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Recipe: pistachio rolled baklava

I’ve been so wrapped up with work the past few weeks that I kept missing sunsets and sunrises, except to notice that I missed them. While I walked Kaweah Monday evening, I had one eye on the dog and another eye on the sky. A few clouds overhead began to tint gold as we walked back to the house and I got antsy. Potentially good colors. “Come on, little girl. We need to get moving.” But Kaweah was intent on sniffing every single twig, pine cone, and rock for at least ten seconds apiece. I glanced up and noted that the yellow had become intense with hints of orange. Looking further east, the clouds were orange and pink. I placed my hand on Kaweah’s side and tried gently guiding her in the direction of the house only to have her take interest in the next rock. Determined not to miss yet another sunset, I scooped her up in my arms and carried her across the yard into the house. “I’ll make it up to you with unlimited sniffing tomorrow,” I said, patting her belly as I set her down at the door.

i got my sunset

It’s easy to get sucked into work. Too easy. And that usually comes at the expense of other things. I got together with a bunch of girlfriends for a potluck this past weekend and realized that I hadn’t seen most of them in over a year. But I’m so glad I went because it was nice to just chill out, cook, and talk. I watched my friend’s son playing in the yard while we adults ate lunch on the patio. That carefree kind of play. I think carefree play has been missing from my life these days. Gotta fix that.

the joys of sweet youth

The dish I brought to the potluck was a dessert. Actually, I brought two desserts – some huckleberry ice cream and baklava. Baklava, I can make in my sleep. I’ve been making it since fourth grade which is… a long time. This time, the same old baklava just didn’t appeal to me, so I tried to mix it up a little.

butter, phyllo dough, sugar, pistachios, orange blossom water, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, extra pistachios

place the pistachios, spices, sugar, and orange blossom water in a food processor

pulse it to coarse sand texture

Pistachios cost much more than walnuts, but they are worth it. They are treasured for the gorgeous green color as much as for the flavor. I used organic raw unsalted pistachios to get the best results and added cardamom, nutmeg, and orange blossom water to the usual cinnamon. The motivation was that these additional flavors would complement the pistachios.

keep the phyllo sheets under a damp towel

brush butter on one half of a sheet

fold the sheet in half and butter the top

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Recipe: chinese shaved ice dessert (bao bing)

The Crazy Rain stopped earlier this week and now we seem to be back to our late summer pattern of cooler nights, warm days, and afternoon showers. This ping-pong cycling of temperatures has me donning pants, long-sleeve tops, and fuzzy socks in the mornings and shorts by noon. At night, we tuck Kaweah into her doggy bed with her doggy quilt to ward the cold away from her old bones. I thought we were well on our way to fall, but a trip to Boulder (the long way) dragged me through temperatures in the 80s. It’s never too chilly for me to enjoy a frozen dessert, but late summer is a great time for everyone to indulge in a nice cold treat.

i got this on amazon for $25 this summer (glass bowl not included)

When we had the rare snow day in southern Virginia, Kris and I would stay at home and watch cartoons, slide down the stairs riding in our sleeping bags, jump from untold heights pretending to be superheroes (Green Lantern – I was always Green Lantern), and go play in the snow. To warm up, Kris would always make tea. But we were kids and the tea was bitter, so we added (too much) sugar. The tea was also too hot, so Kris would scoop up some fresh clean snow in a mug and then pour the hot sweet tea over it. I started my love affair with tea slushies at an early age.

the ice disk

shaved ice

The paucity of snow days didn’t deter us from our slushie fix. My parents had an old school manual crank shaved ice machine. Now that I think of it, it was dangerous as hell – but that’s what the 70s were all about! We’d freeze the ice disk and then take turns grinding the ice into soft fluffy flakes, then douse it with artificially flavored and colored syrups. Again – the 70s.

water and brown sugar

dissolve over high heat

brown sugar syrup

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Recipe: chinese dan dan noodles

I hope you all had a great weekend whether it was a Fourth of July long weekend or just a regular weekend. We watched throngs of visitors flock to Crested Butte and happily saw their numbers dwindle as the weekend wound down. I’ve noticed that when people come to the mountains they 1) like to sit in the driveway of their vacation rental (why?!) and 2) burn things. I’m okay with #1 if they’d just quit with the #2. Meanwhile, Jeremy and I have been hosting my parents and exploring more of the area both with them (restaurants) and without them (trails).

and fishing – dad loves fishing

grabbing cocktails in mount crested butte before dinner

The great thing about the mountains is that wildflowers peak at different times depending on things like elevation, slope aspect, amount of sun, moisture (both from the sky and from streams), and their species. Some spots are nearing peak bloom while others are just getting started. Regardless of their state, it is simply invigorating to get out and see it for yourself in some of the finest scenery Colorado has to offer.

mule ears

mint family

mule ears and larkspur

hiking the “oh be joyful” trail

A week before my parents arrived in Colorado, I called to ask them if they had a recipe for dan dan mien or dan dan noodles. I hadn’t ever had the dish before, but several friends raved about the noodles and asked if I had a recipe. I did not. Turns out my parents didn’t have a recipe either, but they definitely had their opinions on how the noodles should be prepared. I went to the interwebs and found what I thought would taste good. Several days after I had photographed and eaten the noodles, my parents inquired about my search and their curiosity was piqued when I said I had tried a recipe.

me: ground pork
dad: no, no ground pork
me: za tsai (preserved mustard green)
dad: (makes a face of disgust and disbelief)
me: peanuts
dad: nobody puts peanuts in dan dan mien!

When Mom told me what she puts in her version of the noodles, Dad interjected and said her recipe was also incorrect. Then they argued over what goes into the noodles. I just want you to know that even though I liked this version of dan dan mien, it is not sanctioned by either of my parents. Their recipe may be forthcoming, if they can ever agree on what goes into the noodles… For now though, you can chew on this.

the sauce: chili oil, black vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, sugar

adding black vinegar to the grated garlic, soy sauce, and sugar

whisk in the chili oil

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