The Book Thing

The other day I heard a brief whisper of a magical place from another teacher. Since the first graders were intently focused on math, I didn't want to disrupt their progress with my sheer excitement, so I bottled it up and waited until I got home.

Had she really said there was a place where you could go and get up to 150,000 books for FREE? Yes! It's called The Book Thing. The simple mission of this volunteer-run organization is "putting unwanted books into the hands of those who want them." In Baltimore, MD an old, simple warehouse is a temporary home for tons of free books that are constantly flowing in and out of its doors.  Inside are rows of shelves filled with loosely organized categories of books, and yes, you really can take as many as you want. The "store" is open every Saturday and Sunday from 9-6. They do accept donations and, of course, more books.

Here is my haul of 81 books from this weekend! Most of them are going to help supplement the library at my AmeriCorps service site. I plan to return and stock up on more early chapter books that I can give out as graduation presents to students who exit the reading program this year. I highly recommend a trip to The Book Thing for any bibliophiles in the area. Next time E and I will have a plan to explore the rest of Baltimore, too!

Tips for visiting:

-Be sure to allow plenty of time to look. There is no alphabetical order.
-Check back in your favorite section before leaving; more books are being added while you browse!
-Bring plenty of bags or grab a box from the pile in the fiction room.
-Dress appropriately. There was no air while we were there and it was quite toasty. 
-Watch where you park. You do not want to get a ticket, so be sure to pull around to the front.

Spicy Lentil Stew

Leaping lentils! This dish is fantastic. I stumbled across the original recipe in a copy of Fine Cooking: Comfort Food and had so much fun making this dinner that I just kept adding more and more. My large stockpot is now overflowing with food, and for once I feel confident saying that my husband and I will both have leftovers for lunch and even a second dinner later this week. The recipe I'll post below is probably closer to 8 servings than the 12 that are on the stove right now. Keep in mind, this recipe is very flexible and you can always add more vegetables or seasonings to suit your tastes. I encourage you to sample as you cook!

Spicy Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

- olive oil
- 2 yellow onions, diced
- 1 heaping teaspoon of curry powder
- 1 heaping teaspoon of garam masala 
- 3+ stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 bag of shredded carrots
- 2 cans of diced tomatoes
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 bag of lentils (any color)
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 to 2 lbs of chicken thighs, sliced in 1-2" pieces (optional)
- several splashes of lemon juice
- fresh ground pepper to taste
- 1/2 box of plain couscous

Directions:

1. In a large stockpot, saute 2 yellow onions in a generous amount of olive oil. When onions are translucent, add in curry powder and garam masala. Stir until onions are evenly coated.

2. Add ingredients celery through cayenne pepper, mix well, and bring to a rolling boil. Check back in every few minutes to stir.

3. Once soup is boiling add chicken if desired, and cook about 30-45 minutes until vegetables and chicken are fully cooked.

4. Add pepper and lemon juice towards the end and stir in half a box of couscous. Be sure to sample your stew and add more spices if needed!

Back to School and Back to Blogging

Look forward to regular blog posts again! I am back to a scheduled existence in one location, so it should be much easier to fit in weekly posts now. I have been experimenting with new recipes and will be sharing some of my favorites here. 

I also had a crazy summer full of traveling! In the past few months, I visited Alabama, Disney World, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, DC, Alabama, Japan, Tokyo Disney, and Hawaii. Looking at mileage alone, I more than circumnavigated the world in fewer than 80 days. This was never on my bucket list, but I am adding it now just because it's pretty fantastic. Warning: you will be super jet-lagged after a journey like this. I have a resulting two to three thousand photos to sort through; hopefully I will have some great ones to share with all of you! Look out for some exciting travel posts in the coming weeks.

And I am beginning another exciting phase of my life: I will be an AmeriCorps member for the 2014-2015 school year. I'll be helping K-3 students build their reading confidence and skills through a variety of one-on-one literacy interventions! Literacy is a cause I am extremely passionate about supporting and promoting. The ability to read is crucial for educational success, and everyone should be able to unlock the joy and opportunities that come from reading. Grad school has been on my mind lately, and I'm glad I'll have this year to interact with teachers, work with a reading specialist, and spend all day every day working on literacy interventions before I make the decision to go back to school. Also, this program comes with an education award to put towards future schooling. Anyway, you might see some posts about my AmeriCorps experience on here as well. In the meantime, I am so excited to start the school year and meet my students!

More coming soon.

Sarah