Tidbits

Books and Libraries

• Yesterday the Youth Media Awards were announced.  An as per, I have never heard of the Printz winner at all.  But I am glad that the supremely delightful This is Not My Hat won the Caldecott, and that my fav from 2012, Code Name Verity, scored an honor - so YAY.
• I know libraries have to be innovative in marketing and services to lure in patrons (see below for more examples)...but pole dancing is a new one.
• I think the real question here is how do we get invited? The Netherfield Ball! 
• Since tea + books = <3 nbsp="">it's only natural there is a pairing guide.
• There is no way to read this story about how a small branch library in NYC is checking out an American Girl doll and NOT feel there is something right in the universe.  
• Fact: even puppies love libraries. 

Movies

• So many books turning into movies, guys!  Publishers Weekly has ten of them listed as the most anticipated (3 of which I've never heard of, so...)
• Did not even realize that If I Stay had been optioned, let alone cast!  
• Anna Dressed in Blood was such a false start of a book (started off terrifying, ended with warm fuzzies) that I'm not really that pumped to hear it may be a movie...even though it would probably be decent.  Maybe.  
• After seeing this tidbit about a certain Titantic star taking an interest in Divergent, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the news that she'll be playing Jeanine Matthews.
• The Selection may be a pilot TV show.  Again.  I'm still here, waiting, CW!

Recipe 15: Coconut Curry Lentils

Coconut Curry Lentils

I've been creeping on this recipe for a while.  Coconut? Curry? Lentils? Count me in.  I originally spotted this recipe on Sprouted Kitchen and the recipe it was based on, but explored a bit more via the Moosewood New Classics Cookbook.  What struck me about all of the recipes is that they all require more than one pot.  Guys, I am lazy. And to add insult to injury, I have a tiny doll-sized sink.  Even Barbie doesn't want to do a lot of dishes in it.  So I decided the only reasonable thing to do would be to see if I couldn't make this a one pot dish of delish.  And it was!  It was, that is, until I royally messed it up by muddling it with wayyyy too much lime and sriracha, thus killing the coconut undertones.  Thus, follow the directions below, and season each bowl to taste past this point.


The verdict: when it is cold outside, and you don't want to feel cold inside, you should eat this soup. 

Coconut Curry Lentils

Adapted from both Sprouted Kitchen and The Travelers Lunchbox

Serves about 4-6

Coconut Curry Lentils in my Le Creuset

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, pressed

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp red pepper

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 Lentils (I used a combo of red and regular.  Always rinse and check for rocks!)

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

14 oz coconut milk (1 can, and don't be afraid of the fat in regular one - the taste is way better)

8 oz fresh spinach, chard, or kale in pieces

3 Tbsp lime or lemon juice

Salt/Pepper to taste

Directions

1.  In a large Le Creuset or Dutch Oven, heat your olive oil on medium, and saute the onion, garlic, and coconut for about five minutes, or until the onions get very translucent and the coconut is nice and browned.  The coconut will brown quickly, so stir often to prevent scorching.




 2.  Add in all the spices through nutmeg, and stir to coat and evenly incorporate it. You may need to add a bit more oil if you feel it is a little too dry at this point.  Add in the lentils, and stir to coat.  Let them saute for a minute or two.





3.  Add in the broth, bring to a low boil/simmer, and let cook for approximately 30 minutes until the lentils are mostly soft.
4.  Add the coconut milk and greens, and cook for around ten more minutes, basically until the lentils are thoroughly cooked and soft.

5.  Stir in the lemon or lime juice, taste, and then season to taste.  Serve hot with extra lemon/lime wedges, hot sauce, and rice, crusty bread, or a tasty salad...feel warm and cozy!

Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers, by Kirsten Miller: Sisterhood of theTraveling Underworld Explorers

Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers
Kristen Miller
Bloomsbury: New York, 2013
ISBN: 9781599907369
ARC via NetGalley - now available in print and digitally

The Irregulars have finally returned and they are as smart, empowered, and adventurous in their all-female crime-thwarting efforts as they’ve always been.  Kiki Strike has left New York and the leadership of the Irregulars in Ananka Fishbein’s hands as she heads to Paris to claim her rightful throne as the displaced Pokrovian princess.  When she and her guardian disappear somewhere over the Atlantic, Ananka is faced with the task of finding Kiki and keeping the Irregulars in check.  A solution presents itself when Betty Bent, master of disguise, is offered a position in Paris as the personal assistant to a mysterious woman who runs a finishing school, and who has taken an interest in the challenge of the irascible Molly Dent (who naturally decides to stage a revolution in the school!).  Meanwhile, Ananka is working on keeping her crush on Betty’s boyfriend Kasper in check, Oona is tracking down her evil twin, and the others are working on an untested cure for female baldness that has garnered some pharmaceutical attention.  When Kiki makes contact via a cute French boy who just happens to be part of the secret society protecting the Parisian Catacombs known as the Darkness Dwellers, things begin to come together.  With bits of romance, history, humor, charm, danger, and lots of smart, loyal, and courageous young women, The Darkness Dwellers is a welcome, long anticipated addition to Kirsten Miller’s series.   It is strongly recommended for girls (and boys cool enough to pick it up) grades 6-10, and both middle school and public libraries.  

I first read Kiki Strike: In the Shadow City nigh on five or so years ago.  I was working at an all-girls school, and took the recommendation from the middle school librarian, she of the Parantheticals.  Guys - I loved it!  Kiki Strike and the Irregulars are everything we should want for our middle-school and young high-schoolers to be reading for fun!  Sure, it is fun fiction with action and slightly unrealistic things like kids stopping major crime syndicates.  But it’s really a lot more than that.  It is slyly smart, encourages creativity and thinking outside the box, and reminds kids that while it may be a little unrealistic to expect to stop said crime syndicates, even little people can make a difference.  What I think is really notable about this series, however, is the fact that it showcases many different types of intelligence - science, engineering, mapping, history, politics, art, etc.  Even more remarkable?  It so in the form of young girls - likeable, young girls (for the most part.  Kirsten Miller needs to work on a few of them)!  While for the obvious reason, girls will probably turn to this more than boys,  I do wish boys of the middle school ages would pick these up.  Seriously, little dudes.  If you like Katniss and Alex Rider, you’ll probably also like Kiki and the other Irregulars.

Case of the Terribles: Lives Cut Short Series

Librarians of the world, if you are looking for the most depressing thing to add to your youth collections, let me introduce you to the Lives Cut Short series.

Don't worry about the life-span of these books; there is reinforced library binding option.  

Dinner Train Book Club: The Phantom Tollbooth

 Hey friends...remember when I had a goal of reading 12 books I hadn't read ever, and writing recipes for all of them for your, my, our book club enjoyment?  Well...I have made it through 10.  And am slowly making my way through creating recipes for the rest!  Today, I give you the September pick: the Phantom Tollhouse.  Big, huge, resounding high-five to Hannah, who was willing to participate, even if it meant we didn't talk about the book, and instead she was forced to help cook and do my dishes.  Thanks, Hannah! Enjoy the recipe for The Phantom Tollbooth Synonym Buns (aka Pumpkin Cinnamon Sticky Buns), and my nonsense review of the book, below. 

Due to the fact that I might be the only person I know to have never read this, I'm going to do away with summarizing something you all pretty much know about.  Okay, well for those weirdos like me, it's about a boy named Milo, who is very bored.  When he discovers a magic tollbooth in his bedroom, he drives his toy car through to stave of said boredom, and finds himself on a great adventure, jumping around from the Island of Conclusions to the country of Dictionopolis, to the Doldrums, and to the country of Digitopolis, among others.  He meets a cast of unusual yet wise characters, saves Rhyme and Reason, and staves off his boredom, in under 256 partially illustrated pages.

Well, my friends, I really wanted to love this one.  I didn't not like it - in fact, I did like it.  I think it is possible I'm too much of a grownup cynic for the Phantom Tollbooth.  There were, however, moments, I did love!  I thought the book was overall, rather smart, clever, and at times, wry, in considering the youthful target audience.  It did feel a little, ahem, obvious as an adult, but hey - I see what you did there, Norton Juster (Seriously, is that a name or what?).  I loved the ample illustration, dispersed throughout the text.  There was a plethora of food to choose from, so I was torn between Digitopolis Alphabet Soup or Synonym Buns (mwaha!).  But mostly, I loved that despite the outlandish cast of characters, this is ultimately a story of simplicity - a exploratory journey that starts and ends in Milo's bedroom.  Is that a spoiler?  Whatever.  Truthfully though, I love this line:

Whether or not you find your own way, you're bound to find some way. (p. 20)

Hear, hear, Norton Juster!

And while we're at it, I recommend you find your way to at least three of these Synonym Buns (Pumpkin Cinnamon Sticky Buns):

What is a synonym for delicious?