Family Fondue Night for a Sustainable, Nutritious Winter Meal by Ruth Paget

Family Fondue Night for a Sustainable, Nutritious Winter Meal by Ruth Paget 

One of our family’s go-to winter meals in Salinas, California is Swiss fondue with cubes of day-old artisanal baguette bread to dunk. We purchase both of these protein-, calcium-, and energy-rich items at Nob Hill in Salinas. 

My husband Laurent cuts half a loaf of baguette per person into cubes for the fondue. He says chopping the baguette into cubes takes about 5 minutes per person to do. Each person gets a bowl of bread cubes to dunk by their plate. 

Once the bread is done, Laurent puts the fondue pot on the stove along with the contents of two Emmi Swiss Knight fondue packages and ½ to 1/3 bottle of Chardonnay wine. (We use Kirkland brand Chardonnay from Costco which tastes like a Kendall Jackson chardonnay. We drink the remainder of the bottle with our meal.) 

You have to constantly stir the fondue cheese sauce and wine till they become smooth. This takes about 20 to 30 minutes. We like Emmi’s Swiss Knight Fondue for several reasons. First, they make the fondue with Swiss cheese and kirsch (Swiss cherry brandy). The packaging is secure and very neat to open. You can also store the fondue at room temperature till you are ready to open it, making it perfect for pantry storage. I think the packaging also discourages insects and rodents, because it is very sturdy. 

I doubly like Emmi, because they have a subsidiary in Stoughton, Wisconsin outside Madison. This location has an all new facility devoted to sustainable product production. Emmi’s headquarters which are in Lucerne, Switzerland set up the Wisconsin location to create sustainable sourcing, production, and distribution. I like buying a brand that promotes a sustainable supply chain. 

These are thoughts that come to you as you stir the fondue. The same is true of ruminations about the fondue set. My family uses a Swiss Cousances fondue set that my in-laws gave Laurent and me for Christmas when we were first married. We have saved money eating fondue throughout winter. If you like cheese, you might consider buying one. 

When Laurent and I came back from living in Germany, we gave our daughter Florence Paget a Cuisinart fondue set, since California is also the number one producer of dairy goods in the US. I told her she would always have dinner, if she eats fondue here. 

Once the fondue becomes liquid and bubbles with steam rising, it is time to move the fondue pot to the table. Fondue sets come with a stand with a hole in the center. This hold is for steno quick flame containers with flammable gel. You have to take off a secure lid and light these with a stove lighter before the fondue comes out. There is a cover with holes that you open to distribute flames underneath the fondue pot. 

Place the fondue pot on top of the stand and dunk your bread in the cheese with forks provided with the set. California is rich in Chardonnay, so you can find it at all price levels. 

The Swiss in Switzerland drink a wine called Fendant du Valais with fondue, which is sometimes listed on Swiss restaurants in the US. 

A salad with creamy dressing and chopped tarragon are a nice finish to a fondue supper. 

 

Fondue Bubbling on a Fondue Stand
We used two packages of Swiss Knight Fondue
You can see bread cubes in a bowl in back

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

Museums Dealing with Extinctions book by UChicago Press posted by Ruth Paget

Ghosts Behind Glass by Dolly Jorgensen published by the University of Chicago Press deals with how museums preserve records of extinction in the natural world.

Eco-tourists might enjoy this work with more details below:

 https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/465/#cv/priority/%5Esmartlabel_promo/19c09f4b7659470d

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

Lunar New Year at UChicago as part of Year of Games reposted by Ruth Paget

The University of Chicago Year of Games Program invites the university community to come play Chinese mahjong and Korean Yunnan in observance of Lunar New Year on February 17, 2026.

Information about this event follows:

https://events.uchicago.edu/event/259113-lunar-new-year-game-celebration-at-the-library

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

Plexus Polaire French Puppetry Company Reposted by Ruth Paget

French Puppetry Company Plexus Polaire to Perform at the Year of Games at the University of Chicago on January 28, 2026.

Information about tickets for this event follows:

https://events.uchicago.edu/event/258228-plexus-polaire-trust-me-for-a-while

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

Flavorful Blue Cheese and Steak Salad on Flatbread at Ellis Diner in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Flavorful Blue Cheese and Steak Salad on Flatbread at Ellis Diner in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

I tried a new salad at Ellis Diner that is a protein and calcium powerhouse with added vitamins from its salad ingredients. 

The Blue Cheese and Steak Salad on Flatbread hides a lot of protein, calcium, and iron that you need for thick hair, strong bones, and rosy cheeks. The online description of the steak says it is a short steak. But, the shape, flavor, and texture of the steak make me think it is a thin-cut New York Strip Steak. 

The blue cheese as a dairy product has both calcium and calcium. The steak has protein and iron. The bacon in the salad used as a flavoring also has protein. 

The hidden protein in the salad that makes it a protein and calcium powerhouse comes from the golden flatbread that everything sits on. This bread seems to be a calcium- and protein-rich yogurt flatbread. The interior of the bread is creamy white and tastes especially good with the sautéed onions, bacon, and creamy blue cheese in the salad. 

The salad itself is a mixture of blue cheese crumbles, chopped iceberg lettuce, diced bacon, chopped spinach, sweet grilled onions, cherry tomatoes, and pungent onion-flavored chives. 

The dressing comes from the blue cheese mixed with grilled onions. This makes the cheese warm and melting. 

The blue cheese and onions are then mixed with the other salad ingredients to coat them as a dressing. 

This highly seasoned salad with steak and blue cheese appears to be a modern Greek or Armenian diner dish (looks Middle Eastern, but breaks several religious dietary laws of Judaism and Islam).

I enjoyed the flavorful blue cheese and steak salad on flatbread at Ellis Diner in Salinas, California and think diners interested in maintaining or building muscle like athletes would enjoy this dish. 

Blue Cheese and Steak Salad on Flatbread
at Ellis Diner in Salinas, California
Photo by Ruth Paget

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

Setting Thermostat at 68 Saves 3% Per Degree Lowered Re: Dept of Energy posted by Ruth Paget

Setting Winter Thermostat at 68 Saves 3% Per Degree Lowered of Your Energy Bill according to Department of Energy posted by Ruth Paget

I looked up energy and money saving tips for winter from the Department of Energy on their website.  Other readers might find useful information too:

https://doee.dc.gov/service/energy-tips-institutional-and-government-buildings

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

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe reposted by Ruth Paget

I was reading Google News this morning and found a really good recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls that you bake.  

Detroit has a large Polish-American population that makes galupki - stuffed cabbage rolls (halupki in this recipe). 

Galupki are delicious and highly antioxidant.  I ate these once a month I think to keep my frozen limbs working in Detroit’s arctic winters.  (I loved ice skating at Hartt Plaza downtown and did freeze my limbs about 3 days a week.)

I like this chatty recipe for galupki that follows:

https://www.eatingwell.com/halupki-stuffed-cabbage-rolls-11864264

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

Top 10 Bioenergy Companies reposted by Ruth Paget

Can landfill materials be used for biofuel? Posted by Ruth Paget

Can landfill materials be used as biofuel?

If so, how do you extract material from the landfills and put it to use?

What is the going price to sell landfill materisls?

I am not sure how to do this, but the 10 bioenergy companies listed below might have answers to these questions;

https://energydigital.com/top10/top-10-bioenergy-companies

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

Succulent Shrimp Vegetable Stir-fry at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Succulent Shrimp with Vegetables at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

I like the Chinese philosophy that food is medicine, which prompts me to look for Chinese restaurants when I look for places to live. 

Salinas, California where I live now has several Chinese restaurants with Golden Star being closest to my home. They have delicious, reasonably priced food and friendly workers.

On my most recent foray to Golden Star, I tried their stir-fried shrimp with vegetables dish with steamed rice. I loved this dish, because Golden Star used Chinese 5-spice powder as part of the aromatic seasoning mix. 

5-spice powder is made of a powdery crush of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel seeds. 5-spice powder is flavorful and a potent antioxidant at the same time. 

Chinese cooks place 5-spice powder in hot peanut oil in a wok at the beginning of a stir-fry. Cooks then add green onions, garlic, and peeled and minced fresh garlic to the hot oil as a flavoring base in almost all stir-fried dishes. 

When the scent of the garlic rises, cooks add in fresh vegetables to sear in flavor and color. Searing gives the vegetables a tender outside and sturdy interior. Vegetables prepared this way are visually appealing. Cooking the vegetables this way takes about 8 minutes and makes them blazing hot. 

The vegetables that Golden Star uses in its shrimp vegetable dish showcase the organic produce that Monterey County grows: broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, and cabbage (Napa cabbage) are among this Monterey mix. 

When the vegetables are steaming hot, cooks add in gray fresh shrimp, which curls into a circle and turns orange in the heat. About 4 minutes will cook the shrimp this way. To finish the shrimp vegetable dish, 

Golden Star uses a classic Chinese sauce made with soy sauce, chicken broth, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, and mirin (a sweet Chinese cooking wine). I like the flavor of 5-spice powder in this dish and think the finishing sauce enhances that flavor with salt and some sugar. 

I drank a Peroni Nastro Azzuro beer with the shrimp vegetable stir-fry, because it reminded me of China’s Tsing Tao. A slightly sweet white wine would pair well with this dish as well due to the mirin wine in the sauce, which is slightly sweet. 

Shrimp lovers looking for new flavors would probably enjoy the shrimp vegetable stir-fry with steam rice at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant in Salinas, California. 

Shrimp Vegetable Stir-Fry with Rice
at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant
in Salinas, California

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

Power Outage Food: Cereal and UHT Milk and Salad from Costco posted by Ruth Paget

 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

Wood Chips from Tree Trimming for Parchment Paper? Posted by Ruth Paget

Wood Chips from Tree Trimming for Parchment Paper and/or Toilet Paper? posted by Ruth Paget 

Can wood chips made from trimming tree branches and clearing forest floors be made into parchment paper or toulet paper? 

 Finding an immediate use for wood chips might help clear unwanted branches faster and provide a useful item (parchment paper) for clean cooking. 

As for toilet paper, every state should have a stockpile for emergencies. Shredded paper could be used for the same purposes. 

Notepaper, sticky notes, and greeting cards could also be probably be made with wood chips and shredded paper, too.

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

Steak au Poivre Made by Florence Paget posted by Ruth Paget

Steak au Poivre Made by Florence Paget by Ruth Paget 

Steak au Poivre is a charred steak dish served with a heavy cream based sauce made with shallots and a mixed variety of crushed peppercorns. Steak au Poivre is a simple yet elegant dish that is usually paired with a Bordeaux wine. 

Our family ate this dish with a 2021 Château Giscours from the Margaux region of Bordeaux. (Photo below) 

Serves 4 

 

Ingredients: 

 

-2 (1/2 pound) rib eye steaks that will be cut in half 

-3 tablespoons olive oil 

-1 large shallot, peeled and minced 

-3 tablespoons mixed peppercorns, crushed 

-2 ounces cognac (2 shot glasses) 

-2 tablespoons salted butter 

-3/4 cup heavy cream used to make whipping cream 

Steps: 

1-Brown steak for 7 to 10 minutes per side depending on the doneness desired. 

2-Remove steak from the pan and keep warm. Place time on 10 minutes for steak to rest before cutting it in half. 

3-Add minced shallots to the pan and sauté for 2 minutes. Add crushed peppercorns to the pan and sauté for 1 minute. 

4-Add cognac to the pan. Heat cognac for 1 minute. Remove pan from the stove. Ignite cognac and gently swirl till the flames die down. 

5-Place pan back on heat. Add butter and heavy cream. Stir until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. (It is ok to hold sauce while the steak is resting for 10 minutes.) 

6-Cut the steak in half and serve the au poivre sauce over them. 

Serving Suggestion: Florence Paget served the steak au poivre with mashed potatoes and homemade Yorkshire pudding. Step-by-step photos follow:

 

Et Voilaà!  Bon Appétit!

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

Yorkshire Pudding Made by Florence Paget Posted by Ruth Paget

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:

 

 

 

The Yorkshire Pudding was airy and perfect for spooning au poivre sauce into as a savory dessert for me.

I almost feel these baked goods are magic for how they poof up with a minimum of ingredients.

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

Snacking on French Montelimar Nougat at The Market in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

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. 

Note: The Pebble Beach Market sells Peerless Coffee and Tea Products from Oakland, California.

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

Fish and Seafood as Tourism by Ruth Paget

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 casino posted by Ruth Paget

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

Possible Use for Junkyard Cars: 5G Towers posted by Ruth Paget

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

Water Color Variations Photo at Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

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

Pebble Beach, California at Ocean View St. Turnout
Photo by Ruth Paget

Soup of the Seven Seas (7 Mares) at Super Pollo in Salinas, California 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

Ruth Paget Self-Portrait

Shrimp Boiler Bags at Bag O'Crab in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

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