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Recipe: sparkling watermelon agua fresca

There has been all manner of blerg going on for the past few days (really, the past couple of months). We’ve been troopers, getting through one thing after another. It’s mentally and physically taxing such that I have resorted to filtering out the negativity more than usual. I don’t want to spend my energy on that. Interestingly, this activity has revealed who the positive people are in my circles. Of course, I don’t mean sunshine and lollipops “happy happy! joy joy!” people (they make me want to hurl). I like folks who are realists, yet still spread good vibes and kindness with a side of snark or sass. These folks are the ones who consistently bring a smile to my face or teach me to be more thoughtful. So thanks, friends, for keeping it real. Here are some things that have been great so far this week:

finding the time to step out and catch sunset

we installed new blinds to keep the house cooler this summer (yes!!!)

sushi with my sweetheart

a mustard blooming in the yard

We’ve swapped out the flannel sheets in favor of cooler cotton sheets. The windows remain open overnight because temperatures are no longer dipping below freezing. And there is no snow in the forecast (*sob*). From now until the first snowfall of the ski season, it’s all about staying cool for me. While water tends to be my beverage of choice, I occasionally indulge in iced tea (although the caffeine makes me bonkers), an Arnold Palmer, or some fruity juicy thing like an agua fresca. In this case, we’re making a sparkling watermelon agua fresca.

watermelon, limes, sugar, seltzer water

combine water and sugar to make a simple syrup

juice the limes

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Recipe: maple balsamic vinaigrette

There’s nothing like a sunburn to remind me of the necessity for sunblock, long-sleeved shirts, and a good hat in the sunny months. I guess that is a misnomer since it’s almost always sunny in Colorado – I mean the summer months. Except anytime the mercury rises above 60°F, I call that summer. Last Friday the weather forecast was originally for an overcast morning. I thought that sounded ideal because I had a shoot in the morning and a foraging date with Wendy in the afternoon. Instead, deep blue skies dotted with puffy white clouds greeted me as I drove into Boulder. Both of my appointments were outside and I even thought to bring my hats (a broad-rimmed sunhat and my favorite Patagonia duckbill cap), yet I didn’t put them on because the air temperature was comfortably cool.

meet tara, she’s really tall

Now that my hair is short, it won’t tie back into a nice ponytail. That’s okay though, because short hair affords greater air flow over my scalp – the advection transporting heat away and cooling me off. But I really dislike having hair in my face, so I have taken to haphazardly tying my hair into two Pebbles-style ponytails that emerge from my head asymmetrically. It works. The part resembles the trace of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and now it is emblazoned on my head as a red, sunburned Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Lesson learned (again).

blue mustard or musk mustard (chorispora tenella)

hello asparagus!

cottonwood catkins

Just last week, I took some pie over to my neighbors’ parents (who are visiting) and when they returned the plate to Jeremy, Grandpa quipped that we had seen all four seasons in the past day. It’s true. We are transitioning from weekly winter snow storms (man, those were awesome) to afternoon thunderstorms, sunshine, hummingbirds zooming around like the little adrenaline junkies they are, and overnight temperatures that won’t drop below freezing. And that means more salads. I like to mix a batch of dressing to keep on hand throughout the week. Homemade dressings are so simple and infinitely superior to store-bought dressings. They are absolutely worth the little bit of effort to make them.

this time: maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, shallot, dijon mustard (not pictured: salt, pepper)

I first tasted this dressing on a delightful green salad during my trip to Verhampshire in March. Sharon was sweet enough to request the recipe from the Chesterfield Inn for me, but then life got busy and I shelved it (okay, I archived it in gmail). But look, I’ve dug it up because when you eat a lot of salads, it helps to have several great dressings from which to choose.

prepped

pouring balsamic vinegar into the blender with the mustard and shallots

don’t forget your pure maple syrup

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Recipe: strawberry frozen yogurt

Another week, another snow storm. There was a December a couple of years ago when we had snow storms hit every Friday for the entire month (which was awesome). Except this is now May. Better late than never, I say. And it’s still very awesome! In true Colorado fashion, the big dump snow day always has a sunshiny chaser.

wednesday afternoon

dark-eyed gray-headed juncos clowning around (sequence: 6 photos)

thursday morning in all her glory

I love snow as much as the next gal (okay, more), but let’s be realistic here… come August, I will be whimpering and wilting under the summer sun. I don’t do well with the heat despite having grown up in the wet, hot blanket of southern summers. It’s not even all that hot here in the mountains, but I still shrink from the sun for the fifteen hours of the day it is up in the sky. One of the best ways for me to cope with the heat is to drink a lot of ice water. That can get a little dull after a while, so I like to mix up my cool downs with fruity frozen treats. Ice cream is the obvious choice, but it upsets my stomach. Frozen yogurt, however, doesn’t bother me.

strawberry fro yo: strawberry vodka, sugar, yogurt, lemon, strawberries

You don’t have to use vodka in the recipe at all, but I like to include it otherwise my frozen yogurts and sorbets becomes giant blocks of fruity ice. I use strawberry vodka because I happen to have some in my freezer, but regular vodka works just as well. My initial intention was to use Greek yogurt, but as I approached the yogurt section of the store I saw Noosa, which is my favorite yogurt (made in Colorado!). Noosa doesn’t make a plain yogurt, so I chose the next closest thing which is the honey yogurt. Since it is already sweetened, I reduced the sugar added in the frozen yogurt recipe.

slice the strawberries

add the sugar

and the vodka (if using)

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