use real butter

Recipe: flourless chocolate hazelnut cupcakes

I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks on behalf of my family and myself for the tremendous outpouring of support here on the blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, via email, and snail mail. Thank you.

a rose garden in san jose that my grandmother enjoyed

I have a white silk flower in my hair that I will wear for 100 days. I noticed my mom was wearing hers too when I got her from the airport on Monday. My parents are in town this week to close on their property in Boulder. They were supposed to come last week, but… we were all in California instead.

the family visited in her honor last week

Being home is good despite the backlog of work that is piling up. The weather is all Crazytown over here. It’s nearly June and yet our mountain weather thinks it’s early April. The afternoon thunderstorms are rolling in too. When we picked Kaweah up from the kennel this weekend, they told us there had been a thunderstorm Friday afternoon. One of the dogs was freaking out and they noticed that Kaweah was totally calm – chilling out as if nothing was going on (sometimes you have to wonder if anything is really going on inside that little brain of hers). They put the freak out dog with Kaweah and the other dog calmed down right away, cuing off of our pup. I’m so proud of her – doing nothing actually helped someone else!

the do nothing dog

So my friend, Elana, is a gluten-free superstar as well as a local Boulder food blogger. Her latest book arrived in my mailbox just days before we left for Hawai’i and I couldn’t wait to try some of the recipes when I got back. It’s all about cupcakes. Gluten-free and butter-free at that. Now I know what you’re thinking… the name of my blog is use real butter and yet she doesn’t use butter in her baking? My point isn’t that food has to have butter, just don’t use the fake crap. That’s what I’m talking about – don’t use fake butter or fake anything for that matter – live life for real. Blagh blagh blagh. Get the point?

back to the cupcakes

Elana uses all natural ingredients in her baking, relying on almond and coconut flours instead of regular flour, and agave nectar instead of sugar. She offers vegan and dairy-free recipes too, because Elana wants to make sure there is something for EVERYONE. She’s awesome like that. There is even a section with savory treats. What I really liked about the recipe I chose (because it sounded so damn good!) is that nothing is a substitution. Seriously, have a look!

hazelnuts, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, agave nectar, salt, eggs

pulse the hazelnuts and chocolate chips together

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: chocolate chip peanut butter cookies

Last week on my way to the airport, I read that Breckenridge had received 16 inches of snow the night before. I felt a pang in my heart as we flew over the snowy Rocky Mountains. But you know what? All of that melted away when I arrived in Seattle. I spent two days visiting with beloved friends, dining at great restaurants, seeing the city and its surrounds. Seattle is one of those places I could spend a lifetime and never get enough of it. But wait! There was more… The whole reason for my trip was a gathering of all the Nintendo Ambassadors to celebrate the launch of the Nintendo 3DS. My reaction and the reaction of all the other ambassadors was simply, “WOW!”

rebekah and erini check out the nintendo 3ds for the first time

at nintendo headquarters

lots of game play, lots of photos taken

in 2d mode

We spent the bulk of Friday learning about and experiencing different capabilities of the new Nintendo 3DS at Nintendo headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Nintendo were gracious hosts giving us a tour of their gorgeous building (sorry, no pics allowed) and access to their employees’ store.

rebekah really getting into it!

jean kicks some virtual butt playing streetfighter 2

president and coo of nintendo of america welcomes the group

discussing research on 3d viewing

After a full day at Nintendo headquarters, we spent the evening in downtown Seattle at various restaurants. I happened to wind up at Black Bottle in the private room with my fellow food blog pal Marisa and my local blog chica Aimee and new friend, Jean. A parade of small plates marched onto our tables, one after another. Broccoli fries (a favorite), hanger steak, ceviche, fried olives (another favorite), sausage pizza… It was dark. Really dark. But look at what I managed to capture for you!

caprese salad on a stick

bean and mushroom salad (winner!)

roe vs. egg

I met a lot of wonderful new people on this trip. Sometimes I think my life is pretty full and I couldn’t possibly cram another friend in… but then there are folks like Michelle, Ilina, Doniree, Victoria, M, and others who make you wonder how it is you could go on in life WITHOUT their smiling faces, witty conversation, and sweet hugs. This Nintendo trip was bursting at the seams with all manner of goodness.

the finest company (left to right): ilina, maggie, jean, marisa

chocolate cake with gelato inside

lemon cheesecake with lavender

co-owner paul chats with us about our visit to seattle

And at the end of the day, I had my own little Nintendo 3DS to take home and share with Jeremy. Thanks for an incredible experience, Nintendo. Also a huge thanks to Justine and team for their flawless execution of the entire event! [Full Disclosure: All travel, lodging, meals, and the Nintendo 3DS were provided courtesy of Nintendo.]

So now you know where I was last week and why! I’m leaving again in less than 12 hours and my shooting partner suggested I could bring that little Nintendo 3DS for him to *ahem* check out for safety and such… Right. Since I barely have time to unpack and repack my bags, there isn’t a lot of cooking or baking going on in the House of Butter. Luckily for Present Me, Past Me anticipated this stretch of kitchen inactivity and so we have some cookies today. Grab a glass of milk… It’s okay – I’ll wait here for you.

start with butter and sugars

plop goes the egg

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: chocolate banana bombes

It’s easy to catch sunset. You start to notice the light softening and getting longer (in terms of wavelength λ – actually what happens is that the shorter wavelengths are getting kicked out by scattering off the atmosphere) and there are all these signs that it’s going to happen so you have time to get ready. Sunrise is another matter. Sunrise happens backwards and you start in the dark. In winter, you start in the dark and cold and lonely because everyone, including the dog, is snoring away under the covers still happily chasing bunnies in dreamland. Tons of people catch sunset, but not as many catch sunrise. Sunrise is glorious and I usually witness it alone, but it’s lovely to share with others too. I like sunrise because it’s the beginning of the day and I love beginnings. It means the long winter night is over, or it means you have a little peace before the mosquitoes of alpine summer begin to stir (and bite!). Sunrise can be quiet, peaceful, pensive. It also feels like opportunity. I’m feeling it!

pink light of sunrise ignites the tips of our lofty high peaks

If you will recall I discovered the joys of single-ingredient ice cream a while back. I finally found a way to use up overripe bananas as well as make a non-dairy ice cream alternative that is healthy and pretty creamy. It got me thinking about chocolate-dipped frozen bananas and how I had a lot of trouble eating those as a kid because the bananas were frozen solid like a rock. I wanted something similar, but easier to consume.

you just need some chocolate chips

i prefer to temper the chocolate

Okay, I just wanted an excuse to use my bombe molds. They’re so cute and whenever you give someone a bombe, a smile spreads across their face. You don’t have to temper the chocolate, but if you do it winds up with a beautiful sheen and snap. Just a note based on my experience – if you temper the chocolate it’s easiest with a minimum of one pound of chocolate even though you’ll only need a fraction of that amount for the actual coating. The heat capacity of a smaller amount is just too low to maintain a steady working temperature for very long.

paint the bombe molds with three coats

chop some peanuts

**Jump for more butter**