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Recipe: spinach cheese empanadas

A lot of our time seems to revolve around friends and food of late. I guess that’s no surprise, but it hops onto an accelerated pace in summer when the weather is nice and we don’t have to worry about insane winds scaring our dinner guests off or snow and ice closing the canyon. Game on! On Sunday, Trent (who owns Pica’s in Boulder), his family, and a mutual friend came up to escape the heat and enjoy some burgers. These aren’t just any burgers, but California roll burgers. Trent spends so much time feeding and taking care of others that I felt it was his turn to be spoiled – just a little bit.

that’s a tall burger

it cooled down nicely in time for ice cream, strawberry daifuku mochi, and french macarons on the deck

trent and his darling little girl

being silly

Ahhh, I love good eaters… good eaters who appreciate good food. Those are the best guests! They also make for great dinner companions. One of my all-time favorite dinner guests is Erin, who turns the big 3-0 (that’s 30) in a few days. Jeremy and I took her out Monday night to The Kitchen’s Community Night dinner for an early celebration. I mean, everyone knows the 30s totally rawk.

mushroom flatbread

brawn

our neighbors

birthday girl and jeremy

When we hosted the astrophysics retreat last week, I planned Argentine empanadas as part of the lunch menu one day. As two of the guests do not eat beef, I figured I could offer a vegetarian version. This spinach and cheese filling sounded pretty good, but I had no idea how popular it would be among the carnivores as well!

the filling: spinach, chile powder, garlic, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, olive oil, butter

chiffonade

everything prepped

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Recipe: watermelon feta salad

I don’t have my typical amount of travel lined up this summer because I wanted to be home to provide Kaweah with a stable, happy routine. In the spring, a few medical issues cropped up for her and our travel schedule seemed to exacerbate her condition. Now that I’ve been home for a bit, she’s doing well – really well. She’s super waggy and playful and pretty much back to her old self (read that as herself, but old). Another upside to sticking around is that I’m able to get outside into the Colorado that I love on a regular basis.

The past several days have been brutally hot – hitting triple digits down in Denver and on the surrounding flats. Up here in the mountains, we popped over 80°F, which is borderline unbearable for me. Luckily… gleefully… we were granted a welcome cooldown on the first day of summer. It just so happened that Erin and I had planned a hike for that morning. It was deliciously cool at the alpine lake and we were both so very very happy.

a very happy erin

pausing on the bridge and still happy

We popped by Tin Shed Sports in Nederland for lunch. It’s the new game in town: a pro bike/ski shop run jointly with Salto Coffee Works where you can grab a bite, brew, glass of wine and hang out on the patio with a glorious view of the mountains.

the roadie: brie, prosciutto, greens, onions, pickles

Kaweah didn’t go hiking with us because she’s no longer strong enough to power up the trails anymore. But she gets her evening walkies in, and this time she met a new little puppy friend who is in training to become a guide dog. She loves puppies, especially when they are behind a fence and can’t jump on her head and chew her ears with their sharp puppy teeth.

meet huck – who was constantly in motion and cute as a button

I’m glad I took advantage of the cooler weather, because the mercury is on its way up again. We have quite a bit of entertaining lined up at the House of Butter. With warmer temperatures, I’m planning a lot of salads. So when I was flipping through a new cookbook that my friend, Alice, of Savory Sweet Life authored, I considered several of her beautiful, quick and easy recipes.

alice’s new cookbook

I did a double take on one salad in particular. That salad is a perfect representation of her blog name too – because it is both savory AND sweet. And it’s phenomenal. Watermelon, feta cheese, onions, mint, lime juice, and olive oil. I love me some watermelon in summer. On those blistering hot days of summer, it’s all I want to eat. Now, before you think, “What a strange combination!” I urge you to try it first. I made a half recipe and proceeded to eat it all.

simple ingredients

cube the watermelon

slice the onions

i like my onions sliced super thin

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Recipe: fried fennel slices

The past few days have been about savoring those wonderful, fleeting things in life. I used to be more of a planner than a spur-of-the-moment type. I still am, but my life’s lessons have taught me that there are times when you have to put down what you are doing and just drink in the good things before they are gone. Like…

getting into the backcountry before the snow melts away

carving turns on untouched terrain

storm clouds hugging the continental divide as the sun drops

spring blooms in boulder

the striped bass special at the pinyon

You might be wondering about that last one. I got a frantic text Friday night asking me if The Pinyon was closing. Surely not! After much pinging with my contacts, it was confirmed that Sunday brunch would be their final service. I immediately made a reservation for Saturday dinner. I understand that restaurants come and go – especially in a town like Boulder. The Pinyon was a place we liked to go for its wildly creative, playful, and satisfying food that was casual and didn’t break the bank. Dinner Saturday was bittersweet. The place was packed with regulars who wanted to get in there one last time. You could tell there was a lot of love going around.

chef theo and his dad at the pinyon’s last stand private party

We popped by The Pinyon Sunday evening for their closing party (that says a lot because we avoid going into Boulder on weekends). Theo was busy cooking up EVERYTHING and setting platters out for guests. I pinched a corner of Steph’s chess pie slice – that was about all I could stomach. Folks were grabbing at the food (some men are pigs), but we didn’t come for the food. We came to wish Theo and his staff well and meet up with other friends who supported The Pinyon. I know Theo will be cooking up something wonderful in Denver soon enough. As I gave him a hug good-bye, I promised (threatened?) I’d follow him anywhere.

I guess I just thought they’d always be there. Silly. I know nothing is forever. Grab it by the hojos.

Not sure if I’ve ever talked about fennel here before, but it’s not because I don’t like it. I quite love it, especially raw in salads. But every now and again you have to get naughty with your vegetables. And by naughty, I mean frying.

lovely fennel

all you need: fennel, salt, pepper, flour, bread crumbs, eggs

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