use real butter

Recipe: chinese cellophane noodle soup

NaBloWriMo day #10.

Before we get to Colorado pictures and the recipe…

You’re probably noticing a theme here with the Quaker Oats-Good Bite promo to fight hunger, my participation in Eat on $30 starting Sunday to raise hunger awareness, and now… Macy’s has launched a massive campaign called Come Together to Fight Hunger. Their goal is to raise awareness, raise money, and feed 10 million people suffering from hunger by involving the public in local events and matching individual donations dollar for dollar. The donations go to Feeding America.

There are three ways to be a part of this effort:

1) You can host a dinner party and request that instead of host(ess) gifts, your guests make a donation to Feeding America. Go to Macy’s Come Together page for more deets.

2) You can donate $1 directly at any Macy’s register. One dollar can feed dinner to SEVEN people.

3) You can shop for the cause at any Macy’s and get special in-store savings on October 17 (Saturday). A portion of the $5 in-store ticket sales will help Feeding America. [Why not all $5? I don’t know – I encourage you to ask.]

Oddly enough, I went to the Macy’s in Boulder a few days before BlogHer Food 09 and picked up a hoochie mama leopard-spotted shirt (it’s not THAT hoochie mama, but it’s comfy and I can photograph people, dance, and hold a white Russian in my hand while wearing it) which you can see on Susan’s post. I figured my typical Patagonia attire in the sticks was not going to cut it in San Francisco. While purchasing the shirt, I also bought a $5 ticket for a special event in the store next Saturday, October 17. I hate shopping, but someone in the house (not I nor Kaweah) is in need of a wardrobe update and because part of the $5 ticket went to Feeding America, I figured it was a good thing. I had actually forgotten about the sale until Tami mentioned Macy’s Come Together campaign to me.

But there is one more minor detail.

********* GIVEAWAY *********

Because I’m spreading the word about this on urb, I have received TWO (2) $25 Macy’s gift cards to give away to two (2) of my readers! The rules are as follows: Tell me the name of your favorite food charity or the name of a local food bank or local organization that feeds the hungry (even if you don’t know of one, it’s easy to google). Leave one comment on this post before midnight (MST) Friday, October 16. If you leave multiple comments you will disqualify yourself from the drawing. I will select two winners using some scientifically approved random and ridiculous method – most likely involving The Dog. I know I have several international readers, but Macy’s does not ship internationally nor do they have stores outside of the US. However, the cards can be used by anyone. If you live outside of the US, you can still use the cards as long as your purchases are shipped to a US address (good time to get chummy with your stateside pals). Good luck!

Our deck was reading in the low teens this morning and there was an inch of fluffy, light, dry snow. Friends in Boulder were tweeting that they had 2-3 inches on the ground. UPSLOPE! Typically, our weather comes from the west, over the Continental Divide. It usually rides on a hellish wind too. But on the occasions when we have an upslope, the weather comes from the east and sometimes Boulder gets more snow than we do. Jeremy and I can always tell when it’s going to snow in Boulder – it’s when you can smell Greeley (to the northeast) on the air. What does Greeley smell like? Cow shit.

wanna go for a walk?

It was the perfect morning for a walk with Kaweah. There wasn’t any ice on the ground, just lovely, powdery snow. The sun hopped in and out from behind the clouds and snow continued to rain down in that friendly, gentle way that reminds you of the holidays. It’s only October and I am getting very excited about the holidays in no small part because of this glorious weather.

the aspens are done

ducks were swimming about in the distance

happiness is…

It is officially soup weather! I love soup of any kind, the hearty soups, the noodle soups, the puréed soups, the bean soups, the thin soups, the broths, the borderline soup-stews, the heady soups. They’re all great in this weather which will last up to and sometimes into May for us. My favorite soups are the ones that remind me of my mom’s cooking. My mom worked a full time job, raised two daughters, cleaned the house herself (kept it like a museum it was so spotless!), and cooked dinner every night after she got home from work. Mom made homemade chicken broth so that I still cringe when I taste canned chicken broth to this day (some chicken broths are better than others). When I met Jeremy, he was Mr. Picky Eater. Made me crazy. These days, his eyes light up when I tell him I’m making this soup for dinner. Progress.

making pork meatballs

boil them in water to cook (and save the broth!)

**Jump for more butter**

[It’s NaBloWriMo day #9]

I talk about food quite a bit here on urb. (Okay, I talk quite a bit in general.) I love food. You love food. There is great joy to be found in food.

Think about it. What basic functions do humans perform? We breathe. We eliminate waste products including carbon dioxide. We sleep. We eat and drink. Yet, food and beverage have been elevated to levels light-years beyond the rest of the human essentials. And the disparity between those of us who enjoy and those who go hungry… well, it’s enormous.

If you have been reading urb for the past week, you know I’ve tossed my hat into the ring and joined my beautiful friend, Tami of Running with Tweezers and several other food bloggers in her Eat on $30 project which begins this Sunday. I’ll definitely be talking about that next week, so please follow along and join the discussion. Awareness is key.

Last month, I posted about an opportunity I am honored to be a part of: The Awaken Your Senses Challenge sponsored by Quaker Oats and Good Bite. Short-term memory? Need a recap? Too lazy to click on the link? :) Good Bite has brought twelve food bloggers together to share their favorite food memories. Chef David Lawrence (of Good Bite, sweetiepie) recreates these food memories by snazzing up some Quaker oatmeal. Every two weeks, Good Bite rounds up four of the bloggers’ food memories in video and they go head to head in a voting competition. Each round produces one semi-finalist and in the end three bloggers will duke it out for the most votes. So why should you care about voting for the bloggers? It’s not about the bloggers, silly! It’s about the charities they are championing. The good people at Quaker are offering a $500 donation to each blogger’s chosen food charity – but the WINNER gets $10,000 donated to their food charity!

That is a hefty chunk of change. More than that, it will help to feed a lot of people.

Catherine of weelicious.com emerged victorious from round one. Congratulations, Catherine! Now she gets to cool her heels while the remaining eight bloggers vie for the two empty semi-finalist slots.

i’m on good bite and i NEED your vote!

That’s right! I’m up this week in ROUND TWO. This is huge for me because I don’t do video, but my piddly issues are irrelevant when given the opportunity to help a good cause. Plus, my fellow round two-ers are really awesome people: sweet Kath of Kath Eats Real Food, Marc of No Recipes (someone I admire), and my dear friend, Diane of White on Rice Couple.

my charity: farm to school network

There are children in this country whose best meal of the day is their school lunch. The National Farm to School Network works to make that meal healthy and fresh by connecting school lunch programs with local farmers. Exposing young people to fresh produce and educating them on where food comes from helps to promote long-term healthy eating habits. Our nation’s family and local farms benefit too. It’s about community, education, health, sharing… it’s about our future. Take a look at this gorgeous brochure from Farm to School. Seeing those adorable kids gardening and digging in the dirt puts a huge smile on my face.

So how can you help?

1) Visit Quaker Talk on YouTube (just click the link – I made it easy peasy for ya!) in the next two weeks.

2) Click on the Vote or Watch & Vote button.

3) Select my video (it isn’t always in the same position depending on how you get there, so you’ll have to actually READ for my topping: Cherries Jubilee) and click on the GREEN THUMB to vote for my topping!



4) Spread the word.

Really now, we’re all friends and these are all awesome charities and terrific food bloggers. It’s not about the winning, it’s about the giving. Go vote and be a part of this effort to raise hunger awareness and to help a good cause win $10,000. You have two weeks, so please vote! From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

It’s NaBloWriMo day #8. Hell yeah.

There are so many things that have raced through my brain today – things I could rattle on about for pages. But I’ll spare you… tonight. urb isn’t the place where I dump The Heavy anyway. Only my closest of friends are forced to suffer my full on rants and observations on life. Be grateful for that.

So how’s the weather over there? Hot? Cooling down? Here’s what it’s doing over here:

mountain weather is not for the thin of skin

Loveland ski area opened the ski season on Wednesday and A-basin follows suit Friday. First in the nation. Reason #326 to move to Colorado: our ski season kicks yours in the ‘nads! But seriously, we aren’t going to ski this weekend. We may be ski whores, but no one in this house really wants to wait hours in the lift line to ski the White Strip O’ Death (the single run of mostly man-made snow).

Today’s (tonight’s?) post is just a list of some things I like. I won’t be offended if you nod off, because I’m kinda nodding off myself here… Don’t get excited or anything. This isn’t creativity. It’s more like desperation. That’s what NaBloWriMo will do to you.

I like laughing.

I like cuddling with Kaweah on a cold winter day.

I like feeding my favorite people.

I like honesty.

I like puppies, kittens, and little kids with chubby cheeks.

I like that my grandma kicks ass.

I like the hour before sunrise when the world is quiet and anticipation for the day makes me smile.

i like rich colors

I like acts of kindness.

I like to hold my mother’s hand.

I like the damp smell of the spring melt in alpine forests.

I like sincere people.

I like my doctors, nurses, techs, and PTs who cared for me last year.

I like to walk with Jeremy into the wilderness.

I like creative people who use their powers to help others.

i like trees

I like science.

I like to be inspired.

I like to hug hello.

I like not caring what others think.

I like compassion.

I like night fishing for striped bass at 2 am with my dad.

I like to work hard.

I like waking up and remembering that my sister was in my dream.

I love this life I live.