06 Mar 2015
by scolgin
in On the Road, Pork, Recipes
Tags: Barley Forge, Camping, food, Greg Nylen, humor, Leo Carrillo State Park, Malibu, Masterson's rye whisky, paella, Spanish cuisine
On the eve of departing for another Cub Scout camping trip near Joshua Tree, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect a simple fact: I love our Cub Scouts pack.
It took me awhile, but I came around. Being one who is, generally speaking, apprehensive with group activities, recited credos and the like, I was skeptical at first. But the boy wanted to do it, and this was about him, not me.
Tidepooling in Malibu
As with most things Topanga, I soon realized this was not a typical pack — that, despite the rules and formalities, I was among my tribe. More
23 Jan 2015
by scolgin
in Observations, On the Road
Tags: beer, food, humor, Japanese cooking, matsutake, mycology, Sonoma, tempura, wild mushrooms
Fungi is a fickle kingdom. Predicting where and when a particular mushroom will grow is like betting on the stock market.
Willa with amanita coccora — the only edible mushroom in a family of deadly beauties
Some mushrooms appear only in years with late soaking rain, others only when there is an early rain followed by a dry spell followed by another rain. Some mushrooms only grow where there is something dead under the dirt, while others cannibalize nearby poisonous mushrooms, transforming them into prized edibles. More
31 Oct 2014
by scolgin
in Eating Out, On the Road
Tags: Barley Forge Brewing Co., beer, Costa Mesa, Greg Nylen, home beer brewing, Jeff Kramer, microbreweries, Orange County, Topanga Catering
I’ve written glowingly in the past about my friend, Greg, and his home brewing set up.
The soft opening at Barley Forge
Greg is a lawyer who, I guess, got tired of lawyering and wanted to make beer instead. I’ve been drinking his delicious beers for several years, and listening to his plans to open his own brewery — first in Topanga, and that having proven an impossible-to-navigate labyrinth of permits and regulations, Culver City. When the latter also failed to pan out, he set his sights further south — to Costa Mesa in Orange County — and a brewery was born. More
24 Oct 2014
by scolgin
in On the Road, Pork, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: Barley Forge Brewing Co., Camping, cowboys, Don Julio 70, Dumbledore, Garth's Boulder Garden, Greg Nylen, Joshua Tree, Pioneertown, Santa Maria tri tip, Sean Colgin, smoked pork shoulder
It was past Pioneertown, the last outpost, at the end of a long and dusty dirt road amidst the boulders and Joshua trees and outlaw cabins of the Mojave desert, that we set up camp.
Desert shadow selfie
More specifically, it was the property of our friend and Scoutmaster, Greg, and his wife Mary Ann, and an official Cub Scouts camp out. And I was designated cook for 50 or so people on Saturday night.
More
04 Jul 2014
by scolgin
in Eating Out, Markets & Stores, On the Road, World's Best Sandwiches
Tags: Bodie, Ferry Building, Lake Tahoe, Rose Pistola, Route 116, San Francisco, Slanted Door, tri-tip, Wagyu, Wine Guerrilla
Summer is a wonderful time in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. The days are long and the nights warm, the river languid and inviting.
Relaxing on the river
We typically spend time in the late fall at my mom’s house near the river — hunting mushrooms, sitting by fires and exchanging early Christmas gifts. But when my mom and her partner, Bruce, asked me to come cook for an event at our family winery, I saw the perfect opportunity to extend a one-day event into a nine-day family vacation! More
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
skinny girls & mayonnaise 