October is here!
By the time you're reading this, we are knee-deep in fundraiser prep! The 4th annual Taste of Lower Providence is on October 10th! If you've ever wanted to eat, drink, and mingle in a library, this event is for you! I love this event; I get to let my hair down a little and get to know some patrons-turned-party guests a bit better! I'm so excited to eat some of the best food from my favorite restaurants.
It's just a fun event, AND it benefits the library!
As I've mentioned before, I love fall. It is my favorite season. Sweater weather, soup season, pumpkin spice EVERYTHING. But mainly, it's finally socially acceptable for me to talk about soup...
I love soup. I love making soup. I love to cook and used to spend a lot of money on cookbooks. When I started working at the library, I discovered probably the greatest library "hack" that changed my life:
Checking out cookbooks!
I now have a rule: If I use more than three recipes from a Library Cookbook, I'm allowed to buy it. This rule has not only changed my meal plans, but it has taken a load off my bookshelves...literally. The catalog contains THOUSANDS of cookbooks. There's something for every palate.
Here are just a few of my favorite cookbooks that I discovered at the library and then bought for my home collection.
Quick Homemade is probably my most-used, favorite Library Cookbook. The cheesy broccoli gnocchi soup is my family's favorite dish. We eat it weekly during soup season!! The book also has sandwiches, sheet pan meals, and party pleasers. If you walk into my kitchen, this cookbook is probably the one sitting out on the counter.
Wonder Pot is one of the companion books to the book above. This is a staple book for soup season. The Creamy Corn Soup with Bacon is my favorite recipe in the entire book, but there are so many I like that picking a second favorite is hard!
The "I Don't Want to Cook" Book: Dinners Done in One Pot is my newest acquisition and is quickly becoming a favorite. The Short-Shakhuka and sheet pan tacos are on a solid rotation. We had a CSA this summer, and this book helps me use up the vegetables that I've never seen before. Now that I'm in soup mode, the Creamy Tortellini Soup with Ground Beef will return to the meal plan.
These are just a few of the books that made the grade and were allowed to join the bookshelf. If I could talk about all the cookbooks I've checked out for special occasions, holidays, or just looked neat, I'd be here all day and night. I probably check out at least 20-30 cookbooks a year. That is a HUGE savings by just using my library card!
If you love our cookbook collection or discovered it recently, let me know what your favorite recipe has been! I would also love to hear your favorite money-saving library hack!
Speaking of cookbooks, deep in the bowels of the library, we found an entire box of cookbooks published in 2013 by our very own Friends of the Library! It must have been a previous fundraiser for the library. We had a really fun time looking through and seeing some familiar names and fun recipes. Once our very busy fundraiser season is over, I think I want to try a few of these recipes. Keep an eye on our socials for that!
As for what I'm reading lately, I'm currently reading This Is Me: A Reckoning by Hayden Panettiere. I love a 2000s celebrity memoir; they are one of my light-reading guilty pleasures. I had this book far off on my not-a-TBR, but Panettiere recently passed away at 36. It's a light read, but also sad knowing what the eventual ending is...
I just finished listening to What I Made for Dinner by Krys Malcolm Belc. The Author talks about what it was like to deal with the pandemic while raising kids, wanting another child, working, cooking endless meals, and watching his favorite cooks on the internet. I found this book in our latest issue of Book Page, and I immediately related to the author. During the pandemic, I was also juggling kids and watching people cook on the internet. It was such a weird time when we all had to latch onto *something* to feel normal. This memoir wasn't just about viral chefs but also touched on family life in Philadelphia. It is amazing to find books about people who are so different from yourself, but you find a way to deeply relate to them. I feel like the author and I could meet up for coffee!
I hope you enjoy October as much as I will!
Don't forget to come say hi when the library has a table at the township's Fall Fest on October 3rd!
See you at the library!
