Napoleon: A Life reviewed by Ruth Paget

Napoleon: A Life Reviewed by Ruth Paget 

Readers interested in the history that created modern France might enjoy the biography Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts (869 pages in Kindle version). 

Napoleon fought 70 battles and won 63 Roberts writes. Despite losing the decisive battle at Waterloo, the values of the French Revolution had become entrenched among the citizens of France no matter who later led the nation. 

Roberts enlivens the chronology of battles by writing about the generals who led them, many of whom later held positions of power when Napoleon declared himself emperor.  

Roberts writes about Napoleon’s military genius strategy of breaking up a large army into smaller units that could: 

-take advantage of terrain and microclimates 

-take advantage of battle victories that could break enemy lines into smaller units

-transmit communications quicker than larger units to obtain strategic objectives. 

I especially liked Roberts’ discussion of Napoleonic reforms that still exist in modern-day France such as: 

-the Légion d’Honneur, which French citizens from all levels of society could obtain 

-the Code Napoleon, the French legal code that France still uses as well as the state of Louisiana in the United States 

-the Lycée Français, or French high school, that also operates overseas as exclusive private schools notably in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco 

Roberts makes his biography of Napoleon read like a novel when he writes about Napoleon installing his relatives on thrones only to betray him and his mother who saves money in case relatives on thrones lose them so they have bread. 

Americans interested in Napoleon’s family might be interested to learn that his brother Joseph, the King of Spain, emigrated to the United States and lived in Bordentown, New Jersey. (See my blog on Bordentown, New Jersey for information about this town.) 

Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts is a very readable biography about a turbulent time in French history that francophiles and military leaders alike might enjoy reading. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

UChicago list of ethnic restaurants promotes business reposted by Ruth Paget

The linguistics department at the University of Chicago put together a list of ethnic restaurants in Chicago for its students that promotes business in general.  

Other cities and towns might be interested in making a similar list.

The website follows:

https://linguistics.uchicago.edu/notes-access-interesting-food-chicago

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

First QR Code Donation today by Ruth Paget

I made my first donation today using a QR code to Youth for Understanding exchange program for its scholarship fund.

To use a QR code, you open the camera function on your phone and aim it at the square code.  Guidelines surround the code.  You snap a photo.  An oblong bar will appear on your screen.  Tap the bar and you will be taken to your donation page.

Once there, you can see the monetary goal and amount raised so far as well as credit card information.

Once you donate, you can request a receipt.

I liked not having to type a long web address and liked having the donation going in immediately.

For information about YFU, check out their website.

https://yfuusa.org

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Virtual Genealogy Project for Ruth Paget by Ruth Paget

Virtual Genealogy Project for Ruth Paget and Florence Paget by Ruth Paget 

One of the skills I learned while studying for an MLIS in Library and Information Science at San José State University in California was how to do genealogical research using public records such as newspaper obituaries and death notices. 

A librarian’s rite of passage prank is to have a newbie open a tightly coiled microfiche film container and put it into a reader only to have it fly half way across the library, because you failed to “firmly hold the microfiche on one side” while feeding it through the reader. 

The second rite of passage is recoiling the microfiche and trying to find the needle in the haystack obituary for an approximate death date of “sometime in 1898.” Once you find the obituary, you have to tightly recoil the microfiche to fit in a small tubular canister without letting it fly across the library again. 

Library staff like to remind librarians “only librarians with a master’s degree can do the genealogical work. That’s not in our job description.” 

Since I have graduated from library school, many genealogical records have been uploaded to the internet, most notably to ancestry.com. Genealogical research appears to have moved into phase 2.0 with many records appearing in search engines like Google.  

I recently did a virtual project test on my English Pennington ancestors. The first names of my ancestors reflect religious dissent through generations of Baptists, Quakers, Puritans, Church of England members (Episcopalians in the US), and maybe even some Masons. 

I was happy with the results of my online search and recorded the results below. G before a number means “generation.” 

G16 - Florence Paget

-daughter of Ruth (Pennington) Paget and Laurent Paget

G15 – Ruth Paget – Maiden Name: Pennington

-daughter of Clarence Pennington and Beatrice May Sawle 

Born: Wayne County, Detroit, Michigan 

G14 – Clarence Pennington 

-son of Frederick McKinley Pennington and Rose Nora Belle Thomas 

Born: Lee County, Pennington Gap, Virginia 

Died: Lee County, Pennington Gap, Virginia 

G13 - Frederick McKinley Pennington 

-son of Charles W. Pennington and Nancy Arminta Clark 

Born: 1896, Virginia 

Died: 1958, Virginia 

G12 – Charles W. Pennington

-son of Greenberry Pennington and Letitia Robbins 

Born: 1862, Lee County, Virginia 

Died: 1932, Lee County, Virginai 

G11 – Greenberry Pennington 

-son of Charles Daniel Pennington and Dianah Parsons 

Born: 1826, Lee County, Virginia 

Died: 1894, Lee County, Virginia 

G10 – Charles Daniel Pennington 

-son of Micajeh Pennington Jr and Nancy Baker

Born: 1804, Lee County, Virginia 

Died: 1876, Lee County, Virginia 

G9 – Micajeh M Pennington Jr 

-son of Micaajeh Pennington Sr and Rachel Jones

Born: 1763, Wilkes County, North Carolina 

Died: 1850, Harlan County, Kentucky  

G8 – Captain Micajeh M Pennington Sr 

-son of Benajeh Pennington Sr and Elizabeth Humphrey 

Born: 1743, North Carolina 

Died: 1815, Wilkes County, North Carolina 

G7 –Benajeh Pennington Sr

 -son of Epharaim Pennington IV and Joanna Davis 

Born: 1723, Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina 

Died: about 1794, Wilkes County, North Carolina 

G6 - Ephraim Pennington IV 

-son of Ephraim Pennington III and Mary, a Delaware Native American 

Born: about 1689 in Morristown, Middlesex, New Jersey 

Died: about 1750 in Rowan, Bladen, North Carolina 

G5 – Ephraim Pennington III 

-son of Ephraim Pennington II and Mary Brockett

Born: about 1668, Newark, Essex, New Jersey 

Died: about 1694, Morris, New Jersey

G4 – Ephraim Pennington II 

-son of Ephraim Pennington I and Mary (no name given) 

Born: about 1645, New Haven, Connecticut 

Died: 1693, Newark, Essex, New Jersey 

G3 – Ephraim Pennington I 

-son of William Pennington and Marie Wilson

Born: about 1629, Muncaster Parish, Cumberland, England 

Died: About 1660, New Haven, Connecticut 

G2 – William Ephraim Pennington

-son of John Pennington Esquire and Ellen Leigh 

Born: before 1595, Wigen, Lancashire, England 

Died: About 1652, Muncaster, Cumberland,, England 

G1 – John Pennington Esquire 

-Born July 5, 1573, Hawkshead, Lancashire, England

-Died: About 1652 in England 

Note: Legal names may differ from baptismal names. 

I enjoyed gathering this information and liked finding all the family groups that I am related to by marriage as well. You have to verify what you find out about your family online, but it does give you material to start with when researching your family history.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Sherlock Holmes Pub in Carmel, California by Ruth Paget

The Sherlock Holmes Pub in Carmel, California is closed now, but I used to love going there for British Pub fare and a Newcastle Brown Ale.  

Thank you Monterey County Weekly for retrieving this fun article about “my local” out of the archives.  The review follows:

https://www.montereycountynow.com/news/local_news/carmel-s-sherlock-holmes-pub-mixes-british-and-american-classics/article_618a214d-352a-5f95-999f-307c9f027e3a.amp.html

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Au Jus: The Beef and Veal Society Game Created by Ruth Paget

Au Jus: The Beef and Veal Society Game Created by Ruth Paget 

One of the simplest sauce you can make for any type of meal is an au jus sauce, which is the cooking liquid. I add crushed shallot or garlic, sea salt, and chopped parsley to this and spoon it over the meat and buttered mashed potatoes and vegetables like green beans. I like simple preparations. 

I mostly cook pork chops, T-bone steaks, lamb shank, and now that I am older hamburgers for events like July 4th. The secret to cooking these items is knowing the weight and the internal temperature for the doneness you would like. In this game, you will learn some basic buying and cooking skills that will make your beef and veal purchases the best value for your money. 

Game Objectives: 

1-Describe meat cut by name 

2-Memorize cooking temperatures for desired doneness 

3-Identify where cuts come from using an animal map 

4-Reward: Learn to grill hamburgers 

Materials Needed: 

-The book Meat Illustrated: A Foolproof Guide by Cook’s Illustrated

-Index cards 

-pen 

-tracing paper 

-notebook paper 

-square stove top grill 

-metal spatula

-meat thermometer 

-your favorite fixings for hamburger 

Game 1: Describe Meat Cut by Name 

On an index card, write the main meat cut name and the subcategory name on the front. On the back of the card, note in your own words where the cut comes from on the cow or calf. You will use the following meat cut vocabulary for this game: 

*chuck 

-chuck-eye roast 

-chuck-eye steak 

-top-blade roast 

-blade steak 

-flat-iron steak 

-bone chuck roast 

*Rib

-first-cut standing rib roast

-second cut standing rib roast 

-rib steak 

-double-cut bone-in rib steak 

-rib-eye steak 

*Short Loin 

-top loin roast 

-boneless strip steak 

-porterhouse steak 

*Tenderloin 

-whole beef tenderloin 

-center-cut beef tenderloin roast 

-filet mignon 

*Sirloin -top sirloin roast -top sirloin steak -tri-tip roast -flap meat 

*Round 

-top round roast

-bottom round roast 

-boneless eye 

– round roast 

*Brisket 

-flat-cut brisket 

-point-cut brisket 

*Plate 

-skirt steak 

-beef plate ribs 

*Flank 

-flank steak 

*Short Ribs 

-English-style short ribs 

-Flanken-style short ribs 

*Shanks and oxtails 

-beef shanks 

-oxtails 

*Veal 

-shoulder roast 

-veal rib chops 

-veal cutlets 

-veal shanks 

Quiz yourself on the cut names and how to describe them till you know them. This list is long, but offers hours of free entertainment. 

Game 2: Memorize Cooking Temperature for Desired Doneness 

Page 11 in Meat Illustrated lists the cooking time temperatures while cooking and after resting to let cooking juices distribute evenly throughout the meat. There are only 10 items to memorize here, but they will make you feel more confident about cooking meat. 

Write the doneness levels down on the front of the index cards for cooking temperature and resting temperature. On the back of the cards, note the temperature for the various levels. 

Quiz yourself till you know the information. 

Game 3: Describe where the meat cuts come from on an animal map 

Use the tracing paper to outline the cow map in Meat Illustrated. Use a number to note where the main cuts come from. On notebook paper, write down the numbers. Use the map you drew on tracing paper to identify cuts and location and note them. Use the book’s animal map as an answer key. 

Quiz yourself till you know the information. 

Game 4: Reward: Grill Hamburgers according to the directions in Meat Illustrated 

Enjoy your burger and be ready for July 4th and summer picnics. 

Happy grilling! 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Greek Grape Leaf Recipes and Nutrient Profile reposted by Ruth Paget

The 5 Ways to Cook with Grape Leaves blog that follows looks great:

https://blog.markethallfoods.com/inside-market-hall/5-ways-to-cook-with-grape-leaves

Sautéed Greek grape leaves with lemon juice and olive oil are called Horta.  A blog recipe for them follows:

https://foragerchef.com/horta/

Department of Agriculture Information on how to prepare fresh grape leaves:

https://ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2017-08/266942.pdf

Grape leaves’ nutrient profile follows:

https://foodstruct.com/food/grape-leaves

You might want to check this information with some other sources.  I used this site, because I liked the visual presentation of information.

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France