use real butter

Recipe: grilled tequila lime shrimp

The mountains are calling and so we must answer. Will tell them you said hello. According to several reports, it should be outstanding. I love taking road trips with Jeremy. Still have to pack my gear…

this time last year

Kaweah is going to Camp Crazy where the staff give her extra pats and belly rubs. They let her sprawl out in the kiddie pool in summer and curl up on the warm, fresh laundry in winter. Plus she gets to play with all of the other pups. It’s less stressful for all involved.

So while I need to finish some final prep, I thought I’d toss out a recipe that we tried last night for dinner. I’ve been in the mode of using up ingredients I have on hand – basically cleaning out the freezer, the pantry, and now, the booze cabinets. Don’t be fooled, we’re not heavy boozers. The cabinets I keep my booze in (mostly for desserts) are small, hence cabinets instead of cabinet.

where is this going… lime, shrimp, tequila, garlic, olive oil, spices

I have a nearly full bottle of tequila because we offered margaritas at a party a while back. We also offered gin and tonics. Everyone wanted a g&t. The plan was to make some manner of grilled shrimp with a lime juice marinade, but then I found recipes that called for tequila and lime juice. I quite love booze in my food.

mix it all in a ziploc bag

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: pim’s pad thai

Did you have as lovely a weekend as I did? I hope so! Even if you don’t celebrate the Fourth of July (let’s say, because you are British) I hope the weekend treated you well.

even the yard had red (paintbrush), white (yarrow), and blue (blue flax)

We hiked in the mountains, got a little work done, ran a few errands, ate some great food, and saw brilliant, spectacular, thrilling fireworks! I love fireworks. Love love love love them. I’m a parrot when it comes to those dazzling and colorful displays, which is why I had to capture some at the reservoir on Saturday.

boom! bang! pow!

You can see more of the fireworks photographs on my photo blog. Every Fourth of July, Jeremy and I marvel that local kids have not yet burned down the entire expanse that is the American West. I mean really, fire+beer+young men+forests = not a good scenario.

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: coconut macaroons

It’s the Fourth of July holiday weekend for me and my fellow Americans, but we kicked off the celebration with pyrotechnics of sorts earlier this week!

need a light?

flowers bursting

ignite boulder 5

milling about before the show while live tweets come in

Ignite Boulder 5 was the fifth in a series of community events (founded by Andrew Hyde) featuring talks with a twist: each speaker has 5 minutes to deliver a presentation of 20 slides that advance every 15 seconds. Perfect for the minimal attention span population or for anyone in need of a good laugh. They should require this format at scientific conferences. My three favorite talks from the evening also taught me something new: Larkin Carey – Surviving Free Fall from 30,000 ft without a Parachute: A DIY for the unfortunate airline passenger, Bruce Wyman – Marine Mammal Biology, Garret Smith and John English – World War Corn.

And several good things have been landing on our doorstep of late including a package of dried organic rose buds from my dear Susan (thank you, hon) and a high-angle rescue harness for Kaweah. She didn’t mind the harness much at all and even wagged her tail several times as Jeremy took her for a test drive around the house.

smells like a garden

some folks have child carriers, we have a dog carrier

**Jump for more butter**