use real butter

Recipe: matcha green tea mochi ice cream

There is a period in summer when the sun is set on BROIL and I slink around barely tolerating the heat (or not tolerating it, as Jeremy might point out). The best I can muster is a combination of avoiding the sun and ignoring it. By the time the pine pollen has cleared in the mountains, we are chomping at the bit to get outside and run, hike, bike, anything. The snow pack is dwindling which isn’t abnormal for late June, but I cry on the inside to see it melt. Still, it means wildflowers are sure to follow.

a little ice remains on lake isabelle

That morning hike got the ball rolling on a day of many very excellent things. There was a package waiting for me when I got home – the very best kind of package. My friend, Jamie, gifted me several AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL custom-made cutting boards from her studio. Her craftsmanship and artistry left me speechless, as did her generosity. Also? She is totally badass. I am already sleeping with the little board under my pillow, I love it so much.

i shall cherish these

In the evening, I took Jeremy to dinner at his favorite restaurant in Boulder, Frasca, to celebrate his official notice of tenure.

congratulations, sweetheart!

And to top off an already terrific day, we were rewarded at home with lightning storms and REAL rain that washed away the pollen, soaked the thirsty ground, cooled the air, and smelled of mountain summer.

forked lightning

cloud to cloud strikes

We have since been enjoying milder temperatures, periodic rainstorms, and dramatic clouds forming over the high peaks. But I know the heat will attempt to return, as it competes with the clouds for attention. For the past few weeks, the only foods I’d been wanting to prepare were cold or frozen. Sometimes in late afternoon, the house would be so warm I’d open the freezer and cram my head and shoulders into the bottom shelf for a brief second, or two, or three… While I was in the freezer last week, I noticed a quart of passion fruit ice cream in the door and decided I ought to do something with it.

you’ll need potato starch (or cornstarch) and glutinous rice flour

Mochi is one of my favorite Asian treats. The slightly sweet rice flavor and chewy texture is wonderful with ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt. You have no doubt seen the mochi ice cream nuggets sold in Asian grocery stores or the Trader Joe’s freezer troughs. When I lived in Southern California, I was in an eternal state of overheating. I routinely poured my upper body into the Trader Joe’s freezers and when I approached the “now it’s awkward” time threshold, I’d grab a box of mochi ice cream to go.

Two things: 1) Glutinous rice flour doesn’t contain any gluten. I have to say this every time because someone out there freaks out every time. It’s just a descriptor for how dang sticky the stuff is. 2) Mochi is stupid-easy to make.

water, matcha green tea powder, sugar, glutinous rice flour

mix the matcha and rice flour together

add the water

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: blueberry hand pies

I’m sleep-deprived and behind on my work, but I’m not (too) stressed out because I’m having a good time. I got to watch and minimally participate in the filming of a television segment for Frank Bonanno and my good friend, Ellen, in Denver last week. I say minimally because I really REALLY did not want to be on camera. Besides, it was HOT in the kitchen. We were all happy when that part was done so we could head outside to watch the filming of the cocktail segment.

prepping for cocktails

Aside from my desire to support a good friend, do you want to know the real reason I left the mountains to head to Denver (because it usually takes a plane ticket to get me to drive down to Denver)? A hedgehog. SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!

her name is rosie and she belongs to frank’s kids

My parents arrived Friday evening and we met with them to go out for dinner. It used to make me a little crazy and headachey when they would both hold simultaneous, yet separate conversations with me. But now… now I just laugh and try to listen to both, and laugh some more. They came up to our house for dinner over the weekend. It feels good to cook for my folks – to spoil them since they were always spoiling me (and now us). More than ever, I just feel that I want my parents to be happy. Isn’t this what we wish for the ones we love?

this dish never fails to please: pan-seared scallops on fresh corn and roasted tomatoes

The weather got uncomfortably warm right around the time the pine pollen got ridiculous (i.e. everywhere). But before all of that happened, I made some fruity pies. Remember the mad loot I scored in the way of organic blueberries from Whole Foods? I used one of those pints for something other than jam. Pie is great and all, but HAND PIES are like… presents.

puff pastry, blueberries, egg, cinnamon, salt, lemon, cornstarch, sugar, turbinado sugar

mix the cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest

mix the blueberries, lemon juice, and salt together

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: banana peanut butter pupsicles

We’re back home in Nederland and it’s been ass hot here on the Front Range. Not only has it been ass hot, but pine pollen season is in full swing. We haven’t had any rain to wash away the pollen such that when the winds blow, giant clouds of thick yellow blegh go swirling into the air for miles. So of course the windows stay closed during the day and the house just gets plain old angry hot (or perhaps that’s me?).

i bet this fox was running for the nearest stream to cool off

Kaweah’s susceptibility to the heat has increased with her old age. After seeing how much she enjoyed the scoop dog frozen treat in Crested Butte, I decided to make some at home for her. I didn’t want to make it dairy-based as we try to keep her dairy intake to a minimum because it gives her gas. So I went with my favorite non-dairy ice cream recipe: single ingredient ice cream. The ice cream base is made entirely of bananas, which she loves, and I added some other goodies to sweeten the deal for her.

ripe bananas, peanut butter, bacon, carrot

slice the bananas

place them in a vessel and freeze them

**Jump for more butter**