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Recipe: vietnamese pickled green mangoes

I love to travel. But I also love to stay home. Can you be a traveling homebody? Because I think that might be what I am. For me, there is such a thing as too much travel even though I get excited making plans and enjoy exploring and seeing new places (and old places – you don’t ever see it all). If I’m home for long periods of time like I was during my cancer treatments, I don’t start longing to go someplace else. I like where we live. I like doing the things I do around home.

like having lunch with a friend (snarf’s sandwiches are the best!)

Right now I’m sort of dreaming of the time when I’ll be able to have friends up to our place for dinner. I’m looking forward to doing spring maintenance on our house. Thoughts of flowers blooming in Boulder light up those dusty corners of the brain. I’d love to be able to get a good stretch of time to take care of some work projects. And of course the mountains are calling to me for a visit. But first I’m visiting elsewheres… good places. Very good places. I’ll tell you all about it later.

(testing new studio equipment) these two will have to fend for themselves

Last year on a trip to Southern California, I spent a couple of days with Todd and Diane. It’s like ethnic food safari hanging out with those two. AND it’s Hella Fun. So on my crazy quest for passion fruits, we encountered many other delectable treats like jackfruit, banh mi, boba tea, pate chaud, and this heavenly pickled green mango.

diane is all “oh yeah, that’s good stuff”

I was fascinated because I am a bit of a pickle fiend. Western or Eastern style pickles – they are all awesome. Sour, salty, sweet, spicy, crunchy. Oh goodness, my salivary glands are going off like lawn sprinklers in my mouth just thinking about pickles. I felt like a kid in a candy shop when I pointed to the large glass jar and asked Diane if those were pickled mangoes. Her eyes lit up and she said yes, they’re really good – do I want to try some? Before I could answer she was asking for a container to buy some from the little Vietnamese ladies running the shop. We stepped outside onto the sidewalk and Diane popped the lid open, “Here, try some!” Crunchy, sweet, and tart with a bite from the chili peppers. I nodded and made mmm mmm noises as Diane declared, “You need to have some pate chaud next!” and marched me to the bakery next door.

green mangoes

rice wine vinegar and sugar

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Recipe: chinese steamed crabmeat egg custard

engagement: mountain bike
dress: $35
cake: $20
guests: 12 + 1 dog
weather: rainy and cold
location: my advisor’s living room in Ithaca, New York
ceremony by: The Honorable Marjorie Olds
years together: 18.5
years married: 14
best guy ever: Jeremy

We’ve been married fourteen years on Tuesday. Jeremy and I had completely forgotten until my mother called over the weekend and reminded me about our anniversary. It’s funny that our moms remember, but we don’t. Our moms are so cute.

jeremy enjoys a delightful lunch at l’atelier

I know when most people see Jeremy they just think “random white dude”. He is a classic introvert and few people stop talking long enough to get to know him. That’s their loss, because he’s a real treasure. Plus, if you’re some loud mouth who can’t get over how awesome you think you are, he probably doesn’t want much to do with you anyway.

When I see Jeremy, my heart is filled with all kinds of wonderful meltiness. It’s so cliché and yet the truth of the matter is that I fall in love with him more each day. You’re probably thinking, “What have you done with Jen? She hates that mushygushy crap!” Okay, let’s just say that our relationship is muy excelente. Thank you, Jeremy, for being the best part of my life.

sunshiny day in boulder

We know of many people who go through what Jeremy calls “practice marriages” before they find a truly good partner. The ones that snipe and bully, that don’t respect the other, that never listen, that lie, blame, or are insecure – they don’t last very long. Or if they remain together they make me feel like punching one or both of them in the face for acting like such jerks to one another. In contrast, it’s a great feeling when you see the people you care about in healthy, loving relationships.

chives, shiitake mushrooms, chicken broth, crabmeat, eggs, salt, tobiko, white pepper

whisking the broth into the eggs

Last October, I got to spend time with two of my favorite couples in San Francisco: Chuck and Hungry Bear of Sunday Nite Dinner (but you may know Chuck from Food Gawker) and Anita and Mike of Dessert First. Chuck invited us (Mike, Anita, and myself) over for dinner after BlogHer Food ended. Hungry Bear started the meal with these delicate and wholesome Chinese egg custards.

place crabmeat in the ramekins or tea cups

pour the egg mixture over the crab

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Recipe: carne adovada quesadillas

Reminder: You have until March 1, 2011 to get the early bird registration discount of $50 for the Food and Light food photography and styling workshop in Boulder, Colorado this summer!

California does it to me every time. I get a nip of the flowers, the greenery, the warmer weather and I start feeling excited for spring despite my sworn love of winter and skiing and fleece and down. Boulder will start blooming in April well before our early mountain flowers bloom come late June, so I can travel down the canyon to get my spring fix as necessary. The difference in the seasons from one place to another can be quite drastic all due to geography.

yosemite’s geography and weather dictated winter last weekend

I have mixed feelings about Yosemite. It is one of the most heavily visited of our national parks and in summer it is a veritable tangle of cars and people all wanting to experience the wilderness while loving it to death. We call it the sacrificial lamb. It’s the small area of wilderness you open up to the general public in order to save and preserve the rest of the park which sees far less traffic. Woodland critters run up and beg for food when they ought to be running away from people. Part of the reason I love these stunning natural places is because I want to hear the rush of the rivers and waterfalls, the chirps of the local birds, the breeze rustling the leaves – not some couple arguing over their broken marriage (yeah, we heard that one night in camp) or car horns bellowing because we can’t be courteous to one another. We bring our outside problems in and they are at their height in summer. Traveling to Yosemite in the off season reminds me of just how amazing this place is any time of year.

a squall blows through the valley

Have you been? The famous towering outcrops and sheer valley walls really work that third dimension. I was in awe the first time I laid eyes on the valley 18 years ago. It doesn’t fail to take my breath away today. It’s special and worth seeing at least once. The best part about the snowstorm was that it kept a good bit of the holiday weekend crowds at bay. Actually, that’s not true. The best part about the snowstorm was the snowstorm.

can’t resist a clearing storm

As the clouds lifted and sucker holes (patches of blue sky) materialized to the west, the wet snow on the trees began to melt under the sunlight and fall. It felt like the aftermath of a big spring storm as we walked through the stands, pelted by a never-ending snowball fight with the trees. I have always held the opinion that everything looks magical under a blanket of white snow. Yosemite valley looked candied, dusted, and ready to eat.

view from the gates of the valley

You can see more of the photos from the trip on my photo blog.

It’s still winter over here in Colorado, but the longer daylight hours and our bluebird days cue me to shift my cooking habits. I associate slow-cooked stews and soups with the cold and dark nights that seem to stretch on forever. Rummaging through the freezer recently, I found a jackpot of carne adovada I had prepared back in December to make life for Future Me easier. I love to cook, but if I cook and bake too much when the sun is up, I start to get ornery. I honestly don’t know how some of my friends like Shauna and Jennie crank through recipe after recipe (sometimes the same one over and over again until it’s perfect), but these ladies are dedicated baking and cooking machines. My hat is off to them. But me? I’m a lazy bum and sometimes lazy bums just want a quick and easy quesadilla.

you will need tortillas, cheese, and carne adovada

even distribution is the ocd’s mantra

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