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Recipe: crunchy kale salad

Our evening walks with Kaweah are getting later and later because we try to avoid taking her out when the sun is still up. She overheats easily. Thankfully, as soon as the sun drops low, the air begins to cool quickly in the mountains. You can feel the delicious streams of cool air flowing around your ankles as you hike the neighborhood trails. Wildflowers are full speed ahead and the once new spring-green aspen leaves have turned to a soothing deep, dark green.

the blur is kaweah’s wagging tail

indian paintbrush and yarrow

happily taking a rest in a field of clover

I reached down to give Kaweah a pat on the ribs as we left the trail to return to the house. Her fur was cool to the touch. She was clearly happy, lazily wagging her tail as she sniffed every.single.plant on the side of the road. I pressed my palm to my arm and was delighted that my skin felt COLD.

c’mon, let’s go!

well, there’s always time for a belly rub

Thank goodness for the evening cooldowns around here, or else I would have lost my marbles back in April. We’ve been on a busy rotation of salads because the last thing I want in summer is to cook and then eat a hot, heavy meal. I want fresh, crunchy, green things! This means I’m always on the lookout for something new. When my pal, Denise, and I checked out the Native Foods Boulder soft opening in late May, we ordered strategically so we could get as big a sampling of the menu as possible. Native Foods is a popular vegan restaurant, not because it is vegan, but because they serve some great food. That said, I am not a fan of faux meats or faux cheeses (faux food isn’t my thing). But, I absolutely fell in love with their crunchy kale salad and immediately went home and made it for Jeremy.

all you need: kale and cabbages

avocado, apple, almonds, and black currants

tahini, orange juice, maple syrup, olive oil, (not pictured: salt, lemon juice)

The salad is chock full of healthy goodies and unlike lettuce, it doesn’t wilt much if you make a large batch to enjoy over the course of a few days. That’s because it has hearty greens like kale and cabbage. The rest of the ingredients are either neutral or sweet. If you are seeking a tangy, salty salad – this is not it. But it’s a fantastic, hearty salad that is satisfying without being overly heavy.

trim the kale leaves from the stalks

shred the kale

add shredded cabbage to the bowl

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: strawberry syrup

Despite the months of faux summer we’ve been experiencing, the real thing is soon upon us. We spent the entire weekend in “spring cleaning” mode. Then with the High Park fire in Colorado burning strong to the north, we took the time to cull and update our important documents and other critical items for the evacuation bin. Always be prepared, right? It’s going to be a long summer.

we could use more rain, less lightning (although i do love the lightning)

Believe it or not, I have been waiting for summer with anticipation. Waiting for those strawberries to arrive at the markets. I don’t mean the strawberries that have to travel a thousand miles from California (or Mexico) to the grocery stores – picked too early and bred for making the long journey at the expense of flavor, sweetness, ripeness. I’m referring to the lovely local gems that are misshapen, small, imperfect, and smell like candy.

don’t mind if i do

If you have no idea what I am talking about, then you might want to try and hunt some down. If you DO know what I’m talking about… right on! I used to feel lukewarm about strawberries because most of the strawberries I’ve eaten in my life have been store-bought and not especially outstanding. On occasion I’ve enjoyed U-pick strawberries, or happened upon the Oxnard strawberry festival in southern California, or purchased a flat from a farmer on the side of the road in California’s Central Valley after a weekend backpack trip in Kings Canyon. But these little gems, these will make you a lover… an obsessed lover.

i stalked several pints last week at the boulder farmer’s market

they are almost too pretty to eat… almost

Bite into this strawberry and it bleeds red, sweet, and fragrant. The insides aren’t white, but deep red. The berries are juicy instead of having that texture of packing materials. We ate plenty of them straight – my favorite way to enjoy a proper strawberry. I also saved out a few quarts for projects despite my strong urge to shovel them all down my gullet.

small as a dime with big big flavor

My friend, Marisa, who writes the phenomenal Food in Jars, has a new cookbook out that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on for over a year. It’s a book on canning, but in small batches, which is perfect for me. I received my review copy last month and I’ll do a canning recipe in another post, but one recipe was screaming to be made: strawberry syrup.

organic, unsprayed strawberries and sugar

hull and quarter (or halve if they are small) the berries

add water to the berries

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: lavender lemonade

I want to thank those of you who shared your pet stories for the giveaway. Since Kaweah is in her golden years, the comments about the senior doggies and kitties were particularly touching for me as were the stories of how our pets comfort us when we are grieving or very ill. So thank you for that, all of you. We try to make the selection of winners as impartial and as random as possible by letting Kaweah choose. Retirees though… they aren’t always in the mood to get back to their old jobs.

stretching out in the sun

aw yeah…

We tried again later when storm clouds blocked out the sun and Kaweah had gotten a sufficient amount of beauty rest. I lined up ten treats – each representing a number from 0 to 9 – and recorded the number of the first treat Kaweah went for. Then I replaced the eaten treat(s) (sometimes she ate two before I could get to her) and we repeated this nine times for a total of ten digits (5 winners).

that’s a four

The winners are #35: Ira (Boxers N Birds All Breed Animal Rescue Inc. in Oceanside, CA), #46: Jane, #52: Courtney (Boulder Humane Society), #65: Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary, and #80: Pat! Congratulations to the winners – you should be receiving an email from me shortly. Thank you all for listing so many wonderful animal shelters and rescue organizations who care for those animals in need of a home and someone to love.

sunset reflected off our house

love those summer storms

We are entering that thunderstorm cycle in the mountains now. Overnight temperatures are nowhere close to freezing anymore and nighttime is whittled down to a few hours at best. Le sigh. Oh, but you know what’s coming, don’t you? Summer things like blockbuster movies, a new tube of sunblock, eating outside, grilling, parties, hiking, and kicking back with an ice-cold drink. I had lunch at a soft opening for Native Foods in Boulder a couple of weeks ago. My friend, Michael (@BSidesNarrative on Twitter), told me the lavender lemonade at Native Foods was the best. So I tried it. I liked it! And you know where this is going. I know how to make lemonade…

lemons

juiced

Most people think of lavender as an odor, not a flavor. It’s widely used in de-stinking or perfuming the heck out of something, someplace, or someone. This is not that lavender. It *is* lavender – the herb – but it is culinary lavender which means it is okay to consume. Mine is organic and you can find it at places like Savory Spice Shop or the Whole Foods bulk spice section.

pretty purple

a few tablespoons

**Jump for more butter**