooms, chopped
1 clove minced garlic
1 bag (6 oz.) fresh spinach, chopped
2 eggs
1 15oz. container ricotta cheese
1/3 c. chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tsp. salt
1 jar pasta sauce (I prefer a blush sauce)
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook the manicotti for 7 minutes in boiling water. Drain and rinse in cool water, then set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spinach and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Set pan aside to cool.
3. Beat the eggs lightly in a medium bowl. Stir in the ricotta cheese, basil, and salt. Stir in the spinach and mushroom mixture.
4. Spread about 3/4 c. of the pasta sauce over the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Fill the manicotti with the spinach and mushroom mixture and place in the dish. Pour the remaining sauce evenly over the filled shells. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.
5. Cover the dish with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Enjoy!
I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
VI. Libraries that make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.
This Bill of Rights was adopted in its first form on June 19, 1939. Several amendments have been made since then. I think that it outlines quite well what responsibility and duty the library has to the community, and the standards by which that responsibility and duty is upheld.
I'll move right along to this week's recipe. I didn't do any cooking this weekend. Scooter and I went out of town to celebrate his birthday (which was on Saturday). We had an amazing time, and I will be posting the story of our trip (and maybe a picture) possibly tomorrow or Thursday. This week's recipe is one that I found on the back of a package of manicotti pasta and have made several times since: spinach and mushroom manicotti.
What you'll need:
1 box (8 oz.) manicotti
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
6 oz. mushrooms, chopped
1 clove minced garlic
1 bag (6 oz.) fresh spinach, chopped
2 eggs
1 15oz. container ricotta cheese
1/3 c. chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tsp. salt
1 jar pasta sauce (I prefer a blush sauce)
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook the manicotti for 7 minutes in boiling water. Drain and rinse in cool water, then set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spinach and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Set pan aside to cool.
3. Beat the eggs lightly in a medium bowl. Stir in the ricotta cheese, basil, and salt. Stir in the spinach and mushroom mixture.
4. Spread about 3/4 c. of the pasta sauce over the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Fill the manicotti with the spinach and mushroom mixture and place in the dish. Pour the remaining sauce evenly over the filled shells. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.
5. Cover the dish with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Integrity
This week, the entire staff of the campus I work at (minus the instructors who had to remain on site to continue classes as normal) went to an off-site "Integrity Training." Let me give you a little recent history that will help to explain why.
I work for a trade school, more specifically, a for-profit school. Most (if not all) for-profit schools have programs for things like trades, medical assistants, criminal justice, etc (career programs). The programs are accelerated, fast-paced programs designed to get the students through school in much less time than a program in a more traditional school. This gets the student into their career in 2 years or less, rather than 4 years or more. One thing in particular to note about for-profit schools (at least the one I work for), they allow minority and low-income students who might not be able to attend a traditional school to educate themselves and give themselves an opportunity for a good job that they probably wouldn't have had otherwise. This mission is something that I can stand behind, and I think it's a wonderful thing to be able to give someone the chance they never had until now.
That being said, a video was recently released about what some for-profit schools are doing. Two men (news reporters, I think) went undercover and mystery-shopped several for-profit campuses across the state, meaning that they pretended to be real students looking to enroll at these schools. Their interactions with Admissions and Financial Aid representatives at these campuses were secretly video taped--and the results were shocking. The campus representatives were engaging in very illegal activity, including one case where the mystery shopper was told by a Financial Aid representative to omit on his FAFSA that he had $250,000 in his bank account to give him a better chance to get funding. Another two cases had an Admissions representative denying the mystery shopper the ability to talk to Financial Aid to see how much assistance he would get before he signed an enrollment agreement.
None of the schools owned by the corporation that owns the school I work for were involved in anything shown on the video (thankfully). Yet the damage is still done. For-profit schools now have a bad name because of what a handful of schools were doing (two of them closed because of content of the video). And now Congress is stepping in. Congress is trying to pass legislation (called the "Gainful Employment Rule") that would put harsher restrictions on these schools--and some programs at community colleges--leading to negative impact on the students and their ability to get funding for financial aid. No financial aid means the students wouldn't be able to afford the programs on their own. You can visit MyCareerCounts.org for more information on the topic (and to help support the opposition to this rule if you would like).
In response to this, the mother corporation of my school did a nation-wise training day to re-establish our policies that we have in place and really examine why we have them and how they are implemented. My school especially prides itself on doing things the right (ethical) way, and our internal and accreditation audits have consistently shown our ability to carry out all policies well.
One thing to come out of this was my personal reflection on integrity in general and library integrity specifically. In what ways must I exhibit integrity in the library? What problems could occur that would question my integrity? What about in other libraries? What does integrity in a library mean? I'm going to take this weekend to reflect on these and other questions that I have. Maybe I'll post my conclusions on Monday. I won't have much time to do any cooking this weekend, so I'll also post a recipe that I've made in the past and liked as well.
I work for a trade school, more specifically, a for-profit school. Most (if not all) for-profit schools have programs for things like trades, medical assistants, criminal justice, etc (career programs). The programs are accelerated, fast-paced programs designed to get the students through school in much less time than a program in a more traditional school. This gets the student into their career in 2 years or less, rather than 4 years or more. One thing in particular to note about for-profit schools (at least the one I work for), they allow minority and low-income students who might not be able to attend a traditional school to educate themselves and give themselves an opportunity for a good job that they probably wouldn't have had otherwise. This mission is something that I can stand behind, and I think it's a wonderful thing to be able to give someone the chance they never had until now.
That being said, a video was recently released about what some for-profit schools are doing. Two men (news reporters, I think) went undercover and mystery-shopped several for-profit campuses across the state, meaning that they pretended to be real students looking to enroll at these schools. Their interactions with Admissions and Financial Aid representatives at these campuses were secretly video taped--and the results were shocking. The campus representatives were engaging in very illegal activity, including one case where the mystery shopper was told by a Financial Aid representative to omit on his FAFSA that he had $250,000 in his bank account to give him a better chance to get funding. Another two cases had an Admissions representative denying the mystery shopper the ability to talk to Financial Aid to see how much assistance he would get before he signed an enrollment agreement.
None of the schools owned by the corporation that owns the school I work for were involved in anything shown on the video (thankfully). Yet the damage is still done. For-profit schools now have a bad name because of what a handful of schools were doing (two of them closed because of content of the video). And now Congress is stepping in. Congress is trying to pass legislation (called the "Gainful Employment Rule") that would put harsher restrictions on these schools--and some programs at community colleges--leading to negative impact on the students and their ability to get funding for financial aid. No financial aid means the students wouldn't be able to afford the programs on their own. You can visit MyCareerCounts.org for more information on the topic (and to help support the opposition to this rule if you would like).
In response to this, the mother corporation of my school did a nation-wise training day to re-establish our policies that we have in place and really examine why we have them and how they are implemented. My school especially prides itself on doing things the right (ethical) way, and our internal and accreditation audits have consistently shown our ability to carry out all policies well.
One thing to come out of this was my personal reflection on integrity in general and library integrity specifically. In what ways must I exhibit integrity in the library? What problems could occur that would question my integrity? What about in other libraries? What does integrity in a library mean? I'm going to take this weekend to reflect on these and other questions that I have. Maybe I'll post my conclusions on Monday. I won't have much time to do any cooking this weekend, so I'll also post a recipe that I've made in the past and liked as well.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Okonomi...what?
I've developed a "study climate" when I'm working on any kind of schoolwork, whether it be writing a paper, reading assigned text, or attending one of my weekly online class meetings. I wish I had done this long ago back when I was working on my undergraduate degree.
What is my study climate? Well, it starts with a little routine. I water all of my plants. I have five pots now, three outside my front door and two inside my apartment. Two of the outside pots hold impatiens, and the third is growing some pansies from seed (they sprouted last week!). I have a lucky bamboo in a small pot on my desk and a small pot of African violets in my bedroom on one of my bookcases. Something so simple as watering is a connection to the gardening that I love to do when I get the chance.
After the plants are watered, I turn on the lamps for softer lighting than the overhead light and my desk lamp so I can easily see what I'm working on. I light a number of candles around my front room and on my desk, and I turn on my TV to a local classical radio station I get through Comcast. All of this helps me to relax and let go of my worries, which in turn allows me to concentrate on studying. It's a wonderful climate to sit and study in. I just wish that I had started this back in my first years in college.
And now for this week's recipe: okonomiyaki. This is a Japanese dish also known as Japanese pizza (although there isn't that many similarities between pizza and this). I learned how to make this years ago, back when my high school friends and I were fascinated with Japanese anime and the Japanese culture. My interest in anime has since faded, but I still highly respect the culture. This recipe has ingredients that may be hard to find; anything not available at your local supermarket (including the special mayonnaise and the Okonomi sauce) should be available at an Asian supermarket. The original recipe comes from the back of the Okonomi sauce bottle.
What you'll need:
1 c. flour
3/4 c. water
4 eggs
8 oz. of meat or shrimp (or a combination if you like)
10 large cabbage leaves
1/4 c. shredded pickled ginger
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
Kewpie mayonnaise
Otafuku Okonomi sauce
What you'll need to do:
1. Thinly slice your meat of choice. If you're using shrimp, cut it into bite-size pieces (I tend to use baby shrimp--these don't need to be cut up).
2. Rinse the cabbage leaves and thinly slice them.
3. In a large bowl, add the flour and water and mix together. Whisk in the eggs to make a batter. Add the cabbage, shredded ginger, and meat/shrimp. Mix everything together until the cabbage and meat are thoroughly coated with the batter.
4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Pour in enough of the batter mixture to make a 6-inch griddle cake. Cook until nice and golden brown on both sides.
5. Remove from frying pan and put onto a plate. Top with the Kewpie mayonnaise and the Otafuku Okonomi sauce and serve hot.
Finish with a Japanese sweet like mochi (a recipe I'll try to post another time). Scooter seems to like this a lot, so I've made it more than once including last Saturday night. Enjoy!
What is my study climate? Well, it starts with a little routine. I water all of my plants. I have five pots now, three outside my front door and two inside my apartment. Two of the outside pots hold impatiens, and the third is growing some pansies from seed (they sprouted last week!). I have a lucky bamboo in a small pot on my desk and a small pot of African violets in my bedroom on one of my bookcases. Something so simple as watering is a connection to the gardening that I love to do when I get the chance.
After the plants are watered, I turn on the lamps for softer lighting than the overhead light and my desk lamp so I can easily see what I'm working on. I light a number of candles around my front room and on my desk, and I turn on my TV to a local classical radio station I get through Comcast. All of this helps me to relax and let go of my worries, which in turn allows me to concentrate on studying. It's a wonderful climate to sit and study in. I just wish that I had started this back in my first years in college.
And now for this week's recipe: okonomiyaki. This is a Japanese dish also known as Japanese pizza (although there isn't that many similarities between pizza and this). I learned how to make this years ago, back when my high school friends and I were fascinated with Japanese anime and the Japanese culture. My interest in anime has since faded, but I still highly respect the culture. This recipe has ingredients that may be hard to find; anything not available at your local supermarket (including the special mayonnaise and the Okonomi sauce) should be available at an Asian supermarket. The original recipe comes from the back of the Okonomi sauce bottle.
What you'll need:
1 c. flour
3/4 c. water
4 eggs
8 oz. of meat or shrimp (or a combination if you like)
10 large cabbage leaves
1/4 c. shredded pickled ginger
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
Kewpie mayonnaise
Otafuku Okonomi sauce
What you'll need to do:
1. Thinly slice your meat of choice. If you're using shrimp, cut it into bite-size pieces (I tend to use baby shrimp--these don't need to be cut up).
2. Rinse the cabbage leaves and thinly slice them.
3. In a large bowl, add the flour and water and mix together. Whisk in the eggs to make a batter. Add the cabbage, shredded ginger, and meat/shrimp. Mix everything together until the cabbage and meat are thoroughly coated with the batter.
4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Pour in enough of the batter mixture to make a 6-inch griddle cake. Cook until nice and golden brown on both sides.
5. Remove from frying pan and put onto a plate. Top with the Kewpie mayonnaise and the Otafuku Okonomi sauce and serve hot.
Finish with a Japanese sweet like mochi (a recipe I'll try to post another time). Scooter seems to like this a lot, so I've made it more than once including last Saturday night. Enjoy!
Friday, September 17, 2010
The Future of the Library
I've been learning a lot in my class. So many greats in the library field that I never knew about before are speaking their wisdom to me from the pages of their writing. There's a lot about the profession and about libraries that deserves respect and admiration. Those that worry about libraries because they think books are slowly disappearing would be surprised by all the evidence to the contrary. Libraries fulfill so many roles now, and they're redefining their purpose. The only threat to libraries currently is funding, which in many cases has led to cuts on staff and/or hours, and in some cases has caused libraries to close altogether. Despite this, there have been many communities that have rallied together to save their libraries, and there are libraries that continue to do well despite the recession and funding problems.
I took some time to reflect and think about what I would like to see more of in libraries. I think that their biggest roles in the future will be community-wise and civic-wise. I also think that libraries should fully embrace the trends of technology and find ways to get it to work for them, not against them. Here are 10 things I came up with that I would like to see more in our libraries.
1. Libraries building relationships with e-reader device companies Amazon and Barnes & Noble for program development that would allow patrons to borrow books from their Kindle or Nook. Ideally, libraries with this capability would also have the appropriate devices that patrons could borrow as well. The lending program would have the following features:
a. Users would be able to browse through their local library’s digital collection and take out or renew items, or even put items on hold. I would see libraries as being allowed to release up to 5 digital copies of a title at once.
b. A built-in customizable alert that would let the user know when he/she has 0-2 days left on an item.
c. Customizable views of the digital item, including larger font for those who have trouble reading small type.
d. Minimal or no advertisements. Links for buying the product would be discretely placed (Nooks would link to the product on Barnes & Noble's site, Kindles would have likewise for the Amazon site).
e. Once the loan time is up, the item would be automatically “returned” and the digital copy removed from the patron’s device. It would no longer be available to the patron unless he/she checked the item out again.
2. Libraries hosting school-like events, including spelling bees and science fairs. This would allow home-schooled children to participate alongside their publicly- or privately-schooled peers.
3. iPhone, iPad, cellphone, and computer desktop aps/widgets that allow patrons to chat with local librarians during business hours using real-time messaging.
4. Libraries hosting other events, like art shows featuring artwork inspired by books and cover artists, and International Food Day festivals to celebrate community diversity.
5. Themed book fairs with guest authors, with themes along the lines of "It's Great to Be a Kid!" and "Teen Reader."
6. Raffles or silent auctions with interesting and unique prizes, with all proceeds going to help fund expanding collections or upgrading equipment (things that would be very hard to do with reduced funding).
7. Libraries authoring RSS feeds with the latest news about their library, with possible incentives for those who subscribe (including things like money off of community event tickets, etc.).
8. Libraries acting as a venue for locals to bring their community-based problems (maybe providing online forums for locals to speak with their mayors, community boards, etc.?), and a growing partnership between the library and city government.
9. More technology workshops that not only deal with computers, but that also address iPhones, iPads, smart phones, hand-held game devices, digital cameras, and all other technologies that patrons express a desire to learn more about (probably directed towards the older audience).
10. Classes that teach parents about the latest technology trends for children and teens and how to make sure their kids are safe while using them. One thing addressed should be teaching parents how to talk to their kids about this.
A lot of libraries around the country have already become a center for their community and may already be doing some or most of these things. I would just like to see these kinds of things be more wide-spread. Maybe my outlook is a little jaded because of the type of library that I work in (it would be considered a specialized library). I plan to complete an internship at a public library at some point during my Master's, since I seem to be leaning towards a possible future career in a public library. I'm hoping that I may be able to implement some of these things at whatever public library I end up working in 5-10 years from now.
I still have a lot to learn before I get there.
I took some time to reflect and think about what I would like to see more of in libraries. I think that their biggest roles in the future will be community-wise and civic-wise. I also think that libraries should fully embrace the trends of technology and find ways to get it to work for them, not against them. Here are 10 things I came up with that I would like to see more in our libraries.
1. Libraries building relationships with e-reader device companies Amazon and Barnes & Noble for program development that would allow patrons to borrow books from their Kindle or Nook. Ideally, libraries with this capability would also have the appropriate devices that patrons could borrow as well. The lending program would have the following features:
a. Users would be able to browse through their local library’s digital collection and take out or renew items, or even put items on hold. I would see libraries as being allowed to release up to 5 digital copies of a title at once.
b. A built-in customizable alert that would let the user know when he/she has 0-2 days left on an item.
c. Customizable views of the digital item, including larger font for those who have trouble reading small type.
d. Minimal or no advertisements. Links for buying the product would be discretely placed (Nooks would link to the product on Barnes & Noble's site, Kindles would have likewise for the Amazon site).
e. Once the loan time is up, the item would be automatically “returned” and the digital copy removed from the patron’s device. It would no longer be available to the patron unless he/she checked the item out again.
2. Libraries hosting school-like events, including spelling bees and science fairs. This would allow home-schooled children to participate alongside their publicly- or privately-schooled peers.
3. iPhone, iPad, cellphone, and computer desktop aps/widgets that allow patrons to chat with local librarians during business hours using real-time messaging.
4. Libraries hosting other events, like art shows featuring artwork inspired by books and cover artists, and International Food Day festivals to celebrate community diversity.
5. Themed book fairs with guest authors, with themes along the lines of "It's Great to Be a Kid!" and "Teen Reader."
6. Raffles or silent auctions with interesting and unique prizes, with all proceeds going to help fund expanding collections or upgrading equipment (things that would be very hard to do with reduced funding).
7. Libraries authoring RSS feeds with the latest news about their library, with possible incentives for those who subscribe (including things like money off of community event tickets, etc.).
8. Libraries acting as a venue for locals to bring their community-based problems (maybe providing online forums for locals to speak with their mayors, community boards, etc.?), and a growing partnership between the library and city government.
9. More technology workshops that not only deal with computers, but that also address iPhones, iPads, smart phones, hand-held game devices, digital cameras, and all other technologies that patrons express a desire to learn more about (probably directed towards the older audience).
10. Classes that teach parents about the latest technology trends for children and teens and how to make sure their kids are safe while using them. One thing addressed should be teaching parents how to talk to their kids about this.
A lot of libraries around the country have already become a center for their community and may already be doing some or most of these things. I would just like to see these kinds of things be more wide-spread. Maybe my outlook is a little jaded because of the type of library that I work in (it would be considered a specialized library). I plan to complete an internship at a public library at some point during my Master's, since I seem to be leaning towards a possible future career in a public library. I'm hoping that I may be able to implement some of these things at whatever public library I end up working in 5-10 years from now.
I still have a lot to learn before I get there.
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