use real butter

Recipe: chinese cellophane noodle soup

NaBloWriMo day #10.

Before we get to Colorado pictures and the recipe…

You’re probably noticing a theme here with the Quaker Oats-Good Bite promo to fight hunger, my participation in Eat on $30 starting Sunday to raise hunger awareness, and now… Macy’s has launched a massive campaign called Come Together to Fight Hunger. Their goal is to raise awareness, raise money, and feed 10 million people suffering from hunger by involving the public in local events and matching individual donations dollar for dollar. The donations go to Feeding America.

There are three ways to be a part of this effort:

1) You can host a dinner party and request that instead of host(ess) gifts, your guests make a donation to Feeding America. Go to Macy’s Come Together page for more deets.

2) You can donate $1 directly at any Macy’s register. One dollar can feed dinner to SEVEN people.

3) You can shop for the cause at any Macy’s and get special in-store savings on October 17 (Saturday). A portion of the $5 in-store ticket sales will help Feeding America. [Why not all $5? I don’t know – I encourage you to ask.]

Oddly enough, I went to the Macy’s in Boulder a few days before BlogHer Food 09 and picked up a hoochie mama leopard-spotted shirt (it’s not THAT hoochie mama, but it’s comfy and I can photograph people, dance, and hold a white Russian in my hand while wearing it) which you can see on Susan’s post. I figured my typical Patagonia attire in the sticks was not going to cut it in San Francisco. While purchasing the shirt, I also bought a $5 ticket for a special event in the store next Saturday, October 17. I hate shopping, but someone in the house (not I nor Kaweah) is in need of a wardrobe update and because part of the $5 ticket went to Feeding America, I figured it was a good thing. I had actually forgotten about the sale until Tami mentioned Macy’s Come Together campaign to me.

But there is one more minor detail.

********* GIVEAWAY *********

Because I’m spreading the word about this on urb, I have received TWO (2) $25 Macy’s gift cards to give away to two (2) of my readers! The rules are as follows: Tell me the name of your favorite food charity or the name of a local food bank or local organization that feeds the hungry (even if you don’t know of one, it’s easy to google). Leave one comment on this post before midnight (MST) Friday, October 16. If you leave multiple comments you will disqualify yourself from the drawing. I will select two winners using some scientifically approved random and ridiculous method – most likely involving The Dog. I know I have several international readers, but Macy’s does not ship internationally nor do they have stores outside of the US. However, the cards can be used by anyone. If you live outside of the US, you can still use the cards as long as your purchases are shipped to a US address (good time to get chummy with your stateside pals). Good luck!

Our deck was reading in the low teens this morning and there was an inch of fluffy, light, dry snow. Friends in Boulder were tweeting that they had 2-3 inches on the ground. UPSLOPE! Typically, our weather comes from the west, over the Continental Divide. It usually rides on a hellish wind too. But on the occasions when we have an upslope, the weather comes from the east and sometimes Boulder gets more snow than we do. Jeremy and I can always tell when it’s going to snow in Boulder – it’s when you can smell Greeley (to the northeast) on the air. What does Greeley smell like? Cow shit.

wanna go for a walk?

It was the perfect morning for a walk with Kaweah. There wasn’t any ice on the ground, just lovely, powdery snow. The sun hopped in and out from behind the clouds and snow continued to rain down in that friendly, gentle way that reminds you of the holidays. It’s only October and I am getting very excited about the holidays in no small part because of this glorious weather.

the aspens are done

ducks were swimming about in the distance

happiness is…

It is officially soup weather! I love soup of any kind, the hearty soups, the noodle soups, the puréed soups, the bean soups, the thin soups, the broths, the borderline soup-stews, the heady soups. They’re all great in this weather which will last up to and sometimes into May for us. My favorite soups are the ones that remind me of my mom’s cooking. My mom worked a full time job, raised two daughters, cleaned the house herself (kept it like a museum it was so spotless!), and cooked dinner every night after she got home from work. Mom made homemade chicken broth so that I still cringe when I taste canned chicken broth to this day (some chicken broths are better than others). When I met Jeremy, he was Mr. Picky Eater. Made me crazy. These days, his eyes light up when I tell him I’m making this soup for dinner. Progress.

making pork meatballs

boil them in water to cook (and save the broth!)

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: lobster vols-au-vent

**I’m not really here, I’m in San Francisco yukking it up with all of the food bloggers at the Blogher Food conference. If I’m in the hotel room geeking out, then I’ll post some pictures. If I’m with Helen getting lit on cocktails, then I’m not in any shape to post any pictures anyway!**

Roll the tape, Harry! [Who is Harry? I dunno… it’s late.]

I made doubly sure I did not miss this month’s Daring Bakers challenge because I had an opportunity to recreate a favorite dish I enjoyed as a kid in a fancy pantsy restaurant. So there ya go!

the daring bakers do it ninja style!

And the official line is: The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Did I mention how much I adore these two women: Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice? Well I do. They are the founders of the Daring Bakers (Daring Anythings) – and I bow to their awesomeness.

So let’s hop to it! Our challenge this month was to make vols-au-vent pastries – savory or sweet. I barely had time to brush my teeth in the mornings, so there was only one option for me – savory. When I was little, I ordered lobster vols-au-vent at a restaurant (probably the Williamsburg Inn). It was heavenly. Flaky puff pastry drenched in a creamy sauce with lumps of tender, sweet lobster meat. Never thought to make it myself, just never occurred to me until I saw this month’s challenge. We’ve made puff pastry once before (Danish Braids) but this was a little different and… I love homemade puff pastry. Store bought puff pastry leaves this crazy horrid film all over my mouth because they use some sort of fake fatty compound – I don’t know what it is, but it’s disgusting. I hate eating it because I feel like I just sucked a coating of wax inside my mouth. So, when the DBs say “Make puff pastry!” I say, “Yes, Sergeant!”

score the dough

fold the rolled out dough around the butter

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: chinese stir-fried shrimp with snow peas

Daring Cooks: Sorry DCs! Just like the last DB challenge, I was unable to squeeze this one into my schedule. Hope to be back in business next month.

H’okay! Now we are all set. I got my new lens in the mail on Friday and this morning the filter arrived. “The circle upgrade is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.” I feel a little giddy holding this thing in my hands.

my first of the holy trinity of lenses

Fall is here, kids. We had a big cool down on Saturday replete with cold, damp fog, rain, and a minor frost overnight. It has warmed back up a little, but the mood is settling in quickly – that desire to throw on a snuggy, soft fleece. When I close my eyes, I can feel the warmth radiating from the oven, see apples in the golden autumn light, and smell cinnamon on the air. We took Kaweah for a quick walk yesterday and encountered a mother moose and her baby (which is as big as a Honda Civic) racing across the trail and disappearing into the woods. They’re really quiet. Jeremy didn’t even hear them, he only looked up when I stopped and said, “Moose!” Kaweah didn’t notice a thing (too busy sniffing for deer poop).

fading daisies

our old girl and her favorite rocks

Today is Jeremy’s birthday, which he actually missed – literally. That’s because he was flying over the International Date Line last night and jumped a day ahead to the 15th. I joked that this might be the fountain of youth… but if you’ve ever flown coach from the US to Sydney it’s more like the fountain o’ misery. So happy birthday, Jeremy! We’ll have a proper celebration when things settle down. For now, we’ll settle for a tiny celebration of sorts. I don’t know about you, but shrimp is always a festive ingredient for me. Maybe because it’s expensive (granted, I typically buy fresh, wild-caught shrimp), but I think it has more to do with how happy shrimp looks. It’s what I consider decorative with its curly, pink and white flesh. A perfect morsel to pop in your mouth.

mise en place: snow peas, raw pink shrimp, garlic, green onions, water chestnuts

butterfly the shrimp

**Jump for more butter**