The Indiana Humanities Council thanks you for joining the conversation at Hoosierati. We’ve currently moved our blog to the Indiana Humanities Council site, and we encourage you to continue to Think, Read and Talk–just at a new url.
Thanks!
What-are-you-reading-Wednesday: The Lacuna
January 27, 2010By Kristen Fuhs Wells, communications director at the Indiana Humanities Council
This is the second Barbara Kingsolver book I’ve reviewed in the last six months, and I’m sure it won’t be my last (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is still on my list to read). As in Prodigal Summer, Kingsolver has created a whole new set of wonderful characters that stay with you long after you close The Lacuna.
The fictional book is narrated by Harrison Shepard (post-mortem, according to an archivist’s note), using journal entries and letters that span his life, starting in 1929 with his young teenage years in Mexico (but he lived in Washington D.C. for most of his childhood), and ending with—well I’m not sure, I’m only ¾ of the way through. But 
I’ve followed the young aspiring novelist’s career through servanthood at the Mexican home of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, as a secretary for their friend Lev Trotsky, the doomed and idealistic Russian revolutionary, and now, to Asheville, N.C., where his first book has just been published and WWII is coming to an end.
The Lacuna is fascinating—from its inclusion of actual N.Y. Times articles describing Japanese American internment camps, to Kingsolver’s amazing ability to craft a beautiful sentence that I just want to read over, and over, and over.
Given that Food for Thought is in full swing, it’s also worth noting that food is central to the plot—as a young boy Harrison learns to cook, which lands him the job with Diego as a plaster-preparer, and later as their household cook where he prepares dishes for lavish parties. It’s over tamales that Frida and Harrison first become friends, and it’s during weekly shopping trips to the market in Washington D.C. that Harrison first falls in love.
What-are-you-reading-Wednesday: Book Club Choices
January 20, 2010What are book clubs requesting from the Indiana Humanities Council’s collection? The Council makes sets of 8-25 copies of each title available to reading groups at public libraries, senior centers, and other venues, free of charge.
The following titles were requested most often in 2009. They reflect, it seems to me, the power of books to transport the reader to another time and place. Moreover, these are books that give depth and dimension to a topic for the group to think about and talk about, whether it be a moral dilemma or an occasion for reminiscing.
Historical Fiction:
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak – a recent novel, set in Hitler’s Germany
Follow the River by James Alexander Thom – a true story about a woman’s journey through the wilderness to escape Inidan captivity in the pre-revolutionary Ohio River Valley
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara – a fictionalized account of the Battle of Gettysburg
Riders of the Purple Sage – Zane Grey’s best-known novel depicting the Old West
Biography/Memoirs/Nonfiction:
First Ladies: An Intimate Group Portrait of White House Wives – portraits of several American First Ladies, from Martha Washington to Hillary Clinton, written by Margaret Truman, daughter of a President
A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel – a young girlhood in Henry County, Indiana
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin – inspiring account of an American who repaid a kindness by leading an effort to build schools in impoverished villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan
Indiana Authors:
Freckles – one of Gene Stratton-Porter’s novels set in the Limberlost Swamp
Home to Harmony – Philip Gulley’s humorous series about a mythical Indiana town and its long-suffering Quaker pastor
In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash – Hoosier Jean Shepherd’s book, which became material for the film, “A Christmas Story”
(Haven Kimmel and James Alexander Thom are also Indiana authors.)
General Fiction:
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon – first of a nostalgic series set in small town North Carolina
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White – a beloved children’s classic
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns – small town Georgia at the beginning of the 20th century
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines – a story of prejudice, injustice, and humanity set on a Louisiana plantation
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – celebrated coming-of-age novel about society and racial inequality in the Deep South
Immigrants (an Indiana Humanities Council theme program):
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros – a young girl’s view of her Chicago barrio
My Antonia by Willa Cather – classic novel of a Bohemian immigrant family in 19th-century Nebraska
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri – contemporary novel about a professional family from India
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson – Japanese-Americans in Washington State and conflict in the wake of WWII
Lessons for Dr. King’s Day
January 18, 2010As we observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, agencies and organizations collaborating with the Indiana Humanities Council offer these online teaching and learning resources:
Bill of Rights Institute – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Facing History and Ourselves – Eyes on the Prize Lesson 1, The Philosophy of Nonviolence
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History – Robert Kennedy’s Speech on Martin Luther King’s Death
Indiana Department of Education – The Ideas of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
Indianapolis-Marion Co. Public Library – Kids’ Info Guide, Martin Luther King Jr.
National Archives & Records Administration – Official Program for the March on Washington (1963)
National Endowment for the Humanities – Let Freedom Ring: The Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
National Park Service – Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site
PBS – Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1985
What-are-you-reading-Wednesday: Entrée to Judaism: Cooking in the Diaspora
January 13, 2010Do these chocolate chip cappuccino brownies make my butt look big?
By Patti Freeman Dorson, recovering attorney, facilitator for the Mothers Circle of Greater Indianapolis and cooking and eating enthusiast
Who but your mother would answer that question honestly? But that is not the essential question to ask. The real question is what is a recipe for chocolate chip cappuccino brownies doing in a book about Jewish cooking?
In her spectacular new book Entrée to Judaism: Cooking in the Diaspora, nationally known cooking instructor, food writer and professional speaker Tina Wasserman answers that question with historical and anthropological precision:
The expulsion from Spain and Portugal at the end of the fifteenth century sent many Jews fleeing to Holland, Brazil, and the Far East. Trade routes were set up from the Caribbean and the Far East to Holland, and Jewish immigrants were directly responsible for the brisk trade in cocoa and coffee from their newfound countries to their relatives trading on the Dutch market.
Who knew?
Growing up Jewish in Indianapolis, Jewish cooking seemed limited to the staples of Ashkenazic (Eastern European) tradition: beef brisket, honey cake, baked chicken, noodle kugel, chicken soup and matzah balls. Wasserman takes us on a journey around the world, explaining the literal meaning of the phrase wandering Jew.
Mass Jewish immigration has occurred in every age and for many different reasons: at the behest of not-so-benevolent government leaders, the pursuit of economic freedom, the instinct for self-preservation, or the dream of a better life. Wasserman as storyteller and historian explains how Jews came to live in a certain place – Spain, India, Turkey, Russia, Latin America, Africa, the Far East – and how they adapted to local conditions and created Kosher dishes incorporating the flavors and colors of their new surroundings.
Wasserman as food writer, cookbook author, cooking instructor and Jewish woman demonstrates the breathtaking variety of Jewish cooking in the Diaspora with exceptional recipes ranging from Syrian eggplant with pomegranate molasses to dolmas (Turkish stuffed grape leaves) to Chilean pastel de choclo to Sanbat Wat (Ethiopian Sabbath Stew) and so many more. And in each recipe, she adds “Tina’s Tidbits”, her wisdom, ideas and variations to enrich the cook’s experience.
The book is divided into three sections: a region and ingredient specific world tour, recipes connected with the celebration of Jewish holidays and iconic Jewish ingredients as interpreted in many different cultures. Wasserman’s collection has the breadth and depth of other international cookbooks (think Mark Bitman and The Best Recipes in the World) but she writes as she cooks – with passion, with soul and with love.
Oh, and about those Chocolate Chip Cappuccino Brownies:
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
1 pound light brown sugar
1-1 ½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon water
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 ounces chocolate chips or white chocolate chips
1. Place the butter in a 3-quart saucepan and add the brown sugar. Stir over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add the espresso powder, water, and cinnamon, and stir to combine. Set aside to cool while you measure the other ingredients.
2. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line the bottom of a 9 X 9-inch pan with parchment paper, and butter or spray the sides of the pan to prevent sticking.
3. Meanwhile, using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs and the vanilla into the butter mixture (still in the saucepan). Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix to combine. Using a rubber spatula, add the chocolate chips and stir by hand to thoroughly incorporate without melting the chips.
4. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan and back for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the pan. The mixture should be very moist but not liquid.
5. Cool and cut into 1 ½-inch squares.
Note: This recipe may be doubled and baked in a 16 X 11 X 1-inch pan for 30 minutes.
Yield: 3-4 dozen small bars
Tina’s Tidbits
- Do not overbake these brownies! When they’re done, a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan will come out clean.
- Never cut brownies while they are not or the sides will mash down.
- I keep a jar of instant espresso in the freezer to use whenever a recipe calls for some coffee flavoring.
What-are-you-reading-Wednesday: Best Food Lit of 2009
January 6, 2010For this week’s What-are-you-reading-Wednesday, we invite you to check out Amazon’s list of the best Food Lit from 2009 (composed of editor picks and bestsellers) here. Which ones have you read? Which ones are you planning to read for 2010?
Coming in at Number 1 is Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman.
Here’s the rest of the best:
Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-time Eater byFrank Bruni
A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg
Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen by David Sax
Sex, Death and Oysters: A Half-Shell Lover’s World Tour by Robb Walsh
Far Flung and Well Fed: The Food Writing of R.W. Apple, Jr. by R. W. Apple
In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules by Stacy Perman
Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession by Julie Powell
Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York by William Grimes
Meandering Indiana 19 – Tippecanoe County
December 25, 2009
Downtown Skyline of Lafayette, Indiana
Today it’s time for a visit to Tippecanoe County, where I first touched down in Indiana. On my first visit to the state, I was so ignorant of its geography that I booked a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago to West Lafayette. The little plane (maybe a dozen passengers) flew so low that we navigated by following the highway from Chicago to the Purdue airport, which apparently no longer has commercial airline service.
Another puzzler for me when I first got there was the way people with expensive homes (deans and the like) were extremely proud of living on ravines. What is this thing with ravines? I wondered. Well, situated in the northern, glacier-flattened half of Indiana, Tippecanoe County does not have a lot of interesting terrain. Ravines are about it.
Tippecanoe is a word that many school children would recognize because of “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.” Few campaign slogans are remembered 170 years later, but that tribute to William Henry Harrison has a pleasing rhythm to it. Should any student wish to learn more about Harrison and the Battle of Tippecanoe, there is always the redoubtable Ginger Smith’s Fourth Grade Class website, created by the students of Battle Ground Elementary School.
Battle Ground is also the site of Historic Prophetstown in Prophetstown State Park, with its 1920s Farmstead, now offering farm produce. Located south of the town is the Tippecanoe Battlefield Museum, a site run by the Tippecanoe County Historical Association. The association also oversees the Fort Ouiatenon Blockhouse and the Feast of the Hunters’ Moon. In Lafayette, the Association runs the Moses Fowler House and the Frank Arganbright Genealogy and Research Center, 1001 South Street. Conveniently located across the street is the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette. Over the years all of these organizations have partnered with the Indiana Humanities Council on numerous projects, as have the Tippecanoe County and West Lafayette Public Libraries.
You can find a lot of information about these venues and more on the website of the Lafayette-West Lafayette Convention & Visitors Bureau, homeofpurdue.com. Purdue? Oh, yes, Purdue. That brings me back to my first experience in Indiana, which was at Purdue. There I met my husband, Joel, and, 36 years later, I’m not sure whether to praise or blame the university. But, in this season of joy, let us be charitable. Kudos to Tippecanoe County!
Hoosier Dylan @ the Athenaeum
December 22, 2009A group of Indiana’s finest musicians, along with the Indiana Poet Laureate, will pay tribute to Bob Dylan at 7:30 (doors 6:30) in the Athenaeum Theatre on Jan. 9, 2010. Jennie DeVoe, Gordon Bonham, Jason Wilber, Tim Grimm, Bobbie Jane Lancaster, The White Lightning Boys, and Joyous Garde will sing songs by probably the greatest songwriter of the twentieth century, and Norbert Krapf, Indiana Poet Laureate, will recite Dylan-related poems with backing by Bonham and Grimm. Producer Grimm observes: “Dylan has served as the model for all singer-songwriters to follow. He was the first folk musician to go electric and the first successful writer of political and social commentary on a mass scale.” Krapf says this show is his best vehicle for accomplishing his IPL mission of “reuniting those kissing kin, poetry and music.”
Advance tickets for Hoosier Dylan are now available for $15 at Luna Music, both the Mass Ave. and College & 52nd St. locations, and Indy CD & Vinyl, Broad Ripple Ave. Door price: $18.
More info: http://krapfpoetry.com/hoosier_dylan_comes_to_indy.htm
IndyTalks: Converse. Connect. Create.
December 14, 2009By Cassie Stockamp, President of The Athenaeum Foundation, Inc.
IndyTalks is a cool collaboration that has taken on a life of its own and is being led by many right brain creative types – here in Indianapolis. Basically, IndyTalks is a series of community-based discussions will take place at different venues across the city to promote civic dialogue while exploring what it will take for Indiana to survive and prosper in the 21st century. Using Richard C. Longworth’s 2008 book Caught in the Middle: America’s Heartland in the Age Globalism as a starting point, Indianapolis residents will have to chance to participate in a series of dynamic exchanges themed on the question, “What is the future of Indiana and the Midwest?”
The concept started because of conversations around the desire to make the community aware of the soul of the historic Athenaeum and what it represented historically to the community.
The building was a place for the German Free Thinkers to pursue intellectual conversation on a range of topics without edit or bias. Another member of the Athenaeum Board and I began to ask ourselves what we could do to have this level of conversation in the building again, and realized that there were many civil dialogues going on around the City. How could we encourage them to use this historic venue?
We invited many guests andorganizations to a meeting and began to ask questions about how we could best serve the city, and how we could all work together to a greater end. IndyTalks emerged!
Connections between groups have emerged to a greater degree than existed prior to this collaboration and new relationships and friendships have formed. Please join the conversation and help us make Indy an even better place to live and work.
Learn more at www.indytalks.info.
What-are-you-reading-Wednesday: The Lost Symbol
December 10, 2009I just read Dan Brown’s newest book, The Lost Symbol — even though it was published in September. Here’s why: I like to buy the editions of Brown’s books that come out after they make the movie, with all the gorgeous illustrations and photographs of locations like Rome and Paris. Knowing that I will eventually purchase such a volume for The Lost Symbol, I decided to get the first edition out of the library. I put my name on the reservation list, where I was number 749 in line, and I just got a copy. Loved it, love all his books, usually read them in a day or two (509 pages), and evidently so do a lot of other people.
Maureen Dowd wrote in the New York Times: “Brown has always written screenplays masquerading as novels.” Clearly, that’s the first type of appeal in Brown’s fast-paced, suspenseful stories. He has a knack of ending a chapter with one of his characters in such a predicament that you have to skip ahead and find out how they got out of it. The second attraction in Brown’s novels is provided by Robert Langdon, his Harvard professor hero (played by Tom Hanks), in the form of arcane but fascinating historical, cultural, and artistic trivia. This erudition did not impress Time Magazine’s Lou Grossman, who commented: “Brown’s scholarship reads like the work of a man who believes what he reads in Wikipedia.”
I, however, enjoy the places Brown takes you in his whirlwind tours of famous cities. In the case of The Lost Symbol, the story is set in Washington, D.C., a place whose treasures are far more valuable than whatever the villain and hero are chasing after in the novel. Behind the scenes at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Capitol, there is a world of documents, artworks, and artifacts, amazing in its scope and depth. To meet the people who care for and know about them is a true pleasure. The book’s website includes a Reader’s Guide to Washington, D.C., with more about these national landmarks.
I also like Brown’s puzzles, codes, and encryptions, which are always entertaining. The key puzzle in The Lost Symbol is “a perfectly square grid of symbols from every tradition imaginable — alchemical, astrological, heraldic, angelic, magical, numeric, sigilic, Greek, Latin.” The 64 symbols in the 8 by 8 grid are somewhat familiar: a row of symbols for the planets, symbols of the great religions, astrological signs. (Mine is Gemini, which looks like the Roman numeral II.) You probably have access to many of these symbols — just open up Word and change your font to Symbols or Wingdings, and you may be able to recreate Brown’s code!
Anyway, I should stop here and return my copy to the library. There’s still a waiting list with 372 eager readers on it.
Hoosierati 
