the cook
This is me, Jen. Welcome to use real butter, my food blog.
I live in the Colorado Rockies at 8500 feet above sea level with an astrophysicist and a black dog. In addition to fooding, I recreate in the outdoors and I photograph just about everything. I am an engineer, scientist, programmer, web designer, photographer, cook, outdoor enthusiast, smartass, and proficient noodler.
I’m hyper, opinionated, and OCD.
use real butter is less of a mantra for my cooking and baking and more of a directive for life. I am not a fan of doing things half-assed. I managed 23 days of telemark skiing during chemotherapy in 2008. Rock on.
I maintain a website, a photoblog, and a photo gallery where you can peruse prints for purchase.
You can follow me on Twitter @userealbutter and friend me on FaceBook.
the blog
Please obtain my permission to legally use any of my images. Do not copy, hotlink, or steal my photos – that is just complete assholery. I retain full rights.
use real butter (urb) went public in August of 2007 when I surgically removed the food-related content from my personal blog. That is why it dates back to November 2004 and the early posts are moronic at best. I suppose some things never change. There is a lot of personal minutiae dribbled throughout urb because food is an integral part of my life and I never shut up.
Feel free to leave a comment or ask questions on the blog. If you are shy, you can always email me. I try to answer all sincere comments and emails within a week of the post. It’s getting harder and harder for me to answer each comment, so from now on, I will try to answer any questions or respond to a comment if I feel I have anything to add. Thank you for understanding! If you have a blog, please link to it in the url field of the comments section. I can’t promise that I will visit you in a timely manner, but eventually I might! You are welcome to link to urb if that is your desire. I do not engage in trading blog links as my blogroll is reserved for my favorite blogs and I update that once a century.
Should you feel the need to be rude, be nasty, leave incendiary remarks, troll, or spam, don’t be surprised if you are no longer welcome at urb. These days I am less inclined to bring the smackdown than to just delete your sorry ass outright. This is not a public forum, it is my blog. If you want to spout Crazy, you can actually do that on your own shiny little blog – flying spittle and all.
Requests for posts on specific recipes will invariably go unheeded: This is not a call-in cooking show, nor am I made of spare time (or money for that matter).
photography
I shoot with Nikon digital bodies and lenses and use a tripod for 90% of my food shoots. I have nothing against artificial lighting and use flash(es) when necessary. There is a pervasive misconception that dropping enough money for a fancy camera and expensive glass will magically turn you into a good photographer. Owning a Steinway does not a concert pianist make.
Drop a line if you have questions!
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:39 pm
[...] was going to just wing it as I do when I make my chicken stock but then I stumbled upon a soup that Jen over at Use Real Butter made, which in turn stumbled me over to Susan at Sticky, Gooey, Creamy [...]
March 9th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I love to eat and cook. Googling for a pork mustard green recipe. N Wis. is “Taste of Home” territory. Kamchanh’s restaurant in 54476 or 54474 – sells it at lunch – and it’s awesome! Many thanks for sharing your recipes!
March 11th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I just came across your blog as I was perusing for new recipes. I have to say that your introduction is fabulous!! I haven’t delved much further than that, just yet but I feel compelled to bookmark this page. Just love the brutal honesty and fantastic ‘tude!! All that and you had me with the picture of the prosciutto wrapped shrimp. I find myself wondering why I haven’t done that yet. Can’t wait to dig deeper!!
March 22nd, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Hi Jen,
Love photos on your blog. I myself love baking. I tried to blog my culinary experience as I don’t want them to fade away with time.
I live by myself. When I bake, even I halfed the portion, it came out too much for one person. I frequently ended up, shared my goodies with my colleagues (so call guinea-pigs), landlady’s family, friends, friends of friends. I wonder who do you share your food with? :-D
Are the recipes you posted for high althtude?
March 25th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Ning – the recipes are for sea-level and usually high altitude instructions are listed in parentheses. I distribute extra portions from my kitchen to friends and neighbors.
April 12th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Hi, came to your blog from Rasa Malaysia. Love the egg-roll recipe. Never thought to use the red bean paste to make sweet roll. Thanks for sharing.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Hi, i came to your blog from Rasa Malaysia too… saw your post on your kitchen… love it :) are you from Malaysia as well?
April 13th, 2009 at 9:24 am
newcook – nope! I’m from Virginia, but I’m Chinese :)
April 15th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Started poking around your site some more after tastespotting.com led me to it on several occasions – the soy sauce chicken + soy sauce eggs were what first led me here, and today, the scallion pancakes.
Spent some time looking at your photos and personal website. Beautiful pictures!
Now I’m subscribed to your RSS feed :)
Keep up the lovely posts!
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:49 pm
I stumbled upon your site while reading another food blog (I think…Culinary Concoctions by Peabody)…and, I just wanted to say ‘Wow’! You’re awesome – photos, commentary, recipes! Your photos next to each recipe on the Recipes…BRILLIANT!How I wish that all food blogs and food websites did the same thing when listing a recipe!! And, your comments and explanations are hilarious! So happy to have found URB! Wish I had half of your talent behind the camera and in the kitchen! Thanks for a great blog!
April 29th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Hi, Jen,
I just discovered your websites today from Rasa Malaysia which I go to a lot and totally enjoyed it. Your pictures are magnicent and so sharp and clear, what type of camera do you use and what type of camera do you recommend to a novice like me? Your advise is greatly appreciated, and by the way I love your recipes, must try to make some of it.
Regards,
Susan
May 6th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Hi Jen! What a great website! I am new to Colorado (Monument) from the central coast of California. So I’ve gone from 300 feet to 7200. GAH! I used to be a pretty good cook, now not so much! Anyway, your high altitude baking gives me hope! And yes, I’ve purchased all the high altitude books I can find but my 20 year old oven isn’t helping me out either! So glad to have found you! Arlynn
P.S. I grew up with In and Out Burgers, oh how I miss them!
June 4th, 2009 at 3:51 am
Thank you. I am very excited. As a wheat-sensitive person with great love for food of all nations, I am always looking for ways to recreate the original with spelt. I withstood the initial goo-or-two experimentation with Jeff Varasano’s pizza blog dough recipe to be able to reliably create a crust that is not only pizza worthy but also great as home-made naan (BIG fan of Indian food). I’ve done normal doughs for 50 years, so getting ravioli to high levels was pretty straightforward, but something like potstickers seemed out of reach. Tonight we’ll find out.
By the way, before I saw the main page, I looked at you making the dumplings and (after long sighs at their perfect perimeters) thought – very Asian looking hands. Beautiful, and delicate yet capable looking, just like my old roommates. So thank also for reminding me by accident that I owe her a call!
June 4th, 2009 at 4:04 am
p.s. I”m thinking about Mu Shu Pork and saw this pancake recipe. http://chinesefood.about.com/od/beijingcuisine/r/mandarinpancake.htm
Any opinions on the methodology? I’m also a programmer-scientist but specialized in testing and quality, so I’m big on trying to predict the failure points before starting, and with all the fooding you’ve done here, you’re bound to have a sixth sense on how this will go without doing it yourself.
p.p.s Don’t mention burgers, anyone. I can nearly reproduce a good bun, but the burger itself – no chance. And in Switzerland (current home) you can forget anything that resembles a Val’s Burger (Hayward, CA) which is the gold standard of the East Bay (former home).
June 7th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Rozi – I don’t know, I’ve never tried making mushu shells by hand. The recipe does seem to be similar to others I’ve seen though.
June 10th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I just stumbled on your blog. Thank you! My husband and I were married in southern Colorado and lived in a little town called LaVeta. It was 15 years ago, almost to the day. Looking at your pics just brings back memories. We got our culinary start there at the Cuchura ski resort …were married there…had our first son there…a lot of good things come from Colorado and it looks as if I found another to add to the list! Thank you!
-kristin
June 20th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I’ll be scouring your archives – great to meet you today!
June 28th, 2009 at 8:46 am
I stumbled on this page while looking for a gallette recipe. I love the photos and can’t wait to try some of them. Definitely will be visiting again. Looks like great food and humorous banter–what could be better? Addy.
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:11 pm
LOVE Your Website, Photos and Enthusiasm!! Rock on Girl!
July 15th, 2009 at 12:47 am
you are so funny and i love your attitude! and i so envy where you’re living!! colorado rockies!!! so so sooooo lucky!
July 30th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Great site! I am really impressed with the clean aesthetics and great recipes. Thanks for providing all this :)
July 31st, 2009 at 6:42 am
My friend just referred me to your website and it’s a great read. Love the pictures too. And then the best part is that we’re neighbors–I’m up above 11,000 in the Colorado Rockies. Happy first snow of the season! Mine’s a personal blog in its infancy about assorted topics, but my latest obsession is wild edible plants. Cooking is suddenly fun for me again! Cheers.
August 12th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
This is a great website, Jen. I don’t really cook but your recipes and humor make it so not intimidating. Love the attitude and humor. My dog will benefit from licking the dishes of your creations, definitely. Also thanks for posting lots of recipes (soy sauce eggs, zhajiang mien) which i grew up with and are comfort foods to me.
September 5th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Hi Jen
I really love your site and your photos are amazing.
Not sure how I ended up here but I think I was looking for chinese dumpling dough recipe.
Do you have culinary training in food and pastry?
You do it really well – the photos really make each recipe alive on the page.
I am going to cook some of your dishes very soon.
September 9th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Lauren – I’ve only taken a pastry class at the local Culinary school. Thanks!
September 21st, 2009 at 10:46 am
Hi Jen! I wanted to tell you that today I was eating breakfast and I heard a horrible thump against the window. I was afraid to look because I was sure it was going to be a hummingbird, and sure enough it was. Poor thing was laying upside down with its wings and tail spread. Luckily you had posted about your hummingbird rescue and so I knew how to help! Eventually it recovered enough to fly away so I’m hopeful it will be ok. Thank you for your post on the hummingbird, I would have hated to leave it that way on the ground! Still lovin’ your blog! Arlynn (in Monument Colorado)
September 21st, 2009 at 12:40 pm
fantastic blog, website, etc!!! I don’t know how I didn’t run across you sooner but I am glad I have you saved and secured now. I am about to embark on a second career (third or fourth or fifth actually but …who’s counting???) at 40ish and have enrolled myself in the patisserie/baking program here at Le Cordon Bleu. I want to blog the entire event and need a camera but don’t have endless $$ to spend. Can you recommend a good point and shoot type that will serve my purposes of mostly food pics, etc? Eventually I will move up to a DSLR..but for now….I am on a student budget once again! Thanks again for the entertaining and ever so informative info you have posted here ….I apprecite the dedication you have to all that you do! Very inspiring…
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:50 am
Arlynn – congrats on the save!!
Margaret – I cannot honestly give you a good rec because our point-and-shoot is 5 years old (Canon elph – it’s great). If you want to a good place to read reviews of various models, try dpreview.com. Good luck.
September 27th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Dear Jen – I know we only connected for a few moments yesterday – but you made a lasting impression on me – and I just wanted to pop by and let you know that. It only took me a few seconds to cotton on to the fact that you are one helluva individual. Thank you for making yourself known to me.
Sam
October 4th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Fascinating website! I love the recipe interaction boards, the restaurant notes, and of course a small glimpse into Jen! Thank you for this creation. I am 86 days until I ship off from the US to Paris, France to study at Le Cordon Bleu. This process (of waiting for Paris to come) has been a 400 plus day adventure for me. As I near my culinary-max experience I enjoy pouring through this website to help expand my food knowledge. Keep it up and soon I’ll be “tuning in” from one of the greatest food places on earth!
~Anthony
October 22nd, 2009 at 8:47 am
Just found your web site while searching for mu shu recipes. We share love of food, love of labs, and a love of mountains and pics of mountains.
I live in Seattle temporarily, but call Bellingham home, and your pics from the Colman Glacier, and Whistler made me write you.
Plus, your attitude during chemo reminded me of my husband, a cancer survivor.
But this was all after the initial impression of you as as a great cook! I was totally impressed by your recipes… Can’t wait to try a bunch of em!
Donna
November 18th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I saw you on Twitter looking for fudgey brownie recipes. I have one – it is hands down the best brownie I’ve ever had. I don’t like posting links in people’s comments section, but I could not find an email address on here for you. DO you have an email I can send it to? It is the best brownie recipe ever!
November 18th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Jessica – you can email me at the address listed under “drop a line” :) thanks.
November 19th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Hello Jen, I was looking for a recipe for a candied orange peel and nuts and found your site. I love your website (my son is a professional photographer and web designer!:) Have you tried making candied pecans?
Best Regards,
Maria
November 29th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Maria – haven’t tried pralines, if that’s what you mean? I’d like to get around to it sometime… Perhaps in early 2010 :)
December 14th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I liked your Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Hazelnut Cake Recipe and wanted to know I could get a copy of both of them.
Do I have to join your website to get them or what?
December 23rd, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Rue – you can use your mouse to highlight and then copy the text, then paste it into a text file somewhere on your computer.
January 10th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Hello Jen,
Thanks so much for your recipes and philosophy on life (‘real butter’, a nice way to express doing everything with complete commitment). I stumbled on your blog this morning when I was looking for a recipe for macarons with raspberries and chocolate. Fell in love with your gorgeous photos of macarons, raspberries and chocolate! Tried them and the ganache is delicious.
It’s also special to read about someone half a world away. My daughter and I have had a lot of fun trying to create the perfect macaron — and you might enjoy our blog about it: http://www.parisperfect.com/blog/2009/10/making-the-best-macarons-in-the-world/
Kind regards,
Madelyn
January 20th, 2010 at 10:46 am
I’m sure you get this all the time but I just found your blog and have been cruising ’round it and…you’re awesome! Great voice, lovely pics and delicious looking recipes. I’m a Kiwi (living at altitude too, in Austria! Though I haven’t noticed it affecting my baking) and while I was a professional cook for a while, I gave it up for various reasons and now I take joy in domestic cooking. Thanks for giving me lots of new ideas!
February 1st, 2010 at 4:23 pm
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your wonderful blog site! This is one online detour I will visit on purpose over and over. Your words and photos are an inspiration, food-wise and otherwise.
February 11th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Your blog is my new fave. Haha, you’re freaking hilarious.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:21 am
Hi Jen. I just happened upon your blog via Foodgawker. Anyone who can make brown food lumped in a bowl – kung pao chicken – look delicious is a food blogger worth following. ;D
I’m also a Nikon shooter. Just got the 60mm macro. The older model with the aperture ring. I shoot film, too. That’s how I roll. Enjoy your new lenses; they’re lovely!
Also, the layout of your blog is beautiful. We’re entering our second year and will soon be self-hosted and have a more organized look. Blogs like yours are inspiring and show the ‘light at the end of the Interwebs tunnel.’
Can’t wait to read more and see more photos!
Buen provecho,
Stacey
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:22 pm
hi Jen,
i’m a newly wed of almost 4 months now, not much experience with cooking at all. I work full time and am always browsing around for recipes whenever I get the chance. Suffering from insomnia one night (I think around 3 am?), I started browsing the web, stumbled upon your site for soy sauce eggs and just fell in love with it. Coming from a Chinese background myself and marrying someone from a different background makes me feel like I can relate to you.
Your pictures make me so HUNGRY! lol.
Thanks for your awesome blog.
(;
March 9th, 2010 at 12:49 am
I stumbled upon your website whilst searching for chinese chives pancakes.
Amazing photos – love the snow. And the food photos… superbly sharp and makes me hungry.
Love the dog
April 9th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
You have an absolutely gorgeous site! I’m glad I discovered it! :)
April 16th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
I am so glad I found your website — it’s got all my parents’ recipes but with exact measurements — wonderful! Beautiful pictures. I just tried the sa cha beef and used spinach — my son who has an aversion to beef ate it all up!
April 27th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
I am wondering if you can come up with a recipe for 糙米粥?
April 27th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Lisa – I can’t read Chinese, so I have no idea what that is.
May 9th, 2010 at 4:02 am
Just wanted to say thanks for the great recipes and wonderful photos. I just finished making bean curd skin rolls. They are incredible! Better than I could have imagined. These are the first chinese food recipes I have ever read that I felt I fully understood before I started and was confident about. I have a Chinese friend at work but I still don’t understand things even when she explains because specialty items don’t seem to translate well. I hope you don’t think I’m a complete cretin for saying this, but this is also the first blog I ever read that I understood the point of. I really appreciate you writing this.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
At a glance, I love your style! I agree on real butter, noodles, and following butterflies…
The Art of Homebiscuitry throws a couple of buttered ones your way!
Great Summer to you.
Cheers, Karen
May 13th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
By the way, my husband’s name is Kaweah..
May 19th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
fantastic blog, website, etc!!! I don’t know how I didn’t run across you sooner but I am glad I have you saved and secured now. I am about to embark on a second career (third or fourth or fifth actually but …who’s counting???) at 40ish and have enrolled myself in the patisserie/baking program here at Le Cordon Bleu. I want to blog the entire event and need a camera but don’t have endless $$ to spend. Can you recommend a good point and shoot type that will serve my purposes of mostly food pics, etc? Eventually I will move up to a DSLR..but for now….I am on a student budget once again! Thanks again for the entertaining and ever so informative info you have posted here ….I apprecite the dedication you have to all that you do! Very inspiring…
+1
May 20th, 2010 at 8:43 am
Farab – sorry, I don’t have a compact camera to recommend. You might want to read up on different models on dpreview.com though! Good luck.
June 4th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Hi!
I followed your recipe for Chinese dumplings and dipping sauce tonight.
It was probably the greatest thing I’ve ever cooked to date – your recipe was wonderful.
Thank you!
June 14th, 2010 at 3:38 am
Great blog.
The title is about more than food…. it’s a allegorical philosophy upon which to base real life, surely? :)
June 20th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Hi Jen! I found your blog while checking out the attendees for IBFC 2010. I’m still fairly new to blogging and am also not a “traditional” food blogger. I’ve been trying to check out all of the other bloggers sites so I know a bit more before attending. (I am still trying to figure out the details, mostly money and babysitters). I love your style and hope to learn a lot from you! Happy eating!
~Katie :)
June 22nd, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Thank you so much for posting the authentic Chinese recipes! My mom doesn’t know how to tell me in English and yes, I’m the bad ABC kid that didn’t learn to speak Chinese. But now I have a resource to learn how to make all these dishes at home. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
July 1st, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Hey Jen,
I love looking at your photographs, they take me to a whole other world where the air smells like pine trees and it’s just rained, and the sky is sunny-cloudy with bright blue background. Keep it up.
July 3rd, 2010 at 7:50 am
Hi Jen! Your website (and your story) are truly inspiring. Because of you, I’ve decided not only to pick my camera again, but to pursue all the art forms I left behind in my twenties. You are a wonderful role model, thank you! ~Melissa in Pennsylvania :)
July 3rd, 2010 at 4:52 pm
I really like some of your photos and I am not asking if I really post your pictures but I am asking if it will be ok if I recreate them in a drawing or painting a post/sell that once I finish the piece.
thanks
July 9th, 2010 at 7:18 am
[...] Jen lives local to the area & she expertly made sure that all of our needs were met leading up to and while we were at the event. The most important was making sure our coffee needs were tended to. And they were! I must have stopped at Atlas Purveyors 3 times a day and my bill was magically “paid.” Thanks for that perk my friend. [...]
July 12th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Shayne – absolutely. My aunt does that with some of my photos :)