another beautiful day in paradise

 Our nephew Tyler is here, visiting from Phoenix.  So of course we want to show him all of the great sights that are "right here in a our backyard."  (And for me, of course, that means showing off Aspen trees.)

 Tyler enjoys hiking as much as we do.  However, we wanted to avoid any real strenuous hiking today, because we are all running the Bolder Boulder tomorrow.

 So where did we go?  Meyer's Gulch, of course!  It never disappoints.  Today was no exception: great weather, wonderful destination, pleasant trail for groups.  Perfect.

more back yard updates

 Tom has been extremely busy.  If you compare this upper photo to the May 12th photo, you'll see what I mean.  Although I don't expect any fruit for a couple of years, I think it's cool that the apple tree already has blossoms!  (It must be happy, yes?)

Tom has doubled the size of our garden.  He hasn't planted anything yet, however -- because he's building a fence to keep out the rabbits.  (From the bottom railing to the ground will have "rabbit fencing" applied -- which is kinda like chicken wire.)  Once the space is protected from the rabbits, Tom will be planting his peppers & tomatoes (which he started from seed in the basement in March), and planting everything else by seed.  He's worried that this will end up being a 'late start' (especially the seeds) but I think we'll be fine...

one step closer

Before...

...And after.  

Hopefully some time next week we will "flip the switch" -- and be nearly energy neutral (we'll be producing more electricity than we need, but we'll still have a gas bill).  Between the solar and doubling the garden size, we'll be one step closer to being "off the grid."

Happy Birthday, Tom!

Peanut Butter Cup Tart

Partly for Tom's birthday, and partly because I know no one who likes Reese's Peanut Butter Cups better than Erik Nicewarner... I made this tart this week.  It turned out well, so I'll share the recipe:

Start with your favorite chocolate tart crust.  I say this because the recipe that I followed originally didn't work out (AT ALL).  But after I scrapped it and used the Baking Illustrated chocolate tart recipe, I was fine.  (As far as I can tell, you basically use any sweet tart crust/pastry recipe, and substitute 1/4 cup of cocoa power for 1/4 cup of the flour.)

After prepping your tart crust, the rest is easy:

6 oz white chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used dark chocolate, instead -- and it was awesome!)

1/2 tsp coarse sea salt, for sprinkling (we thought there was enough salt in the peanut butter and omitted this)

For the filling & topping:

In a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, begin to melt the white chocolate.  When nearly melted, remove from the heat and stir until smooth.  Let cool.  (Which I didn't.)  Stir in the peanut butter and kosher salt.  Pour the filling into the cooled tart shell, spreading it to the edges in an even layer.  Refrigerate until set, about 30 min.

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer.  Remove from the heat.  Add the semisweet chocolate and stir until smooth.  Spread the chocolate topping over the peanut butter filling and chill until set, about 45 min.  Sprinkle the tart with sea salt and serve.

group effort for dinner

Erik is here visiting from dinner and we are having lots of fun.  This evening, our dinner was a group effort.  Tom caught the trout (last fall, that is... he only saves fish in the fall when they're fully grown) and smoked it.  Erik made the veg (sautéed kale with onions and peppers).  I made dessert.  (If it's good, I'll post a separate post with the recipe... I'm optimistic about this one.)

 YUM.  As Tom points out: it doesn't get much more local & sustainable than this!

back in Colorado

 Erik is here visiting from Phoenix.  So the general plan is for us to hang out & go hiking on my days off, and for Tom and Erik to go fishing (and drink beer) on the days I have to work.
Today we hiked at Walker Ranch.  It was a warm 7.5 mile hike; we were glad for the cloud cover.  I thought this blue heron was really cool; I've never seen one before.

 I am not yet familiar with this flower -- but spring is definitely springing in the foothills around here...

 The Continental Divide views were nice.

I liked this back-lit/shadow-looking photo of the boys.  All in all, we had a great day.

another great visit to CA

 I am extremely grateful that I had another chance to visit Paul and Kathee last week.  I truly consider this a gift.
The trip was orchestrated so that I flew into Sacramento, and my parents picked me up on their way into town.  Thanks, Mom & Dad!
I told my dad to meet me at the bottom of the escalator, where the red rabbit sculpture is.  Who could miss a gigantic red rabbit sculpture?  (To get a sense of the size, look at the people down below the rabbit...)  Well, my dad never saw the rabbit.  Good thing the airport is small and we still found each other!

One of the great things about my visit was that I had a chance to celebrate my 40th birthday with Paul, Kathee and my parents.  They took me to a delicious restaurant (The Waterboy), where we had great food & wine.
I hope it won't be too long before I see Paul & Kathee again.  I'm cherishing every moment.

progress on the back yard

Tom and I decided this summer to have the backyard re-landscaped.  This hopefully will help us achieve three goals: use less water, have more garden space, and have more space for other "edibles" (such as fruit trees).
So, despite the fact that Tom's back lawn looked pristine this year, we started out by having half of it ripped out.  Then entire space that is dirt (in the upper photo) used to be lawn.  Bye-bye, lawn!

The next step was doubling the plot-size of the garden, adding some brick walkways, adding some fruit trees, and adding a large well which will hold a good-sized strawberry patch.
The next steps will be adding herbs, flowers, a "bridge" (that will go over a rock "river"), and a bench (I think).

journal club rocks!

 Tom orchestrated another successful journal club.  Opener: polenta, pesto & red pepper terrine.

 Followed by soy-ginger salmon salad...

 And then a main course of roasted chicken with citrus & pernoud.  This recipe came from Tom's new "Jerusalem" cookbook, thanks to Kathee & Paul.

And, of course, dessert: a berry medley in white wine, topped with whipped cream and orange zest.  Delicious.