use real butter

Recipe: peanut butter caramel sauce

All signs point to summer: the blazing sun, rising mercury, pine pollen, afternoon thunderstorms, open windows at night, wild strawberry blossoms along my trail runs, and the impending solstice. Oh, but the best is yet to come when the snow in the high country finally recedes and the huckleberries and porcini emerge alongside colorful alpine wildflowers. It’s weeks away and yet I can already anticipate it will be here before I know it because everything seems to take place in these short summer months. Earlier in the week we enjoyed a lovely happy hour at The Flagstaff House with my parents. I have a feeling summer will kick into high gear very soon.

my rocky mountain cucumber cocktail (sans alcohol)

tuna tartare

fried oysters on polenta (if you go there, order this – so good!)

my queen of the night bloomed (symbolizes good luck!)

our aspen stands have turned lush and green

Before my parents arrived in Colorado, I had lunch with my friend, Ellen of Helliemae’s Caramels. She gave me a bag of her jasmine caramels to welcome my parents, a box of coffee caramels for Jeremy (the coffee fiend), and a bag of peanut butter caramels. It’s a sort of ritual among certain friends of mine that whenever we see each other, we bring gifts like pickled okra or organic adzuki beans or a little box of Maldon sea salt or a jar of homemade kimchi or a bottle of homemade foraged elderflower cordial – but Ellen is the master of caramels. It’s her thing.

creamy, smooth peanut butter caramels

I enjoy the first couple of caramels for what they are and then by the third, I start imagining how awesome they would be in other recipes. One of Jeremy’s favorite items from Helliemae’s is the Chili Palmer caramel sauce. He puts it on ice cream like it is going out of fashion, which got me thinking about peanut butter caramel sauce and the awesomeness that would be a sundae with said sauce. I didn’t have enough caramels left (oops!) to make a sauce out of them, so I made it from scratch.

sugar, cream, peanut butter

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: orange creamsicle frozen yogurt two ways

There is a short window of time in late spring when: 1) the road to the trailhead is closed to cars, but clear of snow 2) the trail is completely under snow and 3) the snow is firm enough to hoof it on foot. I live for this window because it’s when we do the bike-hike-ski, a triumvirate of springtime mountain activities. And it was HOT. 60°F at 10,000 feet with the sun roasting us from above (so more like broiling). There are always ways to get your ski on, it’s just a matter of how determined you are to get it. And we are not the only ones out there.

[Many of you inquired after the sunblock I had tested and liked. It is TerraSport SPF 30 which is not only non-greasy, rubs in well, non-sticky, and waterproof for 80 minutes, but it rates well on the Environmental Working Group site, which I trust. We are also in the process of testing Vanicream for sensitive skin.]

biking up to the trailhead

stashing the bikes in the trees

hiking up to the basin

skiing out

switching from skis to bikes (what a junk show)

ready to ride out

I love the snow, really love it. When we paused in the shade to fuel up and throw on some long-sleeve shirts (the sun at high altitude can be really harsh), I happily dropped my pack and plopped my butt in the snow. FELT GREAT. I know why Kaweah used to roll around in snow patches on summer hikes. I do it too. But at our house, the snow is a mere memory from a few weeks ago. The earliest wildflowers are starting to show their color in the yard and the hummingbirds are zipping about in super-aggro mode. Where is the relief from the sun? It’s in my freezer and it’s easy to make, so you can have relief in your freezer too. I’m talking about orange creamsicle frozen yogurt. Remember those orange creamsicle pops from the 70s, the decade that tried to kill us all with fake colors and flavors? It was so excellent, I made two versions.

smooth version: vanilla extract, grand marnier, oranges, sugar, plain yogurt

grate the orange zest

juice the oranges

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: tiramisu

It’s nice right now in the Colorado Rockies. The pine pollen has yet to begin (I’m preparing myself for the allergy onslaught) and snowline continues to recede to higher elevations. More routes are accessible by foot or by bike, but I suspect there is still good skiing to be had further into the backcountry. In the past week we’ve been able to ski, trail run, and mountain bike in our “backyard”. The best exercise is the kind you love to do.

there were some patches of snow

but most of it is melting although the high peaks are looking good

me and my guy

I’ll admit that I don’t love running, although I’m warming up to it. But I love being on trails! Trail running is one of those things that involves some pain – the running, but so much awesome in terms of solitude, beauty, time for thinking, and scouting opportunities for all things foraging (just don’t trip while trying to scope out mushrooms). Jeremy and I start at the same time, but we run different routes that meet up an hour or two later. He runs faster, farther, and higher than I do, but then he is training for a longer and more grueling goal than I am.

The most common question Jeremy gets asked by our friends who read this blog is, “How do you not weigh 300 pounds?!” He weighs half that. Jeremy is not a muscle-bound dude. He’s lean, trim, and fit. And while I don’t ply him with fatty and sugary desserts 24/7, I worry even less about his occasional sweets consumption in the service of use real butter now that he’s trail running in earnest. After yesterday’s run, I reminded him that he was required to move the tiramisu in the refrigerator, because I needed the space.

lady fingers (savoiardi), eggs, mascarpone cheese, cocoa powder, Kahlua, cream, sugar, salt, espresso powder

I’ve been making tiramisu since the 90s, but in truth – I haven’t served it in the past decade more than a couple of times. I think food blogging makes me forget about the oldies-but-goodies recipes. Back in the day, I did not consider this an easy recipe. Today it seems really straightforward. Go figure. Experience is worth something. So here’s your Throwback Thursday…

pour the kahlua in with the sugar, salt, and egg yolks

whisk over a simmering bath until it leaves a ribbon (6 minutes)

**Jump for more butter**