<\/p>\n
Marcia Bellanco from Wyoming recently bought her first rutabaga and added the plump root vegetable to a split pea and zucchini soup.<\/p>\n
Leslie Solomon from Hudson couldn\u2019t find arugula, so she used a spring mix as a base for her salad featuring watermelon and feta.<\/p>\n
And Lisa Sweeney from Jenkins Township decided her \u201cBuffalo Cauliflower\u201d would have been crispier if she\u2019d used an air fryer instead of baking it.<\/p>\n
As they gathered around a table in the West Pittston Library for a meeting of the Cookbook Book Club on a recent Tuesday evening, seven women shared food they\u2019d brought from home and talked about the adventures of following new recipes, all from the same cookbook.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would definitely make this again,\u201d said Lynn Rachkowski of Harding, who was so pleased with the soup she had made from kale, tomato and cannellini beans that she\u2019d already made more than one batch. \u201cAnd if you really hate kale, spinach works.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would make this again in a heartbeat,\u201d Sweeney said of a second dish she had made \u2014 a tomato soup with \u201ca strong garlicky flavor \u2026 it would go really well with a grilled cheese sandwich.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recipes of the evening all came from \u201cMostly Plants: 101 Delicious Flexitarian Recipes from the Pollan Family,\u201d written by Tracy, Dana, Lori and Corky Pollan with a foreword by Michael Pollan.<\/p>\n
Kendra O\u2019Brien, adult program coordinator at the library, had chosen that cookbook as source material \u201cbecause it\u2019s January,\u201d and many people likely would have resolved to follow a healthy (in this case, plant-based) diet in the new year.<\/p>\n
The Cookbook Book Club is new to the library, O\u2019Brien said, and it will feature a different cookbook each month.<\/p>\n
Patrons may visit the library, peruse the cookbook of the month and choose a recipe. They are invited to make the dish at home and bring it to share at the next potluck. Library staff will make a note of the recipes that are already chosen to avoid duplicates.<\/p>\n
But that doesn\u2019t mean there won\u2019t be three or four different kinds of soups or several salads. Anybody who\u2019s ever been to a potluck knows that often happens, and it always works out.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien\u2019s intentions for the camaraderie-building Cookbook Book Club are that participants will \u201ctaste, compare notes, swap kitchen tips and celebrate both successes and the occasional \u2018learning experience.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n
All cooking levels are welcome, she said. \u201cBring your appetite and your curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n
As they chatted about the food Tuesday evening, Stephanie Lyman from Wilkes-Barre described the recipe for the vegetable turkey chili she had made as \u201ceasy to follow, but there was a lot of chopping.\u201d It was her first chili, she said, because her husband usually makes his own version of that dish.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien joked that the Pollan family of cookbook authors \u201cmust really like zucchini\u201d because that versatile vegetable showed up in several recipes, including the zucchini cake she had baked.<\/p>\n
Bellanco said she had put the rutabaga in hot water to more easily remove the protective wax coating.<\/p>\n
Rachkowski said she had already shared a batch of her kale and bean soup with her co-workers, who enjoyed it.<\/p>\n
And Sweeney said if she were going to use harissa \u2014 a chili pepper paste the Buffalo Cauliflower recipe called for \u2014 she would have had to order it online, so she substituted a more readily available Frank\u2019s hot sauce. A busy cook, Sweeney said she\u2019d made two dishes, so that she could contribute the cauliflower while her mom, Darlene Yeager, could contribute the tomato soup.<\/p>\n
Some cooks mentioned they thought white wine \u2014 or \u201cany kind of wine\u201d \u2014 would complement the dishes they had brought. Of course, there was no alcohol at the library. But next month\u2019s Cookbook Book Club potluck, set for 6 p.m. Feb. 3, promises to offer a little more self-indulgence than the January meeting.<\/p>\n
In honor of Valentine\u2019s Day, O\u2019Brien said, there will be a cookbook filled with chocolate recipes.<\/p>\n
Future potluck dates are March 3, April 7, May 5 and June 9. Participants may register in person at the library or call 570-654-9847.<\/p>\n
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