use real butter

Recipe: roasted carrot soup

This past week was a really good one for me. Jeremy was out of town for the last half, so I plowed through heaps of work in addition to spending quality time with Kaweah. Warmer than normal weather meant Kaweah could sprawl out for countless hours on the deck (something she loves to do) without freezing or overheating. I packed my schedule to free up more leisure time when Jeremy came home.

kaweah soaks up all of the morning sun

and she periodically got up to sniff the latest news

i was quite excited to get new trail runners in the mail

And then late Wednesday night I got a message from a friend, asking if I was free to meet up for a last minute lunch or coffee the next day. Absolutely. I moved everything around in my schedule and drove into Boulder because you see, this was my best friend from high school who lives on the East Coast. We’ve known each other since fourth grade. We hadn’t seen one another in over 20 years.

meet clark

I waited outside The Kitchen, sending an email to a client when I heard a familiar voice call out, “Yuie!” The best people in my life give the best hugs and Clark is definitely one of them. It’s been a long time, I thought. All of the events since we last saw one another hit me in a wave and I blinked back the tears. It’s often said that good friends can pick up from wherever they left off and we immediately began sharing our lives, talking about our families, discussing happiness, life choices, aging dogs. The natural back and forth of conversation, so relaxed yet enthusiastic, made me realize just how close we were and still are. Two hours is such a short window of time to catch up on 20+ years, but it left both of us with the promise to get our families together and smiles that would last the rest of the day.

a great sunset to close out the weekend

That visit put my mood in the stratosphere. Good relationships are important for feeding your soul just like a good soup feeds your body (and your soul). I have fallen madly in love with this roasted carrot soup – so much so that I’ve made it three times in the last week. When Jeremy landed in Denver he texted me about dinner plans. Should we meet in Boulder at a restaurant or eat at home? I was already making the soup. After an entire day of travel, I figured he might enjoy relaxing at home with a nice meal, a glass of good wine, and perhaps unwinding in front of a movie.

so simple: celery, onion, carrots, olive oil, chicken broth, butter, salt, white pepper, ginger

dice the carrots

toss with olive oil

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Recipe: roasted cherry tomatoes with mint

Okay, April just sort of whizzed past me over here. I feel as if I’ve been slogging through the month with my head down to meet all manner of deadlines. This weekend was when I could finally (sort of) look up and around and wonder at the month that was. We got outside to enjoy some untracked snow in the backcountry despite the crazy warm temperatures (50°F) and the unrelenting sun. Whew! There is always that one day in spring that takes some getting used to – the transition from winter to summer.

jeremy admires the view of the high peaks in the distance

breaking trail

skiing out as the sun begins to set

And it looks as if April is not leaving without a fight. There is snow forecasted for the last day of the month. I can’t help but worry after the delicate spring blooms and birds that have been trying to make an appearance each week only to get the snowy smackdown from Mother Nature. I imagine anything that has learned to survive in the mountains these many years is half expecting this dance between fire and ice.

our neighborhood fox keeps it on the down low no matter the weather

We had a warm weekend, which was perfect for throwing open the windows and the deck door. Kaweah loves when the deck door is open. She stands just inside the door, just outside the door, and then eventually right across the threshold because that is the best thing ever (in her mind). Our neighbors came over for dinner Sunday evening. It turns out that all four of their birthdays are in April, so I made some celebratory cupcakes.

flourless chocolate hazelnut cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting

little cakes on a little stand

and a plate of coconut macaroons drizzled in dark chocolate

For dinner, something on the grill seemed appropriate. We served barbecue chicken and a bunch of vegetable sides. One of those sides involves roasted cherry tomatoes with mint, which I had to make last week for a client shoot with Modmarket. Modmarket’s fare is fresh, simply prepared, wholesome, and incredibly good – so I enjoy working with them. They had given me a small container of these minted roast tomatoes, but I made more just in case I needed extras.

all you need: cherry tomatoes, salt, mint, olive oil, pepper

rinse and pat dry

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Recipe: miso butter roast chicken

Before it got dark, before the kids would start coming around to trick or treat, I took Kaweah for a quick walk up a local trail. There were clouds stretched across the sky in wide horizontal strokes, but enough space for the sun to light them up from below the horizon. I watched them turn yellow, then orange. “Come on, pup! Let’s get to the top of the hill!” She climbed as fast as her little old legs would take her and when we got to the clearing at the top, she got her treat.

waiting for a scooby snack

…and i got my treat

We walked back as night began to envelop the neighborhood. I gave Kaweah a stick to carry because she trots faster that way. Jeremy met us half-way down the street as he had just gotten home and had set Halloween candy out. I love fall and I love Halloween because it’s a no-pressure, festive, and fun holiday. I like it because it’s about the kid in all of us. I also like Halloween because it was Halloween night twenty years ago when Jeremy first held my hand. Technically, it was November 1, but it was a continuation of Halloween. The early years were, as my dearest Barbara would say, young love. It has since evolved into the best and strongest relationship of my life. I feel fortunate, because at 21 (or 19) you are pretty much guaranteed to make a lot of bad and dumb decisions, but I think I lucked out big time back in 1992. I still feel that way today. Happy twenty years of awesome, Jeremy!

Today’s recipe is a special one, because it comes from a dear friend of mine. For our girls’ weekend we spent an evening cooking up a feast. Ellen made her world-famous Caesar salad, I contributed the gremolata smasher potatoes, and Kat made her miso butter roast chicken. Phenomenal meal all around, but the moment I tasted that chicken, the first coherent words out of my mouth were, “Kat, do you mind if I blog this recipe?” It’s just too good to not share with everyone.

all you need: garlic, miso paste, butter, olive oil, mirin, and chicken

first, roast the garlic

golden, buttery, mellow roasted garlic

The only thing you need to do ahead of time is roast a bulb of garlic and let the butter come to room temperature. This chicken is relatively quick and easy to prepare, particularly if you roast parts rather than a whole chicken (but I give instructions for both in the recipe below). We were all fans of dark meat, so Ellen got chicken thighs. My favorite way to enjoy dark meat from a chicken is via the chicken quarter – the thigh and drumstick. Majorly fantastic in every way.

beat the miso into the butter

add the roasted garlic (and a dash of mirin)

a smooth miso butter

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