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Recipe: buttermilk fried chicken

As we started out on our last trail run in Crested Butte, I was admiring the amber glow from the setting sunlight bouncing around the aspen leaves. I absolutely love running or riding through aspen stands in autumn. The path underfoot is carpeted with the signature shapes of aspen leaves in different hues of yellow, punctuated with blacks, browns, greens, oranges, reds. When the tree tops mingle above the trail, you are traveling through a veritable tunnel of gold. Sometimes Jeremy and I run separately when he wants to log more miles and I’m fine with that. I enjoy the solitude.

off he goes

Every time we leave Crested Butte, we scrub our place down. Kaweah cautiously watches from a safe distance when her nemesis, The Vacuum, prowls every inch of the house. It’s the kind of cleaning one does when you want ALL of your security deposit back, but we just want to take really good care of it. And the day we leave, Jeremy always gets his caffeine fix in town.

the BEST coffee in town

Driving east, we encountered several snow storms on the mountain passes, sunny dry roads in the big Colorado valleys, and freezing rain in between. I followed Jeremy as he drove with Kaweah in the smaller car. Whenever he came to a stop, I saw her little head bob up as if to say, “Are we there yet?!?!” Despite icy roads and whiteout conditions, we made our way safely home.

crawling over monarch pass (jeremy and kaweah in front of me)

kaweah was so happy to be home, she immediately passed out

It’s been snowing on and off since we got home. We’ve got the heat on winter settings and snuggy flannel sheets on the bed. There’s a growing list of things to do around the house to prepare for winter. Time to swap out the bike rack for the ski rack, tune the skis, pull out the running tights and snow gear. And of course there is cooking and baking which do double duty because the house fills with mouth-watering aromas surfing on currents of warm air. Nothing is better than home style comfort food to welcome you back. Let’s fry some chicken!

whole chicken legs, onion, garlic, buttermilk, salt, sugar, bay leaf, rosemary, celery seeds, black pepper

crush the spices

grating onion

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Recipe: asian chicken sandwich

I am totally feeling it. It was 72°F in Boulder on Friday and I had the sunroof open while driving around town to let the heat escape from my car. The hairs on the back of my neck were prickling because it was overly warm (for me). I found relief once I pulled into the driveway at home and stepped out into the refreshing 50°F air. I’m not going to fight it, but I will relish the remainder of the cooler season as much as I can. Still, all signs point to spring and it is indeed happening around here!

used a little of that rei dividend on some summer sandals with grippy tread

a budding pasque flower poking through the forest litter

catkins from (what i think is) a coyote willow

aspens fuzzing out with catkins

The plants around the mountains are not leafing out yet, which is a good thing because there are a few more winter storms coming our way. At this point, it isn’t even the skiing (but I’m totally going to ski the powder!), rather it is the moisture that we need. Yes, please… more water. In the meantime, our neighbor’s son had a birthday and we were party to his scavenger hunt around town for his birthday gift. They stored the kayak from our garage rafters for a month and this morning, our young friend came by to receive his final clue.

all parents should be so cool

Kayaks, catkins, sandals… I told Jeremy on the trail the other day that I was excited for summer despite the anticipation of a foot of snow coming our way this week. Even though summer is hot and I don’t like the heat, all manner of good things go on in summer. I love waking before the sun and walking the mountain trails in that cool air… smelling flowers and streams and dirt and trees, hearing bird songs and the zippy zooming sounds of hummingbirds. And then there are the sandwiches which come into more regular rotation with our longer days. You can never get too much sandwich – especially this incredible Asian chicken sandwich which I have asked to marry me.

start with asian cabbage slaw: red and green cabbage, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, carrot, green onions, ginger, lime, cilantro

shred the cabbage

colorful mix of vegetables

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Recipe: chicken pot hand pies

We were just gifted 10 inches of snow. In past years this might not have been as big of a deal, but it’s the most we’ve received in one storm this season at my house. Jeremy hit the local hill despite our aversion to weekend crowds. I stayed home to work and to nurse a sore back after running icy moguls just a few days prior. A dump of snow is always welcome, but what lies underneath depends on the weather that came before (this is also critical for avalanche assessment). We have had sun, wind, and warm temperatures interspersed with a few inches here and some frozen spittle there. It can be pretty crunchy stuff. And when you’re glad that your skis find ice underneath the powder instead of rocks, you know it’s been a paltry winter. So when Jeremy got home in time for lunch, I asked him if he wanted to step out for a ski tour on the local trails.

the snow was coming down all day

and the trees retained all of their poofballs

silent and beautiful

It’s a lovely thing to be out in the mountain forests when it snows. It’s quiet, peaceful, invigorating. We don’t talk much so we can listen for moose, elk, or maybe spy a winter white rabbit before it tears off into the woods. The focus is on our environment, our energy, the weather, the rhythm of the kick and glide. But once we get to the car, all thoughts turn to what there is to eat at home. This is especially true when there is something particularly good and exciting waiting in the kitchen. This time, we had chicken pot hand pies.

chicken, mushrooms, onion, potatoes, carrots, garlic, lima beans, parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, olive oil

dice the vegetables

chopped and minced

I love me a good chicken pot pie, but I think I am completely enamored with savory hand pies. The first time I had a proper savory hand pie was in New Zealand where the ubiquitous meat pie won me over… as did their fish and chips. Then I sampled a small fraction of what Australia had to offer. A few years later I was walking with Todd and Diane through little Saigon when Diane purchased a pâté chaud for me to try. Heaven. And last summer while I was running on fumes at the Boulder Farmer’s Market, I plunked down some cash for the last chicken hand pie at Sharmane’s booth. So much happiness in one tiny pastry package.

mix the vegetables, herbs, and olive oil together

toss

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