DIG IN

Each year, in late September, I take inventory of what’s tucked away in my pantry, hanging out on my shelves and threatening freezer burn in my fridge. As diligent as one tries to be, aren’t we all guilty of buying more than we need and using less than we can? But...

Please know I don’t normally “do” boxed cakes. Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines don’t usually live in my pantry. But recently, when asked to bake a chocolate cake for a special birthday, I went there. It’s always amazed me how adding pudding in the mix, an extra egg,...

In the late Eighties my daughter Melissa, a junior at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, spent her junior semester abroad in Sumatra, Indonesia. Michael and I were less than pleased about her destination choice but to no avail. She was headstrong, independent and...

For years, as you’ve heard me say, my cardinal photography rule is to never let a picture get in front of the experience. That’s why I missed grabbing a photo of the Mama Bear shepherding her two babies from the Rio Grande Trail recently and the Golden Eagle swooping...

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB GALETTE If you were raised in a small Iowa farm town, you’re probably not too bothered by garter snakes. When two friends who have community garden plots gave me carte blanche to their rhubarb patches, the little guy who slithered under the leaves...

“If we don't have a place for nature in our heart, how can we expect nature to have a place for us.” ― Abhijit Naskar. With its 300 days of sunshine, Colorado is a great place to get right with Mother Nature. One word for Springtime in the Rockies? Glorious. This...

I learned to ski in Aspen during the seventies. My first summer visit was with my husband Michael in 1987. I’d never hiked before. Soon after arriving we drove to the Maroon Bells to hike the Crater Lake trail. It's a rocky 3.4 mile round trip at an altitude from...

Dear Gentle Readers, Blood Orange Cake with Sea Salt Roasted Nuts There are so many reasons not to diet nor to even try in March. It’s easy for me to justify almost anything but dieting when we’re 13 months into the Pandemic? No. Say it loudly. No. This post is about...

Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea, Lentil & Noodle Soup with Falafel The more it snows in Colorado, the better it is for agricultural support, the recreation community and our precious albeit beleaguered Colorado River. I grew up in Iowa, a state bordered on the west by...

It’s come to this. Three weeks ago I stood at my kitchen sink having my first cup of coffee and heard myself say,  “I am just so over you, Mary. You don’t make me laugh anymore.” Banana-Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Caramel Sauce First, here’s to acknowledging I...

When I returned to Aspen in 2013 I would occasionally have dinner with a family friend from Chicago who summered in Aspen. Since we both had lived in Des Moines where our husbands were pals, we never lacked for conversation. One thing we often discussed was her...