use real butter

I finally sat down this morning to think about what we’re having on Thanksgiving Day.

I have no idea.

Ideally, there will be a lot of snow and we will spend the day skiing and be so wiped out that sushi will be the dinner of choice. Or any seafood for that matter – cooks fast and delish (in the case of sushi, doesn’t cook at all).

But so far it’s not looking so good for snow (shakes fist at La Niña), which gets me thinking about roasting a bird, a beast, or some such critter.

what to make?

We don’t mind traditional. We also love to buck tradition. Part of me likes the idea of cooking all day and part of me would rather backpack and nosh on turkey jerky and instant mashed potatoes in sub-freezing temperatures.

Decisions. Decisions.

What are you planning? (If family drama is one of the unintended dishes on your menu, I promise I won’t tell them).

Recipe: house dressing

I hope everyone had a good weekend. We went for a little road trip to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. I used to half-snort at New Mexico whenever we visited because I didn’t think much of Albuquerque. I mean, it’s a fine place, but it didn’t stir any deep emotions within me other than the fact that my dear Jeremy is a native son of the town. I always called it Dirt City because I grew up in verdant, lush Virginia. I have now lived in the American West for a total of 13+ years and I love it here.

Perhaps my time in the West has helped me to appreciate New Mexico more? Let’s face it, Colorado is *easy* to fall in love with (at least the western half of the state…), I think New Mexico had to grow on me. Or maybe I just like northern New Mexico and still don’t care much for Albuquerque. Yes, I think it is the latter.

We drove our two cars across the state border, heading south down the San Luis Valley (a high alpine valley atop the Rio Grande Rift) and from the lonely two-lane road, I watched the sun set to my right over the Colorado Plateau. As it dropped behind the mountains, the clouds and sky exploded in a palette of colors that changed and deepened over the next two hours. To my left, I witnessed equally dramatic colors splashed across sky, the Sangre de Cristos, and the valleys and plains. This was New Mexico as I had never witnessed her before – big sky, endless landscapes, achingly beautiful colors. I understood at last what they meant by Land of Enchantment as stars and Venus began to sparkle at me from a velvety purple-blue dusk.

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: fish tacos

Hoo boy! I have been busy… in the good way. You know, getting things done. I still have plenty more on my plate, but I imagine that keeps me off the streets more or less. I got a request from Antarctica the other day. Apparently the dwindling NSF (National Science Foundation) budget translates into crappier than usual fare at McMurdo Station this season. I spent a little time today scampering about Boulder with BethBeth, gathering precious food stuffs for our bud(s) way down south. Who knew it was so damn hard to find whole fat powdered milk?! And I had to take care what to include in the package because trash is a big issue in Antarctica. While I don’t think trash is as trivial an issue in “civilization” as most people do (chuck it out, don’t think about it anymore), it really does factor into what to send to Antarctica because, well – it’s Antarctica!

we miss you: M, J, J (get well soon, sweetie), and P

**Jump for more butter**