use real butter

Recipe: blood orange green tea slushie

For a girl who gushes about winter as much as I do, I must admit that I say “I can’t wait for summer!” a lot. Summer is a lovely concept: wildflowers, hiking and backpacking, cool evenings, mountain biking, summer produce, grilling, open windows, trail runs, hummingbirds, ice cold drinks, afternoon lightning storms, neighbor kids screaming and laughing on their trampoline. That’s because my brain has selectively forgotten about mosquitoes, sunburn, heat, the unrelenting sun, hordes of tourists, pine pollen, dusty trails, and tacky, greasy sunblock. Well, summer has arrived.

she can’t go as far anymore, but she still loves her hikes

and the aspens are finally starting to leaf

caught the tail end of the pasque flowers

a cluster of three

the ever-charming western wallflower

There are signs that usually cue me in to the arrival of summer like the first pasque flowers to bloom on our local trails or the yellow-green haze that develops on aspen stands as their leaves bud. We are typically out exploring and observing these changes throughout the month of May, but May got away from us for a number of reasons this year. Catching these visual signals sets my mind at ease as if Nature is on schedule and the routine resumes. But Nature isn’t on schedule. Spring is late in the mountains, hanging about on the couch like a guest who has overstayed their welcome. Now that Summer has arrived it must contend with the mess Spring left behind. It’s not such a bad mess though…

the intersection of spring and summer: the bike-ski

Spring left a lot of snow in the backcountry. A LOT of snow. I heard on my local public radio station that the Colorado snowpack is 254% of average. No kidding. As we rode to the trailhead with our skis on our packs, we passed 12-15 foot drifts of snow. A forest service ranger said we had a good thirty feet of snow sitting on the backcountry. Then he smiled at our skis and said, “Have fun!”

unpack the ski gear, stash the bikes

that’s what i’m talking about

jeremy ducking out of the wind

happy to have the ski boots off and a fast bike ride back

While I’m anxious to have the trails melt out for some good high-country hikes, I have to admit that I love the fact that there is so much snow. It’s like the best of both worlds because I can ski in short sleeves! More exhausting than the physical exertion is the sun exposure. That sun sucks the energy right out of me – or maybe it’s because I get cranky when I’m hot. The rest of the day, I crave cold beverages. My beverage of choice? Ice water. Next? Arnold Palmer (half lemonade, half iced tea). After that? Anything tea slushie with boba. I can dig a slushie year-round, but it is mandatory in summer.

how about a green tea slushie?

with raspberry and blood orange

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Recipe: matcha tea slushie with boba

I am pleased as punch to finally announce Food and Light 2011! I’ve spent the past couple of months working through a lot of spaghetti to get to this point – where things really start happening. We have a phenomenal team of instructors ready to work with YOU for two days this August in stunning downtown Boulder, Colorado. The first day we’ll be at the Rembrandt Yard Art Gallery and the second day we’ll have The Kitchen Upstairs entirely to ourselves! But I must warn you, only sign up if you’re ready to learn and have fun – A LOT of fun.

***Register before March 1, 2011 with the discount code: earlybird11 and get $50 off the registration fee.***

summer is just around the corner

Summer really is just around the corner for a winter-loving girl like myself. I start to get antsy right about now because there are only TWO more months left of the official ski season. You know how quickly two months can fly past, don’t you? Like *snap*! But even when all but the highest peaks have melted out from their blanket of snow, I can still enjoy water in its solid state, but in a glass. Actually, I like iced drinks year-round. Some of us like iced drinks in winter just like some of us like hot tea in summer.

can’t decide if i love matcha for the brilliant green color or the lovely flavor

boba and matcha

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I’m not much of a coffee girl which might explain why I don’t get the coffee culture surrounding coffee houses, cafés, whatever you call them. And contrary to what some might think, I don’t get around downtown Boulder as much as the typical Young Urban Hipster (granted, I am NOT a young urban hipster). Half the time when friends suggest a place to meet in town I have no idea what they are talking about and the only reason I get there is because of Google. But I am slowly learning my way around. One of my favorite places in downtown Boulder happens to be a coffee shop.

atlas purveyors

My friend Andrew introduced me to Atlas Purveyors a year ago when I was looking for a coffee shop to supply the caffeine for our Food and Light participants. Actually, Andrew introduced me to Chris Rosen, one of the owners of Atlas and a genuinely kind and good individual. Chris is the one I blame for my addiction to tea slushies. I’d blame Kit, Brandon, and the rest of the staff at Atlas too, just that I usually hit Atlas during Chris’ shift. I always considered myself immune to the lure of coffee houses because I don’t drink coffee, but Atlas is much more than coffee.

atlas is part of our community

Boulder has a ton of good coffee houses in the downtown Pearl Street area. I once overheard someone walking on Pearl sarcastically remark, “Another coffee shop opening in downtown Boulder? Yeah, I guess we don’t have nearly enough!” But based on how full Atlas is at any given time, one might actually be led to believe that we don’t have enough coffee houses in Boulder. It’s popular and there are many regulars who frequent the establishment to have meetings, to work, and to just hang out.

i enjoy the chalk art and chalk graffiti

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