A Few Days In Boulder

I recently returned from a few perfect days in Boulder. The weather was spectacular, about 70 degrees during the day, and cool at night. I went to visit Phil, Deborah, Lennon and Elsa. There is an old saying that goes something like this. "Grandchildren are our reward for surviving parenthood." I'm starting to understand what that means. Not that I found parenthood so difficult. I was lucky to have, for the most part, easy to handle children. Now I go to Boulder a few times a year to enjoy my two grandchildren and watch them grow and develop. What a delight. Lennon is now almost 3 1/2, and for the first time calls me Grandma. I just love it. He is so much fun. I went to his preschool with him one morning. (never seen anything like it, absolutely fantastic) He introduced me to his teachers and showed me around. I was so impressed. The next day I went to the Boulder Recreation Center to watch his gymnastics class. The gymnastics room was about the size of a football field, divided into different areas for the various gymnastic activities, with ex-gymnastics teaching all the classes. What a wonderful learning environment, and the kids were all having such fun. While Lennon was in school one day, Deborah and I took a walk with Elsa on Pearl St, and ended up eating at one of the new great restaurants in Boulder, called Oak. It's about 14 months old, and will be around a long time. I'll review it at another time. Phil took the afternoons off, so joined us for a trip to the park. He also made us a great meal one night, which he just threw together with some leftovers. Friday night Phil and Deborah wanted to go out, so I watched the kids. We watched Rio, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This is the first animatd movie I've seen in years. I always said I would wait until I had grandchildren to watch the plethora of great animated movies that have been released in the last 10-12 years. Rio was my first (we watched it 2 times) but not my last. Phil is a great cook, and as usual, came up with a great meal, out of nothing. The meal came about because he had some leftover potato latkes from Passover that he wanted to get rid of. I would call this a light supper, or a possible brunch buffet item. Here it is. Potato Pancake with Salmon and Asparagus Potato pancakes (he had the pancakes from Whole Foods, which were too thick for my liking. I would either make the frozen Golden Potato Latkes, or make homemade latkes (thin) or any other frozen brand you like. Smoked salmon Dill Aioli capers mustard Asparagus, parboiled Pan fry potato pancake, until hot, golden brown, and crispy. Top with slices of smoked salmon, chopped dill, and mustard. Drizzle aioli around the plate, with a little drizzled on top. Sprinkle capers around the plate, and top the whole thing with some cooked asparagus (cut in half)....I hope you enjoy this.