use real butter

Recipe: raspberry cream cheese cookies

Happiness is getting another day of skiing when you thought your season might be over. We hit the local hill this morning and played around working on form, balance, technique. Another gorgeous bluebird day!

tele gurl

jeremy working on form

practice practice

A couple of weeks ago I made a bunch of cookies to send to my MIL’s quilting groups to thank them for the awesome ice cream cone quilt they made for me. With memories of those incredible melt-in-your-mouth cookies that Anita had sent to me from Miette, I searched for a cream cheese cookie recipe in an attempt to reproduce that kind of joy. I found a recipe in one of my old cookie books that looked pretty similar.

cream together the butter and cream cheese

The book suggests using full-fat cream cheese to maximize the tenderness of the cookie. Because the dough needs to be refrigerated, this isn’t one of those recipes that lends itself to last-minute rush jobs. EDIT: Dough refrigeration is necessary, but not for as long as the original recipe suggests. I make edits in the recipe below.

i used a 2-inch biscuit cutter

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Recipe: roasted asparagus

I love waking up at first light and peeking from our master bedroom loft out at the mountains. I like seeing what the weather is doing or has done: snow, rain, clouds, sun, wind (this one not so much), frost. This morning was quite the treat because it snowed and was still snowing! I would have had my boots in hand, ready to head out the door for some skiing, but I had a lunch date in Boulder. I did manage to get a 1.5 hour workout instead, so I don’t feel too deprived :)

On the way down, I realized that my town was mantled in lovely white with diffuse sun gracing us. You never know if this is the last opportunity for many months or if we’ll get a repeat performance in a couple of days… Have camera, will shoot.

this sight makes my heart soar: it’s snow and it’s home

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Recipe: damn good sandwich

Kaweah is back to her normal silly pup self. Thanks to all of the K-girl fans for their kind wishes.

I know everyone is jazzed about the approach of spring because so many are cursing the lingering signs of winter. While I, myself, am impatient for the arrival of softer, sweeter melons in the markets and the ever earlier dawn each day – I can’t contain my smile when we get sun-snowshowers at our house like today. I think people might appreciate winter more if they actually got outside into it, whether to ski mountains, nordic vast snowy fields, walk along a stormy beach, hike through quiet forests, run a frosty country road, skate on a frozen lake. I love stepping into gentle snowfall, watching white blanket the world, smelling the clean cold air, listening to the stillness, and feeling small flakes settling onto my face.

Being outside does my soul good. I know this, because without it I would have gone ape shit by now. I don’t “do” sick, but sick is what I am at least 50% of the time – as in really bloody sick. So when I’m not ill, I mega-dose on keeping active, positive, and getting my butt outside where the air lifts away my pains, my worries, my sadness. Winter air is what I sought when I started my treatment and Spring air is going to see me through the end of it. I gladly welcome any season that I can breathe in and move through.

After 4 years of heavy usage and abuse (i.e. crumbs, disassembly, reassembly, spilled drinks) we upgraded my keyboard. Normally I wouldn’t make a fuss about it except… except for the fact that my new keyboard is a cross between art and a spaceship.

can it be functional and beautiful?

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