use real butter

Recipe: double chocolate tarts

My in-laws were supposed to come out for a visit with us in Crested Butte last week, but had to cancel their trip at the last minute. When we host guests at our house, we pretty much clear everything off our schedule to entertain said guests. So we suddenly found ourselves with two days wide open and a little fresh powder on the mountain to enjoy.

and he did enjoy it

the clouds made way for a view of the town of crested butte below

Neva got to go for a couple of skate skis, an uphill ski on the mountain, and a run through our neighborhood up to the lake and back. All of this in addition to her daily training. She does rather well on paved paths and roads, but she is definitely more distracted on trails. Right now, we are toggling between snow and sunshine in the mountains, the trails in a constant state of melting out. I imagine that we’ll get to hit the real trail training with Neva soon, but until then, she’s doing alright. Meanwhile, the flowering trees are bursting with color down in Boulder and the rest of the flats. I must admit that the sight of that chartreuse spring green makes me a little giddy. I even opted for a trail run over a skate ski today, and found my first sign of local mountain spring.

the morning sun gets to work melting out yesterday’s snow

crabapple blossoms in boulder

an emerging pasque flower, the first to bloom in our mountains

In addition to the two open days we got as a result of the cancelled visit, we wound up with six extra chocolate tarts, which I had planned to serve as dessert. But chocolate tarts are easy enough to give away to neighbors. Go figure! This was the sixth batch of tarts I had made in the month of March. It all started when Eileen texted me as I was grabbing lunch in Steamboat Springs. She wanted to know if we’d be in Crested Butte the following weekend for a birthday dinner party for our friend, Wendy. It just so happened we WOULD be in town that weekend and was there something I could bring? Eileen suggested dessert, so I contacted Wendy’s daughters to get the scoop on her favorite flavors/desserts. Two things stood out: dark chocolate and raspberries. How about a dark chocolate tart with raspberries? Easy peasy, or so I thought.

cream, cocoa powder, flour, chocolate, powdered sugar, butter, more butter, grand marnier

I was fairly certain this recipe would work out, but I always make a point of testing a recipe before the real deal, just in case. Good thing I did. The crust, which seemed to behave nicely for just about everyone else in the world (it’s a recipe from Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking), was a complete jerk. I suspect it has something to do with my high elevation, but it was quite frustrating to see it stick to the parchment during the blind baking. Luckily, I am friends with a lot of experienced and professional bakers – so I asked for advice on Facebook and got a slew of suggestions.

mix the flour and cocoa powder

beat the powdered sugar into the butter

add the flour and cocoa mixture

beat until just combined

wrap and chill

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: emerald kale pesto pizza

Our little Neva turns two years old on Monday! Since we are hosting guests starting Monday, we decided to have an early celebration today (Sunday) with some beef – her favorite – and a birthday dog cookie from a local shop in Crested Butte. Neva also received an antler birthday gift, because who doesn’t need another antler, right?

two candles for two years of unbridled craziness

neva was very excited, but waited for us to light and blow out the candles

The university is on spring break for this final week of March. While the work never ends, at least Jeremy can do so from Crested Butte while classes are on this short hiatus. It’s nice because we can ski in the mornings before the trails transform into swim lanes under the unrelenting gaze of the March sun, then work most of the day, train Neva in the late afternoon, and work some more in the evenings. Doesn’t hurt that Crested Butte got a nice refresh of snow recently. We can also skate ski with Neva on the designated dog-friendly Nordic trails, which is pretty much her favorite thing ever.

delicate ice patterns on a puddle in the middle of a trail

fresh snow!

crested butte ski patrol leaves the best messages

the view from silver queen lift

jeremy finds a little fluff on the mountain

that’s a happy doggy

Remember how I’m trying to get more calcium into my diet without the use of supplements? Dark leafy greens are always on that list of top ten food sources. I get my fair share of greens in the form of sautés and salads, but I figured there must be other ways to incorporate more. And no, I’m not putting kale or spinach into a smoothie. I actually LIKE eating kale and spinach, but drinking them in smoothies makes me HATE kale and spinach. Pesto, however… and kale pesto on a pizza with more greens? Delicious, tasty green heaven.

kale, basil, lemon, toasted walnuts, garlic, parmesan, olive oil, salt

trim the kale leaves from the ribs

let’s make kale pesto

There is a good bit of flexibility in how you make your pesto. Skip the basil, use different nuts (pine nuts, pecans, almonds), swap spinach or chard or beet greens for kale, less garlic, no lemon juice, no cheese. However you want to make it, just make sure it tastes good to you. This pesto is quite strong straight up – very garlicky – which I love because it mellows out after cooking, but if you eat it raw tossed with pasta, you may (or may not) want to dial it back a little.

place the leaves and the salt in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped

drizzle the olive oil in while running the food processor

add walnuts and garlic

blend in the parmesan and lemon juice (to taste)

a most pleasing green

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: almond vanilla chia seed pudding

It was nice to have some time away from Neva for her first week of doggy training camp, but by the second week, we were really missing her and excited to have pup pup back. As I’ve mentioned before, I will have a dedicated post to our experience with a professional dog trainer soon, but I can’t fairly assess until we’ve had more time to work with Neva ourselves. I’m sure some people have an unrealistic expectation that they hand their dog over to a professional for some time then get a perfect dog back. We definitely got our Neva back with all her weird quirks and silly habits, but she’s been primed to learn and we’ve been given instruction and some extra tools to improve our ability to communicate with Little Miss Goofball. We are determined to give Neva’s training our best effort and are already seeing improvements over the old Neva.

she was so tuckered when we brought her home

continuing adult education (see how she’s looking at jeremy?)

After a month of unseasonably warm spring-like conditions in February, we seem to be getting even more of it in March. This kind of weather makes skiers nervous, and it makes those of us who live in the mountains anxious. The end of the month might be bringing some precipitation (possibly in the form of snow, too!), but this weeks-long warm spell is already taking its toll locally as a wildfire burns in a neighboring canyon bordering the city of Boulder. I’m the first one to wilt under the sun when it’s 30°F outside, but it’s been in the 60s here and I can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when the sun drops behind the mountains each day.

we have had some fantastic sunsets

glowing streaks and puffs

otherworldly sky

In the last year, I’ve had to change my oncologist and my primary care physician (PCP) due to retirements. I was pretty bummed because I really adored and trusted both of these doctors who basically saw me through my cancer treatments. I’ve since met with my new oncologist and PCP, both of whom are great (consider me most fortunate to have great health care through my spouse’s employer since I am freelance and have a pre-existing condition). My PCP asked me what medications I take and if I take supplements. Since I am lactose intolerant, I take a daily calcium supplement in addition to eating dark leafy greens and other natural non-dairy sources of calcium. She said she’d like me to get more calcium through foods rather than a supplement. Okay, that shouldn’t be hard for me to do. Brassicas like kale, collard greens, and broccoli are already in rotation, but I would never say no to more! Tofu, almonds, edamame, spinach – easy peasy. What I didn’t know was that chia seeds are a great source of calcium.

teeny tiny little chia seeds

If you’re wondering whether these are the same chia seeds of “chia pet” fame, the answer is yes. I had chia seeds for the first time in a raspberry kombucha when I was trying to get the balance in my gut right after a course of antibiotics. They look like frog eggs and have the texture of tiny, slippery tapioca with a crunchy center. That might not be appealing to some, but I love it. When I’m on Instagram, I scroll past all of those oh-so-popular smoothie bowls because I actually prefer to eat my fruit with my teeth. But a local blogger, Joan of Grist and Greens, posted a chia seed pudding last month, which looked and sounded lovely.

vanilla extract, almond milk, chia seeds, honey

While I went with a different recipe, Joan was still my inspiration. I opted for an almond milk chia seed pudding instead of her coconut milk chia seed pudding because – double bonus: almond milk is a good source of calcium. Since I knew I liked chia seeds, I went ahead and bought the Big Bag of organic chia seeds from Costco. The pudding itself is just about the easiest thing you could make. Just stir everything together and refrigerate.

add honey

vanilla

and almond milk

**Jump for more butter**