Nicole Fowles: Plenty to learn about food at the library

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How many times in the last month can you say you sat down and had a home-cooked meal at the kitchen table? Between 1965 and 1992, home food preparation fell steadily as eating out consistently increased. Although this trend seems to have leveled off since 1992, still only about half of all Americans cook at home on any given day.

Additionally, and maybe not surprisingly, the health habits of people who frequently cook meals at home are far superior to those who cook less. Because of this, the USDA and other organizations are encouraging Americans to get back in the kitchen (and to bring the kids!).

Fortunately, a relationship to food is prominent among current adult programming trends in libraries. Part of the Delaware County District Library’s mission is to provide an inviting environment that encourages reading, learning, community discussion and lifelong discovery. We are proud to be recognized for improving the quality of life for Delaware County residents, and what better way to do so than with food?

The Ostrander branch library and Orange branch library began cookbook clubs in 2012. Library patrons were invited to take home a copy of the month’s selected title and experiment with the various recipes. On the night of the club, patrons baked, broiled and prepared dishes from the book to bring and share pot-luck style with the other participants.

This week alone, we have five food-based programs.

On Tuesday, the Powell branch library will host a cupcake-decorating program for kids ages 5 and up and their caregivers at 6:30 p.m., with the help of the experts at Gigi’s Cupcakes.

The adult cookbook clubs will meet at the Ostrander branch library on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (“Simply Delicioso” by Ingrid Hoffman) and at the Orange branch library Wednesday at 7 p.m. (“New German Cooking” by Jeremy and Jessica Nolen).

On Wednesday the Ostrander Kids Cookbook Club is cooking from Paula Deen’s “Cookbook for the Lunch-Box Set” at 4 p.m. and the Delaware Kids Cookbook Club from the “Kids’ Fun and Healthy Cookbook” by Nicola Graimes at 6:30 p.m.

Modern libraries are often described as the community’s living room but, with the Cookbook Club and other food-related programs, we can think of them as the community’s dining room. More than anything, food brings people together and rewards our taste buds with delicious nourishment.

Where can I find transcripts of the pope’s recent speeches during his visit to the United States?

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops web page contains links to transcripts of all speeches, talks and homilies given by Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to the United States and United Nations. The link is a bit difficult to find from the website’s home page, so you’ll want to follow along slowly. Go to www.usccb.org, then click “About USCCB” and select “Leadership” from the dropdown menu. Then, under “Holy See” on the left-hand side, click “Francis.” From there on the right hand side of the page, you can click “2015 Visit to the United States” and finally click “Speeches and Homilies” on the right side.

Which baseball pitcher had the most strikeouts in history?

According to The Baseball Maniac’s Almanac, Nolan Ryan holds the record for the most strikeouts in history at 5,714 in his career. He started playing baseball at age 19 and was given the nickname “The Ryan Express.”

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Nicole Fowles

Glad You Asked

If you have a question that you would like to see answered in this column, mail it to Nicole Fowles, Delaware County District Library, 84 E. Winter St., Delaware OH 43015, or call us at 740-362-3861. You can also email your questions by visiting the library’s website at www.delawarelibrary.org or directly to Nicole at [email protected]. No matter how you contact us, we’re always glad you asked.

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