use real butter

Did any of you catch the Perseids on Thursday night? Jeremy, Kaweah, and I spent the night on the deck. Those two slept while I shot the meteor shower. We had clear skies and even when a few clouds began to build on the Continental Divide, they dissipated after a little bit. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such good viewing conditions before! But first, you need to see the Milky Way from my deck. It’s gorgeous.

our galaxy, the milky way

The reddish lights are town center, but they didn’t interfere too much with my shoot. The rest of the Milky Way photos are here. We saw many many meteors Thursday night (a lot fewer Friday night, but still at least a dozen after sitting around for an hour). If you didn’t get to see any, these shots are for you to enjoy!

here’s a nice streaker

satellite (white), meteor (color), jupiter (bright dot upper right), andromeda (oblong dot bottom center)

And you can find the rest of the Perseid meteor shower photos on the photoblog.

My parents are visiting with us for a few days and Kaweah has been in heaven because my dad spoils her like crazy. They are loving the cooler and drier weather here (in comparison to hot and humid southern Virginia) as well as the lovely Colorado scenery. Saturday was my mom’s birthday, so we went to celebrate in grand fashion at Flagstaff House for dinner. We all had the Chef’s nine course tasting menu. I’ll leave you with photos from the night’s meal. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

lovely little flowers at our table

hors d’oeuvres and a special birthday wish on the menu

complimentary appetizer of thin pastry over duck confit with mushrooms

kusshi oyster, lime, tanqueray gin

ahi tuna carpaccio, terrine of foie gras, arugual, extra virgin olive oil

alaskan halibut over sweet corn and mussel chowder

australian barramundi, lump crabmeat, eggplant caviar, roasted garlic, nicoise olives, zucchini

grilled pancetta-wrapped quail, king trumpet mushrooms, white truffle infused polenta, sauce of garlic

marsala-braised kurobuta pork cheeks, haystack goat cheese agnolotti

snake river “kobe-style” gold ribeye cap, twice baked potato, asparagus, black truffle sauce

the sugar plate (accompanies coffee)

blackberry, kiwi, and white peach sorbet trio

sticky toffee pudding, bourbon toffee sauce, minted white chocolate ice cream

petits fours and birthday surprise

Thursday and Friday slipped away from me. Saturday is on the slippy slide too.

You know that hamster running furiously in the little hamster wheel? I’m that hamster. At least I’m keeping off the streets. I’ve got a few minutes to share some of photos from the last few days: learning to cook (freaking amazing!!!) Indian food from my dear Manisha and an early morning engagement shoot for one of my favorite buds in Boulder. More to come. It’s good that way, right? Right!?

the fabulous spices

papadums

ivy gourd (my favorite!)

chicken makhani (butter chicken)

batata vada

the feast (which manisha said was “simplified” – oh my!)

I got up at 4 in the morning Friday – but this time it was for friends rather than my usual nature shoot. Luckily, I know Jason is as insane as I am and willing to get up that early to work. He met me in the parking lot at 5:30 and helped me photograph my friend, Jeremy, and his lovely fiancée as the sun rose on the Flatirons at Chautauqua. Beautiful. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll be back with a recipe!

yay, there were still wildflowers!

amazing golden light

at the ranger cottage

sweet

varoom!!

I’m hella busy. Hella. Too busy to cook, shower, whatever. But I’m a lucky lucky girl. I have friends who are not only willing to feed me, but are stellar cooks to boot. Last Friday my dear Manisha invited some ladies over to feast on her homestyle Indian cooking.

she made idlis

Idlis are little pillows of steamed fermented batter made from rice, lentils, and water. Manisha piled them into a large serving dish – delicate and soft. I wanted to dive right into the bowl and take a nap. Here’s what the batter looks like.

see the bubbles?

Manisha had sambar (vegetable and lentil stew) simmering on the burner and Nichole brought a batch of her homemade aloo masala. The aromas in that kitchen were heady.

nichole ladles the sambar

heavenly aloo masala

I can’t recall what the chutneys were other than amazing. I have a problem with Manisha’s cooking… I get so excited and overwhelmed with all of the newness and flavors that it’s all I can do to photograph the food and eat it. I’ll shoot one dish and see her stirring fried spices into a chutney out of the corner of my eye – I can’t keep up. She promises me a lesson in proper Indian cooking when my schedule eases. I cannae wait.

chutney, chutney, idlis

What I learned that day was something utterly wonderful: that the batter for idlis is the same batter base for making dosas. DOSAS?! I am crazy for dosas. I had two dosas and if I hadn’t been sampling every other fantastic dish (along with two fabulous virgin mojitos courtesy of my dear Kitt) I probably would have stuffed myself with a couple more dosas before blissfully passing out on a plate of idlis – soft pillows, you know.

the dosas are crack

My brain was mush. I was exhausted. But I was well fed and feeling drunk on the love and laughter of my dear friends if only for a couple of hours. Priceless. (Thank you, Manisha! xo)