I Have a Question…

On Wednesdays and Thursdays I post recipes that I love and think you all would enjoy as well. Cooking is such a huge part of my life so I feel that it should be a large part of the blog as well. But I wanted to get your opinions, dear readers. Do you like the recipes? Or would you rather have other sorts of posts? If so, what sort? If you like the recipes, what sort of recipes would you like? More baking recipes, main courses, desserts? I don't post step-by-step recipes with photos like The Pioneer Woman or The Frugal Girl does, but I could, if that is what the readers would like.

So I really want your opinion! Please share what you would like to see concerning recipes and I will do the best I can to accommodate you!

Love,

The Unemployed Librarian

Love Your Public Library

Today was my weekly trip to the public library. I returned some books, picked up one that was on reserve, and found three others. I'm a huge book nerd (what good librarian isn't?), but books aren't the only reason I love my public library. My local public library is huge; I choose to go to the library one suburb over because the whole library experience is just so much better there. For example, as I walk through the entry and a sign about Italian catches my eye. Looking closer, I see that's it is an opportunity for Italian speakers to chat in their own language. Apparently this is once-a-month gathering that features a new language every month. My dad speaks Italian (I do too, sort of) but we never speak it at home. This would be the perfect opportunity to brush up our skills and meet some people in the community who also speak Italian.

This is such a great programming idea. Language in libraries is pretty common, but it's mostly directed at ESL and learning Spanish. While that is super important, it's also ignoring other languages and their native-speakers in the area. While I don't live in a huge hotbed of cultural activity with lots of different languages and ethnicities, I know there are plenty of German, Italian, French, Japanese, and Mandarin speakers around. If they are library-goers and hear about this, then this is a perfect program for them.

My public library has an amazing selection and an even better staff. I smile every time I'm there. The library must be banking on patrons like me, because they have recently (within the last year) created the most amazing space. They call it the Plaza and it features the friends of the library bookstore, a small café, a small newsstand, a meeting room, a large area perfect for author events and musical performances (both of which happen frequently), and lots of seating space for adults and children. I'm usually not a huge fan of this sort of area in a library (except in academic libraries where coffee is necessary to create functioning students) because it tends to create a lot of noise and commotion. Most of the time when I'm at the library I'm either browsing for books or trying to get some work done, so I don't like a lot of hubbub. But my local library has created a space well removed from the main part of the library. A breezeway (and plenty of well-displayed signs) directs patrons to the plaza. I've visited it before, just to look around, but today I took full advantage of it. After perusing the stacks and checking out my materials, I made my way back there, bought a great panini for lunch and spent a very relaxing few moments enjoying my newly checked out books along with my lunch.

The situation had a very Barnes and Noble feel to it, which I normally dislike in my library. A library is not a bookstore in my opinion. But this felt very different. Everyone around me was either on a computer or looking at library books and the two small children I saw were exclaiming over the books and DVDs their mother had found. While separate, the plaza was obviously designed to promote the library. Because all of this activity is removed enough from the library, it doesn't interfere with anyone looking to use the library for study or research space. Designing this space was a great idea; the staff has created a comfortable place for events which so far outdistances usual library meeting venues. There is plenty of room to have a small meeting or spend time with friends; it's a great community space all within the library. Plus, the coffee wasn't half bad.

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday: Roast Chicken, Risotto with Peas, Brownies with Ice Cream and Fresh Strawberries

Monday: Mushroom and Spinach Toss, No-Knead Crusty White Bread

Tuesday: Mediterranean Chicken Herb Pizza, Salad

Wednesday: To Be Determined; It's my dad's birthday!

Thursday: Cheesy Bacon Hashbrown Casserole, Pioneer Woman's Biscuits

Friday: Gnocchi with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Pesto

As always, Menu Plan Monday is brought to you by I'm An Organizing Junkie.

A Truly Simple Weekend

If you are a regular reader, you may have noticed that I haven't posted anything since Thursday afternoon. I didn't forget to nor am I ignoring my blog; but instead, I did this purposely. I decided to take an internet sabbatical this weekend. Sounds strange, doesn't it? Taking the weekend off from the internet?

Why would I ever do such a thing? I did it because I find myself spending way too much time on the computer, more specifically playing around online. When all you can think about is checking your email or what is new on facebook, you know there is a problem. The solution? Stay away from the computer all weekend long. I did what I needed to at work on Friday, but instead of getting back online as soon as I got home, I stayed away. I didn't even turn on the computer at all until about an hour ago.

Instead of spending mindless hours online, I slept late, made homemade lunches, baked bread and brownies, did laundry, roasted a chicken, watched a movie, cleaned my room, and spent time with my family. Without staying glued to the computer, I was able to accomplish a lot of needed tasks. I'm sure this isn't something that will be happening on a regular basis, but it felt great being able to get things done and not getting distracted by some random website.

What about you, could you take an internet sabbatical?

Food Waste Friday (a few days late!)

I'm super late posting Food Waste Friday (err…Food Waste Sunday?), but the good news is that we didn't waste anything again this week! I'm really focusing on not making more food than can be eaten at dinner and during the week as leftovers. I'm incorporating a leftover night one day a week and making sure to remind my dad, who works from home, what is available for lunch in the refrigerator. I just hope I can keep this up!

For more information on Food Waste Friday, check out The Frugal Girl.

Recipe: Bubbling Chicken

Most of you would probably recognize this dish as "Chicken in Wine Sauce" or some variation on that, but as a kid, I always called this "bubbling chicken" because of the way the sauce looks when it comes out of the oven. This is a super simple dish and is best served over rice. Add a green veggie and some bread to mop up all the delicious sauce and you have an excellent meal!

Bubbling Chicken – Makes 6 servings

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, patted dry

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 (10 oz) can cream of celery soup

½ cup dry white wine

Arrange chicken breasts in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper (we go a little heavier on the pepper for extra flavor). Bring soups and wine to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour over chicken. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 325° oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked through and sauce is "bubbling".

Recipe: Horseradish Meatloaf

Don't let the title of this recipe scare you. It may just be the best meatloaf ever made. I cannot describe how good it is. I just know that it is important that you make it next time you are craving meatloaf.

Horseradish Meatloaf – 8 servings

2 pounds ground beef

¾ cup uncooked regular oats

1 large onion, chopped

½ cup ketchup

¼ cup milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Topping:

½ cup ketchup

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard

Combine beef and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Place into a well-greased 9x5 loaf pan.

Mix topping ingredients together. Pour half of mixture over top of meatloaf. Bake, uncovered, in preheated 375° oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Spoon remaining topping mixture over meatloaf and bake for another 10 minutes. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

I Got the Shock of My Life Today

This morning started off like any typical Tuesday for me. I got up, did a few household chores, and then settled in to check my email and read my blogs. I was just about through when I noticed a new post had come in within the last few minutes. I clicked it and almost fell out of my chair. There on the ACRLog, the blog run by the Association of College and Research Libraries, was yours truly. Before I go any further why don't you hop on over and read the post for yourself.

You done? Good.

Oh, by the way, if you wondered hear via ACRLog, welcome! I'm so glad you took a few minutes to visit my humble blog. If you would like to know how I became an unemployed librarian, you can read that here.

I commented a few weeks ago on an ACRLog post about things that we might like to read about in the future. I expressed my interest in reading about job hunting tips from academic librarians who have been in the same place I am now (unemployed :) ) and more information/real-life stories on what it is like to be an academic librarian right now. I never dreamed that this would spark StevenB to write a whole post about my blog. (I'm still trying to get my breath here, so bear with me.) I would like to say thanks to Steven for thinking that what I had to say was relevant and worth writing about and I wanted to use this opportunity to address some the points brought up in the post.

1. The name of my blog. I came up with the name of my blog because I am an unemployed librarian. The name of my blog does not define what this blog is all about. This blog is not just about being a librarian or being unemployed. This blog is an assemblage of lots of things I'm interested, like frugality, menu-planning, budgeting, and getting my food waste under control just to name a few. I do try to write things about librarianship or issues in the library world at least once a week, but this blog isn't, and never will be, totally about librarianship. All of this said, however, I understand where Steven is coming from. If I'm going to title my blog The Adventures of an Unemployed Librarian, I should expect people to think it's mostly about librarianship (or being unemployed). I realize that if I put this blog on my resume (which I do) or in emails to potential employers (which I also do), they may not be as impressed to see such a limited number of posts on my field. Therefore, I do think that I need to devote more time (maybe another post a week?) to something dealing with books, libraries, or librarians. I don't plan on changing the title of this blog until I get a job because it obviously is eye-catching enough to spark this post, plus I like it. :)
   
2. Gaining Library Experience. Having job experience is a huge part of getting a permanent full-time job, especially in the library world where many skills just cannot be taught in the classroom. I do have some experience; I completed a semester-long internship at the science and engineering library on my school's campus and I worked part-time for a year at a communications library. I learned some wonderful things in these two jobs, but unfortunately, they were student positions, which to some employers, doesn't equal real library experience. Right now I work two to three days a week as a library assistant in a medical library at a local hospital. The library is moving and I was hired on to assist with the weeding, reorganization, and eventual moving of the library. It isn't great, but it's something. The woman who hired me is an excellent contact, so I'm hoping that will help me out in the long run.
   
3. Making contacts/networking. I'm terrible at this. Absolutely terrible. I meet lots of people, but fail to follow up or if I do, it's only one or two emails. It's something I really need to work on. My mother, always trying to be helpful, has provided me with a number of contacts locally and mostly I haven't done anything about it. This needs to change. It just took someone else to say it (or blog about it). Even if it doesn't lead to a job, it's still good to have people that know you and are willing to talk to you. This leads right into number four…
   
4. Meeting with other academic librarians. Like I said, I'm really great about meeting people and then not doing anything about it. I think this is because I feel awkward asking people for help or advice, so I just avoid this situation. I've been unemployed for three months, so even I can see that I can't really make my situation any worse just by talking to people.
   I'm going to my state's library conference next month as a volunteer and I plan to go armed with business cards and goals for meeting people. Again, it may not lead to a job, but it will probably make me feel better. I also know a few of the younger librarians at UA (where I went to library school) who would be willing to go to lunch or grab some coffee if I asked. I just have to put forth the effort and do it. Which is the hard part. Sigh.
   

I've been waiting to post this because I wanted to see the sort of feedback Steven's post got. It's a mixture of opinions and suggestions from leaving the field (which I am considering) to taking any library-related job to just persevering and being tenacious in my job hunt. It's definitely a lot to think about but I'm thinking there are some things I can do. I know some people in the book world (and I love books) so I'm going to get in touch with them. I wouldn't mind working at a bookstore as long as it wasn't part time, and working in the corporate book world would be awesome. I'm going to use what little contacts I have to start building a network and going to work on not being afraid to ask for help. I'm a common patron at my local public library and even though I don't want to be in public librarianship, it's a good idea to stop by and introduce myself as a recent LIS grad. Maybe I can at least volunteer there. I'm also going to keep sending out applications. 

But what I really want is to hear more advice. Send me an email or leave me a comment. Do you have any suggestions? Any contacts? Know of a job I might not know of? I'm asking for any kind of help you could possibly give me!

Menu Plan Monday

My mom and I decided we need to start eating a little bit better than we have over the past month or so. That means less yummy breads and cakes and more lean proteins and fresh vegetables. My menu isn't 100% healthy, but I'm slowly adding back in some Weight Watchers recipes. Luckily my favorite local farmers' stand has reopened this past week; that should make eating healthier more exciting and a little more frugal!

Sunday: Pasta with Homemade Tomato Sauce

Monday: Chicken and Green Beans with Lightened Lemon Butter Sauce, Roasted Potatoes

Tuesday: Horseradish Meatloaf, Weight Watcher's Mashed Potatoes, Peas

Wednesday: Breakfast for Dinner: Hashbrown Casserole (recipe coming soon), Muffins

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Penne with Vodka Sauce

As always, Menu Plan Monday is brought to you by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Entertainment On a Budget

I'm young and single, so spending time with my friends is a huge priority for me. The problem is, spending time with friends often means spending money. When I was in school and working, this wasn't a problem. I worked hard, and didn't have a problem spending money at the movies, out to dinner, at bars, etc. Now, though, it is becoming a problem. I'm living on the money I earn from my (very small) part-time job and my savings. Neither of these is ideal to spending money while hanging out with friends.

I've come up with a list of activities that are meant to take the place of regular entertainment activities (dinner, movies, nights out at bars). I'm not good at sticking to this list, but I am trying, so that has to count for something. (Right?)

• Rent a movie instead of going to see one. Renting movies is still expensive, but it's cheaper than seeing them at the theater. Going to the local Redbox is even cheaper than the rental store or OnDemand. Have friends over, pop lots of popcorn, and watch the movie. If you're anything like us, you probably won't actually watch the movie, but spend more time talking. (Which is always more fun!)
  
• If going to see a movie is unavoidable, suggest a matinee. Matinee prices usually last until 6:00, which means that people can come straight from work and still make the cheaper show. One of my local theaters has a "super matinee" that's even cheaper. It's $6.50 versus $7.25 for the regular matinee and $8.75 for the regular price. My area also has a $1 movie theater that I like to go to. If you skip the concessions, it's a great deal! Speaking of…
  
• Skip the concessions! It's such a waste of money!! Bring snacks (and a large purse) if you like to eat while at the movies. A theater near me has a special on Tuesdays where a small popcorn and a small drink are a $1 each. Not a bad deal when nothing will satisfy that movie-theater popcorn craving.
  
• Don't do dinner and a movie. If your friends insist on going out to dinner or to a movie, suggest one or the other, but not both.
  
• Meet friends for lunch rather than dinner. You'll save way more money that way. Bonus, meet for lunch at a sandwich shop or a typical lunch place. Food tends to be cheaper there than at a regular restaurant.
  
• If dinner is all that fits everyone's schedule, aim for something less expensive. Sandwich and burger places, chain restaurants, and local favorites tend to be more budget friendly. Everyone's trying to save money these days. People, friends especially, will understand when you say you're trying to watch your wallet.
  
• Share an entrée with a friend. Restaurant portions are huge anyway, so offer to split something. Share an appetizer or dessert (but not both!) if you don't think one entrée will be enough food.
  
• No one wants to share? Order an appetizer as your main meal. Ask for a side salad to go along side, if you'd like. But check your prices! This could end up being more expensive than just ordering an entrée!
  
• Skip main meals all together and grab coffee, ice cream, even breakfast! The point is to spend time with friends, not to eat. Again, just say you are being more careful with your money and suggest an alternative. Real friends will understand and be supportive.
  
• Meet for happy hour instead of hitting the bars late at night. Most bars have happy hour specials, so use these to your advantage.
  
• Can't get out of going out? Be the designated driver. That way you're confined to 1 drink AND you have an excuse to explain why you are not drinking.
  
• Suggest a totally new idea! Try hitting a local state park for a hike, browsing an arts-and-crafts fair (no buying!) or farmers market, or just hanging out at home. Who says you have to spend money to spend time with friends!
  

I would love some other ideas on how to spend less money on entertainment. Please share!

Food Waste Friday

This week I wasted…


















NOTHING!

I'm so excited that we didn't waste anything this week. I accomplished this in two ways:

1. Cooking two large meals (6-8 servings in each) and eating it all over the course of several days. We were able to eat all the leftovers and feel satisfied.
   
2. Making a check of the fridge today. I saw some lettuce that was turning so that went on sandwiches and some leftover soda bread from Tuesday. It was beginning to stale, but we at it anyway.
   

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

Recipe: Risotto with Peas

A lot of people are intimidated by risotto. It seems complicated and time consuming, all that stirring. I used to be very intimidated, until I made it a few times and got the hang of it. Now I no longer find it complicated. The bonus aspect is that I absolutely adore risotto. It's so creamy; perfectly delicious. When I think comfort foods, risotto is on my list. I've been making risotto for a few years now and have the technique down. Everyone makes risotto a little differently, but this is my (and my family's) favorite way.

Risotto with Peas – 4 servings

3½ cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3-4 garlic cloves (depending on size and garlic preference), minced

1 small onion, chopped fairly fine

1 cup Arborio rice

½ cup dry white wine

2/3 cup frozen green peas, thawed

½ grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, optional

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a small saucepan; keep warm over very low heat. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 6 or 7 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 to 2 minutes longer. It's important not to add the garlic too early; you don't want it to become overly browned. Add rice and stir to coat. Cook 2 minutes to toast the rice. Add the wine and stir until all the wine is absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. Ladle in ¾ cup warmed broth and stir. Lower heat to medium-low, and stir often, until the broth is absorbed. This takes about 6-8 minutes. Continue adding broth, ¾ cup at a time, making sure that all the broth is absorbed before adding in more. This should take between 25-35 minutes.

When almost all of the last bit of broth is absorbed, stir in peas and continue cooking until all the broth is absorbed and the peas are cooked through. Stir in remaining tablespoon of butter, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and parsley (if using). Taste and adjust seasons accordingly. Serve immediately with additional cheese if desired.

Note: Risotto is one of those great dishes that you can add just about anything too. The trick is to cook whatever you're adding in separately, and then toss with the risotto at the end as not to overcook it. My family enjoys adding sautéed mushrooms and/or asparagus to our risotto. 

 

 

Recipe: Crème de Menthe Brownies

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I would share one of my family's favorite brownie recipes. It's pretty basic; I start with a boxed mix, but feel free to use your family's favorite brownie recipe.

Crème de Menthe Brownies – Makes a 9x13 pan

Adapted from Paula Deen

1 9x13 pan of baked and cooled brownies

½ cup (1 stick) of butter, softened

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

4 tablespoons green crème de menthe*

6 ounces (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

6 tablespoons butter

Beat butter and sugar together until well combined and creamy. Beat in crème de menthe until well blended. Spread over cooled brownies and refrigerate until firm. Melt butter and chocolate chips in a double boiler (or in a small bowl over a pan of simmering water like I do!). Pour over brownies, tilting to cover all the filling. Refrigerate until firm.

*Crème de menthe comes in green and clear. If you can't find the green kind, just add in a few drops of green food coloring to make these brownies St. Patrick's Day friendly.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Enjoy!

Intellectual Freedom

This is a reprint from two previously published posts on my old blog, Chronicles of a Library School Student. I think that intellectual freedom is one of the most important tenets of librarianship, and I felt that I should share more about it with you. 

"Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings." ~Heinrich Heine, Almansor, 1823

"A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone." This quote, said by Jo Godwin, may be one of the truest things ever to be said about libraries. No library can be truly complete, cannot provide a well-rounded and comprehensive education to all, without containing books that offend certain people. Because no two people are alike, what is offensive or vulgar to one person, is beautiful art to another. A librarian cannot have an opinion one way or the other, but must simply collect the materials to suit the needs of their patrons.

Intellectual freedom is a core value for librarians. As defined by the American Library Association, intellectual freedom advocates "the rights of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment". Intellectual freedom encompasses things like censorship, internet rights, and privacy in the library. ALA asserts that any publicly funded library, including public, academic, special, and school libraries, should uphold the values of intellectual freedom. This freedom is one of the greatest gifts we have. It protects you from being judged, ridiculed, or criticized because of your choice of reading material. And a librarian is the protector of this freedom.
 
But exactly does that mean? It means that when you walk into a library you can expect to find materials collected without regard to race, gender, sexuality, age, etc. You can expect to able to use the internet for your own purposes (as long as it isn't hurting or violating anyone as per the Children's Internet Protection Act). You can expect the library staff not to reveal any information about you or the materials you checked out without a signed search warrant. Intellectual freedom means that when you step into a library, there are no judgments. No one is going to stop you from reading, watching, listening, or checking out materials. Your privacy will be protected to the best the librarian's ability.

So librarians aren't impartial; they care deeply about protecting this important right. It's a massive responsibility, but one I feel honored to uphold. I think this is the most important things taught in library school. It's more important that cataloging or reference or even better than technology skills. The foundation of understanding that every person who enters into a library has the right to read whatever he or she wants is something that isn't easy to learn or accept, especially when the library you grew up may not have felt that way. Just as it is not the librarian's job to babysit your children while in the library, it is not her responsibility to decide what is inappropriate for your child to read. That's your job as a parent. So don't ask us to restrict, don't ask us to judge. Because we won't. Because we believe that everyone has the freedom to read.

For more information about the American Librarian Association and the Freedom to Read Foundation, visit http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/othergroups/freedomtoreadfoundation/index.cfm.

Menu Plan Monday

I apologize for the late post today and no post yesterday. We had a minor family emergency (everything is fine now!) yesterday evening, so things have been a little crazy. This week we have eaten or will be eating:

Saturday: Chicken Tetrazzini, Crusty No-Knead White Bread

Sunday: Horseradish Meatloaf (recipe coming soon!), mashed potatoes, peas*

Monday: Leftovers, Salad

Tuesday: St. Patrick's Day meal (a day early J) – Shepherd's Pie, Irish soda bread, Crème de Menthe Brownies (recipe coming soon!)

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: To Be Determined, but something involving chicken

*Because of what happened this weekend, this has already been scratched. I'm sure it will show up in next week's meal plan because it is super delicious (and because I have so many potatoes that need to be eaten).

As always, Menu Plan Monday is brought to you by I'm An Organizing Junkie. 

Stocking Up On a Budget

This weekend is one of my local grocery store's warehouse sale. This isn't a store I frequent very often because I find it to be a little more expensive, but it's just down the road and is usually where we stop by when we need just one or two things. While there prices are usually higher, I still check the circulars every week looking for good deals, especially on meat.

Meat is the most expensive thing we buy and I'm always on the lookout for great deals. We take advantage of the warehouse sale because we can stock up on many items without breaking the bank. This weekend we were able to buy:

• 12 beef tenderloin steaks
  
• 3 pounds extra lean ground chuck
  
• 7 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  
• 8 pounds russet potatoes
  
• 12 pack of Diet Dr. Pepper
  

We spent $86.00 on these items. That may seem like a lot, but all the meat will last for months in the freezer. As soon as we got home, Mom and I portioned out the steaks and the chicken into freezer bags so only what we need for dinner will get defrosted. I was really excited about the chicken since it was $1.99 a pound. That's the lowest price on chicken around here and whenever I find that price, I stock up. (That would explain why there are 10 bags of chicken in my freezer.) I was most excited about the potatoes because all 8 pounds only cost – get this - 99¢!! I've never seen potatoes that cheap. Given that an individual russet potato is usually 79¢ or more, this was the best deal by far. I would have bought more, except we don't eat tons of potatoes and I'm going to have to work extra hard to plan meals around potatoes and/or make and freeze tons of mashed potatoes.

Obviously the steaks were the most expensive. I'm not a huge fan of steak, but my parents are. We try to limit how much red meat we eat, both for health reasons and because it can be very expensive. Finding really great steaks (and they really are amazing cuts of meat; even I like them) at a such a great price is great and it's worth stocking up on. They will last for months in the freezer and we can enjoy steak whenever we want.

Besides the warehouse sale, I use the circulars that come in the paper as a guide to let me know what to stock up on. For example, my usual grocery store has my favorite brand of pasta on BOGO, so I plan on running out to pick up some. In this house there is no such thing as to much pasta! I also like to stock up on soup; when a sale is combined with a coupon, good deals are going to happen! I'm always on the lookout for flour sales since I bake so much. I know that flour usually goes on sale around the holidays, and with Easter just around the corner, I'm hoping to see flour on sale soon!

Do you stock up? What do you like to buy in larger quantities?

I was bad today…

I made this cake:

I've had such a craving for a chocolate pound cake lately. It's not the most frugal thing in the world (5 eggs, 2 sticks of butter, 3 cups of sugar, etc), but it tastes so good. I couldn't resist. 

Before it was baked...

and after some of it was eaten!

So yummy…

Food Waste Friday

I knew I wouldn't be able to get away with not wasting anything this week.  I made mashed potatoes over a week ago, and I just made way too much for us to eat.  They sat all lonely in the fridge until Mom threw them out.  They just weren't going to get eaten.  We also threw away some chicken salad that Mom made a few weeks ago.  I think it got lost in the fridge; I certainly had forgotten it was in there.  Dad was able to eat the last of the risotto for lunch yesterday, and so now the only leftovers are from Wednesday and Thursday.  We would have eaten them for lunch, except it's Friday, so no meat for us.  I'm sure they will get eaten tomorrow.  

The chicken salad went out earlier this week without a picture, but here are those pesky mashed potatoes.  I'm making some on Sunday and planning on making less this time!

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

Recipe: Crock-Pot Pot Roast

This is one of those old family recipes. My mom has been making pot roast this way for as long as I can remember. It's a little different from most roasts, but I think it is super delicious. It's very difficult to overcook the roast, so you can make it up and start it early in the morning and it will be falling-apart done come dinner time. This is my favorite kind of recipe: no muss, no fuss. Enjoy!

Crock-Pot Pot Roast – Serves 4-6

1 2-3 pound chuck roast

Pepper

Garlic powder

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 package onion soup mix (I like Lipton's)

Dry red wine

Water

Pat roast dry and sprinkle all sides evenly with black pepper and garlic powder, to taste. Place in slow cooker. In a bowl combine, cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, ¾ of a can of red wine, and ¾ of a can of water. Mix thoroughly and pour over roast. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve with rice.

Recipe: Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

This is a wonderful, very healthy recipe. They are best eaten warm and spread with a little butter! I apologize for the lack of a picture; these were all gone before I could take one!

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins – makes 12

¾ cup all purpose flour

1¼ cups quick-cooking oats

½ sugar (1 cup honey can be substituted)

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ salt

2 egg whites

½ cup fat free milk

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 cup fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries

In one bowl combine the flour, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar. In another bowl, beat egg whites, milk, and oil until soft peaks form (about 5-7 minutes when whisking by hand). Fold into flour/oat mixture and stir just until combined. Batter will be lumpy. Fold in blueberries gently.

Grease muffin cups. Fill each cup ¾ full. Bake in a preheated 400° oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from cups.

Adventures in Job Hunting

I have been looking for a full-time library or information professional job since September. I had heard (correctly) that academic libraries take a ridiculously long time to process applications and make decisions, so I figured that by getting started 4 months before graduation would be plenty of time to get a job before I had to move out of my apartment at the end of January. Obviously, that was not the case as it is now March and I'm writing a blog about being an unemployed librarian. I've learned a few things over the past months about job searching and thought I would take the opportunity to share this with you.

1. Apply early. Many jobs claim to be "open until filled" and usually that means you can submit your application at your leisure. In today's economy, however, this is no longer the case. I have received two letters during my search that says I was too late; they've received too many applications to get to mine. So open until filled isn't actually the case. My advice: as soon as you find the posting, apply for the job. Hopefully your application will get in the stack that actually gets reviewed and not thrown in the trash.
   
2. Don't apply for a job you don't want. I learned this one the hard way. Back in January I finally got an my first face-to-face interview at a small town public library. I was prepared to move to a small town and prepared to take on a job that might be over my head. Or so I thought. The more time I spent at the interview, the more I realized that I'm not cut out for public librarianship. I thought that I could take a public library job until I found an academic one, but soon after leaving the interview, I realized that I would be doing both the library and myself a disservice if I took a job I didn't want. I would be unhappy thus my work, and consequently, my patrons, would suffer. I was offered the job soon after the interview and turned it down. My dad keeps asking me if I regret it two unemployed months later and my answer is still no. But lesson learned: don't apply for a job just to apply. Only apply for the jobs you are prepared to do and jobs in places you are willing to live.
   
3. That said, don't be too picky. I know that I want to eventually end up in a larger research institution. However, that isn't stopping me from applying to small colleges, community and junior colleges, and special research libraries. I need to get some experience before I can apply to large universities. These smaller institutions will provide me with the experience I need.
   
4. Patience. Having patience is good advice in life and great advice in job searching. It is not a virtue I'm known for, but I'm definitely working to improve myself in that respect. I know that if I keep applying, continue to follow up, and remain patient, I will eventually get a job I want.
   

What have you learned from job hunting? Feel free to share!

Menu Plan Monday

I was a huge slacker on Thursday and didn't plan the menu for this week. That means that I sent my poor mother to the grocery store without a complete list. I finally sat down tonight and laid out this week's menu and made a second grocery list. I'm about 99% sure we won't come in under $100 this week, but sometimes life happens that way. All I (and anyone) can do is hope for a better week in the future.

This week we will be eating:

Sunday: Grilled Chicken, Risotto with Peas (recipe coming soon!), Wheat Dinner Rolls

Monday: Gnocchi Florentine, Rolls

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Chicken Kiev and/or Chicken Cordon Bleu (part of a Christmas gift), White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

Thursday: Crockpot Pot Roast, Rice, Green Beans

Friday: Lemony Shrimp Scampi Pasta

For more than 400 meal plans, check out I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Simple Sunday

I had a choice today. I could either go shopping for some desperately needed work clothes, or I could keep my Sunday simple by not driving and accomplishing some tasks around the house. I opted for the latter. Yesterday was a simple day as well (I only left the house to pick up take-out for dinner), but I decided that I would devote Tuesday (when I don't have to work at my part-time job) to running errands, so I could stay at home and save money.

Today is devoted to cleaning my room, which is an unqualified disaster, doing some laundry, making bread, and applying for jobs. Dinner tonight is grilled chicken, risotto with peas, and wheat dinner rolls.

How are you spending your simple Sunday?

Being Well Read on a Budget

Being a librarian, it's no secret that I love to read. I adore books, of all kinds, but especially romance and historical fiction. Alas, these are not always the most popular in the eyes of the general public. I'm usually at a loss when people ask, as they often do of librarians, for book recommendations. I can go on and on about my love of Nora Roberts or Diana Gabaldon, but these aren't books that are going to appeal to everyone. This summer I set out to remedy that. I created a nice long list of books, mostly of the general fiction persuasion, that were designed to improve my ability to give good book recommendations. I read a good number of the books on my list over the summer, but once school picked back up again, I reverted back to my easy reading schedule of romance novels mixed in with the occasional fantasy.

It's not always easy to read so many books on a budget. Books can be very expensive, and sometimes the wait list at the library is months long. I've learned, however, that in order to finish my list, I've got to learn patience. That and find other things to read in the meantime. I started using paperbackswap.com a few years ago when I was frustrated at finding the same books at my local used bookstore. If you are unfamiliar with the website, it operates like a book-trading system. Membership is free; once you sign up you can begin posting books you wish to trade. Every time someone requests a book from you and you mail it to them, you earn a "credit". Credits are then used to order books for yourself. All you pay for is the shipping costs of sending your books to people who request them from you. Through this website, I've able to clean out a good number of books that I had lying around my house and have been able to get lots of books I've wanted to read.

Using PaperBackSwap and the library have been my two ways of working towards my goal of being more well-rounded in my reading choices. The library is an obvious choice since it's free, but PaperBackSwap is also a good choice because it gives me an opportunity to declutter my numerous bookshelves. I occasionally visit used bookstores and trade in some of books for credit there, but to date, I have more credit that I'll ever use, so, for now, I'm sticking to these two sources.

Do you like to read? How do you read on a budget?

A selection of recently acquired books from the library and paperbackswap.com.

*I have not been paid or compensated by PaperBackSwap to endorse them. I am doing so because I truly love their website.

Food Waste Friday

As far as I can tell, we have zero food waste this week! Whoohoo!! I've been a little more mindful of our leftovers, so there is nothing in the fridge in danger of going bad immediately. I can't claim that next week will be the same; leftovers from Wednesday and Thursday's dinners need to be eaten! But for now, yay me!

For more on Food Waste Friday, check out The Frugal Girl.

Recipe: Wheat Sandwich Bread

Like many people, I'm concerned about the amount of preservatives in packaged food. I try to eat and cook with mainly whole foods, but it's not always easy. In order to avoid preservatives I often choose to make the food rather than buy it. The main things I choose to make instead of buy are bread products. Have you looked at the ingredients for a loaf of sandwich bread lately? I shudder at the thought of all those preservatives going into my body. Luckily, bread is easy to make (thanks to my stand mixer!), and is usually cheaper than buying it pre-made at the store. The bread I make most often is this sandwich bread. It took me a while to find the right recipe, but this has been the favorite of my family so far.

Wheat Sandwich Bread – Adapted from The Frugal Girl

Makes 2 8x4 loaves

2½ - 3 cups whole wheat flour

2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 package (2¼ teaspoons) yeast (I use rapid rise)

2¼ cups milk

1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1½ cups of wheat flour, 1 cup white flour, and yeast. Heat milk, butter (or vegetable oil), sugar and salt in a microwave-safe bowl or large measuring cup until it reaches 115-120°. Add warm liquids to flours and yeast and beat on low speed until combined. Beat a high speed for three minutes.

Add enough of the remaining flours (more white flour may be needed, depending on the weather that day) to make a soft, kneadable dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Put dough back in bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour.

Punch dough down and divide into two pieces. Roll each piece out to a 6"x18" rectangle. Roll up, jelly roll-style, starting from the short end, and place, seam side down, in a greased 8x4 loaf pan. Repeat with other dough piece. Cover with damp tea towel and allow to rise 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled.

Bake 25-30 minutes in a pre-heated 350° oven. Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing. 

 

I also made French Bread on Tuesday.  If you are interested in this recipe, check out The Frugal Girl's recipe.

“Economic Triage”

If you followed me over from Chronicles of a Library School Student, you'll probably remember that I am not a fan of the Annoyed Librarian. Yes, she is one of the most-read and popular librarian bloggers (there are tons of us out there!), but a good bit of the time, I seriously disagree with what she has to say. Not that I don't love sarcasm in a blog, but her style of writing is not to my taste. Yet I continue to read the blog… Despite my feelings about the AL, most of her posts are really relevant and always have lots of good links and information about what's going on in the library world. In fact, a lot of my blog posts on my old blog were inspired by something I read on the Annoyed Librarian.

Today I came across an article she had linked in a post about the usefulness of a librarian. I feel strongly about this, but we'll save that for another day! This particular article that was cited was about budget cuts in the city of Phoenix. The president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, Mark Spencer, said that the city is in "economic triage". The PLEA suggests cutting programs and services that are not crucial to the city, instead of doing budget cuts all around. Items on the list to cut are libraries, transportation, and services to seniors. Services not to cut funding to are the police, the fire department, and other public safety organizations.

Now I fully understand that the city is in financial trouble; most cities are. And I understand that budgets are going to be cut across the board. Libraries tend to be undervalued (again, another post for another time!) and are usually, along with the arts, the first services that feel the budget crunch. What really made me mad in this article was that Mr. Spencer compared libraries to cosmetic surgery. Basically he said that libraries are just there for fluff, or in this analogy, to make you look good. That is so not true. In this time of economic turmoil, most public libraries are seeing jumps in patronage. Many people are realizing that the public library offers more than just pleasure-reading books and now come for the free internet, job hunting resources, magazines, and DVDs. Librarians are doing everything they can to serve these new patrons to the best of their ability, despite dwindling budgets. Maybe library services, especially books and DVDs, are "wants" and not "needs" in terms of budgets for a city, but keeping services that provide free help to the community is crucial in attracting new business and supporting the overall moral of a city. I hope that Mr. Spencer takes the time to speak to the local librarians and discovers that, while libraries aren't providing life saving services, they are incredibly important to an already suffering community.

What do you think? Should libraries be closed in a case of "economic triage"?