use real butter

Recipe: pasta with summer squash, sausage, and goat cheese

There has been quite a bit of instability in that part of the atmosphere sitting over my house. It makes for interesting weather: sun, rain, hail, winds, cold, warm, frost and one of my favorites:

lightning

But today we are back to sunshine, although our afternoon thunderstorms are pretty much here to stay for the summer – and I welcome the rain and cooling off they bring each day. Kaweah has a knack for finding the very edge of the shade and then parking her furry self just outside of it.

too bad she isn’t a solar panel

School is out. I can tell this from the tent that my neighbor’s kids have pitched on their deck and the happy screams zooming past our windows, Doppler effect and all, every evening. It gets dark around 8:30 and we don’t eat until 9 or later. Kaweah petitions for dinner when the sun goes down, so Mother Nature fools her big time in summer (it’s a pain in the ass come winter when she starts begging around 3:30). The pine tree pollen orgy has not peaked yet, but my itchy eyes indicate the party is getting started. The foxes and the coyotes will be facing off and staking out their territory in our front yard, soon.

green gentian

We’ve lived here long enough that the trails we hike are recognizable even under 8 feet of snow. I know where the columbines will bloom. I know which scree fields the pika live in. I know when the stream flow will peak. I know what the light looks like in July versus October versus March. I know what the air smells like as the snowpack thaws from under the pine forest canopy. I know which cornices remain into late summer. I never thought I would treasure this sense of the familiar, but I do. I relish it and it feels like home. It may be a sign of getting older… I don’t really care. I rather think of it as a sign of happiness.

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: ricotta gnocchi and butter poached lobster

What? Daring COOKS?! You thought it was Daring Bakers, right? Well, I *am* a Daring Baker. I have the scars to prove it. But, I am also a Daring COOK. That’s right kids, double the craziness – the Daring Cooks have launched, so buckle that helmet and fasten your seat belts!

daring cooks – serving up whoopass soup since may 2009

This maiden recipe is hosted by our very own goddess founders: Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice. Yes, these are the women who brought you thousands of cheesecakes, metric tons (tonnes) of buttercream frosting, and vats of chocolate ganache glaze to your web browsers. Now they will do the same this month, with ricotta gnocchi from the Zuni Café Cookbook.

whisking eggs

combining the gnocchi ingredients

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: lasagne of emilia-romagna

There is a lot going on this week at urb and much of it is happening while I am away (skiing). What now? Daring Bakers challenge time! If any of you follow the DBers, we have a sweet new home at The Daring Kitchen. You should go and check it out some time. And while we’re at changing homes, I had to say goodbye to my Bond-esque whisk-toting Daring Baker in exchange for…

the chopping ninja – haya!

Alright, here’s the party line: The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

And let’s not forget our fearless, awesome, ass-kicking, super sexy founders: Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice. They make all of this possible (with the help of several others – you know who you are! We love you!).

flap steak, ground veal, prosciutto, pancetta, pork loin

someone was really excited about the country style ragu

**Jump for more butter**