I Have the Most Awesome Friends

Really. I do. I often times feel like the most fortunate person in the world. And I don't just have one or two. I have a lot. And they are all awesome. I never seem to be able to find enough words or occasions to tell them all how much I love them and how much they mean to me. So I hope some of you read this:

I love you and I wouldn't be complete without you. You are my family and I feel so lucky to know and share this wonderful life with you :)

I have a new VEGAN recipe to post but I'm feeling overly sentimental today, so that will have to wait...

These are some of my friends.

They often times taste my baked creations first. Thank you Acorns for your tummies and taste buds!

Now check out these two.

They got married last weekend. My vegan cupcakes were perfected and presented at their welcome bbq (no, not the ones in these pictures). Aww, aren't they cute?

I think the key to having awesome friends is to only surround yourself with relationships that truly matter. Those based on shared values, shared respect, and shared fun. I think this pair works because they are best friends.

Ha! Obvious, no?

Now go call a friend you haven't talked to in a while. Or make a new one. It will make your day. Promise ;)

Guanella Pass Pancakes

Last weekend, after working at Summit Lake on Mt. Evans, I went camping with Claire and Linnea. We drove up through Georgetown towards Guanella Pass to the sweetest little campground between two creeks. We had an amazing dinner and then turned in pretty early, but not before seeing a spectacular shooting star!

The next morning we had AWESOME pancakes for breakfast. Made over a fire. From scratch. Yummmmmmm :) This recipe is great for car camping. Prepare your ingredients ahead of time for easy cooking at camp, less mess and warmer hands at altitude.

Jenni's Guanella Pass Pancakes
Makes 2-3 servings, can double

1 cup unbleached flour
1 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 dash salt
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 small bowls
butter
toppings of your choice
leakproof containers
mess kit
campfire with grate
camping pan
spatula

AT HOME:
1. Whisk all dry ingredients together in bowl and pack for travel
2. Whisk 1 egg in another bowl and pack in leakproof container

3. Add your dry mix, egg, butter, toppings, buttermilk, mess kit, pan, and spatula to your gear pile.
4. Go camping!

AT CAMP:
1. Level your fire grate
2. Add some butter to your pan and heat over fire
3. Empty dry pancake ingredients into bowl
4. Add 1 cup buttermilk to dry ingredients and mix with fork, just until combined
5. Make pancakes over the fire!

6. Add a little more butter to the pan between each batch and enjoy.

I cut up 1 quart of organic strawberries and froze them the night before leaving home. By the time we were ready to eat them, they had juiced and thawed and were the perfect topping for these light, fluffy, buttery pancakes.

Dog Days of Summer

It's August already? What happened to summer? Where have all my baked goods gone?

I love white cake and I've been working on some variations. The moist and tender crumb of Linnea's strawberry layered cake was just about perfect, even if it was a bit lopsided.

Casey's 4 layer lemon blueberry cake was practically perfectly stacked and the flavor was sophisticated, but the crumb a bit dry.

Now, you're probably thinking, next she'll say, "Third time's a charm!" But no, it's still too hot. I skipped the stuffy kitchen and tedious layer slicing to make Jason a cool and creamy cheesecake that had a hard time coming out of its pan.

So all in all, I am not yet ready to give you the recipes. They still need some work and my kitchen is still too hot...

Continued yoga and hiking has granted me the ability to eat extra, guilt free baked goods this summer so I have been sampling as many as possible! Thus far the standout has been an almond croissant from the Butterhorn Bakery in Frisco. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a few baked good booths at the South Pearl Street Farmers Market, and MANY samples.

I would never say I could compete with Watercourse but think it would be possible to outdo the cookie and giant cupcake ladies...

My summer has not been filled with long, lazy days. I'm a grownup. But it has been exTREMEly fun. On the counter is homemade pancake mix, made especially for camping, and vegan vanilla cupcakes. Stay cool and stay tuned :)

Cool Treats Only, Please

It is HOT in Denver. Today was 100. When it's hot I don't like to bake. But if an occasion calls for it, I wait until the sun has gone down and the house has cooled off...

This post has been a long time coming. I put the recipe together two years ago and was originally thrilled to hear key lime connoisseur Kate say it was the "best key lime pie ever!" I'll go ahead and agree with that because it's usually a hit with everyone, even those who don't usually like key lime. And today Fletcher ate half of one himself ;) Go ahead and try this recipe - it will work at all altitudes and is as easy as pie!

Jenni's Key Lime Pie
Makes 1 large pie

1 cup finely ground pecans
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 12 squares or 6 rectangles, depending on the brand)
6 TBS melted butter
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 14 oz can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice
large bowl
rolling pin
large platter or clean counter surface
fork
large pie dish (10 inches at least)
standing or hand held mixer
medium bowl
silicone spatula

**The key to success with this pie is these ingredients: fresh pecans and Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice. Don't substitute!**

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Use a rolling pin to ground your graham crackers into a fine crumb. I like to do this on a large plastic serving platter so my crumbs don't go everywhere. You can also buy a box of crumbs but I prefer to get an arm workout buy pulverizing the corn syrup free natural version found at my favorite grocery store.

3. Add your finely ground pecans and melted butter to your crumbs.
4. Mash with fork until the butter is evenly distributed among the dry ingredients.
5. Press into your pie dish with your hands by starting in the middle and then out and up the sides. Making an even crust can take a bit of practice but it honestly doesn't matter that much.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

8. Beat eggs and egg whites at medium speed until well blended.
9. Gradually add milk and juice to egg mixture bu continuing to beat on medium speed until well blended.
10. Pour mixture into crust and bake for 20 minutes or until the center is almost set.

11. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack.
12. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
13. Just before serving, evenly spread with whip cream.
14. Consider garnishing with pecans and or lime slices and eat up!