use real butter

Recipe: trail mix

It is now July. You know what July means, don’t you?

July means we are into the thick of summer.

July means half the year is over.

July (in this country) means Fourth of July celebrations, barbecues, and fireworks! You guys know how lousy we are at following holiday instructions. Instead of celebrating, we exercised and got some work done. Instead of barbecue, we had pad thai. But there is no “instead of fireworks” because I totally love pyrotechnics. Love the pretty colored lights that rain down from the sky when nighttime finally settles over the mountains. And what I see with my eyes is never quite the same as what the camera captures – but I like them both!

You can view the rest of the fireworks set on my photo blog.

July is also the month when we will eventually be able to hike into the high country without having to wear or carry skis or crampons. That point in which the trails are no longer classified as “mixed terrain” is true summer for us. Our great room becomes a sort of giant locker room and instead of having a bike bin and a ski bin, we will transition into the bike bin and the hike bin. Of course, they overfloweth resulting in the multiple packs, water hydration bladders, boots, shoes, gloves, hats, jackets, sunnies, sunblocks, maps and snacks strewn about.

i own plenty of footwear

when i see my platypus, i think “let’s go!”

I’m pretty particular about my snacks when we head into the backcountry. Contrary to what so many people think, we actually prefer no fuss, bare bones food when we camp, hike, or backpack. I don’t go into the backcountry to spend a lot of time preparing fancy food. I do plenty of that at home. I go into the mountains for the mountains. When we hike, we always have some emergency calories on hand like LARA bars. I’ve tried many other “bars” over the years and I cannot get them down without a sudden desire to hurl. We cycled through several varieties of trail mixes (from Trader Joes) early on, but none of them resonated with my taste buds. Trail mixes are based on GORP – Good Old Raisins and Peanuts. Neither of us are huge fans of raisins or peanuts.

but cranberries? yes

and cashew nuts

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: strawberry daifuku mochi

You know, I’m always looking up. You might think it’s because I live with an astrophysicist or that it has to do with my graduate minor in atmospheric sciences. Actually, I’ve been enamored with the night sky since I was a wee tot and I began to obsess about the weather ever since I learned to sail at age 9. It’s just habit now to gaze skyward at dusk to search for Venus or look for the Milky Way while Kaweah takes her time in the side yard at night. Sunset is a regular event for us. Missing it makes me feel like my day is incomplete. And the weather? Well, that dictates a good deal of what I do both professionally and recreationally. I’ve always got one eye on the sky.

a lee wave (standing or stationary wave)

lots of textures

with crazy cool fringes

And even though we were on the wrong side of the planet to witness the total lunar eclipse, I was still pleased to greet the full moon as it rose – big, glowing, and gorgeous. I never tire of seeing her, like an old friend.

she’ll be comin’ around the mountain when she comes…

we tried to get kaweah to howl, but she wouldn’t

But there is always room for new friends. Not that I have found some new heavenly bodies or anything, no. I meant room in my belly for my new BFF that I met while eating my way through the Big Island of Hawai’i. I’m a little ashamed to say it, but I couldn’t get those amazing strawberry mochi from Two Ladies Kitchen in Hilo out of my head. And with strawberries in season…

organic and juicy

sweet azuki bean paste

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: flourless chocolate hazelnut cupcakes

I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks on behalf of my family and myself for the tremendous outpouring of support here on the blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, via email, and snail mail. Thank you.

a rose garden in san jose that my grandmother enjoyed

I have a white silk flower in my hair that I will wear for 100 days. I noticed my mom was wearing hers too when I got her from the airport on Monday. My parents are in town this week to close on their property in Boulder. They were supposed to come last week, but… we were all in California instead.

the family visited in her honor last week

Being home is good despite the backlog of work that is piling up. The weather is all Crazytown over here. It’s nearly June and yet our mountain weather thinks it’s early April. The afternoon thunderstorms are rolling in too. When we picked Kaweah up from the kennel this weekend, they told us there had been a thunderstorm Friday afternoon. One of the dogs was freaking out and they noticed that Kaweah was totally calm – chilling out as if nothing was going on (sometimes you have to wonder if anything is really going on inside that little brain of hers). They put the freak out dog with Kaweah and the other dog calmed down right away, cuing off of our pup. I’m so proud of her – doing nothing actually helped someone else!

the do nothing dog

So my friend, Elana, is a gluten-free superstar as well as a local Boulder food blogger. Her latest book arrived in my mailbox just days before we left for Hawai’i and I couldn’t wait to try some of the recipes when I got back. It’s all about cupcakes. Gluten-free and butter-free at that. Now I know what you’re thinking… the name of my blog is use real butter and yet she doesn’t use butter in her baking? My point isn’t that food has to have butter, just don’t use the fake crap. That’s what I’m talking about – don’t use fake butter or fake anything for that matter – live life for real. Blagh blagh blagh. Get the point?

back to the cupcakes

Elana uses all natural ingredients in her baking, relying on almond and coconut flours instead of regular flour, and agave nectar instead of sugar. She offers vegan and dairy-free recipes too, because Elana wants to make sure there is something for EVERYONE. She’s awesome like that. There is even a section with savory treats. What I really liked about the recipe I chose (because it sounded so damn good!) is that nothing is a substitution. Seriously, have a look!

hazelnuts, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, agave nectar, salt, eggs

pulse the hazelnuts and chocolate chips together

**Jump for more butter**