To Avoid Starvation, and to Procreate

29 Jul 2014 19 Comments

by scolgin in Observations Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Being of an inherently inquisitive nature and surrounded, as I am, by every imaginable philosophical position — an atheist father, a recovering Catholic mother with Taoist leanings, Evangelical in-laws, Jewish and agnostic and pagan friends, yogis and rednecks — I spend a fair amount of time trying to figure things out.

A neighbor

A neighbor

Being also surrounded, as I am, by beautiful nature, my musings are often influenced by the wild. One recent morning while running in the state park, I happened past some coyote scat. Coyote scat, for those unfamiliar with the stuff, is an amalgam of fruit stones, tiny seeds, light colors and dark colors, presumably some meatstuff. More

Capturing the Heart of Texas for Imogen

25 Jul 2014 11 Comments

by scolgin in Food Tags: , , , , , , , ,

My breathtakingly beautiful, heartbreakingly headstrong daughter, Imogen, was turning 4. Her birthday week was upon us (“I can’t believe I’m four today!” she began saying daily a week before the actual date.) We invited a dozen or so of her pals, their siblings and families for the party — which meant somewhere between 40 and 50 guests, large and small.

Imogen and Pepito

Imogen and Pepito

Many people, when they do parties, plan them from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — or, if they don’t want to serve lunch, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Many of these parties take place at parks, indoor trampoline venues, laser tag facilities and the like. More

Vive le France!

22 Jul 2014 7 Comments

by scolgin in Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

“I need to eat more French food,” my wife, who has lived in both the Alps and Paris, announced the other day.

As it so happened, the day after she made this proclamation was Bastille Day. And always good for an occasion to build a theme meal around, I pulled out what is and will always be the best French cookbook of all — Thomas Keller’s “The French Laundry.”

The master at work

The master at work

I don’t use cookbooks so much for recipes as for inspiration. I had picked up three plump soft shell crabs a few days before, and wanted to see if any of Keller’s preparations caught my eye. Sure enough, there was a Chesapeake Bay Soft Shell Crab “Sandwich” — the quotation marks being Keller’s and indicating that the recipe was a playful riff on something you might be familiar with. More

Summer Gravlax for Argentina

15 Jul 2014 12 Comments

by scolgin in Recipes Tags: , , , , , , ,

So your friends, the Murphys, down the street, who lived in Argentina for awhile and fancy themselves Argentines, are having a party for the World Cup Final. They are making a traditional asado for the afternoon meal, and you want to bring a nice complementary appetizer. What do you settle on? Gravlax, of course.

Sockeye salmon curing

Sockeye salmon curing

While the closest thing to a Scandinavian country in the World Cup would be, I guess, the Netherlands, in today’s globally connected world of culinary mash-ups, there’s no need to be overly legalistic. More

My Best Idea

11 Jul 2014 20 Comments

by scolgin in Beverages, Recipes Tags: , , , , , ,

I remember watching a Ken Burns documentary series a few years back about the National Park system. It was called, “America’s Best Idea.”

I was thinking about this on a particularly hot Southern California summer afternoon, the desert winds blowing through the canyon and out to sea. It was stifling, I was thirsty… and then it came to me: My best idea!

Watermelon Aguarita

Watermelon Aguarita

It began with a half-eaten watermelon sitting on the kitchen counter. I was reminded of a post about watermelon agua fresca on my friend’s Jessica’s blog, Attempts in Domesticity. I pulled up her website, glanced at the instructions, and made myself a nice cold pinkish glass of watermelon agua fresca, which was just as refreshing as the post had suggested. More

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