This following article covering the research into the possible benefits of breast milk in fighting infection by the University of Chicago is interesting for both women and children:
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games
The 6th Annual Festa Italia is happening in 2027 in Salinas, California.
Watch for this event with food and entertainment for all ages including puppet shows.
More information can be found at the link below including a phone number for 2027’s event:
https://pasqualeesposito.com/event/salinas/
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games
Luxury Branding Ideas from Champagne Taittinger by Ruth Paget
In the book Champagne Taittinger by Claude Taittinger (159 pages), Taittinger shares some of the luxury branding strategies that the historical champagne house has developed to capitalize on their already famous site.
Some of these branding strategies include:
-serving state dinners to Queen Elizabeth II and French president Jacques Chirac
-commemorating château meals for statesmen and visiting businessmen alike with formal printed menus
-renting the headquarters château out for weddings
-hosting harvest dinner “cochelet” overseas to expand export markets
-researching the family tree and publishing it in the book.
The family’s roots extend back to the 16th century in Austria where their name was Tetinger. The family moved to Lorraine, which became French along with the family name when Lorraine became part of France.
-promotes the creation of designer decorated bottles by artists
-sponsors a culinary prize with winners noted in the book
-the book itself is a promotional item
-(Not in the book, but our family plays trivia games where all answers are Taittinger and the prize is a sip of champagne.)
It is interesting to note that Champagne Taittinger has successfully used culture to distinguish itself from the many other champagne houses in the Champagne region, including hold family baptisms at the Rheims Cathedral.
This slim volume Champagne by Taittinger by Claude Taittinger records the inventive ways the champagne house has used French culture to market an outstanding product in a region of outstanding products.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games
The Strategic Importance of France’s Canals by Ruth Paget
I was looking through a French canal boat tour guide from2002 for the Loire Nivernais (Nevers Region) and began researching how the major canals of France connect the country to its surrounding oceans.
These canals are famous with sightseers today and still retain commercial and defensive significance.
For instance, the Canal de Bourgogne and the Canal de Briaire connect the Seine River and the Rhône River basins via the Saône River creating a continuous North-South waterway across France that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the English Channel.
(The Canal de Bourgogne also connects to the Yonne River, a tributary of the Seine River at Migennes, which leads to the Saône River at Saint-Jean-de-Cosne and eventually the Rhône River.)
The Canal de Briaire and the Canal de Loing (built in 1604) connect the Loire River to the Saône River at Saint-Mammès. Once you are on the Saône River, it is easy to navigate to the Rhône River and then go north to the English Channel or south to the Mediterranean Sea.
In the southwest, the Garonne River flows by Bordeaux and Toulouse. At Toulouse, boats can take the Canal du Midi, also called the Canal de Deux Mers, which ends at the Etang de Thau, a saltwater lagoon next to the Mediterranean port city of Sète.
The Canal du Midi links the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea without having to go around Spain. (You can also use canals to follow the Garonne River to the Rhône River.)
Finally, there is 600 miles of networked canals in Brittany in northwest France that link Brittany to the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel.
These French canals can move produce, wine, and other merchandise throughout France to keep even small village markets like the two I went to with my mother-in-law in St.-Etienne-de-Montluc outside Nantes and Montlouis-sur-Loire outside Tours well-stocked in all seasons. For this reason alone, the canals of France greatly contribute to the comfortable lifestyle of France.
For tourists, there is the thrill of going through locks and learning about all the little towns along the way.
Happy vacation planning!
Note: Chicago could offer canal cruises as well. The Chicago River flows by canal to the Des Plaines River, which flows into the Illinois River and eventually the Mississippi River by Peoria, Illinois.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games
Japanese Host Mom Economics by Ruth Paget
I bought the cookbook Everyday Harumi by Harumi Kurihara (available on Amazon Kindle), because the recipes reminded me of the food my Japanese host mom made when I was an exchange student in 1980. Even as a teenager, I could see that she was good with money, food, and nutrition.
My Japanese host mom cooked for 11 people daily when I lived with the family in Toyonaka City outside Osaka, Japan. This number included my host dad and his co construction company crew workers, one set of grandparents, Okaasan and her three daughters, and me.
Okaasan was a nurse before getting married and her three daughters studied nursing at a boarding school on the island of Shikoku south of Honshu. After marriage, she helped my Japanese host dad run the family construction business. I am thankful that okaasan’s management skills made it possible for me to live in Japan as a high school exchange student with Youth for Understanding.
I had trouble getting used to Japanese food at first, but stuck with eating it, so I would be considered a good diplomat. I actually gained some weight by the time I left and liked salty pickled plums and crunchy nori seaweed by the end of my stay.
I want to go through how okaasan organized summer meals in a home without air conditioning during extremely hot summer days where it would already be 85 degrees out at 7:30 am and threatening tropical rain. (Japan’s southern island of Kyushu experiences monsoon weather.)
The following are the typical weekday menus okaasan prepared for my Japanese host sisters and me during the week:
Breakfast:
-miso soup with tofu and seaweed
-two bowls of cold, sticky rice mixed with lukewarm tea that we drank like soup
-tsukemono and sunomono pickles
-yamaki dried anchovies
Lunch:
-udon soup at a restaurant to beat the heat or
-omelet made with snipped chives and sprinkled with soy sauce, salad with mayonnaise, tsukemono and sunomono pickles, and rice at home
Dinner:
Okaasan set out tabletop electric grills so people could grill their own teriyaki chicken and sometimes beef.
We also grilled fish and seafood without marinade and dipped it in ponzu sauce, s sweet, citrusy soy sauce dip.
We ate these items with tsukeomono and sunomono pickles and rice.
(I love the smell of hot rice when a rice cooker is first opened.)
Sometimes we would go to the grocery store after eating and buy ice cream cones.
I liked the routine meals, because it freed up my time to do exchange student activities like learn origami, go for neighborhood walks, and make ikebana bouquets.
Note: Japan’s Nobel Kitchen Appliance: A Jumbo Size Electric Rick Cooker
Note: Harumi Restaurant in Seaside, California serves bento box lunches with items similar to recipes in Everyday Harumi.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games
The University of Chicago’s “Chicago Minds” funds raised so far snd goals organized around 21st century themes -
https://news.uchicago.edu/story/university-chicago-launches-ambitious-campaign-chicago-minds
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games
IPA Tourism on California’s Central Coast by Ruth Paget
I have enjoyed reading about travelers who visit whisky distilleries in Scotland in magazine articles over the years and was inspired to put together similar information about IPA (India Pale Ale) tourism on California’s Central Coast for people who live in this region or who visit from outside the area.
The following breweries produce IPA and some have brewpubs where you can enjoy an assortment of IPAs and food that pairs well with this bitter brew:
-Alvarado Street Brewery (Salinas and Monterey)
-Other Brother Brewery (Seaside)
-Peter B’s (Monterey)
-Firestone Walker (Paso Robles)
-Solvang Brewery Company (Solvang)
A little farther away from the Central Coast are the historic breweries below:
-Anchor Steam Brewery (San Francisco)
-Sierra Nevada (Chico)
-Lagunitas (Petaluma)
I referred to the book IPA: A Legend In Our Own Time by Roger Protz for information on the IPA production, history, and a listing of some of the world’s most famous IPA brands and their products.
IPA is characterized by its bitter flavor from hops. Californian producers primarily use hops from the following states:
-Washington State (Yakima Valley)
-Oregon (Willamette Valley)
-Idaho (Treasure Valley and Kootenai Valley)
IPA has its origins in Pale Ale that was drunk in the English countryside by aristocrats in the 17th and 18th centuries to avoid importing French wines during times of warfare with France. In the 19th century,
George Hodgson began shipping pale ale to England’s colony in India giving rise to the India Pale Ale style and trade. Ships with India Pale Ale went to India and came back laden with tea, spices, silk, and other luxury goods for English aristocrats.
(Three generations of Hodgsons organized and popularized the trade in India Pale Ale (George, Mark, and Frederick). This information is of interest to me personally. One of my great-grandmothers was a Hodgson, who may be a cousin of George Hodgson, who organized the IPA trade. There is a detailed history along with paintings and photographs of the Hodgson Brewery in the book by Protz.)
To finish up with IPA tourism based in California’s Central Coast, I would suggest trying the following dishes that highlight food products from the Central Coast:
-fish and chips made with Pacific rock cod and organic potatoes from the Salinas Valley. I also like to order a creamy coleslaw to go with the fish and chips, if it is available.
-Swiss cheese and mushroom topped burgers and fries made with Point Reyes cheese and mushrooms from Monterey County or Oregon
-a simple BLT made with thick-cut, hickory smoked bacon from San Benito County with organic lettuce and tomato and mustard-mayonnaise and fries
-pizza made with spent grain from beer-making and spicy pepperoni
-Reuben sandwiches made with corned beer, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing on marbled rye toast (From the East Coast sandwich tradition, but tastes very good with IPAs)
This article from Bon Appetite below has detailed information on IPAs for potential buyers:
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/ipa-beer-styles
Have fun IPA tasting on California’s Central Coast!
Note: Every state in the the US could organize similar IPA tourism all throughout the year. And, remember you need clean water to make IPA beer, so IPA tourism is eco-tourism, especially if you organize recycling of used cans and bottles.
Note: An IPA is a great choice for a 4th of July barbecu with macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, potato salad, watermelon, corn on the cob, and watermelon rind pickles.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games