Tag Archives: Holiday

Books, Library News

Holiday Food

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For many, the holidays come with a familiar set of sensory memories that put us back into the mindset of past merrymaking. We hear the jingling of bells and the crackling of a warm fire. We smell pine and juniper, or cocoa warming on the stove. We feel the kiss of snowflakes on our cheeks as we arrive at the homes of loved ones, ready to share in the celebrations that accompany the season. Of course, no holiday would be complete without the sense of taste. The end-of-the-year culinary traditions bring a whole host of experiences that we’ve come to associate with celebration. Here are a few sources for spicing up your holiday fare.

Gatherings & Celebrations : History, Folklore, Rituals and Recipes for the Occasions that Bring People Together
Gatherings and Celebrations by Burt Wolf is a unique international exploration of holidays and food. Wolf pairs each holiday with a geographical region and then gives a bit of history about the holiday, the customs observed, and which kinds of dishes are frequently served. In the “Christmas in Germany” chapter, he describes the German Pfefferkuchen, spice cakes made with pepper dating back to medieval times and Spekulatius, hard gingerbread prepared in the likeness of St. Nicholas. Each section also has its respective set of recipes, and those wanting to try a German-style Christmas celebration can try the Roast Christmas Goose, Riesling Soup, or Red Wine Spiced Cabbage

To Every Season : A Family Holiday Cookbook
If you find yourself with kids who want to help out in the kitchen, Jane Zalben’s To Every Season: A Family Holiday Cookbook is a good collection of holiday favorites with simple, but delicious ingredients. If you’re celebrating Hanukkah, Pearl’s Potato Latkes are fun to fry together. For celebrants of Kwanzaa, Sweet Potato Pudding is a simple, sweet treat that will give your whole kitchen a festive aroma. For a fun project that will show off everyone’s artistic side, you can try Spiced and Iced Gingerbread Animals that the little ones will enjoy making just as much as eating.

Mr. Food Test Kitchen Christmas Made Easy : Recipes, Tips and Edible Gifts for a Stress-free Holiday
Holidays are times of joy, but they can also be stressful. We don’t all have hours to spend in the kitchen. Luckily, the Mr. Food Test Kitchen has your back with Christmas Made Easy : Recipes, Tips and Edible Gifts for a Stress-Free Holiday. This book offers many recipes that you can prepare in advance and heat when you’re about to serve. The Strawberry Breakfast Rollups are the perfect warm treat for a cold winter morning. There are also many recipes that are as easy to prepare as casseroles, but will still spice up the menu for a special holiday treat, such as the Ravioli Pesto Pie and Garden Sloppy Joes. Sometimes all it takes is a little inspiration to make an easy recipe into a holiday family favorite.

A Country Music Christmas : Christmas Songs, Memories, Family Photographs and Recipes from America’s Favorite Country and Gospel Stars
For something a little different, why not add the strum of a guitar into your Christmas celebration? A Country Music Christmas is a collection of family photos, memories, and recipes from a whole host of country legends. Make sure you grab the accompanying CD to put on while you prepare Alan Jackson’s Chattahoochee Cornbread and Cornbread Dressing, Willie Nelson’s Always on My Mind Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy with Cocoa, or Dolly Parton’s Jolly Cheesecake Pudding. If you and your family love country music, this is the perfect combination to celebrate the holidays.

No matter how you and yours celebrate the holiday season, we here at the Ivy Tech Northeast Library wish everyone a happy, safe, and sane season. Season’s greetings!

Databases, Library News

Talk Like A Pirate

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Yar har, mateys! Grab your favorite parrot, a tricorn hat, and set your Facebook to pirate English (really, look in the language settings), because each September marks Talk Like a Pirate Day. You’ll find learning about these swashbucklers considerably less dangerous than trying to deliver cargo across the seas.

If you want to know about the quintessential pirate that came to define how pirates are portrayed in film, television, and literature, you have to go with Edward Teach, or Edward Thatch, as some knew him. Oh, you might know him as Blackbeard. According to an article in American Heritage which is accessible through Academic Search Premier Database in the Library, Blackbeard and his infamous ship the Queen Anne’s Revenge frequented not only the tropical islands of the Caribbean, but the waters of the Carolinas as well where his prized frigate was eventually run aground.

If you already know about Blackbeard’s legacy, perhaps you’d like to hear about some of the women who made their fortune on the high seas. Hop onto the Library’s JSTOR database to read an article from the Wilson Quarterly that describes the exploits of the Irishwoman Anne Bonny or Mary Read who, prior to her life of piracy, fought in the British military while disguised as a man.

Are you in a pirate mood yet? How about some sea shanties? This album by the Robert Shaw Chorale from the Library’s Naxos database has plenty of historical shanties that you might hear on the deck of a flagship so many years ago.

Now that we have you feeling like a pirate, we should also give a cautionary word that piracy is illegal. Nowadays, a pirate’s treasure is more likely to be illegal copies of films and music than gold doubloons, but we recommend you avoid both types whether on the high seas or behind the keyboard. If you want to know more about the new age of piracy, try this article from the Harvard International Review, accessible through GALE database:
The golden age of piracy: can open-source democracy redefine citizenship for the internet age?

Piracy on the high seas still exists as well, though the environs have changed. Somali pirates are still a major threat around the Horn of Africa where large cargo container ships are slow-moving targets. You can see a dramatized account of one such pirate attack in the film Captain Phillips. You can also check out this excerpt from the documentary Madagascar to the Seychelles: Indian Ocean, with Simon Reeve which is available through Library’s Films on Demand database.

Well, this has all gotten a bit too serious, hasn’t it? Talk Like a Pirate Day is all about having fun with the campy, swashbuckling antiheroes that pop up everywhere from Peter Pan to Robinson Crusoe. If you need help talking like a pirate, we have you covered. Mango Languages database, an excellent online language learning program that is set up to teach over 60 languages has a module specifically for learning to talk like a pirate. Get out there and have a swashbuckling good time this September.
(By the Library Clerk, David Winn)

Books

The 13th gift : a true story of a Christmas miracle / by Joanne Huist Smith

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Call number: BV45 .S484 2014

 For readers of Richard Paul Evans and Greg Kincaid comes The 13th Gift, a heartwarming Christmas story about how a random act of kindness transformed one of the bleakest moments in a family’s history into a time of strength and love.

After the unexpected death of her husband, Joanne Huist Smith had no idea how she would keep herself together and be strong for her three children—especially with the holiday season approaching. But 12 days before Christmas, presents begin appearing on her doorstep with notes from their “True Friends.” As the Smiths came together to solve the mystery of who the gifts were from, they began to thaw out from their grief and come together again as a family. This true story about the power of random acts of kindness will warm the heart, a beautiful reminder of the miracles of Christmas and the gift of family during the holiday season. (From B&N)