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Recipe: korean bulgogi

Uh, it’s getting hot around here *tugs at collar*. Am I the only one who closes her eyes and dreams of snow? Dreams of The Tele*? Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy my summer. I am currently enjoying the hell out of my summer such that there is very little time. Peter recently tweeted that summer is a slow time on the blogs. It’s very true. I’ve also noticed Blogger Blah has been going around the ‘hood. People blog for different purposes. It isn’t wholly unexpected to one day find your mojo has disappeared. Mine is more of a waxing and waning, but that is easily remedied. I have two rules regarding my relationship with urb:

1) Maintain a repository of recipes for those stretches when you can’t or don’t feel inspired to cook or bake. I got into this habit during my treatment last year. While I like to maintain a steady posting schedule, life doesn’t work that way.

2) Life always comes before the blog.

* Tele – short for telemark skiing referring specifically to the telemark turn which differs from the alpine (downhill) turn in that only the toe of the boot is connected to the binding and the heel is free to pivot resulting in a graceful technique and skiers who deem themselves superior to all others (and rightly so). *snort*

the view from east maroon pass

I know that second one sounds like common sense, but it’s really easy to lose priorities when you’re into the mucky muck of blogging. I’m talking about the big picture like life and death. More life than death, of course! As I told Andrew the other day, “don’t dwell on death except to recognize it as a boundary condition to life” (not that Andrew is the type to dwell). Get out there, yo! Part of the value of blogging is sharing information and experiences – things you keep fresh by living your life. I’m busy, but I’m also enjoying the summer. I command you to do the same, however it is you choose to enjoy it. Just don’t hurt yourself or anyone else, alright? Have some fun while you’re at it.

So, just a couple of flower pics and we’ll get this ball rolling. You can see the rest at the photo blog: day 3 and day 4.

king’s crown

sunflowers and larkspur

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Recipe: barbecue chicken

I have been posting daily since the calendar flipped to July because there is just so much going on that if I don’t write them up – posts will get buried! Not to mention, I’m on my steroid regimen again and I am running with the overflow of energy. I’ll probably crash and burn in 24 hours, but I’m okay with that. After feeling like complete crap for several months, it’s hard to take for granted the improvements I now feel. I can finally get out to see the mountains I love, find energy to cook wonderful food (and even taste and digest them!), and have the patience to capture the beauty of our summer season with my camera. These are happy times. I’m also wired and exhausted, but I relish it – I really do.

This morning we took another hike up to a lovely lake nestled in an alpine basin at roughly 11,300 feet. Invigorating! There was still plenty of snow, which is a good thing because it has been so hot here lately. Several more varieties of wildflowers were beginning to bloom, but the lake is still under a lot of ice and snow. I’m crazy for the mountains.

marmots out and basking in the sun

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Recipe: texas barbecue beef brisket

Having grown up in Virginia, the butt of our local jokes was usually West Virginia. When I headed to California for college, I began to hear a lot of jokes about Texas – especially after I met Jeremy, the native son of New Mexico. The one I heard most was:

Why is it so windy in New Mexico?
Because Texas sucks and Arizona blows.

I’m sure you can replace the states in that with any set of neighboring states, but it’s quite amusing to see how tickled folks from New Mexico are when they deliver the punch line… every time. The point is, it is not cool to love anything about Texas in the company I keep.

Well, I have to make an exception – two, in fact. I love Kathryn, who is a Texan transplanted to Norway, and I LOVE Texas-style barbecue beef brisket à la Dr. Hogly Wogly’s Tyler Texas Bar-B-Que (in Van Nuys, CA no less!). My former house president and good friend, Jack (oops! another Texan… make that three things I love about Texas), introduced me to The Doctor. It’s a hole-in-the-wall joint nestled between skanky billboards advertising gentlemen’s clubs and adult bookstores on Sepulveda Boulevard [8136 Sepulveda Blvd., Van Nuys, CA (818) 902-9046]. The waitresses are strapping ladies, not a single one under size 14 or shorter than 5 feet 10 inches, who can haul pounds of barbecue chicken, pork ribs, beef brisket, hot links, and the most delicious and decidedly non-vegetarian baked beans. Come to think of it, I don’t think a single thing on their menu is vegetarian… except possibly the lemonade and iced tea.

The Doctor is one of our favorite go-to eats when we visit So Cal, and their beef brisket is one of our favorite items on the menu. It sells out on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, you name it. F’ing Good Stuff. A couple of weeks ago, a magazine editor contacted me asking if I had a nice photo of barbecue beef brisket. Um, I didn’t have any good ones and I usually barbecue pork because I am from Virginia where Pork is King. Ever since that email exchange, I have had barbecue beef brisket on the brain.

4.5 pounds of brisket with a healthy slab of fat on the other side

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