use real butter

Recipe: chinese sweet peanut soup

Skiers know when it’s going to be a bad summer. We knew this back in March and April when we were skiing snirt (snow-dirt) instead of snorkeling hip-deep powder. A paltry snowpack has big implications for the wildfire season. We’ve been hoping against it all winter, dreading it all spring. That summer solstice cooldown was merely a tease. The current full-on heat wave has been dealing triple digits to the plains and temperatures in the 90s here at 8500 feet. That is hot. Unusually hot. Terribly hot. Fire fighters are playing whack-a-mole around Colorado as wildfires spring up and grow with a ravenous appetite, fed by drought and these hot, dry conditions. And it’s only June.

grateful when the sun goes down (little clouds casting long shadows)

if only those bad boys would deliver on the rain

Despite the weather, I hosted a tea party this past weekend. In the tradition of our stitch-n-bitch crew which hasn’t knit a single stitch in the last 3 years of gatherings, we had a tea party where not a one had a cup of tea. Figures, right? It was just too damn hot. The ladies opted for a lavender lemonade, strawberry soda, mimosa, or good old ice water.

setting up

plenty of delicious noms

For the uninitiated, it’s a curious thing to witness the routine of (my) food pals greeting one another. They squeal or tilt their heads and sing, “Hiiiiiiiiiiiii!” with arms outstretched for hugs and kisses, but hands full of stuff. What stuff, you may ask? It’s practically a swap meet when we congregate. We make food things or hunt down cool finds and we gift them to our friends. I’m realizing more and more that people who don’t engage in this behavior are just plain missing out on some serious love. I received two jars of homemade kimchi, homemade Greek yogurt with cherries, homemade Indian lemon pickles, foraged cattail pollen (!!), foraged black currants, an elderberry rose hips elixir (foraged, of course) for Jeremy who was feeling under the weather, handcrafted caramels, and Fresh Paper for extending the life of produce (organically).

check it

Oh, and my pal, Kat, brought me a tin of Lyle’s Golden Syrup so I wouldn’t have to make imposter (aka Yankee) ANZAC biscuits anymore! The only thing I could imagine being more fun than a food gang is if all of my friends were Patagonia distributers… right?!?!

In this ass hot heat, I only want to eat cold things. Every now and again, you can find me searching for something in the freezer and then suddenly plunging both arms into said freezer just for a few seconds of relief. If I had a walk-in freezer, I would indeed be walking in. A few months ago (this heat has been getting to me since we rose above 60°F) I had a hankering for a soup I used to love when I was a kid. Soup? Yes, soup. You can have it hot or cold and I’m sure you can guess how I’ve been enjoying it. I found a recipe on Bee’s site that looked absolutely perfect.

start with peanuts

and soak them overnight

Use unsalted peanuts, because this is a sweet peanut soup. I just happened to have a ton of peanuts in the shell leftover from the Lunar New Year. Don’t worry if you can’t get the skins off the peanuts, because when you soak them in water overnight, the peanut skins slip right off the next morning. After removing the skins, give the peanuts a rinse and then drain them.

place peanuts and fresh water in a pressure cooker

yes, a pressure cooker (set on high)

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: crunchy kale salad

Our evening walks with Kaweah are getting later and later because we try to avoid taking her out when the sun is still up. She overheats easily. Thankfully, as soon as the sun drops low, the air begins to cool quickly in the mountains. You can feel the delicious streams of cool air flowing around your ankles as you hike the neighborhood trails. Wildflowers are full speed ahead and the once new spring-green aspen leaves have turned to a soothing deep, dark green.

the blur is kaweah’s wagging tail

indian paintbrush and yarrow

happily taking a rest in a field of clover

I reached down to give Kaweah a pat on the ribs as we left the trail to return to the house. Her fur was cool to the touch. She was clearly happy, lazily wagging her tail as she sniffed every.single.plant on the side of the road. I pressed my palm to my arm and was delighted that my skin felt COLD.

c’mon, let’s go!

well, there’s always time for a belly rub

Thank goodness for the evening cooldowns around here, or else I would have lost my marbles back in April. We’ve been on a busy rotation of salads because the last thing I want in summer is to cook and then eat a hot, heavy meal. I want fresh, crunchy, green things! This means I’m always on the lookout for something new. When my pal, Denise, and I checked out the Native Foods Boulder soft opening in late May, we ordered strategically so we could get as big a sampling of the menu as possible. Native Foods is a popular vegan restaurant, not because it is vegan, but because they serve some great food. That said, I am not a fan of faux meats or faux cheeses (faux food isn’t my thing). But, I absolutely fell in love with their crunchy kale salad and immediately went home and made it for Jeremy.

all you need: kale and cabbages

avocado, apple, almonds, and black currants

tahini, orange juice, maple syrup, olive oil, (not pictured: salt, lemon juice)

The salad is chock full of healthy goodies and unlike lettuce, it doesn’t wilt much if you make a large batch to enjoy over the course of a few days. That’s because it has hearty greens like kale and cabbage. The rest of the ingredients are either neutral or sweet. If you are seeking a tangy, salty salad – this is not it. But it’s a fantastic, hearty salad that is satisfying without being overly heavy.

trim the kale leaves from the stalks

shred the kale

add shredded cabbage to the bowl

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: pumpkin peanut butter dog treats

Dogs have such great attitudes. They’re always happy, always hopeful, always up for anything. Maybe not ALL dogs, but most dogs – especially the ones I meet on the trail or at the beach or basically anyplace outside. We have one of those happy, hopeful pups. I swear she makes every day that much better with her wagging tail, sweet disposition, and general goofiness.

rejoicing in the snow (just like her people)

People often ask what we feed Kaweah, because she has a shiny, healthy coat. Iams. We used to feed her regular Iams, but now she’s on Iams for “mature” dogs. However, her dog food doesn’t make her coat shiny. Genetics makes her coat shiny. Kaweah comes from good stock and we see that more and more as she ages. She’s been a healthy dog for her 13+ years. It helps that she’s got great muscle tone and isn’t overweight. Of course, given her druthers, Kaweah would eat 24/7. The act of eating a treat (or anything for that matter) is probably Kaweah’s favorite activity. So we try to maximize the joy by giving her little treats. She’s not smart enough to realize that five little treats are less than five giant treats.

ready for a treat after an icy, cold swim

Store-bought dog treats are not inexpensive, so I started making treats for Kaweah at home. The good news is that they are way cheaper than store-bought treats and really easy to make. The better news is that she loves loves loves these treats.

whole wheat flour, eggs, pumpkin purée, peanut butter

mix it all together

**Jump for more butter**