30 Aug 2012
by scolgin
in On the Road, Recipes, Video
Tags: fish, food, Mazatlán, Mexican cooking, Mexico, Pacifico, recipes, seafood
One afternoon my wife and our (at the time) young son were strolling down a wide, deserted beach along a malecón in Mazatlán, Mexico. It was around lunchtime, and the tall spires of the Pacifico Brewery in the distance were inspiring an almost religious-like thirst.
Su amigo, on the beach in Mazatlán
As fortune would have it, a gentleman came running from one of the dilapidated fish joins lining the malecón down the beach after us, promising delicious food and cold beer. A fisherman had just come in, he said, with a particular fish they rarely ever had — one of the best in all of Mexico! However skeptical we may have been about the story, we were ready for the pitch, so we followed him back up to the empty plastic tables and chairs and Tecaté umbrellas awaiting us away from the water. More
28 Aug 2012
by scolgin
in Recipes
Tags: breakfast, cooking, food, Hawaii, Hilo, King's Hawaiian Bread, Kona coffee, Maui, Portuguese sausage, recipes
On family trips to Maui as a kid, one of the things I always looked the most forward to was macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup. Now I visit the islands with my own kids, and one of the things they look most forward to is my King’s Hawaiian Bread french toast with coconut syrup and Portuguese sausage (another staple of the Hawaiian diet). Served with a big cup on Kona or Kauai coffee and a pile of fresh tropical fruit, there’s no better way to start the day.
King’s Hawaiian Bread French toast with macadamia nuts, coconut syrup and Portuguese sausage
There is a certain let down to eating Hawaiian food on the Mainland. My famous Ono island ribs, for example, just don’t taste quite the same without the plumeria-scented trade winds, crashing waves and gently shh-shing palm trees. More
24 Aug 2012
by scolgin
in Observations, Video
Tags: Cat & Fiddle, Douglas Fairbanks, food, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, kadesh, los angeles, Portland, queso anejo, Sigur Ros, Topanga Canyon
I was sitting on the grass the other evening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, shaded by the opulent mausoleum of Los Angeles royalty — Douglas Fairbanks and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. — waiting for one of my favorite bands, Iceland’s Sigur Ros, to begin playing a concert… when I felt a bony tap on my shoulder.
Amplifiers playing ambient music as you entered Hollywood Forever
It was not the mummified finger of a famous corpse that I had feared, but a young couple from Canada sitting behind me. “Hello,” they said. “Are you from around here?” More
21 Aug 2012
by scolgin
in On the Road, Recipes, Video
Tags: cooking, food, India, Maria Blackmer, Mauritian cuisine, Mauritius, Portland, recipes, shrimp creole
“Do you want me to cook Mauritian food tonight?” Maria offered. That is not the sort of offer I turn down.
Maria’s Mauritian shrimp creole
We were staying with our friends, Gary and Maria, in their home along the Tualatin River in an idyllic suburb of Portland, Oregon. Gary is one of my oldest friends from childhood. Maria, whom he met in the Northwest wine industry, hails from Kauai, where we were fortunate enough to be a part of their wedding a few years back. Her father is American, and her mother comes from Mauritius. More
17 Aug 2012
by scolgin
in Observations
Tags: Asian food, black cod, cooking, Japanese cooking, Kelp, noodles, raw food, Sea Tangle, seaweed, truffle oil
People often give me food. Some people give a bottle of truffle oil or some special salt as a thoughtful gift. Other people, usually family, will drop off cakes or leftovers from parties or wilty vegetables as they attempt to clear out their fridge and lighten their own load. “I brought you some food!” they’ll say. Still others will bring us food when they go on vacation or discover their child is gluten intolerant.
Sea Tangle kelp noodles
Sometimes the “gifts” are useful, sometimes they are not. More
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