New In Food

Today's cookbook is The Wild Table: Seasonal Foraged Food and Recipes by Connie Green and Sarah Scott. This cookbook can be found in the New in Non-Fiction section of the West Virginia Library Commission Reference Library.

Ramp-Up Sunday Brunch Scrambled Eggs

(Serves 4 to 6)

There's a good reason why ramps and eggs are served at all the ramp festivals. The hillbilly breakfast trinity of ramps, eggs, and bacon is a boisterous way to begin a weekend spring day. While the other two ramp recipes here (in the cookbook) show the gentler side of ramps, these slowly scrambled eggs proclaim their oniony glory. Munching on the ramp swizzle stick in your bloody Mary is the crowning touch to complete the traditional breath treatment for your own home-based ramp festival.

12 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
6 ounces cleaned ramps with greens
3 tablespoons bacon fat or unsalted butter
Bloody Marys garnished with fresh ramps (optional)

1. Whisk together the eggs, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside while cooking the ramps.

2. Cut the greens off the ramps and slice them into 1/4-inch strips. Cut the bulbs into 1/4-inch dice.

3. Heat the bacon fat in a large saute pan over medium heat until hot. Add the ramp bulbs and saute until tender and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the greens and cook until wilted and tender, 2 to 3 more minutes.

4. Pour the eggs into the saute pan with the ramps and turn down the heat to medium low. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula or spoon, gathering the cooked portion as it forms curds and stirring the curds back into the liquid to form a creamy, moist scramble. Depending on the heat, this will take from 5 to 7 minutes. For moist eggs, remove them from the pan just before they are fully cooked and still look wet. They will continue to cook a little bit more off the heat. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Tips and Techniques
-The slow stirring method for scrambling the eggs produces a creamy texture. For larger curds, turn up the heat slightly and stir less often.

-The bacon fat gives this a southern taste and is a nice flavor complement to the ramps.

Substitutes and Variations
-You can add grated cheese-Monterey Jack or Gruyere, for example- to the eggs halfway through cooking. A milder, nuttier cheese will complement the flavor of the ramps.

-Scallions can be substituted for the ramps. There is no need to separate the greens form the white parts of the onion when cooking.

-The sauteed ramps can also be used as a filling for an omelet or in a frittata.

April is National Poetry Month

In honor of the month-long celebration, the Academy of American Poets will be hosting 30 poets on their Twitter account during April. Throughout each day during National Poetry Month, one featured poet will post his or her daily insights.

Follow them on Twitter to keep up-to-date on the latest poetry posts: www.twitter.com/POETSorg

Guest tweeters include:
4/1 D.A. Powell
4/2 Dawn Lundy Martin
4/3 Noelle Kocot
4/4 Richard Siken
4/5 Jennifer Chang
4/6 Joshua Clover
4/7 J. Michael Martinez
4/8 Mark Bibbins
4/9 Jennifer L. Knox
4/10 Randall Mann
4/11 CAConrad
4/12 Ada Limón
4/13 Graham Foust
4/14 Evie Shockley
4/15 Jen Bervin
4/16 Ken Chen
4/17 Sherwin Bitsui
4/18 Noah Eli Gordon
4/19 Ronaldo Wilson
4/20 Nate Pritts
4/21 Danielle Pafunda
4/22 Amy King
4/23 Ching-in Chen
4/24 John Gallaher
4/25 Srikanth Reddy
4/26 Jericho Brown
4/27 Gabrielle Calvocoressi
4/28 Kazim Ali
4/29 Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon
4/30 Dorothea Lasky

Logging and Shortline Railroads in the Mountain State

On April 5, 2011, Lloyd D. Lewis will present "Logging and Shortline Railroads in the Mountain State" at the monthly Tuesday evening lecture in the Archives and History Library. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. This program is free and open to the public. 

Lloyd Lewis comes by his love of railroading naturally. His father worked in the industry for 43 years, and Lewis himself worked for 17 years for the Chessie System Railroads and its successor CSX Transportation and was spokesman for the company from 1979 to 1991. Among other jobs, he also worked for the Huntington Herald Dispatch and taught school in West Virginia. Lewis is the author of several books on railroads, including The Virginian Era (1992) and Virginian Railway Locomotives (1993), and he is the editor of Norfolk and Western and Virginia Railways in Color, by H. Reid (1994). He currently is working on another railroad-themed book.

New In Food

This week's cookbook is The Perfect Finish: Special Desserts For Every Occasion by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark. This cookbook can be found in the New in Non-Fiction section of the West Virginia Library Commission Reference Library.

Acacia Honey Madeleines

(Makes 2 Dozen (2-inch) cakes)

Madeleines

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, for greasing the molds.
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs at room temperature
1/4 cup acacia honey or other good-quality honey
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons whole mile

Glaze

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Butter two madeleine mold trays with the softened butter.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, briefly combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, baking powder, and salt.

3. Slowly add the eggs and honey, mixing on medium speed until just incorporated. Add melted butter and milk, and mix until the batter is smooth. The batter can be transferred to a container and frozen for up to 3 days at this point. If the batter is frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Using a teaspoon, fill the madeleine molds two-thirds of the way up. The filled pans can be loosely covered and refrigerated for up to 4 hours at this point.

5. Bake on the center rack until the madeleines have puffed and are lightly browned, 12 to 14 minutes. Allow them to cool slightly, then unmold.

6. To make the glaze, place the sugar, lemon juice, and honey in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium heat. Brush the warm glaze over the ruffled side of the madeleines and return them to the oven to set the glaze. Serve warm, or allow them to cool, then wrap.

Staff Pick of the Week

In honor of Women's History Month this week's picks celebrate women in war.

I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story by Rick Bragg

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Rick Bragg lends his remarkable narrative skills to the story of the most famous POW this country has known.

In I Am a Soldier, Too, Bragg let’s Jessica Lynch tell the story of her capture in the Iraq War in her own words--not the sensationalized ones of the media's initial reports. Here we see how a humble rural upbringing leads to a stint in the military, one of the most exciting job options for a young person in Palestine, West Virginia. We see the real story behind the ambush in the Iraqi Desert that led to Lynch's capture. And we gain new perspective on her rescue from an Iraqi hospital where she had been receiving care. Here Lynch’s true heroism and above all, modesty, is allowed to emerge, as we're shown how she managed her physical recovery from her debilitating wounds and contended with the misinformation--both deliberate and unintended--surrounding her highly publicized rescue. In the end, what we see is a uniquely American story of courage and true heroism. (Synopsis from the Publisher)

Hell Hath No Fury: True Stories of Women At War From Antiquity To Irag by Rosalind Miles and Robin Cross

An engaging collection that uncovers injustices in history and overturns misconceptions about the role of women in war

When you think of war, you think of men, right? Not so fast. In Hell Hath No Fury, Rosalind Miles and Robin Cross prove that although many of their stories have been erased or forgotten, women have played an integral role in wars throughout history.

In witty and compelling biographical essays categorized and alphabetized for easy reference, Miles and Cross introduce us to war leaders (Cleopatra, Elizabeth I, Margaret Thatcher); combatants (Molly Pitcher, Lily Litvak, Tammy Duckworth); spies (Belle Boyd, Virginia Hall, Noor Inayat Khan); reporters and propagandists (Martha Gellhorn, Tokyo Rose, Anna Politkov- skaya); and more. These are women who have taken action and who challenge our perceived notions of womanhood. Some will be familiar to readers, but most will not, though their deeds during wartime were every bit as important as their male contemporaries’ more heralded contributions. (Synopsis from the Publisher)

Cooking Up History

In honor of Women's History Month this week's cookbook/history book is A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove: A History of American Women Told Through Food, Recipes, and Remembrances by Laura Schenone

Corn Dodger

Do You Know Corn Meal? Its Use Means Service Service to Your Country Nourishing Food For You

The U.S. Food Administration published wartime pamphlets to help American women conserve food. This tasteless recipe for Corn Dodger was one of the endless suggestions for alternatives to wheat suggested by the federal government. I heartily discourage it.

2 cups corn meal
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons fat
1 3/4 cups boiling water

Pour the boiling water over the other materials. Beat well. When cool, form into thin cakes and bake 30 minutes in a hot oven. Makes 14 biscuits. These crisp little biscuits are good with butter or gravy. Eat them with your meat and vegetables.
-U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Food Administration, 1917

A Lifetime Remembered: Elizabeth Taylor

Screen Legend Elizabeth Taylor has passed away. Learn more about the grand dame and her tumultuous relationship with fellow actor Richard Burton in Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the marriage of the century by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger. This title available at the West Virginia Library Commission Reference Library.

Also check out the actress in some of her famous roles: Giant, National Velvet and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof are some of the Elizabeth Taylor films available to check-out on DVD at the Reference Library.