The Reader Digests | Fried Chicken and Waffles

One of my favorite things about traveling is discovering new places to eat.  About a month ago, I went to Phoenix and was looking for something close by the ASU Downtown campus.  Lo and behold, Lo-lo's Chicken and Waffles was just down the road. Now, I had never tried this fried sweet and salty combo before, but I'll try pretty much any food once - no food discrimination here.  My friends thought it sounded gross.  Really, what's odd about it?  We eat chicken fried steak for breakfast, we dip bacon in maple syrup, we pair fruit and meat all the time, and we coat pretzels with chocolate. So, what's so weird about fried chicken and waffles?  Nothing! It's delicious!  We all loved it!

Lo-lo's....yummmmm

Where did this scrumptious creation come from?  Who was the genius who put this together for the very first time? Well, according to The History Kitchen, the first chicken-waffle mixers were the Pennsylvania Dutch.  However, the first FRIED chicken and waffles were served up at the Wells Supper Club in Harlem, New York around 1938. And the fried part is key, in my opinion.  Ann and John Wells served up the delicious combo to late night diners such as Sammy Davis Jr., and Nat King Cole.  The meal was perfect for binner, dreakfast, supfast, or brupper - the meal between dinner/supper and breakfast. I have no idea if any of those are real terms, but if someone takes them, I said it first!

The book was adapted to film - twice!

The Wells Supper Club closed down after a 40-year run, but you can still find plenty of chicken and waffle restaurants all over the United States. Some of the closest to SSCJPL are Gussie's Chicken and Waffles (SF), Home of Chicken and Waffles (Oakland), and Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles (LA Area).  

And, you can even find Chicken and Waffles in the library!  Pick up a copy of Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain, a 1941 book about (among other things) a single mother during the Great Depression who successfully opens up chicken and waffle restaurants in the LA area. Or, pick up a couple cookbooks about fried chicken and waffles and make some of your own! 

Learning | Use Your Imagination

Do you like to color? I don't find time to color very often these days, but I like it. I remember how excited I was to get a pack of crayons with 64 colors when I was small. It had colors like "Sky Blue" and "Burnt Sienna!" So much better than my little 8-pack.

I have to share a story my sister-in-law told me a long time ago. Her son (let's call him Larry, instead of his real name) was in kindergarten, along with his twin sister (we don't really need to use a name, but if I had to make one up, I think I would like to call her Esmeralda.) The kindergarten teacher called my sister-in-law to tell her she wanted to talk to her about Larry.  She was really worried about him. My sister-in-law-- (Wow. I'm getting tired of typing that phrase over and over. Let's make up a name for her, too. Let's call her "Claire.") Claire asked why she was worried.  

The teacher showed her examples of Larry's art work. They were all done using only the black crayon. All the other children, including Esmeralda, were using other colors. The teacher thought Larry needed a psychiatric evaluation; she implied that Larry must be very disturbed. Claire did not agree.

Later, when Larry and Claire were at home, Claire said,"Hey, Larry! I see you like to color with the black crayon." Larry grinned and said,"YEAH! See how it slides across the paper faster than the other crayons?" Well, needless to say, Larry was not a troubled child. He has grown up to be a fine young man, and his creativity shows in his cooking. I wonder if he still likes the black crayon best.

Just Life | Library Treasure Chest

If this library is a treasure box, then non-fiction books are the precious stones of this treasure chest.

Nonfictions are the books that teach us how to cook, how to play the piano, how to tile a floor, or how to speak French. 

Nonfictions tell you what to eat to lower your blood pressure or what exercises to do to alleviate your arthritis.

Nonfiction books run this country.

Did you know that you can download free nonfiction audiobooks from our library Overdrive? 

Right now, I am listening to: Focus:use different ways of seeing the world for success and influence. I downloaded this audio book from the library Overdrive to my smartphone. 

If you have a smartphone, consider downloading the Overdrive Media console app to it and you can listen to audiobooks for free. All your need is your library card number & pin number. 

So, what do you fancy to learn today?

Signing off unitl next Monday- Panteha

Book Bucket List | Miss Rumphius

We are lucky enough to get many materials donated to us here at the Manteca Branch.  What we cannot use at the library goes to the book sale run by the Friends of the Manteca Library.  They sell books, dvds, cds, magazines, and children's materials at very reasonable prices. I think most things sell for below $2.00 each.  It is a wonderful service run by volunteers and the proceeds support the library and our services.

A book that was donated to us this last week is Barbara Cooney's Miss Rumphius.  I recognized the cover very quickly and soon realized it was a book I loved from my childhood.  The story is about Miss Alice Rumphius, who at a young age was taught by her grandfather to do something in her lifetime to make the world more beautiful.  Miss Rumphius has many adventures (she even works at a library!) but decides she needs to take her grandfather's words to heart and spread beauty around the world.  She decides that she is going to plant flowers in as many places as she can and is soon known as "the Lilac Lady."  When she is older, Miss Rumphius teaches her niece that she also needs to spread beauty during her lifetime.

This is a really beautiful story with very detailed illustrations.  It not only gives a nice lesson to children that will hear or read the story, but adults can apply these lessons to their own lives as well.  So if you're in the mood to make the world a little more beautiful, go plant some flowers and read Miss Rumphius!

Learning | Mark Twain

In recent years, a very long biography began publication. Mark Twain was a prolific writer. He stipulated that his version of his life not be published until 100 years had passed. “I will...utter it from the grave. There is free speech there, and no harm to the family,” he once said.

I really want to read these books. Mark Twain is a larger-than-life figure in America's history; he was an adventurer, journalist, author and humorist. But since each volume is more than 700 pages long, I think I will have to wait until I have an extended vacation to get through them.

The Autobiography of Mark Twain is expected to be in three volumes, by the time it is completely published. So far, only volumes 1 and 2 are available, and you can check them out from SSJCPL. While no firm date has yet been released for the third volume, the expectation is that it will be published by the end of 2015.

While we all wait for the third and final volume of Twain's autobiography, we can amuse ourselves with the University of California's Mark Twain Project Online. Go ahead; poke around in Twain's letters and writings; view images, maps, and other resources.

Just Life| Free Magazines

Did you know that you can check out magazines from the library. It is free and you can check out up to 25 magazines.

I regularly checkout magazines from the library. It saves me money.  Why pay $4 for a magazine that you want to read only once? Right?

Here are a few of these magazines:

Woman's day

Sport fishing 

Country Living

Golf Digest

Hot rod

Popular Science

Men's Health

Bon Appetit 

So, on your next trip to the library, don't forget to checkout some magazines.

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha 

Books On Film | Garfield

Children love Garfield, the titular character from Jim Davis' comic strip. Garfield is a cat who loves to eat and who has humorous one-sided conversation with his owner Jon and Jon's dog Odie. Davis started the comic strip, which holds a Guiness World Record for being the most widely syndicated comic, in 1978 and it still continues today.

As a child, I spent time watching the animated series 'Garfield and Friends.' These days children watch the CGI animated 'The Garfield Show' and it's spin-off graphic novels in addition to collections of the original comic strips.

Besides inspiring several television shows, Garfield was also adapted into two live-action movies (Garfield The Movie & Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties) with comedian Bill Murray voicing Garfield. 

If you know a child who liked the movie try introducing them to the comics.