Great Value Polenta by Ruth Paget

Great Value Polenta by Ruth Paget 

I learned to love grilled polenta slices when my husband Laurent and I ate dinner out on trips to Vicenza, Italy outside Venice when we lived in Stuttgart, Germany. 

I would eat grilled polenta with pork osso buco (braised pork shanks) seasoned with thyme, rosemary, and cloves. The exotic cloves reminded me that Venice grew rich on the spice trade in the middle ages. 

Back in California, I now buy Golden Pheasant polenta and think of the Veneto region to make recipes out of Polenta by Michele Anna Jordan, a Sonoma County caterer and author, who provides 100 polenta recipes in her cookbook. 

Jordan writes that relying on polenta alone for meals can cause pellagra, a rash of dry, rough skin. However, polenta, which is made from corn, is a great carbohydrate to go along with other ingredients due to significant amounts of the following nutrients:  

-vitamin C 

-folic acid 

-magnesium 

-phosphorous 

-thiamine 

Jordan provides a recipe for soft polenta, which can be served as a porridge. Her favorite way of eating soft polenta is with chopped walnuts and gorgonzola blue cheese mixed in it. 

Jordan also gives instruction on how to make polenta firm so it can be cut into shapes including bars that can used as a base for crostini hors d’oeuvres with toppings. Another use for polenta cut into bars is an Eastern European baked dish with melted goat cheese on top. Once polenta is firm, it can be grilled, fried, or broiled. 

Jordan provides 100 polenta recipes in her cookbook, which includes deluxe recipes such as: 

-roast chicken with lemon-scented polenta and lemon-cream sauce

-orange-scented duck with olives and polenta 

-polenta with ragù meat sauce 

-roast pork loin with apricot sauce and polenta pilaf

-polenta with sausages, apples, and mustard greens (I like sausages made by Aidell’s.) 

Polenta requires stirring, but other than that I find it easy to work with for tasty results. Jordan provides cooking methods for baking and microwaving polenta that might be preferable for other cooks. 

The 100 recipes in Polenta by Michele Anna Jordan are Sonoma County secrets for culinary success making the book a very good purchase. 

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

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Ranch House Quesadillas at Michael's in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Ranch House Quesadillas at Michael’s in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

Ranch House Quesadillas at Michael’s in downtown Salinas, California are a delight for a light lunch at the office or at home. 

A quesadilla is a large flour tortilla that is folded in half and grilled with fillings. For the ranch house quesadilla at Michael’s, the cooks fill the quesadilla with roasted mushrooms, charred red potatoes, fresh mild chile peppers, and melted cheese. The cooks top off the quesadilla with fresh cilantro and serve it with sides of salsa fresca, guacamole, sour cream, Mexican rice, and black beans. As of May 18, 2024, this delicious menu item costs $15.84 according to the website.  

The quesadilla fillings are very nutritious. Chile peppers regardless of heat contain Vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. Mushrooms also contain antioxidants, which help remove free radicals that can cause cancer from the body. 

Red skin potatoes contain Vitamin A, which is important for good vision, the immune system, growth, and development according to the National Institutes of Health website. Cheese contains protein and calcium, which promotes tissue and bone health. For all these reasons, I think the ranch house quesadilla is a great buy for lunch. 

Michael’s in downtown Salinas delivers, making the ranch house quesadilla an affordable, delicious, and nutritious lunch option for the office or at home. 

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

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Mango Fusion Shrimp Tacos at Stonies in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Mango Fusion Shrimp Tacos at Stonies in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

One of my favorite treat lunches is mango fusion shrimp tacos at Stonies Taphouse and Bistro in Salinas, California. 

The combination I make with these shrimp tacos is one mango fusion shrimp taco, one garlic butter shrimp taco, potato salad, and coleslaw. Market town Salinas means that you get cool and crunchy shredded cabbage with your soft and thick corn tortillas in these tacos. 

I love eating this combination at home with the patio door open as I drink a chilled Firestone Walker Cerveza from this California brew pub located 2 hours down Highway 101 outside Paso Robles. For a beer closer to home, I like IPAs from Alvarado Street Brewery, which has locations in downtown Salinas and Monterey. 

Stonies has excellent appetizers to go with its many beers on tap like Cajun corn on the cob, Bavarian loaded pretzels, and crispy fried artichokes from Monterey County, the world’s artichoke capital. 

Stonies is well-known for BBQ – low and slow fire smoked meat. For lunch, they feature a Davis rib lunch special, which comes with 3 ribs, garlic bread, and one side of your choice from a selection of coleslaw, potato salad, bacon BBQ beans, Cajun corn on the cob, French fries, or side salad. This costs $18 as of May 15, 2024. 

The shrimp tacos and ribs are great picnic choices for take-out. Toro Park and Jack’s Peak Park are located a short drive away along Highway 68 going towards the Pacific Ocean. Stonies has indoor seating as well as an outdoor patio area with tables with umbrellas. (it is usually 10 degrees warmer in Salinas than it is on the Monterey Peninsula.) 

The ABC Salad is for avocado lovers. (California has avocados in abundance!) This salad is made with avocado, bacon, and chicken slices, cucumbers, Parmesan cheese, and topped off with Caesar dressing. 

At home, I eat Stonies lunches with radishes and strawberries from the garden. Tourists wishing to do the same can easily buy organic produce at Nob Hill and Star Market, which are located close to the restaurant. 

Stonies Taphouse and Bistro makes living in Salinas, California an enjoyable experience. Tourists might enjoy a neighborhood restaurant away from home as well. 

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

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Antioxidant Onions by Ruth Paget

Antioxidant Onions by Ruth Paget 

Mark Kurlansky writes about everything onion in his book The Core of an Onion. Kurlansky begins by writing that though onions do not have as much protein, which builds and repairs muscles and bones, as other vegetables they do have some. 

They also contain significant amounts of other nutrients such as the following; 

-Vitamin C – an antioxidant that helps remove free radicals that may cause can cancer from the body 

-calcium- a mineral associated with healthy bones and teeth 

-iron – makes hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the brain

(Additional information obtained from Betterhealth Victoria – Australia, Harvard Medical School, and the National Institutes of Health) 

Kurlansky also writes that as late as World War II, onions were used to dress wounds to prevent infection by the Russian army. 

The fun part of Kurlansky’s book are the 100 historical recipes that he has put together. 

Two of the onion soups he writes about should be in everyone’s culinary repertoire. 

The first soup is Missouri-Kansas-Texas Onion Soup – a railroad classic. This soup contains diced onions, which are sautéed in butter until brown and added to boiling chicken broth. The chicken broth is seasoned with parsley, garlic, bay leaves, and Worcestershire Sauce.The soup is poured over croutons and topped off with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. This soup is an American pantry classic. 

The second soup is a French Vichyssoise, a chilled leek and potato soup that is puréed with milk and cream. I made this soup often in Stuttgart, Germany when I lived there. When it was 30 below outside in winter and windy, all soups seemed to chill naturally. Sometimes I even made vichyssoise with onions, which gave it a more velvety texture without too much difference in taste. 

Other recipes that Kurlansky write about look especially good including: 

-onion bread 

-Welsh onion and potato tart 

-creamed onions to go with steak or roast pork 

The best thing about cooking with onions is that they are less expensive than most other vegetables, which makes The Core of an Onion by Mark Kurlansky a reference cookbook for the budget minded. 

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

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Frost-Resistant Potatoes and More by Ruth Paget

Frost-Resistant Potatoes and More by Ruth Paget 

John Reader begins his history of the potato by writing that the potato is an “all-around bundle of nutrition” that is eaten on space missions in Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent (Yale University Press). 

The nutrients Reader refers to include: 

-carbohydrates for energy 

-protein for tissue building 

-for 100 grams of potato, there is half the minimum daily amount of Vitamin C – Vitamin C is an antioxidant and prevents scurvy, a concern for all navies 

-B complex vitamins, which fight anxiety and depression 

-calcium which builds strong bones and teeth 

-iron which makes hemoglobin in red blood cells that helps carry oxygen to the lungs 

-phosphorous which also aids in the formation of bones and teeth 

-potassium which helps nerves, muscles, and the heart function well. Potatoes contain 18% more potassium than bananas according to Reader 

(Nutrition information compiled from John Reader, Medlineplus.com, Harvard Medical School, and the Washington State Potato Commission) 

The potato's ancestral homeland is found in the Andes Mountains in Latin America, specifically in Peru and Bolivia. One Peruvian variety of potato can grow above 4,000 feet and is the only frost-resistant potato. This frost-resistant potato is named the papa naki and might grow well in colder regions of the United States. 

For information on the history and merits of the potato, the book Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent by John Reader is a great buy. 

By Ruth Paget, Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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A Substantial Artichoke Dinner by Ruth Paget

Artichoke Dinner by Ruth Paget 

One artichoke usually contains 60 calories and is full of nutrients, making it a dieter’s delight. I like more substantial meals and like to add yogurt with honey, a little salami, toast with butter, and a few fruit and nut cream filled macaron pastries (available at COSTCO) to my artichoke dinners. This meal is a little more French than Italian, but very American in that I live in Monterey County California which is said to produce 2/3 of the world's artichokes with the artichoke capital being Castroville. 

I usually cover and steam the artichokes whole for 40 minutes, adding water every 10 minutes. Then, I let the artichokes stand for 20 minutes after turning off the heat. You only eat the base ends of the leaves and the heart at the bottom minus the leaves dunked in vinaigrette. 

I used information from the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture), the National Institutes of Health, and Harvard Medical School to find the following percentages of nutrients in artichokes and the role these nutrients in the body: 

-fiber (28%) promotes intestinal transit and waste elimination 

-protein (8%) repairs and builds body tissues 

-Vitamin C (25%) protects cells and keeps them healthy

-iron (8%) is a mineral the body needs for growth and development

-potassium (13%) is a mineral that helps muscles and nerves to function 

-Vitamin B6 (5%) is important for normal brain development 

-magnesium (19%) helps maintain normal nerve and muscle function 

-calcium (55) is a mineral most often associated with healthy bones and teeth 

Artichokes are so good for you that you almost forget that they taste great in vinaigrette or creamy salad dressing dip. 

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

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Electrical Outage Meals by Ruth Paget

Electrical Outage Meals by Ruth Paget 

Hot summer months, more people using electricity from older electrical grids designed for fewer people, and higher air conditioning usage usually account for at least one electrical outage in California in summer. 

The outage is usually planned and called a rolling blackout, so the amount of time spent without electricity is limited in theory. 

I have noticed, though, that rolling blackouts tend to happen during lunch, so I have items like the following on hand to eat during these times: 

-UHT milk which can be stored at room temperature until it is opened 

-raisin bran cereal 

-Cheerios cereal with sliced bananas 

-fruit to be made into fruit salad 

-sliced radish salad 

-grated carrot salad 

-shredded cabbage salad 

-tortilla chips with salsa 

-sliced tomatoes, goat cheese chunks, and herb salad 

-salami, cheese, crackers, and mustard 

-strawberries and sugar 

-canned black beans, lettuce, sliced radish, shredded cabbage, avocado, and salsa quesadillas 

-peanut butter and jelly sandwiches 

These are all pretty good when the electricity is working, too. 

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

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