use real butter

Recipe: candied lemon slices

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Despite being insanely busy and turning down a lot of fun, exciting opportunities and events this month (only because I’m doing a ton of other fun, exciting things already!), I promised myself that I would participate in Barbara‘s annual LiveSTRONG: With a Taste of Yellow event. This is important to me, not because I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, but because I know a lot of people who had or have cancer. I have lost beautiful friends and family to cancer. And just last night, I learned that someone who saved my life is fighting for his own right now – fighting cancer. Barbara holds this food and wine blogging event each year in support of The Lance Armstrong Foundation to raise cancer awareness around the world. Last year was the first time I participated.



So if you want to participate there is still time (Barbara has extended the submission date to September 18th). Whip up something yellow – be it savory or sweet, and hop over to Barbara’s page for instructions on how to be a part of LiveSTRONG: With a Taste of Yellow. My submission is past the jump.

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I’m in the middle of the “getting to know you” period with my new camera. I haven’t taken it out for serious shooting yet, but I have managed to screw around a bit. Of course, the inaugural photo had to be Kaweah.

our sleep olympian hard at work on her exhausting training regimen

But you didn’t see the first few captures because I always shoot in RAW and my software was not compatible (i.e. it’s OLD) with the latest Adobe RAW version. After yet another upgrade (phase 4 now complete), we are now cooking with gas! I jumped from CS2 to CS4 (sorry CS3, never knew ya) and I like it so far… as long as it doesn’t require a desktop upgrade because we have all of $.52 to our names now.

the last of the harebells

the local stands are still predominantly green

Our nights are flirting with frosts again and it is starting to smell like autumn. I have apples on the brain too! Okay, but we have just under two weeks left of summer, so let’s not shortchange anyone.

organic lemon

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: grilled pizza

I love those holiday weekends where you get three days off! Jeremy and I actually worked for most of the weekend, but I quite enjoy his company – even when we’re working. Of course, it feels like Monday today even though it is Tuesday and I’m starting to freak out that I am missing a day where I thought there should be more time. September is FRENZY time, but in a very very good way (as long as I don’t lose it, then yes, ’tis good). Last Thursday, my lovely Manisha and I met with Marc and his good friend, Brian for a quick happy hour nosh in Boulder. The guys were on a road trip across (and around) the country. Marc is the husband of dear, sweet Bri (Figs with Bri), one of our own – a fellow food blogger who passed away last November from breast cancer. It was a delight to finally meet Marc. He is as gentle and warm as anyone you could ever find. We all had a wonderful time before the fellas had to hit the road.

marc and brian on their way to carbondale

Phase 3 of my upgrade is complete (now on to phases 4 and 5). Phase 3 is the reason for all of the other upgrades because this bad boy is a pretty demanding little brat (but he’s MY demanding little brat now). Don’t think for a second that the price tag on the camera body is your only cost, because it isn’t. *sob*

i call it (on the left) the big one

Okay, before people start emailing and asking if they need a D3x to take pictures for their food blog, the answer is an unequivocal “NO. Are you insane?!” You’d have to be smoking crack to think you need 24.5 megapixels to shoot a cookie to post on a blog, because… YOU DON’T. I continue to shoot with my old camera in the kitchen which is more than adequate. The new camera is intended for outdoor use, under adult supervision only…

the color is coming

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: mojitos

I thought we had escaped this year. We didn’t have a single hummingbird crash and burn on our deck (that we knew of) this spring. The frequency of accidents goes way up in May/June, but this year was accident-free… Then this week, we had 2 hummingbirds brain themselves on our windows within a 24 hour span. I hate to say this, but I am now rather practiced at reviving little birds – especially the hummingbirds. Yesterday’s hummingbird was the tiniest and worst off to date. I honestly didn’t think he’d make it.

not feeling so good

This little guy didn’t show many of the signs the other hummingbirds exhibit as they begin to recover. Usually they open their eyes after a little bit, start to open their beaks and taste the air with their tongues, sort their wings, look around. This guy just breathed rapidly with eyes shut and feathers in disarray for an hour. I mixed some sugar water (ratio: 1 part sugar to 4 parts water – and for the love of all that is good and sensible, DON’T feed them Splenda or any other fake sugar – hummingbirds need the real deal!) and held it up so his beak would dip into it. Ten minutes went by and nothing. Then I saw the feathers on his throat vibrate and noticed he was drinking! A few minutes after that he opened his eyes and watched me as he drank. Without any warning, he slowly levitated above the deck and zipped off to a nearby tree where he flitted from one branch to another until he flew away. Kinda made my heart fly too.

Now it is full steam ahead! Phases 2 and 3 of the upgrade will be complete this week. If I weren’t so busy, I’d be giddy.

i named them butter and sugar

huge ass L-plate

When last I hosted a stitch-n-bitch, Kitt offered to bring up mojito fixins. I had my first mojito just a few months ago and I’m not much of a boozer, but it sounds like the perfect summer cocktail to enjoy with friends, doesn’t it? Sure! Kitt’s mojitos were a total hit. I was so distracted hostessing that I completely forgot to actually try one. So when we had friends over this week, I hit Kitt up for her awesome recipe, which she ever so sweetly emailed to me.

basic greens: mint and lime

**Jump for more butter**