Cook It Up This Summer

I love food, I love eating, and most of all, and I love to cook the food I eat.  Cooking gives you the satisfaction of creating something delicious.  Cooking is a wonderful way to express yourself creatively.  Cooking also makes you popular—people love food and the people who give them food.

Cooking also gives you control over what you put into your body, which may be more important now than ever before.  Teenage diabetes, namely Type 2 diabetes, is on the rise in the United States.  Until recently, this was a disease rarely seen in children and teens.  Now, with increasing obesity rates, young people are at much greater risk for weight-related diseases.

Take charge of what and how you eat!  If you are a beginning chef or have been cooking for years, these books are for you.  For more cooking inspiration, take a look at some of these food blogs written by teens!

Books:

Eat Fresh Food: Awesome Recipes for Teen Chefs by Rozanne Gold

Teens Cook: How to Cook What You Want to Eat by Megan Carle

Teen Cuisine by Matthew Locricchio

Blogs:

Check out A Teen Gourmet, written by a Kentucky-based teen about cooking, starting college, and life!

In Kate’s Kitchen features delicious recipes with step-by-step instructions and photographs on how to make each recipe!

17 and Baking features everything baking.  Check out this blog to find out how to make cookies, bars, and other scrumptious baked goods!

Happy Seward’s Day!!

You probably have never heard of Seward’s Day. I had never heard of it until a few days ago when I was looking for odd holidays that happen in March (like Girl Scout Day on March 12th or Make Up Your Own Holiday Day on March 25th). One of those odd holidays was Seward’s Day, which celebrates the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. William H. Seward was the US Secretary of State who negotiated the deal, so the day is known as Seward’s Day. I do remember that the purchase of Alaska was originally called ‘Seward’s Folly’ because some people thought $7 million was too much to pay for such a barren wasteland. I guess Seward was right though as Alaska has provided the United States with lots of natural resources, Jewel, and the TV show Northern Exposure.

I am choosing to write about Alaska though because it has been my dream vacation destination for as long as I can remember. I actually prefer to not leave the house (or at least the western Pennsylvania region), but if I could travel somewhere Alaska would be my choice. I have always thought that Alaska was beautiful and majestic and would be a cool place to visit. I’ve always dreamed of seeing the glaciers, flyfishing, and visit Denali National Park. Plus, I love seafood and Alaska probably has some awesome fresh seafood! I even know where I would stay- the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge near Denali National Park. Maybe some day I’ll be able to visit and then I can blog about my adventures! Until then have a great Seward’s Day and keep dreaming of your own fantasy vacation!

Hungry? Head to Art Club!

Many of you are already aware of the Main Teen Room‘s AWESOME Art Club which meets every Wednesday from 3 pm to 5 pm.  But did you know that beginning this month, on the second Wednesday of every month we’ll be offering a different food related craft at Art Club?  Instead of getting creative with yarn, glitter, and tissue paper; teens will be making their masterpieces from spaghetti, sprinkles and other edible materials.  Teens- we heard you loud and clear.  You don’t have to say it with your mouths, because we probably wouldn’t be able to hear it over the roaring of your tummies anyway.

 Wednesday, January 11 @ 3pm: Marshmallow Mania

 Wednesday, February 8 @ 3pm: Candy Dynamite

 Wednesday, March 14 @ 3pm: Cookie Decorating

You say you can’t make it to Art Club?  Please, stop crying and check out these books filled with yummy recipes and edible crafts instead.  Just try not to drool all over the library’s copy.

Candy Construction: How to Build Edible Race Cars, Castles, and Other Cool Stuff Out of Store-bought Candy!

by Sharon Bowers

 

Learn how to build a chess board from chocolate kisses, a pirate ship from krispy rice treats, a race car from licorice and more delicious construction projects using just about anything with candy and other goodies.

Cute Yummy Time: 70 Recipes for the Cutest Food You’ll Ever Eat

by La Carmina

Easy instructions for making the most adorable snacks.  The most difficult thing about the recipes in this book is mustering the strength to eat your cute creations.

Face Food: The Visual Creativity of Japanese Bento Boxes

by Christopher D. Sayers

Any die hard manga and anime fan knows what a bento box is.  But do they know how to make the delicious treats that go inside?  Check out this step-by-step guide and interviews with charaben enthusiasts.

Junk Foodie: 51 Delicious Recipes for the Lowbrow Gourmand

by Emilie Balt

Even if you’re not the most impressive chef, you can still make a delicious feast.  Just visit a vending machine and open this inspirational book!

Smoothie Snacks

I don’t know about you but I’m fending off left over Halloween candy and cookies well into November. And with a few of the biggest gastronomic events of the year still on the horizon I’m doing my best to keep it cool with the calories.  It’s not easy. I love to cook and eat, and to me this is the best time of year for both.

One of my favorite ways to get lots of vitamins without empty calories is by making a smoothie. Smoothies can include tons of different ingredients with room to adapt for all types of dietary concerns, and personal taste. My basic smoothie recipe includes fruit and yogurt, but there are tons of options. I usually freeze my fruit because that creates a thick smoothie without the ice. Depending on the fruit you use, you might decide to add a little sweetener like honey or agave nectar. Using fruit flavored yogurt could kick the sweetness up too. Try using soy based yogurt or plain soy milk if you want to go dairy free, and keep in mind that there are no rules!

If you want a more filling smoothie consider adding some oatmeal, oat bran, or flax-seed for a fiber boost.  Don’t just limit yourself to fruit either, a wide variety of vegetables would add great nutrition to your smoothie. Try any type of greens, carrots, peppers or tomatoes, or for a richer smoothie put in some peanut butter or chocolate.

It seems like I’m not the only one who likes to have a smoothie snack now and then. There are tons of books on how its done.

Or if you’re looking for a smoothie with the flavors of the season check out his one I stumbled across on the terrific cooking blog called The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Pumpkin Smoothie Ingredients

• 1 can (15 Ounce) Pumpkin Pie Filling
• 3 cups Whole Milk (more If Needed
• 1/2 cup Vanilla Yogurt (up To 1 Cup)
• A Few Dashes Of Cinnamon
• Cinnamon Graham Crackers, Crushed

Preparation Instructions

Well ahead of time, place pumpkin pie filling into a freezer-safe container. Freeze for a few hours or until frozen solid.

To make the smoothie, add milk, and yogurt to a blender. Drop in the frozen pumpkin pie filling and blend until the frozen filling is completely pulverized. Add more milk or yogurt as needed to get it the consistency you’d like.

Pour into individual glasses and sprinkle the tops with graham cracker crumbs. Serve immediately!

*Note: Make a lower-calorie smoothie by using unsweetened/unflavored pumpkin puree, non fat plain yogurt, and the sweetener of your choice.

*Can also sprinkle with cinnamon and/or nutmeg instead of graham cracker crumbs.

Happy Blending

-Brooke

Dorito Inventor Dies – Dorito Sandwich Eaten to Honor the Deceased.

Greetings, Pittsburgh Teens!  I’m blogging live from the Pennsylvania Library Association’s conference in sunny State College, PA!  While away from home, I tend to eat too much “road food,” such as cajun fries with ranch dressing, milk shakes, and onion rings.  So in the spirt of eating junky road food, I present this collection of short tales of  not-so-good-for-you-but-can-be-hard-to-resist foods, and junk food for thought.

The inventor of Doritos, Arch West, recently passed away, and Doritos were sprinkled on his grave.  One blogger also ate a Dorito sandwich to pay homage.

If you could sprinkle one food item on your grave, what would it be?

(I think I would go with black olives.)

Over at Laughing Squid, someone recently created a pizza-flavored pizza. That’s right, they made a pizza out of pizza flavored foods.  It looked like this -

(Special thanks to Denise for the heads-up on the pizza-flavored pizza!)

If you were to make a food-flavored food, what would it be?  Buffalo wing-flavored buffalo wings?  Cheese-flavored cheese? Ranch-flavored ranch dressing?

And at Thatsnerdalicious, they recently made a dessert out of potato chips dipped in chocolate.  Hey, if it works for pretzels, why not chips?

What salty snack do you think needs some chocolate?  Doritos?

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So, if you enjoy looking at pictures of strange and interesting food, you have some options at the library.  (Click on the covers to link to the catalog records.)

Happy junk fooding!

Holly, CLP-Main

POW: Poetry on Wednesday

If you haven’t read this poem already, there’s a 80% chance you would have come across it in  your life without me posting it here today. It’s a classic:

photo by flickr user hisgett

This is Just to Say

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

It’s by William Carlos Williams, who was both a doctor and a poet.

The reason I like this poem so much is that it is a perfect description of a moment, and it’s a description of a relationship.  All of that in 12 lines!  It’s got the joy of spontaneously eating something because it seems like the perfect thing to do, and the thrill of knowing it’s not very polite. You could read it a different way each time. Is the narrator really asking for forgiveness? Or is he confident that the plum-owner won’t care about the theft of his or her food?

Another fan (maybe?) of this poem was the poet Kenneth Koch:

The reason I say “maybe” is that Koch wrote 4 variations on the W.C.W. poem. They’re very funny – they could be criticizing the plum poem for being so lighthearted about stealing food, or they could just be taking the concept of an insincere apology to an absurd conclusion. You decide:

photo by flickr user squarejer

Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams

1

I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.

I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do

and its wooden beams were so inviting.

2

We laughed at the hollyhocks together

and then I sprayed them with lye.

Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.

3

I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the

next ten years.

The man who asked for it was shabby

and the firm March wind on the porch was so juicy and cold.

4

Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.

Forgive me. I was clumsy and

I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor!

(To read more from either poet, click on their portraits above.)

-Tessa, CLP – East Liberty

Vegan Ice Cream Recipes

 Summer heat getting you down?  Can’t tolerate dairy, or are you living a vegan lifestyle and wishing for ice cream?  I’ve got some ideas. 

I can’t tolerate dairy and boy do I miss ice cream during the hot summer months!  I found some great recipes, and honestly I don’t miss the dairy, they are that great!  Here are some links to try.

Links:

• Banana Nice Cream: From Whole Foods, a quick easy way to make “ice cream” I use almond milk instead of soy milk.  No ice cream machine required.  Add chocolate syrup or nutella instead of peanut butter if you’d like. 
• Vanilla Chocolate Chip Ice Cream: From a local Pittsburgh blogger and a friend, I make Emily’s recipe all the time. I even turn it into a “milkshake” – yum.  This recipe is written for an ice cream maker, but I’ll give ya a link that explains how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker in a bit.
• Vanilla Avocado Banana Ice Cream:  The avocado really makes this ice cream “creamy” and it doesn’t require an ice cream maker.
• Vegan Ice Cream Paradise:  Not only does this site have ice cream recipes, but also book reviews and topping recipes as well.
• http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/06/21/how-to-make-homemade-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-maker/: Instructions on how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker from a local blogger.
• Lemon Granita: Ok so granita isn’t ice cream, I know, but Emily’s recipe is great. 
• Fresh Strawberry Granita:  If lemons aren’t that appealing, then try this one. 

Websites and blogs are a great way to find recipes, but sometimes I like to leaf through a cookbook.  Check these titles out.

Veganize This! - by Jenn Shagrin

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The Vegan Scoop by Wheeler del Torro

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Hope you find something you enjoy, bon appetit!

~Kim

Pizza, Pizza

Last night when I started brainstorming for this blog post I had no idea what to write about. So I got distracted and started thinking about what I wanted for dinner, which after a late night at work, tends to be pizza. I have only lived in Pittsburgh for a few years and still have not tried many of the ‘famous” pizza shops like Fiori’s and Beto’s. That said, my two favorites in the city are Bella Notte in the Strip District and Pizza Sola in East Liberty.

I also love to make pizza at home too. Sometimes from scratch and sometimes I buy the dough to save time. A few weeks ago a friend made me pizza in a cast iron skillet… which sounds weird but it was perfect. Have you ever heard of grilled pizza?

The library has plenty of cookbooks to help get you started on making homemade pizza.

What is your favorite Pittsburgh pizza shop? Topping of choice? Cold or reheated?

-Michael B. – CLP Hazelwood

Favorite Summer Salads

 I love Summer!  And I love the fact that I can go out into my back yard and pick the food I will eat.  My garden basically is just salad ingredients: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, basil and the one and only veggie that people don’t usually put into salads; zucchini. 

I bet you can tell that I love salads.  So, I’m sharing some of my favorite salad recipes.

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• Strawberry Salad - make this one when you are craving something sweet – definitely worth it to make the strawberry poppy-seed dressing
• Black Bean Salad - the beans will fill you up – just make sure to rinse them really well.  I changed up a few things on this salad.  I hate cilantro so I use parsley instead and I grated the jalapeno.
• Caprese Salad - Amazing!  I love it with our without the balsamic reduction, so if that scares you leave it out and just drizzle with olive oil.  Super simple salad to make.
• Fresh Corn Salad - definitely use fresh corn for this recipe it makes it is so delicious.

Hope you try one, enjoy!

~Kim at Squirrel Hill

Frozen Hot Chocolate – The Best Thing Ever!

Ok, this is a must try.  OMG!  Print this out, or do whatever it takes, then run out and get the ingredients so you will be able to slurp this down.  You will thank me for it.  Really.

I found this recipe from Tasty Kitchen, and then adapted it slightly.  (They call for melting some of the ingredients over the stove.  I didn’t do that, I used the microwave.)  Here’s the ingredients and the adapted play by play.

Frozen Hot Chocolate (makes 3 – 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons of Sugar
• 1 package of Hot Chocolate Mix (or 3 Tablespoons if your Hot Chocolate Mix doesn’t come in packets)
• 2 Tablespoons of Butter
• 1/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/3 cup White Chocolate Chips
• 12 ounce, can of Evaporated Milk
• 4 & 1/2 cups of Ice

Play by play

• Combine sugar, hot chocolate mix, and butter in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir until a paste is formed.  (If the butter isn’t melted yet, go ahead and microwave for another 10 seconds, then stir.)
• Add semi-sweet & white chocolate chips, microwave for 30 seconds, then stir.
• Slowly stir in 1/2 cup of the evaporated milk, microwave for 30 seconds, then stir.  Now set this melted chocolate mix aside and cool to room temperature. (I know, I know, I never can wait until it completely cools.  Just wait until it cools down a little.)
• Pour the melted chocolate mixture into blender and add the remaining evaporated milk and the ice.  Cover and blend until smooth. (You can do this in batches if you have a small blender but it all fit into mine.)

Pour into glasses; top with whipped cream or marshmellows and enjoy!

~Kim – Squirrel Hill