use real butter

Jeremy and I have been working on a variety of things today – on the computer, on the house, in the kitchen… all things that need to get done. We purchased a nice 24 foot ladder to reach those hard-to-reach places around the house. The new ladder is great and far sturdier than the one we have been using from Tom.

that is high up

**Jump for more butter**

I’m in, you guessed it, Silicon Valley. I’m visiting with Elena and my grandma, which is kind of fun since I get to chill out with two people I really love and care about. Elena picked me up from the airport last night and we had 45 minutes to spend her birthday together. We talked until 2 am, in the dark, just sharing lots of thoughts and stories. That was pretty special.

This morning we picked up some coffee for grandma and went over to her place. For lunch, we had sushi at Umi Sushi – they remembered me and Grandma from the last time Jeremy and I took her there in December! The wife of the owner said she remembered us and that her husband (the head chef) was coming to work any minute to prepare our order (instead of letting the other chef do it). We felt so special. He loaded our order with such generous portions and special kinds of fish that we couldn’t finish all of the food (unheard of for me and Elena when it comes to sushi!). At the end of the meal, he asked if he could see the iphone – hee hee.

the chef/owner prepares our sashimi plate

**Jump for more butter**

We’re having Tom and Kellie over tomorrow night to thank them for watching over the house and keeping my plants alive during our trip down under. I’m keeping dinner simple, but I still had to try a few new recipes. I’m going to purée parsnips (which I’ve never done before) because I love it, and I’m going to try a savory bread pudding with gruyère, swiss, parmesan, asparagus, mushrooms, and doesn’t that sound freaking delicious?! I tested a new appetizer, except I will use shrimp and not raw tuna since they don’t dig on raw fish.

crostini, avocado w/ lime, pineapple, tuna, chives, hawaiian pink sea salt

I think it needs some more punch to it, so I’m going to scrape a raw clove of garlic across the crostini after I bake it and mix the sea salt into the avocado instead of sprinkling it on top. The crème brûlées are cooling now. It’s going to be fun and probably the last nice meal I make for a few weeks.

saving out the nice berries for garnish