California is not in the path of the Polar Vortex Storm but we may have power outages if the weather is cold. Emergency food:
Cereal
UHT Milk - can be stored at room temperature till opening
Caesar Salad
Salad dressing
Fruit Pouches
Cheese goldfish crackers
Water
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Yorkshire Pudding Made by Florence Paget Posted by Ruth Paget
Florence Paget is connecting with her English ancestors with this recipe for Yorkshire Pudding. We eat ours with steak and mashed potatoes. (Step-by-Step Photos Below)
For 6 People
Ingredients:
-1 cup flour
-3 eggs
-1 cup milk
-2 teaspoons iodized salt
-1 cm of olive oil each for 12-cup cupcake pan (To heat separately from batter)
Steps:
1-Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2-Place 12-cup cupcake tray in oven with 1 cm of olive oil in each cup. Heat for 10 - 15 minutes.
3-Mix flour, eggs, milk, and salt together with a whisk to form a homogenous batter with a nice yellow sheen.
4-When the 10 - 15 minutes of oil heating are done, take out the tray. Fill each cupcake mold 2/3 full with butter. (Oil will bubble up through the batter.)
5-Bake the batter for 25 minutes. (The eggs will make the pudding increase to 3 times the size of the batter.)
The photos below illustrate the steps to make this delicious and easy baked good:
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French Montélimar Nougat at the Market in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget
During a stop to buy coffee at The Market at Pebble Beach, California, my husband Laurent found Carlier nougat from Montélimar, France on sale.
Laurent naturally bought some to bring back memories of chewing Montélimar nougat while crawling through holiday traffic jams outside Lyon, France highway tollbooths.
All the freeways in southern France eventually lead to Lyon and its bouchon, meaning simultaneously wine cork, traffic jam, and Lyonnais bistros in general that are famous for offal (variety meat) tarts and Beaujolais as the house wine.
To put off the bouchon, drivers buy bags of Montélimar nougat for themselves and all children on board outside Lyon at Montélimar.
Nougat without anything added to it is a mix of hot sugar and honey that you add whipped egg whites to. Next you fold in sliced nuts and/or candied fruits. Carlier nougat features sliced almonds and pistachios.
Once all the nougat ingredients are mixed together, it is allowed to cool before being sliced into chewy pieces that can be packaged like the Carlier brand we bought at Pebble Beach. (Picture below)
To add a little treat to you coffee order at The Market at Pebble Beach, California, you might want to try the Carlier nougat to give your coffee break a slice of French lifestyle on the Pacific Ocean.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Maine and New England in general promote lobster, clam bakes, fish, and clam chowder as tourism in winter.
The Central Coast can do this sustainably thanks to efforts of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Personally, I like Italian seafood dishes for using a moderate amount of shellfish with pasta or in a stew and stretching ocean resources while tasting phenomenally good.
Of course, seafood tastes best in cold and rainy weather.
Bon Appetit!
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soip with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Possible use for two empty buildings by the casino in Salinas, California posted by Ruth Paget
-souvenir shop selling puréed vegetable soup from Monterey County organic vegetables - locals and tourists alike can buy these - a French strategy for selling regional products
-day old bread could be sold here from the town’s many bakeries to centralize a pick-up spot for this item that can be used to make bread crumbs for gratins or whole to make strata casseroles as well. This would free up space in bakeries for new products. Ready made, frozen strata could be sold and thermal bags for tourists who drive.
Both buildings have small parking lots for limited time parking. A garage is across the street.
Just some economic development thoughts.
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Could car bodies of junkyard cars be re-smelted to make 5G towers?
Each state would have raw material to get these built, if this is true.
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
The list of new professors at the University of Chicago is out. I always like reading this for books to read.
One book that looks particularly interesting is Shigehito Oishi’s Life in Three Dimensions about building a psychologically rich life at any age.
The list of new professors at the University of Chicago follows:
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Water Color Variations Photo at Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget
January 11, 2026 was a sunny, cloudless day at Pebble Beach, California, which allowed me to photography color differences in the water due to geographic features.
In the photo below, there are two colors, navy blue and aqua marine. Navy blue water is usually a sign of deep water and even the open ocean.
In this photo, however, the Navy blue water close to shore reflects rock formations below the water surface that creep up the shore.
The aqua marine water reflects an area with white sand beneath the water that reflects the blue sky. This area with aqua marine water is where waves from and begin to crash ashore I saw.
This small exercise in water color observation is probably something surfers and sailors know, but it was a discovery for me as I looked over a photograph of beautiful shoreline.
Looking for these color variations along the ocean in Pebble Beach, California is almost as fun as bird watching, which I also enjoy.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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Pebble Beach, California at Ocean View St. Turnout Photo by Ruth Paget |
Soup of the Seven Seas at Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
I tried the robust 7 Mares soup at Super Pollo in Salinas, California (next to Star Market) for a winter brunch and loved the somewhat exotic flavor of this generous seafood medley.
The exotic seasoning I am referring to is the epazote herb. This herb is sautéed along with onions and peppers as a flavor base in the 7 Mares Soup according to the nuwavenow.com website.Epazote tastes like a combination of oregano, anise, citrus, and mint. Its flavor is strong and is said to aid in digestion even help deworm according to some websites.
I like epazote’s flavor and thought it made the tomato juice soup broth even more pronounced. You could probably say the 7 Mares soup is also made with seafood broth due to all the shellfish that boil open in the fish. For seafood lovers, the soup’s combination of flavors is invigorating.
At Super Pollo, they sauté chunks of daily catch fish before adding in shrimp, octopus, crab legs, clams, scallops, and mussels. Once those go in, Super Pollo adds in chunks of carrots, celery, potato, and cabbage. The soup boils till the shellfish shells open and the vegetables are soft.
For garnish, there is a bag of minced onion and cilantro along with a lemon wedge. I made sure to add those to the soup before feasting away and dunking in several folded soft corn tortillas.
People who love Manhattan-style clam chowder would probably love 7 Mares Soup as well. California is able to source the 7 Mares seafood ingredients from the Pacific Ocean alone. This keeps the cost down and the flavor up.
For a spa-worthy Mexican soup, 7 Mares at Super Pollo in Salinas, California is a vacation winner for travelers to California’s Central Coast.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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Ruth Paget Self-Portrait |
Pulled Pork Sandwich with Coleslaw at Traps Lounge in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget
Traps Lounge at Pebble Beach is 20 to 30 minutes away from my home in Salinas, California depending on traffic.
My husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I went out for an informal meal at Florence’s Pebble Beach locals' hangout.
Traps shares a kitchen with Pèppoli, Pebble Beach’s Michelin-starred Italian restaurant. So, the bar nibbles at Traps are pretty stellar, especially the spaghetti Bolognese, which is made with chopped sirloin, fennel-flavored Italian sausage, and tomato ragù sauce. Laurent likes that dish and is very pleased with the flavor and nutrition, which give him glowing pink cheeks.
Florence likes the California Club Sandwich made with turkey slices, smoked bacon, and slices of avocado with French fries on the side.
I like the Southern favorite pulled pork sliders. For this recipe, pork shoulder gets an all over dry rub of spices like brown sugar, paprika, and garlic powder before slow roasting till the meat easily pulls apart with forks.
Once pulled apart, the pork meat is mixed with barbecue sauce and put in sandwiches. At Traps, they serve this sandwich like they do in the South on house-made brioche buns with a scoop of creamy coleslaw made with cabbage, onion, and carrots on top of the meat with a side of fries. The pulled pork sandwiches come three to an order at Traps. I thought they were a very good choice for $22 the day I went. (See online menu for any price changes.)
For a nice meal with a full bar at your service in plush surroundings with a fireplace, Traps Lounge in Pebble Beach, California offers satisfying food, football games and golf matches playing on different TVs with no sound, and music to vacationers and tourists alike.
Bon appétit!
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Shrimp Broccoli Stir-Fry at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
One of my favorite Chinese-food-as-medicine dishes is shrimp broccoli stir-fry. I recently tried the Golden Star version of this dish in Salinas, California and feel that I have a Vitamin C booster for the 2026 New Year.
One of the reasons I find Chinese stir fry to be healthy is that the Chinese start out a stir fry with hot oil that they season with fresh ginger and garlic and sometimes onions and red pepper before adding in vegetables and protein like broccoli and shrimp in the dish I tried.
What makes this stir fry delicious is they savory sauce made generally of soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, and corn starch (for the sheen appearance), which can be a sauce for rice as well as the main ingredients.
Broccoli is a low-calorie food packed with fiber; vitamins C, K, and A: potassium, and antioxidants. I like the flavor of this super food.
Shrimp is also good for you if eaten in moderation. It contains vitamins B12 and D; the minerals selenium, phosphorous, and zinc; and antioxidants. It is hard to believe that something this delicious is good for you in moderation. (It has high salt and cholesterol content.)
The flavor and quantity of the shrimp broccoli was very good. If you like shrimp, you would probably like this dish. Golden star offers versions of this dish with beef and chicken as well.
Golden Star is located on Main Street in downtown Salinas, California with a large parking lot in back next to Compass Church. You have to go down a short passage from the parking lot to the front of the restaurant on Main Street to pick up your food.
What I really like about Golden Star is that it is about 5 minutes from my home in Salinas, California, making picking up take-out Chinese food easy. I also like it that their extensive menu is available all day.
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Broccoli Shrimp Stir-Fry with Rice at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant (next to Compass Church - Parking in back) in Salinas, California |
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Kouign-Amann Butter Cakes from Brittany, France at Trader Joe’s in Marina, California by Ruth Paget
This past weekend, my family did not eat chocolate croissants on Saturday like usual. Instead, my husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I ate individual, warm, butter cakes from Brittany located in northwestern France called kouign-amann (pronounced kween aman) that we bought at Trader Joe’s in Marina, California.
These easy to eat Celtic cakes with a short list of ingredients require time, technique, and patience to make which is probably why Trader Joe’s stepped in to make them.
I looked through a small recipe book that I bought in France called Les Meilleures Recettes Bretonnes (The Best Breton Recipes) by Brigitte and Jean-Pierre Perrin-Chattard for a recipe. These delicious cakes are made with:
-flour
-salted butter
-powdered sugar
-yeast
-salt
-egg yolk
-water
To make the cake, you make a dough that rises once and then two more times after being turned over itself and turned like croissant dough, but on a thicker and larger scale.
If you have patience, you can save money making these treats.
However, the Trader Joe’s version is much fancier. The cakes come in individual ridged baking papers that can go in the oven for heating. The kouign-amann cales look elegant with mugs of coffee, orange juice, and drinkable yogurt.
For a weekend treat, the kouign-amann butter cakes from Brittany, France at Trader Joe’s in Marina, France might be a nice break from croissants for you.
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Kouign-Amann from Trader Joe's in Marina, California So good with cafe au lait |
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Shrimp Boiler Bags at Bag O’Crab in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
Cold weather in Salinas, California always makes me want to eat seafood at one of our local seafood restaurants like Bag O’Crab, a chain restaurant specializing in spicy, Cajun seafood from Louisiana.
My husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I picked up a seafood lunch to fill up on iodine and flavor in the rainy, cold (low 40s) weather, which I think makes seafood taste better.
The three of us had shrimp boiler bags that were all a little different. I like ordering take-out on DoorDash, because there are several options to choose from:
-Laurent ate an all-shrimp boiler bag with mild garlic butter sauce
-Florence ate a shrimp boiler bag with potatoes and corn on the cob in mild garlic butter sauce
-I ate a shrimp boiler bay 6 sections of spicy Louisiana sausage in mild garlic butter sauce
Bag O’Crab cooks the shrimp in their shells for extra flavor and provides diners with plastic gloves to remove the shells. The flavor of the shrimp was briny and spicy without being hot.
The strong spice mix paired well with Italian Peroni Nastro Azzurro lager beer on the cold day.
After lunch, I took a nap with the window cracked to let in humid, cold air as I slept like a baby before setting up some lifelong learning projects for the 2026 New Year.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Mostly Meatless Italian Recipes from the Culinary Institute of America by Ruth Paget
One of my treasured cookbooks is the Culinary Institute of America Cookbook for the home cook with over 375 recipes. The recipes represent the best multicultural recipes of New York and the Northeastern United States with many of Italian origin.
I recently re-read this cookbook with any eye towards mostly meatless recipes to prepare for the 21st century with its issues of greater food insecurity even in the United States. I looked for recipes that I could build meals around that did not sacrifice protein, calcium, and iron despite greater vegetable intake.
I chose four sample mostly meatless recipes that are Italian, because I love Italian food. These recipes include:
-lobster and prosciutto crostini
Basically, a crostini hors d’oeuvres is a toasted baguette slice with a somewhat luxurious topping.
In this recipe, the toasted crostini slice is spread with garlic butter and then goat cheese. A prosciutto slice is place on top of the goat cheese and thawed, cooked lobster goes on top of the crostini. For garnish, you place a sautéed sage leaf on top of the lobster.
This lobster and prosciutto crostini would pair well with chardonnay wine or champagne. On the West Coast, you could replace lobster with Dungeness, if you cannot procure frozen, cooked lobster.
-cannellini bean purée
I consider cannellini bean purée to be an Italian version of hummus. You can spread it on toast rounds as a crostini or use it as a dip for vegetables.
The ingredient list for this recipe seems long, but most of the herbs called for will be tied in a cheese cloth that boils with the beans to season them. The cheese cloth and herbs are removed before puréeing the beans. Olive oil, lemon juice, and hot pepper sauce are mixed into the beans before serving.
This bean spread on a crostini would look good with sautéed sage leaves on top.
-Panzanella – toasted bread and tomato salad
Panzanella salad makes great use of hard, artisanal bread made without preservatives, usually called day old. There are three uses for this type of bread:
-cut it into large, rectangular slices to dunk into soup
-toast cubes of it to use like a crouton in Caesar salad
-toast cubes of it and add tomato cubes and vinaigrette to it to make panzanella salad. (Slices of red onion go well with this salad, too.)
-Spring Greens and Cannellini Bean Gratin
For this recipe, you can use canned cannellini beans. To begin, you sauté the beans with tomatoes and vegetable broth. Then, you sauté Swiss chard or collard greens. The beans and greens are then mixed together in a baking dish with breadcrumbs placed on top before baking. (I like to add grated Parmesan cheese to the gratin for extra flavor.)
There are many more mostly meatless recipes in The Culinary Institute of America Cookbook as well as pantry lists for setting up a European pantry focusing on ingredients for French, Italian, and Portuguese cuisine. This cookbook contains much knowledge that is still useful for 21st century concerns.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Cowboy Eggs Benedict at Hotel Cerro in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget
The Hotel Cerro in San Luis Obispo, California does not offer complimentary breakfast. Instead, the hotel has an informal café where you can order small or large breakfast at a counter and pay according to what you order.
Servers will bring items to your table and clear dishes.
I liked this arrangement, because I like large, warm American breakfasts when I travel. Laurent, on the other hand, prefers lighter fare like croissants, yogurt, and orange juice. Hotel Cerro can deliver both at the same time with Swiss aplomb.
I ordered a twist on traditional Eggs Benedict called Cowboy Eggs Benedict. The twist in this dish is using a thick, black peppery sausage patty in place of Canadian bacon in this tasty breakfast sandwich.
Aside from the sausage patty, the eggs Benedict was made the traditional way on a split, toasted English muffin with the sausage topped with a poached egg and lemony Hollandaise sauce.
The Cowboy Eggs Benedict came with a generous helping of oven-baked, small new potatoes in their skins that were seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I dunked these in spicy Cholula sauce.
I sipped American diner coffee with cream as I ate and liked the Western spin on the Eggs Benedict.
The day I ate this breakfast it was rainy and cold, making the food especially flavorful.
I like the breakfast dining arrangement at Hotel Cerro in San Luis Obispo, California and thought the food was fresh and the service was quick. For a good breakfast before setting out touring or driving home, it was perfect.
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Hotel Cerro Room View A slice of serenity in San Luis Obispo, California Photo by Ruth Paget |
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Raw Oysters and Dungeness Crab Salad at Tognazzini’s Dockside Restaurant in Morro Bay, California by Ruth Paget
On our family mini recharge trip to San Luis Obispo, California, we returned to Salinas via a side trip to Morro Bay for lunch at Tognazzini’s Dockside Restaurant. (The Tognazzini’s also run a fishing company located on the dock outside the restaurant.)
My husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I began our meal with six raw Morro Bay oysters. I squirted lemon juice on mine and ate a few with cocktail sauce and creamy, grated horseradish. I love cold, briny raw oysters, but recognize that not everyone likes them despite the quality. For me, however, our New Year’s Eve meal was off to a great start despite the rainy, cold weather.
While we were eating, Tognazzini’s fishermen were hauling in 4-feet flatfish and weighing them outside our window on the dock as mealtime entertainment. Tognazzini prides itself on boat-to-table cuisine. They even claim they can provide the boat name and captain’s name for your fish order.
As our main dish, Laurent and I ordered the Mariner Salad that you can add a variety of fish and seafood to as protein ranging from shrimp to salmon. Laurent chose this and ordered Dungeness crab as our shellfish protein since the end of December is in Dungeness crab season. (Florence ordered the calamari and chips plate.)
I grew up living on salads in Detroit, Michigan where I ate Greek salads in Greek town at least once a week and Cobb salads at Syros Restaurant around the corner from my apartment building about twice a month. Seafood salads were a treat I could order at Lelli’s Restaurant when I was taken there by my mother and babysitters. I love salads in general and view seafood salads as a great treat.
The Mariner salad at Tognazzini’s features a bed of baby greens and seasonal vegetables. The seasonal vegetables for Californian winter included boiled beet slices, a neat pile of perfectly cut tomato cubes, cucumber slices, grated carrots, slices of red onions, and another neat pile of crumbled blue cheese. I ate my salad with house made blue cheese dressing and thought I had an outstanding finish to my recharge mini trip in San Luis Obispo County.
We drove over the mountains from Morro Bay to Paso Robles and enjoyed viewing the rural landscape dotted with longhorn cattle, furry sheep, black and white goats, reddish-brown Swiss cows, and horse farms. The vineyards were empty of leaves with vines pruned back for winter.
Back in Salinas, we ordered Gino’s mushroom and cheese artisanal pizza and drank champagne with it to ring in the New Year all refreshed from outstanding, Italian seafood meals in San Luis Obispo County.
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Mariner Salad with Crab and Calamari with Fries at Tognazzini's Dockside Restaurant in Morro Bay, California Photo by Laurent Paget |
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Primo Pumpkin Risotto at Novo Restaurant and Lounge in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget
For a short recharge vacation, my husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I set out from Salinas, California down Highway 101 to San Luis Obispo, California (about 2 hours away).
We stayed at Hotel Cerro by Marriott for its center of downtown location and valet parking option. Both hotel lobby doors let to dining and shopping venues for fashion and gourmet food purchases.
For dinner, we went out the hotel’s back door and crossed the street to arrive at Novo Restaurant, which has creekside dining, a private party cellar room, and indoor seating by a full bar with liquor bottles and chilled wine storage units going all the to the top of the walls to the ceiling.
Novo’s walls are red brick with large, glass ball lights suspended on wars over the bar and seating area. Tubes of glass went through the diameter of the glass ball lights that glowed. The trendy and cool décor reminded me of bars in Brussels, Belgium that feature menus with the best that Europe has to offer for food and beverage including sushi fusion food.
I was very happy with our restaurant even before we had ordered.
We started with eclectic appetizers – the warm chèvre goat cheese board and raw ahi (tuna) nachos for a Hawaiian fusion twist. Laurent and I ordered locally brewed Firestone Walker Belgian blonde ale from Paso Robles, California to go with the appetizers. Florence ordered a Lavender Linen cocktail to sip on throughout the meal.
I like Novo’s warm chèvre board, because it features all savory items. The tray arrives with eight diagonal baguette slices that have been grilled with olive oil. Warm chèvre on warm baguette slices is luscious on a cold, rainy, winter night.
The warm chèvre board also comes with warm, heirloom cherry tomatoes in olive oil. These tomatoes were sweet and meltingly, soft on the tongue. The final treat on the warm chèvre cheese board is a cupful of warmed black olives that taste like they have been dressed with raspberry vinegar. All these contrasting flavors pair well with the low-alcohol Belgian blonde ale from Firestone Walker.
The ahi nachos were for Florence, but she let me taste several cubes of perfectly cut ahi with sautéed scallions and sriracha mayonnaise on house-made crispy tortillas. The nachos tasted great with beer, too.
For our spa dinner, we ordered some choice items – lobster gnocchi pasta for Laurent, filet mignon with mashed potatoes and sautéed carrots for Florence, and pumpkin risotto for me.
The risotto was made with pudgy, round carnaroli rice that had absorbed chicken broth and white wine with Parmesan cheese stirred in at the end of the cooking. Sautéed cubes of baked pumpkin, slices of porcini mushrooms, strands of shiitake mushrooms, and fresh baby lettuce were mixed into the risotto. A handful of pomegranate seeds was scattered on top of the risotto. The flavor was magnificent. I ate everything.
Laurent and Florence were equally happy with their dishes.
For a relaxing and cozy spa meal, Novo Restaurant and Lounge in San Luis Obispo, California is certainly worth a visit to this busy college town.
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Garden View at Hotel Cerro A slice of serenity in downtown San Luis Obispo, California Photo by Ruth Paget |
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France