Artist Eric Ravilious’s Edition of Twelfth Night on sale today by UChicago Press reposted by Ruth Paget

Artist Eric Ravilious illustrated Twelfth Night on sale today for $19.99 by University of Chicago Press

Artist Eric Ravilious illustrated Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in 1932.  The book’s artwork summons up the Elizabethan Era through its wood engravings and typography.

Ravilious’s work was almost not published due to the Great Depression.

Information about this facsimile edition and purchase details follow:

https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/465/#cv/priority/%5Esmartlabel_promo/19dd93c790f157d3

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

The Everything Chinese Cookbook at $3.99 on Kindle for Beginning Chinese Cooks by Ruth Paget

The Everything Chinese Cookbook at $3.99 on Kindle for Beginning Cooks by Ruth Paget 

The Everything Chinese Cookbook selling for $3.99 on Kindle is a stellar resource for cooks who are just beginning to try cooking Chinese food for health and money savings. 

This Kindle e-book is 712 pages long and contains 300 recipes drawing from all food groups. My favorite recipes for health and money saving come from the chicken, vegetable, and rice and noodle sections. 

I have cooked from several Chinese cookbooks notably those by Fuchsia Dunlop and Ken Hom, but I like The Everything Chinese Cookbook for several reasons: 

-it promotes lower-calorie stir-fries that omit the addition of slurry finishes at the end of cooking. Slurry is a corn starch and water mixture that thickens sauces and adds a glossy sheen to a dish.

-greatly reduced use of sugar in cooking 

-greatly reduced usage of sweet Chinese cooking wine which adds flavors and calories 

-a huge variety of recipes to make use of seasonal produce at the market 

The Everything Chinese Cookbook by Rhoda Lauret Parkinson is a great resource for people wanting to make their first forays into Chinese cooking. 

The Kindle price of $3.99 today for 300 recipes in a 712-page book is also great for budget minded Kindle users. 

Note: There is an organic market in Marina, California on Sundays that sells many Asian produce items. Marina has several Chinese restaurants and markets as well close to the farmers’ market.  

Happy Cooking! 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

No Fuss Swiss Cheese - Mushroom Burgers at Chili's in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

No Fuss Swiss Cheese Mushroom Burgers at Chili’s in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

Sometimes a no fuss, no surprises, and delicious dinner is just what you want for delivery and that is what Chili’s delivers in sturdy packaging. 

For dinner, I recently order a Swiss Cheese – Mushroom Burger from Chili’s in Salinas, California – a national chain restaurant. This burger came with tangy melted Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, sautéed mushroom slices, tomato slices, crunchy iceberg lettuce leaves, and mayonnaise. 

The side I chose to go with this juicy burger was thin, sautéed asparagus. After living in Germany (the original home of the hamburger is Hamburg, German) for five years, I am pretty sure Germans, Swiss, and Austrians would gladly eat the Swiss cheese burger at Chili’s like I did on a busy night especially for delivery, which was just coming in there in the early 2010s in Stuttgart. 

Monterey County California produces onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce, and asparagus (a true spring vegetable in both California and Germany). All five vegetables were fresh and tasted like summer was definitely coming.

I drank an Alvarado Street Brewery Lager from our local California Brew Pub in Salinas and would absolutely recommend this meal to travelers and locals alike. 

Note: Chili’s has two locations in Monterey County – one in Salinas off Highway 101 and one in Seaside off Highway 1 by Embassy Suites. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Purple Ice Plant Flowers Carpet Pacific Grove, California in May 2026 reposted by Ruth Paget

May is the time for purple ice plant flowers to carpet the coastline in Pacific Grove, California.  Purple ice plant flowers are native to South Africa and are drought resistant.

Visitors seeing this purple carpet for the first time write the most enthusiastic blog posts like the following one:

https://mustloveroses.com/monterey-magic-purple-carpet/

Happy Coastal Strolling!

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Carmel Valley Garden Show - May 2 to May 3, 2026 - reposted by Ruth Paget

The Carmel Valley Garden Show will be held May 2 to May 3, 2026 in Carmel Valley.

Details about this event organized by the Carmel Valley Garden Club follow:

https://cvgc.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=324042&module_id=330643

For other family activities in Carmel Valley, see my blog about the Carmel Valley History Museum and Carmel Valley Park:

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2025/09/dinosaur-bones-ohlone-reed-boats-wagon.html?m=1

Happy Garden Strolling!

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Strata Recipe for Day-Old Bread reposted by Ruth Paget

I see from watching TikTok that most bakery bags on the Too Good to Go app arrive with lots of leftover bread with a few days to go.

Strata breakfast casserole uses day-old bread, custard, cheese and/or sausage as its ingredients.

A recipe for this pretty simple to make casserole follows:

https://www.iheartnaptime.net/strata/

Strata might make the two loaves of bread bags more appealing.

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games

Asian American - Pacific Islander Fest is May 20, 2026 at Northridge Mall in Salinas, California reposted by Ruth Paget

The Asian American - Pacific Islander Festival is being held on May 20, 2026 at Northridge Mall in Salinas, California.

Details about this event follow on Northridge Mall’s online event calendar below:

https://www.shop-northridge-mall.com/events

Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games