use real butter

Recipe: tuna ceviche

You still have until midnight tonight (Mountain Daylight Time) to leave a comment on the Food and Light recap post and possibly win a most excellent swag bag from CHEFS catalog! So get crackin’!

We’re technically only two weeks into official summer and I feel as if my face is smashed up against the glass. There is an urgency to cramming as much as possible into the summer months because that weather, that light, that “free time” is so fleeting. It’s not terribly unlike the alpine wildflowers who until recently were buried under feet of snow. With a fast melt off and warm up, the wildflowers are going gangbusters. Just a quick walk through the hood is evidence of that.

the colorado state flower (blue columbine)

wild rose

indian paintbrush (for diane!)

This is the most beautiful time of year here in Colorado. That’s saying a lot because Colorado is pretty spanking gorgeous any time! Even yesterday evening when pissing rain, hail, and brilliant bolts of lightning came crashing down around our house – it was awesomely beautiful the way only Nature can be. The big question on my mind was if there would be fireworks. Our little town puts on an impressive display each year over the reservoir. It’s a small affair compared to the ginormous fireworks extravaganzas we caught at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, but this setting appeals to me more. But it was foggy, rainy, and there was still lightning at 8:30. We sat in the car on a pullout by the side of the reservoir waiting. Mountain weather changes quickly. And so it was last night at 9pm that the fog rose, the rain stopped and the lightning moved south. I love me some fireworks.

The generally busy schedule of summer means we are keeping things simple in the kitchen. I honestly believe if it weren’t for this blog, I’d just eat watermelon all summer long. You may laugh, but it’s been known to happen in the past… However, raw is what I love during this time of year. So why not ceviche?

tuna, avocado, capers, red onion, green onion, cilantro, lime, garlic, jalapeno

dice the tuna into little ruby-colored gems

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: thai cucumber salad

The longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere is coated in yellow over here. Every morning for the past couple of days and for the next two weeks, we will wake to a light dusting of pine pollen around our house. My morning ritual includes claritin, a nasal steroid spray, and allergy eye drops. So far so good.

But as most of you know, I straddle two seasons at any given time because Boulder is always warmer (nay, hotter!). So last week when I attended and photographed the grand opening for my friend’s awesome new restaurant Pica’s Boulder (5360 Arapahoe), it was hot. Not only was it hot, but the mosquitoes found me and loved my ankles to itty bitty bits, or bites. However, the hanger steak tacos were so absolutely worth it. Bite for bite, you know.

chef andy, chef trent

skewered amazing tantalizing shrimp

“you want some fire?”

temptation

Pica’s Boulder is open, kids. Head on down there to try their fabulous food, support a local business, and perhaps catch some World Cup action on the television. Authentic Mexican food has finally arrived in Boulder. Let’s show Pica’s some love.

And speaking of love… my world is blooming at last. Colorado’s high country will light up with colorful waves of wildflowers washing higher into the mountains as summer wears on. We like it. We like it very much.

the aspen leaves are getting bigger

snowfields give way to green alpine plants

alpine lakes paint their own watercolors

wild strawberry blossoms

western wallflower

Hot weather and the upcoming Food and Light workshop mean I need cooking to be simple, fast, and of low thermal consumption. I am a fool for pickles and I am especially so for Asian pickled vegetables.

rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt

rough peeling cucumbers

I used to frequent Min’s Kitchen during my Southern California days. It is popular with the NASA JPL lunch crowd and the owner is a darling little woman who always greeted me and my friend, Squid (that’s not her real name – it’s a term of endearment), with such warmth. Once we sat down, they always brought a small dish with a pickled cucumber salad. Pickles always come in small dishes. Why is that? I could eat pickles until my stomach aches (and I have).

scrape out the insides

slice thin

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: italian meatballs

It snows here in June. It snows, it rains, it thunders, it sun showers, it gets misty.

it’s gorgeous

and we love it

miss kaweah especially loves it

And people get married. It’s like a conspiracy, but June is the time. Take my friend, Kitt, for instance. She got married this weekend. It’s June. I rest my case.

lookin’ good!

the gals get ready

the flower girls share a laugh with kitt’s mom

vows

congratulations, you two!

Since it is wedding season, I could not think of a better time to tell you about the book my friend, Lorna Yee, has written. It would make a fabulous gift for any couples getting married.

the newlywed kitchen

The subtitle is Delicious Meals for Couples Cooking Together, but I’ll tell ya – Jeremy and I don’t really cook together. 17+ years and the formula is as follows: I cook and he does some prep and washes the dishes. I figured the book wasn’t really meant for us (and by us, I mean me), but I was willing to flip through and see what it had to offer. I sat down for what I thought would be fifteen minutes of perusing. It turned into an hour reading the delightful interviews with well-known food couples, including two of my favorite people on the planet, Shauna and Danny. And don’t let me forget the recipes. I have about two dozen pages dog-eared; they all look so fresh and good. But there was one recipe that I just had to try.

start with bread soaked in milk

let’s make meatballs: beef, pork, veal, egg

Italian grandmother meatballs. The recipe looked authentic (I checked it against this meatball recipe from my dear Susan), quick, and easy. Remember, I am a fan of quick and easy right now!

egg, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, flat-leaf parsley

add the parmesan and mix

**Jump for more butter**