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Recipe: maple miso tofu

Winter went out like a cuddly little kitten last week. The last day of winter was warm, sunny, and so pleasant that I left the deck door open for Kaweah to come and go, which she loves to do. Sometimes she’ll just stand halfway in the house and halfway on the deck. But her old legs can’t stand indefinitely anymore. When I set her foamy bath mats out on the deck, she opted to lounge in the sun and absorb all of the energy falling to Earth.

last day of winter

Of course, it’s now spring break (all of Boulder seems to be on spring break this week) and it snowed all weekend. People have been shaking their fists at Punxsutawney Phil for his prediction of an early spring. When will silly people ever learn? I trust my local meteorologist over a giant rodent to tell me when to expect a powder day. Colorado spring skiing is what’s what.

five days into spring

nothing fazes her

8°f and gorgeous

that’s gonna be closed for a little while longer

But it is spring despite the winterish temperatures. The snow is heavier, stickier, wetter. It takes more effort to push it around than the powdery fluff of winter. And the longer hours of the day feel like you have emerged from a cave. Sunset is around 7pm at our house, which is Kaweah’s dinner time. She used to petition for dinner at 4:30 in the afternoon in winter when it got dark, but now she seems utterly delighted and taken by surprise when we say, “Do you want some dinner?”

dramatic sunset

Ever since I got home from my trip to Vermont and New Hampshire, I’ve been trying to keep my meals on the light side. I have some lovely organic maple syrup (and other maple products) courtesy of Coombs Family Farms, but I just can’t fathom eating THAT MANY waffles and pancakes, no matter how good the syrup is. You know me, I am one for the savory dishes. A maple miso tofu recipe appealed to my desire for lighter meals. The added bonus is how ridiculously straightforward and quick it is to prepare.

you need: maple syrup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sambal oelek (or any chili paste), white miso, firm tofu

brushing oil on the parchment paper

cut the tofu into 1/2-inch thick slices

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Recipe: stuffed sopaipillas

It’s a brilliant sun that has been shining down on Colorado this week, each day warmer than the one before. Whenever Jeremy is on travel, I use the alone time to get as much work done as possible so that we might ski or just spend time together when he gets back. If I were truly alone, I might work from sunrise to the wee hours of the night with nary a pause, but I am not alone. Kaweah requires more attention in her old age. Not that she demands it, just that we want to be sure she is happy and comfortable. One of us will check on her frequently throughout the day and sometimes lie on the floor next to her, rub her belly, or just nuzzle her face. Anything to hear the thump of that wagging tail.

she likes the sun on her coat and her feet in the snow

Kaweah’s walks take more time and cover less distance. I have to stop myself when I start to feel impatient. Lately, I have been setting aside extra time for Kaweah. It’s not a walk anymore, but Kaweah-time. Time for sniffing every tree trunk, every dead leaf, every invisible thing in the snow. Time to walk slowly through powdery drifts, sometimes requiring a quick rescue. Her back paws knuckle under as she grows tired, but her nose is in the air drinking in all the news the wind can deliver. Old age is slowing her down. So far it hasn’t stopped her.

checking out the lake

happy to be outside

The other day we went to a little lake where the snow lingered and the sun shone bright. Instead of menacing winds, there was a gentle breeze and birds chirped in the woods. I unleashed Kaweah (because she’s too slow to outrun me now!) and watched as she went about sniffing what was what, her meandering tracks having absolutely no agenda other than to be a happy black dog on a lovely bluebird day. I knelt down and called her to me. I had to call again, loudly because she’s deaf – or she was ignoring me… or both. It doesn’t matter. She strolled lazily toward my outstretched hands and rolled her head into them like she always does, her tail doing big circular wags. I gently wrapped my arms around her neck and shoulders and placed my cheek against her warm, black fur. My little girl. Circular wag, circular wag.

time to go home

A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with my friend Trent, who runs Pica’s in Boulder. I’m always telling Trent what I think he should carry on the menu. “How about a GIANT salsa bar? A GIANT SALSA BAR!!” This time I didn’t mention the salsa bar, but I did sing the praises for sopaipillas. I’ve had bad ones (here in Colorado) and I’ve had amazing ones (in all of New Mexico), but the best are the ones that come straight from your own kitchen. He had never had one before. WHUT?! The next evening, Trent was running a pop-up in my neighborhood, so I made fresh sopaipillas and brought them to his family. Thumbs up all around. They ate them with honey, but another fabulous way to enjoy the sopaipilla is to stuff it with heavenly goodness.

beef, cumin, chile powder, lime, oil, salt, pepper

dice the beef

mix the seasonings

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Recipe: quick kimchi

Have you entered the giveaway yet? Win a 12 of hearts box of chocolate truffles from Robin Chocolates to give to a loved one or keep for yourself! Get on that before the end of the day, Thursday, February 7, 2013.

sweet sweet lovin’

The other day while finishing a shoot, I had the deck door open for Kaweah to wander in and out at her leisure (she really takes her time). As I was walking back to the work area, I noticed Kaweah was pointing intently at something on the ground below. I figured it was one of my neighbor’s feral dogs. Kaweah looked like she wanted to bark. I walked out and told her it was okay to bark, figuring it would get whichever dog out of our yard. She gave a great big bark – it’s really very cute how such a little dog can produce a big dog bark – and wagged her tail. I peered over the edge and saw…

the fantastic mr. fox

This is our neighborhood fox. I immediately felt bad for giving Kaweah permission to bark. The fox didn’t seem to care about her at all. Smart fox. Kaweah got all excited and growly, so I carried her inside the house and returned with my camera. This fox traipses through our yard regularly… daily. I hadn’t seen it in a while and I realized it wasn’t because the fox hadn’t been coming around, but that I’d been completely immersed in work. It reminded me to pay attention to the little things, to take a break and look up every now and again. So I asked Jeremy if he’d like to go on a lunch date the next day. It was lovely.

oysters and sparkling rosé at the kitchen

The whole reason for plowing through the work schedule is to have a few free days to prepare for Chinese New Year which is this Sunday. In my fledgling blogging days, I referenced a handful of Asian food blogs to expand my understanding of techniques and traditions, particularly for this important holiday. Some have since gone silent, but one of my favorite resources is thankfully still going strong. Jaden of Steamy Kitchen is a wealth of information and recipes. She documents her knowledge for the rest of us on the website, in newspapers, on television, at conferences, in person, and in books. I say BOOKS because the second one just came out!

lookin’ good

Jaden’s book, Steamy Kitchen’s Healthy Asian Favorites transforms popular Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, and Vietnamese dishes into simple, easy, quick, and healthy masterpieces. The collection is also punctuated with modern fusion recipes applying an Asian twist to western fare. The pages offer Jaden’s vibrant and tantalizing food photography as well as endearing snapshots of her family, friends, and life. Sprinkled throughout her stories are Jaden’s cheeky humor and delightful enthusiasm. It’s a personal cookbook. She is sharing herself with the reader while simultaneously making several cuisines entirely accessible to the average home cook.

Disclosure: I received a review copy from Jaden’s publisher, Ten Speed Press. I get to say what I want.

There were so many recipes to choose from, but I was ultimately drawn to the quick kimchi. I’m a bit of a kimchi fanatic, although I’ve never made it myself. Jaden’s quick kimchi was a good baby pool introduction for me before I dive into the deep end of traditional kimchi. Bonus: the quick kimchi doesn’t make people wonder what died in the refrigerator (I personally love that smell).

simple as: napa cabbage, salt, sugar, ginger, garlic, green onions, rice vinegar, sambal oelek (chili paste)

shred the cabbage by slicing it into thin strips with a sharp knife

salt the shredded cabbage

toss it together

You can pretty much make this in under a half hour. Salting the cabbage helps to draw the excess liquid out of the vegetable and that takes 15 minutes. While the cabbage gives up its water, you can prep the rest of the ingredients.

grated ginger, minced garlic, chopped green onions

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