use real butter

Recipe: sweet onion dip

I let blogging get away from me these past few days. In truth, I kind of left it there – abandoned it, if you will. The weather was cold, snowy, even foggy at times. I just had to get out into it!

as did kaweah

We had a freezing fog blow in one morning. It doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does happen, it’s quite amazing because it coats everything in rime ice. This one was short-lived. Due to the flow of the fog, the ice crystals developed on one side of everything.

nature’s bad hair day?

branches that resemble candy

There was also the requisite “scoping out” of the snow. It’s soft, fluffy, and deep in places… windswept in others. We did *a lot* of postholing, which I guess is an effective form of the Ass Reduction Plan (ARP). Note to self: bring the skis until June.

heading into a squall

jeremy scouts the weather to the west

Jeremy is counting down the days until the solstice, because he can’t wait for the days to start getting longer. He’s a big fan of daylight. Me? I like daytime, nighttime, anytime. The short days don’t bother me at all. I have plenty of things to get done after the sun goes down.

our local sunset is around 4:30

latest acquisition of quilting flannels

While most folks kick entertaining and social functions into high gear come December, I’m actually trying to stay under the radar. I am keeping our social calendar pretty empty. Instead of indulging in the copious calorie-laden goodies, we’re eating simple fare that centers around what needs to be cleaned out of the freezer. And I’m exercising regularly because of Todd and Diane… or rather because of Todd and Diane’s sweet onion dip.

a baguette, cream cheese, mayonnaise, parmesan, sweet onion, and black pepper

I call it spreadable crack and damn it if they aren’t the pushers! They served this at the dinner party they threw when I was visiting them in Southern California. It’s so unbelievably good that even my friend Jack, a man sworn against white condiments, gobbled it down.

slice the baguette

brush with olive oil (both sides, please)

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: eggplant fries

Someday I will sit down to post when I don’t have a million other things going on. I don’t know when that will be. I do know that this will be the last post in 2010 I write the night before I have to catch a flight. Let me tell you, I am quite happy about that. I’ve been home for three days frantically trying to get things done before I head off into the yonder including a thorough round of spring cleaning which is merely 6 months late (or early if you want to be generous). Colorado still hasn’t decided if it is summer or autumn. And now with the time change, the dog is petitioning for dinner at 5pm.

looking east as the clouds pass overhead

So I’ll dispense with any further chit chat and get to brass tacks. When I was in Seattle this past September, my good friends took me to Poppy for dinner. There I had the most delightful eggplant fries and made a mental note to try it at home.

eggplant, herbs, seasonings, and flour

put the seasonings in with the flour

It’s a relatively basic concept to chop up the vegetable in question and deep fry it. Everything tastes good this way, right? Knowing my deep frying prowess, the potential for screwing it up was high. I checked the interwebs for reference and found a lovely recipe at The Hungry Mouse which guided me through not having to think about what goes in the seasoned flour.

mixing the seasoned flour

peel the eggplants

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: parmesan bacon crackers

There was frost on the ground when I was waiting for the sun to rise. I wasn’t alone. A few other nutjobs were scattered about, standing in the dark and cold, all pointed toward the mountains. We were waiting for magic. Jeremy was in the car either reading a scientific paper or getting some shut eye. Shivering in the blue glow of twilight, I moved my feet in a silly little dance to keep warm. But, I do like sunrise shoots better than sunset shoots. Mornings tend to be quiet, thoughtful. By sunset, I’m usually tired, hungry, hot, dusty, and smelly. Sunset requires a little more discipline to remain inspired.

i love mornings

On this last shoot, Jeremy accompanied me for the 1000-mile drive around southwestern Colorado. This is my fifth year shooting the fall colors in Colorado and I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. I know the location of remote favorite stands of aspen better than how to get to most of my friends’ houses in town. The aspens feel like old friends. There is something to be said for the tranquility you find among mature aspens – majestic white trunks, shimmering yellow and red canopy, gold leaves gently floating down around you. Autumn delights and soothes. And winter is just around the corner.

token “we were here” photo

my subaru ad

the moon high overhead

Normally, I don’t think about winter during the fall shoot unless there is an early season snowstorm. There hasn’t been a real snow storm yet. In fact, it’s been outrageously hot. However, we swung by Telluride to scope out the colors and some of the trails. As we stared down from the top of a grassy green field dotted with late season thistles and salsify, I looked up at the sign: a black diamond run. I got antsy for ski season. Despite the sun beating down on me, I envisioned the gorgeous mogul field which must grace that slope in winter. I turned to say as much to Jeremy whose glazed over look indicated he was dreaming of tele turns in hip-deep powder. Oh Telluride…

On our way back, we spied the Telluride airstrip. Jason wasn’t kidding when he told me it’s a cliff.

it’s a cliff

As far as my schedule goes, the fall shoot is done. Stick a fork in it! I have my sights set further west for the next couple of months and then hopefully by then it will be cold enough to start cooking again – I mean really cooking. But if you want a quick baking project that doesn’t turn the entire house into a furnace, might I suggest trying homemade crackers? They are so unbelievably quick and easy, and of course they taste better than any store-bought cracker. How is it that we don’t all make our own? There ought to be a revolution.

all you need to know is that there is bacon

…well okay – and butter and cheese

The greatest hurdle to finally making my own crackers was deciding on a flavor. I knew I wanted it to be savory, so that helped to narrow down my choices a little bit. Ultimately the winner was a baconized version of a New York Times Parmesan cream cracker. Well, I made both versions – one with and one without the bacon in the off chance the bacon cracker didn’t turn out to my liking. Off chance, ha!

add cream, because butter alone doesn’t make it decadent enough

this pinch test is quite handy

**Jump for more butter**