U.S. States and Capitals Game Created by Ruth Paget

U.S States and Capitals Game Created by Ruth Paget 

This game might interest aspiring politicians, journalists, customer service representatives, and public servants. 

For one or more players. 

Goals: 

1-Learn to pronounce names of U.S. states and capitals 

2-Learn to spell the names of U.S. states and capitals 

3-Learn the capitals of U.S. states 

Method: 

Make your own playing index cards to help with memorization. Write the name of the 50 U.S. states on index cards. Each state gets its own card. On the back of the card, write the name of the capital. 

Use the Google pronunciation feature to find out how the states and capitals are pronounced. 

Game 1: Learn State Pronunciations 

Look at the state name and pronounce it. If you need help memorizing pronunciation, write out your pronunciation tip in your own language on the back of the card. 

Keep playing until you know the pronunciations. 

Game 2: Learn State Capital Pronunciations 

Look at the capital name and pronounce it. If you need help memorizing pronunciation, write out your pronunciation tip in your own language on the back of the card. 

Keep playing till you can say all state names accurately. 

Game 3: Learn State Spellings  

Look at the state name or say it. Try to write down state name accurately. Check how you did. 

Keep playing till you can spell all state names accurately. 

Game 4: Learn State Capitals Spelling 

Look at the capital name or say it. Try to write down the capital name accurately. Check how you did. 

Keep playing till you can spell all state capital names accurately. 

Game 5: Identify State Capitals 

Look at the state name on the front of an index card and try to identify the capital. 

Keep playing till you can identify all state capitals with their states. 

Game 6: Reverse State Capital Play 

Look at the capital name on the back of the card and try to identify the state that goes with it. 

Keep playing until you can identify all states by their capital city. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Tennessee Treasures by Ruth Paget

Tennessee Treasures by Ruth Paget 

Tennessee is world famous for its music (mountain music from East Tennessee, Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame, and Memphis for Beale Street Blues), its barbecue, and its Tennessee whisky, but after reading Tennessee Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons and Kent Whitaker, you can see that Tennessee’s rich cuisine deserves better recognition as well. 

The following appetizers and sides make resourceful use of Tennessee’s produce: 

-cowpea caviar – made with green, yellow, and red peppers; onions; tomatoes; and parsley 

-ham and cheese ball made with mushrooms and green onions 

-lime and cilantro creamy coleslaw 

-fried green tomatoes with onions and honey Dijon sauce 

A calorie-rich lunch for snowed-in mountain days follows: 

-sweet beer bread 

-smoked sausage lentil soup 

Tennessee whisky is the star of the following dishes: 

-George Dinkel Tennessee whisky pork chops 

-Jack Black barbecued ribs 

-Jack Daniels country-style beef ribs 

-Jack Daniels salmon 

Wine lovers might like the following cake: 

-muscadine wine coffee cake 

Tennessee Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons and Kent Whitaker wraps up with a monthly listing of music and food festivals, which have oral storytellers, beauty pageants, carnivals, food contests, and children’s games. The cookbook packs a lot of information into 256 pages, making it a good purchase for a home cookbook collection. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Costco Hot Dog $ Food Hack by Ruth Paget

 Costco Hot Dog $ Food Hack by Ruth Paget

Hot dogs in Costco’s food court cost $1.50 today with mustard, relish, and catsup available for dressing.

There are all beef hot dogs and beef and pork hot dogs available usually.

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

Click for Ruth Paget’s Books

Oregon: The Organic Food Rules State by Ruth Paget

Oregon: Organic Food Rules State by Ruth Paget 

On the West Coast of the United States, Oregon is a beacon for organic food production. Many of the delicious recipes in Dishing Up Oregon: 145 Recipes that Celebrate Farm-to-Table Flavors by Ashley Gartland, can easily be made throughout the U.S. now that the organic food movement has spread throughout the country. 

The following recipes are examples of how flavorful, simple ingredients can make a superlative whole:  

-chanterelle rillettes – buttery wild mushroom spread that goes well on mashed Idaho potatoes says the girl who grew up in the Midwestern U.S. 

-shaved radish “carpaccio” 

-Northwest black truffle butter – this is another item that should go on Idaho mashed potatoes or a steak 

-shaved zucchini and basil salad with guajillo chile vinaigrette 

-apple-celery root salad 

-parsnip-almond soup 

-sunchoke and fennel gratin 

-raw beet salad with Asian pears and goat cheese 

-heirloom carrot bisque 

-polenta cakes with goat cheese, cured salmon, and poached eggs 

-pan-seared duck breasts on wild rice pancakes 

-espresso stout-braised pork shoulder 

-flat-iron steaks with apple brandy sauce -molasses ginger stout cake with ginger glaze 

-tomatillo-green apple sorbet 

The dishes in Dishing Up Oregon: 145 Recipes that Celebrate Farm-to-Table Flavors by Ashley Gartland can be showstoppers at potlucks and hearty meals for family; I recommend it highly. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Washington State: A Dining Destination by Ruth Paget

Washington State: A Dining Destination Worth Seeking Out by Ruth Paget 

As I read through Dishing Up Washington: 150 Recipes that Capture Authentic Regional Flavors by Jess Thomson, I thought that the employees of Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, Starbucks, and Costco, whose headquarters are in the state, all eat very well. 

Very good recipes are amplified with the addition of choice ingredients like saffron, Dungeness crab, and cognac. However, the recipes stretch these choice ingredients to flavor humbler ones like Idaho potatoes and carrots to make these recipes a tasty good deal. 

The following selection of recipes all prove what I just wrote. Even the zucchini ganoush, sesame seed paste flavored dip made here with zucchini not eggplant, judiciously uses tahini to make a healthy chip and vegetable dip for many people. 

I would plan a trip to Washington state just to try the following dishes and later make them at home with Dishing Up Washington: 

-saffron clam chowder 

-smoked salmon rillettes – a buttery spread 

-grilled prawns with curried dipping sauce 

-zucchini ganoush 

-watermelon gazpacho

 -northwest Dungeness crab chowder 

-roasted carrots with mustard and dill 

-prime rib with cognac-roasted vegetables and crunchy greens 

-green curry mussels 

-pale ale oven-roasted clams 

-classic brasserie sole with brown butter and herbs 

-espresso brownies -banana pancakes (with maple syrup, of course!) 

I think cooks with some experience might enjoy making the recipes in Dishing Up Washington: 150 Recipes that Capture Authentic Flavors by Jess Thomson to expand their culinary skills in working with expensive ingredients. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Vermont's Edenesque Cuisine by Ruth Paget

Vermont’s Edenesque Cuisine by Ruth Paget 

Vermont is justly famous for its artisanal cheese, but the state’s contribution to American cuisine also comes from using French cooking techniques with organic produce. 

These French cooking techniques are part of Vermont’s culture as it shares a border with Canada’s French province of Quebec in the north. Gratins, puréeing vegetable soups to thicken them without other thickeners like flour, quiches, and ground nut cakes can all be found in Vermont’s cuisine as in French cuisine. 

Using French techniques to make dishes is not as difficult as you would think when you read through the cookbook Dishing Up Vermont: 145 Authentic Recipes from the Green Mountain State by Tracey Medeiros. 

The following recipes give a sample of dishes that really shine when you use organic produce: 

-grated celeriac and green apple salad 

-cream of garlic soup 

-butternut squash bisque 

-creamy Vermont winter pumpkin soup 

-roasted summer vegetables 

-cheddar mashed potatoes 

-squash casserole 

-apple-butternut squash soup 

-strawberry soup 

-cheese scones 

-cheddar cheese quiche 

-root vegetable chowder 

-winter squash gratin 

-Normandy chicken with apples and cream 

-cranberry

-almond squares 

-maple-walnut cake 

As a former sub-zero weather resident of Detroit (Michigan), I know that many of these recipes can be made during the fall harvest when prices are low and frozen to be eaten during the winter months to save money. (The French do this, too.)  For that reason alone, I would recommend purchasing Dishing Up Vermont: 145 Authentic Recipes from the Green Mountain State by Tracey Medeiros. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Maryland's Spa Cuisine by Ruth Paget

Maryland’s Spa Cuisine by Ruth Paget 

 It is hard to think of Maryland as a place with spa cuisine when you think of the state’s famous crab cakes that you dunk in lots of tartar sauce made with dill and capers. Maryland’s cakes are really not spa cuisine either with their many layers separated by buttercream frosting. 

However, on a trip to Maryland where I visited the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Fort Meade, and many grocery stores during a long stay, I saw that you could easily make what I consider home spa food with dishes described in Dishing Up Maryland: 150 Recipes from the Alleghenies to the Chesapeake Bay by Lucie L. Snodgrass. My home spa regime includes small portions of reward noshes (snacks), salads, soups, and one easy and terrific dessert. 

The following recipes may not necessarily be spa food, but in small portions eaten throughout the day they promote health and happiness: 

Reward Noshes 

-shrimp pâté with crostini 

-corn fritters – deep-fried spoonfuls of corn kernals held together with flour, egg, a little milk, and seasonings like horseradish. I have used canned and drained corn to make these. 

-zucchini fritters 

-spicy crab dip with shredded Jarlesberg cheese -blueberry buckwheat pancakes 

-roasted turnips and rutabagas 

-gratin dauphinois (scalloped potatoes made with gruyère cheese) 

Salads 

-asparagus salad with spring onions 

-three-beet salad with dill and feta cheese 

-cucumber salad with dill, feta cheese, and red onion 

-carrot and fennel slaw 

-creamy kohlrabi slaw 

Soups 

-cream of asparagus soup with rice 

-cream of spinach soup with sesame seeds 

-Solomons Island clam chowder – you can use canned clams for this dish 

-Chesapeake oyster stew – you can use canned oysters for this dish 

-cream of broccoli soup with parmesan cheese 

-mushroom bisque 

-curried pumpkin soup 

Dessert 

 -stove-top rice pudding with maple syrup 

If you would like a cookbook that has both spa cuisine and English fancy food, you might be interested in adding Dishing Up Maryland: 150 Recipes from the Alleghenies to the Chesapeake Bay by Lucie L. Snodgrass to your home cookbook reference shelf. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books