6887. Make Brazilian Cheese Bread

 This month at Little Chute Library's Cooks and Culture Club we were going to Brazilian Culture and Food. The librarian's friend was from Brazil and knew a restaurant owner, Mara, also from Brazil. She came to talk to us or rather teach us how to make Brazilian Cheese Bread.

Danielle made it once for our lasagna dinner but other than that I never had it. Brazilian cheese bread is a gluten free bread that is a staple in many Brazilian households because it's easy to make and freeze the dough. Then when company comes, take out the dough and bake. It is an expensive, savory treat that is enjoyed by all.

To make Brazilian Cheese Bread you will need

• 500 grams tapioca starch
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 125 grams Parmesan cheese
• 125 grams Mozzarella cheese

Since we were making individual batches, we used less and Mara had everything pre-masured for us.

We started by adding our egg to our tapioca starch and salt mixture and mixed until crumbly.

Then Mara came around added oil and water so we could form a ball.

We then separated the ball into small balls which we could bake there or bring home. I brought most of mine home to serve at our tea party since they were Janis friendly.

They were definitely better than I remembered. If you bake them in the air fryer like I did for the tea party, they come out nice and crispy with a perfectly cheesy inside. Even the hubby liked them.

I definitely would consider making them again if I found the tapioca starch and got a scale. They truly are a quick and easy snack to keep on hand. 

Author Talk -- Kate Albus

 Kimberly and Neenah libraries were each hosting an author and of course I wanted to check it out. However, when I saw that it was a middle grade book, I wasn't too sure about it anymore. When I did the resin paperweight, the librarian said adults were enjoying the book too. I downloaded A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus on audiobook hoping to finish before the event.

Kimberly's event worked out better in my schedule. I got to the library and realized most of the adults there were teachers. There weren't a lot of people so I couldn't blend it too much. At least I didn't have anyone next to me.

Kate Albus is from Maryland so not a local author. I assumed she was a local author as many authors we get are local. It was her first time to Wisconsin and was impressed by the giant lake she fly over to get into Milwaukee. After the event she was going to get cheese curds. A true Wisconsin experience.

A Place to Hang the Moon is set in WWII Britain when children were being transported out of London into the country to keep the safe from the air raids, also known as Project Pied Piper. The children in the book were orphans sent to a village to try to find a new family without telling their billeting family their were looking for a new home. It is interesting story and the second book I have heard recently about Project Pied Piper. 

Kate talked about how stories are all around us and where she finds her stories. A Place to Hang the Moon came from a line in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. It is interesting how a line, a phrase, or even a picture can spark an idea for a story because you want to learn more.

Kate was an amazing speaker and very interesting to listen to. I could have listen for hours and she probably had many stories to tell. Because I have a fairly strict no new books unless unread and autographed, I did not stick around to buy her book and meet. If her new book was published, I would have gotten that. I kind of feel bad but I only have so much room for books. 

If you get a chance read A Place to Hang the Moon. It is a quick read and quite fascinating to see what the kids went through. 

146. See the Northern Lights -- Take 2

 There were a lot of reports that there was a good chance at seeing the Northern Lights in Northeastern Wisconsin. The conditions were right -- big solar flare and clear skies. I thought I may have seen them a few years back but there weren't very bright. I didn't have high hopes this time around either.

I went to bed and around 11:30 the hubby came and woke me up saying if I wanted to see the Northern Lights to come outside. If I looked through my phone's camera I could faintly pick up the colors from the driveway.

We decided to get in the car and head a bit out of town. We headed north northwest towards Freedom and Seymour. Using the camera on my phone, I got much better pictures. I just wish the hubby would have just parked somewhere so we could enjoy them more instead of driving and looking at them.

There were impressive but not a lot of pinks but definitely green and even some dancing. 

One day I hope to see them over the water in Door County and maybe if I'm really lucky in Alaska or Iceland. I'm not holding my breath on those. For now this midnight road trip will have to suffice. 

If the Northern Lights forecast is right, take a few minutes to see if you see them. Sometimes you have to use your phone's camera to pick them up. They are pretty dang cool to see.

5461. See the Starin Park Water Tower in Whitewater

The hubby had softball in Whitewater and I came with so we could go to Wedl's Hamburgers for dinner. It was not a pleasant day to sit outside so I spent most of the time in the car. Trying to figure out where to walk, I saw on Googlemaps, there was a water tower close by and it looked interesting. So that's where I headed.

Starin Park Water Tower is the second oldest operating municipal water tower in Wisconsin and located on the UW-Whitewater campus. It was built in 1889 out of limestone. It has an octagonal base that tapers as you go up. At the top of the 80 foot stone tower, is a 20 foot tall steel water tank.

It is quite impressive and was pretty easy to find especially since it is 100 feet tall. It is well kept in a beautiful park. I just didn't except is giant stone water tower in the middle of a college campus. Considering this is not my first time at UW-Whitewater for softball, I'm surprised I didn't find it sooner.

It was just over a mile round trip from the football stadium to the water tower and back if you walk the entire trail around the park. I definitely got my work out in with the hills. I am glad though it was not a nice day otherwise I'm sure the park would be packed with students hanging out and I would have felt weird wandering through to take a picture of a water tower.

7532. Create a paperweight

April is National Poetry Month. I am not a huge poetry fan. I do like Haikus but serious poetry not so much. When I saw that Kimberly Library was having a resin poetry paperweight making event, I hemmed and hawed about going. I kept seeing the event on Facebook and decided I might as well try makig a paperweight even though resin scares me.

The first part of the event was a local poet, Kirsten Hopfensperger, explaining how she got into writing poetry and reading several of her poems.

After that we worked on our poems. We were told to pick 3 words from a pile of words and try to make a phrase. Then we needed to add a 4th and 5th word. Exchange words and rearrange until something made sense. I really wanted something sports themed but couldn't make anything work. I ended up with "Forever to dream & believe".

Once we had our words and accessories, flowers and items to go in our paperweight, they would pour the resin into our mold for us. It is very interesting compound to work with if you are not careful. It can overheat very quickly if done incorrectly. This why the librarian and her mom handled the resin. I'm so I glad I wasn't going to be responsible for any chemical reactions at the library.

After the resin was poured in the mold, we had to blow on it to remove most of the air bubbles. Then we could places our words and accessories into the resin remembering everything is backwards. Since the words were double sided, you had to make sure you didn't accidentally place the word the way or your phrase backwards. Heavier objects sank to the bottom of the mold so they would be at the top of the paperweight. Lighter objections tended to start towards the top so they would be at the bottom. However if you added the glitter pieces and they stuck to the paper flowers, the flowers would then sink. 

We had to leave our paperweights at the library for 3 days to dry. I was very happy at the way mine turned out. 

Okay so resin this way was not as scary as I thought it would be. I would never do a resin project myself but if the library wanted to do it again, I would sign up. Even my poetry wasn't bad. 

Seeing how the DNR Tags Sturgeon

 The sturgeon were running. It is the one time of the year everyone heads to Shiocton or New London to catch of glimpse of these prehistoric fish. I did this for the first time a few years back and was like been there done that. The hubby had his softball game cancelled due to supposed storms so we headed to Shiocton to see the sturgeon run since he never saw the annual event and it was a gorgeous day out.

We figured it was going to be packed at Bamboo Bend but we hit it just right. Everyone was leaving for lunch. We found a good viewing spot and were able to see several sturgeon. Because it was so warm, they were quite active.

Soon I noticed some people with nets. I thought that was a bit odd. Turns out it was volunteers from the DNR coming to tag the sturgeon. It is fairly quick process once they snag the sturgeon.

They first net the sturgeon. Some of these sturgeon are several feet long and takes a lot of muscle to get them on the tarp.

Once on the tarp a group will scan it for a tag, measure and tag it if necessary.

Then the push it down the tarp back into the water. This was my favorite part.

It does not take more than a couple of minutes.

It was really cool to see especially since we were up close. We just got lucky and happened to be in the right place at the right time. 

6842. Try a cruffin

 Cruffins, Croffles, and cronuts are fabulous creations of the bakery industry and quite popular right now. I want to try them all. 

A Cruffin is a hybrid of a croissant and a muffin. It is essentially a croissant made in a muffin tin. It can be top and/or filled with a filling. So I was on the hunt for a cruffin. 

Seth's Coffee Shop in Little Chute where I have book club has an amazing bakery case full of wonderful treats. I told the hubby if Seth's had a sweet treat for dessert, I will bring one home from book club. I was not disappointed in the selection Seth's had. They had plenty of options to choose from but the one that caught me eye was the Salted Caramel Cruffin. 

I bought a Salted Caramel Cruffin. It was about $5. I sent a picture to the hubby and he was like what are those below it. So I had to get him an apple turnover also around $5.

The cruffin was amazing and I'm glad I did not have to share. The salted caramel topping did make it a bit sweet but it was still delicious. I wish I took pictures of the layers but I was too busy indulging. It was sugary, flaky, and very sweet. The perfect dessert.

The hubby said his apple turnover was very good as well but wasn't sure he'd spend $5 on it. I thought the prices are bit high but then again I'm cheap. However, I understand the cost of ingredients and being a local independent café the prices are reasonable. Would I get a sweet treat after every book club, no. would I splurge every once and a while sure. 

Now that I have tried a cruffin and have a brunch date scheduled next month for a croffle, I need to find a cronut in the area. We may had a cronut in Nashville at Five Daughters Bakery, they called the 100 Layer Donuts so close enough. I will gladly try another one. Stay tuned to see how I like the croffle and if you know where I can get a cronut, let me know.

Checking out the Titletown Train Show

The hubby mentioned that there was a model railroad show in Green Bay coming up. After a bit of Googling, I saw that the KI Convention Center was hosting the Titletown Train Show Apr 1-2. Since the hubby was free, he wanted to check it out.

The Train show was $7/person at the door. You could have a saved a dollar by getting your tickets ahead of time at Green Bay area hobby shops. Hours were 9-4 each day. Parking was free at the ramps around the KI Convention Center. 

I am not sure what I was expecting but I do know it was not what I expected it to be. I was expecting lots and lots of model trains. There were a handful of displays and many vendors selling model train cars, tracks, and accessories. It was train show and swap meet in one. I just wanted to see trains.

When we first walked in, we were greeted by a Lego Train display. Even the hubby was impressed. He didn't realize all the different kinds of Lego sets out there. It was one of my favorite displays.

My other favorite display was by The Wisconsin and Michigan Model Railroad Club. This is where I finally realized bringing train set ups to train shows was not an easy feat. I forgot how intricate these set ups were. The volunteer explained how the display was broken and a packed up to travel to these shows. I guess I'm used to seeing displays in buildings where they don't have to move them. 

Their display was full of details and even had a scavenger hunt to find all the little details.

Another set up you don't see very often is the industrial set up where you have factories versus mountains and towns. 

Each display was unique.

 

For $7, it was not a bad way to spend the morning. I would probably go again just to see the displays. I like all the details where the hubby likes the actual trains. 

Next year show is in May. It does vary by the year and probably availability of the KI Convention Center. If you like trains, it is worth checking out.