Free Form Cooking Without a Net: IV

Okay. Let us get back on track here.

In the midst of these cooking projects, other ingredients in the pantry always cry out, "Take me! Take me! I want to be part of this." And such happened here again.

Cooking IV

Back from a Break

I took a little five-day break from the laptop. It was total. No email. No blog. No book discussions. Not even a boot up. I think one ought to do that once in a while. But then again, perhaps one ought not do that. I don't know.

In any event I am back. All is well.


Mural from the lobby of Teatro Ángela Peralta.

Tonight is opera night. Do not bother to visit the Opera San Miguel site unless you can read Spanish. There is an English tab, but it does not work.

The national opera competition, or concurso, was the first event that I attended in San Miguel last June. Normally, it is held in March. For some reason last year it was delayed until June. In any event the curtain rises in five hours. I must therefore commence my toilette now.

A Dab of Politics

Just a dab of politics from The Mex Files.

That is pretty much how it looks from here. Sums it up nicely.

Free Form Cooking Without a Net: III

In this session we get after the fish soup seriously.

Then the whole project starts to go out of the control as usual. The cauliflower by itself is not colorful enough. This is where we char a red pepper and a green pepper directly over the gas flame, something I have not seen done before. But there are a lot of things that I have not seen.

By the way, Adriana inquired at the vegetable shop. The large, light green peppers that she put into the soup are güero peppers.

Cooking III from Tío Steve on Vimeo.

We still do not know what kind of fish that is. She just pointed at it in the fish shop. The large chunk is a fish that make good broth. The small filets are a fish that is not very flavorful naturally. A bland fish of some sort.

Molly Hatchet

Yesterday, I spent a good deal of time listening to the Allman Brothers Band on the iPod out in the sun. I am talking about the original, original band before the motorcycle accidents. Duane Allman, guitar; Greg Allman, organ and vocals; Dickey Betts, guitar; Berry Oakley, bass; Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson a/k/a Johnny Lee Johnson, both on drums. At Filmore East, 1971.

On the farm I was raised on country music, hardcore country music. Then I became enamored of rock 'n roll and slowly then the blues. Like so many my age, I had to be introduced to American blues by the Rolling Stones. When Southern Rock arrived, it was a perfect blend for me given my background.

I loved those southern rock groups at the time, and I still revisit that occasionally. The Marshall Tucker Band was another stalwart for me. I was never as fond of Lynyrd Skynyrd as others were, however. All those Southern Rock guys had trouble staying alive.

I look in on the second video of Molly Hatchet below periodically. It has been up for a long time. The voice sync has slipped a little, but I still like to see Danny Joe Brown. Massive stroke in 1998, and dead of renal failure in 2005. Nobody today can sweat like Danny Joe Brown could. God rest his soul.

That great triple guitar sound happens here at 3:23.




Danny Joe bulked up a little between 1979 and 1983. That great twin guitar sound happens at 4:04 here:




27 years ago. Hard to believe. In truth, though, I am happy the late seventies and early eighties are long behind me.

Indian Dancing

Let us take a break from cooking for a little touristy thing. Yesterday, various Indian groups were dancing up town around the jardin.

I enjoyed this. I myself am an aficionado of Indian dancing, having done some myself. My career in Indian dancing spanned about three months during the summer of 1957 when I was a ten-year-old Cub Scout. I mastered a lot of the moves, which gives me the background to appreciate the art more profoundly.










The Virgin of Guadalupe was there, too, getting it on.


In this 1:40 video, we start with a machete dance and then move into some freestyle stuff.

Indian Dancing from Tío Steve on Vimeo.

Free Form Cooking Without a Net: II

Four Dinners, I took the time to give you a detailed security briefing. It is in the comments to She Who Sells Flowers With a Half-Smile. You missed it. The short answer to your questions is, "Don't worry."

In this segment of the cooking extravaganza, things are still going according to plan. The project is yet to careen out of control. The whole thing will get chaotic when other ingredients that we have not talked about call out from the pantry that they want to get in on the action, too. That will happen. It always happens.

Cooking II from Tío Steve on Vimeo.

Free Form Cooking Without a Net: I

Here we go. In experimental mode. I am not going to edit this thing. I would have no idea where to start. We have had to shoot this with the video function of the little camera because I am having voice sync problems with the big Camcorder when converting from tape to digital. I will fix that.

This will be roughly a half-hour program in 10-minute installments. She will make fish soup for a starter. It is a Friday in lent. All the butcher shops were closed. However, the little fish shop was doing well. The entrée will be fish in La Mexicana's green sauce (salsa verde) with a kind of cauliflower medley on the side. We will not forget the lime to kill bacteria.

La Mexicana promises that next time she will know the names of all the chiles and also be able to tell you precisely what kind of fish. We have a fat chunk of fish in this, which is very good for broth. That goes into the soup obviously. Then we have two smaller chunks of fish that do not have much flavor by themselves. They are going to be covered with green sauce. That is all you need to know.

We will get these production values back up where they belong in the future.

Fish Soup and Fish in Green Sauce I