use real butter

Recipe: mee krob

It’s taken me a few years to figure this out, but I think I have finally turned a photo roadtrip into a nice mini vacation for Jeremy as well. This basically means I’m learning to chill out a little. Just a little. And that’s hard to do in a place like Crested Butte when hillsides are bursting with colorful wildflowers while snow still lingers on the high peaks. I’m getting a lot better at knowing when to call it good, put the camera gear away and grab the bike to go exploring with Jeremy. We helped a fellow who broke his shoulder (he went over the handlebars on the trail) down the trail to get help. We even hit the bike park!

not a bad place to live – at the base of mount crested butte

and the town serves up some creative martinis (red raspberry)

cruising the lupines

it’s mind-blowingly beautiful

All of the snaps from the trip are on the photo blog.

Everywhere we went, there was a constant buzzing – that high-pitched whistle of hummingbirds zipping from flower to tree to chasing off another hummingbird and back to the flowers. They are territorial little guys. I spied two kinds.

the broad-tailed hummingbird

and the rufous

More hummingbirds here.

There aren’t a lot of places that make me question how much I love living where I live, but Crested Butte is certainly one of them. I’m not the wistful type and yet that place makes me point to random plots of land and ask Jeremy, “Is there any way you could be a freelance astrophysicist?”

wild iris and yellow paintbrush

delphinium, golden eye, and mule’s ears

lupine, scarlet gilia, and golden eye

sticky geranium

See the whole set on the photo blog.

Realistically, I’m doubting I could make the move to Crested Butte because I need to get my Asian on. We’re not just talking about Asian restaurants, I’m referring to Asian groceries. I need to feed my addiction for all things Chinese, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malaysian so I can make favorite dishes like mee krob. I had no idea what preserved garlic was (it’s really pickled garlic), but found it at my local Asian grocer, much to my delight!

rice vermicelli, fish sauce, vinegar, pickled garlic, tamarind, shrimp, sprouts, paprika, sugar

pickled/preserved garlic

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: caprese sticks

There is a slight dilemma when the weather fines up around here. On the one hand, I want to invite friends up to our place and feed them, because it’s absolutely glorious in the mountains come summertime. On the other hand, I don’t feel like digging into elaborate cooking projects because it’s hot and because I’d much rather spend my hours outside in that glorious mountain summer. A couple of weeks ago I had a small wine and cheese party and planned a few appetizers to go along with the wines and cheeses. As if someone somewhere had read my mind, I received Matt Armendariz’s new book On a Stick! in the post just days before the party.

oh the possibilities

Jeremy rarely if ever takes interest in the cookbooks I receive, but we both spent an hour flipping through Matt’s book together because it is so damn creative and beautiful and cute and fun – just like Matt. Sometimes when I get books for reviewing I feel as if it’s a chore to find a recipe that I really want to make. I’m not the type of person who likes to be told what to cook and when to cook/shoot/post it. Completely different feeling with Matt’s book – I couldn’t wait to make more than half of the 80+ savory and sweet recipes. They’re simple and clever and so appetizing.

these are the fanciest toothpicks i own

sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, pearl mozzarella

Slap these elegant babies together in mere minutes. Seriously. These are especially perfect in summer when you can get your hot little hands on some fresh cherry tomatoes and basil. I mean, if you can stab a tomato with a toothpick, you’ve got the skills necessary to produce this lovely appetizer.

pierce the tomato and basil

top it off with a mozzarella pearl

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: deviled eggs

This week has been abnormal. My parents are visiting. They just bought a place in Boulder. It’s a second home and so they needed to furnish it which involves a lot of driving around and shopping. In the process of furnishing their place they also gifted me with a non-grad student dining set (i.e. a nice dining set). Jeremy and I have been taking them to some of our favorite restaurants in town. They’ve been to Jax, The Kitchen, Flagstaff House, and Sushi Tora on previous visits. This time we introduced them to Frasca and L’Atelier.

frasca: jeremy’s guinea hen

frasca: i had the cobia

l’atelier: bouillabaisse

l’atelier: mom and dad enjoying themselves

Before my parents decided to purchase a second home in Boulder, my dad asked me if I was sure we’d be staying here. He worried that if we moved away for whatever reason, he’d be stuck in Boulder. After dinner this evening, he told me he’s no longer worried if we move away because he’s got plenty of things to do in Boulder – like eat at great restaurants. They love it here! I’ve been cooking some nice meals for them at our house and Kaweah can always be found right by my dad’s side. I think it’s because he used to feed her treats, but we’ve had to put the kibosh on that activity for her health. Still, she shadows him, ever hopeful.

It must be torture for a lab to live in a house with someone who loves to cook. Whenever I slice food on the cutting board or peel something into the compost bin, Kaweah is right there. When I peel boiled eggs and toss the shells into the compost, her nose drifts ever closer with each toss until she can’t help herself and gently snaps at the falling shells only to be reprimanded. She resets her position and starts all over again. This used to be really bad because I had horrible problems boiling eggs. The shells always stuck, made a mess, and took forever to peel. After my buddy Kitt brought these deviled eggs to a stitch-n-bitch, I knew I would have to make some and I knew that I would have to learn to boil eggs proper-like.

a dozen eggs

While visiting friends in Seattle a few years ago, one of them began preparing boiled eggs and had this nifty little gadget that essentially pierced the base of the egg before boiling. I was told it makes the eggs easy to peel. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I recalled the doohickey and thought, “All I really need is a pin.” So I tried it.

poke a hole through base of shell before boiling and try not to stab yourself like i did

it worked!

**Jump for more butter**