The MCPL Blog: Food

January 4, 2018

Did you recently purchase an Instant Pot or receive one has a gift? Then your next step is to visit the Marathon County Public Library to learn about everything you can do with it! Instant Pots were a popular gift idea this past holiday season. This electric, programmable kitchen appliance supposedly helps folks save time when cooking, making it easier for people to make vegetables and other healthier foods. According to the manufacturer, these kitchen gadgets can act as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, sauté/browning pan, steamer and warming pot, meaning you can do the bulk of your cooking all in one place! Now that it's open and out of the package, what can you...

November 21, 2017

Thanksgiving is just two days away, with many people gathering their ingredients, digging out their family recipes and planning their trips home.  But some community members aren't fortunate enough to have the financial resources for a Thanksgiving meal, or to have a place to spend the holiday. Luckily, there are handful of generous organizations and establishments that will offer free Thanksgiving meals during certain hours on November 22 and 23. The organizations and businesses offering these meals are spread across Wausau and its surrounding communities, making them easy to access no matter which part of the city you reside in.   Blue Willow Cafe  Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.,...

July 24, 2016

Last month, MCPL partnered with the Monk Botanical Gardens in Wausau to offer a two-part class focused on growing and cooking with your own herbs. During part one of the class, a local Master Gardener volunteer helped folks at our Wausau Headquarters plant their own herb container gardens. A week later, during part two, participants descended upon the Gardens' newly-completed outdoor kitchen garden to learn how to cook with the herbs they planted. Local chef Brian Freund led part two of the class and taught attendees how to make three different recipes using the herbs that will eventually grow in their container gardens. The first is for chimichurri, a sauce or marinade made from fresh herbs and typically...

November 24, 2015

Rep. Sean Duffy recently organized his third-annual Hunger and Homelessness Summit on Nov. 9 in Rothschild to bring together people from throughout central Wisconsin – government, business, individuals and non-profit folks – to discuss hunger and homelessness. More than 100 people participated, and I attended the summit to participate in discussions and learn about other community efforts that may help some of the patrons we serve at the library. As we gather with our families and friends in our homes to share holiday meals, I thought this would be a good time to share information not only from the summit, but also about available library resources. The need for overnight shelter and food assistance has...

July 27, 2015

Residents throughout central Wisconsin still have until the end of August to help individuals and families in need of food, through the MCPL food drive. The library is working with the Marathon County Hunger Coalition on the food drive, which ends Aug. 22, to benefit food pantries across our area. Anyone from across the central Wisconsin area or beyond is welcome and encouraged to drop off non-perishable items during regular business hours at any MCPL location: Athens, Edgar, Hatley, Marathon, Mosinee, Rothschild, Spencer, Stratford and Wausau. If you would like to donate, please consider some of these suggested items: canned fruit and vegetables, cereal, peanut butter, packaged or...

June 29, 2015

We were very happy to collaborate recently with Marathon County UW-Extension on a program at MCPL Wausau about chickens! Heather Schlesser, dairy and livestock agent with Extension, provided our audience with a primer on all that's involved with raising a clutch of chickens - the variety of breeds, diet, shelter, diseases to keep an eye out for and more! If you missed the June 9 program, you can watch the whole program below. Or, if you'd like to catch the program in person, Heather will present similar programs Sept. 3 at the MCPL Athens branch and Sept. 23 in Marathon City. A very special thanks to Heather for sharing her knowledge of chickens with those who came to the program. And one fun fact...

June 28, 2015

Throughout the summer of 2015 the Marathon County Public Library is working with the Marathon County Hunger Coalition and hosting a food drive to benefit food pantries across our area. The food drive began in early June and continues through the end of August. Anyone from across the central Wisconsin area or beyond is welcome and encouraged to drop off non-perishable items during regular business hours at any MCPL location: Athens, Edgar, Hatley, Marathon, Mosinee, Rothschild, Spencer, Stratford and Wausau. It may seem obvious, but unlike some other aspects of the library usage, no library card is needed to help others in need! What may not be obvious to some is the extent of hunger, food insecurity and...

May 5, 2014

How many times have you picked up your smart phone, tablet, laptop, or another electronic device today? Perhaps you feel like you are always online because of work or school, plus all of the time you spend online at home. Can you imagine spending a week without using your devices for entertainment? This May, consider participating in Screen-Free Week. Screen-Free Week is an annual event where participants pledge to spend seven days without using screens for entertainment. You do not need to stop using your computer or device for work or school, but the point of the pledge is to find other sources of entertainment for you and your family. Take the pledge, and see what activities you can discover, or perhaps...

November 16, 2012

Looking for a simple idea for a homemade gift? A new cookie recipe? A creative way to decorate your home? We have books for that. Check out some of these titles from our collection. Christmas All Through the House by Gooseberry Patch www.mcpl.us?isbn=9780848734541   Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook www.mcpl.us?isbn=9780470874035   A Hanukkah Holiday Cookbook by Emily Raabe www.mcpl.us?isbn=978-0823956265   Yule by Dorothy Morrison www.mcpl.us?isbn=9781567184969   A Kwanzaa Holiday Cookbook by Emily Raabe www.mcpl.us?isbn=9780823956296   (from the MCPL Newsletter, Nov. 2012-Jan. 2013)  

February 23, 2011

Throughout the month of March, you can help raise funds for the Library by dining at the Perkins Restaurant on Grand Ave. in Schofield! Pick up a voucher at any MCPL location, show it to the folks at Perkins, and the Library will receive 10% of the value of your order! Alternately, you may print the voucher using the following link: www.mcpl.us/PerkinsFundraiser2011.pdf Thank-you to the Friends of the Marathon County Public Library for coordinating this fundraiser. If you'd like to learn more about the Friends, visit www.mcpl.us/about/friends For other ways you can help support the Library, visit www.mcpl.us/about/donate and www.mcpl.us/about/volunteer  

July 11, 2007

On Wednesdays during the summer I enjoy seeing the vendors at the farmer's market on River Drive.  I especially enjoy the signs for fresh peas.  They remind me of the peas I picked as a child from my father's garden and lead me to think of fresh summer foods grown locally and eaten at tables in our community. In 2006, NPR's the Talk of the Nation discussed the topic of eating local, thinking global.  Experts concluded that "eating locally might make us healthier and safer...and it would be better for the environment, too."  For those interesting in reading further on the topics of food and the ethics of food consumption, the following books may be...