Well, the answer is honey, of course. Honey is a staple that I have on hand at all times. Who doesn't like honey on toast or biscuits? Lucky for me, I have friends that keep bees. In September or October, I go with my beekeeping friends and help them extract honey from their hives. It is really hard work but it is worth it. The honey is just so good. I have often thought about keeping bees but I do not live in the country. However, there is a new book, Keeping bees and making honey by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum that explains how people living anywhere can keep bees. There are chapters devoted to buying bees for your hive to understanding your bees and making them happy. And bees need to be happy to make all that wonderful honey. There are other chapters devoted to different kinds of hives as well as gardening for your bees. Recipes using honey are included and directions are given on making beeswax candles and cosmetics. This book would be a great resource for a new beekeeper as well as for those who already have hives. Am I ready to be a beekeeper? Not yet. However, if you keep bees or are thinking of keeping bees, this might be the book for you. Let me know what you think.

The back-to-school guides are nice, colorful information resources for almost everything you might need for the coming school year.  The back page of these guides has the academic calendar for 2008-2009 and all the telephone numbers, addresses, and administrators for all 501 schools.  They also have names and contacts for most of the system administrators.  

These guides are available for free (while supplies last) in our Community Information pamphlet area, located along the wall across from the main Magazine Room.

School supply information can be found here on USD 501's website.

Are you ready for school to start?

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that I post a healthy recipe each week.  To do this, I look at a lot of cookbooks.  I'm a picky eater, and a picky recipe selector.  That said, there are divine moments when I pick up a book and instantly know it's going to be a winner.  This is the case with The Most Decadent Diet Ever! by Devin Alexander.  This fun, colorful book features more than 125 recipes that only taste fattening.  Devin Alexander is the host of Discovery Channel's Healthy Decadence and the author of The Biggest Loser Cookbook.  Her recipes are easy to make and each one is full of helpful advice on creating beautiful food that's good for you too. 

These little cupcakes are pretty to look at and decently healthy.  Be sure to either eat them the day you make them or freeze them as they will get mushy quickly if left in the fridge.  Not that they'll last that long!

Skinny-Mini Cherry-Topped Cheesecakes

Ingredients

• Butter-flavored cooking spray
• 10 reduced-fat vanilla wafers
• 12 ounces fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fat-free vanilla yogurt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 large egg whites
• 10 tablespoons cherry pie filling

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. Line 10 cups of a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.  Lightly mist them with spray.  Place one vanilla wafer, flat side down, in the center of each cup (they will be slightly smaller than the diameter of the cup).
3. Use an electric mixer fitted with beaters to beat the cream cheese and sugar in a medium mixing bowl until well combined.  Add the yogurt, vanilla, and flour and mix on low until just combined (do not overmix).
4. Use an electric mixer fitted with a whisk to beat the egg whites in a small mixing bowl on high speed until soft peaks form.  Use a spatula to gently fold the egg mixture in two additions into the cream cheese mixture until just combined.
5. Divide the mixture among the muffin cups.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until set (they will puff up and the tops will crack, but this is OK).  Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight. 
6. Top each cake with 1 tablespoon cherry pie filling.  Serve immediately, or refrigerate. 

Scarlett's Tips for Success: If you want to add a little chocolate pizzazz to these, put a little bit of reduced-fat chocolate syrup on each one before putting the cherries on.  Also, the cherries will perfectly cover any cracks that may occur as the cheesecakes bake.

Nutritional info:  (per cheesecake):  99 calories, 6g protein, 17g carbohydrates, 1g fat, 3mg cholesterol.

photo credit

The Heartland Visioning project has identified 10 areas deemed by citizens of Shawnee County to be among the continuing focus in the planning process. Quality of Life ranks third. In this context, might it be prudent to initiate a dialogue regarding a community-wide smoking ban? 

Such a ban has not received the necessary support for implementation as yet. However, some local institutions have taken a position on the issue. Notably the Topeka and Seaman School Districts, Stormont Vail and St. Francis Hospitals and now Blue Cross Blue Shield have all opted for smoke-free grounds. Degrees of ordinances ranging from smoking prohibitions inside certain businesses to a ban in public areas, indoor and out of doors, are appearing all over the globe. 

The detrimental affects of smoking to both the smoker and those who breathe the second-hand smoke are factual and not pertinent to this discussion.  Regulating the right of the smoker as he/she interferes with the rights of others is a debatable issue.

A smoking ban in all public places is certainly a component in Quality of Life. Perhaps it might also fit into several other categories in the top 10 Visioning list, such as Economic Development, Governance, Physical Environment, Image, Education and Youth and Younger Generation.    

The following are some questions to prompt discussion. 

• Certain personal rights are deemed inappropriate in a public setting whereas the same right may be a cherished activity in the privacy on one's own property. Is smoking in public a right that should be regulated? 
• Some business owners contend that a smoking ban would jeopardize their livelihood.  Is an establishment justified as an asset to the community if its survival depends on smoking? Will smoking in establishments be cause for suits against a business by customers who develop lung cancer? 
• Care of smokers diagnosed with a disease caused by smoking who are without insurance is a burden on taxpayers. Smokers with insurance coverage contribute to the increase in the rates of nonsmokers. The choices of some negatively affect the financial plight of others. Would a ban influence a decrease in the number of smokers and thereby help to rectify this fairness issue?
• How much should a society protect its citizens from themselves?
• Schools teach children and teens about the harmful affects of tobacco smoke. Is it the responsiblity of the community to serve as a model, to set an example, to practice what is preached? Is anything less than a ban hypocritical?
• Would a community-wide smoking ban improve the quality of life in Topeka?

Use the form below to comment. Please dialogue with due respect for the opinions of others.

But Planning is a powerful management tool.  No business today can afford to simply sit back and wait for events in the larger business environment to occur and then react to them.  If you haven't thought about your company's goals lately, chances are you could miss new opportunities for growth and profit.  Or, you might not notice that competitors are popping up around you and changing the external market structure.   Revisiting the business plan need not take an exorbitant amount of time or resources; it is a matter of taking the time to answer some questions about your business. A well-written Business Plan lays out the best growth path and strategy, as well as the rationale for the selection of that strategy over other alternatives.   And the basic steps are the same whether you are just starting out or whether you've been in business for some time.  Start by answering the following questions:

Who are we?  Identify your key players, both management and skilled employees.

What are we trying to do?  This is your Mission Statement, the reason you are in business.

How will we get it done?  Outline the Operations of your business.

What customer need do we fulfill?  In our industry, are we faster, cheaper, more convenient, friendlier?  What sets us apart from our competition?

Who is our competition? Identify those who offer similar services and appeal to the same customer base and do a Competitive Analysis.

Who is our target market?  These are your best customers. This demographic may change as your business grows and you add new services or technologies.

When do we start making money?  If you are a new business, write some realistic financial projections to determine when you should break even and then show a profit.  If you are an ongoing concern, read your financial statements to determine your profitability.  It might be time to raise prices or try a different marketing strategy to attract new customers.

Once you have answered these questions, implement the plan.  And remember, no matter how thoroughly and carefully the business plan is prepared, things can and will change.  Its purpose is to focus your business team and give your company a direction with realistic, stated goals.  As business management guru Peter F. Drucker says, "planning is the continuous process of making present decisions systematically and with the best possibility of their futurity...and measuring the results of these decisions." Of course, as important as planning is to your business growth, at the end of the day, all business plans must revolve around a set of high-quality products and services that customers genuinely want and need.

Córdoba, Spain

Córdoba like Seville is on the Guadalquivir River but is less metropolitan and is definitely more rural than Seville. We only spent a part of a day in Córdoba so we didn’t get to see much but what we did see was magnificent!  

A Visigothic cathedral once stood on the site where the Mezquita was built.  The Mezquita was turned into a Mosque in 785 then once again turned into a cathedral during the 16th century.  Inside the mosque is absolutely incredible.  The interior of the Mosque has numerous marble columns, beautiful lattice-work  door ways, inlay wood ceilings, byzantine mosaics and so many different styles and mediums that I just can’t name them all!   It is a must see for yourself attraction! 

After visiting the Mezquita we toured the ancient streets of Córdoba and visited the tendillas…or little shops and lunched on ham and cheese sandwiches.  Watch your step when entering the shops…there is a lulu of a step down into each shop along the street! I almost wiped out a display of glass figurines in the first shop I stopped in!  Luckily some nice little old lady was there to help me keep my balance!

On to Granada and the Alhambra!

Cook What You Love is one of those beautifully photographed books that you wish you could jump into.  Part cookbook, part travelogue, part memoir, authors Bob and Melinda Blanchard invite readers into their life, be it in cold, snowy Vermont or the Caribbean island of Anguilla.  They are the owners of Blanchard's Restaurant on Anguilla and also run a successful consulting business. 

This recipe captures the freshness of summer and is easy to make.  Visit your local farmer's market for the best corn you'll find in Topeka.  Bon Appetit!

Sautéed Corn and Snow Peas

Ingredients:

• 4 ears corn, shucked
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch strips
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1. Using a sharp knife, cut the kernels off the cobs.
2. Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the ginger and shallots, and cook until almost soft, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the corn, snow peas, and pepper and cook until just tender, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often.
3. Stir in the lime juice, add more salt and pepper to taste, and serve. 

GED testing dates are approaching and now is the time to start studying and planning.  Various area institutions provide GED preparation classes and the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library also has several resources to help you learn on your own.

For GED preparation and testing sites throughout Kansas, the Kansas Board of Regents GED website is a good place to start.  Here in Topeka, the best place to start is the Kaw Area Technical School Adult Education Center.  The offer both preparations classes and provide testing services.  For more information check out their website. 

For those who can not or do not want to take a preparation class the Library has several GED preparation books. However, they tend to get check out quickly during testing periods, so plan ahead and get one early. 

The Library also subscribes to a great database called Testing and Education Resource Center which provides access to sample tests, the complete text (some over 800 pages) of a few GED preparation books, and many other useful features.  Check it out online, ask at the reference desk, or call (785) 580-4555 for more information about this resource.

Good luck!