DIG IN

One of our last hikes, a birthday celebration, to the Pike Creek Cookhouse in Ashcroft. We four women are volunteer Rangers. Our bookends? Ever supportive husbands.

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald Salade de Chèvre Chaud Since our High Country temps are playing in the 80's this week, 'crisp' doesn't come to mind. Despite that, it's time to turn the page. 'Crisp' will soon arrive,...

Mondays at the majestic Maroon Bells. With Donna Grauer Last Monday I was at the Maroon Bells watching as tourists disembarked from the shuttle bus that brought them the 8 miles from Aspen Highlands to the magnificent Bells. More than 300,000 visitors come to be awed...

It was a balmy April evening, my three-month visit to Washington DC about to end, when I went to the Kennedy Center. Although I’d taken an extensive Center tour in March, this was a live, evening performance with the National Symphony Orchestra performing Fauré’s...

Presidents Day Weekend, My Neighbor's Porch, a Native American and our flag. Six weeks and halfway through my deep dive into visiting Washington D.C’s cultural, historical, and artistic treasures, the stars and stripes are still flying, the cherry blossom florets...

Souvlaki-Style Chicken Breast with Crema and Arugala Feta Salad Rainy Sunday Morning Greetings from D.C. For the past twelve years of my wanting a respite from Aspen’s high-alpine and occasionally bone-chilling winter climate, I’ve escaped for four months to warmer...

A SIMPLE DESSERT Recently I was invited to a dinner party. There would be eight. I asked the hostess what I could bring. “Oh,” she said casually, “just bring a simple dessert.” With the holiday season in high octane I decided my s-i-m-p-l-e indulgent contribution...

During the past many decades, The Washington Post has published more than 10,000 online recipes.  This year they asked readers to pick their all-time favorites. On October 26th they published the winning 30 of those recipes. I chose three of them to make for a...

Bison Chili I don’t often do whims. Scheduled and organized fit me best. I’m not suggesting that’s the way to roll but it’s my way. That’s why paying $13.13 (senior rate) for a 7pm ticket to Aspen’s premiere showing of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film turned into a...

Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake CONNIE & JANE A decade ago I was inspired by a do-better nudge from a woman I met only once. The memory of that has served me well. I hope my story will inspire you to come up with your own. We all have stories to tell. In this week's...

It may take a village to raise a child but it only takes two professional cooks and an adaptive amateur to pull together a celebratory Baked Ziti (Ziti al Formo). Call it a casserole or pure comfort food but please do not call it lasagna. Like most food I serve, Baked...

BAKE THIS. Last week cookbook author Joy the Baker posted a simple one-layer Lemon Crumb Cake recipe she claimed would add a ‘sparkle of sweetness to your week.’ After spending 4 months in warmer climes I’m just back home in Aspen so Simple + sparkle + sweetness...