use real butter

Recipe: chinese stir-fried chicken with vegetables

***Hey Coloradoans!!***

Shauna and Danny (and Lu) of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef are HERE in Colorado! They have a beautiful new book out (try their pumpkin soup = teh awesome) and want to share it and the gluten-free love with all of you. Just so you know, Danny is our homeboy – a native from Breckenridge. It is so very very special for Shauna and Danny to be coming home to Colorado with their little girl. You have several opportunities to meet them this week and give them a proper welcome home:

Monday, November 15, 2010 in DENVER
Party at Udi’s Stapleton restaurant: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. This event is SOLD OUT.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010 in DENVER
Reading and book signing at The Tattered Cover Book Store (on Colfax Ave.): 7:30 pm and open to all.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 in DILLON (near Breckenridge)
Book signing at the Dillon Borders Book Store: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm open to all.

Thursday, November 18, 2010 in BRECKENRIDGE
A BIG Gluten-Free PARTY for Shauna, Danny, and Lu at Mi Casa Restaurant: 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm for $16.25.

Saturday, November 20, 2010 in BOULDER
Gluten-Free Potluck at First Congregational Church (1128 Pine St.): 1:00 pm and open to all. Bring a favorite gluten-free dish to share around. If you can chip in a couple of bucks to help cover the fee for the rental space and cleaning, that would be extra swell!

For all of the details on these events, please visit Shauna’s post on their Colorado Book Tour.

***Come Meet Shauna, Danny, and Lu!***

I was rather pleased that I kicked my cold in time for my Yosemite shoot last week. It was a short-lived victory though, because it came back and thwacked me square in the shins this weekend. I lost my voice. I felt sapped of energy. And Jeremy’s family visited for the weekend (but they had a blast playing Rock Band 3). The key was to lie low and stay under the radar… and watch the snow fall outside. I think we are finally getting our winter on in Colorado, albeit slowly. Oh wait, but a few more from Yosemite (and the rest are on the photo blog).

bridalveil

half dome

I’m happy to be home. It isn’t just the fact that I don’t have to plan for another trip, but that I can actually make plans at home. Plans to see my friends, to cook and bake, to SKI, to fix things around the house, to get some real work done, and especially spending time with the guy and the pup. When I was preparing all manner of recipes ahead of time to post during my travels, we were always eating a “new” recipe. Jeremy commented at one point that we hadn’t repeated a dinner in quite some time… months, in fact. I’m no fan of serving the same five recipes every week for all eternity, but the nice thing about a great recipe is that you can make it again. Variety is the spice of life, but favorites are meant to be re-lived.

chicken, green onions, garlic, straw mushrooms, snow peas, water chestnuts, baby corn

slice the chicken against the grain

There’s nothing like a quick stir-fry full of vegetables that puts a smile on my face. I grew up eating a lot of vegetables and I start to feel lethargic and sleepy when I don’t get enough of them. My mom was an ace at the Chinese stir-fry. Her vegetables were always crisp, fresh, and brightly colored. So that’s how I make my stir-fries and wouldn’t you know it – Jeremy craves those vegetables too. One of my favorite dishes is this chicken and vegetable stir-fry because of the clean and bright flavors.

sauté the chicken with the green onions and garlic

stir fry the vegetables

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: eggplant fries

Someday I will sit down to post when I don’t have a million other things going on. I don’t know when that will be. I do know that this will be the last post in 2010 I write the night before I have to catch a flight. Let me tell you, I am quite happy about that. I’ve been home for three days frantically trying to get things done before I head off into the yonder including a thorough round of spring cleaning which is merely 6 months late (or early if you want to be generous). Colorado still hasn’t decided if it is summer or autumn. And now with the time change, the dog is petitioning for dinner at 5pm.

looking east as the clouds pass overhead

So I’ll dispense with any further chit chat and get to brass tacks. When I was in Seattle this past September, my good friends took me to Poppy for dinner. There I had the most delightful eggplant fries and made a mental note to try it at home.

eggplant, herbs, seasonings, and flour

put the seasonings in with the flour

It’s a relatively basic concept to chop up the vegetable in question and deep fry it. Everything tastes good this way, right? Knowing my deep frying prowess, the potential for screwing it up was high. I checked the interwebs for reference and found a lovely recipe at The Hungry Mouse which guided me through not having to think about what goes in the seasoned flour.

mixing the seasoned flour

peel the eggplants

**Jump for more butter**

I shook Trent’s hand and sat down across from him. It was our first face-to-face encounter although we had emailed a few times before. Just a quick meeting in a coffee shop, in between a couple of my appointments. By the time I walked away, I felt this guy was incredibly earnest – a really good fellow. And I was right.

pica’s in boulder

That day we talked about his idea to open a restaurant in Boulder. Sure, people have dreams all the time, but Trent is the type of methodical, responsible, and hard-working individual who makes things happen. Trent used to be a professional sports photographer (um, THAT is really hard work) who trained at Boulder’s Culinary School of the Rockies‘ Chef program. I followed his progress on Twitter and on his blog. Jeremy and I even dropped by one day, a week before Trent’s projected opening, and he graciously invited us in for a tour. I was wide-eyed in amazement at how far he had come… and how much more he had to accomplish in the next week. I now know if anyone can do it, Trent can.

exhausted before the grand opening: chef andy of jackson, wyoming (left) and trent (right)

The atmosphere is totally casual. After all, it is a taqueria. The interior is brightly colored and the materials for the benches, the tables are re-purposed old doors or pews. It’s a clean and tidy space with simple artwork adorning the walls including a flatscreen television for fans to watch World Cup matches (Trent was a photographer for the US World Cup soccer team). Outside is a lovely, quiet garden patio perfect for enjoying some fine Boulder weather.

i suddenly feel so thirsty

mmmm… patio dining

Pica’s Boulder opened in June of this year (2010) bringing Baja-style Mexican food to the good citizens of this northern Colorado town. Mexican food. You all know how I bitch and moan about Mexican food in Colorado. I’m married to a guy who grew up in New Mexico and I lived in California for ten years. There are many many flavors of Mexican food, but Boulder never really did it for me.

the menu

Their Mexican food focuses on the bright flavors of fresh and wholesome ingredients with a slight upscale flair. It is NOT Northern Mexican nor is it New Mexican, so if you walk in there judging it as such, that’s really your problem. They offer several vegetarian options and I know Pica’s is gluten-free friendly based on Andrew’s love of the place. I have frequented Pica’s for work lunches and fun lunches, turning many a friend on to their wonderful tacos, burritos, and other offerings. Nichole once said she eats there so often that her baby is half Pica’s! The ultimate vote of confidence though? My stitch-n-bitch crew gathered there for a meal. Right on.

jeremy got a margarita and i had the half lemonade half agua fresca (watermelon juice)

When you enter Pica’s you should not only check out the standard menu board, but have a gander at the daily specials listed on the blackboards behind the counter. I personally love the tacos al pastor, carnitas, marinated shrimp, baja style fish tacos, skirt steak tacos, chicken tinga (I had the chicken tinga sopes which were good, but I liked the chicken tinga more than the sopes), and the wet burrito (carne asada, please!). When Jeremy and I finally went in for a “proper” review, we decided to score some appetizers. Usually, I’m all business. Give me the tacos al pastor and no one will get hurt.

You order at the counter – dine-in or carryout – then sit down and wait for the food to arrive. There isn’t a lot of wait service in the traditional sense, but all of the employees have been polite and attentive when I’ve been to Pica’s.

chips with half guacamole and half salsa

**Jump for more butter**