Jeopardy Question: The last great place in America where you can still receive something for nothing.
Jeopardy Answer: What is your local public library?
” I have found the most valuable thing in my wallet is my library card.” — Laura Bush, First Lady
Most of us carry library cards. The curious question? When did you last use it? Have you visited your local library lately? Actually walked through its doors?
The stacks are overflowing with books, magazines, newspapers, CD’s, DVD’s, (music and film) and Books-on-Tape (for every device). Many have framed pictures that you can borrow. Need the use of a computer? It’s available and free. Tax forms? Pick them up. A sticky question, lingering doubt or needing information? Stop by the Reference Desk. Some libraries even offer tutoring, free of charge. The restrooms are free and clean. The chairs, comfy.
Rush in. Rush out.
Linger.
Hang out.
Meet an old pal. Introduce yourself to a new friend.
Volunteer.
Participate in a library book club or attend a library-sponsored film.
HERE’S THE SNAP: PUBLIC LIBRARIES ARE ONE OF OUR MOST UNDER-APPRECIATED GOVERNMENT SERVICES. WHY NOT PAY A VISIT TO YOURS TODAY.
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P.S. Snap: Following it’s February 7th publication, Katherine Boo’s book, Behind the Beautiful Forever’s, is now #10 on Amazon’s current best-sellers List. Her Reviews are extraordinary. Look for it on next week’s New York Times List. I encourage you to read this book.
It’s a truthful statement when I mention that almost everything in my house has been in someone else’s first. The majority of my friends do not relish “The Prowl”, whether it be at flea markets, thrift shops or legitimate antique/collectible stores, but I’ve never let that deter me from scoring a great find or having a hoot ‘n holler time doing it.
An Antique Store Valentine’s Day Discovery
In Snap #23 I wrote that I often go to these places to purchase cheesy, cheap, glittery, heart-shaped jewelry – earrings, necklaces or bracelets – for Valentine’s Day gifties.
As proof that I don’t suggest a Snap I haven’t already tried, here are my Valentine “finds” to date. Still seven days to go.
1. My 8-year-old granddaughter is a frog-iac. This little girl lives, breathes, loves, photographs, studies and dissects frogs. Her pet frog, Blazer, who resides in a mini-condo in the family living room (Yes, it gets dicey when Grandma visits.), eats living crickets. These creatures, who remain alive to the last bite, also reside in a box in the living room. Sometimes the crickets get loose. Although my daughter insists this grandchild is a blood-relative, she carries none of my DNA. But, in a local antique shop, I discovered the Amphibian versions of Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and Miles Davis. Cost: $9.00 She’ll love it.
The Amphibian Versions of Perlman, Davis, and Ma.
2. For my 10-year-old granddaughter, I snagged something terrific – a Swiss Army knife. Blade. Sharp. School Expulsion. Has Grandma gone crazy? Strange as this may sound, she’ll be thrilled. Emma lives in California’s Inyo Valley with the Sierra Nevada Mountains as her backyard playground. She already has a generic, all-purpose knife, which her parents have taught her to use, but she covets the ‘real deal’. Although that wish will be granted for her mid-Summer birthday, this Valentine version will suffice for now. Cost: $1.00 (I loved the “Climb the Matterhorn” tagline as will she.)
“Climb the Matterhorn” – the tagline for this version of a Swiss Army Knife.
3. Who doesn’t love diamonds? That’s exactly what I spotted yesterday for my daughter: a well-designed, gold-plated, heart pin, studded with 18 (I counted them) diamonds. Okay, so, probably, “gold” is not the right word. The “diamonds” may be rhinestones. And, to be truthful, my daughter doesn’t wear nor even like jewelry. That’s precisely why she will wear and keep this priceless piece. $12.00
All That Glitters May Not Be Gold.
4. And, for my son-in-law. A fossilized sand dollar, millions of years old, for his desk. It’s a guy thing. $7.00
Millions of Years Ago, This Was A Sand Dollar (or, so I’m told).
Here’s the SNAP: Valentine’s Day does not have to be another pricey holiday. For this holiday it really IS the thought that counts. Go to Michael’s or any crafts/party store and spend $15.00 on glitz-and-glitter, Made-in-China Valentine decor. Shape your pizza or meatloaf or mac ‘n cheese or sandwiches into hearts, buy some Valentine’s cookies and toss Chocolates Kisses all over the table. You’ve made a party. Invite your family – that’s what I am doing – or friends or colleagues to join you. That’s showing your Love in the best possible way.
If you need to be reminded just how good our lives really are, and, even if you don’t, read “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Pulitzer Prize writer and New Yorker author Katherine Boo.
“Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo Photo by Patricia Wall, The New York Times
Katherine Boo Photo by atrandom.com
I cannot describe this blockbuster better than writer Jeff Giles, in a review for EW.com:
“Let’s skip the formalities,” he writes. “What’s it going to take for you to read a book about a Mumbai slum that sits on the edge of a lake of sewage? Keep in mind that it’s nonfiction, so nobody goes on a game show, nobody becomes a millionaire, nobody dances to ”Jai Ho.”
Would reading an unqualified rave be enough? If so, here you go: ‘Behind the Beautiful Forevers’ is a riveting, fearlessly reported portrait of a poverty so obliterating that it amounts to a slow-motion genocide. Right now the book is sitting on my shelf making all the other books feel stupid.
Maybe you need the added inducement of knowing that Beautiful Forevers will be one of the year’s big books — a conversation starter, an award winner. It will be. Maybe you want to be promised that the book isn’t a screed, that it isn’t a guilt trip, and that no children you care about will die in pitiless circumstances. It isn’t, it isn’t…and I wish I could lie about that kid thing.”
Boo, who also was awarded a MacArthur Genius Award in 2003, lived for three-and-a-half years in Annawadi. Her book has already initiated intense conversation in India and will premiere next week to spectacular reviews in this country. One can only imagine the discussions this book might generate in your local book clubs.
Reading this book will not be a “snap” but having absorbed, savored and internalized this worthwhile work is one of the more important ones I have written – SNAP 23.
(In the Spirit of Full Disclosure: Katherine Boo’s brother, Tom, a doctor at the Rural Health Clinic in Bishop, California, and his wife are good friends of my daughter, Melissa, and her family. Prior to medical school, Tom was in the Peace Corp in Africa. He and his wife, Heleen, who is a nurse, left Bishop for several years to work with the World Health Organization, living in Nairobi, working on health issues in Sudan. Prior to their WHO assignment, he worked for the Toiyabe Indian Health Project in Bishop.)
If you’re a vegetable gardener, and, I am, it’s probably not a great idea to live in the Rocky Mountains at an altitude of 8,000 feet and count on harvesting a wide variety of herbaceous plants. But, I’ve happily called the Rockies my home for more than 25 years, so you learn to sprout what the soil and climate will bear.
Hey, we’re talking potatoes!
Every year we would plant. Each Fall, before the snow started to fly, we would dig. Then, it was Potato Party time for all our friends.
I cannot do justice to explaining the thrill of sinking a pitchfork into the dirt to discover those little critters just waiting to be plucked. Check out Seamus Heaney’s poem, “At a Potato Digging” for that. I will admit it’s a cultivation-treasure hunt. We were the scavengers and, you bet, my fingers did sometimes ‘go dead in the cold‘, as Heaney eloquently explained.
Yukon Gold Potatoes and Lemons – Ready for the Pot
A Beautiful Scene, Simmering in the Pot
I thought I had served potatoes ‘every which way but up’. So, I was pleased to discover Dorie’s featured recipe for the week, a broth-braised version. While the preparation may be similar to mine, the result is more sophisticated and sublime. That translates to “Hold the butter!”.
In Dorie’s own words, “Think of these as energized boiled potatoes. They get the same high marks as boiled potatoes for playing well with others and extra points for having more flavor, since they’re cooked in chicken broth infused with garlic, herbs, lemon zest, and olive oil.”
I served these potatoes for Supper this week to my friends, Matt and his eleven-year-old daughter, Casey. They’d introduced me to Geocaching and we’d just returned from an afternoon of treasure hunting of another kind. (I’ll save Geocaching for a future Post.)
These potatoes deserved better than burgers but, hey, we were hungry.
Since we had hiked miles, exploring and in pursuit of caches, we were hungry. Starved. Famished. While I served turkey burgers with whole wheat buns and coleslaw to accompany the broth-braised potatoes, I might suggest planning a milder meal to compliment these spuds. However, this worked for us. In addition, the following morning, the hash-browned leftovers with the frittata were yummy.
The caveat to this meal is an apology, Readers, for the burger condiment bottles on the table. They were removed and then were mysteriously returned prior to picture-taking. Do not blame the eleven-year-old.
The 11-year-old Pre-Teen has already figured out that Men will always be Boys.
“Oh, Dad, I KNEW you were soooo going to get into trouble.”
Since Valentine’s Day is less than three weeks away, it’s time to remember your heart not only belongs to Daddy. Use this holiday to touch base with those other important people in your life. Or, maybe it’s time to fix a broken relationship, nourish a fatigued friendship, or tip your hat of hearts to friendly and helpful neighbors. If a friend has lost a loved one this year, a spouse or parent, send a card. It’s a bumpy year for them. You’re acknowledging that with kindness and affection.
So here’s a heart-shaped SNAP:
Valentine’s Day can be more than store-purchased cards. Make a card. Bake a sweet something. Go to antique and thrift stores to purchase cheesy, cheap, glittery, heart-shaped jewelry – earrings, necklaces or bracelets. Done it, it’s fun, may repeat that! Write a “Valentine List Card” – telling a friend the 10 things you love about him/her; recalling ten Together-Memories or making a Wish List for Future Adventures. Or, participate in the Sierra Club’s Valentine venture, “ I Love Wild Places”, and support one of twelve national parks in your recipient’s name.
Be Creative. Be Filled with Love. Make someone HAPPY.
Last week you may have noticed there was no French Fridays with Dorie Post. My version of the chosen recipe, Quatre-Quarts, a delicious, one-layer, plain-and-simple cake, flopped. It was un désastre. While I have no problem embarrassing myself, and do it often, why do that to Dorie Greenspan?
Let’s just say that you cannot forget to include sugar in this recipe, then, try to add it to the batter as the pan is headed into the oven, stir frantically, and expect to get a good result. If you want to see the successes of other Dorista’s who did include the sugar, according to Greenspan’s instructions, check out:
If you’d like to pull on an apron and jump into an international, group-cooking adventure, here’s your small window of opportunity. Now is the time to register for “Tuesdays with Dorie” which kicks off February 1st. This group is going to whip, knead and sift through the recipes, methods and techniques in “Baking with Julia”, a cookbook written by Greenspan in 1996, in collaboration with and based on the memorable PBS Series hosted by Julia Child.
TUESDAYS WITH DORIE, Baking with Julia
As of today, 210 bakers have registered to join in this on-line recipe romp – a group living throughout the United States, eleven countries and six continents. Hey, Antarctica, we need you! The range: a myriad of ages, professionals and amateurs, bloggers and bakers. While channeling Paula Deen and ever conscious that “baking” does translate into extra, unwanted calories, this group will only bake twice a month. Remember, Julia was all about moderation and portion control. She never deprived herself of enjoying good food.
(UPDATE: Wednesday, January 25: Laurie and Jules, the two women monitoring “Tuesdays with Dorie” just gave me this update: ” So now we are up to 258 blogs with about 270 bakers. We’re still missing folks from nine states (DE, KS, MI, MT, NE, NM, ND, WV, and WY). Countries with bakers outside the US include Australia, Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Canada, Philippines, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, England, Austria, and India! Our youngest baker (that I know of) is nine. Our first recipe posts in two weeks!”
If you wish to be invited into Greenspan’s kitchen, and, lets hear it from the nine states that aren’t represented, go to: http://tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com/
My Love Fest with French Fridays with Dorie
Last May, when I joined FFWD, my on-line group cooking its way through Greenspan’s newest recipe book, “Around my French Table”, I held no expectations. Since I had been doing little cooking and no entertaining for the previous six to seven years and never really adjusted to eating alone, I realized my culinary skills were rusty and my cookbooks, dusty. In other words, joining a cooking group with a weekly purpose would, possibly, “force my issues”.
Whether being force-fed or spoon-fed, a little of both, I think, this nine- month instructive food feast rates 5-stars from me. After reviewing Basics 101, replenishing my ingredient staples and supplies and purchasing new pots ‘n pans, I am remembering everything I love about kitchen living.
More importantly, each week I also must plan who, what, where, when and how, this food is going to be eaten. If it’s Thursday and I’m knocking at my neighbor’s door, they know it’s food. When I invite friends to share supper, odds are, it’s a “Dorie recipe”. When I’m at Trader Joe’s looking for “weird” ingredients, they realize it’s almost Friday. To their credit and my benefit, my friends have become culinary critics. My shoulders are broad!
An unimagined bonus has been my simpatico with other Dorista’s throughout the world, most of whom write blogs. Because we cannot post until 12:00am, (PST, for me) on Friday, it’s the Australian bloggers who post first, followed by an international roll-out of the week’s recipe. Readers, you cannot imagine the cuisine creativity, innovativeness and ambition in the food blogosphere. These cooks, unlike me, are always tweaking and twisting Greenspan’s recipes into something even more delicious or nutritious or less-fattening. We all comment, suggest, help and encourage each other. Ideas. Light-bulb moments. FFWD has it all.
