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Recipe: trail mix

It is now July. You know what July means, don’t you?

July means we are into the thick of summer.

July means half the year is over.

July (in this country) means Fourth of July celebrations, barbecues, and fireworks! You guys know how lousy we are at following holiday instructions. Instead of celebrating, we exercised and got some work done. Instead of barbecue, we had pad thai. But there is no “instead of fireworks” because I totally love pyrotechnics. Love the pretty colored lights that rain down from the sky when nighttime finally settles over the mountains. And what I see with my eyes is never quite the same as what the camera captures – but I like them both!

You can view the rest of the fireworks set on my photo blog.

July is also the month when we will eventually be able to hike into the high country without having to wear or carry skis or crampons. That point in which the trails are no longer classified as “mixed terrain” is true summer for us. Our great room becomes a sort of giant locker room and instead of having a bike bin and a ski bin, we will transition into the bike bin and the hike bin. Of course, they overfloweth resulting in the multiple packs, water hydration bladders, boots, shoes, gloves, hats, jackets, sunnies, sunblocks, maps and snacks strewn about.

i own plenty of footwear

when i see my platypus, i think “let’s go!”

I’m pretty particular about my snacks when we head into the backcountry. Contrary to what so many people think, we actually prefer no fuss, bare bones food when we camp, hike, or backpack. I don’t go into the backcountry to spend a lot of time preparing fancy food. I do plenty of that at home. I go into the mountains for the mountains. When we hike, we always have some emergency calories on hand like LARA bars. I’ve tried many other “bars” over the years and I cannot get them down without a sudden desire to hurl. We cycled through several varieties of trail mixes (from Trader Joes) early on, but none of them resonated with my taste buds. Trail mixes are based on GORP – Good Old Raisins and Peanuts. Neither of us are huge fans of raisins or peanuts.

but cranberries? yes

and cashew nuts

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: white russian cake

Summer is meant for…

getting together with friends

and trying out new restaurants in town

scoping new blooms on the trail

admiring cumulonimbus at sunset

Summer isn’t necessarily meant for baking, at least not if you are me and become rather cranky when temperatures rise above 75°F. But that’s what I did over the weekend against my better judgment. It all started when Jeremy and I were cruising through Whole Foods a few months ago and a woman at the cake counter asked if we would like to sample some cake. Well… hell yes!

let’s make cake

and pour it into the pans

sliced layers

It was a slice of a Kim and Jake’s cake. Kim and Jake’s is a bakery in Boulder that specializes in adult cakes. I don’t mean anatomically correct adult cakes, I mean boozy cakes like Daiquiri, Strawberry Margarita, Dark and Stormy, or in this instance… White Russian. It wasn’t bad. I thought it could have used more booze, but I’m sure Whole Foods isn’t in the business of distributing cake strong enough to require a liquor license. I wondered what the heck is in a White Russian. I’m only familiar with the drink because of The Big Lebowski, a movie that is dearly loved in this house. So a White Russian contains vodka, coffee liqueur, and light cream.

heavy cream for the whipped frosting

kahlua and vodka to soak the cake

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Recipe: strawberry daifuku mochi

You know, I’m always looking up. You might think it’s because I live with an astrophysicist or that it has to do with my graduate minor in atmospheric sciences. Actually, I’ve been enamored with the night sky since I was a wee tot and I began to obsess about the weather ever since I learned to sail at age 9. It’s just habit now to gaze skyward at dusk to search for Venus or look for the Milky Way while Kaweah takes her time in the side yard at night. Sunset is a regular event for us. Missing it makes me feel like my day is incomplete. And the weather? Well, that dictates a good deal of what I do both professionally and recreationally. I’ve always got one eye on the sky.

a lee wave (standing or stationary wave)

lots of textures

with crazy cool fringes

And even though we were on the wrong side of the planet to witness the total lunar eclipse, I was still pleased to greet the full moon as it rose – big, glowing, and gorgeous. I never tire of seeing her, like an old friend.

she’ll be comin’ around the mountain when she comes…

we tried to get kaweah to howl, but she wouldn’t

But there is always room for new friends. Not that I have found some new heavenly bodies or anything, no. I meant room in my belly for my new BFF that I met while eating my way through the Big Island of Hawai’i. I’m a little ashamed to say it, but I couldn’t get those amazing strawberry mochi from Two Ladies Kitchen in Hilo out of my head. And with strawberries in season…

organic and juicy

sweet azuki bean paste

**Jump for more butter**