use real butter

Recipe: hot smoked salmon and asparagus pasta

Jeremy and I want to thank you all for the touching comments, emails, messages, and other notes on Kaweah’s passing. We are in awe of your love for our dear pup and grateful for your kindness and well wishes. Thank you so very much. xo

The past week has been a bit of a blur as we try to resume life without Kaweah. Everywhere we turned we expected to see that cute little face staring back at us (presumably wondering if we had beef or cheese or apples to offer). And when I didn’t find Kaweah, I just sat down and sobbed. Or I stood and sobbed. I sobbed as I folded her freshly laundered towels and beddings. I sobbed as I put away her dog bowls. I did a lot of sobbing. It was hard being in the house without her – so we packed up and headed southwest. Kaweah’s absence is still felt, but it’s slightly less pronounced here in Crested Butte. Just slightly.

kaweah’s last sunset

my last photo of kaweah on the way to the vet

tags, leashes, and collars by the front door

I still miss hearing her soft snoring in the middle of the night, or watching her little legs chase bunnies in her dreams, or the funny way she would sniff sniff sniff EVERYTHING in the yard until it culminated in a giant sneeze. Getting outside has helped tremendously. Most of you know that the mountains are my therapy sessions. It’s incredibly beautiful right now too.

i spotted a gorgeous bull moose on my trail run last week

brilliant stormy sunset over paradise divide

wildflowers dot the hillslopes of the crested butte high country

While trail running alone, I can lose myself in thought for hours and think about Kaweah without crying. Occasionally, one of her nicknames will push from my lungs into the mountain air and I’ll smile at the memory of her goofy shenanigans. Cooking helps too. I went through one day of depression eating before I bounced back to a normal meal pattern. Prepping vegetables has been especially meditative. My mom told me keeping busy will help, and she’s right. I shot this pasta recipe a few weeks ago, with Kaweah at my side to catch any stray pieces of salmon. Blogging will help me find my way back to normal.

hot smoked salmon, salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, white wine, fettuccine, cream, parmesan, butter, asparagus

drizzle olive oil over the asparagus

season with salt and pepper and grill (or roast)

slice asparagus into bite-size pieces

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: peanut butter caramel sauce

All signs point to summer: the blazing sun, rising mercury, pine pollen, afternoon thunderstorms, open windows at night, wild strawberry blossoms along my trail runs, and the impending solstice. Oh, but the best is yet to come when the snow in the high country finally recedes and the huckleberries and porcini emerge alongside colorful alpine wildflowers. It’s weeks away and yet I can already anticipate it will be here before I know it because everything seems to take place in these short summer months. Earlier in the week we enjoyed a lovely happy hour at The Flagstaff House with my parents. I have a feeling summer will kick into high gear very soon.

my rocky mountain cucumber cocktail (sans alcohol)

tuna tartare

fried oysters on polenta (if you go there, order this – so good!)

my queen of the night bloomed (symbolizes good luck!)

our aspen stands have turned lush and green

Before my parents arrived in Colorado, I had lunch with my friend, Ellen of Helliemae’s Caramels. She gave me a bag of her jasmine caramels to welcome my parents, a box of coffee caramels for Jeremy (the coffee fiend), and a bag of peanut butter caramels. It’s a sort of ritual among certain friends of mine that whenever we see each other, we bring gifts like pickled okra or organic adzuki beans or a little box of Maldon sea salt or a jar of homemade kimchi or a bottle of homemade foraged elderflower cordial – but Ellen is the master of caramels. It’s her thing.

creamy, smooth peanut butter caramels

I enjoy the first couple of caramels for what they are and then by the third, I start imagining how awesome they would be in other recipes. One of Jeremy’s favorite items from Helliemae’s is the Chili Palmer caramel sauce. He puts it on ice cream like it is going out of fashion, which got me thinking about peanut butter caramel sauce and the awesomeness that would be a sundae with said sauce. I didn’t have enough caramels left (oops!) to make a sauce out of them, so I made it from scratch.

sugar, cream, peanut butter

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: orange creamsicle frozen yogurt two ways

There is a short window of time in late spring when: 1) the road to the trailhead is closed to cars, but clear of snow 2) the trail is completely under snow and 3) the snow is firm enough to hoof it on foot. I live for this window because it’s when we do the bike-hike-ski, a triumvirate of springtime mountain activities. And it was HOT. 60°F at 10,000 feet with the sun roasting us from above (so more like broiling). There are always ways to get your ski on, it’s just a matter of how determined you are to get it. And we are not the only ones out there.

[Many of you inquired after the sunblock I had tested and liked. It is TerraSport SPF 30 which is not only non-greasy, rubs in well, non-sticky, and waterproof for 80 minutes, but it rates well on the Environmental Working Group site, which I trust. We are also in the process of testing Vanicream for sensitive skin.]

biking up to the trailhead

stashing the bikes in the trees

hiking up to the basin

skiing out

switching from skis to bikes (what a junk show)

ready to ride out

I love the snow, really love it. When we paused in the shade to fuel up and throw on some long-sleeve shirts (the sun at high altitude can be really harsh), I happily dropped my pack and plopped my butt in the snow. FELT GREAT. I know why Kaweah used to roll around in snow patches on summer hikes. I do it too. But at our house, the snow is a mere memory from a few weeks ago. The earliest wildflowers are starting to show their color in the yard and the hummingbirds are zipping about in super-aggro mode. Where is the relief from the sun? It’s in my freezer and it’s easy to make, so you can have relief in your freezer too. I’m talking about orange creamsicle frozen yogurt. Remember those orange creamsicle pops from the 70s, the decade that tried to kill us all with fake colors and flavors? It was so excellent, I made two versions.

smooth version: vanilla extract, grand marnier, oranges, sugar, plain yogurt

grate the orange zest

juice the oranges

**Jump for more butter**