#cooking

No-Bake Treats for the Dog Days of Summer

LinneaLeave a comment

Beat the heat and the boredom with these no-bake cookbooks! It can be hard to gather the motivation to cook in these hot summer months but good thing we don’t always have to. There’s plenty of sweet treats to make without turning the oven on. Here are a few cookbooks to try out and remember, when it comes to dessert, sharing is caring! 

No Bake Makery by Cristina Suarez Krumsick has over 80 recipes for small bite treats that you can make without using an oven! Learn how to make key lime pie, peanut brittle, marshmallow pretzel bars, and more, and learn baking techniques such as decorating your treats and tempering chocolate. 

Haven’t you always wanted to eat a cheeseburger made from rice crispies? Look no further than Jessica Siskin’s Treat Yourself!: How to Make 93 Ridiculously Fun No-Bake Crispy Rice Treats. Making food look like other foods or objects is “in” right now and you too can be a part of the action and make rice crispy treats into a camera, sushi, even a menorah. Siskin provides all the tips and tricks, so don’t worry if you’ve only made rice crispy treats shaped like rice crispy treats. Definitely a fun, creative way to fill your day! 

And what is summer without ice cream? But who wants to deal with churning and ice cream makers? Fortunately, No-Churn Ice Cream by Leslie Bilderback has our back and has compiled over 100 recipes without any special equipment. You’ll learn the basics (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry) and tons of variations, so no need to keep buying pints at the store! 

Enjoy all your new-found techniques for these no-bake treats to satisfy your sweet tooth all summer long! 

-Linnea

Cookbooks for Thanksgiving Inspiration

NicoleLeave a comment

Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday (Halloween will always hold that title) but I do rather love an excuse to consume copious amounts of food, try out new recipes, and acceptably nap on the couch in the middle of a family gathering.

If you are in need of some Thanksgiving kitchen inspiration, take a look below at some of my recommended titles for creating and sharing a delicious feast with your friends and family. Whether you are hosting a large group, people with special diets, or perhaps you are attending an intimate gathering, there is something for everyone in this curated collection.

Request one of these fabulous cookbooks today or stop in and see us at the library. What are some of your favorite cookbooks to break out for the holidays? Share in the comments!

August eBook Display- Cooking for Busy Schedules

NicoleLeave a comment

With another school year just around the corner, and many of us returning to spending more time in the office, you might be in need of some help in the kitchen! Fear not- all the titles below are cookbooks perfect for crafting delicious meals that work for those short on time.

Click here to jump to our OverDrive digital library!

Discover@RRPL – What I’m Eating While I’m Reading

carolLeave a comment

I’m so excited when I get to read a brand-new, brand new book -that is, when I am the first person to check out and read a library copy of a book. Don’t get me wrong, I love to share, but right now I am really enjoying the “new car smell” of the experience. It helps that I’m also really enjoying what’s going on between the book’s fresh covers, as well.

Better Luck Next Time by Julia Clairborne Johnson is set in 1938, in Reno, Nevada at the Flying Leap dude ranch. There, women who are waiting for their divorces to come through can, for a fee, put up stakes for the six weeks it takes for them to declare state residency and file the paperwork legally. While nursing their (sometimes) broken hearts, these women are pampered and catered to by hunky ranch hands like Ward, the narrator of this story, who finds himself torn between the job and, you guessed it, one of the ranch’s visitors. So far, this look at marriage, divorce, friendship, love, and finding yourself, is proving to be engaging and original and is educating me about a slice of American history that I hadn’t known before. Also, it is providing me with plenty of opportunities to laugh out loud along the way. Reserve your copy here!

But, enough about the book. Let’s talk food! It’s been so cold here lately that this weekend I thought I’d conjure some warmth by recreating a cake I made over the summer, a lemon cake that is chock-full of blueberries and covered a cream cheese frosting. I dare you to bake one yourself and take a bite with your eyes closed. You can almost feel the sunshine pouring down on you. I found the recipe online at https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/lemon-blueberry-layer-cake/ but you can find cookbooks by the genius who created this recipe in our catalog! Hope you enjoy. ~Carol

RRPL Gift Guide- 10 Best 2020 Cookbooks

NicoleLeave a comment

Ah, the kitchen. The heart of the home, the place with the snacks, and the location where you have probably spent much more time this year compared to last year. Maybe you devoted hours of sheltering at home time to baking, perhaps you took this as an opportunity to try that elaborate new recipe you never felt you had the time for, or maybe you just have gotten tired of takeout and decided to try and recreate a fancy restaurant experience at home.

If any of these sound like you, or your nearest and dearest, take a look at my picks for the ten best cookbooks to come out in 2020! I love to gift my favorite cookbooks during the holiday season. If you are lucky they will share some of their successful and hopefully delicious results with you after they try out some recipes! *wink wink*

Each of these titles would make a wonderful gift for a family member, friend, or a lovely book to add to your own cookery library. Don’t forget to order from Bookshop.org so you can support your local, independent booksellers this holiday season!

Happy holidays and I hope you stay happy, healthy, and safe this season!

Virtual Book Club – All About Thanksgiving

ShannonLeave a comment

While we may not be able to have the Thanksgiving we planned on this year, we can still celebrate the holiday by reading. We’ve curated a list of books about or set during Thanksgiving, and even a cookbook to give you that turkey and stuffing feeling.

However, we do want to mention that while Thanksgiving for most people is a holiday of family and togetherness, we are also including books on the troubled history of the holiday and what it means for the indigenous peoples of the United States. The holiday cannot be separated from its less-than-stellar history, and we want to acknowledge that.

Click any of the book covers below to be taken to our catalog, where you can request a copy of the book with your library card number and PIN. We’ve also included links to our e-media services Overdrive and Hoopla where available. 

We Gather Together by Denise Kiernan catalog link

We Gather Together: A Nation Divided, a President in Turmoil, and a Historic Campaign to Embrace Gratitude and Grace by Denise Kiernan

Well-reviewed and timely, this new book tells the true story of one woman’s campaign to have an annual holiday of thanks added to the national calendar. Kiernan also chronicles the struggles of indigenous peoples, women’s rights activists, and abolitionists intertwined with the holiday.

We Gather Together Overdrive link

This Land is Their Land catalog link

This Land is Their Land : the Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving by David J. Silverman

Another book of history, this book tells the true story of Thanksgiving – not the sanitized tale that we were taught in elementary school. This is a book that forces the reader to reflect on the history of colonialism that was used to found this country, and to understand that impact today.


The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler catalog link

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, this bestselling book was adapted into an Oscar-winning movie. Meet Macon, a grief-stricken travel writer who hates travelling, and Muriel, a dog trainer who tries to teach him to be human again in this beautiful and heartbreaking love story.

The Accidental Tourist Overdrive link

Turkey Trot Murder by Leslie Meier catalog link

Turkey Trot Murder by Leslie Meier

For the cozy mystery lover in all of us, try this Thanksgiving-themed murder mystery. Lucy Stone is the intrepid amateur investigator of all the murders that happen in the small town of Tinker’s Cove, and when she finds a woman dead in a local pond, she must find the killer before the turkey gets cold.

Turkey Trot Murder Overdrive link

Turkey Trot Murder Hoopla link

Thanksgiving : How to Cook It Well by Sam Sifton catalog link

Thanksgiving : How to Cook It Well by Sam Sifton 

Lastly, we’ve got a cookbook on how to cook the traditional Thanksgiving meal – turkey and all the trimmings. Don’t look for innovation here, but if you want to perfect your turkey technique, check out this quintessential Thanksgiving tome.

Thanksgiving: How to Cook It Well Overdrive link



We’ll see you on the other side of Thanksgiving – until next time!

Let’s Make Something Good!

staceyLeave a comment

Here we go, headed into the making-est time of the year! And even though the 2020 Holiday Season may not offer the exact same opportunities for celebration as previous years, it doesn’t mean you can’t pick and choose some favorite parts! Maybe you just want to experiment with new foods or you want to get back into crafting, this feels like a good time to change things up.

If you’re ready to start planning, why not take a look at the books available in Fall Harvest, Fall Flavors, Crafting for the Holiday Season, or Why Buy it When You Can Make it? And while you’re making new stuff, if you want a book to listen to, I just finished Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood -here’s hoping it the first in (long running) series!

-Stacey

Reconnect@RRPL – What I’m eating while I’m reading

carolLeave a comment

It’s been a good book week in my house. I just devoured The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, the newest novel by V. E. Schwab. This story is about a young French woman in the 18th-Century, who makes a deal with the Devil in order not to marry. Consequently, she can live forever but cannot be remembered by anyone whose life she touches. It’s a little spooky, a lot romantic and has just the right amount of slow-building tension, making it perfect for these chilly, rainy October days.

What else is good for chilly, rainy days? Baking, of course. I like simple recipes like this Beer Bread from Food.com. Even better that it doesn’t require too many ingredients or too much time spent in the kitchen. This bread will be going into my oven in a couple of hours and will make a delicious and hearty snack along with a hot cup of tea later this evening while I tuck into the new Tana French novel, The Searcher. I can’t wait!

-Carol

Baking Books for Rainy Days

NicoleLeave a comment

It’s been a cloudy, stormy few days here in Northeastern Ohio and some of my favorite rainy day activities include: reading on the couch, drinking many mugs of coffee, and baking tasty treats. The weekend looks like it’s going to bring more thunderstorms, so I’m rounding up my favorite five cookbooks with fabulous baking recipes to inspire you in the kitchen!

There are recipes for fancy French patisserie, dairy-free and grain-free treats, and even my favorite homemade funfetti cake. No matter your skill level there is a recipe for you to tackle confidently here!

You can find Molly Yeh’s awesome funfetti cake recipe on her blog here if you can’t get your hands on a copy of Molly on the Range in time to satisfy cake cravings.

Image from http://mynameisyeh.com/mynameisyeh/2014/9/funfetti-cake.

Stay safe and happy reading/baking!