use real butter

Recipe: navy bean soup

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend doing whatever it is that you do. As a rule, Jeremy and I do not participate in any form of Super Bowl anything. Typically, we spend that particular Sunday each year hiking or skiing and this year was no exception. Mother Nature can be a cruel prankster at times. While she dumped a few feet of snow on Virginians who don’t know what to do with said snow (other than to bitch and moan about it), we in Colorado got some scraps that amounted to a little fresh powder in the mountains. Naturally, we ski it.

snowing lightly in the glades

There are certain foods I crave after a day out in the snow. The most common would be the ubiquitous hamburger because you smell them as you ski past the mountain lodges and Breckenridge even has a picture of a juicy burger with all the fixings on some of the lift chairs (those bastard marketing geniuses)! Jeremy and I are pretty good about withstanding the lure of the $12 burger because we usually have some nice hearty soup or stew waiting for us at home.

loaded with nutritious vegetables

and remember that ham i brought home from virginia?

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: warm lentil salad with sausage

Jeremy and I have been trying to wake up earlier in the mornings. We both get a lot done in the early hours when fewer people are awake to interrupt a good work flow. This requires getting to bed earlier. That would be the logical thing to do… except I am also very productive at night. What ends up happening (for me, anyway) is that I stay up working late and wake up early. Despite how much I loathe sleep, after a few days of this wacky schedule I become tired and irate and my head hurts.

I’m tired and irate and my head hurts.

Okay, I’m tired and my head hurts, but I am in rather good spirits. Apparently, I just registered for BlogHer Food 2010. I can’t WAIT to see what they will be serving for lunch! You will most certainly hear all about lunch and my wacky hijinx come October…

happily, i paused for a moment to shoot this lovely sight

Let’s get to the recipe – chop chop! I bought some French lentils about a year ago because they were so pretty. I had never cooked with French lentils before, but their beautiful mottled greens and browns and blacks shouted at me from the bulk section of Whole Foods, “Scoop us! Bag us! Take us home!”

dried du puy lentils or french lentils

thyme, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: angel biscuits

Beggars can’t be choosers. While it’s a lean year for snow in our part of Colorado, I really ought not complain. There haven’t been any “sick” or “epic” days to crow about, but at least I can ski. We’ve got the climate, the topography, and the big resorts. It’s embarrassing what I now consider to be a sub-par day.

weekday skiing is where it’s at

and we even found a little scritch of powder

It’s a good feeling to be satisfied with something that isn’t perfect. Some people have accused me of being a perfectionist, but I am not. I don’t have the patience to be a perfectionist. I do have high standards and expectations when it comes to certain things, but perfection – no. About a year ago, I set out to reproduce a favorite biscuit that I could only get at home. These were called silver dollar biscuits from Crums Bakery in southern Virginia and they would sell out during the holidays weeks in advance because every good party must have silver dollar biscuits stuffed with thin slices of Virginia ham.

you didn’t think i’d come back from virginia without some good old country ham, did you?

cut the shortening into the flour

**Jump for more butter**