use real butter

Recipe: soy sauce eggs

I have always had this thing for the number 13 – I like it (in part because it is a prime number). And Friday the 13th is even better because I love Fridays. But the best thing about Friday the 13th? I always get an email from my friend, Jack. He usually tells me he misses me and Jeremy or that he hopes to see us next time we’re in So Cal. And then he ends with JASON JASON JASON KILL KILL KILL! This has been going on for over 16 years. I got one of his emails this morning right before we left the house. A great start to a fantastic day.

powder + bumps + breckenridge = sweetness

It really feels like spring skiing, which I’m not all that thrilled about because it gets so darn hot. However, the fresh powder overnight and the bluebird conditions today are pretty hard to beat. Breck was surprisingly unbusy and we hit freshies all morning. By afternoon, the powder became heavy, the runs were getting tracked up, I was sweating like a pig, and my quads were on fire.

totally worth the pain

jeremy hunts for pockets of powder

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[I had promised a recipe the other day and then failed to deliver. My apologies. We had a bit of a meltdown over here, as in, our DSL modem was fried. So instead of giving you a recipe, I fixed all of our technical issues and then gave myself the morning off to go skiing, which put me in a much better frame of mind to write this post.]

Here is where the fun begins for me! I had tremendous difficulty narrowing down the kitchens I wanted to explore. As you cooks and bakers know, the kitchen reveals a lot about someone – especially a food blogger. It is a personal and private space as well as one you share with friends when they come to visit, dine, or party. Because of that, I had a long list of bloggers lined up to ask to partake in this kitchen tour in case any of the original ten declined. But not a one said no! All of these great people are not only welcoming my nosy little self into their kitchens, but you as well! Such a gracious and friendly group.

Based on what I knew about these bloggers, I tried to get a decent distribution of types of kitchens. The point of the kitchen tours is to highlight the wide range of kitchens, tools, and setups behind an equally wide range of blogs. The coolest part for me is discovering commonalities as well as some really clever and unique ideas. So let’s get started, shall we? Please give my friends a warm use real butter welcome as only my kickass readers know how!

Our first stop is Australia where we are visiting with my dear Barbara of Winos and Foodies. I had no idea what to expect other than “classy” and I was not disappointed. Barbara *is* classy and eloquent and she has a wicked sense of humor. I’m learning all sorts of Aussie slang from my emails with her. She makes me laugh and sometimes she makes me cry. The woman is incredibly well-grounded and full of good, practical sense.

blog: Winos and Foodies
blogger: Barbara
location: Main Beach on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
house: apartment rented, building about 20 years old
kitchen footprint: no idea
photos: all photos of the Winos and Foodies kitchen are courtesy of Barbara

Barbara recently moved into this apartment and because she is undergoing more chemotherapy, she warned that she hadn’t been able to do much with it in the way of organization. Stepping into the kitchen space, it looks quite organized to me. I love the bright and airy feel of it. My eye tends to go straight to the little things, like these awesome bags made of parachute silk hanging from a wine cork board that her son made.

entering the kitchen : shopping bags on the nearby wall

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I’ll have a recipe for you all tomorrow. Right now I’m baking up some tried and true recipes for some of my favorite dudes while rocking out in my kitchen to some good tunes. And I’m going to rattle on like a dope. I’m just not in the right mindset to come up with new recipes to make and shoot lately. Must be party-lag. It’s waning fast though. Even as I type, ideas are leaking into my mental desktop. Nice.

tulip(s) that nichole and luke brought for me

I know that several folks have complained about Daylight Saving Time kicking in, if for no other reason, the loss of an hour is pretty distressing for those of us with a shitload of stuff to do. But despite losing that precious hour, I kinda like that it stays light later. [Sorry babe, those of us in the higher latitudes experience far greater variations in daylight – but you know I still love ya.] The days are getting longer here… we’re on the upswing! That always puts an extra spring in my step. I mean more so than usual. Jeremy was explaining (in his calm, cool, collected and professorial way) why Daylight Saving Time is a crap concept and my mind just wandered off, smiling. I know it’s stupid, but I like it. I like it.

feels like spring

**Jump for more butter**