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, Cumberlad, 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

Organic Spinach and Blue Cheese Salad at the Stillwater Bar and Grill at Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

Organic Spinach and Blue Cheese Salad at Stillwater Bar and Grill in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget  

My husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I decided to eat Sunday lunch at the newly re-opened Lodge at Pebble Beach, California. 

Our restaurant choice was the Stillwater Bar and Grill, which has large windows that look out over the Pacific and the 18th (5-par) hole on the golf course. The Stillwater serves American food with a great selection of seafood. 

What I really wanted on the fall day we went, though, was a salad. 

Monterey County grows delicious organic produce, so I celebrated fall with a “feel-good” salad as people in Detroit where I grew up were wont to say about the Greek salads we consumed in abundance during winter months to stay healthy. Stillwater’s “feel-good” salad is the California Coastal Spinach Salad is a lacto-ovo vegetarian’s dream. (Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs and dairy in addition to produce.) 

This vitamin-rich salad contains: 

-baby spinach 

-frisée lettuce 

-magenta-colored endive 

-corn kernals 

-red grape halves

-cherry tomato halves

 -small cucumber slices 

-chunks of avocado 

-chunks of Port Reyes blue cheese

-toasted and sliced almonds 

The blue cheese dressing ties all these rather sweet ingredients together and adds additional protein and calcium to the blue cheese that is already in the salad. Blue cheese also contains iodine and selenium, which provide several health benefits as well.

Along with this delicious salad, I ate grilled baguette slices that had been stuffed with slices of Brie cheese and mushroom slices. The baguette slices were buttered, and the grilling gave them a golden, crunchy crust. The Brie cheese inside the baguette melted around the mushrooms, making each bite an oozing bite of deliciousness. 

Laurent and Florence both ate a seared sole fillet with baby vegetables and drank a Tiefenbrunner pinot grigio from Italy’s northeastern Alto-Adige region, which borders Austria. (This region has also been called the Sud Tyrol.) Both Laurent and Florence said the fish and wine together were a nice way to begin celebrating the holidays. 

For dessert, Florence and Laurent shared the Valrhona chocolate cake. I ate the toasted walnut cake that was loaded with caramelized milk whip and came with candied walnuts that were flavored with lavender. The desserts completed the meal and made me skip dinner. 

The meal was just wonderful and filling. 

The Stillwater Bar and Grill in Pebble Beach, California is a nice spot for weekend lunches with family (several came in while we were there) and gatherings for the holidays. The Lodge has private rooms and catering facilities for large events as well. 

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

Deluxe Bar Nibbles at Traps Lounge in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

Deluxe Bar Nibbles at Traps Lounge in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget 

The place for deluxe bar nibbles at Pebble Beach, California is Traps Lounge located next to Pèppoli Restaurant (25 years at Pebble Beach and counting). 

My husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I went out for a bar nibble meal recently that turned into a pretty delicious light dinner. Laurent and Florence shared an artisanal cheese plate that came with sharp cheddar cheese and loads of fresh Roquefort along with organic berries from Monterey County. 

Laurent ordered a very good Italian wine to go with the cheese – a 2023 Chianti Classico made by Antinori. The bottle had the distinguishing marks of a good Chianti – a rooster on the label and the letters DOCG on a ribbon label around the wine bottle’s neck. DOCG means “Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita” in Italian and designates this Chianti as having the highest legal rank a wine can carry in Italy. 

The Chianti Classico was dry and tasted of dried red berries and walnuts – all good flavors to go with artisanal cheese. 

While Laurent and Florence ate the cheese, I ate a jumbo shrimp cocktail with horseradish-rich cocktail sauce, which I love. The meaty shrimp whetted my appetite for more bar nibbles. 

I ordered the spicy, 10-wings plate with thick and creamy blue cheese dressing to share with Florence. This wing combination was famous as a specialty of Buffalo, New York when I was growing up in Detroit, Michigan. I liked being a working class sophisticate and always ordered the blue cheese dipping sauce like it was served in Buffalo as a teen. 

Laurent ordered the spaghetti Bolognese (a chopped roast boar and tomato sauce) as his main dish. He said it tasted great with the Chianti Classico. This dish also came with shaved slices of Parmesan cheese. 

The next time I go to Traps Lounge, I will order the pasta Bolognese, too. The spaghetti in this dish is house made and a little thicker than spaghetti made from dried pasta. 

The bar nibbles quickly became a nice meal at Traps Lounge at Pebble Beach (California), because the food was so good. 

If you like upscale bar dishes, the Traps Lounge at Pebble Beach is first-rate food tourism for you. 

(Note: You can buy the Chianti Classico by Antinori at the Stave Tasting Room at Pebble Beach.)

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

Tonic Fall Deli Meal at the Gallery Cafe in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

Tonic Fall Deli Lunch at the Gallery in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget 

Cool, rainy fall weather was the perfect setting for a spa lunch outing at the Gallery Café in Pebble Beach, California for my daughter Florence Paget and me in mid-November 2025. 

We ordered fried calamari to start that came with a horseradish-rich dipping sauce. This crunchy treat has iron, B vitamins, and protein in it. Moderation, though, in eating is the key to keeping off weight when eating the yummy, crunchy breading. 

Then, I ordered a substantial deli-style Reuben sandwich that came with tender corned beef that was not overly salty, tangy Swiss cheese, salty but not watery sauerkraut, and piquant Russian dressing made with ketchup, horseradish, and Worcestershire sauce. The bread, of course, was a slightly bitter, grilled marbled rye. I like this flavor combination. 

The Reuben came with a neat mound of deep-fried onion rings and a house-made dill pickle. Onions contain many antioxidants, so I always order them when give that option. 

My favorite thing to drink with a Reuben is a pilsner beer, but I ordered unsweetened iced tea instead. The tea the Gallery uses is a strong black one, probably Indian Darjeeling. Black tea is an antioxidant, so I also order tea on spa lunches. (I call pretty healthy lunches “spa lunches.) 

My daughter Florence shared the calamari with me. For her main dish, Florence ordered a Killer Klub. The Killer Klub was made with the usual combination of turkey, Swiss cheese, tomato, and lettuce along with slices of fresh avocado – a very California touch. (Hamburger tastes good with avocado slices, too.) 

For people who enjoy cool, fall weather, Pebble Beach offers several activities to do besides golf – golf lessons, horseback riding, spa services, and walks along the oceanfront. Bird watchers can often see several species fly right over their heads and nest. 

I like to visit Pebble Beach to try out the dining options in fall, so I would add food tourism to the list of things to do at Pebble Beach, California. 

Enjoy the perfect sweater weather this fall with a great meal! 

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

King Trumpet: The Mushroom Society Game Created by Ruth Paget

King Trumpet: The Mushroom Society Game Created by Ruth Paget 

Different mushroom types provide varied nutritional and flavor profiles. In this game, you will gain knowledge to be a better mushroom purchaser and/or seller. 

Game Objectives: 

1-Know how various kinds of mushrooms grow 

2-Know where (which countries or regions) different mushroom varieties come from 

3-Know the nutritional value of different kinds of mushrooms 

4-Know preferred cooking methods for each mushroom type 

5-Reward 1: Choose a mushroom broth to make 

6-Reward 2: Make a recipe from the book 

Materials Needed: 

-The book Mushroom Gastronomy by Krista Towns 

-index cards 

-pens 

Game 1: Know How Various Kinds of Mushrooms Grow 

Knowing how various kinds of grow helps you identify them in the wild and in stores or markets For this entire series of games you will be dealing with the following varieties of mushrooms. 

Note on the front of an index card, the mushroom name. One the back of the index card, note how it grows and what it looks like: 

1-beech (shimeji) 

2-black trumpet 

3-button cremini 

4-portobello 

5-candy cap 

6-cauliflower (sparassis) 

7-chanterelle 

8-chicken of the woods 

9-cordyceps 

10-hedgehog 

11-huitalacoche 

12-king trumpet 

13-lion’s mane 

14-lobster mushroom 

15-maitake 

16-matsutake 

17-morel 

18-nebrodini 

19-oyster 

20-pioppino 

21-porcini 

22-reishi 

23-shitake 

45-truffle 

Quiz yourself on the mushroom names and how they grow till you know them. 

Game 2: Know Where (which country or region) Different Mushroom Varieties Grow 

Knowing the country or region a mushroom comes from helps you determine what kind of cuisine it might go best with such as French or Italian. 

Note the names of the mushroom varieties listed in game 1 on the front of an index card. On the back of the index card, note the region where the mushroom variety is from. 

Quiz yourself on the mushroom variety and the country and/or region of origin till you know them. 

Game 3: Know the Nutritional Value of Different Kinds of Mushrooms 

Knowing the nutritional value of different kinds of mushrooms helps consumers make better purchasing decisions and sellers make better marketing materials. 

For this game, note the mushroom variety name on the front of an index card and the nutritional value on the back that is listed in Mushroom Gastronomy. 

Quiz yourself on the mushroom varieties and their nutritional value till you know them. 

Game 4: Know the Preferred Cooking Methods for Different Mushroom Types 

The book Mushroom Gastronomy details the different cooking methods for mushrooms. You might want to review this section before playing this game. 

For this game, note the mushroom varieties from game 1 on the front of an index card. On the back of the index card, note the preferred cooking methods for each mushroom type. 

Quiz yourself on the mushroom types and preferred cooking methods till you know them. 

Game 5: Reward 1 – Choose a Mushroom Broth to Make 

Mushroom broths can be used as vegan soup stocks, so making them is a useful skill to have. Mushroom broths taste meaty without the expense and have good nutrients. 

Game 6: Reward 2 – Choose a Recipe to Make 

Mushroom Gastronomy is a well-organized cookbook, so try the recipes as a society game. The Mushroom Medley section has recipes that will work with white button mushrooms from the grocery store. 

Happy Gaming! 

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

Pretzels, Angus Burgers, and Rock Music at the Firestone Walker Taproom in Paso Robles, California by Ruth Paget

Pretzels and Angus-Sharp Cheddar Cheeseburgers at Firestone Walker Brewery Taproom in Paso Robles, California by Ruth Paget 

After a day of touring in Morro Bay and the Paso Robles wine country in California, my husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I went to the Firestone Walker Taproom for lunch. 

Stacked barrels greet you at the entrance of the Taproom that remind me of the bierkellers (beer cellars) I saw when I lived in Stuttgart, Germany. Firestone Walker is Anglo-American, so I should more properly call it a public house or “pub.” 

I think it is a great California brew pub offering fish and chips, burgers, deep-fried fish tacos, and salads on its menu. I like these meal options in bars. 

We started our meal with a huge warm, brown crusted, soft pretzel. We cut off chunks and dipped them in warm cheese sauce followed by sweet honey mustard sauce. That flavor combination for me is the taste of sweet German memories of visiting Munich. Pretzels seem to taste better in brisk fall weather redolent of freshly pressed wine grapes in Paso Robles. 

The Firestone Walker Taproom serves Angus hamburgers, which I love. I ordered a Cali-Western burger that came with sharp cheddar, honeyed bacon strips, and BBQ sauce. The two patties were juicy and cooked medium; the way I like it. I ordered skinny fries to go with my bar treat meal. 

I had fun listening to the rock music at Firestone Walker Tap Room and enjoying the end of a recharge vacation in Paso Robles, California. 

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

Calamari Appetizers and Seafood Pasta at Tognazzini's Dockside Restaurant in Morro Bay, California by Ruth Paget

Calamari and Seafood Pasta at Tognazzini’s Dockside Restaurant in Morro Bay, California by Ruth Paget 

Tognazzini’s Dockside Restaurant in Morro Bay, California really does sit on the docks with coolers used to store fish in during the trip from the ocean to shore. The restaurant’s warm and cozy interior sets the tone for a sumptuous Italian seafood meal. 

On the night my husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I went for dinner, I started with lightly fried calamari cone-shaped bodies and tentacles with horseradish heavy cocktail sauce. The octopus bodies tasted of briny saltwater. I loved every bite. 

Laurent ate six Morrro Bay oysters that he said reminded him of Oléron oysters in Charentes-Maritime, France. Oléron oysters have a less salty taste and are clearer than other oysters. If you like raw oysters, they are a perfect winter appetizer. Florence ate a creamy clam chowder as her starter and said she would be back for more. 

Laurent and I ordered seafood pasta in Alfredo sauce that came with sliced scallops, whole sautéed shrimp, and an entire Pacific cod fillet that was chopped into large chunks. The Alfredo sauce was thick and creamy with loads of Parmesan, white wine for flavor, and a little garlic. The portion was large. We both ate every bit of our delicious iodine- and selenium-rich winter supper. 

Florence ordered Pacific cod fish and chips and ate the garlic bread topped with melted Parmesan that came with our pasta meals. 

If you want to stroll along the oceanfront after dinner like the Italians, it is easy to do. You can even check out seafood companies located dockside. 

Tognazinni’s Dockside Restaurant is a perfect spot for seafood lovers and those who believe in the therapeutic benefits of a winter shellfish meal. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Franco-Italian Meal at Novo Restaurant and Lounge in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget

Franco-Italian Meal at Novo Restaurant and Lounge in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget 

My husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I went to San Luis Obispo, California to have a dinner creekside at Novo Restaurant and Lounge. We reserved a table on the terrace, but rain drove us inside and downstairs to the wine cellar room. We settled in for a delicious meal of steaks for Laurent and Florence and seafood pasta for me. 

We began our meal with the chèvre sharing plate. Everything was heated up and arrived very warm and fragrant of thyme. The plate held a generous bowl of chèvre, marinated black and green olives, a confit of red and yellow plum tomatoes, and toast crostini. 

The chèvre sharing plate would be perfect for catering for cocktail parties with French themes like a Bastille Day Party, the French Open, the Tour de France, or Cannes Film Festival Week. 

I also loved the papardelle al limone I ordered which seems to have its origins in Southern Italy. However, the French capital of lemons, Menton, might do something similar. 

Novo’s version of this dish is pretty over the top with a zesty spice flavor. The papardelle ribbon pasta was made with only egg yolks, which gave the pasta an almost orange color and velvety texture. The pasta sauce was made with lemon juice, cream, and grated Parmesan cheese. (In Southern Italy, they probably use pecorino cheese in this sauce, but Parmesan is an elegant substitute.) 

The papardelle al limone was loaded with briny shrimp, slightly sour artichoke hearts, savory broccolini pieces, tart sun-dried tomatoes, and zesty and pungent red chili peppers. The red chili flakes may have been Calabrian. I liked this combination very much, but other diners might want fewer peppers. 

The papardelle al limone would be good dish for a small dinner party too with Italian themes like the Venice Film Festival or the Milan Fashion Week. 

Both the chèvre sharing plate and the papardelle al limone made me happy despite rain on our mini vacation to San Luis Obispo. 

Novo is most famous for its steaks and lamb shank, but they offer several dining options including curries, risottos, salads, and papardelle. The extensive wine list and full bar has a match for everything. 

Diners will find many dishes to choose from at Novo Restaurant and Lounge in San Luis Obispo, California, making it a great spot for large parties with varying tastes. 

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

Pescado a la Veracruzano at La Tortuga in Seaside, California by Ruth Paget

Thank you Monterey County Weekly (Circulation: 200,000) for pulling up my review of La Tortuga in Seaside,California from the archives.

I loved the pescado a la Veracruzano in the old neighborhood.

La Tortuga Review by Ruth Paget

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

A Blessed Eid by Ruth Paget

Thank you Monterey County Weekly (Circulation: 200,000) for retrieving my article A Blessed Eid: Local Muslims Bake for the End of Ramadan from archives.  

My article follows:

A Blessed Eid by Ruth Paget

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

Streets of Bethlehem is December 4 - 7, 2025 in Salinas, California posted by Ruth Paget

The longstanding outdoor play Streets of Bethlehem is being put on by the First Baptist Church of Salinas, California between December 4 - 7, 2025.  There will be a food truck for meal purchase before and after the show.  The event is free, but donations are accepted. (See website below)

Details about parking and tickets are on the event website below:

https://streetsofbethlehem.com/

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

Southern Big Sur California Day Trip by Ruth Paget

Southern Big Sur California Day Trip by Ruth Paget 

My husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I began our tour of Southern Big Sur California at Morro Bay, about 5 miles to the coast from San Luis Obispo. 

Morro Bay is famous for its oysters, portside seafood restaurants, cozy hotels, and charter deep-sea fishing boats. 

There is plenty of public parking across from the portside restaurants that make it easy to dine, stroll, and shop. Morro Bay sits directly on Highway 1, making it an easy to go up the coast north to San Simeon and Hearst Castle as well. 

If you turn right from Highway 1 at San Simeon, you can drive up the hills to Hearst Castle for a visit or just shopping at the gift shop, which has copies of the Hearst Castle cookbook. 

The day we did our tour, we wanted to eat along the oceanfront and travel as far as we could in Big Sur before the highway closure point. We ate lunch at our favorite restaurant along the coast – the Cavalier Oceanfront Resort. 

The Cavalier and hotel have been in Big Sur for the 30+ years that we have lived in California. We always went to this restaurant after visits to Hearst Castle when Florence was a child. Our main reasons for eating at the Cavalier are the excellent clam chowder and fish and chips with tart yet creamy coleslaw. I like the Cavalier’s comfortable booths, marble top tables, air-conditioning, and clean bathrooms, too. It is very enjoyable to eat at this restaurant.

On our day trip, we sampled the charcuterie platter, which came with locally produced ham and salume, slices of a cheese that resembled Manchego, dry toast, goat cheese, cranberry sauce, and large-grain mustard. That was a great start for the fish and chips Laurent and I ate and the turkey club sandwich that Florence ordered. 

After lunch, we set out for the climb up along Highway 1 to Big Sur. Along the way, we passed a pullout for sea lion viewing. The sea lions roll in the surf and sun themselves on coastal rocks with occasional bursts of sea water showering on them from sea water crashing on the rocks. 

Highway 1 begins to rise up at San Simeon and go from a two-lane highway to a single-lane highway with no passing just turnouts for slow drivers. Only 28 miles of Highway 1 is open from San Simeon due to falling rocks and repairs from landslides. 

The fantastic views are worth the thrill of driving along the curvy highway. There are restaurants, hotels, gas stations, bathrooms, and general stores located at Ragged Point and Gorda Springs. Trees from Limekiln State Park line the way till you see sheer drops down to the ocean on the southbound lane side of the road. 

We turned around at Lucia (28 miles from San Simeon) and took Highway 1 back to Highway 46, which cuts over the hills to Paso Robles and Highway 101 by the Firestone Walker Brew Pub. 

Highway 46 goes through a good portion of the wine country of Paso Robles. Each inch of ground seems to have a winery on it. I looked at the wineries and thought they should all have markets with foods that go with wine and wine-related products like wine vinegar, picnic tables, bistros with live music, and maybe some artwork and books for sale. 

I had fun thinking of wine country marketing ideas on the way back to ag capital Salinas, California with its 120+ agricultural products grown in Monterey County. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Wulong: The Taiwanese Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget

Wulong: The Taiwanese Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget 

The story of tea in Taiwan is one of Wulong tea. Wulong tea leaves are oxidized more than green tea leaves, but less than black tea leaves. Wulong tea is also produced in the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong in the People’s Republic of China. 

Terroirs (production areas) and cultivars (cultivated varieties of tea leaves similar to grape varieties in wine making) are important in Taiwan as they are in the People’s Republic of China. 

 Game Objectives: 

1-Know Taiwanese Terroirs (Production Areas) 

2-Know Taiwanese Cultivars (Cultivated varieties of tea leaves similar to grape varieties in winemaking) 

3-Know Day 1 Production Methods 

4-Know Day 2 Production Methods 

5-Know Taiwanese Tea Brands 

6-Reward: Drink some wulong tea and read about the Gong Fu Cha tea ceremony 

Materials Needs: 

-Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne, François Marchand, Jasmin Desharnais, and Hugo Américi 

-index cards – large and small

-pens 

Game 1: Know Taiwanese Terroirs (Production Areas) 

The island of Taiwan has several large regions with subregions under them. On index cards, write the name of the main region on the front. On the back of the index cards, write the main characteristics of the main regions. 

If a main region has a subregion, make separate index cards for the subregion. Write the name of the main region followed by the subregion. On the back of index card, write the characteristics of the subregion. 

Quiz yourself on main regions and subregions till you know them three at a time. 

The main regions and subregions in Taiwan follow: 

-Nantou – main region 

-Subregion: Mount Dong Ding 

-Subregion: Mount Lin Xi 

-District of Taipei – main region 

-Subregion: Pingun 

-Subregion: The Mucha Mountains 

-Hsinchu – main region 

-Chia Yi – main region 

-Subregion: Ali Shan Mountain 

-Subregion: Yu Shan Mountain 

 -Hualien – main region 

-Subregion: Taitung 

-Taichung: main region 

-Subregion: Li Shan Mountain 

Game 2: Know Taiwanese Cultivars (Cultivated varieties similar to grape varieties in wine making) 

There are 5 main cultivars in Taiwan. Write the name of the cultivars on the front of an index card. On the back of the index card, write the characteristics of the cultivar in your own words. 

Taiwan’s 5 cultivars follow: 

-Qing Shin 

-Si Ji Chun

 -Cui Yu 

-Jin Shuan

-Tie Guan Yin 

Quiz yourself on the cultivars and their characteristics till you know them. 

Game 3: Know Day 1 Production Methods for Taiwanese Wulong Tea 

There are 6 steps in the production of Taiwanese wulong on the first day of production. 

Write Day 1 on six index cards. Number and name the steps on the front of the index cards. On the back of the index cards, describe the step’s characteristics in your own words. 

Quiz yourself on the Day 1 steps till you know them. 

Game 4: Know Day 2 Production Methods for Wulong Tea 

There are 6 steps in the production of Taiwanese wulong tea on the second day. 

Write Day 2 on six index cards. Number and name the steps on the front of the index cards. On the back of the index cards, describe the step’s characteristics in your own words.

Quiz yourself on the Day 2 steps till you know them. 

Game 5: Know the Taiwanese Wulong Tea Types. 

Note the name of the tea type on the front of an index card. On the back of the index card, note the tea family (usually wulong), the name translation, alternative names if any, production area, harvest season, and cultivar. 

Quiz yourself on the tea types till you know them three at a time. 

It is usually easier to learn one characteristic at a time for the different tea types.

Game 6: Reward Once you have learned all the information in games 1 through 5, reward yourself with a pot of wulong tea and read about the gong fu cha tea ceremony in Tea: History Terroirts Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne et al. 

Happy Playing! 

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

Saintoge: The La Rochelle, France Touring Game Created by Ruth Paget

Saintoge: The La Rochelle, France Touring Game Created by Ruth Paget 

My husband Laurent and I planned a beach vacation the La Rochelle, France region one year when we lived in Germany. We drove to France, but summer Atlantic storms washed up loads of seaweed and crustaceans on a daily basis on the beach at Châtellon Plage where we were staying south of La Rochelle. 

Our beach vacation quickly became a cultural and historical walking tour of the region when I picked up a Saintoge touring guide in the hotel lobby. Saintoge is part of the ancient region of Gascony between Bordeaux and the French Basque country that extends inland and upward into the Pyrénées Mountains. This region has created a strong tourism market by making their many historical buildings from all eras multipurpose tourism venues featuring art, music, food, wine, and cultural events like those at Mont de Marsan for the Fête de la Madeleine.  

We began our tour of the Saintoge Region with a visit to the Gallo-Roman site at Cassinomagus. This archaeological dig site features tours, concerts, a garden based on those ancient Rome, Olympic games for the young, a café, and a bookshop with general brochures and scholarly works by the University Press of France about Gallo-Roman history. 

My blog about this site follows: 

Cassinomagus Gallo-Roman Site

My husband Laurent and I ate lunch in the town of Cognac without tasting any on our trek to the coast. We ate outside and noted that the humid air did have a sour tinge to it from the “part des anges” or evaporated cognac that seeps through the top of ageing barrels. 

Once in Châtellon Plage, we ate the first of many seafood platters thanks to the summer storms that washed up loads of crab and shellfish. The rule inland is not to eat seafood platters in summer and only in months with an “r” in them. At the seashore, though, this is okay thanks to limited time needed to transport them to restaurants. 

Everyone who goes on vacation in France needs to visit at least one château. Our first stop was the Château de la Roche Courbon. The gardener here went to work later at Versailles: 

My blog on this site follows: 

Chateau de la Roche Courbon

The second thing you need to do on a summer vacation to France is visit a prehistoric site devoted to female goddess worship. We set out for the Pyrénées Mountains to visit the Dame de Brassempouy Museum. The real Dame de Brassempouy is now housed in the National Prehistory Museum in St.-Germain-en-Laye outside Paris. A replica is on view at Brassempouy along with a recreated site. 

My blog on this follows: 

Dame de Brassempouy Museum

On the way back from Brassempouy, we drove through Mont de Marsan during the July Fête de la Madeleine in this town. A bullfight had just let out and people were running through the street decked out in white clothes and kercheifs. The bullfighting here features acrobats who jump over smaller bulls before the larger bulls enter the arena. The GPS in the car was confused by closed medieval streets, but we eventually made it back to the hotel. 

The following day, we went to the Abbaye de St.-Jean-d’Angély. This Abbaye houses a reliquary of the head of Saint John the Baptist, which was not on display. We visited the music practice rooms and were allowed to admire the engineering that kept the roof from blowing off in the storm. 

My blog on this site follows: 

Royal Abbey Saint Jean d’Angely

We made two trips out to visit Fort Boyard, a fort that sits in the middle of the ocean. Fort Boyard is the site of a famous French television show of aristocratic games of strength and knowledge. After our second visit, we ate a huge seafood meal après storm. 

My blog on this site follows: 

Fort Boyard Visit

We saw La Rochelle on our boat rides out to Fort Boyard and finally visited it under the rain. This town is important for the Wars of Religion fought here between French Protestants (The Huguenots) and Catholics. 

My blog on this site follows: 

La Rochelle Visit

As our trip came to a close, we visited a chapel of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, which leads to this town in Spain. 

My blog on this site follows: 

Camino de Santiago Chapel

Our final outing on this trip was to the Abbaye aux Dames in Saintes. We learned about the life in a medieval nunnery in this abbey founded in 1071. We admired modern art on the abbey’s whitewashed walls and read posters for upcoming concerts. The French attract three audiences to this site by making it a multipurpose cultural venue. We also visited the Gallo-Roman theatre at Saintes that is still used for events. 

My blog on this site follows: 

Abbaye des Damez in Saintes

The La Rochelle region offers a surprising variety of site to visit on tonic walking tour of France. As a souvenir, we bought bottles of Pineau de Charentes, a cocktail wine drink that is a specialty of the region and merrily drove back to Germany. 

(Note: Two great reading projects for a vacation in La Rochelle include the French-langual picaresque novel Gil Blas de Santillane by Alain-René Lesage and Cyrano de Bergerac, a play, by Edmond Rostand.) 

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

Green Bean Casserole Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Green Bean Casserole Recipe Created by Ruth Paget 

Note: I ate this casserole frequently as a child in Detroit, Michigan. I relearned how to make this recipe from my daughter Florence Paget recently. 

This Detroit recipe may have its roots in Appalachia. Its ingredients are all pantry items that you can use in winter when snowfall might congest roads for a day or two and you have to cook what you have on hand. 

Serves 4 to 6 people 

Ingredients: 

-2 (14.5-ounce) cans Del Monte green beans, drained and rinsed 

-2 (11-ounce) containers of Trader Joe’s condensed mushroom soup 

-1 (8-ounce) container Kirkland UHT milk 

-sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste 

-3 to 4 cups Fresh Gourmet Dried onions to cover the top of the casserole 

Steps: 

1-Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2-Place green beans, mushroom soup, and milk in a disposable baking dish. Mix ingredients together until the green beans are well coasted with mushroom soup and mil. 

3-Grind sea salt and black pepper over the top of the green bean mixture. 

4-Cover the top of the casserole with dried onions.  

5-Bake the casserole for 40 minutes and serve warm. 

This casserole is a perfect lacto-ovo vegetarian dish containing:  

-protein in the beans and milk 

-carbohydrates in the vegetable casing around the green beans 

-vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in the mushrooms and onions 

-calcium in the milk 

This green beans casserole is also a tasty side for roast turkey. 

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

Teen Anime Club at the Watsonville Library posted by Ruth Paget

Join the fun at the longstanding Teen Anime Club at Watsonville Library beginning November 19, 2025.

I have posted details about this event from the online Monterey County Weekly calendar

https://www.montereycountynow.com/events/#/details/teen-anime-club/15117515/2025-11-19T16

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

Matcha: The Japanese Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget

Matcha: The Japanese Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget 

The story of tea in Japan is largely one of green tea. However, this does not mean that learning about green tea is simple. Production methods and processing are more important here than terroirs (production areas) and cultivars (tea varieties akin to grape varieties in wine making). Terroirs and cultivars are less important in Japan than in China, but are still mentioned for higher priced teas. 

Game Objectives: 

1-Know the Japanese terroirs (production areas) 

2-Know the Japanese tea cultivars (tea varieties akin to grape varieties used in winemaking) 

3-Know the senchado steeping process 

4-Know matcha preparation steps 

5-Know the nine main tea categories based on production and processing 

6-Know the Top 10 Japanese Tea Branchs 

7-Reward – Drinking a Matcha and reading about the Japanese tea ceremony 

Materials needed: 

-The book Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne, François Marchand, Jasmin Desharnair, and Hugo Americi 

-pen 

-index cards 

- large and small -notebook paper 

-matcha drink as a reward 

Game 1: Know the Japanese Tea Terroirs 

There are 4 main Japanese tea terroirs: 

-Shizuoka Prefecture 

-Kyoto Prefecture 

-Kagoshima Prefecture (Island of Kyushu) 

-Nara and Mie Prefectures 

Use 4 index cards to note these production regions on the front of the index card. One the back of the index card, note in your own words where these regions are located and their characteristics. 

Quiz yourself till you perfectly know this information. 

Game 2: Know the Japanese Tea Cultivars 

A cultivar is similar to grape variety or varietal in wine making. 

There are four main tea cultivars in Japan: 

-Yabukita 

-Gokou 

-Beni Fouki 

-Samidori 

Write the names of these cultivars on the front of the four index cards. Note on the back of the index cards, the characteristics of each in your own words. 

Quiz yourself till you about each varietal. 

Game 3: Know the Senchado Steeping Process 

There are 6 main steps for steeping Japanese green tea. Number the steps on index cards and describe the step in your own words. On the back of the index card, not the process step number. 

Quiz yourself by looking at the step number and describing what the step entails. 

Game 4: Know Matcha Preparation Steps 

There are 4 main steps needed to prepare matcha. Use index cards to note what happens in each step. On the back of the index card, note the step number. 

Quiz yourself by step number till you have memorized the process for making matcha. 

Game 5: Know Japanese Tea Categories 

These categories refer to green teas with specific production methods and processing of the tea leaves. 

The main tea categories follow: 

-sencha 

-bancha 

-hojicha 

-genmaicha 

-tamaryokucha 

-gyokuro 

-kabusecha 

-matcha 

Note these names on the front of index cards. On the back of the index cards, describe the characteristics of the tea in your own words. 

Quiz yourself on these terms till you know them. 

Game 6: Know To Japanese Tea Brands 

On the front of an index card, note the tea brand name. On the back of the index card, note the tea family (usually green), translation of the tea name, production area or terroir, harvest season, and cultivar. 

Quiz yourself on one characteristic at a time for all 10 tea brands till you know them. Then, move on to quizzing yourself on the next characteristic for all 10 tea brands. 

Game 7: Reward 

Drink a matcha tea drink and read about the Japanese Tea Ceremony tradition in Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne et al. 

Extra credit:  Know the 13 Production Steps to Make Japanese Green Tea

List the 13 production steps on index cards and describe the steps in your own words on the back of the index card.

Quiz yourself till you know each steps.  Learn the steps 3 steps at a time before before moving on to the next three.

Happy Gaming! 

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

Learn Video Game History by Playing at the Aromas Library posted by Ruth Paget

Learn Video Games by Playing at the Aromas Library beginning November 8, 2025 at the 16 Bit Program.  (Part of the Monterey County Free Libraries).

I have posted details about this program from the online Monterey County Weekly Calendar below:

https://www.montereycountynow.com/events/#/details/aromas-16-bit-saturdays/17239783/2025-11-08T10

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

Learn 3D Printing at the Gonzales Public Library posted by Ruth Paget

Learn 3D Printing at the Gonzales Public Library beginning November 1, 2025.  (Part of the Monterey County Free Libraries)

I have reposted details about this program from the online Monterey County Weekly calendar below:

https://www.montereycountynow.com/events/#/details/gonzales-learn-3d-printing-with-us/17239791/2025-11-01T12

Happy Engineering!

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

Virtual Reality Play Beginning on October 30, 2025 reposted by Ruth Paget

Virtual Reality Play Dates at the Prunedale Library begin on October 30, 2025.  (Part of the Monterey County Free Libraries)

I have reposted details about this event from the online Monterey County Weekly calendar below:

https://www.montereycountynow.com/events/#/details/prunedale-virtual-reality/17239768/2025-10-30T13

If you have MIT t-shirts, this would be the event to wear them at.

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

Let’s Go Outdoors! Adventure Guide is out posted by Ruth Paget

The Let’s Go Outdoors! Adventure Guide from the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District for Fall 2025/Winter 2026 is here.

Some of the neat activities include:

-Mushroom Mania Hike

-Owl Encounter Presentation

-Making Cordage from Native Plants

-Tule Mat Weaving

-Solar System Strol

-Steinbeck Views

-Farm Discovery: Winter Watersheds 

-Beginning Birding

-Native American Celebration Film

Check out the website for more details:

www.mprpd.org

Happy Trails!

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

Pounding Pacific Waves Video at Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

Lots of pounding waves this morning at Pebble Beach, California.  Photo and text by Ruth Paget

High tide coming in three waves at a time is impressive.

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

Backgammon Club at Marina Public Library Beginning November 4, 2025 reposted by Ruth Paget

For 18+ year old players, there is a backgammon club starting at Marina (California) Public Library beginning on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. (Part of the Monterey County Free Libraries)

I have posted details about this event from the online calendar of the Monterey County Weekly calendar below:

https://www.montereycountynow.com/events/#/details/backgammon-club/17239822/2025-11-04T16

Players can bring their own sets, if they would like.

Game on!

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

Living History Days at San Juan Bautista on November 1, 2025

Meet Mountain Men, Civil War Soldiers, and Victorian ladies at San Juan Bautista’s State Historic Park beginning November 1, 2025 from 11 to 4.  Historic food on sale.

I have reposted details about this event from the Monterey County Weekly’s online calendar below:

https://www.montereycountynow.com/events/#/details/living-history-days/14410908/2025-11-01T11

Check out the Mission and Fault Line walk to the cemetary, too.

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

Sketching at the Monterey Museum of Art in Monterey, California reposted by Ruth Paget

Learn to sketch and draw using the artwork at The Monterey Museum of Art beginning on Saturday, October 25, 2025.

I have reposted details about this event from the Monterey County Weekly online calendar below:

https://www.montereycountynow.com/events/#/details/sketching-in-the-galleries/16300851/2025-10-25T12

See how the master artists put together their work in this challenging event.

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

Brown Pelicans Flying in the Surf at Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

Most of this video is good.  I tried to get an overhead shot of a brown pelican and came up with blue sky. 

Several other brown pelicans flew through the waves for me:

Rough surf and storms wash fish and seafood up close to shore where birds have an easier time catching it.

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

Seagull Unfazed by Crashing Waves at Pebble Beach, California posted by Ruth Paget

One lone seagull at Pebble Beach, California this morning

.  

Photo by Laurent Paget

This stately seagull almost looks like a swan.  She is unfazed by the crashing, rough surf at Pebble Beach, California.

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

Burger Mondays at Alvarado Street Brewery in Monterey, California reposted by Ruth Paget

$15 for a burger and beer at Monterey’s California Brew Pub - Alvarado Street Brewery on Mondays.  

I have reposted details from the Monterey County Weekly online calendar below:

https://www.montereycountynow.com/events/#/details/burger-mondays/16866636/2025-10-20T17

So, Monterey County dwellers could do the following menu:

Burger Mondays or Empanada Mondays

Taco Tuesdays or Rib Tuesdays

Wing Wednesdays

Chicken Noodle Soup or Pasta from Costco

Fish or seafood delivery on Friday

Pizza on Saturday

Oysters on Sunday or roast chicken

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

Exchange Student - Host Family Information from Youth for Understanding reposted by Ruth Paget

I was a high school Youth for Understanding exchange student to Japan in 1980.  Later my family also hosted Japanese exchange students.

YFU offers programs in 45 countries now.  For information about hosting an exchange student, sending a student overseas, or becoming a YFU coordinator, click on the link below:

YFU USA

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

Diego’s Rib Night (Tuesdays) at Trailside Cafe and Beer Garden in Carmel Valley, California reposted by Ruth Paget

Tuesdays are Diego’s Rib Night at Trailside Cafe and Beer Garden in Carmel Valley, California.  Details follow from the Monterey County Weekly’s Online Community Calendar:

Diego’s Rib Night at Trailside Cafe and Beer Garden

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

UChicago Year of Games Events 2025 - 2026

The University of Chicago is hosting The Year of Games all throughout 2025 - 2026.  Information about major events is available below at the university website:

https://voices.uchicago.edu/yearofgames/news-and-events/

Happy Gaming!

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

Darjeeling: The India Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget

Darjeeling: The India Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget 

Indian tea is largely a story of black tea, green leaves processes to make strong black brews. 

This Darjeeling tea game is for tea drinkers, people who want to more about India, and food and beverage workers who would like to advance their career. 

The objectives of this Darjeeling Tea Game include: 

1-Knowing the principal tea growing regions of India 

2-Knowing the characteristics of the different Darjeeling harvests 

3-Knowing the processing steps that create Indian black teas 

4-Knowing the grades of Indian black tea 

5-Knowing the main Indian tea types 

6-Reward 

The materials needed to play this game include: 

-The book Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne, François Marchand, Jasmin Desharnais, and Hugo Américi 

-index cards – large and small

-notebook paper 

-pen 

-Darjeeling tea to use as a reward 

Game 1: Indian Tea Growing Regions 

Note the four regions below on the front of four index cards. On the back of the index cards, note their location and 5 to 10 facts about the region to quiz yourself on. 

These are the tea growing regions or terroirs to learn about: 

-The Darjeeling Region 

-The Assam Region 

-The Nilgiri Hills 

-The Sikkim Region 

Game 2: Darjeeling Harvest Characteristics  

Note: There are more than 30 cultivars or cultivated varieties of tea in India, but T78, AV2, and P312 are the most prevalent. 

The cultivar plus the growing conditions of the tea create different flavor profiles. There are 3 main harvest seasons in Darjelling that affect the tea flavor and quality. 

Write the following 3 harvest seasons on the front of an index card. On the back of the index card, not 5 to 10 characteristics of the harvest and quiz yourself on them: 

-First Flush 

-Second Flush 

-Autumn Flush 

Game 3: Know the Processing Steps that Create Indian Black Teas

There are two main methods for processing Indian black teas: The Orthodox Method and the CTC Method. 

For this game, write the Orthodox Method on the front of notepaper. On the back of the notepaper, note the following process steps with 5 to 10 characteristics. When this is done, quiz yourself until you know all the steps in the Orthodox Method. 

The Orthodox Method Process Steps to describe follow:  

-withering 

-rolling

-oxidation 

-drying 

-sorting 

Use the same game style to describe the CTC Method on notebook paper and quiz yourself.  

Game 4: Know the Grades of Indian Black Tea 

"This grading system to grades of whole-leaf tea. The most important aspect is the number of buds (pekoes). The more buds a tea contains, the more letters in the appellation,” Tea by Gascone et al. 

On index cards, note the following abbreviations on the front of the index card and what they mean on the back. Then, quiz yourself with the cards for following acronyms:

-SFTGFOP 

-FTGFOP 

-TGFOP

-GFOP 

-FOP 

-OP 

 -Tippy 

-Golden 

-Flowery 

-Orange 

-Pekoe 

-1 

-S 

Game 5: Main Indian Tea Types 

For the main Indian tea types listed in Tea by Gascoyne et al., note the tea type on the front of an index card. 

On the back of the index card, note the following information:  

-tea family (usually black for Indian teas) 

-production areas 

-harvest season 

-cultivar 

There are 8 main tea types listed in Tea by Gascoyne et al. 

Game 6: Reward 

Once you have mastered all facts in this Darjeeling Tea Game, make some Darjeeling or Assam tea and enjoy a cup. 

For more information on Indian food and culture, the following books may be of interest: 

-Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne, François Marchand, Jasmin Desharnais, and Hugo Américi 

-Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and The Future of American Power by Robert D. Kaplan 

-Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni 

-Classic Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Julie Sahni 

I have written about two Hindu festivals that my family has participated in on my blog. Links to these blogs follow: 

-Ganesh Puja in Carmel, California 

Ganesh Puja Holiday

-Diwali in Monterey, California and Norfolk, Virginia 

Diwali Festival

Happy Tea Sipping! 

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

Yunnan: The Chinese Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget

Yunnan: The Chinese Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget 

This is a game for tea drinkers, people who would like to learn more about China, and food and beverage industry workers who would like to advance in their careers.

Items Needed to Organize Yunnan: 

-The book Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne, François Marchand, Jasmin Desharnais, and Hugo Américi 

-Index cards – large and small 

-notebook paper 

-pens 

-boxes of Chinese tea to be used as a prize for mastering all information 

Yunnan Game Objectives: 

1-Know the families of different teas and their characteristics 

2-Know the main cultivars or cultivated varieties of tea grown in China 

3-Know the process steps for the tea families that give them their final characteristics 

4-Know the terroirs where tea is grown in China and be able to locate the region on a map 

5-Know the most famous teas from the different regions 

Game 1 – Tea Families Definition 

All tea begins as a green leaf, but different processing methods produce teas with specific characteristic for flavor and medicinal value. 

For this game, you will place the tea family name on the front of an index card and the definition of the tea family written in your own words on the back. 

If you are unsure of a word’s pronunciation, use Google’s pronunciation feature (type the word followed by the word “pronunciation” in the Google search bar. A speaker icon will appear that you can tap to hear the pronunciation.) 

Use the tea book mentioned in the materials section to look up the following tea families:  

-white teas

 -green teas 

-yellow teas 

-wulong teas 

-black teas 

-aged teas (learn the names of the specific teas they list as examples) 

Game 2: China’s Main Cultivars or Cultivated Varieties of Tea Leaf 

Cultivars or cultivated varieties are similar to varietals or grape varieties in wine making. 

There are four main cultivars or tea varieties grown in China. For these cultivars, write the name on the front of an index card and 5 to 10 facts on the back to memorize about it, especially the terroirs or areas where it is grown in China. 

The following four cultivars are the main ones grown in China: 

-Fuding Da Bai 

-Long Jing 43 

-Tie Guan Yin 

-Zhu Ye 

Game 3: Know the Process Steps that Create the Different Tea Families 

This game will require notebook paper to play.

First, note the tea family on the front of the notebook paper. Use the tea book in the materials section to note the number of process steps for each tea family. The number of steps differs to create the characteristics of each tea family.  

Memorize the tea family and the number of process steps to make it. Then, use the tea book to list the tea family name of the front of a sheet of notebook paper. Next, list each process step name and a description of the process in your own words. 

Finally, memorize the tea family name and the definition of each step used to make it. 

Game 4: Know China’s Main Tea Terroirs 

Use the map on page 42 of the print edition of the Tea book in the materials section to locate China’s main tea terroirs. Write the following regions down on index cards. On the back, note the main province and large cities in each region: 

-Southwest Region 

-Southeast Region 

-South of the Yangzi Jiang River Region 

-North of the Yangzi Jiang River Region 

Game 5: Chinese Tea Types 

Tea types are similar to different kinds of wine like Burgundy and Bordeaux. 

For this game, you will need large index cards and a pen. On the front of the index card, note the tea type and on the back note the characteristics listed in the tea book. Learn a tea type and one characteristic at a time. Learn three tea types as a group before moving on to the next three. 

Note the following characteristics for each tea type:  

-tea family 

-name translation 

-alternative names 

-harvest season 

-cultivar 

There are 12 tea types listed with 5 pieces of information for each tea. 5 x 12 makes 60 pieces of information to learn. 

Game 6: Reward Drink some Chinese tea for mastering this game. 

For cultural information, the following books provide a good introduction to Chinese food: 

-Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne, Francois Marchand, Jasmin Deshaun’s, and Hugo Americi

-The Food of China by E.N. Anderson 

-Invitation to a Banquet by Fuchsia Dunlop 

-Complete Chinese Cookbook by Ken Hom 

I have written three blogs on Hong Kong’s tea lunch or dim sum that show one way that tea is used in Chinese culture: 

Chicago Dim Sum

Chicago Dim Sum 

Millbrae Dim Sum (San Francisco Suburb) Dim Sum 

Millbrae Dim Sum

Salinas, California Dim Sum 

Salinas Dim Sum

Northern and Southern Chinese Food Differences

Northern and Southern Chinese Food

Have fun learning about Chinese culture! 

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

Cabbage Economics: More than Sauerkraut by Ruth Paget

Cabbage Harvest:  More than Sauerkraut by Ruth Paget

I would drive my family bonkers every winter when we lived in Wisconsin by making brats loaded with warm sauerkraut and brown German mustard for dinner on University of Wisconsin football game days and walk around wearing my UW cheesehead.

Laurent and Florence opted for Culver’s cheeseburgers.

If you really want to make sauerkraut at home, this video show the two-ingredient method with cabbage and salt.  I would store sauerkraut in the refrigerator, but this video presents conditions where you can store sauerkraut out of the refrigerator:

Sauerkraut Video

There is actually a lot you can do with cabbage that is not sour like Dijon roast pork with apples and cabbage.  

I wrote a blog on cabbage that details great recipes and cookbook resources for cabbage noted below:

Cabbage Recipes for Winter

Cabbage is full of Vitamin C, a great antioxidant.  That fact makes me like it even with brats.

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

Art at the Farm in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Art at the Farm in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

On my family’s weekly outing to buy pie (strawberry - rhubarb this time) at The Farm in Salinas, California, I focused on finding country art.

The garden furniture art at The Farm is welcoming and rather regal with its armrests:

The large painting of squash and flowers on the entrance sliding door almost qualifies as a mural: To enlarge the image, place your fingers on the image and spread them apart.

Artist Diane Grindol, who has studied art in France, sells notecards at The Farm with samples of her artwork on them.  I love notecards with artwork.  I have some notecards by Big Sur artist Erin Gafill that I have sent to my family in Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Georgia.  Notecards help with cash flow and publicity.  Grindol’s notecard we bought follows:

A trip to the farm would not be complete without food decorative art like the squash beauties below:

The goats have the art of leisure down as they lazily wake up in the morning sun:

My daughter Florence Paget, husband Laurent Paget, and I  enjoyed our morning at The Farm and came home with heirloom tomatoes and a strawberry-rhubarb pie (rhubarb has a large amount of Vitamin K, which is important for healing wounds and blood clotting).

The Farm is a local country outing that young families might enjoy as well.

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

Reading Steinbeck for Banned Books Week October 5 - 11, 2025 posted by Ruth Paget

For Banned Books Week 2025, my family went to the John Steinbeck House Gift Shop and purchased several books including Grapes of Wrath, which has been banned at different times of history as well as Of Mice and Men.

The store has Penguin versions of the books as well as collector first editions of our local Nobel Prize winner.

You can combine a book shopping outing with lunch upstairs in Steinbeck’s home.  The restaurant menu features seasonal items. 

Free parking is available on the street on a first come-first served basis.  I have  listed their website below:

https://steinbeckhouse.com/

Back in the 2000s, I reviewed the Steinbeck House Restaurant for the Monterey County Weekly (Curculation: 200,000).

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2018/02/lunching-at-steinbecks-childhood-home.html?m=1

The National Steinbeck Center houses a museum devoted to the works of John Steinbeck.  There is a large parking garage next to the Steinbeck Center. For information, their website follows:

https://steinbeck.org/

Tour groups might arrange to see films based on Steinbeck’s books at the Fox Theatre on Main Street in downtown Salinas.

Agata Popcada at the Monterey County Weekly wrote a nice online article about Henry Miller, a Big Sur resident, whose books have also been banned:

https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/465/#cv/priority/%5Esmartlabel_personal/199d0945fb6cbee9

Information about the Henry Miller Library and its events follows:

https://www.henrymiller.org/ https://www.henrymiller.org/

Carmel Valley author Jane Smiley has had her book A Thousand Acres banned in several school districts despite being a Pulitzer Prize winner.  Book information about A Thousand Acres follows:

A Thousand Acres Book Information

Information about Banned Book Week follows:

https://www.ala.org/bbooks/banned

Note: Steinbeck’s Books follow:

-Cup of Gold

-The Pastures of Heaven

-To a God Unknown

-Tortilla Flat

-In Dubious Battle

-The Harvest Gypsies

-The Red Piny

-Of Mice and Men

-The Long Valley

-The Grapes of Wrath

-Forgotten Village

-The Sea of Cortez

-Bombs Away

-The Moon is Down

-Cannery Row

-The Moon is Down

-The Wayward Bus

-The Pearl

-A Russian Journal

-Burning Bright

-The Log from the Sea of Cortez

-East of Eden

-The Short Reign of Pippin IV

-Once There was a War

-America and Americans

-Journal of a Novel

-Steinbeck: A Life in Letters

-Viva Zapata!

-The Acts of King Arthur and his Bold Knights

-Working Days: The Journals of the Grapes of Wrath

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

Breton Crepes for a few days by Ruth Paget

The magic mix of eggs, milk, flour, salt, and oil makes delicious crepes you can fill with butter and cheese or a salad with chèvre goat cheese.  This little pile will last for two or three days.

My husband Laurent made these beauties! A bottle of homeopathic Elderberry gummies full of Vitamin C sits by the crepes.

My recipe for crepes follows:

California Crepes Recipe

Trader Joe’s sells hard (alcoholic) cider like the French drink to go with these crepes.

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

Squash Economics iat The Farm in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Squash Harvest is in The Farm in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Now is the time to buy squash for decorating and eating, bringing children out to jump on haystacks and ride mini tractors, and buy a homemade pie.

Look at the squash beauties below!  Orange colored squash has vitamin A, which is important for vision.  Chop it up, remove the filaments inside, brush the flesh with oil, and bake it at 350 for an hour.  Eat it with butter and paprika.  The filaments and skin can be recycled as green waste.

Even the too cool to care goats were checking out the squash.

My husband Laurent and I bought a berry pie. Starting in November, the bakery will be the only department open at The Farm till spring.

The following video deals with baking butternut squash.  For squash that is hard to peel, I leave the peel and bake slices or cubes of squash and then scoop out the flesh from the peel:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/229733/simple-roasted-butternut-squash/

Another fun marketing day in Salinas, California.

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

Seagull Munching on Guano at Pebble Beach, California video by Ruth Paget

While waiting to film brown pelicans at Pebble Beach, California, I saw a seagull eating guano on a rock with waves crashing behind it and brown pelicans doing fly-bys  behind it.  

The sound of the waves crashing is excellent on the video below:

Guano is bird feces.  It is highly sought as a fertilizer and wars have been fought over it.

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

Oktoberfest at Asilomar on October 11, 2025 in Pacific Grove, California reposted by Ruth Paget

Oktoberfest is being celebrated on October 11, 2025 at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California.

For information about tickets, I have reposted the Monterey County Weekly calendar posting below:

Oktoberfest at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California

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

California Debt Watch Tool looks interesting reposted by Ruth Paget

This debt watch tool managed by the State of California looks useful:

California Debt Watch

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

Taco Kit Dinner at Costco in Sand City, California by Ruth Paget

Taco Kit Deal at Costco in Sand City, California by Ruth Paget

The Southwestern US taco dinner at Costco in Sand City, California provides enough food for 3 people to eat 4 medium tacos for about $5.50

The kit comes with:

-12 soft corn tortillas

-Al Pastor chicken pieces that are precooked

-shredded cabbage

 -shredded cheese

-cilantro lime crema salsa

-spicy hot salsa

-4 lime sections to squeeze on the tacos or squeeze into beer

I took photos of the taco kit below:

Taco Tuesday is easy to do with one of these taco kits at Costco.

Your weekly dinner menu could look like this:

Monday - pasta dinner

Tuesday - taco Tuesday

Wednesday - wings and drumsticks

Thursday - fish or seafood delivery

Friday - pizza - Detroit pizza is reasonably priced at Nob Hill

Also, if I have leftovers, I put them in a Pyrex and make street tacos for myself for lunch the next day.

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

Shipwrecks of the Monterey Peninsula Talk on October 18, 2025 in Monterey, California reposted by Ruth Paget

There will be a talk on Shipwrecks of the Monterey Peninsula on October 18, 2025 in Monterey, California at California’s First Theatre.

For details about this event, I have reposted information from The Monterey County Weekly:

Shipwrecks of the Monterey Peninsula

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

Medicinal Plant Tour on October 12, 2025

There will be a Medicinal Plant Tour on October 12, 2025 in Monterey, California on Fisherman’s Wharf.  

Information about the event follows reposted from the Monterey County Weekly:

Medicinal Plant Tour

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