tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42333541122918659122024-03-12T20:37:37.034-04:00The Culinary LibrarianMary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-13686343452307482292014-03-23T14:41:00.000-04:002014-04-08T20:48:55.096-04:00WINNER UPDATE: Paper love and A Jenny C Designs Stationery Giveaway!<div align="justify">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you again to Jenny for the opportunity to share her lovely designs! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The winner of the six cards and stamps is: <b>Tasha (PaleoCouponLady)</b>! Congratulations, Tasha! Please email me with the mailing address to send along your cards. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you to everyone who shared their favorite sites! Look out for more giveaways on the CL. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nowadays it seems for every passion or hobby there are a slew of blogs and social media accounts to match. By now you know I have a whole-hearted obsession with mail and subsequently gorgeous stationery for sending it. Lately I keep discovering new stationers weekly, and from there I uncover <em>their</em> blogs or blogs they have been featured on – filled with styled photos full of lust-worthy paper, wedding invitation suites, and adorable props. Here are some of my current favorite places for getting my stationery fix:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://mailmodels.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Mail Models</strong></a>: I actually was told about Erika Burho’s site by a customer where I work and quickly realized she is styling paper products for so many companies I already love such as <a href="http://mailmodels.com/runway/2013/10/22/ooh-la-la-olivebox" target="_blank">Olive Box</a>, <a href="http://mailmodels.com/runway/2013/9/4/synchronized" target="_blank">Rifle Paper Co.</a> and <a href="http://mailmodels.com/runway/2013/9/4/best-day" target="_blank">Parrot Design Studio</a>. Check out her Instagram, too: <a href="http://instagram.com/mailmodels" target="_blank">@mailmodels</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong><a href="http://wordshopdenver.com/blog/" target="_blank"><strong>Wordshop.</strong>:</a></strong> When researching stationery/gift shops in places on my hope-to-travel-to list I stumbled upon Wordshop. in Denver. Since then I have been rejoicing in their hilarious Facebook posts that in a very literal sense have me LOLing every week. Check it out: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wordshopdenver" target="_blank">Wordshop. Facebook</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Oh So Beautiful Paper</strong></a>: A full-on paper blog covering new collections from stationers, stunning invitation suites, graphics and more from a wide range of designers. And in January friend Jenny’s designs <a href="http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com/2014/01/sarah-winstons-navy-gold-and-coral-letterpress-wedding-invitations/" target="_blank">were featured on the site</a>! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which leads me to our giveaway. . . After my <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2014/01/love-letters-olivebox-card-box-giveaway.html" target="_blank">Olive Card Box giveaway</a> Jenny offered to send me some of her playful letterpress cards for a giveaway here on The Culinary Librarian. A couple months ago my friend <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2012/01/bake-for-you-treats-from-518-to-your.html" target="_blank">Linda, of Bake For You</a> (who just opened <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bakeforyou" target="_blank">a new location</a> where All Good Bakers in Albany used to be), mailed me a note on one of Jenny’s “Sweet!” cards. It was a nice touch, coming from a sweets baker. Thankfully Jenny offered to send me a few of the very same design along with another design I love from her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenny-C-Design/195642707124369" target="_blank">Jenny C Designs Facebook page</a>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-kRGKMbMYpTA/Uy8pyfuvrxI/AAAAAAAABv4/k32dU4ZS0bw/s1600-h/JennyCDesigns%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="JennyCDesigns" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Ivcvlkcs7UE/Uy8p1Zx4DcI/AAAAAAAABwA/C3JJwJ1X8PA/JennyCDesigns_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="375" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="JennyCDesigns" width="480" /></a>The “Sending Caring Thoughts Your Way” is a great card. Sometimes we need to drop someone a note so they know we are thinking of them, but it can be hard to find the right card or paper to express this sentiment – it can be tricky to hit that balance of beauty and thoughtfulness. These cards work perfectly to catch up with someone, as get well cards, or even sympathy cards. And I love the little sealed-with-a-heart envelope design above the text. And these “Sweet!” cards can express any and every excitement with absolute ease. Thank you, Jenny, for allowing me to share your designs!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3Ep-S5Nxs14/Uy8p246O1nI/AAAAAAAABwE/n-FjPZ9RZFY/s1600-h/JennyCDesignsThoughts%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="JennyCDesignsThoughts" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-98nk957zKEM/Uy8p3xcQ5hI/AAAAAAAABwQ/OvlArk-WqX8/JennyCDesignsThoughts_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="331" style="border: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="JennyCDesignsThoughts" width="248" /></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-FUrlHYaECd4/Uy8p6IUQIsI/AAAAAAAABwU/ybV5ScGzQc8/s1600-h/JennyCDesignsSweet%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img alt="JennyCDesignsSweet" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-V2QqF5uP8lQ/Uy8p6tdtpUI/AAAAAAAABwY/u-Aplda3Me8/JennyCDesignsSweet_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="263" style="border: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="JennyCDesignsSweet" width="351" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong>The Giveaway:</strong> Enter to win three of each design, wrapped in their own cellophane sleeve. I will also throw in six USPS forever stamps to encourage the winner of these cards to send them anytime! Post your answer to the following question<strong> by 11:59pm EST on April 6th</strong> and be entered to win. I will randomly choose and announce a winner the following day (April 7th) and send out the cards and stamps ASAP. The question:</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which blog or social media account do you count on for a little boost of inspiration? Share the link in the comments section!</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By no means does it need to be a paper or food blog – share what you love! Leave your answer as a comment below or email me your reply: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com.</span></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-90747500665951679132014-03-07T17:52:00.000-05:002014-03-07T17:52:13.077-05:00A Handful of Books I Can’t Wait To Get My Hands On. . .<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This idea of writing up a list of books I’m looking forward to is constantly knocking around in my brain. Thankfully, the list never stops growing, but ultimately the works I anticipate are released and that list ebbs and flows. . . Alas, there are a handful of books that have yet to be released right now that I have been looking forward to for a long while. Perhaps it is just that I am an adult now (am I?) and I understand how the world turns a little better every year, but it does seem that thanks to social media, and the Internet on the whole, we are exposed to the progress of beloved authors’ latest works. Be it a periodic <a href="http://instagram.com/culinarymary7" target="_blank">Instagram</a> post or an apologetic/grateful blog post addressing a stressed/excited absence from their virtual space – we are given insights to how things are going, snippets to whet our appetites. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are the titles I cannot wait to hold in my hands on, get cooking from, and finally see in print: </span></div>
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<strong><u><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VbmBzXhRZiw/UxpIAkgdmAI/AAAAAAAABus/jAcQhvrUAs0/s1600-h/ExtraVirgin%25255B5%25255D.gif"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img align="left" alt="ExtraVirgin" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-2U5rj2aPZlg/UxpIBjUVPxI/AAAAAAAABu0/OaxJnh9rcmI/ExtraVirgin_thumb%25255B3%25255D.gif?imgmax=800" height="191" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="ExtraVirgin" width="153"></span></a></u></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Extra Virgin: Recipes & Love from Our Italian Kitchen</u> by <a href="http://underthetuscangun.com/" target="_blank">Debi Mazar & Gabriele Corcos</a></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The chemistry that flows between Debi and Gabriele on the screen and in person is practically tangible – they’re the kind of public couple you can tell are doing what they do because they absolutely love it, and love each other and their daughters. When I need some soothing I can find a clip or full episode of their <a href="http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/shows/extra-virgin.html" target="_blank">Cooking Channel show</a>. Their gentle, playful nature calms me and inspires me to get cooking. I’m looking forward to relaxed Tuscan recipes alongside their sweet and entertaining stories. [Photo from: <a href="http://underthetuscangun.com/" title="http://underthetuscangun.com/">http://underthetuscangun.com/</a>]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong>Get It:</strong> <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780385346054" target="_blank">May 6, 2014</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-t2HR7pHG-tI/UxpICzRUbtI/AAAAAAAABu8/wMvuOcH9jPU/s1600-h/Delicious%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img align="right" alt="Delicious" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-zl89Pl-KBlY/UxpIDtjaYqI/AAAAAAAABvA/e2YlXJclkvw/Delicious_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="155" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="Delicious" width="102"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong><u>Delicious!: A Novel</u> by <a href="http://www.ruthreichl.com/" target="_blank">Ruth Reichl</a></strong><strong> </strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ruth Reichl is one of my favorite writers. Her food memoirs are ones I want to re-read every year, and ones I often refer back to for reliving the moments she’s written (like hiding out in Danny Kaye’s kitchen and eating his luxurious lemon pasta). To have her writing food-related fiction has me over the moon with excitement. As far as I can tell it will be a story of: sisters, magazines, letters, and a rich tapestry of all things food. I devoured her food memoir trilogy in no time and I look forward to carving out time to take in <u>Delicious!</u> as soon as I get it. [Photo: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/monica.bhide1" title="https://www.facebook.com/monica.bhide1">https://www.facebook.com/monica.bhide1</a>]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong>Get It:</strong> <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781400069620" target="_blank">May 6, 2014</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3cdTwo9lZtg/UxpIGJfm1ZI/AAAAAAAABvU/qthk1UJedpk/s1600-h/MrsWheelbarrows%25255B4%25255D.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img align="left" alt="MrsWheelbarrows" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2ODO9KHC2f8/UxpIGq56hrI/AAAAAAAABvc/qdkqgq-8rUs/MrsWheelbarrows_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="189" style="border: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" title="MrsWheelbarrows" width="152"></a><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u> Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry</u> by <a href="http://www.mrswheelbarrow.com/" target="_blank">Cathy Barrow</a></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many moons ago I had the pleasure of meeting Cathy Barrow at my first <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2011/05/duckathlon-new-yorks-top-kitchens.html" target="_blank">Duckathlon</a>. When we met I didn’t know about her blog, <a href="http://www.mrswheelbarrow.com/" target="_blank">Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen</a>, or about her work with <a href="http://www.mrswheelbarrow.com/recipes/charcuterie/charcutepalooza-info/" target="_blank">Charcutepalooza</a> (and the-one-and-only <a href="http://ruhlman.com/2011/01/announcements-charcutepalooza-and-opensky/" target="_blank">Michael Rhulman</a>), but soon after I began following her across the board online I realized she was my kind of food person. She does an amazing job preserving the bounty of the seasons to enjoy all year long – in every form possible, not just jams and tomato sauces (although we once exchanged treats and she sent me to-die-for strawberry rhubarb preserves!). Her book is already making me want to live out my aspirational kitchen fantasies. To top it all off Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton (<a href="http://thecanalhouse.com/" target="_blank">Canal House</a>) did the photography for the book. The stunning cover is enough to get me anxious for what is inside. [Photo: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/267823509064638838/" title="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/267823509064638838/">http://www.pinterest.com/pin/267823509064638838/</a>] </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong>Get It:</strong> <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780393240733" target="_blank">November 3, 2014</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-handful-of-books-i-cant-wait-to-get.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-67182821040342862012014-01-15T21:22:00.001-05:002014-01-23T21:57:11.564-05:00WINNER UPDATE!: Love Letters + OliveBox Card Box Giveaway & Discount<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First, thank you to Olive Box for giving me the opportunity to offer all of you a discount <i>and</i> a giveaway! I was so happy to share the love of snail mail. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Second, our winner, chosen using a random number generator, is <b><a href="http://eeharrison.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Elizabeth Harrison</a></b>! Please send me your email [to theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com ] so I can get you in contact with Olive Box about your prize! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you to everyone who entered... I will be doing more stationery giveaways in the coming months so keep an eye out right here! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong>Love</strong> letters. I <strong>love</strong> letters. I <strong>love</strong> <strong>love</strong> letters. I <strong>love</strong> writing <strong>love</strong> letters. I’d <strong>love</strong> to get a <strong>love</strong> letter that I would <strong>love</strong> to respond to with a <strong>love</strong> letter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Valentine’s Day is around the corner and as I sit here and I think of it I cannot come up with a more paper-focused holiday. Do you remember being in grade school and, even before you wrote out your little Valentines, crafting the special envelope or shoe box that was used to collect all the cards from your classmates? I sure do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is just nothing like a <strong>love</strong> letter. There can be heart-wrenching texts, confessions of <strong>love</strong> in a <a href="https://twitter.com/culinarylibrari" target="_blank">Tweet</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/culinarymary7" target="_blank">Instagram</a> photos of romantic quotes, long emails detailing your irresistible ways…all of these things are fleeting. But a hand-written, carefully intended, sealed-with-a-kiss, sprayed with perfume <strong>love</strong> letter that comes by mail, <em>that</em> is meant to last, to be cherished and kept. To eventually be shown to ones children, grandchildren, published in books of great <strong>love</strong> letters. A missive read breathlessly – sometimes standing just inside the doorway, sometimes carefully taken in and savored while cozy in bed. . . </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What could hold a candle to someone quietly taking the time to put pen to paper in your honor, licking an envelope, pressing on a carefully selected stamp and letting it go into a blue box. . . intended to reach your heart?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a lover and promoter of the <b>love </b>note and all forms of snail mail I am happy to tell you that <a href="http://myolivebox.com/" target="_blank">OliveBox</a> has given me a discount code to share with you all, my readers, to use on their new <a href="http://myolivebox.com/launching-olivebox-cardbox/" target="_blank">OliveBox Card Box</a>! Unlike the regular OliveBox, which includes cards as well as little gifts, the card box is a set of themed greeting cards. A perfect way to get an unexpected mix of cards to send out to your loved ones all year round! (And a great way to find out about fabulous new stationers, if you’re as wild about mail as I am.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong>The Discount:</strong> Through January 20th enter the code <strong>culinarylibrarian10</strong> when you sign up for the card box and you will get 10% off your purchase (one per customer)! You have the option to sign up for <a href="https://myolivebox.com/subscribe/?obr_plan=ob1love&step=1" target="_blank">the current <b>Love </b>Card Box (1-month)</a> or a <a href="https://myolivebox.com/subscribe/?obr_plan=ob6love&step=1" target="_blank">6-month membership</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong>The Giveaway:</strong> In addition to the discount OliveBox is also going to send one of you your very own card box! Post your answer to the following question<strong> by 11:59pm EST on January 22nd</strong> and be entered to win. I will randomly choose and announce a winner the following day (January 23rd) and notify OliveBox, who will send you a card box! The question:</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Who would you most like to receive a <em>love</em> letter from? </span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Living, dead, fictional- no limits…feel free to get creative! Leave your answer as a comment below or email me your reply: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Good luck and happiest of <strong>LOVE</strong> lettering! </span></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-38908842208247491642013-11-09T18:15:00.000-05:002014-01-15T21:23:02.529-05:00DOUBLE WINNER: A Call To Write: September & October, Apples and Thanks<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hey y'all! I have chosen the two winners for the <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2013/10/a-call-to-write-september-october.html#more" target="_blank">September and October Stationary & Stamps</a> giveaways! I asked you guys to tell me w</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">hat your FAVORITE food to eat this time of year. I'm a biiiiig pumpkin girl, but these two responses got me salivating for something a little different! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Apple cards will go to <b>Ann</b>! Ann says:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <i> "<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Pumpkin bread (thanks Grandma!) with a mug of hot apple cider :)</span></i></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Oh and "apples" - being a teacher and all..."</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And The Merci cards will go to <b>Sabrina H.</b>! Sabrina says: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"> <i>"</i></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><i>This time of year always makes me want Southern Style baked Mac n Cheese. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><i> I </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><i>also love spaghetti squash and spicy turkey sausage ragout."</i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Ladies, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;">please send me the address you would like your stationary and stamps to be mailed to theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com! </span></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-80247195348437810302013-10-17T22:35:00.000-04:002014-01-15T21:23:55.032-05:00A Call To Write: September & October, Apples & Thanks<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the past two months, maybe even the past three, I have taken to scheduling my life out by the minutes. Dinners with friends, phone calls with parents, trips to the grocery store, self-budget meetings and sometimes even sleep. I have been busy- again. I’m bored of saying it, but it continues to be the truth. Maybe I can finally get a hang on scheduling some Culinary Librarian time again though. Can’t speak for you guys, but I know I’d enjoy once more sharing with you on the regular. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So here we are with more stationary and stamps, two month’s worth in one post. I had come up with these little sparkly red apples for September just after my summer vacation on the Cape and was filled with those old back-to-school feelings. So here they are now, untimely but still autumnal and just as cute. These will be sent with vintage flower seed USPS Stamps – fruit and flowers! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-FqHeu6CudRk/UmCbSYWti9I/AAAAAAAABkE/F8qOQQ_BsB4/s1600-h/IMG_5838%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_5838" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-AqonyE8-YOU/UmCbSzOnAqI/AAAAAAAABkM/OZwUxmvMOiw/IMG_5838_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_5838" width="640"></a> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-WNIxgP7j2_A/UmCbTSIjw7I/AAAAAAAABkQ/ObU3Rzdz9-Y/s1600-h/IMG_5841%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_5841" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ut4SlIWNDLQ/UmCbT6XgNEI/AAAAAAAABkY/KmozJC0RIyY/IMG_5841_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="262" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_5841" width="349"></a> </span></div>
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<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-call-to-write-september-october.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-53515376562085042852013-09-09T11:52:00.000-04:002014-01-15T21:24:15.568-05:00WINNER: A Call to Write: Golden Paris<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm so excited to send out these warm golden Eiffel Tower cards to this
month's winner. Your responses opened my mind to what a fantasy life could look
like - islands, farms, places close to home and near the ocean. Maybe we will
all find ourselves in our dream worlds for a time - and may they be as wonderful
as we imagine!
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The comment I chose as winner comes from <a href="http://www.goodfoodjobs.com/jobs/28587/javaweb-software-developer.html">Linda
Kindlon</a> (I wrote about her baked goods two winters ago, read it <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2012/01/bake-for-you-treats-from-518-to-your.html">here</a>).
I returned from my vacation on Cape Cod last month and one of my favorite things
about being there is finding amazing little bakeries serving warm pies, stellar
breakfast pastries or to-go chowers and bisques. I never imagined the lives of
the people baking up these treats, so I was happy Linda got me thinking about
them in a new way...
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> I would love to be baking somewhere in cape cod in a quaint
bakery or cafe :)</i><i><br /></i>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Linda, please send me the address you would like your stationary and stamps
to be mailed to theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com! </span></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-51697952646618899982013-08-27T09:14:00.000-04:002014-01-15T21:24:25.523-05:00A Call To Write: Golden Paris<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This month’s giveaway is a bit tardy. I spent a week on Cape Cod this month and allowed myself to push back August’s giveaway until now. Hopefully you’ll think it has worked out well for both of us…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While on vacation I made sure to pack a few books for beach reading. The weather was a bit windy and I didn’t really have one good beach day of pure reading this year (I’m used to having at lease two). One day it rained. We’ve gone to Cape Cod most summers since I was very little, and whenever it rains- we shop. This year we changed it up and went shopping in Harwich and Orleans later in the day. As you may guess, I love to hit up all the bookstores I can find when on vacation. There are always fun local authors and regional cookbooks. This year I found myself picking up <u><a href="http://godiloveparis.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Paris, My Sweet</a></u> at <a href="http://mainstreetbookstore.com/capecodbookstore.html" target="_blank">Main Street Books in Orleans</a>. I’d had my eye on it and after flipping through it, I felt like it might be the vacation read I was meant to discover. I ended up whipping through it in just a few days. Amy Thomas is passionate about sweets, Paris, New York and thinking about her love life – I could instantly relate to her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After being back in New York for a few days and having started seeking out some of her NYC recommendations (mainly <a href="http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/" target="_blank">Vosges chocolates</a> which is right by where I work – I’m not obsessed with their <a href="http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/Vosges-Easter-Spring-New-Verde-Individual-Exotic-Caramels/vosges-chocolat-caramel-collections" target="_blank">Verde Caramels</a>) I was feeling wistful for Paris. Hopped into Paper Source for my monthly stamp searching ritual and found an excellent <a href="http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/item/Eiffel-Tower-Rubber-Stamp/2901.025/871450.html" target="_blank">Eiffel Tower</a> stamp. Et, voila! This month’s giveaway was born: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-izO4_RlFdtE/Uhykw9XlU9I/AAAAAAAABjA/14Fiszsj0hM/s1600/August_ParisStationary.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-izO4_RlFdtE/Uhykw9XlU9I/AAAAAAAABjA/14Fiszsj0hM/s640/August_ParisStationary.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The embossing powder I used on these is called "Queen's Gold" and I'm a little obsessed with it! I love the clean metallic gold it creates. As for stamps, this month's winner will get a smattering of Forever Stamps from my collection. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now the question. Amy loves Paris, studied there in college, dreams about visiting it, fantasizes about living there... I do the same. So I want to know:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Where is your fantasy home? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If you could live anywhere new - even just for a year - where would you choose? </i></span></div>
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<i style="background-color: #f8dde8; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As usual<b> if I have more than 10 entries I will randomly choose a winner, otherwise with 10 or fewer I will choose my favorite response.</b> After <b>only one week</b> (September 4th) I will choose and <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2013/03/a-call-to-write-march-2013-winner.html" style="text-decoration: none;">announce the winner on The Culinary Librarian</a>. The winner will need to email me the address they would like me to send the stationary and stamps within 48 hours. If the winner doesn't respond I will choose a new recipient and announce the new winner on blog. If you are having trouble commenting in the comments section, email your response with the subject line “Golden Paris” to theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail.com by 11:59pm EST on September 3rd.</span></i></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-75024674328338422682013-08-01T22:36:00.000-04:002014-01-15T21:25:06.460-05:00WINNER: A Call to Write: Sirens and Lighthouses<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This month's giveaway may be my favorite stationary/stamp combo to date - I LOVE the glittery mermaids and the lighthouse stamps remind me of my mom and aunts who love lighthouses. As we didn't get ten comments, it is up to me to choose the winner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The comment that spoke to me did so due to personal vanity. One of my favorite physical qualities is my hair. Thanks to its natural thickness and wave and the fact I've never, ever dyed it - I have locks to brag about. Mermaids are known for their amazing hair and <b>Willy D</b> hit upon how they get it:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <i>Mermaids are the children of the sea, and would never eat their siblings. Mermaids </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> eat </i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">kelp and wakame which accounts for their lustrous hair and shiny scales!</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Willy, please email me the address you would like me to send your stationary and stamps: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail.com.</span></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-91246900631935470852013-07-25T09:37:00.000-04:002013-07-29T01:17:34.685-04:00Bastille Day 2013!<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Doesn’t it feel like summer is whizzing past on super speed? August is just around the corner and I feel like the season is just getting going. Regardless of time, one of the highlights of my summer is always the <a href="http://www.bastilledayny.com/" target="_blank">FIAF Bastille Day</a> celebration on East 60th Street! I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to attend the festivities <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2011/07/happy-bastille-day.html" target="_blank">every</a> <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2012/07/fiafs-bastille-day-celebration-and-9.html" target="_blank">summer</a> I’ve lived in New York. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unlike other street fairs (of which there are many in this city) FIAF’s Bastille Day celebration is strictly French. My regular company (my friends <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=236322899731057&set=pb.123899134306768.-2207520000.1375074780.&type=3&theater" target="_blank">Kyle and Patrique</a> from my study abroad in Paris) were absent from the festival this year, but my mom finally made it down from Albany to join in the fun! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This year I was able to see the festivities from a new perspective. I can easily see and enjoy that all the food, treats, books and other goodies being sold at the booths lining the streets have a French influence in a genuine capacity. A few of my friends walked the event and didn’t necessarily see how <em>French</em> it was. When I see <a href="http://www.lesoukny.com/" target="_blank">Le Souk</a> restaurant I know that Moroccan food <em>is</em> French food because it is a francophone country, that the long lines for crepes are justified, in a way, because no – you can’t get a walk-up crepe in New York like you can in Paris. The essence of the entire event screams France to me and it is what I love the most about it. Even though I don’t leave the streets of New York, or even the Upper East Side to get to it, I am transported by scents, the sight of tons of <a href="http://macaroncafe.com/" target="_blank">macarons</a> and <a href="http://canelebyceline.com/" target="_blank">canelés</a>, and by the in-and-out sounds of French conversations in my ears. To have all of this at once is rare and special to me. </span></div>
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<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/07/bastille-day-2013_25.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-69388892979437958072013-07-15T20:32:00.001-04:002014-01-15T21:25:40.283-05:00A Call to Write: Sirens and Lighthouses<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Summer is in sweaty, full swing in the city and I have my thoughts on crystal clear swimming pools, waves breaking on the beach and cooling off with cocktails. Luckily I will experience all of these things in the next two months. As August approaches I have vacation on my mind. When I was little my family went to Cape Cod every summer for a week or two. The rough, cold Atlantic ocean is a comforting place for me and filled with happy memories. When I think about the ocean my mind wanders to those mythical creatures I learned about when I was only 2 or 3 years old at the movies: mermaids. With mermaids and their siren calls to sailors I thought how perfectly paired green glitter mermaid stationary and the newest <a href="https://store.usps.com/store/browse/productDetailSingleSku.jsp?categoryNavIds=catBuyStamps%3asubcatS_S_45cFirstClass&categoryNav=false&navAction=push&navCount=0&productId=S_471204&categoryId=subcatS_S_45cFirstClass" target="_blank">USPS Lighthouse stamps</a> would be. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So here they are!:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-2ZF9XIRG_ZI/UeSTb7I-7NI/AAAAAAAABh4/PXA2S5gXem8/s1600-h/GlitterMermaidsandLighthouses%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="GlitterMermaidsandLighthouses" border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RjSqf3z003c/UeSTcGeeNEI/AAAAAAAABiA/gmBI4bvEjqA/GlitterMermaidsandLighthouses_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="GlitterMermaidsandLighthouses" width="640"></a>It may be hard to tell in the photo, but those mermaids are indeed embossed in shimmering green glitter. 10 cards and 10 stamps just waiting to swim out to a whimsical friend, a seaside relative, or maybe an in-land dreamer. </span></div>
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<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-call-to-write-sirens-and-lighthouses.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-25769430134397204282013-07-06T14:29:00.003-04:002014-01-15T21:25:48.308-05:00WINNER: A Call To Write: All-American Summer & Lobsters<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope you've been having a nice, relaxing holiday weekend. I celebrated the 4th with family and friends and LOTS of delicious summer food; hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, steak, cold beer, margaritas and salty brownies. Your responses for ultimate summer foods made my mouth water! I'm looking forward to the weeks ahead where I get to revel in the summer's bounty. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now for the winner of the June stationary & stamps giveaway. This response included one of my favorite dishes to make and something that epitomizes summer vegetables for me. It was Hannah's comment about <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2011/09/5-challenge-and-melissa-clarks-genius.html" target="_blank">ratatouille</a>!:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Ratatouille, from The Art of
Simple Food. One of the first things I'd ever cooked, </span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> from </span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">the first cookbook
I'd ever bought. </span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<em><em></em></em></div>
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</em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> I'd moved to Pittsburgh for grad school, out of college dorms, out of home, and </span></em></div>
<div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> knew I </span></em></div>
<em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">had to start cooking for myself or else I wouldn't eat. It was the very
end of </span></em></div>
<div>
<em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> summer, </span></em><em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">a couple of weeks to adjust to the city and a new climate before
classes </span></em></div>
<div>
<em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> started. I knew </span></em><em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">the dish by name from the movie, knew all the
ingredients could be </span></em></div>
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<em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> purchased locally, </span></em><em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">knew that it'd be delicious. And it
was. Whenever I make it, I </span></em></div>
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<em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> think of summertime, </span></em><em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">and how I began to learn to
take care of myself.</span></em></div>
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<em style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></em></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I love Alice Water's Art of Simple Food, too, and I'm looking forward to picking up <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Simple-Food-Inspiration/dp/0307718271/ref=pd_sim_b_1" target="_blank">the new edition</a> when it comes out in the fall! Hannah, please email me the address you would like me to send your stationary and stamps: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail.com. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">In a couple weeks I will be posting July's giveaway and I am very, very excited for it! One word: glitter! Keep an eye right here for it! </span></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-75609923607426923942013-06-21T07:30:00.000-04:002014-01-15T21:25:56.252-05:00A Call To Write: All-American Summer & Lobsters<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.150965081600173.29540.123899134306768&type=3" target="_blank">Lobsters</a> are good any time of the year, but something about them screams summer to me. As today is the summer solstice it is time I finally share my June stationary & stamps giveaway with you. I debated going with something a bit more directly patriotic, but when I saw the lobster stamp at <a href="http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/item/Lobster-Rubber-Stamp/2901.010/871523.html" target="_blank">Paper Source</a> earlier this month I was immediately drawn to it. Growing up I was fortunate enough to have a mother who believed in things like lobster and filet mignon and champagne. Lobster has been a favorite food of mine for decades now. Maybe it is because my family goes to Cape Cod in the summer where lobster is always on the menu in a variety of forms, but to me I always think of bright red lobsters in summertime. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-cAs2BRVgat4/UcPJL0SdieI/AAAAAAAABhM/pr5NqLPzsM0/s1600-h/JuneGiveawayLobsters%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="JuneGiveawayLobsters" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-hi40HdkGZuM/UcPJMVpnrkI/AAAAAAAABhU/3uOcWNLzFvo/JuneGiveawayLobsters_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="JuneGiveawayLobsters" width="640"></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So this month I present you with eight lobster note cards, embossed by yours truly, with ocean blue envelopes to bring home that red, white, and blue just in time for an all-American summer. The stamps are also All-American – the <a href="https://store.usps.com/store/browse/productDetailSingleSku.jsp?categoryNav=false&navAction=jump&navCount=0&productId=S_467804&categoryId=subcatS_S_45cFirstClass" target="_blank">Pioneers of American Industrial Design Forever stamps</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-call-to-write-all-american-summer.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-92066846734883321192013-06-16T06:27:00.000-04:002013-06-16T06:27:00.716-04:00The Cookie of the Month Club: A Gift for my Father<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My father is a man of simple pleasures. He loves watching the Yankees win, pouts when the Giants lose, and aims to always beat his lowest score on Sundays at the golf course. When it comes to food he enjoys unassuming tastes; hot dogs and hamburgers, a good steak, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The one food I could call him a connoisseur of is the cookie. He <em>loves</em> cookies. He even has a nightly ritual of eating one or two with a small Tupperware cup of milk either hanging around the kitchen or watching the end of “the game” on the couch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This past Christmas I wanted to come up with a creative gift for him. It always feels like I’m giving him a Yankees t-shirt or a new box of golf balls (which are surprisingly<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Mt1mLBfTojw/UbznZe2EJAI/AAAAAAAABgg/d8LRNpB8LP0/s1600-h/PeanutButterarrived%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="PeanutButterarrived" border="0" height="226" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-teFn6LjK-LM/UbznZgA0EMI/AAAAAAAABgk/BvI89qdnSAc/PeanutButterarrived_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin: 1px;" title="PeanutButterarrived" width="301"></a> expensive, by the way!). I searched. I thought. Finally, an idea dawned on me: The Cookie of the Month Club. A homemade batch of cookies delivered directly to my parent’s doorstep with a new flavor every month. An idea that would support his love of cookies and my love of the post office and baking! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Throughout middle and high school I did a lot of baking, almost always with a set purpose: a youth ministry picnic, Key Club bake sale or to be sneaked into a crush’s locker for Valentine’s Day. Eventually I started getting complaints from my dad and my brother that there were never any cookies left for them. Now with me in living in Manhattan, baking more than ever, and my parents a few hours north of the city the situation hasn’t changed much. There’s plenty being made, and little getting to my dad. The Cookie of the Month Club allows me to share what I bake with my dad all year long. I love the excited text message or phone call that comes once my dad receives the monthly shipment and the feedback he gives on flavor and texture.</span></div>
<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-cookie-of-month-club-gift-for-my.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-77630988676132115252013-05-24T20:29:00.001-04:002014-01-15T21:26:31.168-05:00WINNER: A Call To Write: The Original Instagram and Stamps of Poets<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you to all who entered the May stationary and stamps giveaway! Your replies were appropriately poetic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since we had fewer than 10 entries, I've chosen my favorite response. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am a sucker for love and stars and late nights, so <a href="http://www.literaryfoodie.blogspot.com/">Jessica</a> you won me over!:</span></div>
<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/05/winner-call-to-write-original-instagram_24.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-19677637672591613832013-05-08T00:15:00.000-04:002014-01-15T21:26:41.007-05:00A Call To Write: The Original Instagram and Stamps of Poets<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">‘fore <a href="http://instagram.com/culinarymary7" target="_blank">Insty</a> filters</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">‘twere captured moments- instants</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">film and Polaroids</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That was a little <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2012/04/introducing-wednesday-haiku.html" target="_blank">haiku</a> I wrote for you to tell you about my May giveaway! This month we’re getting extra nostalgic – not only will we celebrate the love of the handwritten postal letter but also remember how we used to visually capture our moments. I found some Polaroid note cards with matching envelopes. Harkening back to the days before <a href="http://instagram.com/culinarymary7" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and filters and smart phone photography when film reigned supreme and when immediate photography resulted in sometimes messy, funky, filter-esque images to cherish. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I figured pairing them with these sweet <a href="https://store.usps.com/store/browse/uspsProductDetailMultiSkuDropDown.jsp?categoryNav=false&navAction=jump&navCount=0&productId=S_468808&categoryId=subcatS_S_45cFirstClass" target="_blank">Poet Forever stamps from the one-and-only USPS</a> made for a nice little package:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-b7VbjwfBe3M/UYnQpl0Lm9I/AAAAAAAABf4/ntKFIJMqaYA/s1600-h/PolaroidsandPoets%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="PolaroidsandPoets" border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-76p_LwEMplo/UYnQ4T6yBLI/AAAAAAAABf8/I-OtVb5HQ0I/PolaroidsandPoets_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" height="480" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="PolaroidsandPoets" width="640"></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately there was a pretty poor showing for <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2013/04/a-call-to-write-bon-appetit-stationary.html" target="_blank">last month’s giveaway</a>. Hopefully this one will pique a bit more interest. Here comes the question…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Question Number Three:</span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Images are becoming our primary form of communication more and more. When we don’t have the words we text or email a photo. When we want to say something sassy or funny we send memes with limited text and funny picture to match. And I don’t understand SnapChat but I think it is all about temporary images that cannot be captured for long… So my question is:</span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do you have a single picture or image (printed or digital) that you truly cherish? </span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">OR</span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Is there a moment of something in your mind you see as clearly as a photo, though none exists? </span></em></div>
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<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-call-to-write-original-instagram-and.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-26867441918167771962013-04-25T22:07:00.000-04:002013-04-25T22:07:05.490-04:00WINNER: A Call To Write: “Bon Appetit!” Stationary & Earthscapes Stamps<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sadly only one entry for April's giveaway, but luckily it was a good comment! Congratulations, Karli! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cooking up something good for May....! Keep an eye here for more great stationary and awesome stamps.</span></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-39407410314888203272013-04-04T16:35:00.000-04:002013-04-04T16:35:04.280-04:00A Call To Write: “Bon Appetit!” Stationary & Earthscapes Stamps<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last month I gave away some of my absolute favorite postcards from <a href="http://goodfoodjobs.com/" target="_blank">Good Food Jobs</a> and adorable <a href="https://store.usps.com/store/browse/uspsProductDetailMultiSkuDropDown.jsp?productId=S_116204&categoryId=subcatS_S_Sheets" target="_blank">Apple postcard stamps</a> which I have since become a little obsessed with sending out to my friends. This month I have crafted flat note cards using my embossing “skills”. These are sky blue note cards paired with an ocean blue envelope – the perfect set to pair with the gorgeous Earthscapes Forever stamps I will be sending along with them! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I went shopping at <a href="http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/locations/ny_nyc_soho.html" target="_blank">my favorite Paper Source</a> for Easter supplies/presents I came across this <a href="https://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/item/Bon-Appetit-Rubber-Stamp/2901.010/871462.html" target="_blank">Bon Appetit</a> banner stamp. Having recently watched <em><a href="http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/julieandjulia/site/" target="_blank">Julie & Julia</a></em> on my train ride back to the city a few days before I thought it would be just right for my April stationary giveaway! </span></div>
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<img alt="BonAppetitApril2013" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jRq0wjK-yTE/UV3iwkuHmLI/AAAAAAAABfA/_9CET-YbkZc/BonAppetitApril2013_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="BonAppetitApril2013" width="640"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-df4zQ_AX97A/UV3ixB5bntI/AAAAAAAABfI/w_GwiiTVV44/s1600-h/EarthscapesApril2013%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="EarthscapesApril2013" border="0" height="211" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pSbUxkJHkcw/UV3ix98nmxI/AAAAAAAABfQ/vxbYmzSFMY4/EarthscapesApril2013_thumb%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="EarthscapesApril2013" width="435"></a>I loved your responses to last month’s question. I’m glad to see enthusiasm over the handwritten letter – but it does go to show how rare they are nowadays! Do your part to romance someone’s day by taking a moment to write out a little note or greeting, slap a stamp on it and pop it in the mail! Throughout this year please feel free to send me a message about what you’re sending and receiving through the mail – together we will make a difference and can keep the Post Office alive and kicking! </span></div>
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<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-call-to-write-bon-appetit-stationary.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-14488087277322358812013-03-25T22:13:00.001-04:002013-03-27T22:44:32.601-04:00UPDATED: A Call to Write: March 2013 Winner!!! <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you for your entries! It was a good first month... let's get more and more entries every month! I want to hear if you guys are sending more mail and loving on the USPS since the giveaways began! Almost everyone who entered showed a little love for the handwritten letter.... so next time you say to yourself "I should really write to them.." ... do it! They will love it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To choose this month's winner I used random.org; the results: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The winner is: <b>Hello from the Little Tree!!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She said: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <b>I think that the most romantic gift I ever received was a carefully crafted </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> care </b></span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">package, but there's nothing like a good love letter!</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Please email me within 48 hours where you would like me to <b>mail</b> your sweet Good Food Jobs postcards and apple postcard stamps! theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail.com</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No word from Little Tree so second winner was #3... Marnely Rodriguez-Murray! Please email me where you would like your postcards and stamps to be mailed! </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I will have next month's giveaway up in the second week of April, so keep an eye out! Next month will be homemade stationary, super snazzy stamps and to give you a hint the stationary was inspired in part by the one and only Julia Child! Get ready! </span></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-72853003411047267782013-03-09T09:06:00.000-05:002014-01-15T21:28:17.973-05:00A Call To Write: Revitalizing the USPS through Giveaways!<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Did you know I love postal mail? I come home everyday and open my mail box, allowing my breath to catch as I turn my key with anticipation that I’ll discover something sent with love and care carrying the unique penmanship of its sender. More days than not I am fortunate to fill my hands with a cache of magazines, letters and when I’m really lucky checks. Odds are I send more cards than your grandmother does. If you ever looked through my wallet the chances are high you would find some stamps. Some may call me old-fashioned, others would just say I have an old soul but I have always been nostalgic for the ways of the past. And mail, day-by-day, becomes increasingly archaic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For a while I’d been trying to come up with a way to amplify the usage of the Unites States Postal Service beyond my own weekly mailings. My best audience is still right here on the Culinary Librarian, so I figured it would be smart to work out a giveaway that somehow include the post office. If you’ll remember from <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2012/12/a-very-macaron-giveaway.html" target="_blank">my last giveaway</a> I took up embossing recently and have been making my own stationary ever since. Going one step beyond just giving away homemade cards which might be slipped under doors or place in a loved ones suitcase I have decided to give away <u>stationary</u> <strong>AND</strong> <u>stamps</u> for the next <strong>year</strong> in hopes it will start an organic chain reaction of everyone sending each other notes, letters, baked goods, sonnets, and so on and so fourth! I’m really hoping enough of you share my intense fondness for the act of sending mail and get on board. If things go really well in the first few months I will happily give away more than one set of stationary and stamps a month… <strong>Let’s start the Postal Revitalization!!! </strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">March 2013 marks the first month of the <strong>Postal Revitalization</strong>. To begin I will be giving away a set of <strong>sassy postcards from Good Food Jobs</strong> along with <strong>thirty-three cent postcard stamps</strong>! I’m talking postcards that declare in big bold lettering “BRING HOME THE BACON” – who wouldn’t want to find bacon in their mail box?! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since their inception I have been a huge fan and supporter of <a href="http://goodfoodjobs.com/" target="_blank">Good Food Jobs</a>. One day it lead me to a part-time job with them as a scout. <a href="http://www.goodfoodjobs.com/blog/taylor-cocalis-co-founder-good-food-jobs/" target="_blank">Taylor</a> and <a href="http://www.goodfoodjobs.com/blog/dorothy-neagle-co-founder-good-food-jobs/" target="_blank">Dorothy</a> are truly fabulous, passionate people who luckily enough are in charge of the one-and-only Good Food Jobs. Beyond being a place to search for or post excellent opportunities in food, the site is a stupendous resource for the food-loving community. Not only is it possible to see what jobs are currently available in the food world it is also a place to learn about what is even possible when imagining making a living off a love of food. The <a href="http://www.goodfoodjobs.com/blog/" target="_blank">Gastrognomes Blog</a> profiles the movers and shakers, the leaders and bakers in the food community. Their newsletter provides a mid-week boost for its recipients to keep seeking out their dream food jobs, encouraging ways to network and grow within the food community and also announcing anything exciting coming up for GFJ on the whole. It is so much more than a job searching/posting website. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Currently they are in the midst of a slew of their own giveaways and unveiling of new tools to make finding your dream job easier in addition to being their everyday awesome. Be sure to sign up for their <a href="http://goodfoodjobs.com/newsletter.html" target="_blank">newsletter</a> and watch <a href="https://www.facebook.com/goodfoodjobs" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/goodfoodjobs" target="_blank">Twitter</a> for the upcoming giveaways.</span></div>
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<em><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now let’s get down to business:</span></strong></em></div>
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<em><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Prize:</span></strong></em></div>
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<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-call-to-write-revitalizing-usps.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-88195835211423367522013-02-17T00:08:00.001-05:002013-02-17T13:50:23.078-05:00Under the Covers: Exploring Below the Dust Jackets of Cookbooks<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m not sure what compelled me to get under there. Maybe it was a lustiness that arose from the shirtless, tanned, fish-tossing-in-a-rough-ocean photo towards the beginning of the book that make me remove the dust jacket on Chef <a href="http://www.ludolefebvre.com/" target="_blank">Ludo Lefevbre</a>’s first book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0060012854/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0060012854&linkCode=am2&tag=thecul0f-20">Crave: The Feast of the Five Senses</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thecul0f-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0060012854" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1">. Since that first time, I’ve wiggled my hands under the cover of many a hardcover cookbook to see what I might find or quickly bent back a front over to peek between the glossy paper and cardboard cover. Often enough the results are uninspired, a design space forgotten. But once in a while I hit the jackpot and discover lush photographs or gentle textures and reap my reward by carefully running my fingertips over the book with a glassy-eyed gaze. My heart swells, my stomach growls and my grin widens.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Chef Ludo’s interior is elegant enough, a blacked-out background with khaki-colored text. Organic swirls mimic the title on the cover, the black and off-white print play up his then edgy-rockstar cooking style:</span></div>
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<img alt="ChefLudoCrave" border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-doRP_Jtn87k/USBbIELkwxI/AAAAAAAABZ4/0tFTPEM7I-Q/ChefLudoCrave_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="ChefLudoCrave" width="360"></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Others simply utilize the space to mimic their cover art, such as Dorie Greenspan’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0618443363/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0618443363&linkCode=am2&tag=thecul0f-20">Baking: From My Home to Yours</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thecul0f-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0618443363" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1">, Paula Wolfert’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0061957550/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0061957550&linkCode=am2&tag=thecul0f-20">The Food of Morocco</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thecul0f-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0061957550" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1">, and Nigella Lawson’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1401323952/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1401323952&linkCode=am2&tag=thecul0f-20">Nigella Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thecul0f-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1401323952" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1">. Not exactly inspired, but better than nothing: <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-LAs6UzUzcW4/USBbIbwVPvI/AAAAAAAABaA/hzXbrNiGzzY/s1600-h/DorieBaking%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img alt="DorieBaking" border="0" height="411" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Q4aK6qc11KE/USBbJFVwAII/AAAAAAAABaI/w6o9qLAjKsU/DorieBaking_thumb%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DorieBaking" width="308"></a></span></div>
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<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-B8_Fa8tbs6k/USBbJRB2tuI/AAAAAAAABaQ/_xGlSFKlKn8/s1600-h/PaulaWolfertMorocco%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="PaulaWolfertMorocco" border="0" height="411" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pDZ58i4nT9o/USBbJoJF6zI/AAAAAAAABaY/3MEITnRZNsU/PaulaWolfertMorocco_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="PaulaWolfertMorocco" width="308"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-3U-O0XuUz8I/USBbKIYTaMI/AAAAAAAABag/94YDsC6RwC8/s1600-h/NigellaExpress%25255B19%25255D.jpg"><img alt="NigellaExpress" border="0" height="412" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--58N8kZ72kU/USBbKUChMRI/AAAAAAAABao/0jHvPYTTGJ0/NigellaExpress_thumb%25255B13%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="NigellaExpress" width="309"></a></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1579654355/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1579654355&linkCode=am2&tag=thecul0f-20">Some</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thecul0f-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1579654355" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1"> go as understated and tasteful as desired… not just on book covers…</span><br>
</div><a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/02/under-covers-exploring-below-dust.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-4749147568528092342013-01-14T21:53:00.000-05:002013-01-14T21:53:07.418-05:00New Year's Eve 2012: Jazz, Drinks, and Hors D'Oeuvres<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">New Year's Eve 2011 was a night longed to recapture throughout the entire year following it; the first party I threw on my own. So as New Year's Eve 2012 (and my birthday) rolled around again I was excited to celebrate in style and aimed to match or top last year's Moroccan <em>fête</em>. The Moroccan bug had bitten me hard last year. There was no turning back once I'd set the menu - full of tagines and salads. I waffled a lot over this year’s theme but finally decided on “Jazz” and opted to serve only appetizers. The idea carried through tremendously well. </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This year's party was in my new apartment, which is luckily a lot bigger than my old place . Throughout the course of the night almost everyone that had been invited, plus guests of theirs showed up! My home felt full and joyous, never crowded and stuffy. Everyone brought sparkling wines, and their own beverages of choice. A few of my friends even brought a signature cocktail - the <a href="http://www.wildhibiscus.com/cocktails/index.html#1" target="_blank">Wild Hibiscus Royale</a> made with whole hibiscus flowers in syrup, rose water, mint and topped with sparkling wine. Floral and bubbly - just my style! As the jazz music improvised and played on a full and vibrant menu was served.... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To start, I decided I had to have a homemade vegetable platter – done in my style. The ladies of my family always make their own vegetable platters for parties; why pay someone to breakdown and arrange raw produce? My way includes: celery and carrots (never baby carrots), red pepper (no need for gassy green or other colors), cucumber spears (better than crinkle cut rounds), green beans (a favorite of my Aunt Maureen’s vegetable tray), and finally cauliflower (a different splash of color than broccoli and one of my favorite things to eat everyday). The arrangement was done by alternating the green selections amid the rainbow of colors around a dish of homemade (but admittedly rather flavorless) yogurt and herb dip: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--bpOEx4h8jY/UPS8ZZDKN7I/AAAAAAAABXA/phfeBBMhsTo/s1600-h/20121231-img_0946%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="20121231-img_0946" border="0" height="427" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iQnHt5dU11k/UPS8ZxYnwQI/AAAAAAAABXI/1IKmpmsTEkU/20121231-img_0946_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="20121231-img_0946" width="640"></a> Next was creating a fruit platter I’d want to see served at a party. In general I avoid fruit salads when I’m out and about in the world. So much melon! Damn filler fruit! My guests deserved a mix of luscious fresh and dried (it is winter, after all) fruits. Blood oranges made an appearance last year in the romaine and orange flower water salad so they were in, along with navel oranges. Grapes, watermelon, blueberries and strawberries are always party pleasers so they joined, too. Then I happily found cherries at Fairway so they made the cut and for dried fruit I chose apricots and cranberries. In all, it was the most colorful platter on the table: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HRiBal3Tcf4/UPS8anGIvrI/AAAAAAAABXQ/N7Yj90PhJHU/s1600-h/20121231-img_0945%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="20121231-img_0945" border="0" height="427" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Mw53AYPS5x0/UPS8bOkkcQI/AAAAAAAABXY/sSlW8keNugw/20121231-img_0945_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="20121231-img_0945" width="640"></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the main appetizers I went with a mix of hot and room temperature choices to make for easy timing throughout the evening. Last year’s planning happened quickly and organically way ahead of December 31st thanks to Paula Wolfert’s wonderful tome on Moroccan cuisine. Literally a few days before this year’s party I found myself scrambling for hors d’oeuvre ideas I could easily make without too much preparation. I hit the cookbooks hard and came out with a stellar mix of recipes from some of my go-to cookbook authors and a few creations of my own.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2012/04/ripe-fruit-and-vegetable-cookbook-of.html" target="_blank">Cheryl Sternman Rule’s <u>Ripe</u></a> became one of my favorite cookbooks in the time it took me to get home on the 6 train from the <a href="http://www.iacp.com/attend/more/2012_book_and_blog_festival" target="_blank">IACP Book and Blog Festival</a> this past April. I’d made her <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2012/07/when-you-cant-stand-heat-but-want-to-be.html" target="_blank">Watercress Butter over the summer</a> and saw it spread on water crackers and being gobbled down by my guests. My predictions were spot on and full mouths questioned “mmm, what is this!?” The garlic and lemon laden appetizer was a total pleaser. </span></div>
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<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7zlJEWNG_ow/UPS8bkt82xI/AAAAAAAABXg/2VmLgWfv4Zw/s1600-h/20121231-img_0950%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="20121231-img_0950" border="0" height="427" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ESJvtz3_VA4/UPS8cAu66-I/AAAAAAAABXo/eLDOHKYi55U/20121231-img_0950_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="20121231-img_0950" width="640"></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-year-eve-2012-jazz-drinks-and-hors-d.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-33662948342425378972012-12-07T13:31:00.006-05:002014-01-15T21:28:28.859-05:00A Very Macaron Giveaway! <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 130%;">I've been
promising this giveaway since summertime. Plenty has been keeping me busy, and
unfortunately from writing here, but holiday time is always a great time for a
giveaway!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3u5sQWAbJto/UMI17qacnKI/AAAAAAAABWY/wcZ1q39zq2w/s1600/1204120034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3u5sQWAbJto/UMI17qacnKI/AAAAAAAABWY/wcZ1q39zq2w/s1600/1204120034.jpg" height="400" width="240" /></a><span style="line-height: 130%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So here it
is, a copy of </span><b><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Tb1hPgAACAAJ&dq=i+heart+macarons+book&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mTTCUOC9J9Gy0QGu04DADQ&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAQ" target="_blank">I Heart Macarons</a></b> A<span style="font-size: small;">ND a stationary set handmade by me! In late November I stopped into </span><a href="http://www.paper-source.com/" target="_blank">Paper Source</a><span style="font-size: small;"> on my way home from work to browse
Christmas cards but instead of choosing any I learned about embossing and
suddenly picked up a new hobby! It started with a Christmas wreath stamp and
some red embossing powder and a green ink pad and has already progressed into a
growing collection of crafting supplies. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 130%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One day I stopped in to the store again to consider a new stamp and found one with a single macaron- how
perfect I thought! I chose a pink ink pad to pair it with and tested it out
when i got home. So to add something special to the book giveaway and to
continue my cruasade to get people to send more personalized mail I've made a
set of eight macaron embossed note cards to go with this prize!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>To win the book and stationary leave a comment (or email me, if the comment form doesn't work for you: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com) telling me <span style="line-height: 130%; text-align: justify;">who you would send one of the macaron cards to if you won! </span></b></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 130%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 130%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I will choose someone at random next Friday, the 14th, and announce the winner. If you win you may choose to have your prize mailed as a gift, since it is holiday time! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The contest will close Thursday December 13th at 11:59pm EST. The winner must provide an address within the US where the book will be mailed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bonne chance! </span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-73492800335999825622012-11-11T23:37:00.000-05:002012-11-11T23:37:06.398-05:00Un Petit Peu de Paris en SoHo: Cocotte<div align="justify">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTFbLxkZGmI/UKB5GiV9y0I/AAAAAAAABVc/hFiUOJc3Scs/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTFbLxkZGmI/UKB5GiV9y0I/AAAAAAAABVc/hFiUOJc3Scs/s320/photo+4.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few weeks ago my co-worker texted me a photo of a business card, asking me "Free drinks tomorrow?" Of course this is an offer I try to never refuse. So we stopped by the pre-opening of the new French bar/small plates restaurant called <b>Cocotte</b> around the corner from work on Thompson Street below Prince in SoHo. The petite place was jam packed with friends and neighbors the first night we went but we could still feel a good energy and were already making plans to return sometime soon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally tonight, after Sandy and busy schedules, we decided to stop in for some drinks after work. What we found was a relaxed Sunday night atmosphere and stellarly flavored food. Starting with <i>deux verres</i> <i>de</i> crémant (that is to say, French sparkling wine <i>not</i><i> </i>from Champagne) we worked our way through a couple small plates, a silky dessert and my shoddy French conversation with the gracious staff. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JSmMU8DLHpc/UKB5LA63nHI/AAAAAAAABVk/Ti7fnSKmEhg/s1600/HangerSteakCocotte.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JSmMU8DLHpc/UKB5LA63nHI/AAAAAAAABVk/Ti7fnSKmEhg/s320/HangerSteakCocotte.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To begin we chose the <i>champignons farcis</i> - tiny mushroom caps filled with a delicate, earthy-colored chorizo stuffing and garnished with orange tomatoes. The portions are meant to be small, but they go a long way in terms of flavor. This is a good way to start a succession of <i>assiettes</i> at Cocotte because the savoriness of the mushrooms will have you primed to try more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next we allowed our server/bartender Guillaume to select a dish. As he had mentioned his fondness for the hanger steak with bordelaise and shallots, I was not surprised when it was placed in front of us. I personally love hanger steak thanks to <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2011/07/meatopia-celebration-of-meat-at.html">Chef Ludo's Meatopia creation</a>. I've cooked the cut myself at home and have had great results. A quick cooking but very flavorful piece of meat. This is done delicately so as to not overcook the beef then sauced with the bordelaise that demands to be soaked up with the fresh bread it arrives with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lastly, we couldn't end the night without dessert - especially after Raphael (co-creator/maitre d'-extraordinaire) brought me back to the kitchen to meet Sophie, the pastry chef (after a discussion of my macaron making) and Chef Sébastien Pourrat. We went for the made-that-day g<em>âteau Basque</em>. The pastry cream was smooth and the crust was salty-sweet with a gentle, sandy crumb. A great way to end a work day. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S-0CPdEQazo/UKB5OhPVifI/AAAAAAAABVs/BKV4NWqgaXY/s1600/GateauBasqueCocotte.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S-0CPdEQazo/UKB5OhPVifI/AAAAAAAABVs/BKV4NWqgaXY/s320/GateauBasqueCocotte.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cocotte, named for Chef Sébastien's nickname for his wife Sophie, is a warm, welcoming place for anyone looking for good wine, good food and equally good company. Francophiles and expats will feel right at home with the French-English menu and the sound of franglais in the air. I look forward to returning to Cocotte to explore the rest of the small plates, hopefully score a seat at the back-of-the-house Chef's table seats (in the most charming New York restaurant kitchen I've ever seen), and even just to stop in for a coffee or a glass of wine after work. If you generally like what I like, odds are you will love Cocotte! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">------- </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Cocotte</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>110 Thompson Street (below Prince)</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>SoHo, New York</b> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">212-965-9100</span></b></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-86076809823743036802012-11-10T15:53:00.000-05:002012-11-10T16:11:33.086-05:00Holiday Shopping in NYC: Ingredients<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From Halloween through the New Year there are tons of recipes floating around for ways to get cooking in this cozy holiday season. All the November and December issues of our favorite food magazines beg you to cook the perfect bird, amazing sides, stunning desserts and decorative cookies and treats to gift. But sometimes it can be difficult to find what you need when making a recipe for the first time, especially when its for seasonal items. The cold weather lately had me in a restocking mode – with a full kitchen I can avoid being out in the cold after work shopping. I have a <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/p/where-to-shop-food.html" target="_blank">short list of places to shop</a> in my left hand column (over there <) but I thought this would be a good time to tell you about some of my favorite places to find special ingredients in the city and most often at good prices, too.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.internationalgrocerynyc.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">International Grocery</span></strong></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Boy do I love this place! I just stopped in yesterday to refresh my grain supplies and a few spices, too. This is a little specialty food store with huge bags and full bins of grains, spices, beans, flours, nuts and more to purchase in bulk. Buying in bulk is my favorite way to stock things like arborio rice (for risottos), cornmeal (for endless dishes of polenta), dried black beans, unique flours, and nuts. Since I’m usually cooking only for myself I don’t like to buy huge supplies of things and I try to avoid packaging whenever possible. At International Grocery you’ll find things like high-gluten flour and 6 different kinds of couscous with the option to get only as much as your recipe requires. Go with a list, go with cash ($10 credit card minimum), and don’t be shy in loading up on supplies and taking notes for the future. The gentlemen working at the store will assist you in scooping and weighing everything, so a list helps expedite your visit. Also, since the shop is not too large, ask if you don’t see something you think they would have – they probably do but it might not be obvious (like octopus or yogurt stored in the cooler).</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>543 Ninth Ave 10018 | 212-279-1000</i></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.kalustyans.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Kalustyan’s</strong></a></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">International Grocery has a number of options for bulk spices, but at Kalustyan’s you’ll find a seemingly endless supply of ground, whole, mixed and unexpected spices, herbs and seasonings. The prices are excellent on most things – you can buy 3oz. packets of tons of spices at a price that is still less than buying them in a jar at the grocery store (most spice jars hold 2oz. give or take, $3-5 depending on the spice [in Manhattan at least!]). If you like to use your own spice jars or tins this is a great place for you, too, since the spices come in little plastic bags. They also have a TON of other specialty items. Come here first with your list, go to International Grocery to fill in the gaps. Also, for my <a href="http://www.culinary-librarian.com/2012/01/moroccan-new-years-eve.html" target="_blank">Moroccan/New Years/Birthday party last year</a> I bought nearly all of my supplies from Kalustyan's and International Grocery.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>123 Lexington Ave 10016 | 212-685-3451</i></span><br>
<a href="http://www.nycake.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank"><strong></strong></a><br>
<a href="http://culinarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2012/11/holiday-shopping-in-nyc-ingredients.html#more">Read more »</a>Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4233354112291865912.post-37338975499826081962012-10-30T22:37:00.000-04:002012-10-30T22:37:16.056-04:00Memories, Memoirs, and Sandy<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I write this New York City is in recovery mode from the raging path of Hurricane Sandy. She brought horrific winds, high waters and widespread damage. Thankfully my roommates and I, and our apartment were unharmed, barely a flickering light. I'm so grateful to have avoided any harm or damage but throughout the storm I've thought about what people will be remembering when all is back to normal and time has passed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For over a year I've been consuming food memoirs as if they were kernels of buttery popcorn at a suspenseful movie. Due to this I have taken on a strange perspective for how I consider life events, major and minor. As things happen I begin sorting them into chapters of my own imaginary memoir. I debate what will carry enough weight to exist within the "New York Years," if I will ever actually leave New York (I intend to, someday) and what might come after it. When it comes to Sandy I keep going back to the outpouring of food chatter that came about. Nowadays it is our default to share what we eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner - but usually only if it is particularly amazing or interestingly mundane. Sandy brought about full fridge-clearing feasts, warm comfort foods, stress/anxiety munchies and odd flavor combinations shared thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At my house we refused to buy bottled water, opting instead to fill empty wine bottles with clean tap water; I baked a <a href="http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/banana-bread-142" target="_blank">chocolate banana bread</a> for the sake of <a href="https://twitter.com/i/#!/culinarylibrari/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2FUupFe1MX" target="_blank">using up ripe bananas</a> and correcting the lack of sweets in the house; Monday night dinner consisted of a first course of banana pancakes then an impromptu second course of <a href="http://scarlettabakes.com/mexican-pizza-tlayuda-oaxaquena/" target="_blank">Mexican black bean pizza</a> due to a severe protein craving; tonight to rejoice in the calm post Sandy evening we made <a href="https://twitter.com/i/#!/culinarylibrari/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2FPrSGiPIL" target="_blank">a feast of steak and pasta with a bright green salad</a>. Food was a crutch and a way to entertain ourselves while waiting for the storm to begin then finally come to pass. In large part thanks to the uneventful effects of Sandy's fury chez moi, it will be the meals I can remember. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think food plays such an important part of memory because of all its sensory effects - we see, smell, touch, hear and taste as our mouths water and our stomachs yearn. In the coming months I hope to explore memory and memoirs more here on the Culinary Librarian. Here's hoping...</span></div>
Mary aka The Culinary Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599757571975556555noreply@blogger.com1