Ask Amma

Power Granola – no added sugar or oil

In Recipes on 17 August 2026 at 9:49 pm

It’s back to school time and a jumbo batch of granola just came out of the oven. Since I last posted a granola recipe here (13 years ago!) I have made some important changes to the recipe. I have stopped adding oil or any kind of sweetener such as honey or maple syrup to my granola. The nuts and seeds contain plenty of healthy oil in whole food form. All the sweet we need comes from fresh chopped fruit which we stir into our bowl when we eat.

Vasteguna Huiya?

In What on 29 July 2026 at 1:15 pm

Were I in India I’d be at Jantar Mantar, were I a youth I’d have been there all month and were I still a practicing librarian I’d love to make a video like the LA Public library did about 6/7 but about “Vaste Guna Huiya” which appears on protests signs and in short videos students have posted, notably during police interactions. In those videos, it seems a way to ask the police “what are you even doing here?” but using a meaningless phrase to convey the nonsensical nature of police / state intimidating and attacking youth.

The trouble with libraries

In Books, Call to Action on 3 July 2026 at 8:00 pm

Heat dome’s got Amma inside, online and glued to the students’ action in India. Which led to this piece on the trouble with libraries.”

Those who defend the library defend humanity. The students’ movement in India is taking on the education minister … do they stand a chance? Police came after their books – they took a beating but remain standing. Read on …