use real butter

Recipe: baked egg rolls

I love staying up past midnight. It always seems I get a second wind around 10:00 pm and then I’ll grudgingly go to bed around 1:00 am out of guilt. I get under the covers and close my eyes, and then the hamsters in my brain will run a hundred miles an hour until I finally nod off. Thing is, I love waking up early too. In winter, early is a relative term, but I can always be sure to wake with the sun or a good snowfall report. This is problematic as we march toward the summer solstice. Unlike my “younger” years, I find my body, mind, and general mood are much improved with a decent (6-8 hours) amount of sleep. I’m shifting my bedtime earlier, especially because mornings are becoming the best time to do anything outside before it gets too hot!

snow is melting, trails are flooding

budding pasques (a month later than last year)

blooming pasque flowers

It is that lovely time of season when we will look at one another and ask, “Hike, mountain bike, trail run, or ski?” Actually, if skiing is involved then it’s going to be a hike-ski or a bike-ski because the approaches are no longer covered in snow. It’s all good. And I know the snow will be back. Meanwhile, I’ve been craving terrible (but delicious) foods like egg rolls of the fried variety. When it comes to fried foods, my downfall is the crunchy. I LOVE THE CRUNCHY. And while I can and do occasionally fry things at home, my preference is to avoid frying for two reasons: 1) it isn’t that good for you and 2) I hate cleaning up the mess. So the other day when I was contemplating making vegetable egg rolls, but dreading the whole idea of frying, I decided to bake them instead.

spring roll wrappers

sesame oil, soy sauce, shaoxing cooking sherry, cabbage, carrots, garlic, ginger, bamboo shoots, sprouts, shiitakes, green onions

prepped

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: chocolate zucchini cake

So much can happen in a few days… or in a matter of moments. I’ve struggled with my feelings since the Boston Marathon bombing earlier this week, just as I do whenever things don’t make sense. In times of crisis, I try to understand what is happening because sorting it out in my head helps me deal with difficult situations. But the truth is, I will never comprehend the motivations of those who willfully do harm to civilians. And while we know that there are always good people who will put their lives on the line to help those in dire need, it makes my heart hurt knowing that someone intentionally set the violence and destruction in motion in the first place.

Upon learning the news on Monday, I scoured around for more information, checking in with friends in the area or those who might have run the marathon. Past the first hour it became apparent that the news was just a cycle of regurgitation, confusion, and sadness. I pushed away from my desk and stepped outside to clear my head and maybe ease some of the sorrow I was feeling. It has been snowing here like gangbusters – all of the snow we should have received in January but will gratefully take now. It’s high enough (about 2 feet) that Kaweah can only go where I break a trail because she’s too weak to bound around me and run off like she did in her prime. I took in the silence of snow falling and muting all sounds. Except there were chirps and flutters that caught my attention.

perched in the aspens

cedar waxwings

many cedar waxwings

I’m no birder, but I enjoy making note of the birds that pass through our woods. Through the falling snow they looked like a dozen or more LBBs (little brown birds) constantly flitting about to find the perfect branch. Only when I examined the photographs could I see the splashes of bright yellow and red in their plumage to determine they were cedar waxwings (thanks Google!). When I went back outside to see if I could get closer (birds are skittish), they had moved on. Still, it was a lovely little gift on such a sad day. Life is fragile, yes. Life is also resilient. Most of all, it is precious.

As you can see, it has been dumping this past week after many ski resorts closed for the season last weekend. Some are re-opening this weekend to take advantage of the 2+ feet of new powder. And while we are always glad to get snow to ski, the mountains and the foothills are breathing a collective sigh of relief because our snowpack is approaching 90% of normal. Hopefully that translates into a less eventful wildfire season, beautiful mountain streams and wildflowers late into summer, and more food for the wildlife. For now though…

we ski

jeremy breaks trail

april in colorado

I’m still in the mood to bake, which will diminish as the sun climbs higher into the sky and dawdles about dragging its bedtime later each day. I was cleaning out a pile of old recipes when I found a chocolate zucchini cake recipe from a friend back in graduate school. The recipe itself didn’t tickle my fancy, but the idea of a chocolate zucchini cake did and so I went searching for a recipe that suited my preferences. I tend to prefer cakes that use sour cream or yogurt or buttermilk because they bake more stably at my elevation.

butter, chocolate, eggs, sugar, oil, flour, cocoa, leavenings and salt, zucchini, buttermilk, espresso powder, and vanilla

shredding the zucchini

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: mac and cheese (two ways)

We are basically following the rhythmic swing of a pendulum between snow and sun. What I’m preparing at home mimics this oscillation: salads and springy foods to soups, bakes, and comfort foods. Comfort foods like mac and cheese. Mac and cheese is like chocolate cake for me – I’m always on the prowl for the best recipe.

snowy day? make mac and cheese

Growing up, I was aware of two kinds of mac and cheese: Kraft mac and cheese and the kind that you got in school cafeterias. I can’t really endorse either one. It wasn’t until the last decade that I’ve begun to enjoy mac and cheese. That’s probably because I’ve been eating at better restaurants and they put things like lobster in their mac and cheese. I tend to prefer the creamy versions that have a baked crust of cheese and bread crumbs. And I like penne over elbow macaroni because elbow macaroni is squirrely. So when I see a recipe titled “World’s Best Mac and Cheese”, I’m eager to put it to the test.

cheddar, jack, butter, flour, salt, chipotle powder, garlic powder, whole milk

grate the cheese

two cheeses at the ready

This version of mac and cheese is based on a bechamel sauce made of butter, flour, and milk. When the sauce is hot and thickened, the cheeses are stirred in and you have your cheese sauce. It is lightly seasoned with some garlic powder and chipotle powder. I didn’t have chipotle powder, but I found some in the bulk spice section of my local Whole Foods. [I'm pretty sure I could find it at Savory Spice Shop, which I shall do in the future because I love them.] It adds a dimension of spice and smoke to the dish.

whisking the flour into the butter to make a roux

whisking in the milk

stir in the cheeses

adding chipotle and garlic powders

**Jump for more butter**