Chipa Guazu' (Paraguay)

When something happens in my life that really burns me up I have a few go to coping techniques. I might run a few miles. I cook, usually something with lots of butter and sugar. Or I write, as you know if you follow the blog. So when we had a nasty incident at the library yesterday I posted on Facebook and received an overwhelmingly supportive response, and today I wrote the letter posted below. There was an apology in my in my inbox within an hour from the manager of the library, so I burned off the rest of my ire with a batch of Chipa Guazu', scalloped corn.

I advocate for my kids as best I can, in words they understand, because I want them to know that Mom has their back. Someday, I won't be with them, and I want them to advocate for themselves, maybe with the words I gave them in the library next to the check out desk and a stack of Super Man comics.

THE LETTER
My family and I are regular patrons of the Northeast library. We come every week to check out books, sometimes twice, and spend time reading as a family. One of the reasons we love this library is because it is one of the most diverse places in all of Minneapolis, which is important to us given our children are Ethiopian and Thai.

Last night during our routine visit I was absolutely shocked and angered by the actions of one of the staff members of the Northeast library, and even as I write this I am in tears. At the help desk, the employee helping to check out our books sternly rebuked my five year old son, in my presence, for looking at books on a cart. These happened to be books we had just returned (that were checked in upon my request so we didn’t go over our limit) and my son wanted to tell the librarian about what he had read. I told the man that my son was fine and not causing any trouble, but he again told my son to stop and to move away from the cart. I again told the man that my son was just fine, but he continued to berate both of us. A second employee, a woman, actually asked this man to stop speaking to us this way, but he did not.

Yes, this employee of the Hennepin County Libraries told my well behaved, highly inquisitive, supervised, book loving child NOT to touch superhero books available for check out. This type of behavior by a staff member needs to be dealt with immediately. I chose to remove my son from this man’s presence, but went back and firmly and directly told him that my son did not do anything wrong, that his remarks were inappropriate in that I would not let someone like him change my son’s love of the library and reading. He again claimed my son should not have been looking at the books, and I finally turned to the man working at the reference desk, witnessing the exchange, who kindly apologized for the man’s behavior.

I cannot help but wonder if this man’s actions were a racially motivated, and it causes me to wonder how he speaks to and treats other children of color who find the public library a safe and magical place to explore their own love of reading. Luckily, my son had his parent to advocate for him, but many children come to the library on their own and may have their understanding of how the library works damaged by this man’s inappropriate words and actions.

I would like to know how the library plans to address this situation with the employee. I look forward to hearing a reply.

Locro (Paraguay) & Ahm Phul (India)

This three day weekend was a perfect antidote for a busy first week back at school. It started with the potential to be just as hectic as the week prior, with house guests and a fairly major home improvement project, but it managed to be one of simple joys, many involving food and family, of course, starting with a Friday night recipe from Extending the Table.

Now I am not an end of the week cook. Usually as the week rolls by, the recipes become less about preparing a meal and more about heating something edible in a short amount of time. My evidence would be the Hamburger Helper we consumed with drooping eyes on Thursday night. So Friday I found myself wondering why I had planned to make Locro, an enchilada casserole from Paraguay, on my least productive night of the week. What I discovered is that the recipe was a delicious balance of 5 fresh ingredients , garnished with a little salt and cheese, and refreshing in its simplicity. I have to believe that the palate cleansing flavors, compared to the boxed concoction of the night before, set the tone for the rest of the weekend.

My job for most of the weekend was to keep the boys out of John’s way as he and his brother tiled our back porch/mud room. John ‘s mom, Donna, also came to spend time and help with the boys. She brought plenty of fun gifts that she doled out through the weekend to keep the boys busy with artwork or music.  She also brought 6 dozen farm fresh eggs and 2 dozen ears of sweet corn. The boys were tired after their week of school and daycare, and both really just wanted to settle back into their home routine, happy for the Grandma time. We used almost a couple dozen eggs for breakfasts and ate corn Sunday night for our official Labor Day Weekend Grill Out. The highlight of the weekend for me was our backyard campfire. The boys roasted marshmallows for s’mores while we told silly stories of marshmallow boys and sang our favorite Sunday school songs.             

 Over the course of two days, the big guys laid the sub flooring and tile, and the little boys slept a lot. I also tried to keep up with the garden. I managed to stew tomatoes from the garden to freeze, threw together a loaf of bread and canned another batch of pickles between art projects. We ate our fill of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, as well.  

Today the project was finishing up. After saying good-bye to our guests this morning, Ian found a recipe in a school project  that he wanted to try. It was an easy recipe for granola, so the whole family walked to the store, enjoying the sunshine,  to pick up a few ingredients. While John put down the grout on the porch and Suki slept almost three hours(!), Ian and I mixed up the granola that we will be eating for breakfast this week.  

So despite busyness around the house, the weekend was productive, full of fresh food and a newly tiled parch, which brought family for a fun time. It ended as it started, having dinner with my family, salads with veggies from the garden, and an easy mango whip dessert from India, ahm phul. Ian almost fell asleep at the table, but Suki drank his ahm phul in one giant gulpJ