19 Nov 2013
by scolgin
in Good Gadget, Bad Gadget, Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: barbecue, Black Equities Group, food, gadgets, grilling, humor, rib eye, Scott Murphy, Topanga
People often give me items for cooking or the kitchen that are sometimes useful, sometimes not. And you never quite know at first in which direction they will fall.
The Scott Murphy Hat
For example, you may open a Christmas gift to discover a beautifully designed utensil from Williams-Sonoma that looks like something you couldn’t live without, and find over time that you have no use for it at all. Conversely, someone may hand you something you couldn’t imagine ever using, and it winds up being one of your MVPs (Most Valuable Products). Such was the case with the Scott Murphy hat. More
15 Nov 2013
by scolgin
in Humor, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: cooking, fennel pollen, food, Groupon, humor, Milford Spice Company, saffron, salt, spices
It was a cold and rainy winter morning in March 2012 (actually it was so long ago I don’t remember, but “cold and rainy winter morning” always makes for a better story beginning) when the Groupon arrived — a new online spice company called Milford Spice. I browsed their website and found a lot of interesting things, and who can’t always use some spices — especially at 50% off? It was near my birthday, so I treated myself to the Groupon and got shopping.
Bourbon-barrel smoked sea salt, looks good doesn’t it?
Here were many things I could use — saffron, Malabar black peppercorns, Middle Eastern zahtar, vanilla beans — and interesting things I’d never heard of before like bourbon-barrel smoked sea salt and toasted onion cane sugar (!). I was like a kid in a candy store, and put my order in. More
08 Nov 2013
by scolgin
in Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: Charlie Trotter, chicago, cooking, Dar Maghreb, food, Henry David Thoreau, Mario Batali, morels, Pierre Dupart, Rene Redzepi
I was in the kitchen making breakfast for the kids when my wife came in with an alarmed look on her face.
“Charlie Trotter died.”
The name stalled in my head, it took me a moment to process the news. And then I was hit with a wave of shock: Charlie Trotter, the boyish Chicago chef whose smiling face grinned out at me from three or four cookbooks in my collection. More
29 Oct 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Humor, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: chili cook off, Grillers, Halloween, humor, soy, Topanga, vegetarian chili, vegetarian cooking
It was, once again, time for the annual Halloween carnival at my kids’ elementary school. And once I again, I was asked to make vegetarian chili.
The author as Señor Taco with friend Lucy at the Halloween carnival, 2012
As I mentioned in my last New Soy Technology post, my vegetarian chili was gaining a following. My pal Ernie had recently suggested I make it for the Topanga Chili Cook-Off — he was a judge last year. (Actually, now that I recall, I was supposed to be a judge too, but was out of town.)
More
08 Oct 2013
by scolgin
in On the Road, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories), Video
Tags: Boca de Tomatlan, Casa Tres Coronitas, Mario's Fishing & Snorkeling Tours, Mexican cooking, Mexico, Playa Las Animas, Puerto Vallarta
Still aglow from having caught a shimmering silver bonito on a troll line with a neon Tokyo-pop squid lure during our snorkel trip, my pal Nat decided he needed to go fishing proper.
Mario and Flynn hauling in a bonito
It was our last full day in Mexico, and we awoke before sunrise to drive south to Boca de Tomatlan and meet Mario, our amigo and boat captain, for a morning of sailing. The plan was to be just Nat, myself and our two older boys, Flynn and Nat Wes. But the esposas were intrigued and some of the younger kids wanted to go, so we packed all nine of us into the Nissan compact rental, clown-style, and headed out. More
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