suggested A-Level Reading List for British Commonwealth Countries:
A-Level Reading List British Commonwealth
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Suggested A-level Reading List for British Commonwealth Universities posted by Ruth Paget
International Baccleaureate Reading Database posted by Ruth Paget
This list adds some international flair to summer reading choices:
International Baccleaureate Reading Database
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Internet Public Library has Youth Literature posted by Ruth Paget
The Internet Public Library has children’s and young adult fiction and nonfiction that you can check out as an online summer reading resource - ipl.org
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Tasting Rome Reviewed by Ruth Paget
Tasting Rome Reviewed by Ruth Paget
Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors and Forgotten Recipes by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill provides armchair travelers and cooks with a salty, sweet tour of the city’s culinary offerings.
The book covers the following traditional Italian course offerings:
-aperitivi – salty snacks to go with cocktails
-primi - first course dishes that are usually pasta or soup
-secondi – second course dishes or main course offerings
-contorni – vegetable course
-dolce – sweets
My favorite recipes in the cookbook include:
*Aperitvii
-deep-fried suppli rice risotto balls made with radicchio (purple-red lettuce) and gorgonzola
-deep-fried cacio e pepe suppli risotto balls made with crushed black pepper and pecorino cheese
-crostini con burro e alici – toast rounds with butter and anchovies
*Primi
-carbonara pasta made with eggs, pecorino cheese, and guanciale pork jowl “bacon”
-spaghetti alla gricia made with guanciale “bacon”, white wine, and pecorino cheese
-bomboletti pasta all-amatriciana made with tubular ridged pasta, guanciale, shallots, tomatoes, and garlic
-cacio e pepe pasta made with just crushed black pepper and grated pecorino cheese
*Secondi
-pollo alla Romana chicken stew made with onions, bell peppers, cloves, and tomatoes
-porchetta slow-roasted pork roast made with pepper, salt, garlic, rosemary, pepperoncino, and fennel seeds
*Contorni
-baked vegetables with bread crumbs
-shaved artichoke salad
-baked tomatoes stuffed with rice
*Dolce
-peach and wine sorbet
-coffee granita
-panna cotta - solid milk pudding flavored here with mint
Readers who might enjoy Tasting Rome include:
-Italophiles who want to learn more about the country and Roman cuisine
-cooks
-servers
-travel writers
-restaurant reviewers
-young families
-childcare workers
People wanting to add a little Roman brio to their lives would also enjoy reading Tasting Rome by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill for the recipes and cultural notes.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Friday, June 13, 2025
MENSA Storytelling for Kids posted by Ruth Paget
I like MENSA’s introduction to storytelling for offering several approaches for organizing stories. Details below:
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
The Italian Baker Reviewed by Ruth Paget
The Italian Baker Reviewed by Ruth Paget
I enjoyed armchair traveling through Italy as I read Carol Field’s recipes for bread, grissini bread sticks, panzanella bread and vegetable salad, pizza, focaccia, sweet Italian croissants, tarts, cakes, and cookies in The Italian Baker.
The recipes are sophisticated but Field provides nonna (grandma) STEAM education activities for baking as well such as:
-coiling a bread string to make a pair of eye cookies
-rolling out a band of dough and making two slits and pulling the dough at the end to make a crown
-rolling out a band of dough and making slits every inch and then rolling the band up to form a bush
More conventional items that families could make from the book on weekends include:
-panini bread roll sandwiches
-ciabatta bread loaves from the Lake Como region in northern Italy
-Olive bread from Liguria
-chopped red pepper bread
-Parmesan and pecorino bread made with cheese from Northern and Southern Italy
-Parmesan grissini bread sticks
-sweet croissants (kids are always fascinated to see rolling up a triangle into a croissant shape and the puffing up of the croissants overnight from proofing)
Field taught me that chewy texture and nutty flavor of many Italian breads come from the use an already fermented biga or starter that is mixed with dough to create a double fermentation in the dough in addition to the two risings of the dough.
People in the following professions might enjoy The Italian Baker by Carol Field:
-baker
-childcare worker
-Girl Scout troop leaders
-restaurant owners
-servers
Italophiles, childcare workers, and restaurant workers might all find something to make in The Italian Baker by Carol Field.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Thursday, June 12, 2025
MENSA for Kids Greek Myths posted by Ruth Paget
MENSA for Kids Greek Myths activities. Info below:
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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