use real butter

There are times when I’m wrong. I know this shocks you as much as it shocks me. A year ago you could find me railing against Twitter and FaceBook declaring I would never join either one. Today, you will find me railing against Twitter and FaceBook ON Twitter and FaceBook. Twitter is for the egomaniacs, minutiae-obsessed, and people who never shut up. FaceBook is for those who don’t know how to blog. Okay, I’m making fun (sort of). I drank the punch for a variety of reasons, but one of the benefits of Twitter that I never foresaw was how it connected me to Boulder. I don’t live in Boulder. When people ask where I live, I usually tell them Boulder, Colorado because few people have heard of my little mountain town. So one evening the tweet activity was hopping and I’m tweeting away with Andrew (follow @andrewhyde on Twitter), the man who knows EVERYONE, and a fellow tweets that he likes the name of my blog and if I drop by his shop, I’ll get free chocolate. Andrew too, if he comes with me.

Yeah. Sure you will, Mr. Axe Murderer.

There is much spamming on Twitter (I had 67 hot babes ask me to check out their profiles the other day… uh huh) and you get your fair share of freaks. I checked his profile and read that Rick is an organic chocolatier in Boulder. REALLY? I did some quick research and saw he is the real deal. I asked if it would be okay for me to come by and take pictures. Sure, but just try the chocolate first, no obligations. Great! I’ll get in touch when I find some time in my schedule. Over a month later, I’m donning crocs and a hair net as I pass through the glass doors into the inner workings of Seth Ellis Chocolatier headquarters. This is why I love Twitter – it has brought me closer to the fooding community in Boulder and it’s a GREAT community. I still hate FaceBook.

chocolate truffle to nibble on while i waited for rick

**Jump for more butter**

Daring Bakers: I’m sorry to say there is no Dobos Torte here, my friends. For sanity’s sake, I punted this month’s challenge.

Admin: I’ve been falling behind in answering comments and I think this is a problem that will continue to snowball until it sucks me under. So instead of answering every comment, as I have done in the past, I’ll now address those comments with questions or discussions about specifics. Hopefully this will get you more timely answers to inquiries regarding the recipes. Thanks for understanding.

On Friday I drove down to the flats for a gathering of some bodacious ladies. It’s a collection of local bloggers, ski buds, friends from my old workplace, friends of friends – great gals all around. We keep calling these events stitch-n-bitches but really, it’s an excuse to eat and share stories and enjoy one another’s company. There is less and less knitting (in fact, none this time) as we are driven to the point of distraction with full on multi-course meals being served and about 4 or 5 conversations going on at any given time. It’s a party. I didn’t even bother bringing any knitting or sewing because I knew better. I did contribute some chocolate French macarons and two flavors of homemade ice cream since Manisha was making fabulous Indian street food for all of us.

babes who blog: indian food rocks, urb, the kitchen witch, the kittalog

You could take away the “stitching” and the “bitching” – you could even take away the food (but you’d have to pry the drink from Dana‘s cold, dead fingers!) and it would still be a wonderful time because the people make it so. One of the ladies I know through Manisha has stage IV brain cancer. When I met her, my hair was very short as it was finally growing back months after my chemo had ended. She smiled and said she recognized the “cut”. At the time, her brain tumor was shrinking with a radical treatment. Everyone was hopeful. She’s a delight to be around, a lovely woman, calm and sweet with a smile like a million tiny wildflowers.

Her tumor is back and has been unresponsive to treatment. When I offered her a macaron, her hands shook as she reached for one. She had difficulty explaining the next course of action in her treatment because she couldn’t think of the words. That’s all the tumor’s doing – the deterioration. We don’t know how much time she has, but the fear is that it isn’t much longer. Her loved ones are rallying around and making the moments count. She met a lot of new faces at the stitch-n-bitch. The point was for her, for everyone to have a good time. And we did.

Despite leaving my knitting and sewing projects at home, I did have a project that had to be completed at the stitch-n-bitch. I wanted portraits of everyone. I take pictures of my grandmother whenever I visit with her. She used to frown and mutter in Chinese, “Why do you need a picture of an old person?” and I’d tease, “because you’re my favorite old person,” and she’d laugh. She’s so used to my camera now that the last time I saw her she squared her shoulders and grinned, “Take a good one so I can use it at my funeral.” I know she’s only half joking and I oblige not because I want these pictures for her funeral, but because this is a small way to hold on to and remember those we cherish. So we piled into the backyard as soon as it had cooled off and I was able to capture the laughs and goofy antics of these hilarious and beautiful women. It’s something we sometimes overlook. It’s something I used to take for granted – that the people we care about will always be there. They will not. That is why the time we have together is precious.

Recipe: blueberry lime pound cake

Jeremy can tell I’m feeling like my old self again when I walk into the kitchen first thing in the morning and start cleaning. It helps me to reset after being sick and before tackling all manner of projects and tasks. He’ll say to me ever so sweetly, “Would you like a glass of orange ju-” and I will hold a wad of dirty dish towels in my hand and say, “THESE? These needed to go in the hamper three days ago. They’re filthy!” and walk off to dump them in the laundry. This indicates that Jen is back and fully operational. Just in time too – there is much to get done. This week we have retired my trusty old PowerBook to kitchen service. Thank you, Apple, for not sucking away countless weeks of my time the way a crapass Windows platform would (and has). Here is proof that form and functionality need not be mutually exclusive.

i dub thee: little buddy

That is just the first in a series of upgrades this month. Hold on to your seats, kids. Please keep all arms down inside the car while the ride is in operation…

I can’t tell if we’re experiencing a short respite from the heat or if this is a trending cool down. It’s 50°F on my deck this morning and the rest of the week is looking pleasant. You know what that means, don’t you? Autumn. It’s my favorite season. Then after autumn comes – SKI SEASON. *eeep!* What this means for use real butter is that I need to move all of these summery recipes out because before you know it, there will be four feet of snow to shovel off our driveway. For now we are snow free, but I’m really loving the cooler temps.

don’t mind me – i’m just chillin’ out… nice digs you got here

**Jump for more butter**