Old Fisherman's Grotto in Monterey, California by Ruth Paget

The Old Fisherman’s Grotto by Ruth Pennington Paget 

When my daughter Florence sang in musicals at the Bruce Ariss Theatre on the Monterey Wharf, we would stop the for bowls of clam chowder at the Old Fisherman’s Grotto sometimes before her rehearsals and performances. 

They sold clam chowder that you could eat outside the restaurant and other things like sandwiches, candy, bottled water, and soda for families who came to visit the Monterey Wharf and look at seals, take whaling boat trips, and buy souvenirs. Even well-heeled families from San Francisco got food at Grotto’s outside stand. Most families chose items to eat from this outside café, because the items were reasonably priced. 

The restaurants in downtown Monterey are “fancy.” You have to probably show that your kids have earned a certificate in etiquette at the American School of Protocol to eat in them anymore. The director for the musicals Florence was in went to the Grotto before shows for an early dinner. She was a former Broadway director and voice teacher, who obviously was well-versed in opera, too. 

Once you had auditioned and gotten into a play, she rehearsed leads and chorus with equal rigor. While she rehearsed the chorus with piano accompaniment, I would work on my articles for the Global Librarian column I did for the Bay Area Chapter of the Special Libraries Association in San Francisco when I was getting my master’s degree in Library and Information Science at San Jose State University in California’s Silicon Valley. 

Fortunately, I like musicals, so I did not mind listening to the songs from Sound of Music, H.M.S. Pinafore, and Give my Regards to Broadway as I was writing. Even though I was listening to this, I was able to write about intercultural role playing groups for training people to work with library customers from different cultural backgrounds, tips for learning foreign languages, the history of the Spanish language, tailoring websites for different cultures, tips on how to work with Chinese-American library customers, tips on interpretation, tips on how to organize and produce foreign-language marketing materials, and tips on how to work with Arab-American library customers (many Arab-Americans are Orthodox Christians with new immigrants being Muslim). 

Each show Florence was in required four months of rehearsal (4 to 5 hours per night) and three months performance. We usually ate early dinner at home, and then I would drive Florence down to the Wharf. She got in costume, put on full make-up, and sold tickets to the shows all over downtown. They always had a full house. Florence sang lead songs for kids and took pictures with tourists. 

She got some clam chowder paid for by me for doing all this. She also did make-up for the leads for dress rehearsals and performances. She memorized the entire play and assisted the stage manager on the other side of the stage in case actors forgot lines. Florence was a professional child actor with tons of acting and sales experience before she was eighteen years old. 

One of the reasons she was accepted into the playwrighting program at Juilliard was her knowledge of all aspects of theatre, which included three semesters of college-level acting courses at Monterey Peninsula College. 

This Christmas season, my little family went down to the Monterey Wharf for several dinners at the Old Fisherman’s Grotto – inside this time. There were harbor seals playing around and a large school of sardines swimming around. 

We arrived early to get the locals menu. Florence reserved us window seats overlooking Pacific Grove on the upper level of the restaurant. The restaurant is always a little chilly, so Florence kept her Juilliard jacket on. I smiled at her and ordered a Bloody Mary cocktail to go with my chicken piccata, a standard pantry dish of chicken breast sautéed in olive oil with lemon juice and capers. 

I could buy the clam chowder in cans as a souvenir.

The food is good, but I just liked listening to all the Frank Sinatra music in this Manhattan by Monterey Bay Restaurant crooning, “I did it my way.” 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

A Progressive's View of French Civilization by Ruth Paget

A Progressive’s Version of French Civilization by Ruth Paget 

When Florence was a student at the Waldorf School in Monterey, I often took her to the outdoor labyrinth at the Community Church of Monterey in Carmel Valley to keep up her French heritage. This labyrinth is a miniature version of the labyrinth laid in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France during the 12th century. 

Florence had rolled across this labyrinth in a baby stroller when we lived in France, but had not been back to walk it there. Children in France walk church labyrinths. They slow down their lives to not miss a turn. They are too busy concentrating to smile. Sometimes they scold one another for jumping a lane.

Chartres is not the only cathedral with a labyrinth. Amiens in northern France has a black and white labyrinth still in use. The cathedral in Poitiers, France has a wall labyrinth that people point out to children and trace out the path with their fingers after mass. There used to be many more labyrinths in France, but church authorities have removed them over the centuries. 

In Chartres, the labyrinth persists, I believe, because its links to pagan Greek myth were eradicated. The original center of the labyrinth had a leather cover that depicted Theseus, the dead minotaur, and Ariadne’s thread. 

The first time we went to the labyrinth I planned to show Florence why Chartres Cathedral was important to understanding the history of France. Florence was looking forward to a mom adventure. “This circle is like a game. You enter here facing the mountains. Then, you follow the path to the center. When you are in the center, you rest a bit and think, and then come back here,” I said.

Florence looked at the labyrinth and said, “This looks a little hard.” 

“Just concentrate on what you are doing. When you get to the center, I’ll tell you a story,” I said. Florence went off walking. When she reached the center. She stood facing me. 

I began my story. “In Chartres, the center of the labyrinth had a leather cover showing the Greek hero Theseus, the minotaur he killed, and Ariadne’s thread that allowed him to get out of the labyrinth. I’ll tell you another story when you get back.” 

Florence laughed and wound the labyrinth and came out to stand by me, facing the mountains. 

“What’s the second story,” Florence asked. 

“Well, there are two things to remember here. First, killing a minotaur is like solving a big problem. Solving a problem makes you smarter, but it also disrupts a previous pattern. Being smarter helps you solve the consequences of solving the problem, too. The result is that when you exited this labyrinth, the Greeks would have said you are transformed or changed by becoming smarter,” I said.

“And…,” Florence said, waiting for my story thread. “Second, Ariadne’s thread saved Theseus from the consequences of killing the minotaur. The church put Ariadne’s thread there to say that belief in Christ serves the same purpose. The early church used an older religion to explain the new one. ” I said.

I took out a book I had on the stained glass windows of Chartres and showed Florence the eastern rose window with Christ at the last judgment. 

“This window is what you see when you leave the labyrinth at Chartres. The people who do more good than bad go up to heaven with singing angels at the right. The people who do more bad than good go down to the left with monsters who dance in fire. This image usually appears in stone over the doors of churches in France from the Middle Ages,” I said. 

“How big is this window?” Florence asked. 

“I’ll give you an idea,” I said and stood opposite of her with the mountains to my back. I put my right arm up and my left arm down. “The rose window with Christ at the Last Judgment looks the size of those mountains behind when you look up from the labyrinth at Chartres,” I said. 

 “Do you have to be perfect to go to heaven?” Florence asked. 

“The last perfect human was Christ, and he was crucified. You have to do more good than bad. According to Catholicism, we are born with original sin. No one is perfect, but we can strive to do right. The Catholic Church also has a tradition of warrior saints, who protect the faith and country. This is especially true in France where Joan of Arc is said to have saved France,” I said.

“Who was Joan of Arc?” Florence asked. 

 “She was a shepherdess, who became a general. She felt that her civilization was in danger of disappearing and fought to protect it. Many people think all the French do is sit in cafés, drink wine, and talk philosophy all day long. This does not reflect French civilization for almost all of its history. France has been at war most of the time,” I said. 

“Is that bad?” Florence asked. 

“It’s not a question and good and bad really. It’s historic fact. France is beautiful and many people want what the French have worked very hard to create. They have maintained their culture for centuries by fighting to protect it,” I said. 

“That’s a lot of war,” Florence said. 

“It is. Let me walk through the labyrinth with you. Another thing you should know about France is that the kings and aristocrats had the nicest stuff. The farmers, called peasants in France, prayed that soldiers would not march through the fields and take all the crops. The peasants absolutely rejoiced when they could bring in food at harvest,” I said, finishing my French history lesson in Carmel Valley. 

By Ruth Paget Author of Marrying France and Eating Soup with Chopsticks

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Isigny Ste Mère: The Global Butter Brands Game Created by Ruth Paget

Isigny Ste Mère: The Global Butter Brands Game Created by Ruth Paget 

Number of Players: 1 or Teams of 2 or 4 

Objective: 

Improve knowledge of world butter culture and production methods to make better purchasing decisions about elite butter brands. 

Game Tools:  

-Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova – available in hardback, paperback, or kindle 

-notebook paper

-index cards 

-pens 

-access to Google pronunciation tool with speaker function 

Game 1: 

Read about butter production techniques in Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova. Try to visualize each step taken in the production process. 

Write the name of each production method on top of a piece of notebook paper. 

List the steps needed to take in each production method with numbers. Cover up the steps for each production method and try to write them down to memorize them. Do this until you have memorized the steps in each production method. 

Knowing this information will allow you to make better-informed buying decisions about butter and get the best value for your money. 

The different butter production methods to research in Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova follow: 

-batch-churned and artisan sweet butters 

-continuous-churned sweet butter 

-European-style (higher butterfat) sweet butters 

-traditional vat-cultured butters 

-whey cream butters 

-goat butters 

-sheep butters 

-raw milk (unpasteurized) butter 

-canned butters 

-ghee, smen 

Game 2: 

Once you know butter production methods backwards and forwards, you can go to the next level in butter knowledge by learning the top brands for each production method and the countries they come from. 

Khosrova lists top butter brands by production method in an appendix. 

Step 1: Type the brand name into Google Pronunciation with the country language and learn to correctly pronounce the brand name. 

Step 2: Quiz yourself on brand names and production methods by flipping through the index cards. 

Step 3: Quiz yourself on brand names and country of origin by flipping through the index cards. 

Learning all the information in this game will help with buying butter and might interest potential employers in catering, restaurants, upscale grocery stores, and companies with in-house dining. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Oklahoma's Route 66 Food by Ruth Paget

Oklahoma’s Route 66 Food by Ruth Paget 

You can see that Oklahomans enjoy eating state fair food year round as you read through Eat and Explore Oklahoma by Christy Campbell. 

The recipes in this cookbook are clearly explained and use ingredients that can be found in chain grocery stores. 

The following recipes look delicious and are relatively inexpensive to prepare: 

-cowboy caviar made with black beans, black olives, lime juice, cumin, red pepper, and cream cheese 

-raspberry punch made with lemon-lime soda, raspberry juice, lemonade, and raspberry sherbet 

-cold peach soup made with peaches, sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, sherry or white wine, orange juice concentrate, and fresh peaches 

-strawberry soup made with frozen strawberries, sour cream, grenadine syrup, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and half and half 

-fresh veggie pasta made with tri-color pasta swirls, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini squash, green onions, carrots, celery, and dressing 

-carrot-macaroni salad made with curly noodles, grated carrots, condensed milk, and green pepper 

-beer bread made with self-rising flour, sugar, beer, and butter 

-Parmesan rice made with rice, green onions, cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, parsley, and Parmesan cheese 

-sour cream chicken made with chicken breasts, butter, mushroom soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, and crushed Ritz crackers as a topping 

Eat and Explore Oklahoma by Christy Campbell also lists may bed and breakfasts where you can sample these Route 66 dishes on vacation. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Montana and Wyoming's Food Flair by Ruth Paget

Montana and Wyoming Food Flair by Ruth Paget 

On vacations to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier National Parks in Wyoming and Montana, I have seen the Big Sky with feathery cirrus clouds and cumulus clouds heavy with rain that sometimes made my vacations wet or snowy depending on the temperature. 

With the cookbook Best of the Best from Big Sky – Montana and Wyoming edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley, I can experience some of the life of Big Sky residents who shop once a week if weather permits. 

I liked the following recipes in the cookbook, because they are easy to recreate in other states: 

-white bean dip made with garlic, white kidney beans, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, cayenne, and cilantro leaves 

-black bean salsa made with red peppers, onion, cucumber, celery, tomato juice, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, thyme, cumin, and cilantro 

-cheese and chile bread made with French bread, mayonnaise, Monterey Jack cheese, green chilies, and jalapeños 

-oat biscuits made with eggs in addition to traditional ingredients. Oats contain all of the 9 essential amino acids needed to make a full protein. They are also relatively inexpensive. 

-oatmeal sunflower millet bread made with honey, whole-wheat flour, safflower oil, oatmeal, sunflower seeds, and millet 

-cranberry walnut scones made with milk and maple syrup in addition to the main ingredients 

-old-fashioned potato pancakes made with eggs and flour 

-turkey-wild rice soup 

-Norwegian fish chowder made with carrots, onions, and cauliflower 

-Russian scalloped potatoes made with onions, sour cream, potatoes, ham, and Parmesan cheese 

-pierogi casserole made with lasagna pasta, potatoes, cheddar cheese, onions, and butter. Pierogis are a Polish dish. 

-Bourbon pork tenderloins made with bourbon and brown sugar and topped off with mustard sauce 

-Dutch oven chicken dinner – a one-pot meal made with potatoes, zucchini, carrots, cabbage, garbanzo beans, onions, and chicken. 

Cooks interested in finding out more about the cuisine of America’s great national parks will enjoy Best of the Best from Big Sky – Montana and Wyoming edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

Texas Gold Star Cuisine by Ruth Paget

Texas Gold Star Cuisine by Ruth Paget 

I have visited Houston, Texas once for the wedding of a college friend from the University of Chicago. 

The sultry Gulf Coast air in Houston made the big Texan hair I had worked so hard to curl like Farah Fawcett’s for the wedding fall limply on my face despite hair spray. (Or, could it have been from dancing and singing to songs from the 1980s after the wedding?) 

If I count the times I have made plane connections in the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, I can say that I have been to Texas about 30 times on my way to various points in the Eastern United States from California. 

All these short stays in Texas piqued my interest in the state’s history and cuisine. 

I wanted to see how the large population of descendants of German immigrants to Texas mixed their love of meat with Southwestern ingredients when I bought The New Texas Cuisine by Stephen Pyles. 

Three meat dishes from this book that I thought looked especially good include: 

-veal medallions on wilted greens with pinto-wild mushroom sauce and spicy whipped sweet potatoes 

-pork tenderloin with dried cherry sauce and caramel pine nuts 

-roast beef tenderloin with roast tomato ancho chile sauce and wild mushroom enchilada 

Pyles also provides a nice collection of poultry dishes that are a little easier on the pocketbook to make such as the following: 

 -roast chicken in adobo sauce with black-bean prosciutto refrito 

-roast wild turkey with blue cornmeal-chorizo stuffing 

-pheasant braised in tequila with peaches 

The New Texas Cuisine cookbook by Stephen Pyles will surely expand what cooks think of as Texan cuisine as they cook and provide background information for trips to the state. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books

The Food of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas by Ruth Paget

The Food of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas by Ruth Paget 

North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas are very important to the United States for grain production. 

North Dakota grows durum wheat, which is milled into protein-rich semolina flour that is used in pasta and pizza dough. South Dakota grows oats and rye. Nebraska grows corn. Kansas leads the country in wheat production. These four states are a breadbasket that feeds millions. 

These states also grow vegetables that mix with these grains to form protein combinations. (Basically, you are looking for seed and grain combinations.) These states are famous for meat eating, but protein combinations augment their protein consumption. 

There are absolutely terrific vegetable dishes in the cookbook Best of the Best from the Great Plains Cookbook – North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley that go well with meat and form protein combinations with grain products. 

Some of the great vegetable recipes from this cookbook include: 

-radish dip made with cream cheese, butter, celery salt, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, radishes, and green onion 

-hot potato skins served with shredded cheese and crumbled bacon 

-skorpor (Swedish rusks – a kind of Swedish biscotti) 

-cauliflower salad made with cauliflower, chestnuts, mayonnaise, ranch dressing, onion, sour cream, and dill 

-broccoli salad made with broccoli, almonds, cherries, onions, green peppers, and crumbled bacon 

-spinach salad made with spinach, eggs, celery, onion, and cubed cheese 

-wild rice salad made with white chicken breast, rice, green grapes, cashews, water chestnuts, mayonnaise, and curry powder 

-onion salad made with onion slices, vinegar, sugar, mayonnaise, and celery seed 

-pear and walnut salad made with blue cheese 

-carrot-apple salad raisins and sunflower seeds 

-company potatoes made with cream of chicken soup, sour cream, grated American cheese, butter, and a crust of crumbled cornflakes 

-stuffed squash made with baked acorn squash with onion, turkey, apple, and raisins 

-Swiss green beans made with French onion dip, green beans, and Swiss cheese. My mom made this dish for Sunday meals for years. 

-rice and sour cream casserole with green chilies 

-rice casserole with onions and mushrooms 

Cooks interested in a variety of vegetable recipes might be interested in the recipes The Best of the Best from the Great Plains Cookbook – North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas edited by Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley. 

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

Click for Ruth Paget's Books