Monterey Bay Jade Festival 2026 Tickets and Details reposted by Ruth Paget

For information about the 2026 Monterey Bay Jade Festival click below:

Monterey Bay Jade Festival 2026

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

Marinelli Circus comes to Salinas, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Marinelli Circus will come to Salinas, California at Northridge Mall beginning August 7 and ending August 18, 2025.  

Click for ticket information below:

Marinelli Circus Ticket Information

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

Condor Videos at Pebble Beach, California During Car Week by Ruth Paget

A quick condor flew by me while bird watching in Pebble beach, California.  The condor has a wing span of six feet usually.

Another condor action video at Pebble Beach, California during Car Week 2025.

I shot these videos in the morning from my car window.  Thank you Apple iPhone.

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

Back-to-School Books by UChicago Press posted by Ruth Paget

Back-to-School Books by the University of Chicago Press.  Click for details below:

UChicago Back-to-School Books

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

Bach Festival 2026 - Plan for August posted by Ruth Paget

The Bach Festival in Carmel, California will be held in August 2026 next year.  Program and ticket information follow:

Bach Festival 2026 Tickets and Program Information

Plan ahead to reserve the hotels and restaurants of your choice.

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

Car Week 2025 - August at Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

Car Week 2025 is here!  This August event on the Monterey County Peninsula has drawn 100,000 visitors to the area according to KION-TV.

Hotels are full.  Restaurant delivery fleet is out.

This will be fun.

I have posted events at Pebble Beach below:

Pebble Beach Car Week Events

Maybe Salinas where I live could do a pick up and SUV show next year….

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

Robata Grill Izakaya in Carmel, California by Ruth Paget

Robata Grill Izakaya in Carmel, California by Ruth Paget - one of my favorite reviews for the Monterey County Weekly (Circulation: 200,000).  Click below for review:

Robata Grill in Carmel, California

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks

Ariel Theatrical -for Young People in Salinas, California reposted by Ruth Paget

Ariel Theatrical in Salinas, California presents theatre for young people.  Click below for ticket information:

Ariel Theatrical Ticket Information

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

Ranchero Shrimp at Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Ranchero Shrimp at Super Pollo in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

I found a dish at Super Pollo in Salinas, California that I am pretty sure qualifies as a Blue Zones recipe, which is 95% plant-based with 5% of the dish being made up of six butterflied and sautéed jumbo prawns.  

This dish is called Ranchero Shrimp (camarones rancheros). This dish is almost a stir-fry using olive oil (California has a lot), white onions, fat Serrano green and spicy peppers, 1 pound of diced tomatoes, cilantro, and shrimp. (Recipe source: mexicoinmykitchen.com) 

Ranchero shrimp is delicious and full of Vitamin C and antioxidants like lycopene in the tomatoes that can help prevent cancer. 

The light tomato sauce and vegetables pair well with the Spanish rice that comes with the meal. I always love Spanish rice as it is made with chicken broth, tomato juice, and green pepper slices. The refried beans at Super Pollo were light and tasted as if they had been made with olive oil. 

Finally, Super Pollo also delivers a side salad with this meal made of crispy iceberg lettuce (tastes great in the heat), tomato slices, a ring of raw onion, shredded cheese, and ranch dressing on the side. The salad and all the vegetables that go into this dish make it country or ranchero. 

I think camarones rancheros at Super Pollo tastes great and is really a good value for your money when you consider all the organic food from the Salinas that go into making it. I also think it is a candidate for a Blue Zones designation. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Madonna Frittata and Apffels Coffee at Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget

Madonna Frittata and Apffels Coffee at Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget 

The flagstone stairs leading up to the entrance of the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California somewhat prepare you for the Norse myths and/or Hobbit décor inside the large white Victorian Inn. 

 Inside a large imitation Ash tree sits in the middle of the dining room, which resembles the Yggdrasil tree in Norse mythology that holds together the heavens, Earth, and the lower realms. The dining room with red horseshoe booths and round lights encircling the booth are in the lower realms. I photographed the lower realms trunk and noted the prominent orange lily, which is poisonous for cats and dogs.

This dining area was closed for breakfast, so my husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I turned left and entered the Copper Room, which has a dining area and a saloon bar. Above the bar, there is a carving that reads, “Let’s Eat and Be Forever Happy.” 

Letting that saying guide me, I ordered a Madonna Frittata, a baked Italian omelet, that comes with sautéed shallot, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, and spinach baked in the omelet with mozzarella cheese melted on top. Every bite of the frittata was delicious. It was served with a bowl of perfectly ripe cantaloupe and honeydew melon cubes, pineapple wedges, and sweet red grapes.

I shared the biscuit made with flour and corn meal with Laurent and Florence. They shared their bacon with me to add to my order of bacon. The bacon was thick-cut, crispy, and was smoked over applewood. 

The coffee was Apffels brand from Colombia, an organic brand. I think I drank an entire pot of this delicious and somewhat expensive brew. (Highly recommended!) 

You can buy a lot of merchandise at Madonna Inn that is really nifty. At the table, we ordered an 8-inch wedge of pink and white pink champagne cake.  In the lower realms gift shop, Laurent and Florence bought Hobbit goblets and raspberry habanero jam.  There is also an upstairs gift shop that sells clothing, toys, and lifestyle items for the home.

For really great breakfasts and cool souvenirs and equally cool Hollywood set atmosphere, make sure to stop in for a meal at Madonna Inn in San Luis Onbispo,California.

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

Photo of lower realms Yggdrasil Tree at Madonna Inn - Photo by Ruth Paget

Blue Zones Website reposted by Ruth Paget

I like this Blue Zones organization.  Salinas, California is part of it.  Click below for details:

Blue Zones Organization Information

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

UChicago Press Fall 2025 Catalog Reposted by Ruth Paget

The Fall 2025 Catalog for the University of Chicago Press is available online and in PDF format.  Click below for information:

UChicago Press Fall 2025 Catalog 

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

UChicago Press Free E-Book - Lions in the Balance reposted by Ruth Paget

The University of Chicago free e-book this month is Lions in the Balance.  Click for information below:

Lions in the Balance Free E-Book

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

UChicago Press Botany Books 2025 reposted by Ruth Paget

Californians might enjoy browsing the University of Chicago Press books below:

Click for UChicsgo Botany 2025 Books

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

Italian Linguine with Clams at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget

Italian Linguine with Clams at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget 

For a family mini trip, my husband Laurent, my daughter Florence Paget, and I went to San Luis Obispo, California which is about 2½ hours south of Salinas. 

The landscape changes dramatically along Highway 101 going south. We saw longhorn cattle grazing on the hillsides by the freeway and oil rigs in San Ardo. We passed San Miguel Mission with its whitewashed stucco architecture and compania bell tower that is typical of many Spanish churches with its open towers that allow bells to swing wide and freely and resound over the vineyards. 

The Salinas River is underground here, but you can trace its course by looking at trees that sinew along the countryside. Vineyards and olive trees rise up the hills that become browner the farther away they are from the Salinas River. 

The landscape looks like Spain with its patches of white sheep grazing along the way. English road signs remind you that you really are in the United States. (I did ask Laurent if Gibraltar is like this. His Navy ship passed by there when he did a Mediterranean deployment.) 

San Luis Obispo is also named for it mission church that honors San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (1274 – 1297). Tolosa refers to Toulouse, France. San Luis Obispo sits on a plain like Toulouse, France despite going through some mountains to get to it. San Luis Obispo is the home of California Polytechnique State University, which is highly respected for its engineering, business, and architecture schools. 

Our dinner destination in San Luis Obispo was the Lure Fish House. This family-owned California chain also has locations in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Camarillo, West Lake Village, Porter Ranch, and Scottsdale (Arizona). 

Menus at Lure vary by location to take advantage of seasonal and local produce and seafood. As an appetizer, 

I started with deep-fried, crispy calamari (squid) that came with two excellent dipping sauces. The first was a chipotle aioli (garlic mayonnaise with chipotle peppers blended in). The second sauce was a cioppino dipping sauce. This light sauce did taste like tomatoes and white wine cooked with seafood and garlic. Both sauces were delicious. 

I ate all the sauce and all the calamari. Fried calamari are served all around the Christian Mediterranean and have a happy, devoted following in California. 

For an Italian Mediterranean Diet dinner, I ate a specialty of Naples, linguine with clams, as my main dish. The clams were steamed with white wine, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley.  

The meat from about two clams was chopped into the sauce and poured over the linguine. Six large clams were arranged a mound of linguine for this dish. I enjoyed every bite of this dish, too! 

I drank a home-made agave vanilla cream soda with this Mediterranean meal. Agave is a natural sweetener that comes from agave plants that grow well in the soil and climate in San Luis Obispo. 

Back at the hotel (a Marriot Courtyard), I took a hot shower followed by bursts of cold water to cool off and luxuriated in the air-conditioned room as I looked outside the room window at three kinds of trees: a rubber tree, a California magnolia tree, and a palm tree. San Luis Obispo has a city-wide initiative to develop a tree canopy that is recognized by the Arbor Foundation.

For a great health, culture, and history recharge, San Luis Obispo, California might just be the vacation town for you. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

(Note: View from hotel window.  To better see the trees, place two of your fingers on the photo and move them apart to enlarge the image.  The tree in front is a rubber plant that can be used to make tires.  The pollen from the magnolia tree can be used for honey.  The palm trees produce coconuts that can be used for food and coconut milk.)

Pebble Beach Video of Seashore by Ruth Paget

This section of Pebble Beach, California has 4 picnic tables and is located right before Bird Rock, the haunt of long-necked black cormorants.  You can see brown pelicans flying in formation here, white egrets, and seagulls.  Seals and sea otters play in the waves here.

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

San Miguel Arcangel Mission near San Luis Obispo, California Photo Mini Trip by Ruth Paget

San Miguel Arcangel Mission close to San Luis Obispo, California Photo Visit by Ruth Paget

Mission San Miguel Arcangel was founded in 1797.

Good Example of stucco architecture.  Plaster covers brick  in stucco work and is painted white.  The dark color of brick absorbs heat.  Stucco is applied for white paint, which reflects heat and keeps buildings cool.  The Spanish used this technique in southern Andalusia, Spain and brought it to their missions in California

 

The coil on top of the wall corner may refer to a beehive.  Monasteries still make honey to be self-sufficient in foodand sell the excess to earn money for monastery upkeep.

 

This gate leads into the cactus garden. In an emergency, cactus plants can be used for water and cactus leaves can be cut up and fried or put into omelets as food. The alcoves originally held statues of saints and Christ.

Agave plant outside the mission garden.  Tequila is made from agave plants.  Monasteries can cook with tequila, drink it, and sell it for profit and use the profits to maintain the monastery.

 

Olive tree n the mission garden.  The priests and nuns could press their own olive oil for use in religious rites and for cooking.  This area is surrounded by vineyards and olive trees.  San Miguel Arcangel is located on a valley floor between the inter-coastal mountain range about 12 miles outside San Luis Obispo.

Cactus garden at San Miguel Arcangel with baby agave plants.  Photo by Laurent Paget

For tours and visiting hours look up the mission’s website.

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

Click for Ruth Paget’s Books

Chicken Korma Cashew Curry at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Chicken Korma Cashew Curry at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

I like everything on the menu at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California. I am a big fan of freshly ground and roasted spices sautéed in ghee, clarified butter, that are cooked with yogurt or coconut milk to make curry sauce. 

I love to mix curry sauce with bites of basmati rice or chicken or seafood cooked in curry in naan flatbread that is baked with licorice-flavored anise seeds. 

I did wonder when I ordered chicken korma why Avatar Indian Grill did not call this dish a curry. I was intrigued and wanted to see what was different about it. So, I ordered it and knew it would be delicious, because Avatar Indian Grill was making it. 

When the chicken korma arrived, the first thing I noticed was that it was a curry made with the addition of crushed cashew nuts. I love this addition to curry. (I obviously do not have a nut allergy.) 

The second thing I noticed about this curry was the yellow-brown ochre color. I checked indianhealthyrecipes.com and saw that tomatoes are not used in making chicken korma, so the curry in chicken korma is not bright red. The crushed cashews also contribute to this ochre color as well as turmeric used to marinate the chicken. 

The chicken pieces in the curry were moist and flavorful thigh meat. Chicken korma must be an Indian comfort food with its curry base of sautéed garlic, fresh ginger, and onion. 

The preparation of chicken korma with yogurt appears to be a Northern Indian dish while that made with coconut milk is a Southern Indian dish according to indianhealthyrecipes.com. Both versions sound delicious and would pair well with a chilled mango lassi yogurt drink. 

For a delicious midday comfort food lunch, chicken korma with cashew curry at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California is a great option for cashew lovers. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Foods of Italy Reviewed by Ruth Paget

Foods of Italy Reviewed by Ruth Paget 

Foods of Italy by Giuliano Bugialli honors Italy’s everyday foods eaten by Italians in their homeland and covers recipes from lesser-known regions especially those regions on Italy’s eastern Adriatic Sea coast. 

I have made the following recipes over the years for flavor and economy even while using premium, high-quality ingredients like prosciutto, parmesan cheese, and pecorino cheese in moderation: 

-bell pepper salad: made with tomato, garlic, chopped basil and mint, capers (optional for me), and strips of baked sweet green and yellow peppers that have had their skins removed and that are sliced. A simple oil and vinegar dressing is used with this salad. This salad is refrigerated before serving. 

-marinated zucchini salad: great when zucchini explodes in summer gardens. This dish is not as straightforward as you would think. The zucchini is first baked and then sautéed in garlic-infused oil before marinating in the refrigerator. 

-squash soup Mantua style: Mantua is the adoptive city of the famous Renaissance art patron Isabella d’Este. I have mostly made this soup with butternut squash. Basically, you bake the squash and then boil it in broth to make the soup. I purée my soup with the seasonings. Mantua style calls for making seasoning with prosciutto. 

-cannellini beans with rosemary: for this dish, white cannellini beans are boiled and then baked with rosemary, garlic, and olive oil to make a tasty and not-too-expensive side dish in Italy. 

-bean paste crostini: this dish calls for a purée of cannellini beans, garlic, and olive oil on toast rounds as an hors d’oeuvres. I use canned, rinsed beans to make this Italian hummus. 

-tagliatelle with creamed prosciutto sauce: this dish is all good! Cubes of prosciutto are added to hot pasta with cream, butter, and parmesan cheese. I use thin strips of sliced pasta to make this dish.

-pasta and beans Puglia (Apulia) style: this dish from Italy’s boot heel on the Adriatic Sea mixes cannellini beans with puréed red onions and celery as a sauce for hot pasta that is probably sprinkled with grated pecorino cheese, the parmesan cheese of southern Italy. 

For a glimpse into what Italians really eat everyday, Foods of Italy by Giuliano Bugialli is a great introduction. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Mexican Seafood Enchiladas at Hay's Place in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget

Mexican Seafood Enchiladas at Hay’s Place in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget 

For a West Coast family reunion, my daughter Florence Paget, husband Laurent, and I went to Hay’s Place at Pebble Beach, California for a Mexican meal overlooking the Pacific and golf course. This is a great spot for a family vacation photo. 

We began our meal with our standard order of smashed guacamole and salsa. The guacamole at Hay’s Place is a salad with chopped onion, tomato, cilantro, avocado, and a little tequila. The corn chips that come with the guacamole are mostly blue corn chips and have a smokier taste than yellow corn chips. 

I tried the enchiladas del mar trio (3 seafood enchiladas with different sauces). On the day we visited Hay’s Place, the daily catch for one of the enchiladas was tilapia. (I lucked out!) 

Enchiladas are warmed soft corn tortillas wrapped around fillings with sauces on top that are baked to oozing goodness. At Hay’s Place, the enchiladas were filled with seafood, roasted mild green peppers that could be New Mexico chili peppers, and creamy Oaxacan crema cheese that is less tangy than sour cream with a dairy flavor. 

As I mentioned, the first enchilada in this trio was filled with sautéed tilapia fillet, mild green pepper strips, and Oaxacan crema cheese. The filling was wrapped with a soft blue corn tortilla. The sauce on this enchilada was a mole poblano, a savory spiced chocolate sauce. 

The second enchilada was filled with lobster, mild roasted green peppers, and Oaxacan cheese. The sauce for this lobster enchilada was a mild red sauce that tasted as if it had been made with tomatoes, onions, garlic, chili peppers, and seasonings like oregano, cumin, and paprika. The sauce was light and let the lobster flavor shine. 

The third enchilada was filled with shrimp, mild roasted green pepper, and Oaxacan crema cheese as well. This enchilada was also wrapped in a soft blue corn tortilla. The sauce on this enchilada was a piquant green sauce most probably made with Mexican tomatillo green tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, cilantro, and garlic. 

This grandiose selection of enchiladas came with stewed black beans mixed with tequila and Spanish rice made with tomato juice, chicken broth, and a few chopped green peppers. 

As a beverage, I drank Mexican Jarritos Mandarin orange soda that is partially made with orange juice. It still has sugar, but also has Vitamin C. 

For a tonic, spa meal that is also a little exotic during a golfing trip or tour of 17-Mile Drive, I highly recommend Hay’s Place at Pebble Beach. (Definitely a Blue Zones Outing by the ocean in fresh air!) 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books