Curry Shrimp at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Curry Shrimp with Rice from Golden Star Chinese Restaurant in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

I learned to love curry vegetables from my family’s Japanese exchange student Yumiko. She made curry with potatoes, carrots, and frozen peas, which Michigan had in abundance when I was in high school in Detroit.

Now that I live in Salinas (California), I can easily add shrimp from nearby Moss Landing fishing boats to seasonal vegetables at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant for a delicious dinner with an ingredient that has become a pan-Asian staple. 

Curry in India is really a spice blend made from whole roasted spices that are ground. This spice blend is called a garam masala. The English called garam masala curry. 

The curry name stuck and is used in Southeast for curry pastes. East Asia tends to use curry pastes even though they know how to make curry from spice blends with a corn starch slurry, if needed. 

Golden Star Chinese Restaurant has its own approach to the curry shrimp I love so well, especially since they have access to a cornucopia of seasonal vegetables. For a recent delivery order in spring, the curry shrimp came with the following vegetables: 

-onions 

-green peppers 

-broccoli 

-cauliflower 

-carrots

-mushrooms 

I referred to the Spruce Easts website for general information on how to put Chinese curry shrimp together, which describes the dish and should give home cooks a better idea of how to put curry shrimp together in a step-by-step fashion: 

1-soak shrimp with water, rinse, and dry 

2-blanch hardier vegetables in boiling water till tender crisp. The vegetable colors should remain bright. Place vegetables in cold water to stop their cooking and drain. 

3-heat oil a wok and add ginger as the aromatic for this dish and stir-fry. Add shrimp and stir-fry till pink. Remove the shrimp from the wok. 

4-Add more oil to the wok and heat. Add curry paste. Add onions and green peppers as your seasoning vegetables first. Follow with the rest of your vegetables in order of those with a longer cooking time first. 

5-when the vegetables are tender, add the shrimp back into the wok and heat till blazing hot. 

6-splash in rice wine or sherry and serve hot with rice on the side. 

For more detailed cooking instructions, refer to The Spruce Eats website below:

https://www.thespruceeats.com/chinese-curry-shrimp-695171

Curry shrimp at Golden Star in Salinas, California is delicious and promotes gut health thanks to the organic, seasonal vegetables and spices used to make the dish. 

Shrimp lovers might enjoy this spicy without being hot dish from Golden Star Chinese Restaurant in Salinas, California. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

College Educated Mothers Spend 300 More Hours a Year Raising Children but Enjoy it Less - Chicago Booth Teview Podcast and Audio transcript reposted by Ruth Paget

College educated mothers spend 300 more hours per year raising children than less educated parents, but enjoy it less according to Ariel Kalil of the University of Chicago’s Harris Schoo of Public Policy on the Chicago Booth Review Podcast with audio transcript below:

The podcast is entitled: Who Has Time to be a Good Parent?

https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/podcast/who-has-time-be-good-parent

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Solvang Viking Museum - 2 Replica Viking Ships on View reposted by Ruth Paget

Vacationers looking for an overnight recharge trip with a cultural outing to write about might be interested in the Solvang Viking Museum on California’s Central Coast.

One of the current exhibitions is about Viking ships.  Two reproduction ships the Snorri and Godfried are on view.

There is a weapons exhibit for lovers of Norse myths as well.

Minecraft players would probably find the whole town interesting and the Viking restaurants.

For more information, check out the Solvang Viking Museum website below:

https://solvangvikingmuseum.com/

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Digital Game Design Workshop in Salinas, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Monterey County Weekly’s Online Community Calendar lists a free Digital Game Design Workshop in Salinas, California on Wednesday, June 3, 2026 with two following sessions at Artists INK Studio.

Information about this workshop follows on the Monterey County Weekly’s online community calendar below:

https://www.montereycountynow.com/events/#/details/digital-game-design/19017141/2026-06-03T17

This looks like a great STEAM event!

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

UChicago College ROI on 2026 Class Speakers reposted by Ruth Paget

This year’s class of 2026 peer speakers at the University of Chicago have bright beginnings with careers beginning in the following fields:

-gourmet snack food entrepreneur in addition to becoming a national soccer champion while at UChicago

-consultant at Boston Consulting Group in Chicago

-consultant at Econic Partners

For more details on these UChicago graduates and their work at the University, refer to the UChicago news article below:

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/class-day-speakers-highlight-communities-built-during-their-time-uchicago?mkt_tok=MjUwLUNRSC05MzYAAAGiKF4QDjaD9bfTxQrahaQa9kea7UHN5z_BpuvRQxRKdhsLJmfnOLiwLIO8ZBWtD1aMiCfuuNntp9mk6PulKSVE0or1mHmobdDSLBT-f-7uqENdi5A&utm_medium=06.02email&utm_source=UChicagoNews

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Savory and Stylish Salmon Criollo at Villa Azteca in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Savory and Stylish Salmon Criollo at Villa Azteca in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

For my daughter Florence Paget’s birthday, my husband Laurent and I offered her a celebratory meal at Villa Azteca in downtown Salinas, California. 

We began our meal with guacamole salad – mashed avocado with red bell pepper squares and chopped cilantro mixed in. I like the black, volcanic stone dishes that the guacamole comes in. As we ate the guacamole, I admired the milagro (miracle) cross collection hung on the wall by the entryway. 

Florence and Laurent ordered steaks while I ordered a heart-healthy salmon dinner. 

The dish I ordered was called salmon criollo. This was broiled salmon that was served on a bed of stewed black beans with cubes of baked butternut squash strewn around it. Chipotle crema came with the salmon and two warmed soft corn tortillas. 

 A pickled radish slice and sliced jalapeño sat on top of the broiled salmon with its ashed crust of broiled skin. (Maybe a kitchen blow torch was used to make the skin this way.) 

I placed slices of salmon in one tortilla along with the black beans, jalapeño, and butternut squash along with some chipotle cream. I twisted the end over once so my salmon taco would not leak out the end. 

I just loved the flavor trio provided by the squash, beans, and maize (corn) that is indigenous to the American Southwest and Mexico. The salmon indigenous to the Pacific Northwest of the US is very good, too.  The salmon and the beans, squash, and maize together provide protein and other important nutrients like selenium for thyroid health, Vitamin C, and antioxidants that remove cancer causing free radicals.

I used the second tortilla to do practically the same combination but used the pickled radish slice in this taco. The pungent radish made the savory ingredients seem fresh rather than cooked and gave it the plus of providing a fermented food to the taco. 

I ate the remaining black beans, butternut squash, and salmon with equal gusto with the remaining chipotle cream. 

The salmon criollo was delicious and might appeal to diners trying to maintain weight without sacrificing flavor. 

Note: There is a garage nearby at the Steinbeck Center and street parking as available.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

The Kimpton Mirador Hotel in Pacific Grove, California is now open by Ruth Paget

The Kimpton Mirador Hotel in Pacific, Grove, California is now open!

This luxury destination is located in the center of a historic downtown with restaurants like The Spotted Duck French Restaurant located in the hotel, bakeries like longstanding Pavel’s, and the curated Grove Market offering many delectable goodies.  

The Museum of Natural History behind the hotel invites browsing with ocean views.  A nearby park and gazebo provide space for relaxed walks and poetry writing and journaling.  There are many flowers, trees, and hedges to identify for garden strolling.  (Safe, well-maintained parks should be a priority for all cities.  Some parks even provide picnic tables which diners and writers alike can use.)  The Kimpton has a courtyard as well for relaxing in the sun.

Asilomar Beach which runs along the rocky coastline that makes one think of Japan is three blocks downhill.  Brown pelicans, cormorants, seagulls, and great white egrets can all be seen flying here often in v-formation as they dive for fish as a group.  Photographers can take beautiful sunset photos from all vantage points along Asilomar Beach.

Pacific Grove is called Butterfly Town due the yearly migration of monarch butterflies that come to the town.  A monarch butterfly sanctuary and museum is located near the hotel .

Sometimes you can see seals sunning themselves on the rocks along Asilomar Beach to make walks true eco-tourism.

The nearby public library is a historic Carnegie library.  The town’s Chautauqua Hall hosts a quilt show every year.

The Kimpton Mirador website for more information follows: 

https://www.miradorhotelpacificgrove.com/

The Kimpton Mirador is part of the IHG Group and offers reward points for its loyalty program.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games