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Get a taste of the world of Catan with a cookbook inspired by the hit board game

NEW YORK — You can work up quite an appetite sitting around a table plotting world domination. Luckily, a new cookbook lets Catan fans savor the board game even more while out-trading opponents. “Catan: The Official Cookbook “ includes 77 recipes inspired by the multiplayer phenomenon, dishes like Forest Dweller’s Dip, Tavern Ale Pie and Fireside Banana Boats. There are snacks, small plates, full dinners, desserts and even a few drinks. “We wanted them to be fun, but real. This is a real cookbook. There are recipes in here that you can and should definitely make. It’s not ...

Loetz produced several lines of iridescent glass

Identifying antique glass isn’t always easy. If you’re lucky, a piece may be marked, like this Phanomen vase, which is signed “Loetz Austria” on its pontil (the spot on the base where the blown molten glass was attached to a pontil for shaping). Proof of its maker, not to mention its complex shape and silvery iridescent sheen, brought its price to $4,940 at a Rago/Wright auction. But glass isn’t always marked. While it can take an expert to authenticate glass, it’s helpful to be able to recognize some of the characteristic shapes and colors made by particular ...

Off the Shelf

There is no substitute for experience. “You should have been there!” “You have to see it with your own eyes!” “It’s so much bigger in person!” “You have got to try it yourself!” These are common exclamations when we engage in conversation to share experiences and try to describe something to someone who has not experienced it. Here’s a good example. Imagine you meet someone who has never tasted salt before. They ask you to explain to them the taste. How do you describe the taste to them without using a word with “salt” in it or just referring to what it is not? ...

19 hacks to keep cool when it’s super hot outdoors

Whatever you have planned — the beach, pool, campground, your own backyard, or pretty much staying indoors — these summer tips, tricks, hacks, and DIYs are sure to offer a sigh of relief to help you do anytime-of-year heat waves like a champ! Run cold water over your wrists Here’s a little anatomy lesson: Pulse points are the parts of your body where blood vessels are closest to the surface of your skin. If you can cool your blood at these vulnerable points, it will recirculate into the central part of your body and cool you down. Try running cold water over your wrists, right ...

Cli-Fi

My heart goes out to people experiencing weather-related disasters. I can try to imagine but do not know how such devastation feels. Research suggests that fictional books may be empathy-building tools. (https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/reading-fiction-empathy-better-person) Climate fiction, or cli-fi, is a form of speculative fiction that features a changed or changing climate as a major plot device. Here is a small sampling of the titles and descriptions I found searching the New Ulm Public Library online catalog at www.newulmlibrary.org. The “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia ...

Shedding light on Fulper Pottery lamps

Before the use of electric lights, lamps were designed to cast as much light as possible. With the introduction of electric light bulbs, invented in 1879, lamps took on new forms and functions. In some cases, lampshades had to soften the light instead of amplifying or directing it. In the early 20th century, designers created lamps with new materials and previously unseen shapes. Fulper Pottery, established in New Jersey in 1860, started its artware line, Vasekraft, about this time. Its Vasekraft lamps had pottery shades and bases decorated with Fulper’s famous glazes. The shades had ...