Way back in the 17th century, folks wrapped seeds or nuts in a hard sugar coating, which took days to produce and special skills, since nothing was mechanized and sugar work was done by eye.  The process is called “panning”--and the modern day Jordan almond would be a good example of that.  The resulting sugar-coated treats were round but not perfectly circular, similar to the shape of . . . wait for it . . . a plum.  Due to the cost of the ingredients and the time to make them, sugar plums were only enjoyed by wealthy folks.  Boiling fruit with sugar was also the most popular way to preserve fruit--including plums.  “Full of sugar plums” actually came to mean that someone was rich, and “mouth full of sugar plums” meant someone spoke sweetly but probably meant something else--similar to “bless your heart” in the South.  Find sugar plum recipe at https://gfreefoodie.com/sugar-plums/

 Kernza’s real name is intermediate wheatgrass, but that struck people as kind of clunky, so they renamed it.  It's a distant relative of regular wheat.  It's never been grown as a grain crop because it doesn't produce nearly as much seed as wheat.  But it is a perennial.  For the past 15 years, plant breeder Lee DeHaan has been cross-pollinating individual kernza plants.  He grows them in greenhouses and in open fields and selects the best offspring, paying particular attention to the size of the seeds they make.  Bigger seeds means a bigger harvest to mill into flour.  The Land Institute has recruited farmers to grow kernza in small fields (small for the Midwest, at least) of 40 acres or so.  They're harvesting it with standard farm machinery.  Even more remarkable:  General Mills, the company that makes Cheerios and Wheaties, now says it wants to make cereal out of it.  Dan Charles  https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/04/13/711144729/can-this-breakfast-cereal-help-save-the-planet 

Turnip Pancakes (Latkes)  25 minutes preparation time  serves 10  Suggested condiments:  sour cream, yogurt, applesauce, ketchup   Leah’s Pantry  https://eatfresh.org/recipe/side-dish-snacks-breakfast/turnip-pancakes-latkes 

Martha's Vineyard (Wampanoag:  Noepe; often simply called the Vineyard) is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts in the United States in North America that is known for being a popular summer colony.  Martha's Vineyard includes the smaller adjacent Chappaquiddick Island, which is usually connected to the Vineyard.  The two islands have sometimes been separated by storms and hurricanes, which last occurred from 2007 to 2015.  It is the 58th largest island in the United States, with a land area of about 96 square miles (250 km²), and the third-largest on the East Coast of the United States, after Long Island and Mount Desert Island.  Martha's Vineyard constitutes the bulk of Dukes County, Massachusetts, which also includes the Elizabeth Islands and the island of Nomans Land.

The Vineyard was home to one of the earliest known deaf communities in the United States; consequently, a sign language, the Martha's Vineyard Sign Language, emerged on the island among both deaf and hearing islanders.  The 2010 census reported a year-round population of 16,535 residents, although the summer population can swell to more than 100,000 people.  About 56 percent of the Vineyard's 14,621 homes are seasonally occupied.  There is no definitive source for "Martha's Vineyard" but it is thought to be named for the mother-in-law or daughter, both named Martha, of the English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold, who led the first recorded European expedition to Cape Cod in 1602.  A smaller island to the south was first to be named "Martha's Vineyard" but this later became associated with this island.  It is the eighth-oldest surviving English place name in the United States.  The island was subsequently known as Martin's Vineyard (perhaps after the captain of Gosnold's ship, John Martin); many islanders up to the 18th century called it by this name.  When the United States Board on Geographic Names worked to standardize place name spellings in the late 19th century, apostrophes were dropped.  Thus for a time Martha's Vineyard was officially named Marthas Vineyard, but the Board reversed its decision in the early 20th century, making Martha's Vineyard one of the five place names in the United States that take a possessive apostrophe.  According to historian Henry Franklin Norton, the island was known by Native Americans as Noepe or Capawock.  It is referred to in the 1691 Massachusetts Charter (which transferred the island from Province of New York during the breakup of the Dominion of New England) as Cappawock.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha%27s_Vineyard 

MARTHA’S VINEYARD LINGO   When you hear someone say ‘up-island,’ they are referring to the towns of West Tisbury, Aquinnah, Chilmark and it’s small fishing harbor, Menemsha.  The up-island towns are quiet, quaint and slow with each town center consisting, primarily, of town hall, the library, the post office and a few choice stores, galleries, restaurants and inns.  The houses up-island are spread out and often secluded, and the landscape features forests, rolling hills, farms and beach highlights like the cliffs in Aquinnah.  Down-island refers to Edgartown, Vineyard Haven (Tisbury) and Oak Bluffs.  These three towns are known for their bustling and unique ‘downtowns’ packed with dynamic shopping, art, food, dining and entertainment.  https://www.sandpiperrental.com/blog/marthas-vineyard-lingo-up-island-down-island/   See also https://www.mvy.com/blog/where-to-catch-the-best-sunsets-on-marthas-vineyard 

Confetti Coleslaw  20 minutes preparation time  serves 8  https://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/confetti-coleslaw  Optional additions or substitutions:  peanuts, raisins, yogurt, orange juice 

Fatigue is the best pillow. - Benjamin Franklin, statesman, author, and inventor (17 Jan 1706-1790) 

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others? ― Martin Luther King Jr.  Link to other quotes by Dr. King at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/16364-life-s-most-persistent-and-urgent-question-is-what-are-you           

The Wolf Moon will peak in the sky during the evening of Monday, January 17, 2022.  The moon was named after wolves that were thought to howl more frequently this time of year, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.  It will peak at 6:51 p.m. ET or 11:51 p.m. GMT.  To catch a glimpse of the moon, look above the horizon in the east-northeastern direction, according to NASA.  There is a cornucopia of names for the January full moon besides the wolf moon, including the Old Moon and Ice Moon.  Megan Marples and Ashley Strickland  https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/17/world/wolf-full-moon-2022-scn/index.html 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2483  January 17, 2022