Whole Grains Revisited by Ruth Paget

Whole Grains Revisited by Ruth Paget 

The words “whole grain” on a package always prompt me to look twice at it to see if the product is really a whole grain product. I learned about whole grains in health and nutrition classes in junior high and high school classes in Michigan. 

My teachers emphasized that whole grains were good for maintaining weight and good health thanks to the fiber and nutrients in them. 

 As an older woman, I decided to review the health benefits of whole grains and looked at three websites that had information on them: Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins Medical School, and the Mayo Clinic. 

These sites identify a whole grain as being made up of three parts: 

-bran – the fiber-rich outer layer of a grain 

-germ – the cored of a seed where growth occurs 

-endosperm – the interior layer that holds the seed together 

Each of these three separate parts of grain contains nutrients that the Harvard site writes about in detail: 

*Bran Nutrients include: 

-fiber 

-B-vitamins 

-iron 

-copper 

-zinc 

-magnesium 

-antioxidants 

-phytochemicals  

*Germ Nutrients Include: 

 -healthy fats 

-Vitamin E 

-B-vitamins 

-phytochemicals 

-antioxidants 

*Endosperm Nutrients include: 

-carbohydrates 

-protein 

-small amounts of vitamins and minerals 

The sites all note that fiber helps lower cholesterol in addition to moving waste through the digestive tract.  

Whole grains do not have to be soupy porridges. It is possible to obtain whole grain benefits in delicious recipes like those in Betty Crocker’s Whole Grains cookbook, which has 150 recipes (available on Amazon Kindle). 

Three recipes that I thought looked delicious and easy to prepare include: 

-Summer Quinoa – Tomato Salad made with tomatoes, quinoa, red onion, garlic, basil leaves, parsley, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and Parmesan 

-Tabbouleh with Garbanzo Beans made with bulgur wheat, tomatoes, green onions, bell peppers, cucumber, and parsley 

-Wild Rice with Cranberries made with wild rice, butter, salt and pepper, chicken or vegetable broth, mushrooms, almonds, and cranberries. 

Betty Crocker’s Whole Grains Cookbook contains a long list of whole grains for reference including several less common ones like amaranth and teff. Cooks interested in expanding their knowledge of whole grains would probably enjoy trying the recipes in Betty Crocker’s Whole Grains Cookbook. 

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

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10 French Antioxidant Foods by Ruth Paget

10 French Antioxidant Foods by Ruth Paget 

When I moved to France as a young woman, I was happy to learn that the French eat many antioxidant foods that remove free radicals that cause cancer in addition to drinking red wine, which they claim reduces breast cancer when combined with Camembert cheese. 

I still eat these foods in California where I live now to help with “digestion” as the French say: 

1-Homemade Yogurt 

I use a yogurt machine made by Mueller to cook 8 pots of yogurt. I buy Euro Cuisine Yogurt Culture from Amazon and add it to six Horizon organic whole milk packages to make my own probiotic yogurt. The cooked yogurt goes in the refrigerator overnight to further solidify. The taste of yogurt made this way is slightly sour and perfect with the addition of jam or fresh fruit. 

2-Maille Mustard from Dijon 

I make my own vinaigrette with Maille mustard (part red wine vinegar, 2 parts olive oil, and 2 parts Maille mustard). I use this vinaigrette on salads like the following: 

-baby greens 

-grated carrot salad -sliced tomato salad 

-tuna-black bean-roasted red pepper-black olive-pepperoncino salad 

-pasta salad 

3-Dark Chocolate Hot Chocolate for Breakfast 

4-Dry and Fresh Mushrooms 

The French eat mushroom quiche and sell it frozen at the grocery store. I tend to eat mushroom-cheese pizza in the U.S. as a quiche substitute. I also make mushroom soup and sauté mushrooms to go with steak. 

5-Pain d’épice de Dijon 

Gingerbread made with delicious spices sometimes called antiseptic such as cloves, ginger, and cinnamon.  

6-Carte Noire Coffee 

Coffee brand of strong Arabica coffee to sip after dining. 

7-Sauerkraut for Alsatian Flavor 

Sauerkraut with caraway seeds and seeds does taste really good with a cold wheat beer, hefeweizen.  

8-Curry Rice 

The French at one time had a colony in Pondicherry, India and have retained “curry” as a spice. Cooked rice with one teaspoon of curry and butter is a nice side with chicken or fish. 

9-Ratatouille 

A delicious vegetable stew made with olive oil, garlic, onion, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, thyme, and rosemary. Ratatouille is excellent with baguette slices to soak up the cooking juices. 

10-Chocolate Mousse 

Mousse made with less sugar and more dark chocolate becomes a strong antioxidant. 

These foods have the added benefit of being delicious as well as good for you. 

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

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Eating Loco Moco in Monterey, California by Ruth Paget

Eating Loco Moco in Monterey, California by Ruth Paget 

Loco Moco, a Hawaiian dish, is my first choice on the Alvarado Street Brewery’s menu for breakfast or lunch with my family in Monterey, California. 

This California Brew Pub’s version of Loco Moco features a well-done Harris Ranch beef patty on top of a mound of bacon-fried rice. Shredded cabbage, grated ginger, and a fried egg sit on top of the beef patty. Bacon gravy covers everything. I like my fried egg over easy so that every bite of loco moco is unctuous and makes me forget about the calories. 

Loco Moco is a go-to dish in California as well as Hawaii, because California grows rice in the area around Sacramento north of Monterey. 

The Alvarado Street Brewery also makes excellent beer-battered, Pacific Cod Fish and Chips, pub-made pretzels, and pizzas in addition to brewing several kinds of beer, especially IPAs (India Pale Ales). 

The best thing about the Alvarado Street Brewery in addition to food is that it is a warm, welcoming place with music, regulars, and an outdoor beer garden. 

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

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Fish Tacos in Seaside, California by Ruth Paget

Fish Tacos in Seaside, California by Ruth Paget 

Tourists seeking local flavor at Googie’s Restaurant in Seaside, California (close to Monterey) might want to try the fish tacos. The Pacific cod used in the fish tacos can be broiled or deep-fried. I like crunchy extra calories, so I always get deep-fried fish tacos. 

The fish tacos come three to a plate with soft, corn tortillas, shredded cabbage, pico de gallo salsa, and fresh lime slices for squeezing. The pico de gallo salsa, pronounced “ga-yo,” is made with chopped tomato, onion, Serrano peppers, salt, lime juice, and cilantro. Its perky flavor ties the deep-fried Pacific cod and cabbage together with the savory flavor of the warm corn tortillas. 

Googie’s also serves traditional English fish and chips complete with vinegar in a bottle on the side. 

The restaurant’s location by the ocean and the Embassy Suites Hotel and Holiday Inn Express make it a great location for breakfast before touring downtown Monterey or shopping in Seaside. (Googie’s is in the Seaside Auto Mall for starters.) 

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

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Vegetable Vindaloo in Monterey, California by Ruth Paget

Vegetable Vindaloo in Monterey, California by Ruth Paget 

Vegan visitors to Monterey, California might want to try the vegetable vindaloo at the Ambrosia India Bistro located in downtown Monterey by the historic Casa Munras Hotel and on Cannery Row. 

Vegetable Vindaloo is a dish from the southern Indian city of Goa, a former Portuguese colony. The website www.epicurious.com gives a recipe for pork vindaloo that covers the sauce or curry ingredients. I have left out the pork and list the spices below: 

The spices make the vindaloo curry hot, pungent, and delicious. Epicurious.com lists the following spices that go into a good vindaloo: 

-Kashmiri chiles which can be replaced by guajillo chiles 

-garlic 

-ginger 

-cinnamon stick 

-vinegar 

-sugar 

-tamarind paste 

-peppercorns 

-cumin seeds 

-turmeric 

-cloves 

 -salt  

The seasonal vegetables for a vegetable vindaloo are stir-fried in an Indian wok called a kadai. Ambrosia tends to always use potatoes, cauliflower, sweet red peppers, green beans, and onions in its vegetable vindaloo with additions from the 200+ crops grown in the Salinas Valley just east of Monterey. 

The spicy vindaloo curry tastes great with basmati rice. I order naan bread as well to soak up every last bit of the vindaloo. I like to think that the vegetables used in Ambrosia India Bistro’s vegan dishes are all organic and come from the Salinas Valley just east of Monterey. 

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

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Bagels for Lunch by Ruth Paget

Bagels for Lunch by Ruth Paget 

Delivery has made it possible to avoid the lunch crunch lines I experienced as a young woman when I would wait in lines for sandwiches or cheeseburgers in Paris and Chicago. 

I was in line a few times when people would say at the counter, “I am still deciding” or “What comes on the cheeseburger?” These questions are innocent in and of themselves, but when asked during one-hour or half-hour lunch breaks now, they can create a tense atmosphere. 

I like how Bagel Bakery has reduced lunch line tension by using delivery and reserved take-out tables to reduce the number of people in line. Many people love toasty bagels, but it takes time to toast them correctly.  If you order ahead, you can avoid line rage. 

Some bagels I like from Bagel Bakery can be a little fragrant, making me want to eat them at home like the lox and cream cheese bagel. Lox is cured in salt water and smells briny like the ocean and tastes great. 

I also like authentic West Coast jalapeño-cheddar bagels with creams cheese with hot coffee and cream or a cold Starbucks mocha coffee, which Bagel Bakery sells. 

An office team ordering several bagels at once makes the delivery charge more palatable and gets everyone fed at once. 

A huge added plus is that delivery creates gig jobs that are taxed in California at least. Capturing money from the informal economy adds up and helps drivers pay bills with additional income. 

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

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Denver Omelets in Monterey County California by Ruth Paget

Denver Omelets in Monterey, California by Ruth Paget 

There are not as many Greek diners in Monterey County California where I live now, so I eat what I call Denver omelets at Denny’s. 

My local Denny’s calls their Denver omelets Mile High Omelets. (Denver is called the Mile High City, because it sits about one mile above sea level.) The staff and customers at my local are multicultural and like no-surprises American food just like I do to vary their diet. 

I like the take out and delivery options. Sometimes I just want to eat a Denver omelet while wearing sweatpants as I write, so I do use delivery, which always arrives with warm food. 

The Mile High Omelet at Denny’s, also known as a Denver or Western omelet, is made for people working in thin air at high altitudes. Diners at sea level like I am in Monterey County California know they might get a second meal out of their breakfast order. 

I am usually pretty hungry when I order a Mile High Omelet, which is made with three eggs and filled with ham, sautéed green peppers and onions, and melted Swiss cheese. The traditional side dishes that go with it include bacon, hash browns, and pancakes or toast. I put hot sauce like Cholula or Tabasco on the hash browns for added Vitamin C and sometimes order jalapeño peppers to go with the omelets. 

Denny’s offers a choice between toast and pancakes as a side. Between toast and calcium-rich buttermilk pancakes, I opt for the pancakes. I do not eat Denver omelets everyday, so I consider the pancakes a once-in-awhile dessert. I also tend to make the pancakes a second meal. 

Denny’s makes very good Cobb salads as well, if the Mile High Omelet might be too much to eat for you. 

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

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Guerrero (Mexico) Fare by Ruth Paget

Guerrero (Mexico) Fare by Ruth Paget 

Author Rachel Glueck offers an insider’s view of the Mexican state of Guerrero in her cookbook The Native Mexican Kitchen: A Journey into Cuisine, Culture and Mezcal. Glueck is married to an indigenous Mexican, who leads an Aztec dance troupe and runs a restaurant that serves Mezcal often made by members of his family. 

Guerrero is most famous for its resort city of Acapulco on the Pacific Coast of Mexico that heads south towards Central America. In Glueck’s introductory remarks, she notes that there are 65 indigenous groups in Mexico, that corn is revered for providing sustenance, and that the indigenous milpa cropping system grows beans, squash, chiles, and/or tomatoes together with corn. The milpa crops are all native to Mexico.  

The rest of Guerrero’s cuisine reflects the fusion of Spanish and indigenous foods. Pork and cheese, for instance, are of Spanish origin. The indigenous and Spanish ingredients come together in a dish of Oaxacan origin (Oaxaca is Guerrero’s neighboring state to the south) called a tlayuda, which people in Guerrero also eat. 

The tlayuda resembles a large, crunch tostada, but features asientos de puerco as a spread. Asientos de puerco is the settled fat from frying lard with remaining crunchy bits. I might substitute a salsa verde (green sauce made from Mexican green tomatoes) in place of asiento de puerco as a spread. On top of the tlayuda spread, cooks place refried beans, a shredded meat, lettuce, tomato, avocado, cheese, and salsa. The tlayuda is a filling dish made of simple ingredients that is enhanced with great salsas. 

Marge Poore, who wrote 1,000 Mexican Recipes, says that salsas are the distinguishing feature of Mexican cuisine. Glueck provides recipes for indigenous sauces that probably show up in Acapulco since they go well with fish or pork. Glueck’s sauce recipes are easy to follow and usually follow the pattern of sautéing vegetables, blending the cooked vegetables, putting the vegetables back in a pan to warm them, and stirring in the final ingredients like chunks of mango or pineapple. 

Glueck’s commentary on life in Guerrero often makes you overlook her recipes, but they are excellent and give an introduction to what indigenous food in Mexico is like.  

The following recipes might interest first-time cooks trying Mexican food: 

-peanut salsa made with peanuts, chiles, onions, tomatoes, and garlic cloves 

-salsa de piña made with pineapples for fish and pork 

-salsa de mango made with mangos and a favorite for fish or pork in Acapulco 

-tortilla soup made with chiles, garlic, onion, tomatoes, water or chicken stock, cream, cotija cheese, and avocado with garnishes like cabbage, avocado slices, and tortilla chips 

-pozole rojo soup from Jalisco (a state north of Guerrero) made with chicken breasts or pork leg, white hominy, corn, tomatillos, and chiles 

-esquites – Mexican street corn served with cream, cheese, chile powder, and lime 

-carnitas – Mexican pork belly braised with orange juice. 

 -liver and onions tacos 

The Native American Kitchen by Rachel Glueck has well-written recipes and is a good introduction for cooks who would like to make their first forays into Mexican indigenous cooking. 

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

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Feta Omelets at the Agora Restaurant by Ruth Paget

Feta Omelets at the Agora Restaurant by Ruth Paget 

A delicious memory I have of attending the University of Chicago is eating feta omelets at the Agora Restaurant in Hyde Park before going to study at the Regenstein Library. 

My college roommate was a Greek-American, so getting her to support the local Greek diner was no problem. We took the University bus to the nearest stop and walked the final few blocks. 

We were the steady diners, but three of our friends always tried to make it to breakfast, too. I warned them that if they did not come, we would talk about them. One of our male friends joined us for breakfast once and called us the female mafia. 

By the time senior year rolled around, we spent our breakfasts sharing job-hunting information. We were looking for work in different industries, which made it easier to share what we had learned. There was a recession in 1986 with fewer recruiters coming to campus. We were unhappy about this, but industrious about finding work nonetheless. 

I had found an international job in downtown Chicago doing informational interviews. I was a salesman at a translation agency that also did public relations work. (I eventually helped two classmates get work with the agency doing foreign-language narration and teaching/cultural consulting.) 

Since I was employed, I bought two extra pots of coffee for the table, so my friends could have abundant coffee refills as we talked about Richard N. Bolles’ book What Color is Your Parachute?, which counsels people on how to find dream jobs. 

We were all mortified that employment agencies downtown had typing skills tests. I told everyone to bite the bullet and learn to type 50 words per minute without a mistake; it could help with finding a job. Most businesses still used IBM electric typewriters in 1986 and were just beginning to introduce desktop computers to the workplace. 

The University of Chicago had “Apple” computers in the study halls, but companies downtown used all kinds of computers with Microsoft software being introduced. Knowing lots of software programs was an asset and hard to obtain. 

The tech change happening in 1986 was stressful. I credit the food I ate during this period of competitive and stressful tech change with keeping me strong, able to sleep, and willing to learn new ways of organizing and presenting information. Notably, I loved my weekly calcium-rich feta omelet with sliced, kalamata olives and roasted red peppers preserved in olive oil. 

Greek diners offer plenty of nutritious sides to go with omelets like this that I always ate including bacon, whole wheat toast with butter, calcium-added orange juice, and real cream to go with coffee. (In addition to dealing with technological change, I credit this meal with preventing me from having osteoporosis – weak bones – later in life.) 

After this robust breakfast, the female mafia would walk to the Regenstein Library like the “Reg Rats” we really were for a day of studying as we thought of dream careers and the reality of entry-level jobs. 

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

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Tex-Mex Food is a Community Asset by Ruth Paget

Tex-Mex Food is a Community Asset by Ruth Paget 

Smart Californians know that having a Tex-Mex taquería down the street with from-scratch food at reasonable prices is a community asset. 

That is how I feel about Michael’s Grill and Taquería in Marina, California. My family has been their customer for many years, but I think tourists to the Monterey Peninsula might also like their Tex-Mex food in a place with free parking out of the downtown bustle. 

Some of the dishes tourists might like at Michael’s follow: 

-La Playa Combo (The Beach Combo) with charbroiled shrimp, blackened chicken, a cheese enchilada with red sauce, rice, black beans, and warm flour tortillas 

-Quesadilla with carne asada (grilled think steak) – the steak is an add-on item to the folded-over large tortilla with melted cheese. This is like a grilled cheese sandwich. 

-House burrito – a wet burrito with green tomatillo sauce (Mexican greet tomato sauce) on top of a wrapped tortilla filled with charbroiled shrimp, blackened chicken, and Spanish rice with black beans on the side 

-large tacos with blackened chicken or charbroiled shrimp with chopped lettuce and grated cheese 

-street tacos for smaller appetites 

The ordering is taquería style. You place your order at the counter, pay, and receive a number on a stand to place on your table in the dining room. A server brings your food when it is ready. 

Michael’s is good food, good prices, and good people. 

The regulars know it is great, and first-timers might be pleasantly surprised. 

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

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Tomato-Black Bean Salad Recipe by Ruth Paget

Tomato-Black Bean Salad Recipe by Ruth Paget 

A vegan recipe for winter 

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

-1 (15.5-ounce) can organic black beans, rinsed and drained 

-1 (14.5-ounce) can organic, diced tomatoes with juice 

-2 tablespoons Maille mustard from Dijon 

-1 tablespoon olive oil 

-1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 

-1 teaspoon salt (optional) 

Steps: 

1-Mix the black beans and tomatoes with their juice together. 

2-Mix mustard, olive oil, and red wine vinegar together until they are homogenous. Pour dressing over the black beans and tomatoes and mix salad. 

3-Serve with pita chips or toast points. 

Source: Ruth Paget – Monterey, California 

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

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Cannery Row for New Year's by Ruth Paget

Cannery Row for New Year’s by Ruth Paget 

Our family visits Cannery Row in Monterey, California to honor both John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts. Steinbeck wrote the book Cannery Row that made the area famous. Ed Ricketts, Steinbeck’s friend and the character “Doc” in Cannery Row, is my fellow alumni from the University of Chicago, who wrote Between Pacific Tides with tide pools as a main character. 

The influence of both writers can be felt at the Chart House Restaurant on Cannery Row, which sits above the ocean with an excellent view of the kelp forest offshore in a dinner-only bar-restaurant, part of the nationwide Landry Restaurant Group. 

As you order your meal, you can watch sea otters twirling in the surf, dolphins diving in arches, white egrets hopping from kelp top to kelp top, black cormorant birds swimming in circles dodging waves, brown pelicans flying in lines and sometimes swooping down to snag a fish, and pudgy, tan-bodied Western gulls flitting about noisy white seagulls. 

It is easy to see why Ed Ricketts wrote about the ecosystem of the Monterey Bay here, and why it is worth reserving a window seat. The tiered seating in the restaurant, though, makes every seat a good one for bird watching. 

On our latest outing to the Chart House to celebrate December birthdays, I ordered kimchi calamari, which comes with a sticky, mayonnaise-like sauce that is not too spicy. My main dish was butterflied and deep-fried coconut-mango shrimp followed by coffee ice cream as dessert made without sugar. My husband Laurent and daughter Florence both ordered Monterey’s famous clam chowder, prime rib, and mango sorbet as dessert. 

Everything tasted great in the packed restaurant, which is a rave review all by itself. (Note – Landry has a loyalty card point program that works at all its restaurants. Ask the waiter about it. You can sign up online.) 

That was the birthday meal celebration. My husband Laurent and I came back for New Year’s Eve. Laurent ordered clam chowder while I had Caesar Salad with shaved Parmesan for starters. For our main dish, we both had broiled sea bas with a lobster Hollandaise sauce followed by Florida’s famous, tangy key lime pie for dessert. 

Our brisk walk in the salty air of Cannery Row from one end to the other took us past the restaurants for kids and teens like Louis Linguine, Gharardelli’s Chocolate Shop, Bubba Gumps, and Lalla Lounge. I am sure the women who worked in the sardine factories that Steinbeck made famous would love it that their grandchildren and great-grandchildren can eat tony restaurants like those in LA or San Francisco on vacation. 

When we reached the Clement Hotel (part of the InterContinental Hotel Group) near the Monterey Bay Aquarium where we were staying, we opened the window in our room and fell asleep to the rhythmic sounds of waves crashing on the shore while Florence and her friends may have been dancing at Sly McFly’s Night Club nearby. 

On New Year’s Day, Laurent and I ate in the hotel’s C Restaurant. The C is reliably great and serves posh kopi luwak coffee from Indonesia (priced accordingly). I could have just drunk that for breakfast, but ordered delicious eggs benedict and fried potatoes to go with it. Laurent ate an all-American breakfast of eggs over easy, bacon, fried potatoes, and rye toast breakfast with his kopi luwak coffee. From our window seat on the ocean, we could see seagulls circling. 

After breakfast, we went to Florence’s suite and drank some sparkling white wine for the New Year from De Tierra Winery in Monterey County. One of her friends proudly works at De Tierra – they are award winners.  

Laurent and I got the car from valet parking and drove home along the coast in Pacific Grove. Pacific Grove was teeming with people on a sunny New Year’s Day with glistening lapis lazuli water. I thought of John Steinbeck and Ed Rickett’s climbing on the rocks there and wading in tide pools looking for cute creatures from the deep. 

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

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Parisian Budget Food by Ruth Paget

Parisian Budget Food by Ruth Paget 

The words “Parisian” and “budget” rarely go together, especially when applied to food. However, in the book The Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris author Daniel Young lists recipe after recipe of bargain meals. 

If you make these recipes at home, they are even more of a deal. Young also chose recipes for dishes that are easy to make with a little organization. I especially like his fish recipes that hide the fish. 

I think the following recipes would go well with either beer or wine: 

-marinated red peppers with anchovies, white wine, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and canned crushed tomatoes 

-tomato toast – a specialty of Barcelona and Catalonia – toast rubbed with garlic and tomato halves that is drizzled with olive oil. Serrano ham can be served on the side. 

-salt cod and avocado brandade dip or spread with cilantro – poach cod and then place it in a blender with avocado, lime juice, and lime zest. Blend and serve with toast or tortilla chips. 

-warm lentil salad made with onions, cloves, carrots, olive oil, and sherry vinegar 

-mackeral croquettes made with poached fish and potatoes that are made into balls and fried 

Other delicious recipes in this book include cream of carrot soup with cumin, pan-fried steaks with mustard-cream sauce, and pipérade – a dip, spread, topping, or main dish made of green and red peppers, tomatoes, olive oil, onions, garlic, Basque piment d’Esplette (this dish is Basque) and scrambled eggs. 

Economical and tasty recipes abound in Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris by Daniel Young making it a great purchase for home cooks. 

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

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Japanese Comfort Foods by Ruth Paget

Japanese Comfort Food by Ruth Paget 

When I lived in Japan as an exchange student, my Japanese host mom made food straight out of Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art. 

I took for granted nutritious and economical meals such as: 

-onigiri – rice triangles with pickled plums in the center and held together by a strip of nori seaweed  

-rolled Japanese omelets with snipped chives or green onions and soy sauce 

-okonomiyaki – shredded cabbage and carrot pancakes made with egg and topped with sprinkled soy sauce and lines of mayonnaise 

Now that I am older, I still like these items but am learning Japanese comfort food secrets by watching Japanese restaurant videos on www.youtube.com (subject Japanese cuisine) to see how the Japanese eat mounds of hearty food. 

One dish of curry gravy goodness is tonkotsu udon, an udon noodle soup with sliced, deep-fried pork cutlet on top of the noodles. The pork cutlet is topped off with an omelet. The omelet is covered in curry gravy. Yummy stuff on a cold day. 

After watching several Japanese restaurant videos, I have noticed that refried rice or noodles can take the place of noodle soup as a base for other items to be placed on top of them. 

I have set up the following general recipe guide for making Japanese bowl meals: 

*Base – Choose 1 

-plain rice 

-refried rice 

-noodles without soup 

-udon noodle soup 

*Middle layer – choose 1 or 2 

-sliced deep-fried pork cutlet 

-omelet 

*Topping

-stir-fried vegetables 

-omelet -curry sauce 

-tempura vegetables, seafood, or meat 

Refried rice is often made with egg, carrots, and mushrooms. 

Stir-fried vegetables are often made with garlic, onion, cabbage, bean sprouts, and mushrooms. 

Composed Japanese bowl meals like these are delicious, nutritious, and not as expensive to make as you would think. These Japanese comfort foods might appeal to Americans who would like to save money. 

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

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Asian Cookbooks for Winter Reading by Ruth Paget

Asian Cookbooks for Winter Reading by Ruth Paget 

When I saw that the Monterey County Free Libraries (California) had an online winter reading program for adults through www.beanstack.org, I signed up with the goal of learning more about the food of Asia. 

I received a BA in East Asian Studies from the University of Chicago and have learned to cook many Asian dishes to add to my study of Japan and China that began when I was an exchange student in Japan and a study tour participant in China. Over the years, I have accumulated cookbooks from Southeast Asia as well as East Asian ones in paper and kindle formats to learn more about the foods I have sampled for fun and as a restaurant reviewer for the Monterey County Weekly newspaper (Circulation: 200,000). 

The books I have read so far for winter reading at the Monterey County Free Libraries include the following: 

 *Bhutan 

 -Foods of the Kingdom of Bhutan by Ernest and Eric Nagamatsu 

*Cambodia 

-Num Pang by Ratha Chapouly 

*China 

-All Under Heaven by Carolyn Phillips 

-Complete Chinese Cookbook by Ken Hom 

-Cooking South of the Clouds by Georgia Freedman 

-Dim Sum Field Guide by Carolyn Phillips 

-Every Grain of Rice by Fuschsia Dunlop 

-Invitation to a Banquet by Fuchsia Dunlop 

-Land of Fish and Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop 

-Land of Plenty by Fuchsia 

-Nom Wah Cookbook by Wilson Tang 

-Phoenix Claw and Jade Trees by Kian Lam Kho 

-Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop 

*India 

-660 Curries by Rhagavan Iyer 

-Chaat by Maneet Chauhan 

-Complete Book of Indian Cooking by Suneeta Vaswani 

-Feasts and Fasts by Colleen Taylor Sen 

-Indian for Everyone by Anupy Singla 

-Masala by Anita Jaisinghani 

 *Indonesia 

-Balinese Food by Vivienne Kruger 

-Indonesian Regional Food and Cooking by Sri Owen 

*Japan 

-Bento for Beginners by Chika Ravitch 

-Harumi’s Japanese Kitchen by Harumi Kurihara 

-Japanese Cooking by Shizuo Tsuji 

-Japanese Grill by Tadashi Ono 

-Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto 

-Modern Japanese Cuisine by Katarzyna Cwiertka 

-Ramen Obsession by Naomi Imatome-Yun 

-Tokyo Cult Recipes by Maori Murota 

-Washoku by Elizabeth Andoh 

*Korea 

-Korean Cuisine by Michael J. Pettid 

-Korean Home Cooking by Sohui Kim 

-Koreatown by Deuki Hong 

*Malaysia 

-The Malaysian Kitchen by Christina Arokiasamy 

*Myanmar 

-Delicious Myanmar by Juan Gallardo 

*Nepal 

-Foods and Flavors from Nepal by Jyoti Pahak 

*Philippines 

-7000 Islands by Yasmin Newman 

-Amboy

*Polynesia 

-Totally Polynesian by Sarah Spencer 

*Russia (Most of Russia is in Asia) 

-Cabbage and Caviar by Alison K. Smith 

*Thailand 

-Bangkok by Leela Panyaratabandhu 

-From the Source – Thailand by Lonely Planet Food 

-Pok Pok by Andy Ricker 

*Vietnam 

-Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen

-Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen 

-Phô Cookbook by Linda Nguyen 

-Rice and Baguette by Vu Hong Lien 

To tie all my Asian cookbook reading together, I read Leading with Cultural Intelligence by David Livermore. Livermore writes for readers who want to become expatriate managers who want to live overseas or become diplomats. He says that one of the best ways to prepare for these professions is to learn foreign languages and eat foreign food. Both of these activities can be done by young people before college. 

You can also prepare foreign foods while listening to foreign music to further enhance what you read about in Asian cookbooks. 

Happy cooking! 

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

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Monterey Peninsula Cookbook Shelf by Ruth Paget

Monterey Peninsula Cookbook Shelf by Ruth Paget 

When I moved to the Monterey Peninsula on California’s Central Coast more than thirty years ago, I knew I would be able to find many Hispanic and Asian markets and restaurants with products and dishes from the many cultures that make up those broad categories. 

What I did not expect was how easy it was to find Italian and French ingredients that I could cook with at home. Over the years, I have made a Monterey Peninsula Cookbook shelf that leans towards Western Europe. I cook this way and eat Asian and Hispanic food from restaurants. 

The information in these cookbooks has helped me maintain weight and set up a three-meals-per-day weekly menu with no snacks. 

The following books may be on Kindle now to lower costs for purchasing them: 

-The Breakfast Bible: 100+ Favorite Recipes to Start the Day by Kate McMillan 

-Breakfast by Brigit L. Binns 

-Focaccia: Simple Breads from the Italian Oven by Carol Field 

-The Elements of Pizza: Unlocking the Secrets to World-Class Pies at Home by Ken Forkish 

-Mastering Pasta: The Art and Practice of Homemade Pasta, Gnocchi, and Risotto by Marc Vetri 

-Pasta Sauces by Chuck Williams 

-Martha Stewart’s Appetizers 

-Hors d’Oeuvres and Appetizers by Chuck Williams 

-Pâté, Confit, Rillettes: Recipes from the Craft of Charcuterie by Bian Polcyn with Michael Ruhlman 

-The Sommelier Prep Course: An Introduction to the Wines, Beers, and Spirtis of the World by Michael Gibson 

-The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss  

-Coffee: A Conneisseur’s Companion by Claudia Roden 

 -Coffee for Dummies by Major Cohen -Honey for Dummies by C. Marina Marchese and Howland Blackiston 

-The Good Cook’s Book of Mustard by Michele Anna Jordan 

 -The Book of Cheese: The Essential Guide to Discovering Cheeses You’ll Love by Liz Thorpe 

 -Sugar Changed the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos 

 -The Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloe Doutre-Roussel 

 -Holiday Entertaining by Chuck Williams 

 -Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination by Paul Freedman 

 -Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings by Michele Anna Jordan 

 -The Good Cook’s Book of Oil and Vinegar by Michele Anna Jordan 

 -The Good Cook’s Book of Tomatoes by Michele Anna Jordan 

 -The Good Cook’s Book of Salt and Pepper by Michele Anna Jordan 

 -Polenta by Michele Anna Jordan 

 -California Home Cooking by Michele Anna Jordan 

 -The New Cook’s Tour of Sonoma by Michele Anna Jordan 

 -Complete Pasta Cookbook by Chuck Williams 

 -San Francisco Seafood by Michele Anna Jordan 

 -The Food of France by Waverly Root 

 -The Food of Italy by Waverly Root 

- More than Meatballs by Michele Anna Jordan

 -The Art of the Table by Suzanne von Drachenfels 

 -Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson 

These books feature the home cooking of France, Italy, and California for the most part. The recipes are fun to try and teach some very valuable life skills like how to limit usage of delicious and expensive red wine vinegar. 

Happy cooking! 

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

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Faux Steak Croutons Recipe by Ruth Paget

Faux Steak Croutons Recipe by Ruth Paget 

Makes 3 – 4 cups 

Ingredients: 

-Day-old bread cut into large cubes to make 3 to 4 cups 

-1/4 cup olive oil 

-1 to 2 tablespoons meat seasoning such as Omaha Steak Seasoning 

Steps: 

1-Heat olive oil in a frying pan with the seasoning. 

2-Add bread cubes and turn them to coat all sides with seasoned oil. 

3-Turn bread cubes until all oil is absorbed. 4-Cool and serve as a snack. 

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

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Coulis: The Succulent Tomato Society Game Created by Ruth Paget

Coulis: The Succulent Tomato Society Game Created by Ruth Paget 

A silky, tomato coulis sauce enhances the flavor of slices of fish terrine, salmon and spinach terrine, and vegetable terrine. A coulis is just one of the many preparations for tasty and nutritious tomatoes. Tomatoes contain significant amounts of Vitamin C and beta carotene that the body converts to Vitamin A. Tomatoes also contain the antioxidant lycopene that helps remove free radicals that may cause cancer from the body.  

Game Objectives: In this game about tomatoes, you will learn about tomato varieties, tomato characteristics, professional vocabulary associated with tomatoes, and how to hold tomato tastings for fresh and canned varieties. 

Number of Players: 1 or teams of 2 to 4 

Tools Needed to Play the Game: 

-Access to Google to obtain images and a color printer to print out tomato variety images 

-pens 

-notebook paper 

-index cards 

-large notebook-paper sized envelope to store game materials

-fresh tomatoes for tastings 

-canned tomatoes for tastings 

-The Good Cook’s Book of Tomatoes by Michele Anna Jordan: A New World Discovery and its Old World Impact with more than 150 recipes 

Game 1: Tomato Varieties 

Download photos of the following tomato varieties. For each one, paste the image on notebook paper and note the name on top of the page with a pen. 

Tomato Varieties to Look Up: 

1-Ruby Pearl 

2-Broad Ripple Yellow 

3-Sweet 100 

4-Sun Gold 

5-Green Grape 

6-Pink Teardrop 

7-Camp Joy 

8-Yellow Peas 

9-Snow White 

10-Tiger Tom 

11-Roma 

12-San Marzano 

13-Orange Roma 

14-Yellow Plum 

15-Rocky 

16-Enchantment 

17-Banana Legs 

18-Early Girl 

19-Stupice 

20-Dona 

21-San Francisco Fog 

22-Valencia 

23-Peach 

24-Taxi 

25-Great White 

26-White Wonder 

27-Green Zebra 

28-Red Rose 

29-Evergreen 

30-Caro Rich 

31-Brandywine 

32-Marvel Stripe 

33-Black Krim 

34-Yellow Ruffle 

Once you have photos pasted on sheets of notebook paper and the names written above the tomato, begin memorizing the names with the images. Memorize 5 tomato varieties with names at a time to break down memorization into manageable pieces. Cover up the names with a piece of paper and quiz yourself on the names that go with all the images. 

Game 2: Tomato Characteristics 

Refer to Michele Anna Jordan’s Good Cook’s Book of Tomatoes to write down the characteristics of each tomato variety on the back of the image that goes with the tomato variety. Memorize the characteristics for 5 tomato varieties at a time to break down memorization into memorable pieces. Quiz yourself until you have all the characteristics noted. 

Once you have noted characteristics for each tomato variety, you are ready to move on to best uses for each tomato variety. 

Game 3: Tomato Best Uses

Refer to Michele Anna Jordan’s Good Cook’s Book of Tomatoes to write down the best uses for each tomato type on the back of each tomato variety image. Memorize the best uses 5 at a time to break down memorization into manageable pieces. Quiz yourself on tomato variety uses until you know all of them. 

Game 4: Tomato Vocabulary 

Knowing what you are buying can help you recognize bargains and get the best value for your money. To find definitions for the following words, refer to Michele Anna Jordan’s The Good Cook’s Book of Tomatoes. 

The terms to look up include: 

-ground (or crushed) tomatoes 

-tomato sauce 

-double-concentrated tomato paste in a tube 

-canned tomatoes 

-dried tomatoes 

-all’amatriciana 

-andalouse 

-arrabiata 

-aurorea 

-bolognese 

-choron 

-concassé 

-coulis 

-double concentrated 

-tomato paste 

-dried-tomato bits 

-dried-tomato purée 

-dried tomatoes 

-fondue 

-ketchup 

-marinara 

-nantua 

-portugaise 

-puttanesca 

-ragù 

-salsa 

-stewed tomatoes 

-sun-dried tomatoes 

-tomato paste 

-tomato purée 

-tomato sauce 

Write the terms on the front of an index card with the definition on the back. Memorize 5 terms at a time to break down memorization into manageable pieces. Quiz yourself until you know all the terms. 

Game 5: Tomato Tastings 

Go through the 150+ recipes in Michele Anna Jordan’s Good Cook’s Book of Tomatoes and pick out 1 or 2 to try making and serve after a tomato tasting. 

Refer to Jordan's book for tips on summer and year-round tasting set up. 

Happy Gaming! 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Isigny Ste Mère: The Global Butter Brands Game Created by Ruth Paget

Isigny Ste Mère: The Global Butter Brands Game Created by Ruth Paget 

Number of Players: 1 or Teams of 2 or 4 

Objective: 

Improve knowledge of world butter culture and production methods to make better purchasing decisions about elite butter brands. 

Game Tools:  

-Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova – available in hardback, paperback, or kindle 

-notebook paper

-index cards 

-pens 

-access to Google pronunciation tool with speaker function 

Game 1: 

Read about butter production techniques in Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova. Try to visualize each step taken in the production process. 

Write the name of each production method on top of a piece of notebook paper. 

List the steps needed to take in each production method with numbers. Cover up the steps for each production method and try to write them down to memorize them. Do this until you have memorized the steps in each production method. 

Knowing this information will allow you to make better-informed buying decisions about butter and get the best value for your money. 

The different butter production methods to research in Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova follow: 

-batch-churned and artisan sweet butters 

-continuous-churned sweet butter 

-European-style (higher butterfat) sweet butters 

-traditional vat-cultured butters 

-whey cream butters 

-goat butters 

-sheep butters 

-raw milk (unpasteurized) butter 

-canned butters 

-ghee, smen 

Game 2: 

Once you know butter production methods backwards and forwards, you can go to the next level in butter knowledge by learning the top brands for each production method and the countries they come from. 

Khosrova lists top butter brands by production method in an appendix. 

Step 1: Type the brand name into Google Pronunciation with the country language and learn to correctly pronounce the brand name. 

Step 2: Quiz yourself on brand names and production methods by flipping through the index cards. 

Step 3: Quiz yourself on brand names and country of origin by flipping through the index cards. 

Learning all the information in this game will help with buying butter and might interest potential employers in catering, restaurants, upscale grocery stores, and companies with in-house dining. 

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

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Oklahoma's Route 66 Food by Ruth Paget

Oklahoma’s Route 66 Food by Ruth Paget 

You can see that Oklahomans enjoy eating state fair food year round as you read through Eat and Explore Oklahoma by Christy Campbell. 

The recipes in this cookbook are clearly explained and use ingredients that can be found in chain grocery stores. 

The following recipes look delicious and are relatively inexpensive to prepare: 

-cowboy caviar made with black beans, black olives, lime juice, cumin, red pepper, and cream cheese 

-raspberry punch made with lemon-lime soda, raspberry juice, lemonade, and raspberry sherbet 

-cold peach soup made with peaches, sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, sherry or white wine, orange juice concentrate, and fresh peaches 

-strawberry soup made with frozen strawberries, sour cream, grenadine syrup, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and half and half 

-fresh veggie pasta made with tri-color pasta swirls, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini squash, green onions, carrots, celery, and dressing 

-carrot-macaroni salad made with curly noodles, grated carrots, condensed milk, and green pepper 

-beer bread made with self-rising flour, sugar, beer, and butter 

-Parmesan rice made with rice, green onions, cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, parsley, and Parmesan cheese 

-sour cream chicken made with chicken breasts, butter, mushroom soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, and crushed Ritz crackers as a topping 

Eat and Explore Oklahoma by Christy Campbell also lists may bed and breakfasts where you can sample these Route 66 dishes on vacation. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books