use real butter

Recipe: bakewell tart

Just under the wire! I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it this month, but luckily it turned out to be a relatively straightforward challenge. Whew!

the daring bakers knead to bake, damnit!

Here’s the official line: The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England. And of course, the unofficial line is that our founders, Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, are goddesses. I marvel at how those two women do it, but they do it - and they do it well. Thanks for the pastry love, ladies!

This dessert was not only straightforward (thank goodness, or someone would have been pitching a fit at 8500 feet) it was delightfully almondy and moist with bright hints of fruit. I’ll have to be quick here before I nod off and wake up with little keyboard marks on the side of my face…

grating cold butter into the flour for the crust

whisking egg yolks and almond extract together

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: matcha green tea passion fruit macarons

Snow. We have lots of it. You’d never know it from the bloody 80 degree weather down in Boulder today. There is a ton of snow in the backcountry still. It’s starting to get sloppy (i.e. posthole city), but the other day we caught it on a cold morning so the slopes were nice and frozen climbing up.

i accessorize like any other girl… just that i accessorize with crampons

On our way in, we encountered a couple with their dog while we put our crampons on. They were in no way prepared for the conditions. The gentleman asked if this was the way to Mount Audubon. Well yes, and no. There are some great cross country routes to Audubon from there and if that was the intended route, then yes it is. But those two… they were not going cross country. Based on the short conversation we had, I wouldn’t really trust them to find Audubon when the trails were free of snow let alone when they were under several feet of snow. So no, they were on the wrong trail (it actually helps to read the sign at the trailhead, but whatever). They told us they’d just head to Mitchell Lake instead. Okay! Have fun and be safe!

A little while later, we got sidetracked and passed a smaller unnamed lake. There they were, posing for pictures. That wasn’t Mitchell Lake, but I think they thought it was. No matter, as long as they keep from getting themselves killed. We made our way up to Blue Lake basin and well - Blue Lake was completely white and gorgeous. We should have brought the skis because it was fabulous corn snow on the way out.

jeremy traverses an icy slope

following a small backbone

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: chive dumplings

daring cooks - you got the onions chinese chives?

This month I’m not just a Daring Cook, but I’m the host of the Daring Cooks June challenge! First, let me pay homage to our most revered founders: Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, because we love them and they make the world a better place. I chose a recipe that was versatile enough for all manner of Daring Cooks: Chinese dumplings and potstickers. The recipe I gave for the challenge is a family recipe that I’ve blogged before. However, I wanted to push myself beyond the familiar and attempt a gluten-free version.

[EDIT] So there have been a few folks making noise about wheat starch and how it is not gluten free. Sources give conflicting conclusions on whether or not wheat starch is safe for consumption if you are celiac. So let’s be clear here - you need to make your own decision and you need to be responsible for that decision. If you think there is ANY risk, then you probably shouldn’t use it unless you enjoy playing with fire. If you aren’t affected by gluten, then you can probably safely consume wheat starch. This is a traditional recipe, it was not developed as a gluten free version - it is a type of dumpling that people make in Chinese cuisine. [END EDIT]

use wheat starch (not wheat flour!)

chinese chives (garlic chives)

If you’ve ever had dim sum, you have probably feasted upon many different kinds of dumplings. My favorite to order when I’m in a good dim sum joint is the chive dumpling. While I was looking up a gluten-free version of the Chinese potsticker for our alternative Daring Cooks, I ran across several recipes for chive dumplings and knew I had to try these at home.

chop the chives

sauté

**Jump for more butter**