use real butter

Recipe: stir-fried beef with chinese barbecue sauce

There just is not enough time in a day. Or a week for that matter. It’s February! How did this happen? Either my memory sucks (always a possibility) or more likely than not, I’ve packed my calendar to the hilt. Okay both. Work hard. Play hard. Sleep is for losers. Last night was Ignite Boulder 8 and it was the largest Ignite in the world topping out around 830 attendees! Word. Every time I go I’m amazed and impressed by the organizers, the speakers, and the community. I’ve snuck peeks at other Ignites around the country online and well… *yawners*. Boulder’s Ignite is aptly named (it’s IGNITE, not FALL ASLEEP). Every time I come home after an Ignite Boulder, my face hurts from laughing and smiling so much.

head honcho andrew hyde

mel sportin’ the coolest shirt (the back reads: “poke me”)

thank you, organizers!

The ephemerides tell us that the Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year – year of the Tiger) and Valentine’s Day coincide this Sunday, February 14th. Even though I scrunch my nose at Valentine’s Day, there isn’t really a conflict because the Big Partay for Chinese New Year is on Chinese New Year’s Eve. Chinese New Year is the most important holiday on my calendar. I can get away with blowing off Christmas and Thanksgiving routinely, but the week of Chinese New Year is my frenzy time. It’s a good frenzy because I like to share the celebration with friends.

red envelopes, fruit

In planning the menu for this weekend, I had to balance logistics with tradition. There are certain dishes I will not be preparing because it’s too time-consuming or it isn’t enough to serve a dozen people or I don’t have enough burners to cover that many stir-fries. For a beef recipe, I decided to try something new – stir-fried beef with Chinese BBQ sauce (sa tsa or sa cha).

it’s mostly flank steak and green onions

easier to slice semi-frozen

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: navy bean soup

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend doing whatever it is that you do. As a rule, Jeremy and I do not participate in any form of Super Bowl anything. Typically, we spend that particular Sunday each year hiking or skiing and this year was no exception. Mother Nature can be a cruel prankster at times. While she dumped a few feet of snow on Virginians who don’t know what to do with said snow (other than to bitch and moan about it), we in Colorado got some scraps that amounted to a little fresh powder in the mountains. Naturally, we ski it.

snowing lightly in the glades

There are certain foods I crave after a day out in the snow. The most common would be the ubiquitous hamburger because you smell them as you ski past the mountain lodges and Breckenridge even has a picture of a juicy burger with all the fixings on some of the lift chairs (those bastard marketing geniuses)! Jeremy and I are pretty good about withstanding the lure of the $12 burger because we usually have some nice hearty soup or stew waiting for us at home.

loaded with nutritious vegetables

and remember that ham i brought home from virginia?

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: profiteroles

Dear loyal readers, stalkers (yeah, I know who you are – don’t think I’m not stalking you right back!), and people who don’t know how they got here: I’m guest posting at Thursday Night Smackdown. I made profiteroles and there is even a Kaweah cameo. So hop on over and give Michelle some comment love because that’s how we roll!

behold the orbs of awesome