use real butter

Recipe: bacon-wrapped venison and garlic-herb butter

Last week it was unseasonably warm and sunny, so Kaweah spent a good bit of time on the deck as I worked inside. While I love spending time with my pup, she can really get underfoot when I’m shooting or cooking anything involving meat, or vegetables, or fruit, or cheese or peanut butter… Basically, anytime I work with food (which is all the time) she is my little shadow.

perfect weather for a kaweah

And I needed to get a lot done without constantly dodging the dog or worrying about tripping over her while carrying camera equipment, sharp knives, or fragile dishware. I was trying to get a jump on my work schedule which seemed to have blown up in the span of two days. That, and my folks arrived in Boulder last week. Even though I see them a lot more than I used to, it’s important to me to spend time with them. We just have to agree on things that we all enjoy because I loathe shopping (they are avid shoppers) and they don’t do the outdoor stuff that Jeremy and I like to do – especially anything in the cold.

picking them up at the bus station with roses for mom (because i’m a good chinese daughter!)

we took my folks to try some awesome korean barbecue at dae gee in westminster

One evening when I took rolled pistachio baklava to my neighbors, Ann went into the kitchen to retrieve a plate to return to me. She set a little package wrapped in butcher’s paper on top and told me Herb had returned from his hunting trip in the Midwest (he’s a bow hunter). It was venison. She asked if I’ve prepared venison before and I said only once – when I had no clue what I was doing and Google didn’t exist yet. I assured her that I would find a good recipe. The next day, I was chatting with Herb and Ann in the driveway when Herb rattled off a quick and simple recipe for the venison. It sounded amazing.

let’s start with the garlic-herb butter: butter, parsley, garlic

chop the parsley

grate the garlic

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Recipe: pasta carbonara

The other day as I was wrapping up a product shoot, I noticed Kaweah lying on the floor next to a light stand, looking bored. I walked over to stroke her silky ears and she casually lifted her front paw asking for a belly rub. Kaweah was in a mellow mood, which used to be a rare thing but is now the norm. Instead of putting the studio gear away, I pulled the background down to the floor and coaxed the dog over with treats. I need to remind myself to do this more often while she’s still with us. It’s so easy to get busy and tell yourself that you’ll do it later, and then one day… later is just too late.

she reminds me of a plush toy sometimes

kaweah got bored

the half-bambi

We took care of house things on Saturday which involved lots of running up and down the stairs to do laundry, to seal the driveway before the next snow storm, to consolidate our recycling and trash to take to the dump, to move our deck furniture into the basement until summer. That sort of house stuff. Kaweah, in her old age, no longer likes hearing loud sounds (despite being mostly deaf). She also dislikes seeing furniture or large appliances moved about. And it makes her nervous when we go in and out of a room too much. So after getting wigged out for most of Saturday and hiding in the office, she finally emerged when I started making dinner.

pasta carbonara: linguine, olive oil, pepper, parmigiano-reggiano, eggs, pancetta, salt

Yes, leave it to cured pork (or any meat) to pique Kaweah’s interest. Truth be told, I was interested too. I’ve never made pasta carbonara before. It’s something I have seen and heard praises about for eons, but I had never even tasted it. Pasta carbonara had been sitting on a long list of dishes I wanted to make and/or try. I had no idea it was so simple.

dice the pancetta

grate the cheese

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Recipe: miso pork belly stack

I haven’t been out shooting much this past week because the aspens are still quite green. They are late. I mean LATE. Late is fine, except changing aspens begin flirting with cold weather. Cold is fine too, but frosts and hard freezes can wreck the colors. It seems that green aspens manage to endure the frost and snow for the most part. Our days are usually sunny and warm such that the healthy stands can bounce back.

frost, mist, and snow from last week

by afternoon, all was warm enough for kaweah to enjoy her pupsicle treat in the yard

And everything looked to be okay for the first few frosts and snowfalls. Then on Friday, I went for an evening trail run that started out dry…

but wound up snowing 2 miles in

and it just kept snowing the entire way

That storm took its toll and much of the local color that had been humming along turned to a rust orange or black. I call it freeze die off. The upside of all this is that there are still a lot of green aspens and this week is looking to warm up. I think there is potential. The question is if the leaves will get going before the next storm barrels through. In the meantime, I’m watching it all unfold from my hikes, bikes, and trail runs.

a cute little shelter on a trail at the outskirts of town

new color that survived the storm

we don’t get a ton of red aspens, so what we do get is delightful

With all of the chilly weather we had, I have been cooking, baking, and becoming more comfortable with my kitchen in Crested Butte. Todd, Diane, and I were so enthusiastic about picking peaches last week during their visit, that I was left with many pounds of ripe, sweet organic peaches. Even if Jeremy liked peaches (which he does not), there was no way we could both finish it all off before the fruit flies took over our house and flew off with Kaweah. So I made several peach crisps with oatmeal toppings to give to some of our awesome neighbors. You wouldn’t know me for a baker in summer because the heat makes me so dang cranky, but cooler weather ushers in more oven and stove time for things like peach oatmeal crisps or… miso roast pork belly.

start with kosher salt, brown sugar, and pork belly (belleh)

mix the salt and brown sugar together

coat the pork belly with the cure

wrap it tightly in plastic and refrigerate overnight

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