Educator Night complete with mahjong lessons is October 2, 2026 at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California.
Details about attending follow on the link below as well as information about upcoming exhibitions:
https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/465/#cv/priority/%5Esmartlabel_personal/1a0b6c05943f617a
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
$2.49 per pound for fresh pork loin at Raley’s Nob Hill in Salinas, California for Raley’s Members reposted by Ruth Paget
I received a digital coupon today for Raley’s Nob Hill members for ogress pork loin roast sold at $2.49 per pound for Raley’s members.
You can sign up for the membership app online or apply in the store.
A good recipe for roast pork loin is made with prunes like they make it in France’s Touraine region.
I have posted a recipe for roast pork loin with prunes below from the Pardon Your French website:
https://www.pardonyourfrench.com/braised-pork-loin-with-prunes-porc-aux-pruneaux/
The recipe is easy to put together. I like to drink Sauvignon Blanc with this dish to offset the sweetness in the prunes.
This is a nice recipe for a personal chef to know how to make.
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Centet
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
-
Gaming Takes Over the LA ComicCon from October 30 - November 1, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Details about this year’s ComicCon and ticket purchase information follow:
https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/465/#cv/priority/%5Esmartlabel_promo/1a0b54644501349f
Game on!
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
Peter B’s brewpub at the Portola Hotel in Minterey, California will be celebrating Oktoberfest between September 19 - 24, 2026 (except on Wednesdays).
Details about Oktoberfest at Peter B’s in Monterey, California follow:
https://www.portolahotel.com/events/oktoberfest-at-peter-bs
Alvarado Street Brewery downtown will also host an Oktoberfest on September 20, 2026 at Colton Hall. Details follow:
Prost!
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
Carmel Valley Uncorked Wine Tasting and Paella Dinnet is being held on October 11, 2026 at Jerome’s Carmel Valley Market in Carmel Valley, California.
Ticket purchase information follows:
https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/465/#cv/priority/%5Esmartlabel_promo/1a0b0f66a929e6f5
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
Forbes magazine placed CSU - Monterey Bay 4th amongst California’s universities with a suburban campus.
The staff, faculty, and students are all working hard.
Forbes is especially impressed with job skills outcomes that the university focuses on.
The CSUMB announcement follows:
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
Baked Salmon with Honey-Dill Sauce Made and Filmed by Florence Paget reposted by Ruth Paget
My daughter Florence Paget filmed herself making baked salmon with honey-dill sauce for a quick weeknight dinner with green beans on the side.
Salmon actually swim down from Washington to Northern California, so we can easily find them at the store.
If you bake salmon yourself, it is about half the price you would pay for a ready-to-bake fish at the store.
Florence’s recipe is easy to put together, and is something my French mother-in-law would have liked.
Florence’s TikTok video of her recipe for baked salmon follows:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTUt9ScTy/
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle games
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
AA Large cage free, 18-count eggs are $2.99 for members at Raley’s Nob Hill I saw in my Raley’s members email today.
You can sign up for the Raley’s Nob Hill app online or in store.
I have a recipe for refried rice using eggs that follows:
https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2022/05/california-refried-rice-recipe-by-ruth.html?m=1
Happy shopping and cooking!
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
San Jose State University will join a $30 million dollar National Science Research Center funded by National Science Foundation studying turbulence in various systems from the atmosphere to oceans.
More information about this initiative involving expertise in AI technology follows:
https://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2026/nsf-tempest/
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
In my weekly Raley’s Nob Hill members email I saw that thighs and drumsticks are $1.47 per pound today(9-16-2026).
Nob Hill in Dalinas, California carries these items while supplies last. You can sign up for the membership app online or sign up for the Raley’s member program in the store.
One recipe that you can make with these items is coq au vin - video follows:
https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2026/09/coq-au-vin-made-and-filmed-by-florence.html?m=1
You can also make French mustard chicken with thighs and drumsticks:
https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2026/09/french-mustard-chicken-made-and-filmed.html?m=1
Bon Appeti!
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage travel games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley history Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
My daughter Florence Paget has made a Final Cut of her ranch dressing recipe using measures for seasonings in her dressing, which bring all the flavor and balance to the final dressing.
The TikTok video follows:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTUgT1UyN/
I like this ranch dressing with broccoli slaw in addition to traditional salads.
This simple dressing is fun to make with children who seem to eat salad if they can have ranch dressing, This ranch dressing is also a good dip for vegetables at a party.
Happy Cooking!
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about Dan Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9music theory games
Readers interested in archaeology might be interested in the following book from the University of Chicago Press on sale today for $1.99 on Kindle:
The Early History of the Ancient Near East: 9000 - 2000 BC by Hans J. Nissen
Purchase information follows:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EZ8OKQC?_bbid=360215990&tag=core_cohort_a_email-20
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
The University of Chicago Press is offering six books for sale for Hispanic Heritage Month including The Female Vampire and The Lighthouse Tattoo.
Purchase information about the books follows:
https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/465/#cv/priority/%5Esmartlabel_promo/1a0aa33ae26f35f4
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
-
The University of Chicago Obama Foundation has named its 2026 -2027 scholars who will pursue work in community development.
Biographies of the scholars follow:
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, ZMartying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
The University of Chicago Press is distributing Reaktion Press book Medieval Guide to Healthy Living by Katherine Harvey.
The University of Chicago writes that medieval medical concerns resemble many that we have in the 21st century.
Book purchase information follows:
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
Nutritious Norwegian Lefse Potato Bread by Ruth Paget
After eating at Norske Nook in DeForest (Wisconsin) on my 2026 Wisconsin vacation there, I purchased The Last Word on Lefse: Heartwarming Stories – and recipes too by Gary Legwold as trip follow up reading and as a souvenir.
From the opening sentence, you can see that Legwold wants to preserve a cooking tradition that is practiced by Norwegian grandmothers but not by children and almost no grandchildren.
The tradition that Legwold is researching and writing about is the making of Norwegian potato lefse bread by home cooks. Lefse provided early Norwegian pioneers in the Upper Midwest of the United States by the Canadian border with food during harsh winters. In Europe, lefse is important for sustaining the Norwegian population during the German occupation of Norway during World War II.
Corporations took over the role of making lefse for many people and ship it all around the US to Norwegian-Americans. Legwold visited several firms making lefse first, but sought out the grandmothers who make lefse from boiled potatoes not instant mashed potatoes.
When he found grandmothers who made lefse in towns of 2,000 in Minnesota, for example, Legwold documented how they made lefse in step-by-step photographs in his book. The steps break down as follows in lefse making:
1-boil potatoes
2-mash potatoes
3-put mashed potatoes through a potato rice
4-add recipe ingredients to form a dough and roll dough into thin sheets
5-cook the dough sheets on a griddle turning once
6-fold the cooked lefse into triangles
Obtaining thin sheets of dough is difficult. Dough tears when it is rolled thin. Legwold suggests using a pastry sheet over a grooved Norwegian rolling pin and placing dough on a pastry sheet on a board to roll out.
Legwold provides several recipes for sweet and savory lefse. Legwold’s grandmother’s recipe calls for:
-riced potatoes
-flour
-margarine
-carnation milk
Potato lefse provides carbohydrates for energy, protein, Vitamin C, potassium, and some Vitamin B6.
I am not Norwegian (perhaps by osmosis), but as a former small town Wisconsin dweller, I have attended lutefisk suppers where potato lefse is served. I like it with butter, but many people eat it with butter, cinnamon, and sugar.
Based on its nutrition profile, I think lefse is worth learning how to make for potato lovers.
People interested in recording how traditional foods are made in their family might The Last Word on Lefse by Gary Legwold to be a useful guide. Anthropologists and historians might like this book as a guide for this reason as well.
Note: Lefse is usually eaten as part of a lutefisk dinner. My blog about Legwold’s book on lutefisk follows along with general notes on Norwegian culture:
https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-last-word-on-lutefisk-reviewed-by.html?m=1
Happy Eating!
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe's Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novogod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcanagel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
My daughter Florence Paget made French Mustard Chicken with Dijon mustard (poulet à la moutarde) recently.
This French pantry specialty makes a grand lunch approachable for everyone who would like a taste of French culture.
Florence’s TikTok video follows:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTU9BQJuq/
Bon appetit!
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
I learned on TimTok today that Mexico was named the world’s #1 cuisine for 2026 by Travel & Tour magazine.
I have reposted the announcement I saw in the link below:
https://www.tiktok.com/@fernandacortesx/video/7683727040704498974?_r=1&_t=ZP-99eYTFJzGTm
TikTok has some information on Mexican food being protected by UNESCO. (The other UNESCO protected food is French.)
I have listed the TikTok UNECO information on Mexican food below:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTUuNhwwA/
We have some great places in downtown Salinas, California for Mexican food for diners interested in Mexican food:
Villa Azteca
Michael’s
Taquito’s (across from the Salinas Sports Complex - Rodeo on Main Street behind the Steinbeck Center about 4 blocks away from downtown)
Super Pollo - South Salinas
Guadalajara Grill - South Salinas
Burn provecho!
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
High school students interested in scholarships to study abroad or hosting students from overseas can start researching what is available now at Youth for Understanding’s website below:
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
-developer of food and beverage knowledge games
-creator of online exhibits about San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central CoastCalifornia lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games
The Festa Italia 2026 will be held from September 11 - 13, 2026 in Monterey, California.
The festival features food, entertainment, and bocce ball.
A link to the festival website follows (the headline is cut off on phones, but everything else fits):
https://festaitaliamonterey.org/
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks, Marrying France, and Europe’s Lessons written during overseas duty in Germany + 5 other Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games
-creator of online exhibits San Miguel Arcangel Mission, French baguette making, and the Carmel Valley History Center
-creator of French travel and culture games
-writer of 1900+ Central Coast California lifestyle blogs
-family genealogist
-developer of 9 music theory games