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Recipe: spicy chinese cucumber salad

First: I was asked to link to April Food Day. Even though I believe the day is over (I got a late notice and it was supposed to be April 1) you can still donate for a good cause – to feed the hungry. Hop on over, won’t you?

We got some snow on April Fool’s Day. No joke! At least it wasn’t a joke for us, we were thrilled. More snow more snow! Technically, you CAN ski all year in Colorado – just that things can get a little lean in August and September when you are limited to the glaciers (and the glaciers here aren’t terribly big).

we like accumulation

kaweah looks sugar-dusted

Then it got warm, but just in time as I hosted a stitch-n-bitch for a really fun group of intelligent, friendly, and chill ladies. Kitt was a sweetheart and brought me a *still warm* freshly baked loaf of bread (and it’s delicious – I had some tonight with dinner). Nichole introduced us to an Aussie ginger beer which her husband is fanatical over (and now, so are we!). Foodies rock. The stitch-n-bitch was an excuse to cook authentic Chinese food for some of my favorite people as well as introduce them to one another.

lunchtime

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Recipe: goat cheese croquettes

[We’ve got puppies, ski porn, movies, and food today. Does it get better than this?]

Do you ever find that time does strange things when you are really busy? I do. I like to pack things into each day and when I have several days or weeks like that lined up, time seems to slow down. Sort of the opposite of Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity. We left this past Thursday morning for Winter Park/Mary Jane and it feels like it was over a week ago. The whole region got a good bit of snow – something we desperately need for the health of our forests, wildlife, and our water supply. It doesn’t hurt the skiing either.

Jeremy and I spent all of our time in the glades (super soft powder), on the bumps, and in the bowls. Amazing. We usually head home after a day of tele, but this time we spent the evening with my friend who lives near Winter Park. He drives dog sleds. Actually, he doesn’t just drive dog sleds, he runs the business. We got to meet his sweet and beautiful wife, baby girl, and their 80+ gorgeous Huskies. I spent a little time with the sled pups in the morning before we hit the slopes on Friday.

mesmerizing eyes

majestic

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Recipe: lasagne of emilia-romagna

There is a lot going on this week at urb and much of it is happening while I am away (skiing). What now? Daring Bakers challenge time! If any of you follow the DBers, we have a sweet new home at The Daring Kitchen. You should go and check it out some time. And while we’re at changing homes, I had to say goodbye to my Bond-esque whisk-toting Daring Baker in exchange for…

the chopping ninja – haya!

Alright, here’s the party line: The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

And let’s not forget our fearless, awesome, ass-kicking, super sexy founders: Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice. They make all of this possible (with the help of several others – you know who you are! We love you!).

flap steak, ground veal, prosciutto, pancetta, pork loin

someone was really excited about the country style ragu

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