New to Canada

Welcome to the beautiful, colourful month of October and Canadian fall! There is so much happening all around and the libraries are buzzing with activities as well!

One wonderful library celebration this fall is "LSP week 2014" - the Library Settlement Partnerships will be hosting their annual celebration between October 14-18, 2014 with a special theme “Food from Around the World”. The LSP week will celebrate the contributions of newcomers to Canada’s food culture, and also introduce Canadian food traditions to the newcomer communities.

LSP Week also coincides with Canadian Citizenship Week. And with Thanksgiving!

So we are thankful for the excellent services that LSP provide to newcomers to Canada. The program is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), through 8 settlement agencies that place settlement workers at 16 Toronto Public Library branches to assist newcomers directly.

LSP workers at the library. [Photo credit: Library Settlement Partnerships website]

Listed below are the 16 branches of Toronto Public Library that offer LSP services. These services include one-on-one settlement information and referral as well as group information sessions. Call one of your branches directly, or call the library's Answerline service at 416-393-7131 and your call will be transferred to your nearest LSP location.

Agincourt   Albion  Bridlewood  Centennial  Eatonville

Flemingdon Park  Lillian H. Smith  Mimico  Morningside

Parkdale  Parliament Street  Richview  Riverdale

Thorncliffe  Toronto Reference Library  York Woods

Speaking of this year's LSP theme "Food from Around the World" - is there any other better way to bring people together than sharing delicious food? We all carry our childhood memories of comforting meals from all parts of the world. And now that we live in Toronto - we discover and open up to amazing new flavours and food cultures.

Check out some cooking books at your library. Look for Dewey number 641.5...

Below are just several examples of the books available to borrow at Toronto Public Library on food traditions and memories, food recipes and different styles of cooking. The library reflects the diverse food traditions in our city and the cookbooks are one of the most popular collections! So get set in your kitchen and cook up a delicious meal from another part of the world!

Return to the rivers: Recipes and memories of the Himalayan River valleys, by Vikas Khanna. Foreward by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The dedication in the book is this Buddhist mealtime prayer: "This food is the gift of the whole universe, each morsel is a sacrifice of life, may I be worthy to receive it. May the energy in this food give me the strength to transform my unwholesome qualities into wholesome ones. I am grateful for this food."

• The Arabian nights cookbook: From lamb kebabs to baba ghanouj, delicious homestyle Arabian cooking, by Habeeb Salloum. Written with a marvelous flavour by this wonderful award-winning local Toronto author Habeeb Salloum.

• Gran Cocina Latina: The food of Latin America, by Maricel Precilla. 

• Vegan Planet: 400 Irresistible Recipes with Fantastic Flavors from Home and Around the World, by Robin Robertson.

Toronto Public Library subscribes to many popular magazines on cooking and food and you can find recipes in them or learn local holiday traditions around Thanksgiving for example.

Next time you visit your local branch - look for a copy of Canadian Living magazine and try a recipe! Or check out the digital Zinio edition of Canadian Living magazine.

Canadian Living cookbooks: Any book published by Canadian Living Test Kitchen is a great introduction to Canadian cooking traditions. They have a very good general book called The Complete Canadian Living Cookbook. The recipes have been tested so you know they are going to work.

• The library's food programs available on DVD are also very, very popular to borrow. For example - check out an episode from the DVD series - Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations - the American chef and TV celebrity visits different countries and goes behind the scenes of their local food cultural traditions.

•  Or try any of the books in the easy to read food series "Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks" by Lerner Publications, all available to borrow. 

So do you have a favourite meal from your country of heritage or an ethnic dish that you have learned to cook and would like to share?

I have many favourite Bulgarian childhood flavours, but one that is very simple yet so delicious and would always tempt me is a warm piece of "Banitsa" (baked filo pastry with eggs and feta cheese) and a cold sip of "Ayran" (a refreshing yogurt beverage with salt). 

Bon Appetit! Happy LSP Week 2014! 

 Library Settlement Partnerships are funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.