Brush Up Your Civics

During this year's election season, I found that there were a lot of things about government and the election process that I didn't know.

Because I'm out of college now and working a full-time job, I don't have time to take political science classes to brush up on the civics lessons that I should have learned in school -- or did learn and just plain forgot.

So in order to fill that knowledge gap in time for me to vote, I went to the library in search of a book that would help me understand how U.S. civics work and not put me to sleep.

I checked out a book called "The Everything American Government Book" by Nick Ragone.

Upon first glance, it looked user-friendly with clear subject headings, chapters that weren't too long and margins that were wide enough that the book didn't look too intimidating to read. That last factor is especially important because I'm not a fast reader and I would be reading about government (snore).

But, surprisingly, I did not fall asleep while reading this book.

Ragone starts from the beginning by explaining how the United States formed its government and why. He goes on to break down the articles in the Constitution and what each of them establishes. He then does the same for the Bill of Rights.

Ragone then goes on to explain the function of each branch of federal, state, and local government, and then he concludes with how citizens can get involved.

He also touches on other subjects in chapters called "The Media", "Presidential Primaries and Elections" and "The Federal Budget".

The appendix includes the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States of America and a brief timeline of landmark events in the history of U.S. government.

Before reading this book, I would look at my ballot and wonder what the State Treasurer does, or what the Secretary of State does. After reading this book, I now have a better understanding of what those and other job functions are for federal, state, and local government officials.

I think this book would be a great addition to any classroom or personal library because it contains a lot of valuable information that a lot of Americans -- young and old -- don't know and should be aware of in order to be well-informed citizens. I believe it will help readers better understand how government works in the U.S.

Baking Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I bake chocolate chip cookies, I usually follow the classic Nestle Toll House recipe found on the side of the chocolate chip bag. I never tried to think outside the package until a co-worker of mine brought in freshly baked pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Genius! I knew then that I would bake those for the monthly baking contest at a local culinary store.

The next step was to find a recipe. The one I used comes from allrecipes.com. I baked a test round last week before I submitted the official batch.

Instead of baking them for 10 min. like the recipe called for, I baked them for nine minutes and had them cool for two minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

What I like about these cookies is that they're so moist. This is due to the canned pumpkin. Unlike most cookies I bake, which dry out over a few days, these cookies were still soft and yummy days after I baked them. I highly recommend them for the Thanksgiving holiday, especially for those who do not like pumpkin pie. It's a great alternative.

Photo courtesy of Allrecipes.com.