Let’s just put it out there … one week. Thanksgiving. Followed closely by our December holidays nipping at its heels. Light-bulb moment: Promise yourself, right now and out loud, to embrace these next few weeks with joy and gratitude. (I can’t hear you.) Still skeptical? Why not dig deeper to pull up your kick-ass determination…
4 RECIPES = INSTANT GRATIFICATION = APPLAUSE
For someone who doesn’t like to cook, my friend, Deb Overeynder, certainly knows the way around her kitchen. Whatever she makes, she goes big, at least doubling the recipe. That’s why I often get a text, “Mary, do you feel like chicken enchiladas tonight?” or “I mixed up a big batch of soup. Want some?”…
MILANESE = BREADED & SAUTÉED
STORIES from THE GANT Last Sunday afternoon Paul, a bellmen here at The Gant, came up to the condo to help me move furniture. During our conversation he mentioned making dinner for friends the night before. “What did you serve?” I asked. “I made two Tri Tips,” he replied, rather nonchalantly, “and had mashed potatoes…
CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES for the WIN
GIRL POWER – So much to share this week. Let’s go…..My California granddaughters, Clara (L) and Emma, are 16 and 18. For nine years of their lives, Michael and I lived nearby, seeing them often. After he died and I moved home to Aspen, everything changed. My one hesitancy about moving 900 miles back to…
Palindrome Week Panzanella
FRIDAY the THIRTEENTH According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac and who doesn’t have a copy of that hanging out on the kitchen counter, if you’re superstitious, be wary. COOKtheBOOKFRIDAYS, the thirteenth of September and a Harvest Moon are in spooky sync. In America we haven’t had a nationwide Friday the 13th full moon since October…
NO KIDDING: YOU MUST BAKE THIS
NEWSFLASH: SELF-CARE IS NOT SELFISH It needs to be said. Summer arrived, lingered a bit and in the blink of an eye, vamoosed. Or, so it seems. I’ve spent the last week dealing with that. And, you? For me it’s September Spa & Self-care month, something I invented ten or so years ago. Honestly I’ve…
MEET-UP: THATSKINNYCHICKCANBAKE
Writing today’s post makes me happy and quite nostalgic. This summer marks six years since returning to Aspen to this comfy Gant condo where, I assured the front office executives, I would live ‘a year or two.’ Funny how that happens, isn’t it? SUMMER’S SLIP, SLIP, SLIPPING AWAY By Labor Day Aspen will seem lighter….
Peach-Jalapeno Cornbread & Corn Chowder
When it’s vacation time or if visiting an unfamiliar area, I’m hoping you go all Dora (or, Dick)-the-Explorer. Whether it’s eating, drinking, sightseeing or finding lodging to fit the coins in your pocket, there’s expectation in getting it right. In fact quite often a trip is as successful as the research and planning that go…
GOOD, BETTER, (I CHOOSE) BEST
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. Ferris Bueller GOING for GLORY, IT’S SUMMER: We’ve sprinted into August. If your past two months haven’t included Joy, Mirth and Gaiety, take these next two months and try again. Go for Glory. We all expect dumpy days. It’s not that I…
HERE’S SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW
Summer in Aspen is a perennial Mad Dash surrounded by an undeniably extraordinary setting. With its intangible quality of art, cultural and intellectual pursuits mixed with multiple sports opportunities, no one, just no one, can do it all. As evidenced by the plethora of minutiae displayed below, I still try: In mid-June five semi-trailer trucks…
THINKING SUMMER, STILL SNOWING
In the Spirit of Full Disclosure, I never watched Game of Thrones. Not one show… ever. Which makes you feel sorta like the last kid picked at recess for the kickball team. Counterpoint: Call me a When Calls the Heart super fan. That show just finished it’s sixth season on the soppy, feel-good Hallmark Channel….
The Dorie&David Show. Let’s Eat.
COOKtheBOOKFRIDAYS How many cookbooks live in your house? Let’s count ‘em. Disregarding my file folders of clipped recipes and following this year’s annual purge, I counted 86. After separating the wheat from the chaff, I fingered 8 for the deserted island and 11 that I’d sorely miss. The rest? Toodle loo. Thanks to Google, we…
