Food Waste Friday

How exciting!  After a few weeks of struggling, we have zero food waste this week!  There is some parsley and some cilantro lingering in the fridge, but I'm not that concerned about those.  Both are so cheap that it doesn't bother me all that much to have to through them out.  Hopefully I won't, but at $.99 a pop, I figure I've got bigger things to worry about.

Did you waste any food this week? 

This post is linked to The Frugal Girl's Food Waste Fridays. 

Recipe: Buttermilk Banana Bread

There are five amazing things to know about this banana bread.

1. It is nut free, therefore perfect for the nut-hater or the nut allergy person in your life.
   
2. Buttermilk replaces nearly all the oil making this a healthier version of a usually fattening treat.
   
3. It is super simple to make.
   
4. It uses up bananas that are going bad helping you to eliminate food waste.
   
5. It tastes delicious!!!
   

Buttermilk Banana Bread – Makes 1 8x4 loaf

2 large eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium)

⅓ cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1¾ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt
 
Preheat oven to 325°. Grease an 8x4 loaf pan with cooking spray.

Beat eggs and sugar together until thick and light (about 5 minutes) with an electric mixer. Add mashed bananas, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla and mix to combine. Sift together remaining ingredients and add to banana mixture slowly, stirring to just combine. Pour batter into pan.

Bake for about an hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes and then turn out to finish cooling. 

 

Just a quick note…

…to say that I'm attending a leadership seminar today and tomorrow and won't be blogging. I'm learning some great new management skills and hopefully I'll be able to allay my fear of not having any management experience. If I learn anything truly fantastic, I'll be sure to share it here.

I'll be back on Thursday with a delicious banana bread recipe to share!

Menu Plan Monday

Wow! I can't believe it's Monday already.  I feel like I just posted my menu plan from last week.  I thought the rule was that hot summer days went by very slowly, but my days are just flying by!  

Do you feel like that?  Are your days flying by or are you dragging waiting for the heat to dissipate and school to start?

This weekend my mom went to the lake with her friends, and Dad and I were left to our own devices for cooking.  I didn't have many plans so I cooked some great meals for us! This weekend we dined on:

Friday: Orange-Thyme Grilled Shrimp, Grilled Veggies

Saturday: Baked Penne with Sausage, Spinach, and Mushrooms, Italian Cheese Twists, Almond Cake

Sunday: Greek Turkey Burgers, Oven Fries with Herbs and Cheese

This week we will be enjoying:

Monday: Capellini with Tomatoes and Basil, Italian Cheese Twists

Tuesday: Chicken, Mushroom, and Brown Rice Bake

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Pasta with Chicken, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Artichokes

For more great recipes and menu plan ideas, visit I'm An Organizing Junkie!

Food Waste Friday: Food Waste Yes, Picture No

Our food waste wasn't all that bad this week.  Actually I only threw away one thing that I  purchased and that was yet another rotten onion (this is developing into a weird trend).  It needed to go out before it started smelling, so no picture.  

Last week, we were gifted 7 lovely looking cucumbers.  I love getting fresh vegetables from friends because a) it means we don't have to buy them and b) I can't grow much at home (due to my lack of full backyard sun).  We were very excited and sliced several up to enjoy with dinner.  After a few bits, though, we realized that the cucumbers were very bitter.  Naturally, being a librarian, I did some research and found that too much heat can cause cucumbers to become bitter.  We've been having some crazy heat lately (upper 90s for several weeks now) and that would explain the bitter cucumbers.  They were inedible, so they all went into the trash.  

Throwing out that many cucumbers is a huge waste, but at least we didn't buy them.  I would be a lot more upset if we had bought that many cucumbers and they were all bad.  Actually I think they would have gone back to the store!

How did you do this week?  Any food waste?

For more on Food Waste Friday, visit The Frugal Girl.

Do You Like My New Layout?

As you can tell, I've updated my layout using Shabby Blogs.  Do you like it?

I will accept any and all criticism about the new layout.  Suggestions are greatly appreciated.  What changes should I make?  Would another template work better?  Any thoughts about the colors?  Can anyone help me with a header?

Let me know!

South of the Border

My menu plan for Monday said that I was going to make fajitas on Wednesday and serve them with chips and queso.  I have made fajitas once before and we used to have taco night every once in a while.  So Mexican for dinner isn't all that unusual (although I much prefer going out for Mexican due to my love affair with strawberry margaritas).  

Despite planning for fajitas, I neglected to plan for any side dishes until yesterday afternoon when I came across this recipe for restaurant style-Mexican rice.  I knew that we always had these ingredients on hand with the exception of cumin.  Since I needed to go to the store I decided that just buying cumin would be a waste and that I should probably make pico de gallo too.  I've never made pico but The Pioneer Woman seems to make it a lot and it looks easy and really pretty!  So cilantro, a jalapeno, and a lime went on my grocery list.  

If I had enough time I would have probably ended making guacamole because that's just the kind of overachiever I am.  

But instead we used store bought guacamole which is decent, but no where near as good as homemade.   

 

At this point I'm sure you are really tired of seeing pictures I didn't actually take and would really just rather see the recipe for fajitas.  

Well then, here it is.  

Chicken Fajitas - Serves 4

3 large chicken breasts

1 medium onion

1 green bell pepper

1 packet fajita seasoning

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/4 cup water

Juice of 1 lime

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

8 flour tortillas

Desired toppings (Suggestions: pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, shredded lettuce)

Slice chicken breasts into strips about a 1/2 inch thick.  Slice onion into thin strips.  Cut the bell pepper in half, remove the core and seeds, and slice into thin strips.  In a measuring cup, combine fajita seasoning, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and water.  Put chicken, onions, and peppers into a large resealable plastic bag and cover with marinade.  Knead to coat.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but up to 2 hours. 

Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Pour entire contents of bag into skillet and cook until the veggies are crisp-tender and the chicken is cooked through.  Stir in lime juice and cilantro if desired.  Serve with tortillas, desired toppings, and a strawberry margarita. 

Recipe: Doughnut Muffins

Muffins that taste like doughnuts must be trendy because in the past month I have seen three different recipes for a very similar muffin.  I made one recipe last weekend and they were delicious!  I wouldn't go so far as to say they tasted like a true doughnut, or at least what I think a true doughnut is; these remind me more a cake doughnut.  I remember eating a cinnamon-sugar coated cake doughnut from a local doughnut shop as a child.  These muffins take me back to that delicious memory. 

I found the first recipe on the King Arthur Blog, which is a wonderful baking resource if you haven't read it before, and knew I had to try it.  The other two are remarkable similar, except this one is for mini muffins and this one is for regular muffins.  I think any of these would be really delicious, but the King Arthur one is definitely going to be more "cakey" then "muffiny" (I realize these aren't words, but humor me).  If you are going for a more cake doughnut-like consistency, I would use the recipe I'm going to share today.  If you want a muffin with a definite doughnut flavor, try the others.  

Doughnut Muffins - Adapted from King Arthur Flour, makes 12 

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, to taste

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 2/3 cups flour 

1 cup milk

Topping:

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin.  

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.  Add the eggs, beating to combine.  Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, the desired amount of nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.  Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.  Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're a pale golden brown and a tester comes out clean.  Be warned: these will puff up a lot and make really pretty golden mounds.  Allow them to cool for a couple of minutes, or until you can handle them. 

While the muffins are cooling, melt the butter for the topping.  Put the cinnamon sugar on a piece of wax paper or in a small bowl.  When the muffins are cool enough to handle (but not cooled completely!), dip each muffin into the melted butter, coating all sides.  Roll in cinnamon sugar.  Place on wire rack and allow to cool completely before storing.  Repeat with remaining muffins.  These are best eaten warm! 

 Photo courtesy of Tasty Kitchen

Bad Days

Today I feel like Alexander.  I'm having a terrible horrible no good very bad day.  I think I might move to Australia.  

When I worked at a children's bookstore I used to read this to make me feel better.  I don't have a copy of my own so I today I'm settling to listening to show tunes on Pandora.  It might be working.

But I still might want to move to Australia. 

Menu Plan Monday

Well, hello! Did you have a good weekend?  I certainly did, but it was WAY too short!  It seems like weekdays just crawl by but weekends go so fast I don't know what I did!  Do you feel that way?  

As far as food goes, this weekend we ate: 

Friday: I was out with a friend; I think my parents ate grilled salmon

Saturday: Steak, Baked Potatoes, Asparagus

Sunday: Grilled Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Sliced Tomatoes and Cucumbers

This week we will be eating:

Monday: Broccoli and Pasta tossed in garlic and olive oil*

Tuesday: Crock-Pot Pot Roast, Rice, Peas (this keeps getting pushed back)

Wednesday: Fajitas, Chips and Queso 

Thursday: Leftovers

*As you may or may not have noticed, I try very hard to keep Mondays meatless.  I seem to be cycling through the same three pasta recipes and frankly, we are getting a little tired of them.  We are big pasta eaters, so I certainly don't mind eating pasta, but I really need some new recipes.  We aren't huge fans of rice and beans, and because of health problems, I can't cook with any peppers or make a lot of spicy food.  Recipe suggestions for Meatless Mondays would be a huge help! Any ideas?

Food Waste Friday

Remember last week when I wasn't sure if I was going to have food waste?  Well, this week I am positive we had food waste.  Nothing that I cooked or bought this week was thrown out; only waste from last week ended up in the trash.  On Sunday, Mom cleaned out the fridge and threw away:

• Squash casserole
• Green beans (they were cooked a new way and none of us really liked them)
• Asian Slaw (we MUST learn to make half a recipe; the full is just too much)
• Mashed potatoes 

While not a ton of this got thrown away, there was enough to make maybe one more leftovers-for-lunch meal.  But no one wanted it.  Sometimes we cook more than what we can eat.  And sometimes everyone gets tired of eating leftovers.

I'm not that concerned.  I would much rather throw away leftovers than actual ingredients as I've done so many times in the past.  But, food waste is like throwing money away, something none of us can afford to do these days.  So here's to a better week next week!

For more Food Waste Friday fun, visit The Frugal Girl.

In Search of the Perfect Dinner Rolls

Lately I have been on a quest to find the perfect dinner rolls.  I've tried 4 recipes so far and my family has only been crazy about one batch.  I make all of the bread we eat, and we've been really happy with my sandwich bread, French bread, and crusty white bread.  But we also like dinner rolls to have around to go with quicker meals when I don't have the time (or the energy) to make a loaf of something else.  These are the four recipes I've tried for dinner rolls so far:

• The Frugal Girl's Whole Wheat Rolls 
• The Frugal Girl's Basic Rolls
• Perfectly Easy Dinner Rolls
• My own version adapted from my wheat sandwich bread recipe

The last turned out to be everyone's choice for best dinner roll.  I was very pleased with the basic rolls, but Mom found them to be too chewy.  None of us liked the wheat rolls; they were dry and required a lot of butter to taste good.  The easy dinner rolls would have gone over well had I not tried to make them healthier by substituting some wheat flour.  They were dry and just not as good as they would have been if I had left them alone.

I discovered that I could adapt my sandwich bread into rolls when I was trying to make a larger loaf.  The recipe, as is, makes 2 8x4 loaves.  I like that I get two loaves out of one recipe, but I find the loaves to be too small for a decent sandwich.  So I decided to make a 9x5 loaf and then use the remaining portion to make rolls.  I used 2/3 of the dough to make the sandwich bread and the remaining third to make 12 rolls.  I followed The Frugal Girl's instructions on shaping and baking the rolls; you can find that here.  I thought they turned out very well and everyone agreed.  The only suggestion was a little more sugar which I will add next time.  

But I'm always on the lookout for a new roll recipe!  Do you have a recipe to share? 

What I Wish I Had Learned in Library School, Part III

This is my final entry in what turned into be a series on all the things I wish I had learned while I was in library school.  If you  missed it, you can read part one here and part two here.

This week I want to address 4 skills that I wish I had acquired while I was in library school.  All of these were touched on in some form or fashion in a variety of classes, but I would have loved a class, or even a special not-for-credit, after school, workshop to address some of these.

The first skill is Vendor Relations.  My friend Lauren and I have discussed that we both lack skills in dealing with vendors.  Her encounters with vendors have only come from conferences, but I deal with vendors everyday.  I really wish I knew how exactly I was supposed to handle their incessant phone calls, their pleas for me to try a new project, and 5 minute elevator pitches on why their product is perfect for my library and how they can work with me on the price issue.  I never seem to know what to say.  I'm actually running a free trial on an ebook platform that I'm 95% sure I won't buy because the ebooks are so expensive.  I didn't know how to say no and the rep kept calling about it until I finally gave in and am now "running" a free trial.  I say "running" because I'm not promoting it at all.  The trial comes with access to all the ebooks they have, but then when you buy, you only see what books you've purchased.  I don't want to expose the doctors to something and then take it away.  That doesn't seem fair. 

On the opposite of vendors who call too much, are vendors that I need to talk to and want to hear more about their product, but don't really know how to go about it.  For example, the vendor the library uses for all of our print journals and some of our databases has provided me with no less than 5 reps to contact.  I have no idea who's who so I end up calling one, who ends up being the wrong person, and then he/she has to direct me to the right person to talk to.  It's frustrating because I was dumped into this with no prior knowledge of the system and now I'm just trying to sort through it all to reach the person I need to talk to.  Like Lauren, I also struggle to find ways to talk to them about my needs.  I'm always careful not to bring up money to soon, but in a super small library, it's always going to be the first issue.  I need to learn to deal with vendors correctly so both of us get what we want.  I do better learning from classes, readings, and presentations.  Does anyone know of some good information on this topic?

Management is something I've addressed multiple times.  I wasn't really prepared to be a manager in my first job (other than managing myself which is hard enough).  I think that I had I worked in a library and worked under a good manager, I would be a better manager myself.  I have a wonderful library assistant who works with me two days a week.  She's the only person I manage and we get along just fine, but sometimes I wish I knew more.  Having experience would have really helped here.  As much as they tried to teach management in school, I honestly don't think it's a skill that can be taught.  It must be learned by watching and by being managed.  If you know of any good people management materials, please share!

Management of people is not the only part of management.  I manage a whole library.  I run the show.  From the cataloging to the decision making to the budget, it's all my job.  I think this was taught a little better in school, but most days I still have no clue what I'm doing.  I think it would be better if I actually had a copy of my budget and a better idea of how my money get's spent, but alas, I (still) don't.  I think that I do a pretty good job running the library, but most of that is just common sense and thinking on my feet.  Hmm...maybe that's all that management really is?  That would be so easy! 

Resume, interview, and general job hunting skills were something I got from applying to many jobs and then asking why I wasn't getting interviewed.  I had lots of different people, from my parents to my professors to actual librarians look over my resume/CV and cover letters.  I got lots of advice and most of it seemed to work out pretty well.  I strongly suggest showing your stuff around to as many people as possible and really listening to what they have to say.  Back in the fall when many of my fellow classmates were dealing with job hunting in a bad economy, I asked one of our professors who used to be an assistant dean of our library and did a lot of hiring, to do some workshops on job hunting, resume writing, interviewing, etc.  It turned out to be a great program.  I wish that it had happened earlier in the year, so that I could have gotten more out of it, but I know that many of my classmates did.  I encourage you, if you are still in school, to ask a professor whose really great at resume critiques to do hold workshops like these.  If you are interested in knowing what we covered, email me and I'll be happy to share more information.  The reason I'm putting this down as a skill I wish I had learned is because I wish that something like this had been offered every semester (or at least once a year) so that as many people could take advantage of it. 

The last skill is the most important I think.  Marketing and advertising are two things that I desperately wish I knew more about.  Lisa mentioned in the comments last week that her school started offering a library marketing course after she left.  I would have loved to take a class like that!  Even while I was in school, I wished for marketing skills because I kept seeing job postings for an "outreach" librarian.  These were more common in academic libraries, but I saw a few postings for public libraries as well.  And now that I'm running the show, I wish I knew more about getting the word out to my patrons, talking to doctors about new things, finding out what they would like to see in the library, etc.  I would have really enjoyed a course like that.  I attended a session on marketing academic libraries at ALLA conference this winter and while some things definitely apply in my own library, one 1 hour session wasn't near enough.  Does anyone know of any continuing ed courses or know anything about library marketing?  Please share!

I know this was long, and I apologize for that.  I asked several questions that I would love to see some responses to.  In case you missed them they are: 

• Does anyone know of some good information on improving vendor relations?
• Do you know of any good people management materials? 
• Does anyone know of any continuing ed courses in marketing and advertising or do know anything about library marketing and would be willing to share? 
• Lastly, what are some skills that you wished you learned in library school?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.  Inquiring librarians want to know!

I Know You Missed Me

I didn't blog yesterday.  

If you are a regular reader, I'm sure you noticed.  Or perhaps you didn't notice because my endless posts on romance have annoyed you enough to stop reading.  Sorry about that, but, what can I say, I like romance.  And really you probably do to, but you just don't know it yet.  And before you say you don't like romance I would kindly ask you to stop judging a book by it's cover (because really, no one needs that much man titty in her life) and just try it once.  I would suggest starting with something by Nora Roberts, Loretta Chase, Julia Quinn, or Jennifer Cruise.  

But anyway...I digress.

Back to why I didn't post yesterday.  I know you were all dying to read part three of What I Wish I Learned in Library School (you can read part one here and part two here) and I will be posting it later today.  It didn't get posted yesterday, because, well, I haven't written it yet.  

But the real reason I didn't write yesterday (or Monday for that matter) was that something very exciting arrived on my doorstep on Monday.  

Something that caused me to do nothing buy play most of the day yesterday.  

Something that required my undivided attention because it was just so gosh darn exciting.

I bet you really want me to stop being so annoying and just tell you what it is.  

But I can't tell you.  I have to show you.  

Isn't it beautiful?!?!  In case you live under a rock or something, this is a new iPhone 4.  I've never owned an iphone; I just have my regular ipod nano that pretty much stays in my car to provide me with a nice soundtrack (or an audio book) for my commute.  

I cannot accurately express my insane joy to finally own an iphone and to be able to do all the cool things it can do.  My old phone was quite nice, but I didn't have a data plan so going online was out.  With my brand spanking new iPhone 4, I can finally play on facebook and twitter at work.  You know, during my free time between all those lit searches.  

Anyway, learning all about my new phone occupied most of my day yesterday and therefore, I didn't blog.

Mystery solved.  I know it was killing you.  

Menu Plan Monday

Did you have a good weekend? Ours was pretty quiet, mostly filled with watching the final two World Cup matches, cleaning, reading, and cooking. Speaking of cooking, this weekend we enjoyed:

Friday: Grilled Salmon, Wild Mushroom Risotto, Crusty Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Saturday: Pasta with Homemade Sauce

Sunday: Pork Tenderloin, Fried Okra, Sautéed Squash and Zucchini

Mom goes back to work this week, which means I go back to doing most of the cooking. This week I have planned:

Monday: Pasta and Veggies in Lemon-Parmesan Sauce

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Lemon Chicken, Asiago Cheese Grits, Sliced Cucumbers and Tomatoes

Thursday: Crock-Pot Pot Roast, Rice, Peas or another vegetable

I hope you have a great week! If you need menu planning tips or recipe ideas, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Summer Reading Books: Likes and Dislikes

Warning: If you don't like romance novels and/or aren't interested in what I have to say about them, I suggest coming back tomorrow.   

Yesterday, I updated you on my summer reading progress.  To date, I've read 39 books and am in the process of reading Dream Man by Linda Howard and listening to It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips in the car.  As I mentioned yesterday, the books are beginning to run together, so I thought, in a very (very) brief way, I would list which ones I liked, didn't like, and which ones I'm neutral on. 

Liked (the ones I loved are in bold): 

Dreaming of You

Pride and Prejudice 

Outlander

Devil in Winter

Welcome to Temptation

The Viscount Who Loved Me

Lover Awakened

Mr. Impossible

The Duke and I

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton 

Naked in Death

Dark Lover

The Secret

Lover Eternal

Devil's Bride

Sea Swept

When He Was Wicked

It Happened One Autumn

Born in Fire

Lady Sophia's Lover

Worth Any Price

Rising Tides

Born in Ice

Ransom

Slave to Sensation

Didn't Like (Didn't finish are in bold):

Lord of Scoundrels (It's been over a year since I read this and my feelings may have changed so I'm going to reread it)

Flowers From the Storm

The Serpent Prince

Morning Glory 

Something Borrowed

Neutral:

Bet Me

Slightly Dangerous

Lord Perfect

The Bride

Mr. Perfect

Then Came You 

Saving Grace

Dragon Fly in Amber

Voyager

I'm not going to go through each and every book because that would take forever.  I will however, tell you why I didn't like the ones I didn't.  

Lord of Scoundrels:  Someone told me I should turn in my romance reader card for not liking this book.  Admittedly, I didn't finish it.  In fact, I didn't make it very far in.  I couldn't even skip through to find a better scene.  This book is on everyone's top ten list of favorite romances of all time, and frankly I don't see why.  However, I may have been in bad mood when I started this book or I may have been looking for something different, so I'm willing to give it another chance. 

Flowers From the Storm: This book was just too much for me.  Too long, too much emotion, too many plot lines, just too much.  I can't handle a Quaker herione, a hero whose had a stoke and now in a mental institution, and the angst (oh the angst) associated with the herione trying to heal him and keep him from being declared legally insane.  Oh, and did I mention the math?  Too too much.  I got about a quarter of the way through this, then started skimming.  I got the gist, but I just wasn't caught up in the emotion as AAR's reviewer obviously was. 

The Serpent Prince: Honestly I don't remember what I didn't like about this book.  But I didn't because I only read about half of it before I started skimming.  I think I was bored.  There really isn't anything special about this book that sets it apart from other regencies.  I like the hero, but if I want to read about a lavishly dressed nobleman, I think I'll stick with the Duke of Villiers and Eloisa James. 

Morning Glory: I read this book years ago, but it's stuck in my head of one of the few romances I truly didn't like.  LaVyrle Spencer is incredible popular, especially among women who started reading romance in the late 80s, but this is the only book I've ever read by her.  I didn't like it, therefore, I didn't read her anymore.  I can't remember many of the details, but I remember being frustrated by the characters and found the story boring.  I like some action in my plots, and I think that this one is more character-based.  Unlike Nora Roberts, who can excel at this type of book, I found this one to be a disappointment. 

Something Borrowed: This was recommended to me by several people and I was really looking forward to it.  I'm not sure if a lot of my dislike came from listening to this book rather than reading it, but I thought that Rachel was one the wimpiest, wishy-washy, spineless characters to ever enter fiction.  (I know that's a little harsh).  Towards the end of the book, I was mentally screaming from Rachel to put on her big girl panties and deal with it.  I think at some point I may have actually yelled out loud at her while driving (it had been a long week).  All that said, I didn't turn the book off; I needed to know what happened.  It's why I'll still read Something Blue because I really need to know if Darcy gets what's coming (I doubt it).  But overall, I didn't like this one.

I'm afraid to ask if people agree with me or not.  I'm sure I stepped a few toes with Lord of Scoundrels and Flowers from the Storm.  But, I'm going to grin and bear it.  Do you agree with my lists?  What are your thoughts?

Summer Reading Stall Out

Do you have a drop-everything-to read author?  I have several.  Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, J.K. Rowling (back with Harry Potter was being published), and Nora Roberts are my drop-everything-stop-reading-everything-else authors.  This week this concept became abundantly clear.  I usually don't pay any attention to the idea of stopping a book in the middle to read something else, but this week I did.  This summer has been big as far as new releases by my favorite authors and I've spent a considerable amount of money on new books (new releases and books for my Summer Reading Project).  Julia Quinn released Ten Things I Love About You in May, and Lisa Kleypas released Married by Morning in May and Love in the Afternoon came out last week.  Nora Roberts published the 3rd book in her Vows Quartet, Savor the Moment, in May and her latest single title The Search was released on Tuesday.  With the exception of Love in the Afternoon, all of these were purchased and read on their release date.  I'm holding on to Love in the Afternoon as a treat to myself when I'm having a bad day.  I didn't want to rush through The Search because I love love love Nora and I like to savor her books since she only releases one single title a year.  It took me three wonderful nights of reading and the book was amazing.  Unfortunately, I'm way behind on my summer reading.

All these new releases, along with SB Sarah's Sizzling Summer Book Club, has made it a little harder to read all the books on my reading list.  I've already read 39 of them which is huge progress of course, but I'm accepting the fact that I won't be able to finish the list before Labor Day.  It's an impossible goal to read 8 books a week.  That's more than a book a day, and something I just can't accomplish while working full time.  Now if this was my full time job (how awesome would that be?), it would be no problem.  But it's not and I can only hope to read 2-4 books a week and hopefully will accomplish my goal before Christmas.

I'm not complaining.  This is an awesome project and I look forward to reading all these books.  It's been a little exhausting though.  I usually read a lot of romance, but I've never pushed myself through so many.  I'm a little burned out on alpha males and HEAs.  I'm also forming some very strong judgments about what does and what does not make a good romance.  I haven't liked all the books on the list, and some of those didn't get finished or I skimmed through because there was something about it I didn't like.  I'm thinking I should make a list of those I liked and those I didn't, because I'm starting to get them mixed up. 

So that's what new with me on my summer reading project.  Are you reading anything special this summer?  How's it going?

Food Waste Friday - No Waste?

I don't have a picture to share because I'm not sure what my food waste really is.  We haven't thrown any food out yet, but there are more leftovers than we can eat (I think) in the fridge right now for me to say this is a no waste week.  I have a feeling that by tomorrow or Sunday, some or most of those leftovers are going to end up in the trash.  I was really hoping this would be a no waste week, with my mom being off work and dad working from home.  I thought they would eat up most of what we had left.  But that wasn't the case this week.

I'm trying not to stress about it.  If we eat it all, then great, if we don't, well, then it's getting thrown away.  We tried, and that's what really matters in the big scheme of things.  At least nothing has gone bad, which is a marked improvement over some weeks.  

How did you do this week?  For other peoples' stories, visit The Frugal Girl.

Recipe: Grilled Veggie Skewers

This is an easy side dish to accompany any grilled meat.  It's really a great side dish for anything, not just something grilled, but I don't like to fire up the grill just to grill veggies.  But if you have an indoor grill (I'm jealous!), this could be done anytime.  

Grilled Veggie Skewers - Makes as many as you need

Wooden skewers

Whole button mushrooms

Grape or cherry tomatoes

Zucchini, cut into chunks

Vidalia or red onion, cut into chunks

Extra virgin olive oil

Coarse salt (I like kosher salt)

Freshly ground black pepper

*Any seasoning blend you like, such as Herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning (if desired)*

Soak skewers in water for an hour to prevent burning.  Thread desired amount of veggies onto each skewer.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  If desired, toss with seasoning blend.  

Grill, over medium heat, until cooked and fairly tender.  Tomatoes should be beginning to burst, but not quite.  Zucchini should be firm, not mushy.  This usually takes 10-15 minutes.

*Cook's Note:  I occasionally toss grilled veggies in something else for more flavor.  This is especially necessary if you are grilling potatoes.  Grill seasoning, herbs de Provence, Italian seasoning, or just fresh rosemary make good additions to grilled veggies.  Personally, I think this selection of vegetables doesn't need anything.  This is the perfect opportunity to allow the freshness of the veggies to shine through.

Served off the skewer with Grilled Shrimp.

Another Round of Shameless Self-Promotion

Just in case some of you don't read Closed Stacks (why don't you? it's awesome), LibrarianRx, otherwise known as yours truly, had another great (I think) post on life as a medical librarian.  You should most definitely check it out. 

Also, on another self-promotion note, I'm on Twitter.  Have been for a while, but never posted about it.  So if you are on Twitter, feel the need to follow yet another blogger, and want to read the random comments I make, you may do so by following @LibrarianLizy. 

Recipe: Grilled Shrimp Skewers

My family loves grilling.  Take a gander at our weekly menu plans and I guarantee there will be something grilled on it. One of the things that we love to grill is seafood.  Grilled fish is a common occurrence, typically we have fish on Fridays (thanks to Lenten habits that perpetuate throughout the year), and I prefer grilled salmon over almost any fish out there.  We have shrimp a good bit as well; either cooked by my dad or in some sort of scampi.  We have been known to grill shrimp once or twice, and when we do, we use this recipe.

Grilled Shrimp Skewers - Adapted from Bobby Flay

4-6 long wooden grilling skewers

20-30 large shrimp, peeled and devined

1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium is best)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (or 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/4 cup oil (Bobby suggests peanut, but we use vegetable)

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted, divided

Soak the skewers in water for an hour.  This will keep them from burning during the grilling.  Thread 5-6 shrimp on each skewer, making sure they lay flat.  Place in large tupperwear container or a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Mix soy sauce and next 6 ingredients (through the oil) in a small bowl; reserve 1/4 of the marinade for a sauce if desired.  Sprinkle shrimp lightly with salt and pepper on both sides.  Pour marinade and 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds over shrimp skewers and cover container.  Allow to marinate in the fridge, 30 minutes to an hour, turning skewers halfway through the time.

Preheat grill to medium high.  Grill shrimp 2 minutes per side or until just cooked through.  Put cooked shrimp on a serving dish and sprinkle with remaining toasted sesame seeds.  Serve with reserved sauce, if desired.

Served with grilled vegetables.

What I Wish I Learned in Library School, Part II

Last week, I blogged about how I wish I had done library school differently.  This week I'm here to tell you what classes I wish I had taken and the things I should have paid more attention to.  I did learn a lot in library school, a ton really.  I couldn't be a librarian without the skills I acquired in school.  But knowing that doesn't stop me from wishing I had had more time, more courses, a better sense of the job market and that it was/is necessary to be as marketable as possible, and a better focus.  

I am NOT a good student.  Sure, I appear to be.  I made straight A's in library school, including reference which is by and large considered to be the toughest class in the program.  (That is, if it is taught by Margaret Dalton.  And it should be; that's the only way to roll.)  I graduated magna cum laude from undergrad which is where I learned to write lengthy papers with no purpose whatsoever (a skill necessary in library school).  Despite that, I am a terrible student.  I played games on my computer in class, I rarely did the reading, I crammed for finals, and wrote papers in 12 hour stints, putting it off until the last possible moment.  Knowing this about myself, I can't really say that I wish I had done things differently in school, because I know that I wouldn't have done the learning part differently.  I always started out each semester with good intentions; I did my reading, focused in class, asked intelligent questions.  But unless the class was particularly interesting and/or entertaining (which only happened twice), I stopped doing the reading, starting gchatting my friends, and occasionally job hunted (in my last semester at least) during class.  

I do wish, however, that in certain circumstances I had paid more attention.  In my organization of information course we briefly touched on cataloging for a class or two.  It confused me greatly and I drowned my confusion in yet another game of BrickBreaker.  I learned very little about cataloging and what I did learn/understand made me stay away from the cataloging course.  In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, "Big mistake. Huge".  I needed that class.  Not only would it have made me infinitely more marketable in my job search, it would have been tremendous help to me now.  But no.  I ignored the class both semesters it was offered.  

Another course I wish I had taken was Special Libraries.  I actually thought about taking this one, because I knew that cool research jobs occasionally came open and they were primarily in special libraries, but there were so many people who wanted to take the course that I opted out so not to take the place of someone who really wanted to take it.  The class is only offered once a year, and I thought that I was doing the nice thing.  After all, I wouldn't be working in a special library.  I was going to be an academic reference librarian (right?  RIGHT?)

Along those same lines is management.  I took the required management course; in fact, I took two.  I took both Academic and Public Libraries.  I can honestly say that Academic Libraries is the class I learned the least in and paid attention the least.  I spent that class buried in the back row with my roommate, playing games, eating lunch, and generally not learning.  Public Libraries was decent.  My professor was the director of our local public library, and when she was on her game, taught us a whole lot about real life in a public library.  Her class actually made me want to work in a public library.  But honestly, I didn't learn anything about management.  Management is, along with some other things, a skill that I will address in my next post, but it's also something I was really unprepared for and one that taking the Special Libraries class or the regular library management course may have helped fix. 

Other courses I wish I taken were Information Resources in the Sciences, mostly because there are ton of jobs open as health science librarians in academic institutions (and because it would help me now); user instruction, which was actually offered, but I was too busy with my history classes, and medical libraries, which wasn't offered until I graduated, but wow would that have been a help.  Most of this would have simply made me a more well-rounded librarian.  If I had taken cataloging and the Sciences course, I could have applied for more than double of the jobs I qualified for.  I may not want to be a cataloger, but after 5 months of unemployment, I would have started applying for anything, had I been qualified.  

Check back next week, when I will discuss all the skills that I wish had been taught or that I wish I had acquired.  In the meantime, share your thoughts.  What classes do you wish you had taken in library school?

Menu Plan Monday

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend.  We spent the weekend relaxing around the house and watching movies.  I took a half a day off on Friday (more on why later) and I have today off.  I have very few plans; I'm potentially going to see a movie with a friend, but other than that, I'm laying low and enjoying my day off.  Our grill got a big workout this weekend and I'm learning to grill!  Dad is very patiently teaching me the ins and outs so I can one day man the grill myself!

This weekend we enjoyed:

Friday: Grilled Shrimp Skewers, Veggie Skewers, Rice Pilaf (shrimp and veggie recipes coming soon!)

Saturday: Grilled Steak, Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus 

Sunday: Grilled Chicken and Italian sausage, Corn on the Cob, Asian Slaw

My mom is off this week from work and I'm gladly turning the kitchen over to her!  This week we will be having: 

Monday: Pasta tossed with Broccoli, olive oil, and toasted garlic

Tuesday: Veggie night!

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Horseradish Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Peas

Shhh...The Library is a Quiet Space

This week my mom pointed out an editorial in our local paper that featured someone complaining about the noise in his local public library.  He had gone in to read and have some quiet time on a weekend afternoon and was shocked to find that the library was not the somber, boring place he remembered it once being.  He was angry, wondering when the library had become a playground.

This short piece made me angry on several levels.  First off, this is not the time to be complaining about the library.  This person obviously has no clue that his local library branch is probably in danger of closing because of lack of funding.  I bet he wouldn't be complaining if he knew that the government wanted to fire librarians, close branches, and take away his precious "quiet space" to save the city some money.  

It also made me angry because why should libraries be quiet?  Who says that is the way it's supposed to be that way?  The old lady in the bun and glasses saying "shh" at the desk?  I'm fairly sure she left the library along with Dialog-based databases.  Aren't libraries supposed to be part of the community, a place for families to gather and spend time together?  Isn't that part of what we are afraid of losing with the closure of public libraries?  

This patron was obviously distressed about the amount of children.  I do have a problem with parents who use the library as a babysitter or who allow their children to run wild in the library (or really in any public place), but libraries, especially on the weekends, are going to be full of children.  And children make noise.  That's just a simple fact.  Children make even more noise when they are with parents who are taking time to spend time with them, perhaps at a fun story time.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this; in fact, I think it is one of our biggest library treasures.  

I think this patron was clueless as to what a public library has become in the past few years. It is now a social space where you go to get a cup of coffee, play on the computer, check out some movies, listen to an author, or maybe attend a story time.  The library, the public library in any case, is no longer a place for quiet, personal study time or a place to sit and read a deep book and think deep thoughts.  You can, of course, still do that if you like, but be prepared for noise and children.  The library is a community space, and the more people who recognize this and use it as such, the better off all of our communities will be.

If a patron like this complained to you, what would you say?  Do you think the library should still be a quiet zone?

Food Waste Friday

I was really hoping to make this yet another no-waste week, but a banana and a potato got in the way.  Last week was the quarterly warehouse sale at one of our local grocery stores, and like always, we stocked up on meat.  We were also able to get toilet paper at a very discounted price and 5 pounds of potatoes for around a dollar.  Remembering what happened the last time I had too many potatoes, I was quick to look through them and check for bad spots.  I thought they were okay, until I started smelling that funny smell again, and sure enough, found a potato beginning to go bad.  I was able to rescue the rest of the lot, and am looking forward to some mashed potatoes with our horseradish meatloaf this weekend.  

The banana was another good catch.  I grabbed a banana on the way out the door this week and noticed that another had a really bad spot.  I told my dad to eat it, but he forgot, and by the next day more than half the banana was bad and it couldn't be salvaged.  Oh well.  It could have been way worse.

I didn't get a picture of either the banana or the potato so please enjoy this picture of dancing bananas instead.  

Did you waste any food this week?  Share it at The Frugal Girl!