use real butter

Recipe: mojitos

I thought we had escaped this year. We didn’t have a single hummingbird crash and burn on our deck (that we knew of) this spring. The frequency of accidents goes way up in May/June, but this year was accident-free… Then this week, we had 2 hummingbirds brain themselves on our windows within a 24 hour span. I hate to say this, but I am now rather practiced at reviving little birds – especially the hummingbirds. Yesterday’s hummingbird was the tiniest and worst off to date. I honestly didn’t think he’d make it.

not feeling so good

This little guy didn’t show many of the signs the other hummingbirds exhibit as they begin to recover. Usually they open their eyes after a little bit, start to open their beaks and taste the air with their tongues, sort their wings, look around. This guy just breathed rapidly with eyes shut and feathers in disarray for an hour. I mixed some sugar water (ratio: 1 part sugar to 4 parts water – and for the love of all that is good and sensible, DON’T feed them Splenda or any other fake sugar – hummingbirds need the real deal!) and held it up so his beak would dip into it. Ten minutes went by and nothing. Then I saw the feathers on his throat vibrate and noticed he was drinking! A few minutes after that he opened his eyes and watched me as he drank. Without any warning, he slowly levitated above the deck and zipped off to a nearby tree where he flitted from one branch to another until he flew away. Kinda made my heart fly too.

Now it is full steam ahead! Phases 2 and 3 of the upgrade will be complete this week. If I weren’t so busy, I’d be giddy.

i named them butter and sugar

huge ass L-plate

When last I hosted a stitch-n-bitch, Kitt offered to bring up mojito fixins. I had my first mojito just a few months ago and I’m not much of a boozer, but it sounds like the perfect summer cocktail to enjoy with friends, doesn’t it? Sure! Kitt’s mojitos were a total hit. I was so distracted hostessing that I completely forgot to actually try one. So when we had friends over this week, I hit Kitt up for her awesome recipe, which she ever so sweetly emailed to me.

basic greens: mint and lime

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: pan-seared sesame-crusted tuna

Helloooooo September! I’m so happy she’s here now. I love September. Love it. You know how you have 60 days’ worth of stuff to cram into 30 days? That’s my September. Oops! now 29 days…

There is no better way to kick off a new month than with a dinner party. I mean, a dinner partay. I was running a little behind schedule when folks began to trickle in yesterday evening. Luke and Nichole asked if there was anything they could help with. Normally (and my friends will verify) I say no and have people sit down with drinks, appetizers, and let the conversation roll. I’m a bit of a control freak like that. But the appetizers were not assembled yet, Jeremy was tending grill and dishes, and I was still getting my mise en place EN PLACE for dinner. I sliced up the grilled pork chops and showed Luke how to wrap spring rolls while Nichole became the mojito maestra. They took to their tasks like pros. The food was in good hands and I could relinquish those duties without a worry. Nice. I guess you *can* teach an OCD to delegate.

the spring roll brigade at work

It’s times like these when I am reminded why I should only serve Chinese food if the headcount is under 6… because we don’t have burners with enough BTUs to handle the volume. But it’s a known fact that you can’t get decent Chinese food in Boulder. Period. I wanted to treat our buds to something authentic, you know? It would have been great to whip up a quick meal so I could sit down and chill with folks more. I tried a newish recipe this week that was fast and amazing. We both loved it. Unfortunately, at $30/pound (okay, technically $27.99/pound – but when you buy 4 pounds, that $8 becomes negligible) it’s not an especially economical dinner to be serving at a dinner party. I dare say it’s worth the splurge for a lovely dinner for two.

wasabi (powder)!

spice up your life: a little wasabi mayo

**Jump for more butter**

There are times when I’m wrong. I know this shocks you as much as it shocks me. A year ago you could find me railing against Twitter and FaceBook declaring I would never join either one. Today, you will find me railing against Twitter and FaceBook ON Twitter and FaceBook. Twitter is for the egomaniacs, minutiae-obsessed, and people who never shut up. FaceBook is for those who don’t know how to blog. Okay, I’m making fun (sort of). I drank the punch for a variety of reasons, but one of the benefits of Twitter that I never foresaw was how it connected me to Boulder. I don’t live in Boulder. When people ask where I live, I usually tell them Boulder, Colorado because few people have heard of my little mountain town. So one evening the tweet activity was hopping and I’m tweeting away with Andrew (follow @andrewhyde on Twitter), the man who knows EVERYONE, and a fellow tweets that he likes the name of my blog and if I drop by his shop, I’ll get free chocolate. Andrew too, if he comes with me.

Yeah. Sure you will, Mr. Axe Murderer.

There is much spamming on Twitter (I had 67 hot babes ask me to check out their profiles the other day… uh huh) and you get your fair share of freaks. I checked his profile and read that Rick is an organic chocolatier in Boulder. REALLY? I did some quick research and saw he is the real deal. I asked if it would be okay for me to come by and take pictures. Sure, but just try the chocolate first, no obligations. Great! I’ll get in touch when I find some time in my schedule. Over a month later, I’m donning crocs and a hair net as I pass through the glass doors into the inner workings of Seth Ellis Chocolatier headquarters. This is why I love Twitter – it has brought me closer to the fooding community in Boulder and it’s a GREAT community. I still hate FaceBook.

chocolate truffle to nibble on while i waited for rick

**Jump for more butter**