Santa Cruz County Fair is 10 - 14, 2025 in Santa Cruz, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Santa Cruz County Fair is being held on September 10 to14, 2025 in Santa Cruz, California.  Details about tickets and events follow:

Santa Cruz County Fair

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

Haunted Hayride in King City, California on October 25, 2025 reposted by Ruth Paget

There will be a Haunted Hayride on October 25, 2025 in San Lorenzo Park in King City, California.  There will be local ghost stories, fortune tellers, food, and more.  I have reposted  details and ticket information about the event from the Monterey County Weekly Community Calendar below:

Haunted Hayride Information

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

Ferrari Challenge - September 10 - 14, 2025 - Salinas, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Ferrari Challenges is being held September 10 - 14, 2025 at Laguna Seca  in Salinas, California.  I have reposted their website below for tickets and information:

Ferrari Challenge in Salinas, California September 10 - 14, 2025

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

De Tierra Winery in Salinas, California sells excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wine - shout out by Ruth Paget

De.Tierra Winery in Salinas, California sells excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wine.  These are the two wine grape varietals that also grow in France’s Burgundy region.

We order about two cases per year for delivery to have them on hand for coq au vin, poulet a la moutarde,, and steamed Alaska king crab throughout the year.

They have a tasting room in Carmel for people who would like to sample their wines.

De Tierra’s Website Link

My daughter Florence Paget and I recently snuck a peek at the secluded winery and vineyards in the Corral de Tierra Valley outside town.

De Tierra Winery sits on a hillside off Corral de Tierra Road outside Salinas, California.  California magnolias bloom in the foreground.  Palm trees of varying sizes line the road up to the winery. Text and photo by Ruth Paget.

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

UChicago Press - Free e-book - September - The Political Orchestra reposted by Ruth Paget

The University of Chicago Press free e-book for September 2025 is The Political Orchestra about the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics under The Third Reich.  Details follow:

The Political Orchestra published by the University of Chicago Press

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

Western Breakfast at Wagon Wheel in Carmel Valley, California by Ruth Paget

The Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Carmel Valley, California still provides hearty Western fare all year round.  Thank you Monterey County Weekly for pulling up this review I did out of archives.

Wagon Wheel Restaurant Review

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

Monterey County Youth Museum in Monterey, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Monterey County Youth Museum in Monterey, California is the place where children play to learn.  They also rent a mobile museum called the Wheelie Mobilee for birthdays and events.

I posted a link to their website below for exhibit and ticket information:

Monterey County Youth Museum Ticket and Exhibit Information

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

Sheep Shearing Shindig 2026 in San Luis Obispo, California reposted by Ruth Paget

Watch the website below for the 2026 Sheep Shearing Shindig in San Luis Obispo, California.  The event usually takes place in May after the sheep have grown a thick coat from winter.

The event has hayrides, food, music, and vendors.  Click below for information for this event that unites Scottish and Spanish culture:

Sheep Shearing Shindig 2026 in San Luis Obispo, California

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

Fusion Seafood Feast at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget

Fusion Seafood Feast at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget 

I enjoyed the fried calamari and linguini with clams meal that I ate on a prior visit to Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California so much that my husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I planned another visit to SLO for another meal at Lure. 

The meal I ordered on my recent visit was a great California fusion feast. I started with mussels Basquaise from Spain’s northwestern Basque Country. (The Basque Country extends into Southwestern France as well.) The classic recipe has cooks sauté small chunks of Spanish chorizo sausage with garlic and tomatoes with white wine and parsley added to steam open the mussels. (The Portuguese also prepare shellfish with chorizo sausage.) 

Lure Fish House makes this dish a fusion by not adding tomatoes to the sauté and steaming sauce. Instead, Lure replaces the tomatoes with romesco sauce from the other end of the Pyrénées Mountains in Spain’s Catalan region. 

Romesco sauce is a purée of sautéed and roasted red peppers, tomatoes, almonds, garlic, and parsley. This is a very upscale steaming sauce and utterly delicious. 

I used the garlic toast that came with the dish to soak up the romesco sauce along with bread. Next time I order mussels Basquaise, I might also order a side of rice to add into the leftover sauce, so I can get every last drop eaten. 

My main dish was tequila lime shrimp pasta (made with house-made linguini). This dish is like Italian scampi but is made with tequila and lime instead of white wine and lemon. When you cook this dish, you sauté garlic and tomatoes in butter and oil. Then, you add in shrimp till cooked and add in tequila to flavor the sauce and shrimp. The cooked pasta is then added into the cooked sauce and shrimp and tossed before serving. Lime juice is squeezed over the pasta at the table. 

I now equally love Italian-American shrimp scampi and tequila lime shrimp pasta. The combination of cooked garlic (which becomes sweet when cooked), citrus juice, and parsley just tastes great with shrimp. The alcohol makes the sauce succulent and makes every morsel delicious. 

Seafood lovers willing to experiment with fusion dishes will find much to enjoy at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California including the city’s sunny, warm weather. 

(Note: Lure Fish House has two parking lots located down the street from the entrance. They fill quickly, but there is street parking within walking distance, too.) 

(Note: We stayed at the Towne Place Suites by Marriott this trip. The suite we stayed in had a full kitchen, living room, and separate bedroom with the option of reserving an adjoining room. The air conditioning worked with no problem. I like the shower products the hotel offers – Alice and Co Botanicals. Those products make me feel like I have done a spa day when I shower after dinner and sit in the AC room. There is a pool and complimentary breakfast. Marriott also has a good loyalty program that new visitors might be interested in.) 

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

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Chicago Meal at Pub's (Growers Pub) in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Chicago Meal at Pub’s (Growers Pub) in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

One of my favorite Italian restaurants in Chicago, Illinois was Danilo’s. I thought of Danilo’s on a recent dinner outing to Pub’s in Salinas, California. 

I started my meal at Pub’s with fried coconut shrimp, which are not Italian, but available in almost all bar-restaurants in Chicago. There is a strong influence in Chicago from now-closed Trader Vic’s with its Polynesian-inspired food and décor that looked like a set from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. 

The décor was kitschy, but the sweet, fried coconut shrimp paired well with exotic daiquiri and piña colada cocktails. When Trader Vic’s closed, a large number of Tiki bars with similar food, drink, and décor opened and remain in operation today. Other bar-restaurants added the fried coconut shrimp appetizer to their menu.  

Tropical coconut tastes great in Chicago winters and hot Salinas summers. Seafood was expensive when I lived in Chicago in the 1980s, but I could afford coconut shrimp and was happy to have some iodine-rich shrimp when I ate them. 

The coconut shrimp at Pub’s tasted great. You get five large ones in your order, which is the right size for a once in awhile treat. What I really wanted to try at Pub’s this visit was the chicken a la Marsala, which I ate a lot of in Italian restaurants in inland Chicago. 

I love mushrooms, but I was really in for a treat at Pub’s. The mushrooms they served in the Marsala sauce were wild and indigenous ones from Sicily – Caesar mushrooms draped over the chicken breast and fresh, sautéed procini mushrooms that were arranged around the moist and tender chicken breast. 

Chicken marsala is sautéed chicken that you serve in an equally sautéed mushroom sauce that is usually flamed with Marsala dessert wine from Sicily. 

Marsala is a fortified wine, which means it is a sweet white wine that is blended with brandy and aged in barrels in what is called a solera system. 

There are usually 5 levels of barrels stacked on top of each other on different shelves in a solera system. The barrel with new wine is place on top of the shelves and eventually will be totally emptied into the barrel beneath it on the fourth level. 

The Marsala wine you buy comes from the barrel on the bottom of the stack. The wine from the barrel above the bottom barrel on the second level is used to top off the wine in the bottom that is removed. 

The wine from the barrel on the third shelf tops off the wine that was removed from the second barrel. The wine from the barrel on the fourth shelf tops off the wine on the third shelf. The wine in the barrel on the fourth level is topped off with wine from the barrel on the fifth shelf containing the new wine. 

Basically, you remove wine to be sold from the bottom barrel and replace wine taken out from a barrel with that above it. When the new wine in the fifth barrel is gone, it is replaced with more new wine. 

Spanish sherry and Portuguese porto are also made using a solera system. The solera system allows wine makers to bolster up weak wine years with wine from better years to maintain dependable flavor and quality.

I have digressed, but if you know how Marsala is made you can understand why it also has a price comparable to steak. The primo mushrooms also make this a premium menu dish in a steak house. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my Chicago meal at Pub’s in Salinas, California and highly recommend it. 

Note: Total Wine in Sand City, California carries several brands of Marsala, Sherry, and Porto, if you would like to try something like Marsala chicken at home with button mushrooms. 

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

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Erin Gafill - Big Sur California artist online reposted by Ruth Paget

Erin Gafill’s artwork records the pristine beauty of the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary from Nepenthe and other vantage points of interest around Monterey Bay.  

For a glimpse of her work, click below:

https://eringafill.com/

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

Live Spanish Guitar Music at Esteban Restaurantbin Monterey, California reposted by Ruth Paget

Live Spanish Guitar Music on Thursdays at Esteban Restaurant in Monterey, California.  The restaurant serves tapas on the patio and full-course meals inside.

Live Spanish Guitar Music

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

UChicago Press Anthropology Books reposted by Ruth Paget

For a listing of current cultural anthropology books from the University of Chicago, click below:

UChicago Press Cultural Anthropology Books

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

Healing Power of Coconut Reviewed by Ruth Paget

Healing Power of Coconut Reviewed by Ruth Paget 

I decided to read Healing Power of Coconut by Jacqueline B. Marcus, because I can easily obtain coconuts and coconut products where I live in Salinas, California. (Lucky Supermarket and Weee Asian Grocery Delivery both carry these items.) 

Healing Power of Coconut is a go-to reference for everything coconut that includes healthy recipes, nutrition information, making beauty products with coconut, and making homeopathic cures for mild and temporary illnesses with coconut. 

I still view coconut primarily as food and liked the nutrition discussion in the book. According to Marcus, one medium coconut contains: 

-0 cholesterol 

-36 grams dietary fiber 

-13 grams protein 

It also has as part of a minimum daily calorie intake: 

-5% calcium 

-21% Vitamin C 

-53% iron 

-10% Vitamin B-6 

-31% magnesium 

Magnesium has several roles in the body including muscle and nerve function, bone health for density and absorption of calcium, DNA and protein synthesis, and the prevention of anxiety. 

Vitamin B-6 is very important as well and supports nerve function, immune system function, red blood cell formation, and brain development. 

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps remove free radicals from the body that may cause cancer from the body. Iron helps transport oxygen in blood through the body. Calcium helps build strong bones. 

There are more nutrients than you would think in this tasty fruit, seed, and nut that originated in Southeast Asia and now grows along tropical seashores according to Marcus. 

I ate most coconut in banana bread growing up along with raisins and chocolate chips. There is a recipe for this banana bread in the Healing Power of Coconut. It tastes great with a mug of espresso or Darjeeling tea. 

That recipe and the recipes for pumpkin curry and Caribbean callaloo soup are my favorites in the book. 

Caribbean callaloo soup is made with coconut oil, onion, garlic, bone chicken breasts, butternut squash, chicken broth, jalapeño peppers, thyme, fresh spinach, and coconut flakes. This soup can be easily made in Salinas and enjoyed with reggae music playing. 

The pumpkin curry is also doable in Salinas, California. The pumpkin curry is made with coconut oil, extra firm tofu, red curry paste, pumpkin purée, coconut milk, sriracha sauce, 4 cups cut-up seasonal vegetables, peas, rice, and Thai basil. 

Healing Power of Coconut by Jacqueline B. Marcus is an informative and enjoyable book that cooks wanting to expand their product knowledge and skills might enjoy reading. 

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

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Monterey County Fair 2026 reposted by Ruth Paget

Watch the site below for information about the 2026 Monterey County Fair:

For information and tickets for the Monterey County Fair being held from 8-28-2025 to 9-1-2025 at the Monterey Fairgrounds click below:

Monterey County Fair Tickets and Information

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

Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, California reposted by Ruth Paget

For a link to the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, California click below for their website information on current exhibits and portfolio evaluation services:

Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, California

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

Sea Otter Tourism in Monterey County California reposted by Ruth Paget

The sea otter tourism specialist in Monterey County California is Elkhorn Slough Safari located in Moss Landing off Highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Monterey.  Click below for a link to their website:

Elkhorn Slough Safari

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

Calvados Mushroom Sauce Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Calvados Mushroom Sauce Recipe Created by Ruth Paget 

Note: 

This is my go-to sauce when I lived in Paris, France in the early 1990s was a buttery, mushroom sauce that I made with Calvados, France’s famous apple brandy with the best ones coming from the Pays d’Auge, the A.O.C. region in Normandy. 

This sauce is loosely based on the mushroom sauce for sole Dieppoise.. The ingredients for this sauce were sold by fishmongers in fall at the weekly covered market in the Centre Charras in Courbevoie, a Parisian suburb just across the bridge over the Seine by the La Défense skyscrapers. 

I used this simple sauce on sautéed white fish, sautéed chicken breasts, fried pork chops, pasta, and mashed potatoes. 

For 4 People 

Ingredients: 

-4 tablespoons butter with sea salt 

-2 cups sliced mushrooms 

-1 or 2 shots of Calvados 

-1 cup heavy cream 

-2 tablespoons chopped parsley 

Steps: 

1-Melt butter in a sauté pan. Add mushrooms to the pan and stir over medium-high heat until they render water (about 10 – 15 minutes). 

2-Continue stirring until the water in the pan evaporates. 

3-Add Calvados to the mushrooms and stir 4 to 5 minutes to burn off the alcohol, but leave the flavor.  

4-Add cream to the mushroom mixture and stir till steam rises from the mushrooms. Serve as soon as possible over cooked fish, pork chops, chicken, pasta, or mashed potatoes with parsley sprinkled on top. 

Note:

This recipe can be made with Sicilian Marsala as in chicken Marsala.

Other fortified wines like Marsala can be used including:

Muscat de Rivesaltes - France

Muscat de Samothrace - Greece

Oloroso sherry - Spain

Sweet porto - Portugal

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

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Medieval and Renaissance Studies Journal from UChicago Press reposted by Ruth Paget

Medieval and Renaissance Studies journals from the University of Chicago Press.  Click below for link:

Medieval and Renaissance Journals from the University of Chicago Press

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

Monterey Symphony 2025 - 2026 reposted by Ruth Paget

Information about upcoming shows by the Monterey Symphony is on their website which I have linked to below:

Monterey Symphony Website

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