Tasty and Economical Salmon Dinner at Black Bear Diner in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Tasty and Economical Salmon Dinner at Black Bear Diner in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

Now that I am older I keep a family economics journal noting ways to live well on not too much money. 

My most recent entry is about the blackened chicken with Cajun seasoning dinner at the California restaurant chain called Black Bear Diner. (The original Black Bear Diner is in Mount Shasta famous for it caverns that you can visit.) 

The blackened salmon is flavored with a rub combination of dry ingredients that you can easily make at home too with the following items: 

-smoked paprika

-iodized salt 

-garlic powder 

-ground black pepper 

-ground white pepper 

-onion powder 

-dried oregano 

-cayenne  

The spices seasoned the salmon without overpowering the salmon taste, which I liked. 

Everything that came with the blackened salmon dinner can be sourced in California, notably in Monterey County. The salmon itself swims in rivers in northern California. Red-skinned mashed potatoes made with cream and butter come with the meal and about one cup of coleslaw. The salmon is sautéed with spinach and cherry tomato halves. 

For nutrients, the salmon contains protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins like B12 and vitamin D. Potatoes contain protein, Vitamin C, potassium, and Vitamin B6. Cabbage contains high amounts of Vitamin K, Vitamin C, and fiber. 

The nutrition you obtain in the blackened salmon dinner at Black Bear Diner in Salinas, California is a good deal for its price as I have noted in my family economics journal. 

Diners who like fish, spicy Cajun flavoring, and a large amount of vegetables might also enjoy the blackened salmon dinner at Black Bear Diner in Salinas, California. 

By Ruth Paget

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe's Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western War Games

-developer of food and beverage knowledge games

-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center

-creator of French travel and culture games

-writer of 1800+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs

-family genealogist

-developer of 9 music theory games

School Choice Districts Still Benefit the Better Off according to UChicago Booth article reposted by Ruth Paget

School Choice Districts Still Benefit the Better Off according to the following article published in the Chicago Booth Review (Los Angeles is one of the districts mentioned):

https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/choice-lotteries-public-schools-help-advantaged?source=ic-em-20260804&mkt_tok=MjUwLUNRSC05MzYAAAGjbENPSPPd1_Zrj4dXnj3nIUTUVNOyAvxBKrK_J0B90RptHccytb_JuIkpv92nzPI95EBxSxw95IQQhm0wRfjGXYc-hq5Olx6p02qdbP8Z2ayDtac

Reposted by Ruth Paget

Salinas Air Show is September 26 - 27, 2026 in Salinas, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Salinas Air Show is happening on September 26 - 27, 2026 in Salinas, California.

Event information and ticket details follow:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cars-crafts-california-brews-festival-tickets-1992267436533

Reposted by Ruth Paget

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Gsmes + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games

-developer of food and beverage games

-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Museum

-creator of French travel and culture games

-writer of 1800+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs

-family genealogist

-developer of 9 music theory games

Cars, Crafts, and Craft Brews Festival is August 30, 2026 in Salinas, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Cars, Crafts, and Craft Brews Festival is going to be held on August 30, 2026 at the Salinas Sports Complex in Salinas, California.  

Food trucks will be on hand and music will be played during the event.

Event information and ticket purchase information follow:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cars-crafts-california-brews-festival-tickets-1992267436533

Reposted by Ruth Paget

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games

-developer of food and beverage knowledge games

-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center

-creator of French travel and culture games

-writer of 1800+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs

-family genealogist

-developer of 9 music theory games

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Make-Ahead Italian Meals by Ruth Paget

Make-Ahead Italian Meals by Ruth Paget 

I read The Country Cooking of Italy by Colman Andrews (available on Amazon Kindle) as part of my summer reading 2026 project to learn more about Italian culture. 

I love Italian food and view learning more about it as “lifelong learning.” 

I think the following dishes are very cook-friendly, because they all use dry pasta, which you can keep on hand in the pantry to go with market items. Tagliatelle is usually a fresh-made egg pasta originally from Bologna, but even this can be purchased now a dry-ribbon pasta nests or folded in strands. 

These dishes are delicious hot, but if you are not too picky, these dishes can be stored in a pyrex dish and heated up for lunch meals or dinner. 

When I was younger, I could make meals to warm up thanks to employers having an employee refrigerator. My employers also provided a microwave for employee use.

The dishes from The Country Cooking of Italy that I think would be good make-ahead meals include: 

*penne Valdostana – this tubular pasta dish from the French and Italian border region features butter, double cream, taleggio cheese, fontina cheese, and Parmesan cheese cooked with the penne pasta. I would qualify penne Valdostana as a very upscale macaroni and cheese dish. Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Target might have all of some of the different cheese called for in the recipe. 

*fusilli with Italian sausage and cabbage – this dish comes from the Calabria region in southern Italy opposite the island of Sicily. Fusili is also known as rotini or spring pasta. Italian sausage is usually flavored with fennel. In this recipe, it is sautéed with cabbage, garlic cloves, Calabrian red peppercorns, and tomato sauce. The pasta is sprinkled with Pecorino Romano and Parmesan cheese. 

*stuffed tomatoes baked with olive oil, rice, parsley, basil, garlic cloves, and salt and pepper. 

*spaghetti with sautéed shrimp and pesto sauce with crushed pistachio nuts added to it. 

*tagliatelle with sautéed chunks of prosciutto, butter, diced onion, double cream, whole milk, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. This rich dish is typical of Bologna, Italy, also know as “la grassa” or “the fat.” 

Beginning personal chefs might like trying these dishes, because the ingredients are rather easy to procure. They are perfect for people who do not mind warming up meals during the week. 

People who might be interested in hiring a personal chef or working as one might want to read how one family in the San Francisco Bay Area worked with a personal chef so both parents could work and still provide their family with nutritious, homemade meals in the following book: 

How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America by Priye Fielding-Singh. 

Make-ahead meals, no matter who makes them, seemed to me more time to eat and get errands done when I was a young worker. 

The Country Cooking of Italy by Colman Andrews (available on Amazon Kindle) contains many Italian home cooking recipes that lend themselves to make-ahead meals. Readers interested in Italian make-ahead meals might find this book to be very useful. 

By Ruth Paget

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe's Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games

-developer of food and beverage knowledge games

-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center

-creator of French travel and culture games

-writer of 1800+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs

-family genealogist

-developer of 9 music theory games

Pasta Lovers Meal at Woody's Bar & Grill at the Monterey Airport in Monterey, California by Ruth Paget

Pasta Lover Dinner at Woody’s Bar & Grill at the Monterey Airport in Monterey, California by Ruth Paget  

I love going to Woody’s at the Monterey Airport for a family night out to share news about books, films, and creative projects being worked on for the weekend. 

I especially like to do this while eating comfort foods like chicken pot sticker deep-fried dumplings as a starter dish. Woody’s serves these pot stickers over peppery arugula lettuce along with thick, soy-miso sauce. That is a tasty combination. 9 pot stickers come with the orders so everyone can sample on these goodies. 

My husband Laurent and daughter Florence Paget both ate cups of clam chowder as their signature Monterey appetizer. I think Woody’s could can or sell this soup in a paper package that tourists could heat up in their rooms when they first arrive in their rooms. 

Florence ordered the prime rib special, which is always tender and served with a twice-baked potato with butter, sour cream, and chives and seasonal steamed vegetables doused in butter. Her English beefeater ancestors would be happy the family traditions are being maintained. 

Laurent ordered fish and chips, which comes with three large pieces of Pacific rock cod deep-fried in beer batter with a large order of pub fries and creamy coleslaw. 

I ordered what Laurent at the last time we went to dinner at the airport: Woody’s tomato-fennel fondu pasta made with rotini pasta served in a sauce made with lightly sautéed fennel strips, shallots, and tomato slices. The sauce covered every nook and cranny of the rotini pasta and had a slight flavor of anise (licorice) from the fennel. 

The pasta was topped off with burrata and Parmesan cheese and thin grilled toasts. I used the toasts to make crostini with the remaining sauce. I loved every bite of my meal and ate everything including an extra order of mashed Yukon Gold potatoes. 

The Woody’s Tomato-Fennel Fondu Pasta did a wonderful job showcasing the organic produce of Monterey County and neighboring San Benito County. 

If you like pasta and the flavor of anise (licorice0, I would recommend trying the tomato-fennel fondu pasta at Woody’s Bar & Grill at the Monterey Airport in Monterey, California. 

By Ruth Paget

-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other books

-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization Games

-developer of food and beverage knowledge games

-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center

-creator French travel and culture games

-writer of 1800+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs

-family genealogist

-developer of 9 music theory games

26 YFU exchange students need host families - profiles provided below reposted by Ruth Paget

26 Youth for Understanding Exchange students still need host family placement for the upcoming year in the US.

These students come from Germany, France, China, and Vietnam.

You can view their anonymous profiles below with interests and contact information for hosting details:

https://yfuusa.org/host/meet-the-students/?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Lp2cGEJCZV1b-SiA_IhMamUFjGGrsgv9O8hhZB8tCnPyEDqvZBZGtE4f9AMCDRWvvc6J5tev3k4loEayrF2SfTN2j0g&_hsmi=431050638&utm_content=431050638&utm_source=hs_email

Hosting a student is like traveling to their home countries without the airfare costs.

Reposted by Ruth Paget - Exchange Student to Japan in 1980