use real butter

Recipe: piña colada sorbet

It was not my intention to make readers cry in my last post, but admittedly, I was crying when I wrote it. Of course, we’re all silly people for crying because Kaweah thinks everything is just grand. She kicks in her sleep and makes little howling barks and growls as she chases the squirrels and bunnies through Dreamland. I wake her each morning with a gentle belly rub and watch her eyes open and her nose suddenly activate. When she realizes it’s me, she rolls belly up, kicks her feet in the air with joy, and goes bonkers thrashing about. Kaweah enjoys a frozen pupsicle (bananas and peanut butter) every afternoon and a nice but short evening stroll in the neighborhood where she checks the doggy pee-mail center at the giant boulder. She’s happy and that is what ultimately matters. We should all be so content in our twilight years. Thank you for your love and kind words for our pup.

in the middle of the road, yeah

And that time of year has arrived – porcini season. Since this is only my second year foraging, I am having a blast comparing data with last year’s season: locations, size, weather, timing, dates, temperatures, moisture, elevations, trails, other species. It’s like an Easter egg hunt, but better! If you want to find the porcini, you have to become the porcini… [Please note: porcini have several look alike species that can make you very ill, do not forage porcini unless you are with an expert.]

buddies

what a beauty

We endured a bit of a scorcher the last few days, so I was especially thrilled to see heavy rain in the forecast and a drop of nearly 15°F in the daytime high temperature. I think the mushrooms will like it too (remember: be the mushroom). Hot weather is problematic for me right now for a few reasons: 1) I’m in the middle of a chocolate shoot for a client 2) I have to monitor Kaweah to make sure she doesn’t overheat (I put her downstairs on the basement floor to cool down if it gets really bad) and 3) it makes me really really cranky. While purchasing props the other day, I heard “Escape” playing in the craft store. You probably don’t know what that refers to. I didn’t. But you’ll know the song from the line, “If you like piña coladas…” I thought to myself, “I do, I DO like piña coladas!” And I became obsessed with having one.

coconut milk, pineapple, sugar, rum (optional, but good)

Personally, I prefer my piña coladas to be slushy, but I decided to take it a step further and make it into sorbet. It’s so easy to do it’s ridiculous and wonderful all at the same time. You could use canned pineapple, but it’s hard to beat a fresh pineapple that is ripe, naturally sweet, and far more flavorful. Oh, and when you open a can of coconut milk, be sure to stir it up as the fat solids separate and rise from the liquid.

chop the pineapple into chunks

measured out

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: crème de cassis (black currant liqueur)

I have been waiting nearly a year to post this recipe. Why so long? It’s because I foraged a seasonal item and then spent a month macerating it such that when it was ready, no one anywhere was going to find it. So let’s rewind to early July of last year when I went foraging with my gal pals. I can get single-minded at times which can be a good and a bad thing. In this instance, my eyes were on black currants, because I had it in my head that I would make crème de cassis.

we found golden currants

and black currants

i love the fatties

Even though currants may be past the flowering stage now (they’re flowering in the mountains, but done on the plains), Wendy has a nice and informative little post on currants and how to identify them. These suckers are everywhere. Even my shooting partner has one in his yard, but the crows always eat the berries before I can get over there. Imagine my delight when I scored about 1.5 lbs. last year! [Pro tip: wear dark colored clothing when processing the currants.]

the loot

i plucked off all of the stems and non-berry bits

labor intensive

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: chocolate bread pudding

I’ve tried to be patient all week, waiting to get a glimpse of this comet… comet Pan-STARRS. It was finally visible for the Northern Hemisphere starting at the beginning of the week, but our horizon was obliterated by a bank of clouds and screaming winds. My consolation prize was snow on Tuesday morning, but I would have gladly given up any snow for a shot at the comet. I was prepared thanks to my friends at Pro Photo Rental.

1-foot ruler for scale: nikkor 200-400mm f4 & 500mm f4

Well, I got a lucky break Wednesday night. It was cloudy then not cloudy then the clouds returned. The winds were active too. I could see the crescent moon and knew the comet would be below and to the west of it, but where? Streaky clouds made it impossible to know if I was seeing things or seeing IT.

crescent moon

With each passing minute, I knew the comet was getting closer to setting. I began to scan the sky with the 500mm lens, one frame at a time down from the moon. The skies were still light enough that stars weren’t showing up on the horizon. And then I spotted it and I yelled to Jeremy to come out and see. We enjoyed it for a few minutes and then it was gone. But I’m happy we got a chance to see it. It should be in the sky for the next month, but it’s kinda special with the crescent moon. I love seeing these phenomena. It totally makes my day!

just a tiny dot

comet panstarrs and tail setting on the continental divide

Spring can be so volatile around here as we pendulum from “cold and snowy” to “warm and sunny” and back and forth. The other day, I caught myself saying aloud, “Oh, I can’t wait for summer.” My eyes got big and wide and I turned to Jeremy. He looked as if I had confessed that I was an alien from another planet. What I meant was that I was excited to be able to entertain in summer again, because I was collecting so many great dishes to share with friends. I mean, spring skiing is a whole season ahead of us! I recently found a winner of a dessert that even *I* like… chocolate bread pudding with Frangelico crème anglaise.

for the crème anglaise: eggs, cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, frangelico

pour the cream and milk into a pan

whisk sugar and egg yolks together

**Jump for more butter**