use real butter

Recipe: lemon sorbet

The lovely and wonderful Meeta and Jeanne have coordinated and are hosting Meeta’s Monthly Mingle: A Taste of Yellow in honor of our friend, Barbara, who passed away at the end of June. Barbara used to host A Taste of Yellow to raise cancer awareness, and that is how I first met her on the internet. I had decided to contribute a post to her event in 2008. I was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer at the time.

the end of the day

I never had the pleasure – the honor – of meeting Barbara in person. But despite being on opposite ends of this planet, we grew close and became good friends. We compared notes on our experiences with cancer: the treatments, the way people react to you (both good and bad), wonderful oncologists, supportive partners, hopes, fears, the pain, regaining the strength to walk, lingering side effects, being able to taste food again. More than that, we tapped out emails to one another on photography, food, travel, friends, family, blogging, bloggers, life. Life was the big one… making the most of it and being grateful for each day. We had both arrived at this directive independently. It cemented our friendship.

We occasionally talked of travel plans – for her to come to the States or more realistically, for me to visit Australia. The thing is, Barbara was always making plans and looking ahead. She didn’t let chemotherapy or radiation stop her. Sure, they slowed her down, but she was not one to wallow in self-pity. Barbara once wrote to me that she didn’t want anyone’s pity. Cancer was not a label she accepted. She was so much more than that. Barbara was a special, classy lady with a fierce fight in her. She ranks up there with my grandma in my Book of Ladies Who Kick Ass. Her words carried the heft of wisdom and experience, wrapped in kindness and love, sprinkled with her great humor and wit.

My favorite comment she left on my blog was from this past New Year’s Eve:
“Happy New Year Jen. I appreciate your friendship. Oh god I do sound formal don’t I. Love ya sweet cheeks. xoxo”

For all of the people who knew her and loved her – love her still – this post is dedicated to my dearest Barbara and A Taste of Yellow. The recipe I chose for my submission is lemon sorbet. It is a perfect treat for summer, the season that most reminds me of Barbara.

get some organic lemons

and a cup of sugar and a cup of water

Whoever came up with that saying “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade” probably wasn’t much of a cook, because I think lemons are terrific. Lemons are bright, tart, almost floral. Pair that with sugar to bring out some of the complexity of the fruit. Instead of making lemonade, we’re going to make lemon sorbet. It’s nearly as easy and it is definitely a welcome relief from the heat.

make the simple syrup

zest a lemon

ready to juice

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: pink grapefruit-champagne sorbet

Where I live is notorious for its winter winds. And by winter, I mean autumn, winter, and spring. Our NOAA forecasts gusts up to 45 mph as “breezy”. Up to 70 mph is “windy” and beyond is finally granted “very windy”. There was a pretty severe wind storm back in mid November… the one that clocked 115 mph at Breckenridge. I never found out what it was in our town, likely exceeding 100. Over the past few months as we’ve hiked, walked, and skied around our local mountains, Jeremy and I have seen evidence of that storm’s passing again and again. Mostly, it’s in the form of windfall: rooted, topped, or split trees. Not just dead trees, but plenty of healthy, large pines.

one of the smaller examples, trailside

It bums me out because I love trees. The wind here can be so oppressive, violent, and depressing. For me, I guess it’s depressing because when it’s “very windy” it usually means changing whatever outdoor plans we had. I’ll curse it more often than not, but it’s also responsible for some amazing atmospheric displays. Sitting just a few miles east of the Continental Divide, we get a lot of orographic clouds overhead.

lenticulars along a huge wave cloud paralleling the rockies

A lot of times, the winds will come when there is a big temperature swing like going from 40°F to 15°F or the other way around. So far, we’ve had some wind but mostly sunshine and warmth. It’s not that I’m unappreciative, but… I’m unappreciative.

the snow is crapping out – we need more pow

Okay, it’s not ALL bad. Had it been our typical single digits the other night, I might not have been as willing to stand outside scoping out the Quadrantids meteor shower in the lonely hours between moonset and sunrise. 20°F is all right by me.

two-fer

the brightest one of the night (that i saw)

Weather has such an influence over my food moods and this ridiculous (and completely unnecessary) heat wave in Colorado has me downing salads, cold noodles, citrus, and now… sorbet. You’d think it was summer.

all you need is some bubbly, grapefruit, and sugar

juice the grapefruit

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: watermelon frozen yogurt

Note on the raffle: I’m extending the deadline for entering the raffle for a fine art print to midnight MDT, Monday, August 29, 2011.

Jeremy and I generally avoid going to town (Boulder) on weekends because we like our mountain solitude and because we’re in Boulder during the week for work as it is. But my parents made last minute changes to their Yellowstone vacation due to Hurricane Irene and decided to head home to Virginia to check on their home rather than continue on to Portland. This put them in Boulder for the night at their condo. We decided to drive down to meet them for dinner at The Kitchen so they wouldn’t have to worry about cooking and cleaning up before having to leave for the airport in the morning.

first course: roast beef with heirlooms, rabbit sausage and cabbage

second course: local melons drizzled with oil, basil, hawai’ian volcanic black sea salt

second course: gnocchi, pesto, and local tomatoes

veal chops on mashed purple potatoes with sweet peppers

wild salmon on succotash with basil and fresh tomato purée

There was dessert too (Eaton mess and chocolate nemesis cake), but I was in too much of a food coma to grab a pic. That and they turn the lights waaaay down at sunset for some reason. On the drive home, I told Jeremy how delighted I was with the meal. And that got me thinking… There are some fantastic dining deals to be had in Boulder whether you’re a local or just visiting. Here are my favorites:

1) Community Night at The Kitchen: $35 per person (does not include beverages, tax, or tip) for dinner at a table of ~20. Maximum party size is 6 so you can get to know your community. Set menu (decided by the chef that day). Several courses, usually anywhere from 9-13 different plates served family style, locally sourced as much as possible, fresh, simply and perfectly prepared. Excellent staff. Great wines and cocktails. Monday nights. Call at least a few weeks ahead for reservations. AMAZING.

at the community night table

2) Wine Dinners at Frasca: $50 per person (does not include beverages, tax, or tip). Cuisine inspired by Friuli, Italy and impeccably executed. Set menu for four courses: antipasto, primo, secondo, and dolce, individually plated. You don’t come here to consume food, you come here to savor it. Modest servings are paced throughout the evening. Terrific wines. Flawless service. If you’re lucky, charming owner and master sommelier, Bobby Stuckey, will come by and say hello. Monday nights. Reservations recommended.

team food and light at frasca’s wine dinner

3) Family Dinner at The Kitchen: $47 per person (does not include beverages, tax, or tip). The set menu is decided by the chef that day and served family style for the entire party. Four courses consisting of two plates for each course: appetizers, salad and/or pasta, mains, and dessert. The same superb fare and service you come to expect from The Kitchen time and time again. Served any night. (They don’t take reservations for parties under 5).

4) Happy Hours around town are something else in Boulder. There are a lot of them and they not only serve discounted drinks, but truly delightful food. Some of my favorite happy hours include: Bacaro, Brasserie 1010, The Med, The Kitchen Upstairs, Jax Fish House and many many others.

diane loves happy hour oysters at brasserie 1010

If you’re a local, I’d love to hear about your favorite deals on other great eats!

Now here I have a summery recipe for you, to be sure. I walked into a relatively new frozen yogurt joint in Boulder one very very hot day this summer. Spooners lets you sample the dozen flavors they have on tap. I went around tasting the fruity flavors, because I’m all about fruity. But their watermelon fro yo stopped me in my tracks. It was real watermelon, not the fake Jolly Ranchers watermelon flavor. I was obsessed with it. This was a bad thing. Every time I drove down to Boulder I began to crave that yogurt. And then when I finally allowed myself to return a few weeks ago, I discovered that watermelon had rotated out. Dang! So I did what any self respecting food blogger would do…

organic, seeded, and oh so sweet watermelon

dice up two cups’ worth

**Jump for more butter**