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Recipe: marinated mushrooms

Another weekend, another set of visitors – both have come and gone. Jeremy’s folks were out to see our new digs and explore the town. I swear Crested Butte is Colorado’s best kept secret. Right now, I’m waiting for the moon to set and hoping that our clear skies hold enough for me to catch some Perseids tonight. It’s been lovely here this past week with plenty of rain, storms, and sunshine. Cooler weather is in the air. I can smell autumn coming and I swear it makes my heart race in anticipation. The mountains are getting ready.

late season bloomers: fireweed

a busy bee, gathering nectar and pollen

alpine lake destination

Clearing afternoon storms always present the opportunity for nice color after sunset. When I have a moment, I step outside and observe how the light bounces around between the atmosphere and the mountains in the hour after the sun drops behind our local divide. It takes a little time to get to know the patterns, but I’m trying to become familiar with them. Most of the time it’s been what I call a fizzle, but the other day was delightfully colorful.

last orange rays graze the mountainside

crepuscular rays and glowing wisps of clouds over paradise divide

The rains have also been good for mushrooms. When Jeremy and I hike, I really try to keep my pace up and not revert to mushroom search mode. But if I happen to spot a mushroom of interest, I’ll stop for a photo because I like documenting what I find, where, when, and the conditions. The great thing is that Jeremy and I love to geek out on plants, fungi, critters, bugs, geology, and weather. I love the fungi almost as much as I love my fun guy.

false chanterelle (it’s a bit early yet for the real deal)

hawk’s wings are so pretty (my size 9 foot for scale)

We did find some porcini, but none that I wanted to harvest since they were a little wormed out. I always leave those in place and give the big ones a pat on the cap in the hopes of shaking out some more spores for next year’s porcini. Obviously, I’ve had mushrooms on the brain since summer began. I blame Wendy because she has porcini fever starting in like… March. But I was craving the marinated kind, something you can make with store-bought button or crimini mushrooms.

fresh crimini mushrooms, parsley, oregano, olive oil, vinegar, red onion, salt, garlic, black peppercorns, coriander seeds

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Recipe: pistachio almond cake

Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday. Don’t freak out or anything. I’m telling this to you now so you can get your act together with a couple of days to spare. My mom called Monday and sternly warned that under no uncertain terms, she would be very very upset with me if I sent her anything for Mother’s Day. She couldn’t see my furrowed brow and sideways scrunched mouth as I looked at the shipping receipt on my desk. Both she and my MIL are getting some amazing Helliemae’s caramels (jasmine and classic salt, if you must know). Hey, at least I listened to her sage advice on retirement accounts when I was 21.

flowers for all of the moms out there, because they make the world a better place

Last month, Courtney posted a photo on Facebook of a slice of cake she had gotten at a bakery. It was an almond pistachio cake with whipped cream and it looked incredibly good. I said as much and she confirmed my suspicions. I have a slight love affair/obsession with pistachios because they have such a beautiful flavor and they are green, which is the best color ever. So of course, I went looking about the interwebs for a good pistachio cake recipe. I died a little bit with every recipe that called for instant pistachio-flavored pudding mix, but eventually I did find one that appealed to me and I thought it fitting to post a cake before Mother’s Day in case you wanted to bake something special for Mom.

kaweah kept creeping around during the shoot

Ultimately, I converged on the idea of two layers of pistachio cake and one layer of almond cake, all frosted with whipped cream. You are welcome to add jam layers, chocolate ganache, soaking syrups (mmm, amaretto soaking syrup!), swap the whipped cream frosting out for buttercream frosting. The point is – make a cake that you (or Mom) will love. The first step for me was to make pistachio paste because I can’t source it easily and I was delighted to find a recipe for it on Ellie’s blog. If you can purchase Love’n Bake’s pistachio paste, that will save you quite a handsome chunk of time.

pistachios, corn syrup, sugar, water

blanch the pistachios and remove the skins (time-consuming task)

blender it all up (actually, I recommend a food processor over a blender)

a beautiful green paste

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Recipe: pear frangipane tart

Last Friday was the first day of March. And even though the first day of March has everyone running around shouting “Spring! Spring!” that date means a couple of things to me: a) March is typically when Colorado gets her biggest snow storm tracks (HELL YES!) and b) Jeremy and I have to calculate how many years we’ve been married. Sixteen years. How is it that I remember our first date – an afternoon stroll through Old Pasadena – as vividly as I remember yesterday, and yet it feels like Jeremy has been a part of my entire life? Maybe we’re just getting old… I could not have dreamed of a better companion.

14 years ago (kaweah at 11 weeks)

summer hikes in the rockies

hikes in the snow

we love the snow

my best pals

here is to the journey before us

I’m not in denial about spring. I love Colorado spring! Everyone knows (or should know) how awesome spring skiing can be. The arrival of March jolts me out of my winter food mindset too. I set about “spring cleaning” my archives from the last season to make room for new recipes with fresh spring produce. So let’s wave good-bye to February with a pear frangipane tart. Despite the use of a winter fruit, this tart is delightfully bright and cheery any time of year. You can substitute peaches, plums, apples, as you like.

red d’anjou pears

start with the pâte sucrée: butter, vanilla, egg yolk, cream, flour, confectioner’s sugar, salt

pulse the butter and dry ingredients together

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