Come to the library and listen to home-brewers from the Greater Topeka Hall of Foamers, a local brewing club, as they discuss different aspects of home-brewing. In April we listened as they presented a basic session on how to get started. Plan attending every third Thursday through July to hear about other advanced brewing topics 7-8:30PM in Marvin Auditorium. Come to the presentations even if you are a beginner because as one of the experts said last night you will learn more by connecting with others and learning from each other’s experiences.

Let’s Make Beer: All Grain Brewing
June 20, 2013 7-8:30PM Marvin Auditorium 101B
Combine cooking and crafting by learning how to make your own beer at home as home-brewers discuss the advanced all-grain brewing technique.

Let’s Make Beer: Mead and Beyond
July 18, 2013 7-8:30PM Marvin Auditorium 101C
Combine cooking and crafting to express your individuality and create your own special beers at home. A home-brewer discusses how to create advanced creations, such as meads.

What is your favorite style of beer? Let me know below! In the meantime, find these books at the library to enjoy and expand your experience in the Cooking Neighborhood.

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When my husband and I first started cooking on our own I barely cooked with meat for two reasons: 1.) It grossed me out to touch it and 2.) I wanted to experiment more with meat-free cooking. Okay, there is also an element of laziness added in this equation, but we will ignore that factor for now.

When I first discovered the Cooking section of the library, it was kind of magical because I could borrow as many cookbooks as I wanted for FREE (up to 99 items, of course, but I didn’t go that crazy!). I still highly utilize the collections (our Circulation staff can tell you how often I receive requested cookbooks!), and enjoy trying new recipes. If you are wanting to incorporate more meat-free meals in your diet and maybe even try your own Meat-Free Monday (or whatever day of the week you prefer), below are recommended titles along with the author’s cooking blog.

1. Betty Goes Vegan: 500 Classic Recipes for the Modern Family by Annie Shannon (February 5, 2013) *blog
2. Cook Without a Book: Meatless Meals, Recipes, and Techniques for Part-time and Full-time Vegetarians by Pam Anderson (October 25, 2011) *blog
3. Cooking Light Way to Cook Vegetarian (October 19, 2010)
4. Herbivoracious: a Flavor Revolution With 150 Vibrant and Original Vegetarian Recipes by Michael Natkin (May 1, 2012) *blog
5. The Meat Free Monday Cookbook by Meat Free Monday Campaign, Annie Riggs and Paul, Stella, & Mary McCartney (March 19, 2012) *blog
6. The Meat Lover’s Meatless Celebrations: Year-Round Vegetarian Feasts (You Can Really Sink Your Teeth Into) by Kim O’Donnel (October 23, 2012) *blog
7. Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes (January 8, 2013)
8. More Peas, Thank You: Over 85 Vegetarian Recipes for Delicious and Healthy Meals by Sarah Matheny (March 26, 2013) *blog
9. Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi (March 23, 2011) *blog
10. Vegetable Literacy: Cooking and Gardening with Twelve Families from the Edible Plant Kingdom, With Over 300 Delicious Simple Recipes by Deborah Madison (March 12, 2013) *blog

What other titles would you add to this list? Don’t forget about the wide variety of cooking magazines you can borrow from your library, including: Vegetarian Times, Cooking Light, Martha Stewart Living, etc, all of which usually include vegetarian recipes each month.

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Pick up a copy of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephan Chbosky for the May 28, 2013 7-8:30PM Bean There, Read That book discussion at The Classic Bean (21st and Fairlawn) for young professionals.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story about what it’s like to travel that strange course through the uncharted territory of high school. The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. Of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Of those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. Published 1999. 215 pages. Description from Publisher.

If you are interested in reading this, you can nab a copy at the previous month’s meeting or at the Reference Desk, first-come, first served.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd will be discussed Tuesday June 25, 2013 7-8:30PM at The Classic Bean. As always, plan to bring cash for drinks and food as young professionals in their 20s/30s gather for this discussion.

If you have questions or you would like to receive email reminders, contact me at eseeger@tscpl.org. Don’t forget to add to the conversation on the Library’s Goodreads page!

For the month of April Bean There, Read That will read and discuss The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I am pretty excited to hear differing opinions, especially after talking with a colleague who hated the book, while I loved reading it. What is it about? Well…

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Later, when the money ran out, the Walls retreated to a dismal West Virginia mining town. What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Published in 2005; 288 pages.

If you are interested in reading this, you can nab a copy at the Reference Desk, first-come, first served.

 The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Wells will be discussed Tuesday April 23, 2013 7-8:30PM at The Classic Bean (21st and Fairlawn). As always, plan to bring cash for drinks and food as young professionals in their 20s/30s gather for discussion.

In May we are reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky.

If you have questions or you would like to receive email reminders, contact me at eseeger@tscpl.org. Don’t forget to add to the conversation on the Library’s Goodreads page!

1. Modern Sauces by  Martha Holmberg (October 17, 2012)
2. The Food52 Cookbook, Volume 2: Seasonal Recipes from Our Kitchens to Yours by Amanda Hesser (December 4, 2012)
3. Real Snacks: Make Your Favorite Childhood Treats Without All the Junk by Lara Ferroni (October 30, 2012)
4. The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden (June 7, 2011)
5. Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry by Liana Krisoff (August 1, 2010)
6. Put’em Up!: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling by Sherri Brooks Vinton (June 24, 2010)
7. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman (October 30, 2012)
8. Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza by Ken Forkish (September 28, 2012)
9. Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust by Ina Garten (October 30, 2013)
10. Keys to the Kitchen: The Essential Reference for Becoming a More Accomplished, Adventurous Cook by Aida Mollenkamp (October 24, 2012)

If you cannot tell from the above selection, my current obsession is canning and I was very excited to see many of these titles on order. What are you looking forward to flipping (and maybe actually cooking!) through?

Okay, I admit that for the longest time I was not looking forward to reading this book, one reason being I tend to judge books by their covers (bad habit), and the cover of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin convinced me this would be a sad, depressing book, which I was not in the mood for. Luckily I had to read it to discuss it on a podcast and I could not put it down once I started. 10 pages in and I was hooked!

In the 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas “32″ Jones were boyhood pals in a small town in rural Mississippi. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry was the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, black single mother. But then Larry took a girl to a drive-in movie and she was never seen or heard from again. He never confessed . . . and was never charged. More than twenty years have passed. Larry lives a solitary, shunned existence…Silas has become the town constable. And now another girl has disappeared…

If you are interested in reading this, you can nab a copy at the Reference Desk, first-come, first served. I will also bring copies of April’s book, The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls to The Classic Bean (21st and Fairlawn) on Tuesday March 26, 2013 7-8:30PM. As always, plan to bring cash for drinks and food as young professionals in their 20s/30s gather to discuss Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.

If you plan to attend, please email me at eseeger@tscpl.org by Friday March 22, 2013 so I have a head count!

If you have questions or you would like to receive email reminders, contact me at eseeger@tscpl.org. Don’t forget to add to the conversation on the Library’s Goodreads page!

Join us Wednesday Wednesday February 6, 2013 7:00-8:00PM in Menninger Room 206 as Cindy Higgins, journalist and Kansas Historian, from the Kansas Humanities Council Speaker’s Bureau presents “Kansas Brewers and Breweries.”

As settlers streamed into Kansas, brewers set up their mash tuns and wort kettles when making beer was still an art and state prohibition a bemusing notion. Discover these brewers of early Kansas, their role in their communities, and learn about brewers today with Cindy Higgins.

The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to participate in their communities.  For more information about KHC programs contact the Kansas Humanities Council at 785/357-0359 or visit online at www.kansashumanities.org.

When I am planning meals for the week (okay, sometimes it’s for the day!), I try to keep in mind seasonal recipes. One reason I do this is because the food flat out tastes better if it is in season, and seasonal foods usually are kinder to my bank account.

Each season I check winter produce guides, such as this guide I found from Food Network’s website. Glancing at this and other sources, I know some items I should focus on are winter greens, potatoes, and citrus. Oftentimes you will find blogs, such as Heidi Swanson’s 101 Cookbooks,  do the same thing in terms of categorizing recipes by season. In fact I found a favorite recipe, Garlicky Greens Recipe, by conducting a recipe search by searching for kale. It is easy and you will more than likely already have these (except for kale, unless you’re as obsessed as I am with this incredible green) ingredients in your fridge and pantry.

Give these books a try that are available here at the library:

• The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food by Knauer, Ian
• Cooking Season by Season: 1000 Recipes to Cook Throughout the Year by Dorling Kindersley, Inc. (COR)
• Tyler Florence Fresh by Tyler Florence
• Dare to cook seasonal Italian cuisine. Winter [DVD videorecording]
• The Women’s Day Everyday Cookbook: 365 Tatsy Recipes and Monthly Menus for the Whole Year
• Home Made Winter by Yvette van Boven

What cookbooks are you cooking from and loving? Let me know in the comments below!

As part of The Big Read 2013, “Bean There, Read That” will discuss The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is one of my absolute favorite books and I remember reading it in high school and just hating it. It is probably because I skimmed it to make room for other homework and maintaining some kind of social life, but I decided to pick it up again a couple years ago on a whim. My grandma mailed a box of books to me, and this was included.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s. The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.Description from book jacket. Published in 1925; 180 pages.

If you are interested in reading this, you can nab a copy at the Reference Desk, first-come, first served. I will also bring copies of March’s book, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin to PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. Cafe on Tuesday January 26, 2012 7-8:30PM. As always, plan to bring cash for drinks and food as young professionals in their 20s/30s gather to discuss this year’s Big Read 2013 book, The Great Gatsby. A great time is to be had!

If you have questions or you would like to receive email reminders, contact me at eseeger@tscpl.org. Don’t forget to add to the conversation on the Library’s Goodreads page!

If you are anything like me you have a tendency to overindulge on sweets and delicious foods available during the fall and winter holidays. As soon as January 1st comes around I make a resolution to eat better and exercise more during the year. Luckily my mom raised us on very healthy foods and I always watched her cooking in the kitchen, so I know how to make healthy and lean dishes. Actually sticking with the healthy plan while working and going to school full time can be difficult, but now I can’t use that excuse since I graduated last month. Still, one of my go-to recipes is an easy dish from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking called “Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter” that has been adapted on multiple blogs, and I frequently recommend this recipe to friends and family. All you need are 4 ingredients – it doesn’t get easier than that.

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

serves approximately four people as a main

28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes *I usually use diced tomatoes*
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved
salt and pepper
pasta

1. Combine tomatoes, butter, and onion in a heavy saucepan (3 qt works well, but I usually double the recipe for lunch the next day) over medium heat.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes.
4. Discard onion.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve with pasta. *I personally like penne with this sauce*

That’s all there is to it!

Here are other recommended cookbooks:

• So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger
• Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast: Weeknight Meals
• Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes

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