It appears that the spring weather is finally here and it’s time to start thinking about getting your hands dirty in the garden! As we celebrate Earth Day today, we recognize that planting even the smallest potted garden will make a difference in promoting a healthy, sustainable future for the planet. And, you may even enjoy some fresh, homegrown food at the end of the season!

To add a little fun to your garden, library staff have put together some garden labels. To make:

• Print off the labels at home, or visit your local branch
• Colour the labels with markers or crayons
• Laminate or wrap in plastic to keep them dry through the season
• Add a popsicle stick or a stick from your garden to the back of each label
• Stick your labels in the ground to help you identify your plants as they grow

More gardening resources from the Huron County Library:

• It’s Seedy Saturday at the Exeter Branch on Saturday, April 23. Swap seeds, learn more about gardening, make these labels in person, and so much more!
• Borrow seeds from the Seed Library
• Check out these books for little green thumbers!

Don’t be confused by its name, allspice isn’t a combination of different spices! It is, in fact, the dried unripe berry of a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America. While it is one of the most important ingredients of Caribbean cuisine, it is also indispensable in many others, like this month’s recipe, Borscht.

The Ukrainian version of Borscht normally contains sausage, lamb, and/or beef, as well as a variety of other root vegetables, and possibly apples, beans, and/or tomatoes. It is served hot with sour cream.

Show off what you made this month by sharing photos on the Huron County Library Spice Club Facebook events page or by emailing them to askalibrarian@huroncounty.ca. Photos emailed will be publicly shared by staff to the Facebook page on your behalf.

FUN FACT: Christopher Columbus encountered allspice during his second voyage to the Americas. At that time, it was found only on the island of Jamaica. 

Borscht*

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tbsp bacon fat
• 2 lb beef, cubed
• 1 Tbsp vinegar
• 8 cups beef stock
• 1/2 cabbage, shredded
• 3 potatoes, cubed
• 4 beets, shredded
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 parsley root, chopped
• 6 peppercorns
• 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 3 bay leaves
• dill, chopped
• sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Melt bacon fat in a large, non-reactive soup pot.
2. Add the beef and brown.
3. Add vinegar and stock. Simmer until beef is tender.
4. Add vegetables, peppercorns, allspice, and bay.
5. Simmer until all vegetables are cooked through. Remove bay leaves.
6. Serve hot, garnished with dill and sour cream.

*Recipe from Global Road Warrior™️ by World Trade Press. Access this online database for free with a Huron County Library card to get information about holidays, festivals, culture, travel essentials, and other beneficial travel knowledge.

Spring is in the air and it’s almost Easter! One of the things I loved about Easter as a child was dying and decorating Easter eggs. I have particularly enjoyed decorating eggs using natural dyes. They turned out amazing, so I thought I would share the instructions so you can give it a try at home!

Many of the ingredients you may already have in your fridge or pantry. The other ingredients you will be able to find in grocery stores fairly inexpensively. I used the following items to dye the eggs:

• Tea (brown)
• Turmeric (yellow)
• Blueberries (blue/purple)
• Grape juice (grey)
• Beet juice (red)

Reading list: If you are looking to add some Easter reads to your weekend, check out these books for young readers from our collection. 

Dying Instructions: 

Notes: For these eggs, I hardboiled the eggs before dying them. The longer the eggs sit in the dyes, the darker the colour. To achieve a rich, dark colour, let the eggs sit in the dyes for at least 20 minutes. Let eggs dry on a cookie cooling rack.

Tea:

• 3 bags of tea (I used Earl Grey. But you can use other teas. Different teas may create other colours, such as herbal teas, which may turn your eggs a purple or pink colour)
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/8 cup of white vinegar

Steep the tea for at least 5 minutes to make very strong tea. Put the eggs in the water so that they are completely covered. Let them sit in the tea mixture until the desired colour is achieved.

Blueberries: 

• ½ cup frozen blueberries (thawed and smashed)
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar

Roll the eggs in the blueberries until desired colour is achieved. For darker colour, let them sit in the blueberries and rotate every couple of minutes.
I let pieces of blueberry dry on the egg to get the different colours.

Beet Juice: 

• ½ – 1 cup of beet juice
• 1/8 cup white vinegar

Let the eggs sit in the beet juice until desired colour is achieved.

Grape Juice: 

• 1 cup of grape juice
• 1/8 cup white vinegar

Let the eggs sit in the grape juice until desired colour is achieved.

Turmeric:

• 3 Tablespoons turmeric
• 1-2 cups of warm water
• 1/8 cup white vinegar

Roll the eggs in the turmeric water mixture until desired colour is achieved. 

Paper plate Easter basket:

Now you need a basket to put all your eggs in!

Supplies:

• Paper plate
• Paint, markers, or crayons
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Pipe cleaner or ribbon
• Decorating supplies (optional)

Instructions: 

• Paint one or both sides of the paper plate. Let dry.
• Cut four even slits (a few inches long) on each side of the plate.
• Fold up the sides and staple them together at the top to secure. It should now resemble a basket.
• For the handle, attach the pipe cleaner, ribbon, or twine on either side of the basket. You can either staple or use a hole punch to punch a hole on both side and secure the pipe cleaner.
• Optional – decorate the outside of the basket with stickers, decals, glitter, etc.