This section of Pebble Beach, California has 4 picnic tables and is located right before Bird Rock, the haunt of long-necked black cormorants. You can see brown pelicans flying in formation here, white egrets, and seagulls. Seals and sea otters play in the waves here.
Text and video by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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Good Example of stucco architecture. Plaster covers brick in stucco work and is painted white. The dark color of brick absorbs heat. Stucco is applied for white paint, which reflects heat and keeps buildings cool. The Spanish used this technique in southern Andalusia, Spain and brought it to their missions in California
The coil on top of the wall corner may refer to a beehive. Monasteries still make honey to be self-sufficient in foodand sell the excess to earn money for monastery upkeep. |
Chicken Korma Cashew Curry at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
I like everything on the menu at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California. I am a big fan of freshly ground and roasted spices sautéed in ghee, clarified butter, that are cooked with yogurt or coconut milk to make curry sauce.
I love to mix curry sauce with bites of basmati rice or chicken or seafood cooked in curry in naan flatbread that is baked with licorice-flavored anise seeds.
I did wonder when I ordered chicken korma why Avatar Indian Grill did not call this dish a curry. I was intrigued and wanted to see what was different about it. So, I ordered it and knew it would be delicious, because Avatar Indian Grill was making it.
When the chicken korma arrived, the first thing I noticed was that it was a curry made with the addition of crushed cashew nuts. I love this addition to curry. (I obviously do not have a nut allergy.)
The second thing I noticed about this curry was the yellow-brown ochre color. I checked indianhealthyrecipes.com and saw that tomatoes are not used in making chicken korma, so the curry in chicken korma is not bright red. The crushed cashews also contribute to this ochre color as well as turmeric used to marinate the chicken.
The chicken pieces in the curry were moist and flavorful thigh meat. Chicken korma must be an Indian comfort food with its curry base of sautéed garlic, fresh ginger, and onion.
The preparation of chicken korma with yogurt appears to be a Northern Indian dish while that made with coconut milk is a Southern Indian dish according to indianhealthyrecipes.com. Both versions sound delicious and would pair well with a chilled mango lassi yogurt drink.
For a delicious midday comfort food lunch, chicken korma with cashew curry at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California is a great option for cashew lovers.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Foods of Italy Reviewed by Ruth Paget
Foods of Italy by Giuliano Bugialli honors Italy’s everyday foods eaten by Italians in their homeland and covers recipes from lesser-known regions especially those regions on Italy’s eastern Adriatic Sea coast.
I have made the following recipes over the years for flavor and economy even while using premium, high-quality ingredients like prosciutto, parmesan cheese, and pecorino cheese in moderation:
-bell pepper salad: made with tomato, garlic, chopped basil and mint, capers (optional for me), and strips of baked sweet green and yellow peppers that have had their skins removed and that are sliced. A simple oil and vinegar dressing is used with this salad. This salad is refrigerated before serving.
-marinated zucchini salad: great when zucchini explodes in summer gardens. This dish is not as straightforward as you would think. The zucchini is first baked and then sautéed in garlic-infused oil before marinating in the refrigerator.
-squash soup Mantua style: Mantua is the adoptive city of the famous Renaissance art patron Isabella d’Este. I have mostly made this soup with butternut squash. Basically, you bake the squash and then boil it in broth to make the soup. I purée my soup with the seasonings. Mantua style calls for making seasoning with prosciutto.
-cannellini beans with rosemary: for this dish, white cannellini beans are boiled and then baked with rosemary, garlic, and olive oil to make a tasty and not-too-expensive side dish in Italy.
-bean paste crostini: this dish calls for a purée of cannellini beans, garlic, and olive oil on toast rounds as an hors d’oeuvres. I use canned, rinsed beans to make this Italian hummus.
-tagliatelle with creamed prosciutto sauce: this dish is all good! Cubes of prosciutto are added to hot pasta with cream, butter, and parmesan cheese. I use thin strips of sliced pasta to make this dish.
-pasta and beans Puglia (Apulia) style: this dish from Italy’s boot heel on the Adriatic Sea mixes cannellini beans with puréed red onions and celery as a sauce for hot pasta that is probably sprinkled with grated pecorino cheese, the parmesan cheese of southern Italy.
For a glimpse into what Italians really eat everyday, Foods of Italy by Giuliano Bugialli is a great introduction.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Mexican Seafood Enchiladas at Hay’s Place in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget
For a West Coast family reunion, my daughter Florence Paget, husband Laurent, and I went to Hay’s Place at Pebble Beach, California for a Mexican meal overlooking the Pacific and golf course. This is a great spot for a family vacation photo.
We began our meal with our standard order of smashed guacamole and salsa. The guacamole at Hay’s Place is a salad with chopped onion, tomato, cilantro, avocado, and a little tequila. The corn chips that come with the guacamole are mostly blue corn chips and have a smokier taste than yellow corn chips.
I tried the enchiladas del mar trio (3 seafood enchiladas with different sauces). On the day we visited Hay’s Place, the daily catch for one of the enchiladas was tilapia. (I lucked out!)
Enchiladas are warmed soft corn tortillas wrapped around fillings with sauces on top that are baked to oozing goodness. At Hay’s Place, the enchiladas were filled with seafood, roasted mild green peppers that could be New Mexico chili peppers, and creamy Oaxacan crema cheese that is less tangy than sour cream with a dairy flavor.
As I mentioned, the first enchilada in this trio was filled with sautéed tilapia fillet, mild green pepper strips, and Oaxacan crema cheese. The filling was wrapped with a soft blue corn tortilla. The sauce on this enchilada was a mole poblano, a savory spiced chocolate sauce.
The second enchilada was filled with lobster, mild roasted green peppers, and Oaxacan cheese. The sauce for this lobster enchilada was a mild red sauce that tasted as if it had been made with tomatoes, onions, garlic, chili peppers, and seasonings like oregano, cumin, and paprika. The sauce was light and let the lobster flavor shine.
The third enchilada was filled with shrimp, mild roasted green pepper, and Oaxacan crema cheese as well. This enchilada was also wrapped in a soft blue corn tortilla. The sauce on this enchilada was a piquant green sauce most probably made with Mexican tomatillo green tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, cilantro, and garlic.
This grandiose selection of enchiladas came with stewed black beans mixed with tequila and Spanish rice made with tomato juice, chicken broth, and a few chopped green peppers.
As a beverage, I drank Mexican Jarritos Mandarin orange soda that is partially made with orange juice. It still has sugar, but also has Vitamin C.
For a tonic, spa meal that is also a little exotic during a golfing trip or tour of 17-Mile Drive, I highly recommend Hay’s Place at Pebble Beach. (Definitely a Blue Zones Outing by the ocean in fresh air!)
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Thank you Books-a-Million for carrying my book Eating Soup with Chopsticks.
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
New York Meal at Pub’s (Growers Pub) in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
My daughter Florence Paget took me out for a New York dinner at Pub’s in downtown Salinas, California for a daughter-mom outing before the big weekend with the Java House Grand Prix Monterey at Laguna Seca and the Obon Festival (July 27) at the Buddhist Temple in Salinas.
We started our meal with Monterey Bay deep-fried calamari. The calamari were lightly coated in polenta corn meal with a piquant dipping sauce and lemon wedges for squeezing. I really enjoy eating this dish in cool-weather Salinas with a sweet Meyer lemon lemonade.
Salads came with our main dishes. I chose Thousand Island dressing for my New York-themed crispy and chilled romaine lettuce salad with a juicy tomato wedge on the side. Life is good in America’s salad bowl capital. (Blue cheese dressing is available for diners who would like calcium and protein to go with their salad.)
Florence ordered a medium-rare prime New York steak with a baked potato along with steamed carrots, zucchini, and broccoli. The steak was juicy and perfect Florence said.
I ordered chicken fettucine Alfredo. The fresh pasta was bathed in a rich creamy sauce that tasted as if it had been made with cream, butter, mascarpone cheese, and Parmesan cheese. That sauce was so good, it would make garlic ice cream taste good. (Gilroy about 20 minutes up 101 makes garlic ice cream in America’s garlic capital.)
The cubes of chicken breast and thigh meat in the fettucine Alfredo were moist, tender, and flavorful. This delicious dish can also be made with shrimp and salmon at Pub’s.
To complete our meal, we had some elegant New York desserts – cheesecake for Florence and tiramisu for me.
For tiramisu, you line the bottom of a casserole with sponge cake lady finger cookies, pour espresso coffee over the lady fingers, spread whipped mascarpone cheese (similar to whipped cream) over the lady fingers, and dust the top of the mascarpone with cocoa powder. You then chill the tiramisu and serve it with raspberry sauce. Pub’s makes their tiramisu like this and it is a fantastic finish for a New York-themed meal.
For New York steak and Italian-American meals, Pub’s in downtown Salinas, California offers great food and a full bar.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
