February 29, 2016 we leap ahead!!

February 29, 2016 is Leap Day. This extra day added to the Gregorian Calendar make the year 366 days long instead of the usual 365, making that year a Leap Year.

It takes the earth approximately 365.242199 days (a tropical year) to circle once around the Sun. To keep our calendar in alignment with the sun, a day is added every four years in years that are divisible by four, thus giving us February 29. If we didn’t add a day we would lose almost six hours a year on our calendar and that would add up to 24 days in 100 years. FYI!! There is also the lesser known Leap Second.

Ever since Julius Ceasar introduced Leap Day over 2000 years ago, February 29 has become a day of traditions and superstitions. According to an old Irish legend, on Leap Day, also known as Bachelor's Day, women are allowed to propose to men. In some places a man was expected to pay a penalty of a gown or money. If you were from the upper crust of European society, he had to buy her 12 pairs of gloves if he refused her proposal. In some countries it is considered unlucky to be born or to marry on February 29.

There was even a plot afoot at one time to add February 30 to the calendar. But that plan fell through. It didn't have a leg to stand on!

If you were born on February 29 you are called a Leapling. And yes you still get to celebrate a birthday every year whether it is February 28, 29 or March 1. Your preference. Sorry you don't get to be 10 while your friends turn 40. However, many countries have laws defining which date a person born on February 29 comes of age in legal terms.

So HAPPY LEAP YEAR! And to all the Leaplings out there.  Dinah Shore, Usher, Henri Richard, Dennis Farina, Antonio Sabato Jr., Tony Robbins, Jimmy Dorsey, and YOU.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!   See you in 2020!!!





 

Day 10, 2015: GREEK HOLIDAY COOKIES

Baked by Barbara of the Berwick Library - The community's living room. Join us for coffee & conversation, music and cookies! Dec 18th, 10 - 12 noon. Everyone is welcome.

I chose these cookies because they were simple to make yet had an old world hint to the name and also a hint of the orient. It makes me think of the Silk Road and the three wise men bringing cloves to the Mediterranean. From ChristmasTraditions: Cooking, Crafts, & Gifts.
 
Makes 4 1/2 dozen cookies
- 1 cup (250 ml) butter or margarine, softened
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon (2ml) vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) brandy extract
- 2 1/2 cups (625 ml) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt
- whole cloves
- powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 350 F/180 C. In a large mixing bowl combine butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and brandy extract. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder, ground cloves and salt. Beat at low speed until soft dough forms.
2. Shape heaping teaspoon dough into crescent or S shapes. Place shapes 2" (5 cm) apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Press 2 whole cloves until into each shape.
3. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until set. Let cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheets. Sprinkle cookies with powdered sugar. Cool completely before storing. Remove whole cloves before eating.
Tip: flavour of cookies improves after a few days of storage.

Don't forget-- you too can Enter to win a gift card. Show us YOUR cookies! 

Day 3, 2015: VIENNESE KISS COOKIES

These cookies can be found in Christmas Traditions: Cooking, Crafts & Gifts, page 228, and  were made by Cathy Lothian. Drop into the Windsor Library and get a Viennese Kiss. While they last!!

 

 

1 ½  cups (375 ml) all-purpose flour

¾ cup (175)ml) butter or margarine,

 chilled and cut into 1” pieces

¼ cup (50 ml) sugar

3 tablespoons (50 ml) sour cream

1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla

24 chocolate kisses

 

Heat oven to 350* / 180*.  Grease two 12-cup mini muffin pans, set aside.  In large mixing bowl, combine flour, butter and sugar.  Beat with electric mixer at medium speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add sour cream and vanilla.  Beat at low speed until soft dough forms.

Shape dough into 1” (2.5cm) ball.  Place 1 ball in each prepared muffin cup.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.  Immediately press kiss into center of each cookie.  Let cool 1 minute before removing from pans.  Cool completely before storing.

 

 

Note from Cathy:  This cookie is very easy to make but be patient. The soft dough will form, it just takes a couple of minutes.  Although it calls for mini muffin tins, you could easily use a cookie sheet as the balls do not spread or change shape until you press the kiss into the top.  Also, make sure you press the kiss on so it is flat or it will slide off as the bottom melts .

Don't forget-- you too can Enter to win a gift card. Show us YOUR cookies! 

 

 

Alternative Thanksgiving Menus

Tired of Turkey?  You are not alone!  Whether it is just the feeling of wanting something different this year,  or  you are seriously  anti-turkey,  it really might be like they say “ a change is as good as a rest”.  

Everywhere you look there are alternative menus.   There are websites full of ideas from total vegetarian to the truly spectacular.  Some lean towards not having leftovers to deal with (personally  the leftovers are my favourite part ),  some go for unusual ingredients  and some for the ease and time spent.  Here are a few that caught my eye. 

Epicurious offers  some intriguing options  including a mexican themed menu that really got me thinking. 

Woman’s Day has always been a go to publication for recipes and they offer plenty of turkey alternatives   that are simple, straightforward and satisfying.

Food and Wine magazine offers some wonderful alternatives   from  honey glazed lamb to slow roasted salmon.   These recipes may be a little more complex but the outcome will not disappoint. 

 And About.com has  also listed some interesting menus including a menu suggestion from author Calvin Trillin that the menu should be Italian!

Have fun this Thanksgiving and if a break from tradition is what you are looking for I hope you will find something here that will work for you.

Patricia Milner, Head of Reference Services

New Year's Traditions

Here in Nova Scotia, the New Year's Day tradition is the levee. Food, drink, socializing, and music are the order of the day.  I come from the South (as in Kentucky, in the US) and there we have a long-standing food tradition that my superstitious soul cannot withstand. On New Year's Day, one must eat black-eyed peas and cabbage. My mother says the black eyed-peas are for luck and the cabbage is for money.  If you think I'm making it up, click on this link to get a bit more on the background of this tradition- though the Texans are claiming bragging rights. So, on the first day of the year, for as long as I can remember, I've eaten black-eyed peas and cabbage. Recently (and mainly due to my husband getting tired of just boiled cabbage and plain old black-eyed peas),  I've tried some new recipes. This, year, I found The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook, by Matt and Ted Lee. Not only does this book have several interesting recipes for Hoppin' John (a black-eyed pea dish that typically includes tomatoes and hog jowl), there are several fancy ways of dressing up cabbage. Now, finding black-eyed peas in Nova Scotia can be tricky, but there are stores that carry them in cans (which makes for a quick batch of Hoppin' John), and I have found them dried at times. Cabbage is in abundance, but I think you need the green kind for it to count, so make sure you include that in your recipe. Good luck to all, and a prosperous 2013. Now go eat your black-eyed peas! 

--Angela Reynolds, Head of Youth Services