seriously simple: honey glazed seared salmon with herbed compound butter over a garlic pea puree

I can practically hear the collective groan that would ensue if I started off by telling you just how simple this dish is.  Just how easy, how effortless, how I threw it together in twenty-minutes-flat.  After taking one glimpse at the clearly assembled and orchestrated photo above I wouldn’t blame you for threatening to abandon the ship of this here little blog more quickly than that dastardly Italian Captain – and for good reason.

No one likes to be made to feel thisbig when it comes to what they have the time and energy to put onto their dinner tables, and by just breezily saying ‘just how eaaaasy this is – really ’twas nothing!’ without addressing those days you spent marinating, those hours you spent braising, or those mad dashes around town you made to source all of the incredibly rare and expensive ingredients that were called for – well, that’s not really fair.

But this dish right here, it requires none of those things.

This, is truly simple.

You see this is the kind of dish that you make when you want things to look all impressive and pulled together, when in reality the dirty clothes are shoved into the closet, the couch has been repositioned to cover that weird stain (what even is that?!), and the apron you’re wearing is there to strategically cover that spot of red wine on your cashmere sweater that you knew was there – but wanted to wear anyway.

You know, the old “Ohmygoodnesslookatthisstain!  This must have just happened.  (Ya. Three weeks ago.)”

(Guilty as charged.)

a lighter ranch: bright & fresh buttermilk – greek yogurt dressing with fresh herbs

In my fantasy world, ranch dressing would be the best choice at the salad bar.  It would be a totally healthy and viable option to dunk my turkey and swiss sandwich in and something wholly nutritious to plunge my pizza crust in.

In that same fantasy world, sitting down to write this blog would be an exercise that burned 600 calories an hour, my favorite yoga pants at Lululemon would be $9.95 a pair, and I would say silly things like ‘Wow! I am just so toned I don’t even need to work out today!’ every morning when I gazed into my mirror.

But while I still have my feet out of the clouds and planted on terra firma, I will be most definitely dragging myself to the gym, in some way-too-pricey pants (but they make your legs look so good!), all to offset the hour-at-least that I will spent tonight on my rear editing some pictures of salmon and thinking of stories to tell you.

It’s a fantasy world after all, and of course a dressing that is traditionally made with mayonnaise and sour cream is delicious — but it’s not healthy.  Oh no.  Especially not when pizza is used as the vehicle to bring it directly to your mouth, or when it’s thickly drizzled atop a salad that also contains things like bacon, egg, avocado, cheese, and chicken (Cobb salad, yes — that’s me giving you the stink eye).

bits of my (very long & extended) weekend: february 26th

{my favorite martini: hendrick’s gin, st. germain, and rosemary}

I can hardly call this a recap of a ‘weekend,’ when in reality I left my house early last Wednesday morning and returned back to Colorado late last night.  It was  more of a five-day excursion, and one I was lucky enough to spend with 9 women from college who I am fortunate enough to count as some of my best friends on Planet Earth.  The occasion was a planned cozy girls weekend spent over East and down South in Highlands, North Carolina, at a stunning house tucked atop one of the beautiful rolling mountains that belongs to my dear friend Haley’s family.

The trip started out on very shaky ground, as after fumbling my way to the Denver airport with the pug and my luggage in tow, I encountered a snarl of people with scowls on their faces standing in front of the Delta check in counter – my check in counter.  My original travel plans to fly to Charlotte were totally botched due to insanely high winds at DIA, and I found myself at 9:30am manhandling the dog and holding a boarding ticket to Atlanta….for a flight that wasn’t departing until 5:24pm — 8 hours later.  Trying not to be too discouraged, I managed to bide my time with the pooch (and without causing any international incidents) until 2:30, when I hopefully and quietly stood next to another totally full Atlanta flight that was (not encouragingly) calling for volunteers.  Somehow, the flight had an empty seat with my name on it, and I dashed down the jet-way without looking back.  Though I missed out on arriving in NC Wednesday night and meeting one of my best friend’s new baby babies (by far the only negative of the trip), I was relieved to be making it out anywhere in what I gather to be fairly serious wind conditions.

I made the drive from Atlanta to North Carolina with my friend Chaise on Thursday, and while driving down the idyllic fourteen-mile winding road that led us to the gorgeously appointed home, I saw my cell signal flicker from weak to not-a-chance-in-hell service levels.  Though I felt a brief pang of panic (No email! No phone! No texting! No Instagram! No Pinterest! No Facebook! Quelle horreur!), knowing that I could do nothing about it and instead spend four days untethered to technology relaxing with some of my favorite people in the world was incredibly liberating.

We spent the weekend doing a whole lot of everything – and nothing – at the same time.  There was an abundance of time spent languishing in PJ’s far after the breakfast hour, and too many glasses of red wine to count.  We cooked in two delicious meals – chicken & fish tacos Friday, and Kerri’s famous green & red chilis Saturday – and had a baby shower brunch with breakfast casserole and mimosas to celebrate the upcoming July birthdate of our friend Amy’s first baby boy.  We light fires and recounted memories of the ‘wild’ days of our collegiate youth, and it was the best weekend to reconnect with some of the most important people in my life.  We are ten women in such different stages of our lives, in such different parts of the country, and with different ideas and mindsets of how to live our lives; it’s the little but very necessary weekends like these that keep the glue that holds us all together so strong.

Here are a couple snaps of the weekend:

{impatiently waiting at DIA}

{clowning around and sending SOS photo text messages to friends after finding we were stranded}

{my first purchases anytime i am on the road down south: boiled peanuts & a scratch ticket}

{champagne toasts after our arrival}

{the chandelier of the lovely home we were lucky enough to stay in}

{roaring fires to stave off the chilly night winds}

{the prettiest arrangements at brunch}

{the guestbook for the home, sweetly named ‘hog heaven’}

{and the adorable little ‘hog’ touches all over the house}

{mango, black bean, and avocado salsa for the tacos}

{the luckiest little pug, to be invited on such a fun weekend}

I had such an amazing time, and as always, had the familiar twangs of sadness set in when I boarded my plane, by myself, to head home.  But I am already looking forward to the next weekend, and no matter when we can pull that together, that in itself is reason to smile on a Monday.

I hope you enjoyed the weekend!

xo

the best oven baked ribs & housemade BBQ sauce

One of my best friends, the lovely and hy-sterical Knoxville-born-and-bred Miss Chaise, used to always refer to our dearly departed little Lily Bean as her little bag of GRITS.

That is,

Girl
Raised
In
The
South

To all you naww-thaners and way-out-west-ers.  One of my closest friends had taken a shining to that tiny little pug of mine; the snub-nosed pup that was born and raised for the first two of her eight short short years below one all important marker of American Southern tradition: the Mason-Dixon line.

If you were brought up outside the confines of this country’s most Southeastern quadrant, those three little words most likely hold little sentimental value.  Being a Cape Cahd girl through-and-through, I most certainly cannot claim Southern roots, values, or that molasses-thick-slow-drawl accent that seems to get more substantial with every sip of sweet tea and swig of bourbon that those who are rooted there so often display.

I can, however, take claim to spending four of the most glorious years holed up in Tallahassee, Florida, and if anyone knows anything about Tallahassee it’s that this part of ‘God’s Country’ is brimming with good ole’ boys driving mud-crusted pickups, jean shorts and cheap American beer, and utterly delicious finger-lickin’-oh-mah-goodness-good barbeque.

bits of my (long) weekend: february 20th (iphone / instagram edition)

{feel good affirmations at the fox theatre, boulder}

Having not woken up in my own bed the past two weekends, it felt like such a luxury to have three full days to savor in their glorious entirety sans alarm clocks or busy agendas.  It was one of those weekends that reminds me why I love it so much out here: endless blue skies for miles every day, a few great runs – and even an exhilarating outdoor swim – to take in the crisp mountain air, and just enough activity to keep me feeling occupied, but still fully rested.

Friday evening we met friends for a killer happy hour at Cafe Aion, consisting of multiple glasses of tempranillo, the most delicious fresh squeezed margaritas, and amazing tapas to share (everything at Aion is homemade, and the fried cauliflower, mussels, and housemade charcuterie will not disappoint!) .  Feeling extra naughty at the prospect of having Monday off (because hey, it was essentially only Thursday anyway then, right?), we carried on over for a few more libations at Shine, and then headed back up to The Hill to catch a Soulive concert at The Fox.

Needless to say, Saturday morning we were feeling just a teensy bit lazy, and decided strong coffee and salty sandwiches at home sounded much (much!) more enticing than the gym.  (Procrastination – that’s what three day weekends are for anyway, right?)  We spent the rest of the day hiking with the puglet in North Boulder, driving around looking at houses (so fun!), and posting up at our favorite brewery for some much needed sustenance (craft brews and burritos) and competitive board-game play.

The remainder of my weekend was back on track in the workout and healthy eating arenas (for the most part – damn you early Easter candy at Target!), and I’m looking forward to another fun evening tonight with some good company at a clothing swap that my friend Stephanie’s  is hosting.    She is making a truffled white mushroom lasagna (I mean — anything containing those four words…..oh em gee) and I am making a kale and apple salad with hazelnuts and ricotta salata (similar to this one) that I’m hoping will play nicely.

Of course no Monday night is complete without making fun of Courtney’s weird mouth and being continuously horrified by her disgusting attitude (LOSING!), and I can’t think of a better way to cap off the weekend than sinking into my couch with a glass of wine in front of the fire.

Here are a few shots of my weekend, according to my iPhone:

{serious BLAT operations [bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado]}

nothing better when nursing a [slight] hangover

tempranillo & appetizers

{the most delicious tapas and bites around}

{reminders of my old stomping ground still linger all around}

{blue skies for miles on a saturday in north boulder}

{our kitchen bar cart catching the sunlight}

{braised beef burrito for me, tacos for him, beers for all}

{even the pug}

{chopped salad for post-workout recovery}

{a monday morning swim with a view, followed immediately by much needed dunk in the hottub}

{a few very competitive rounds of connect 4}

{a pair of shiny candlesticks to brighten up our mantle that i spied on superduper clearance at… [gasp!]...target}

{a favorite reminder of our wedding}

{an early bird grocery run – the best of all kinds}

{leading the way}

{cocktailing at shine}

{very aware of the impending bikini season}

{warming my toes after a brisk hike}

{one pooped pug pup}