use real butter

Recipe: sautéed shishito peppers

I ran around the house gathering my things. I was running late for a meeting in Boulder. Kaweah, who never feels my sense of urgency, sauntered out into the yard to do her doggy business, but really, Kaweah just wants to mosey about and sniff things. Plop. Something hit me on the head. Cold plop. I squinted and looked up. Dark clouds had been building overhead for a few hours and now was the answer to our collective rain dances. My face broke into a huge smile – I couldn’t help it. I called to Kaweah to stop sniffing the grasses and to come inside for her treat. As I drove down the canyon, the rain increased from spitting to pitter patter to real rain. Never have I squealed with this magnitude of joy and gratitude at the rain coming down around me. Passing drivers coming up the canyon seemed to be smiling too.

But it petered out as I neared the entrance to Sugarloaf Canyon where a police car was stationed to block access to the evacuated zone… to the fire zone. Come on, rain!

Jason and I stood under the tent of the Boulder Farmer’s Market discussing logistics about our upcoming shoot while watching big drops of rain randomly splatter the rest of the market.

“I told Josh that you snore like a [expletive] and that I refuse to share a room with you.”

“Yeah?”

“He said that’s cool, because he’s a big snorer too.”

“Nice!” Jason rubbed his hands together, “It’s going to be a race to see who falls asleep first!”

By the time I drove up to where I buy Kaweah’s dog food (yeah, we’ve moved her to Senior food now) it was pouring rain. POURING! But just because it was coming down in Boulder didn’t mean it was raining on the fire. Still, any little bit helped and I hoped that the clouds over the foothills to the west were rain clouds and not just smoke clouds. [The wonderful crews fighting the fire have it 10% contained as of this morning. The community in and around Boulder has opened its heart and arms wide open to those affected by the fire. Truly inspiring and amazing.] And thanks to all of you who have sent your sweet messages. xo

the bouquet of sunflowers i bought at the farmer’s market

Not long after the Food and Light workshop ended, I received several dozens of emails inquiring about the next workshop. One of those emails asked if there would be another workshop by September (um, no…) and if not, what I would recommend for a trip to Boulder for someone’s birthday. I get a lot of questions about things to do and places to eat for folks visiting Boulder, so I cranked out a quick reply with several suggestions. That email exchange that began in July evolved and materialized into a birthday surprise yesterday evening.

a meal at frasca is not complete without their excellent wines

Rich planned a dinner at Frasca for his wife Kelly’s birthday – and he graciously invited us to join them as a surprise! Kelly is the photo editor of Fine Cooking – my hands down favorite magazine. How could I possibly say no? We arrived with the bouquet of flowers, which Frasca’s staff kindly whisked away, trimmed, arranged in a vase, and placed on our table. The service was flawless (as always), the wine bright and crisp, and the food… oh the food.

pacific hiramasa crudo, finger lime, lavash, cilantro

robiola and soft ricotta tortelloni, garlic brodo, porcini mushroom conserva

pan-seared red snapper with sweet corn ragú and baby carrots

Isn’t that lovely? Let me tell you, I was so excited when one of those finger lime vesicles popped in my mouth. Citrus caviar is what it is. Suddenly, life became even more beautiful and I have a new obsession. The word that surfaces in my brain when I think of savory dishes at Frasca is “perfection”. Textures, flavors, temperatures, colors, aromas. Our hosts thoroughly enjoyed their plates as well, which in some small way makes me proud of Boulder because I’m never ashamed to recommend this fine town to others. Rich and Kelly are utterly charming and delightful people – a fun, witty, and handsome couple (you’d never guess her age, she looks incredible). So if you will recall my rant about not caring if I have readers or not, the truth is that I don’t. However, I cannot deny that I have met some truly wonderful people thanks in no small part to the interwebs, and that includes Rich and Kelly. Happy birthday, Kelly! Thank you both for making us a part of your special day.

Now before I head to the airport, I’ve had something on my mind…

shishito peppers

Ever since Tea and I indulged in that lovely Padrón pizza at Delancey in Seattle last week, my mind has been on those peppers. Peppers are funny beasts. Some varieties are always mild, some are always insanely hot, and some are hit and miss. Hatch green chiles can even have hot bites within a single pepper. I’ve found shishito peppers to be mostly mild and occasionally – wow! Espicy! Note: there has been some confusion in my head… I always thought shishitos were the same as padróns, but they are not! Sorry ’bout that.

a quick rinse

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: prosciutto-wrapped grilled peaches

I get it. I do.

There are folks who want to make money and garner fame through their (food) blogs. And if food blogging is something they truly love, then good luck to them. It’s not terribly unlike people who want to make a living in let’s say, photography – although you can make a living as a photographer without heaps of cash or adulation. I think what bothers me is the overemphasis on (more) fame, (more) money. And you know there are those who will never be satisfied, they just want MORE. They’re easy to identify and in my case, avoid. I’m not a more kind of person. I see a lot of positives in LESS. Maybe if you slapped a pack on your back and hiked into the sticks for a week, you’d get a good sense of what is necessary and important. Maybe not.

I recognize that my priorities don’t always jive with the rest of the flock. I’m cool with that.

What’s funny (and by funny I don’t mean ha ha) is how some are pointing their fingers at those of us who frowned upon gearing blogs to maximize traffic and SEO. “I see your ads and your badges on your blog!” The implication being: having ads or badges on your blog means you have no right to criticize those who want money and fame. In essence, I’ve invalidated my rail against the SEO/traffic machine by hosting an ad and some badges.

Not true.

My blog is my space. I use my blog on a daily basis. Remember, I’m a little OCD and I love to archive. I look up old recipes. I use it to jog my memory (we DID go to so-and-so’s for dinner on such-and-such night four years ago). It tells me what time of year the columbines bloom in the high country. The fact that I can pull revenue to cover the costs of my hosting service (which became necessary when my home grown server could no longer handle the traffic), materials, and conferences is pretty damn sweet. This is not lost on me. The fact that urb is self-sufficient helps me to continue doing it without burdening our finances. That some publications I respect happen to like my mindless drivel is merely icing on the cake. But I’m not filling my posts with tag words (Angelina Jolie boobies chocolate cheesecake chili porn?) and altering content to drive more traffic to my site. Are you kidding? I can barely manage writing what I think in a coherent manner.

What I object to is the cookie-cutter mold for food blogging and the desire to blog just for money and fame. They all start to look the same when everyone is clamoring for and getting a recipe on how to get rich/famous off your food blog. I don’t think much of trend-chasers and disingenuous people. I prefer the blogs that are grown organically, with their own sense of style and voice. Be yourself.

There’s one last thing I wanted to address that some of my dear readers brought up in the comments. …it’s easy not to care about traffic when you have lots of it already! I understand that people want a response for their efforts. They want to know that someone is out there reading and connecting. I had a woman in all sincerity ask me on the Food Blog Forum why on Earth I would blog if I didn’t care about getting readers. As much as I love all of you wonderful people, I would be perfectly happy blogging to no one because (as I’ve said in the past) I blog for me.

My website started in 1994. It was well before the advent of blogs. I had pages dedicated to backcountry trip reports and some recipes. I knew that someone somewhere was going to find that information useful someday. I did this because I found other trip reports to be incredibly helpful. It was about sharing information and helping others. Feedback was unheard of then. I got an occasional email (like every 3 months) asking about weather and trail conditions. Traffic, comments, and SEO had no meaning. Fast forward 16 years (*gulp!*) and I have added urb, a photo blog, and a personal blog. My photo blog gets a few comments, but can go for months without a peep. That’s fine! I just keep dumping my pictures there so I can keep track of my noodlings. My personal blog has a few dozen readers and they rarely comment, but they read to keep tabs on what I’m doing and thinking.

So it’s about me, but it’s not about me. I need the outlet, but not the attention and I’m happiest that way. I learned long ago that placing my happiness and validation in the hands of others is a good way to get really pissed off (and screwed).

frost this morning on the deck

We had our first frost this morning. This means a couple of things. First off, it means SKI SEASON is coming. I hope it arrives before March this time. Second, it means fall colors will be making a (hopefully) grand entrance in a few weeks to Colorado. Third: this is my busiest time of year. Fourth: this is my favorite time of year! But before I get ahead of myself, I need to clear out the summer recipes so they don’t languish in the queue for 11 months. I’m enjoying local peaches like they are going out of fashion.

beautiful, cheeky things

a few slices of prosciutto

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: fresh figs with blue cheese and honey

My parents left early this morning to catch their flight home. I saw the tail lights of the car disappear into the inky black night and called to the two glowing eyes in the yard (presumably Kaweah) to come inside. When we got up a few hours later, Kaweah came trotting down the stairs next to me sniffing around the great room looking for my dad. He is her new best friend. She LOVES him. When she didn’t see him, she followed me down to the first floor and looked around the guest room, then looked around outside in the yard. She was happy enough to eat her breakfast (we call all meals dinner – it saves confusion for her) but then seemed a little mopey all day. Poor pup. We had quite a nice visit with my parents who had never really spent much time in Boulder before. On Monday, we took them to The Kitchen for Community Night and they were sold. We sat next to delightful and charming people, enjoyed great wine and of course – indulged in fine food. I should say we indulged in eleven incredible dishes.

summer bean salad, cherry tomatoes, white anchovy, tarragon vinaigrette

grass fed beef roulade, prosciutto, foraged mushrooms, potato watercress salad

wood fired pizza, roasted peaches, long farm bacon, chèvre, shallot dressing

There are so many good restaurants in Boulder, but I have to say that the absolute best value in town has got to be Community Night. I think this was our eighth Comm Night and we never tire of it (partly because the menu is different every Monday night). We love to go with friends or bring out-of-town guests if they are visiting over a Monday night. Delicious fun is what it is.

half of our comm night table

my mom loved this arugula, frisée, colorado peach, sweet corn, banyuls vinaigrette

house cut tagliatelle, la quercia prosciutto, swiss chard, crushed tomato, parmesan

While my parents truly enjoyed the intimate and special dinner at Flagstaff House for my mom’s birthday, I think The Kitchen was a completely new experience for them. The style of the food at Comm Night is more wholesome than fancy because the chefs let the ingredients speak for themselves. It pops with seasonal freshness in your mouth and the family-style dining brings everyone together as they oooh and ahhh over the delectable dishes. What a great evening.

part of dessert: chocolate torte and meringues with raspberries

at the end of a fine evening

So you know how Jeremy is the pickier eater of the two of us? Well, there are a few foods that I have tried to like, but just couldn’t. Blue cheese is one of them. You can either be astonished or glad because if I don’t like blue cheese, that means there is more for you. I recently did a shoot for a client featuring fresh figs, blue cheese, and honey with candied walnuts. I have enough sense (barely) to know that this is a beautiful combination of flavors despite the fact that I don’t eat blue cheese. So I put a call out on my Facebook page to see if any local friends liked blue cheese.

brown turkey figs from my local whole foods

figs are such gorgeous fruits

**Jump for more butter**