Denver's Glorious Gardens

When we visited the Denver area, last fall, we spent a morning at Denver Botanic Gardens, which is ranked among the nation's top botanical gardens. If you enjoy traveling to many different places in a short period of time, and love the outdoors, this place will satisfy both cravings. During a single visit you can explore individual gardens inspired by the breathtaking beauty of a Monet painting, high desert vegetation, and Japanese tranquility amidst Ponderosa pines.

If you have children with you, they will love the Children's Secret Path with its Musical Playscape, Soil Station and Story Time features. Gardeners also may enjoy the profusion of blossoms in the Rose Garden, enormous variety of culinary and medicinal plants in the Herb Garden, or artistic grace of the Romantic Garden.

And that's only the beginning. Special exhibits as diverse as hauntingly beautiful stone sculptures crafted by Shona artists from Zimbabwe, in the Chapungu Sculpture Exhibit, and wall-spanning portraits of individual insects created by Project InSECT, provide added excitement.

Hot Stuff in Albuquerque

Albuquerque's legendary El Pinto Restaurant, a culinary institution since 1962, does everything in a big way, from its 1,020-seat restaurant with multiple adobe-wrapped patios, to the 3,000 cases of salsa it produces daily. El Pinto also has distinguished itself as the only restaurant invited to serve food at the White House. In fact, their salsa has been the official food during several Cinco de Mayo celebrations held there.

"Salsa Twins' and El Pinto owners, Jim & John Thomas, have crafted their salsa and green chile sauce on-site, since 2001, winning 30+ awards as well as mentions on ESPN Sports Center, MSNBC, and the Food Network. The sauces and salsas have become so popular that they're available in more than 30 states.

For a great souvenir from your visit to El Pinto, try a jar of their salsa at home. It's even more special when you order a case of jars that have been personalized. Within seconds after spooning this hot salsa onto your favorite tortilla chips or nachos, the nose sweats and back-of-throat burn begin. Big tomato and pepper chunks and bits of cilantro echo flavors from the restaurant. Sip a margarita to tame the heat, and you're back amidst the cottonwoods and chile ristras.

Freezer Fun

Sometimes, it pays to rummage through your freezer. On Sunday, I found a bag of cranberries and put them in the refrigerator to thaw. Yesterday I pretended it was the middle of fall, turned on my oven, and played in my kitchen for a couple of hours. The result was this luscious pie in which cranberries become a purple-red mash of tartness, apples retain a touch of crunch, and a crumb topping adds another dose of sweetness. Perfect for fall, or any time your freezer yields this unexpected treasure.

Cranapple Pie
Serves 12-16

1 ½ cups cranberries, washed and sorted

2 cups water

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups of apples, peeled and diced in one-inch pieces

½ cup water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

½ cup apples, peeled and diced in one-inch pieces

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 baked, deep dish pie shell

Topping:

4 tablespoons butter or margarine

½ cup packed light-brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

In a large, non-reactive, non-stick saucepan, combine cranberries, water, sugar and cinnamon over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, for 10 minutes.

Blend cornstarch thoroughly in water. Add mixture and 1½ cups of apples to cranberry mixture and combine well. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 more minutes. Add remaining ingredients to the pan and simmer, uncovered, for 10 more minutes. Allow mixture to cool slightly and then pour in piecrust. Refrigerate while making topping.Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir in sugar and flour, cover with a lid and microwave on high for 2 to 2 ½ minutes, stirring twice, until slightly browned and bubbly. Spread out on foil until cool enough to handle and then crumble all over top of pie. Cool pie at least three hours before serving.

Kansas City Art Space

When design architect, Steve Holl's modern addition to Kansas City's renowned Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art opened, in 2007, the gigantic Bloch Building looked like little more than a series of opaque boxes to many people in the community.

But on the inside, the new building offers an inventive space that is as much a piece of art as the collection it houses. While much of the Bloch Building lies beneath the ground, each of five individual 'lenses' features soaring angled and curved walls, and expansive windows that illuminate the space from the outside, in.

The 165,000-square-foot expansion also was designed with the environment in mind. An existing sculpture garden continues over gallery roofs, which helps insulate the building and control storm water drainage. In addition, the lenses gather sun-heated air each winter and exhaust it during the summer, reducing the need to heat and cool the massive space.

Where the Bloch Building and the original museum building intersect so does history. Where bold and brash new architecture meets the original building's soft and muted stone, Kansas City's artistic past and present intertwine for the ages.

San Antonio River Run

San Antonio offered a warm, muggy morning when we arrived at the River Walk and boarded a boat for a tour on the water. White linen tablecloths and napkins greeted us as we sat down to breakfast hors d'oeuvres, piping hot coffee and mimosas. A waitress from the adjacent Zuni Grill distributed menus. "We'll serve breakfast when you circle back around," she said.

Our driver, in a dapper white straw hat, piloted us along the water and regaled us with tales of San Antonio's rich multi-cultural history. We passed a metal sculpture and plaque that celebrated the first mass held in San Antonio, in 1691, and a double-tier stone bell tower built during the city's 'mission' period, in the 1700s. An ivy-covered foot bridge and adjacent Spanish-style stucco building with red tile roof resembled a European village.

We pulled in beside Zuni Grill and gasped as enormous plates of food arrived. My chilaquiles plate paired fresh eggs, cheese, corn tortillas and green chile sauce with a small bowl of fresh melon, and hand-cut grilled potatoes. Another mimosa, a coffee refill, and we were off again. As the sun poked through gray clouds, passengers on other boats looked longingly towards our breakfast feast and we turned our attention to the now-bustling River Walk.

Mexican Comfort Food

Although our family is far from vegetarian, I do make a vegetarian entree at least once each week. We also like Mexican food, so I created this recipe to satisfy both requirements. I knew I had a hit on my hands when I shared some extras with our Hispanic neighbor, who said they were the best enchiladas he had ever eaten. See if you agree!

Red and Black Enchiladas
Makes 7-8 enchiladas

1 large red onion, rough chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cans (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups Colby Jack cheese, grated
7-8 multi-grain tortillas (may substitute traditional flour tortillas)

Easy Enchilada Sauce at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_10360,00.html
*For a vegetarian version of this sauce, use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

OR 3 cups canned enchilada sauce

9 x 13 pan
2 frying pans
tea towel

Cilantro for garnish

Spread half of the sauce (approximately 1 ½ cups) evenly across the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Sauté red onion in one frying pan until soft but not limp, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and set pan aside.

Heat a dry frying pan to medium. One at a time, heat each side of a tortilla in the pan until small brown spots appear and the tortilla becomes pliable. Wrap 'fried' tortillas in the tea towel to keep them warm and soft. When all tortillas are fried, begin assembly.

Lie first tortilla flat and spread approximately 1/8 cup of onions on tortilla, about 1/4 of the distance in, from the right edge. Top with 1/4 cup black beans and 1/4 cup cheese. Draw right edge of tortilla over filling and then roll tightly, towards the left, to use entire tortilla. Transfer filled tortilla to 9 x 13 pan, open edge down.

Fill the remaining tortillas and add to pan, with sides touching. Spread the remaining enchilada sauce, and any extra onion or cheese, evenly across the enchiladas and then cover with foil. Cook at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove foil and allow to cool slightly.

Serve with chopped cilantro, and rice or a vegetable side dish, such as sautéed corn and zucchini.

Mirror Image

There are moments when every element combines to create the perfect photo. Such was the case when we stumbled across this lake in Colorado's high country, outside of Leadville, during a summer vacation with our young daughters. Like Forrest Gump, we had trouble telling where the earth ended and the sky began.

Water so still that it created a mirror-like surface reflected miles of serene, verdant peaks as billowy clouds cast interesting shadows across the landscape, and parched, yellowed grass framed the lake edge. As the girls and my husband took in the mesmerizing view, I captured the moment and scene for matting, framing and forever.