use real butter

Recipe: strawberry sorbet

I haven’t called. I haven’t emailed. I haven’t blogged. Summer is my busiest time of year. We’re still a month out before true summer, but as soon as the snow has cleared from the ground around our house, we call it summer. This is a painful time for me because I can’t sleep in summer what with all of this amazing daylight. You want to do everything like hike, bike, backpack, travel, cook, entertain, and meet up with all of your people. And work. I wake up with that “not enough sleep” headache and then recall all of the great things I have lined up for the day and I snap right out of sleep-deprivation into happy anticipation. The problem is that there is just too much happy going on, which as you know isn’t really a problem…

andrew at atlas

this is what happens when the curious get their hands on your unattended camera

oh i love me some salad (mod market in boulder)

At a recent stitch-n-bitch, it came to my attention that some of my friends cringe at the sight of their photographs appearing on urb. We are, of course, our own worst critics. While my friends are beyond beautiful to me, I’ll just stick to the food and the crafts. This time we had a special SNB for one of the lot who will be wedded in less than three weeks. We made the favors for her wedding and they are oh so adorable – honey from her own bees. Manisha and I will be shooting the wedding, so I guess she knows to expect 95% food shots – KIDDING!

nichole’s fabulous grilled vegetable salad

rose lemonade

the favors are all done

It was a lovely weekend here with sunshine and oodles of bird activity. I have yet to get myself down to the Boulder Farmer’s Market because I really prefer to remain up in the mountains on the weekends. Jeremy and I spent most of the weekend working, but we did manage to get out for a survey of our local woods. The snow is almost completely melted and the aspens have yet to sprout their shiny green leaves. However, I spied many many arnica leaves emerging from the forest floor and to my delight – the pasque flowers are in full bloom. Yay for summer!

kaweah settles into her brutal summer routine

our pasque flowers are in bloom

I’m fairly certain in one month I’ll be moaning and groaning about the “heat” and wishing for fall to bitch-slap us back into reality. For now though, we are very much enjoying those fruits that usher in the summer months. Strawberries do exactly that. When I see those luscious deep red berries appear in the stores it makes me want to jump up and down and clap my hands.

i love me organic strawberries something fierce

hulling the berries

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: red bean ice cream

Gong Xi Fa Tsai! Xin Nian Quai Le. Wung Shir Rui.

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! Congratulations, good fortune to you, and may you receive all your heart desires. More than any other day of the year, on this day I feel so much good will toward people. Remembrance for the ancestors and loved ones who are no longer here with us. Love for the wonderful people in my life. Gratitude for this life. The big party is done and the house is clean. Our refrigerator is stocked to the hilt with leftovers. It’s a good day. I have every intention of making it a good year too. How about it?

celebrating the new year with friends

When I started celebrating the lunar new year on my own (in college) it was usually Chinese take out for dinner. Slowly, over the years, I learned to make the various dishes that my family typically celebrates with on the eve of the new year. It has grown on me. The longer I have been away from home, the stronger my ties to my culture and the cuisine (it’s almost ALL about the food, yo) have become. My parents, my grandma, my aunts – they all put on their own feasts. My sister used to call me on Chinese New Year’s Eve on her way home from work and ask what she could whip together for dinner because she wanted my nephew to learn the traditions of our family, our culture. Kris was not a cook like the rest of my family, but passing on this celebration to little Benjamin was important to her. I miss those calls.

These days, I try to make a point of sharing the feast with friends. The more people you have, the more dishes you can serve! Plus, I am often heard (loudly) bemoaning the utter lack of decent Chinese food in these parts of Colorado so much that Chinese New Year is the right time to step up to the plate and show people what I mean when I say real Chinese food. Each year I expand the repertoire by a recipe or two. Last night, while cooking for a dozen people, it became painfully clear to me why my parents have outdoors burners with enough BTUs to launch a rocket. Still, I think we all had a good time.

lucky ten ingredient vegetables (everything your heart desires)

my favorite bean sprouts (money)

Here’s what was on the menu:


shrimp toast
potstickers
cellophane noodle soup
lucky ten ingredient vegetable
stir fried soybean sprouts
sautéed chinese barbecue beef with chinese broccoli
kung pao chicken
steamed brown rice
lemon tart
chocolate mousse
green tea matcha ice cream
vanilla bean ice cream
coffee ice cream
red bean ice cream

chocolate mousse shots

kaweah snuggles up with nichole while everyone plays on the nintendo wii

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: espresso chocolate sorbet

kaweah’s big giveaway
I am loving all of the responses to the Kaweah Birthday Giveaway! It looks like the majority of entrants are thinking: Dutch oven, knife, KitchenAid stand mixer, food processor, or baking equipment. Thank you for all of the sweet birthday wishes! You have no idea how many wags and butt wiggles Kaweah would be sending you if she could comprehend anything outside of the Here and Now :)

menu for hope 6
Please take a look at the Menu for Hope 6 post! I definitely encourage you to check out the master list of bid items, but if you are a local in the Denver-Boulder area or plan on a trip out to our beautiful part of the country then please consider placing a few raffle tickets toward two of the terrific items I’m hosting from two amazing local businesses: 1) a $100 gift certificate to The Culinary School of the Rockies (UW24) and 2) a $100 gift certificate to SALT the Bistro (UW25). Thank you for supporting this great campaign!

where are i now?
I find it incredibly cute and entertaining when Californians are bundled up in scarves and hats and it’s 50°F out. Our car rental lady said, “Keep warm!” when she handed us our paperwork. Jeremy and I laughed. We are in the bay area taking care of some matters for my grandma while having a pleasant visit with her. California is so different from where we live. They still have leaves on their trees – some green, some brilliant reds and yellows! We’ve been relishing the array of ethnicities walking about town, the sound of so many languages. We practically cry tears of joy at the countless Mexican, Thai, Viet, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Indian restaurants. When we lived in Southern California we used to take year-round flowers for granted. This morning I squealed with delight at the sight of some weeds blooming on the side of the road. To think just a couple of days ago we were telling one another how warm it was on the slopes.

21°f is positively balmy

Don’t get me started about more Trader Joes than you can shake a stick at. And booze – it’s EVERYWHERE. Not that I’m a big time boozer (you could hardly call me a small time boozer), but it makes me realize how much I truly loathe Colorado’s antiquated liquor laws. Anyhow, let me shut up already and get on with the recipe because I have to get up early…

coffee and chocolate – an alluring combination with dusky charms

**Jump for more butter**