Valentine’s Party!

We had so many cute crafts at this year’s Valentine’s party!  And lots of ice cream, too!  ICE CREAM WOO!

Our patrons crafted their very own Love Bug, Butterfly Heart, and Huggy Heart:

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We also set out LEGOs for the little ones to play with:

Jose Cisneros Cielo Vista Valentines Party

 

And of course, our patrons made their own Valentines!

Jose Cisneros Cielo Vista Valentines PartyJose Cisneros Cielo Vista Valentines Party

 

And we all ate lots and lots of ice cream – with sprinkles!  A big thank you to all of our patrons who came to our party.  We love you!  And we wish you all a VERY HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

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February Raffle!

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of our patrons!

In celebration of this month of love and friendship, we’re having a raffle!  For every ten books you check out, you get one guesshow many candies are in the candy jar?

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Guess correctly and you’ll win a tie-die teddy bear, a candy-filled ceramic cupcake, and a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble!  If more than one person guesses correctly, we will randomly draw a name from the pool of correct guesses.  The winner will be selected on Saturday, February 24th.  So there’s still time to enter – GOOD LUCK!

 

And congratulations to the winners of our January Star Wars raffle – KATHLEEN (not pictured) and SANTIAGO!  He was so happy to have won and we’re very happy to have him as a patron!

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Chinese New Year Party!

Come and join us for our second annual Chinese New Year party!  The celebration will be on Saturday, February 17th, at 1 pm.

2nd annual chinese new year party

Generously sponsored by our Friends of the Cielo Vista Library volunteer group, we will have crafts, snacks, and a wishing tree.  This party is free and open to the public.  So add a wish to our wishing tree and come celebrate with us!

Cook the Book club meeting – DESSERTS

All this cake and it’s not even my birthday!  We had a grand ole sugary time at the latest Cook the Book club meeting featuring Patti LaBelle’s latest cookbook Desserts LaBelle.

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The Very Best Lemon Bars, pg 72 – Katherine and Michelle

Patti LaBelle Very Best Lemon Bars

As described in the cookbook, Michelle prepared the “tender and buttery crust,” while Katherine made the “thicker-than-usual layer of tangier-than-usual lemon topping.”  A perfect blend of zesty and sweet, these truly were the very best lemon bars I’ve ever had!

 

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins, pg 81 – Anna Marie

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Patty LaBelle says “these hearty muffins will make you think of a crisp autumn morning.”  And that they did!  Spiced with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves, these delicious muffins would be perfect with coffee or a warm cup of tea. And in honor of the Chinese Zodiac’s Year of the Dog, Anna Maria decorated the muffins with little dogs!

Patti LaBelle Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

 

No-Bake Double-Chocolate Eclair Cake, pg 163 – Rebeca

Patti LaBelle No-Bake Double-Chocolate Eclair Cake

This is the dessert I brought to the meeting.  It tastes better than it looks, folks!  I thought this recipe might not come together but oh how wrong I was to ever doubt Ms. Patti LaBelle.  The crispy graham cracker cookies turned soft and cake-y when layered between the delicious chocolate pudding/Cool Whip blend.  I added blackberries when I served this cake, just to give it a fresh fruit pop of flavor.  And my coworkers at the library loved the leftovers!

 

These last two recipes are from the “New Attitude Desserts” section of the cookbook.  As a diabetic, Patti LaBelle is very conscious of her sugar intake so she created new recipes for low-sugar, reduced-fat sweets.  And Ms. Patti says that she enjoys these New Attitude Desserts “every bit as much as my old-school treats.”

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie, pg 226 – Noel

Patti LaBelle Peanut Butter Jelly Pie

I loved this pie!  We all loved this pie!   This was such a fun dessert.  I think it would be perfect for a kid’s party.  While Noel enjoyed the finished product, she thought the instructions weren’t very clear and a bit hard to follow.  Linda, Noel’s mom, tried to help with the recipe’s steps and was also confused.  So this might not have been exactly Ms. Patti’s version of Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie, but it was a hit and I look forward to making it myself.

 

Chocolate Applesauce Cake, pg 229 – Linda

Patti LaBelle Chocolate Applesauce Cake

Now what’s a dessert throw down without chocolate cake, amirite?! This tasty cake’s secret is unsweetened applesauce, used in this recipe to replace the butter.  This cake was dense and moist and delicious.  Linda dusted the top of the cake with confectioners’ sugar but says that when she makes the cake again, she knows her family will insist she use chocolate frosting.  This is a sweet, but not-too-sweet, take on traditional chocolate cake.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our latest Cook the Book meeting.  Want to join in on the fun? Sign up for next month’s meeting – Cook the Book CRAVINGS – at the front desk of the Jose Cisneros Cielo Vista Public Library.  See you next month!

Cook the Book – CRAVINGS

HRH of Instagram and Twitter.  Self-proclaimed de-motivational speaker.  Sports      Illustrated Swimsuit model.  And now, cookbook author!  Join us as we explore the fantastic Chrissy Teigen’s tantalizing first cookbook, Cravings.

Cravings Chrissy Teigen

Cravings Chrissy Teigen Table of Contents

From soups to salads, breakfast to dinner (but no dessert recipes, Teigan cannot bake), these recipes were created “to be as simple as  possible without skimping on the flavor.”  Teigen says, “I want the recipes to work every time, and without a jillion ingredients you have to go to twelve stores for.  And I want them to taste UNFORGETTABLE.”  Now that’s my kind of cookbook!

At our front desk, browse Cravings and  register for our next Cook the Book meeting — Saturday, March 10th at 1 pm, here at the Jose Cisneros Cielo Vista Branch Library.

Registration is required—space is limited!

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Amate Art Workshop

The room was packed with a great mix of patrons for our Amate Art Workshop, presented by nationally recognized El Paso artist Maria Almeida Natividad:

Maria Natividad

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Mothers and daughters, boyfriends and girlfriends, grand kids and grandmas – we all had a great time.  And each patron left with their very own Amate painting.

Would you like to participate in our upcoming arts and crafts workshops?  Email our librarian Debbie Valdez at ValdezD1@elpasotexas.gov to be added to our workshop mailing list. And keep visiting our blog for updates on different activities, classes, and special events here at the Jose Cisneros Cielo Vista Library.

And we send a big thank you to Ms. Natividad for such a great class!

POLL – Cook the Book, next cookbook?

 

 

Please take our poll above to help us decide what should be the theme of our next cookbook for our monthly Cook the Book book club.

What would you like to prepare?  Which cuisines would you most like to explore?  Any favorite cookbooks you’d like for us to select?  Let us know!
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