use real butter

Recipe: navy bean soup

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend doing whatever it is that you do. As a rule, Jeremy and I do not participate in any form of Super Bowl anything. Typically, we spend that particular Sunday each year hiking or skiing and this year was no exception. Mother Nature can be a cruel prankster at times. While she dumped a few feet of snow on Virginians who don’t know what to do with said snow (other than to bitch and moan about it), we in Colorado got some scraps that amounted to a little fresh powder in the mountains. Naturally, we ski it.

snowing lightly in the glades

There are certain foods I crave after a day out in the snow. The most common would be the ubiquitous hamburger because you smell them as you ski past the mountain lodges and Breckenridge even has a picture of a juicy burger with all the fixings on some of the lift chairs (those bastard marketing geniuses)! Jeremy and I are pretty good about withstanding the lure of the $12 burger because we usually have some nice hearty soup or stew waiting for us at home.

loaded with nutritious vegetables

and remember that ham i brought home from virginia?

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: warm lentil salad with sausage

Jeremy and I have been trying to wake up earlier in the mornings. We both get a lot done in the early hours when fewer people are awake to interrupt a good work flow. This requires getting to bed earlier. That would be the logical thing to do… except I am also very productive at night. What ends up happening (for me, anyway) is that I stay up working late and wake up early. Despite how much I loathe sleep, after a few days of this wacky schedule I become tired and irate and my head hurts.

I’m tired and irate and my head hurts.

Okay, I’m tired and my head hurts, but I am in rather good spirits. Apparently, I just registered for BlogHer Food 2010. I can’t WAIT to see what they will be serving for lunch! You will most certainly hear all about lunch and my wacky hijinx come October…

happily, i paused for a moment to shoot this lovely sight

Let’s get to the recipe – chop chop! I bought some French lentils about a year ago because they were so pretty. I had never cooked with French lentils before, but their beautiful mottled greens and browns and blacks shouted at me from the bulk section of Whole Foods, “Scoop us! Bag us! Take us home!”

dried du puy lentils or french lentils

thyme, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: dinosaur-style bar-b-que beans

Technically, we have more than half the summer left. But every one I know has been exclaiming, “I can’t believe summer is practically over!” That’s because some folks are tied to the academic calendar whether by profession, attendance, or the fact that they have spawn old enough to catch the yellow bus to school. So the end of August ushers a premature end of summer. And if that doesn’t do it, Labor Day here in the States seems to mark the end of vacation season, or at least the end of wearing white. Well, that last one is an old rule I heard about growing up in the South, because *I* break all manner of fashion rules (my idea of getting dressed up is rummaging about for a clean t-shirt).

Yet, from my perspective – and that is from the perspective through my lens – summer ends when summer really ends. It’s around the equinox when the aspens begin to turn yellow and that crisp chill hangs on the air. The autumn light has a completely different look and feel, call it a glow. It is my favorite season even though I thoroughly enjoy all of the seasons.

Okay, snap out of your reverie! *clap clap* It’s still summer and we are doing summery things, yo!

indian paintbrush

herd of elk running downslope… perhaps running from mr. mountain lion?

**Jump for more butter**