I got a comment asking for clarification on my carne asada recipe. Firstly, please forgive me for any confusion. I think I was just so excited over the success of making my own carne asada that I went too fast! Timeless recipes do that to me. The correction/clarification is in all caps below.

Here we go…my version of a Mexi-Cal classic;

CARNE ASADA
for marinade:
juice of one orange
juice of one lime
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup soy sauce
1-2 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. ground coriander
* 2 TBSP. CHILI POWDER *
2 tbsp. dried Mexican oregano
one bunch chopped fresh cilantro
one chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup honey
what I will add next time: tomato paste

2 lbs. flap steak

Let steak marinade overnight, rotate the meat within the marinade a few times to make sure flavor gets integrated. Grill about five minutes per side.
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The reader who asked me to clarify on the chili pepper/chili powder ingredient is from behind what they called the “Redwood Curtain.” I am guessing this means Northern California (NorCal). Thank you for reading, for sharing your Roberto’s story with me, and for giving me the answer to this weekend’s Sunday afternoon riddle (what to cook?). I had been wondering about that. And if it is NorCal I’m thinking, I want you to know I envy your location as well. Nine years ago I drove out of the Redwoods and saw/smelled the ocean intermingling with the forest, and it was an experience I will live my whole life and never forget. That and seeing wild blackberry bushes and wildflowers thriving along the two-lane highway, or finding sea glass aplenty on a beach in Mendocino.

Those provocations towards the senses make life worthwhile.

And tomorrow (if my husband weren’t making me go to sleep now, you know, “normal” life resumes tomorrow at 6 a.m.) I am posting a family Mexi-Cal recipe re-done…Tostada Salad. My cousins, aunts and uncles will be the ones posting comments then and I sure hope no one gets mad at me.

So check back soon. I’m about to be alienated from my kin over food.