use real butter

I felt like total crap this morning. Allergies strike again. I gave my health care provider a call and they put me on the line with a pharmacist who rattled off a list of 6 over the counter meds I could try to relieve my symptoms. I love that woman!

Down in Boulder I met with Beth and Nicole for lunch at Il Pastaio which was awesome. The food was great and we caught each other up before Beth had to get back to work – her last full day before going part-time.

beth and nic humor me before tucking into lunch

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: shrimp and artichoke fettucine

So often, when I think of pasta, I feel uninspired. I shouldn’t, because I usually like it. I think my problem has been that I haven’t given enough of my attention to it, or perhaps haven’t been satisfied with too many of my experiments.

Last night, by a stroke of luck and perhaps a little forethought when I was at the store, I managed to throw together a keeper of recipe. I had these ripe tomatoes sitting on the counter that needed to be consumed ASAP, and a package of fettuccine that was accidentally opened last week, and some cream in the fridge leftover from making lemon curd and…

shrimp and artichoke fettuccine: a quick and easy supper

**Jump for more butter**

Ah, we finally got around to inviting Tom and Kellie over for dinner this coming week. Even though they live next door, we rarely bump into one another because 1) we all work real jobs 2) they go fishing in their spare time while we go hiking and 3) when they’re indoors they are recording music while we’re inside dorking out on computers.

So Tom will eat anything, and Kellie is flexitarian (eats fish and chicken). I’m brainstorming menu ideas…

appetizer: grilled coconut lime shrimp
main: grilled wild salmon with fresh dill and lemon
side: deadly mashers
side: edamame
side: wild greens salad with carrot-ginger dressing
dessert: chocolate-espresso crème brûlée

I made lasagne today with some of that awesome organic beef from Paidom Ranch. I like my lasagne loaded with vegetables too – so I mixed spinach with the ricotta, and added onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes to the beef and sauce, then layered sliced zucchini and mushrooms in between.

crunchy baked top

loaded lasagne