During the summer time, I love to have a nice salad. Produce is abundant and I can mix up a great salad with little effort. But during the winter months, a cold salad just doesn’t fill my tummy with warmth. So I found a recipe for Braised Mediterranean Lettuce.
I hear you saying “Braised?”
Yes, I said that myself when I first saw it. But it is so simple and easy to make. It’s a great way to get your veggies!
Prep ( I get everything chopped and ready because the whole thing only takes 20 minutes.)
Clean your lettuce. I tear or chop it up. I use about a half a head for 1 serving.
Chop tomatoes, scallions (onions), pine nuts and put in one bowl.
Chop olives, sage, capers and put in another bowl.
Now you are ready to cook it.
Heat a little bit of olive oil in the skillet. Actually I use a wok so that I can toss things around easily.
Add the lettuce and cook for 1 minutes. It will wilt.
Add the first bowl (tomatoes, pine nuts and scallions). Cook for 1 more minutes.
Add the second bowl (capers, olives and sage).
Add a bit of balsamic vinegar and a very small amount of water. Let cook for 20 seconds.
Season with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar.
Plate it up and put the grated Parmesan on top.
I don’t usually keep capers in my cupboard so I just don’t put those in. I have often substituted onion for the scallions. It’s also a great way to use up your lettuce when it starts to look a little sad. Try it out!
The next time someone says, “Warm lettuce, anyone?” a knowing smile will come to your face!
Did you know there is a connection between the iconic tropical troubadour Jimmy Buffet and the library? In fact, the best Jimmy Buffet song you probably have never heard of is called “Love in the Library” and can be found on Buffet’s legendary 1994 album Fruitcakes. I often wonder how many people have found love in their local library. Although filled with books and magazines and movies and computers and other “stuff,” libraries are really in the people business. We try to create community by investing in relationships with the people we serve. When you look at it that way, it is no wonder that love sometimes happens in the library!
I for one can tell you that love does happen in the library. I first met my wife Katy in the Muskingum College Library in December of 1996. My work study job while in college was working the library’s front desk as a student assistant. I would help students with basic reference questions, check out books, shelve books, etc. One December afternoon a girl came into the library to pay her overdue fines. The funny thing was that she owed something like $1.85 and she paid with a check! She said she needed to pay all fines and fees owed to the college so she could get her grades for the just-completed semester. I will never forget that situation! She paid her fines and left and I never saw her again until the following March when we both tried out for a college play. I tried out with a football buddy on a whim. Katy was much more serious about it and scored one of the leading roles. The play was Night of January 16th, by Ayn Rand. A few years later we were married.
Buffet’s iconic song “Love in the Library” is based on his years growing up on the Gulf Coast. He would spend time in his local public library because he loved to read, it was air conditioned, and there was, of course, a good looking librarian. The ironic twist to all of this is that Katy and I honeymooned on that same Gulf Coast in Biloxi, Mississippi!
Here are the lyrics to “Love in the Library” in case you are intrigued:
"Love In The Library"
On the corner of Government and Bay Avenue
The old doomsday fanatic wore a crown of kudzu
Sirens where wailing in the gulf coastal heat
And it seemed like the whole world was in forced retreat
I paid no attention, revolved through the door
Passed the newspaper rack on the worn marble floor
Near civil war history my heart skipped a beat
She was standing in fiction stretched high on bare feet
Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time
I was the pirate and she was the queen
Sir Francis and Elizabeth the best there's ever been
Then she strolled past my table and stopped at the stairs
Then sent me a smile as she reached for Flaubert
Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time
She gathered her books, walked while she read
Words never spoken but so much was said
You can read all you want into this rendezvous
But it's safer than most things that lovers can do
Well stories have endings and fantasies fade
The guard by the door starts drawing the shade
So write your own ending and hope they come true
For the lovers and strangers on Bay Avenue
Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time
If you would like to hear some of the backstory to Buffet’s song, then check out this video. He explains the story behind it and then plays the song on his guitar.
Will you fall in love in the library? Perhaps. Even if you don’t, I guarantee you will meet people who will change your life. You will meet library staff who care about you. Maybe you will meet a new friend at a book club or an author program. Maybe you will find a book or a movie or something else that will change the way you see the world. You will be inspired, challenged, and entertained. You will see that by just walking into your library the next chapter of your life story can begin! And that, my friend, is the beauty of it all…
Did you reach your reading goal in 2020? If you joined the 100 Book Club and have a tracker to turn in, make sure you do so by Friday, January 8, in order to get your T-shirt and club membership card. This year, our in-person reception has been postponed. We will contact all eligible members when t-shirts are available for pick up and when we have a date for a reception. Call us at 330-343-6123 with any questions. Congratulations to all who made reading a priority in 2020!
