PinnedAn Ode to the Dried Chiles of MexicoFrom another white guy who isn’t Mexican — I’ve come to the conclusion that there are only two kinds of people in the world: those that love dried chiles and those that haven’t realized they do yet. Because even if you think you don’t like dried chiles, you do. You love them; we all do. So far, apart…Food7 min readFood7 min read
PinnedWhy Aren’t You Fermenting Yet?Why you should and what you’re missing out on — A few months ago, I decided to ferment something that most people told me I was fucking crazy to try and ferment. It was pork, and that pork went into one of the best salads I’ve made in my life.Food7 min readFood7 min read
PinnedPerfectionism Is Toxic To Our Mental HealthBut it’s not the real problem — Note: In an attempt to manage my perfectionism, I’ve written this in one sitting with little to no editing and published it as is. Considerably different from how I normally do things. More on my usual process below. Perfectionism is a bailout for not being responsible and doing what we…Mental Health4 min readMental Health4 min read
Pinned6 Principles That Will Make You A Better CookFrom somebody in the industry — It was already 9:00 PM, and everybody was starving. The food was nowhere near ready. I was doomed. The kitchen was a nightmare, and 15 hungry people waited patiently, and I was still cutting vegetables. I’d bitten off more than I could chew again. Isn’t cooking meant to be fun…Food6 min readFood6 min read
Nov 11, 2021On tacos de guisadoand finding pleasure in simple home cooking — “Tanto el más rico, cómo el más pobre, nos enchilamos con la misma salsa.” — quote from The Taco Chonicles (Netflix) "Both the richest and the poorest get spiced from the same sauce." I realized something the other day while stuffing my face at one of Mexico City's seemingly-infinite street…Food6 min readFood6 min read
Apr 12, 2021The Principles I Used To Get Fluent Spanish In Two YearsThey’ll work for any language — I’ve been speaking Spanish for about four years, and I got fluent in about two. People often compliment me on how well I speak, and they tend to think it’s crazy that an Australian sounds so Colombian. Believe me when I say that I’m not trying to brag but to…Language7 min readLanguage7 min read
Mar 5, 2021How Making Yogurt Has Made Me HappierAnd a recipe to get you started — I don’t know how you’re feeling right now, but you’d probably feel better if you’d just made some yogurt. Out of all of my kitchen projects, yogurt undoubtedly gives me the most satisfaction. Yogurt and granola is the best breakfast there is. I’ll tell you that while I’m on my…Cooking6 min readCooking6 min read
Feb 2, 2021What Is Thai Curry Anyway?Exploring Thai curry paste in its many forms — The last year or so has had me diving deep into, and trying to comprehend, the seemingly endless world of Thai curry, or gaeng, a part of Thai cuisine that needs some elaboration because it exists so arbitrarily in the mind of most people in the west. And I was…Thai7 min readThai7 min read
Dec 12, 2020We Need To Talk About The Word “Authentic”Why it’s time to give up on a term that has lost all meaning — Authentic food, as we understand it, is bullshit. That was the realization that dawned on me as I continued to stubbornly pound ginger into a Thai curry paste a while back. “Ginger is not a substitute for galangal”, so I’ve been told. It’s true, ginger isn’t a substitute for galangal…Food5 min readFood5 min read
Nov 24, 2020Tua Nao: The centuries-old Thai condiment you need to tryA plant-based shrimp paste alternative from Northern Thailand — Nothing brings Southeast Asian flavors together quite as well as shrimp paste. Okay, maybe knowledge, skill, and love for cooking, but mainly shrimp paste… I used to be vegetarian, and of the few things that spoiled plant-based, Southeast Asian recipes — that is, those that normally aren’t — for me…Food6 min readFood6 min read
