Rhubarb Pie Recipe by Ruth Paget

Rhubarb Pie Recipe by Ruth Paget 

For 6 People 

Ingredients: 

 -2 rolled out dough pie crusts for pan and pie top 

 -For Filling: 

-3 to 4 cups chopped rhubarb 

-3/4 cup sugar 

-1 tablespoon flour 

-5 or 6 dabs of butter 

Steps: 

1-Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2-Place bottom dough crust in a pie pan and fit it to the pan. Fill pie crust with chopped rhubarb. 

3-Mix sugar with flour and spread it over the rhubarb. Add a few dabs of butter on top of rhubarb. 

4-Wet bottom dough crust edges. Cover pie top with top crust dough. Pinch edges of top and bottom crust dough together. Make slits in the top pie crust to let out steam. 

5-Sprinkle a little sugar on top of the pie. 

6-Bake for the first ten minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. After ten minutes, lower the heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

7-Bake until the crust is brown and the filling is bubbling. (Bake for 30 minutes and then start checking how brown the crust is and look to see if some rhubarb juice has boiled through the slits.) 

(A Rosevale Farm Recipe) 

Source: Winifred Sawle – Arena, Wisconsin 

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

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Lemonade Recipe by Ruth Paget

Lemonade Recipe by Ruth Paget 

For 3 quarts of lemonade 

Ingredients: 

-Juice of 2 lemons 

-1 cup sugar 

-3 quarts water 

Steps: 

1-Add the lemon juice and sugar to the water and stir till the sugar dissolves. 

2-Slice the juiced lemons into rounds and add them to the lemonade. Gently crush the lemon rounds to release the oil in their skins.

(Remove the lemon rounds, if you are going to keep the lemonade overnight.)

(A Rosevale Farm Recipe) 

Source: Winifred Sawle – Arena, Wisconsin 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Caraway or Anise Cookies Recipe by Ruth Paget

Caraway or Anise Cookies Recipe by Ruth Paget 

For 24 Cookies 

Ingredients: 

-1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons) 

-1 cup sugar 

-1 egg 

-1/2 teaspoon salt 

-1 teaspoon vanilla 

-2 cups flour 

-1 teaspoon baking powder 

-2 tablespoons caraway or anise seeds 

Steps: 

1-Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2-Cream butter and sugar together. 

3-Add the rest of the ingredients to the butter and sugar and mix. 

4-Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. 

(A Rosevale Farm Recipe) 

Source: Winifred Sawle – Arena, Wisconsin 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Ginger Cookies Recipe by Ruth Paget

Ginger Cookies Recipe by Ruth Paget

For 24 Cookies 

Ingredients: 

-1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons) 

-1 cup sugar 

-1 egg 

-1/2 cup molasses 

-1 tablespoon vinegar 

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

-1/2 teaspoon salt 

-2 ½ cups flour 

-1 teaspoon each of ginger, cinnamon, and baking powder 

Steps: 

1-Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2-Mix all the ingredients together. 

3-Roll dough into a cylinder and slice round cookies. 

4-Bake cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes. 

(A Rosevale Farm Recipe) 

Source: Winifred Sawle – Arena, Wisconsin 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Sorghum Cookies Recipe by Ruth Paget

Sorghum Cookies Recipe by Ruth Paget 

For 24 Cookies 

Ingredients:

-2 ½ cups flour 

-1 cup sugar 

-1 cup sorghum 

-1 cup lard 

-1 egg 

-1/8 teaspoon baking soda 

-2 teaspoons baking powder 

-1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon 

-1/4 teaspoon salt 

Steps: 

1-Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2-Combine all the ingredients into a homogenous mass. 

3-Roll dough into a cylinder and cut into cookies. 

4-Bake cookies at 350 degrees until golden. 

5-The cookies get crisp out of the oven, so do not overcook them. 

(A Rosevale Farm Recipe) 

Source: Winifred Sawle – Arena, Wisconsin 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Shrimp Tacos at Michael's in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Fork-and-Knife Shrimp Tacos at Michael’s in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

I grew up eating hard, corn tortillas that came with Old El Paso taco kits. They were perfect as a hand-held item for parties, because they did not dirty your hands. 

It took me awhile to get used to soft, flour tortillas at taquerías in California, because your hands tend to get messy as you eat delicious items like shrimp tacos. I have found an easy solution for this, though. 

Shrimp tacos from Michael’s on Main Street Salinas (California) are a pretty nice neighborhood amenity, but you need a fork and knife to eat them. 

The shrimp at Michael’s are grilled in oil. When they are done cooking, they are placed in two soft tortillas with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and shredded lettuce. The tortillas are turned over to let them sizzle in the shrimp-infused oil before being wrapped up in aluminum foil. 

I like shrimp-infused oil, so the slippery tortillas do not bother me. I open up the tacos before eating them and squeeze on lime juice and pour on pico de gallo salsa made with chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions, and epazote for a vitamin C boost. 

I eat these scrumptious tacos with a fork and knife to keep my hands neat. If you want to imagine yourself on a beachside vacation in Mexico, I recommend the shrimp tacos at Michael’s in Salinas, California. 

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

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Mole Amarillo Shrimp Enchiladas at Villa Azteca in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Mole Amarillo Shrimp Enchiladas by Ruth Paget 

Main Street in Salinas, California by the Steinbeck Center has several great restaurants that tourists might like for a flavor of the American West. (Note: There is a reasonably priced parking garage by the Steinbeck Center, a Greyhound Bus Station, and the train station nearby for tourists from Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.) 

My husband Laurent, my daughter Florence Paget, and I have tried Villa Azteca on Main Street Salinas several times. We like the restaurant’s dishes that are different from typical taquería fare. 

On our last visit to Villa Azteca, we began our meal with typical guacamole made with mashed avocado, tomato, and onion. The guacamole came in a square, black dish made of porous volcanic rock that made you feel like you were dining in a rooftop restaurant in Mexico City. 

For my main dish, I chose a shrimp enchilada in mole amarillo. The shrimp were pudgy and briny, which made me think they had been marinated in lime juice before being sautéed to fill the folded enchiladas. (Note: Villa Azteca also serves lobster enchiladas in mole amarillo. Laurent tried these and said they were excellent.) 

The mole amarillo was a shiny yellow-orange color. I suspect this was made with cooked and puréed squash or pumpkin, queso fresco cheese, and a little habanero pepper. I made sure to soak up every bit of this delicious mole that I could eat just with warm tortillas and cheese filling.

I drank a chilled, non-alcoholic Mexican drink called jamaica (pronounced “ha-ma-ee-ka”) with my dinner. This purple colored drink was made from hibiscus flowers and tasted like slightly sour pomegranate juice. I loved the sour counterpoint to the spicy mole amarillo dish I was eating. 

My family shared a Mexican flan, a milk custard pudding with warm caramel topping for dessert. 

This fancy Mexican meal at Villa Azteca in Salinas, California was flavorful and relaxing. I love having Villa Azteca close to my home in Salinas and think tourists might like it for the food and proximity to parking and transportation. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books