26 Aug 2014
by scolgin
in Eating Out, Recipes
Tags: barbecue, Camping, ceviche, Mexican cooking, Santa Maria grilling, Sea of Cortez, tacos, Topanga, Topanga Community Club
I was a bit skeptical when I first got the email. Our local community club, which is always having some event or other, had dreamed up a new one: the Fiddle & Griddle family campout.
Albacore & shrimp ceviche
It was to take place on the baseball field on a Saturday in August, there would be a Santa Maria-style grill to cook on, games for the kids, campfire singalongs and so forth. It sounded interesting, but probably wasn’t our style of thing — I’m a reluctant camper, I find the packing up, unloading, setting up camp, breaking down, packing back up and unloading again a laborious process, especially for a single night a couple miles from home. More
25 Mar 2014
by scolgin
in Eating Out, On the Road, Recipes
Tags: Anthony Bourdain, black clams, Bodeguita del Medio, Casa Tres Coronitas, Mexican cooking, Mexico, Pancho's Takos, patas, Puerto Vallarta, uni
I had successfully taken over the kitchen at Casa Tres Coronitas — at least for a couple of our nights here. And Marilu actually seemed somewhat relieved.
At the PV Farmer’s Market
Out on the boat with our amigo Mario fishing, looking for whales, snorkeling and loitering on beaches, we’d caught a big red snapper and a couple of smaller fish that appeared to be in the tuna family. The little fish I made into a Mexican crudo with lime, chili, cilantro, onions and Jugo — the Mexican equivalent of soy sauce — while the larger fish I left to Marilu to grill, one of her specialties. (I didn’t want to steal her thunder. And her fish was delicioso, I could’ve done no better.) More
21 Mar 2014
by scolgin
in Humor, On the Road, Recipes
Tags: Casa Tres Coronitas, cooking, food, Mexican cooking, Mexico, octopus, Puerto Vallarta, shrimp, tequila, travel
We love the food at Casa Tres Coronitas — prepared by the house cook, Marilu — especially the first couple days we are here. But after a few days, we’re ready for a change… if not wanting to necessarily leave this perfect paradise.
“I would like it if you cooked a couple nights,” Leslie said last time we were here. But we never had the courage to approach Marilu with this proposition, both out of fear of hurting her feelings, and an inability to communicate the point to her anyway. But when I mentioned it to Monica, who speaks fluent Spanish, she was insistent. “Oh, of course you will cook! I already told Marilu that you were a chef and you wanted to cook.”
More
04 Mar 2014
by scolgin
in Pork, Recipes, Video
Tags: food, Mexican cooking, Mexican pizzas, Mexico, Oaxaca, recipes, Rick Bayless, street food, Tlayuda
It was a Saturday afternoon, I had a bit of a cold. So I settled into my bed to watch cooking shows on PBS. One of my favorites is “Mexico One Plate at a Time,” with Rick Bayless spotlighting a different region of Mexican cooking each season. This season, he’s in Oaxaca, which is a part of Mexico I’ve never had the privilege to visit.
I often get inspired to cook by things I see Rick talking about on his show — last season he was in Baja, and I found myself trying out air-dried machaca beef, shrimp tacos folded in fried cheese and even an avante garde foamy sea urchin ceviche. And now, lying in bed, I watched as Rick, visiting a sustainable farm in the Oaxacan mountains, dug into something called a tlayuda. 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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