We are the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, a multitype system serving all types of libraries. We are here to help you find new books, for yourself or for your library.
This season we are moving through the state of Minnesota, looking at an interesting fact about each county and giving you a book prompt from that fact. We will share six book suggestions to meet that prompt, to get you started on reading new books. You can also take that prompt and find any other book to meet the challenge!
This week we admire Wadena County. Over the years there have been approximately ten creameries in the county and ten cheese factories. To celebrate that good stuff, we suggest that you read a book with dairy products.
We give you links to each of these books on our show notes page, taking you to Amazon.com. If you click on any of them, and buy anything at all – including a nice book – Amazon will send us a small percent of the profits they made on these sales. Thank you for supporting CMLE!
Better With Butter, by Victoria Piontek
Twelve-year-old Marvel is afraid of absolutely everything — amusement park rides, food poisoning, earthquakes, and that big island of plastic floating through the ocean. She also obsesses about smaller worries like making friends, getting called on by the teacher, and walking home alone.
Her parents and the school therapist call her worries an anxiety disorder, but Marvel calls them armor. If something can happen, it will. She needs to be prepared.
But when Marvel stumbles on a group of older kids teasing a baby goat that has mysteriously shown up on the soccer field, she momentarily forgets to be afraid and rescues the frightened animal.
Only Butter isn’t any old goat. She’s a fainting goat. When Butter feels panic, she freezes up and falls over. Marvel knows exactly how Butter feels and precisely what Butter needs–her.
Soon, the two are inseparable, and Butter thrives under Marvel’s support. But Butter also helps Marvel. Everything is better with Butter by her side, and Marvel starts to imagine a life in which she doesn’t have to be so afraid . . . until she’s told she might have to give up Butter forever. Will Marvel find a way to fight for her friend? Or will she revert back to the anxious, lonely person she used to be?
Butter: A Rich History, by Elaine Khosrova
It’s a culinary catalyst, an agent of change, a gastronomic rock star. Ubiquitous in the world’s most fabulous cuisines, butter is boss. Here, it finally gets its due.
After traveling across three continents to stalk the modern story of butter, award-winning food writer and former pastry chef Elaine Khosrova serves up a story as rich, textured, and culturally relevant as butter itself.
From its humble agrarian origins to its present-day artisanal glory, butter has a fascinating story to tell, and Khosrova is the perfect person to tell it. With tales about the ancient butter bogs of Ireland, the pleasure dairies of France, and the sacred butter sculptures of Tibet, Khosrova details butter’s role in history, politics, economics, nutrition, and even spirituality and art. Readers will also find the essential collection of core butter recipes, including beurre manié, croissants, pâte brisée, and the only buttercream frosting anyone will ever need, as well as practical how-tos for making various types of butter at home–or shopping for the best.
Whipped Cream Recipes: A Step By Step Guide on How to Prepare that Delicious Whipped Cream At Home, by Eunice Linus
What’s a piece of pie or a batch of shortcakes without a dollop of whipped cream? It elevates just about any dessert. And while you might feel nostalgic for the stuff that comes in a can or plastic tub, trust us, nothing can beat homemade whipped cream. It goes for pumpkin pie and also this sorbet and then these leggy, tipsy, honeyed figs. Whipped cream can be anything you want it to be.
Which is exactly why you need to know all of the tricks to whipping it quickly, effectively — and for doing so often.
Whipping cream is special in that it can go from a puddle of milk to a bowl of billowy, sweet-tasting clouds in a matter of minutes. It’s the cream’s milkfat content that makes this possible. As you whisk the milk, the fat molecules start to join together and form pockets of air, gradually making a stable structure: whipped cream. (And if you whip too long, you can actually break the fat apart again and make butter!)
This guide provides helpful hints for getting this finishing touch just right, customizing it to your taste, and even using a kid-friendly shortcut.
The Art of Mark Ryden’s Whipped Cream: For the American Ballet Theatre, by Mark Ryden and Alexei Ratmansky
Featuring interviews with and commentaries from principal dancers—including Misty Copleland, David Hallberg, Stella Abrera, Gillian Murphy, and Daniil Simkin—and members of the creative team, The Art of Whipped Cream showcases Ryden’s amazing concept art as well as paintings made specifically for this publication. Follow Mark Ryden’s process from initial drawings to set design and be a part of this groundbreaking new ballet. From costumes to backdrops and accessories, you’ll be able to observe and experience the show through exclusive images as if you were sitting in the first row!
Love & Gelato, by Jenna Evans Welch
Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.
But then Lina is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything Lina knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.
People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.
My Stand Mixer Ice Cream Maker Attachment Cookbook: 100 Deliciously Simple Homemade Recipes Using Your 2 Quart Stand Mixer Attachment for Frozen Fun, by Lily Charles
The stand mixer is an incredibly versatile appliance. This quick & easy to use guide and recipes book will show you how to make the most out of your ice cream maker attachment. These 100 recipes offer great variety and reliability and are sure fire crowd pleasers. Enjoy incredible flavors and cool off without all of the added junk that is in store bought ice cream and desserts.
Here is the summary of recipes you will learn how to prepare like a pro in this comprehensive homemade ice cream book. These ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt, and sorbet recipes are FUN, EASY, and AMAZING.
We’ve included most of the POPULAR recipes people search for:
ICE CREAM RECIPES – Chocolate Mousse, Chunky Chocolate Mint, Va-Va Voom Vanilla Ice Cream, S’mores, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and so much more.
GELATO RECIPES – Chocolate Cheesecake Gelato, Banana Cream, Salted Toffee, Marvelous Mango, and on and on.
FROZEN YOGURT RECIPES – Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Black Forest, Watermelon, Caramel Nut Crunch, Maple Cayenne Lemonade…you just won’t believe all of the incredible options!
SORBET RECIPES – Strawberry, Lemon, Mango Lime, Dark Chocolate, one amazing sorbet after the other.
ADULTS ONLY – Pina Colada, White Russian Gelato, “Old Fashioned” Vanilla Whiskey, Irish Cream, Gin & Juice Yogurt, don’t get TOO carried away but there simply isn’t a more enjoyable way to imbibe.
Utilizing your stand mixer like a pro will completely change your Summer. You invested in it, get the most out of it. Don’t let it just sit there in your kitchen. Use it!
CONCLUSION:
Thanks for joining us! We’ll be back next week with a look at the next county and the next book prompt!