Front Range Interlude
After leaving Alpine, a brief stop in Longmont to connect with another grandchild and her keepers
My flight from Jackson back to Pennsylvania included a layover in Denver that I stretched into a visit. It had been too long since I had seen Lilah, and she is finishing up middle school this year, headed into the morass of high school in the fall.
Our good buddy Ed picked me up at DIA, and he and his wife, Janet, provided safe haven for a night. Is there anything that smells better than a house warm and redolent with the aroma of a roasting chicken? Janet had nestled the bird on a bed of onions, no less. Ed had prepped his Caesar Salad, perfected when he made it tableside as a waiter at the Victorian Manor in Lemont. Our dinner was on the table in a flash, accompanied by an Alsatian dry Riesling, a style they learned to enjoy on their recent European river cruise.
In the morning, Janet and I took a walk along Cherry Creek while Ed drove off for his Wednesday morning volunteer session at Project Angel Heart. He is not making Caesar Salad there; rather, he is making “medically tailored” meals for Coloradans with severe illness and no access to nutritious food.
Janet drove me the hour up to Longmont to our son Joe’s house, where the dogs greeted us with manic enthusiasm. After an easy lunch of Easter leftovers—Quiche, Ham, Potatoes au Gratin—it was soon time to pick up Lilah from Westview Middle School. After we collected her, we drove into downtown Longmont for a beverage at a new clothing-and-coffee shop on a Main Street that has upscaled a bit over the past five years. Juniper Goods made delicious beverages, and the store’s eye candy was very tempting. We walked the main drag and visited Simply Bulk zero-waste market, one of my favorite stops when I lived in Longmont from 2017 to 2020. A new independent bookstore, Composition Shop, was where we lingered longest, exploring the well-curated books, games, and stationery.
We realized we were approaching dinnertime, and the dogs and people needed food. Neian would be home soon from work and hungry. Joe made dinner in under 30 minutes, grilling some miso-marinated chicken breast and asparagus outside, and popping wedges of cabbage into a hot oven and painting them with a soy-miso-butter paste. As a first-night guest, I got off easy, setting the table. Neian put together a green salad with carrots, and Lilah whipped up a light lemon and olive oil dressing. The Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc we had paired well with the umami overtones of the Asian flavors.
The next day, I had a lunch date with my friend Kristin, who lives in a tiny home behind her daughter’s home in Boulder. Joe dropped me off there, and we Ubered over to the Hotel Boulderado, a short walk from the Pearl Street pedestrian mall. Kristin and I met on the playground during our grandkids' weekly playdates, when their mommies took them for some outdoor fun, and we went along. The grandmas had fun too, and we called ourselves the Senior Playground Players. We toted snacks and bevs (even some adult bevs) separate from the juice boxes. Another granny from our group is Liz, from England, and we so enjoyed our time that we still get together for monthly video chats.
After lunch, we strolled through the Pearl Street mall and ended up spending most of our time at Peppercorn, a bougie kitchen store. After Ubering back to Kristin’s, we drove to Jackie Michelle's for more shopping, then needed refreshments, so we grabbed affogatos at the nearby coffee shop. The combination of vanilla ice cream and espresso pepped us right up, even if mine was decaf.
As the clock ticked, Joe arrived on time to pick me up and then pick up Lilah at school. On Thursdays, she goes to a math tutor, and I used that hour to text, drop in, and have a quick visit with my bestie from Longmont, Denise. We met when we both taught cooking classes at the local Kitchen Shop, a popular division of the local Ace Hardware. Denise said she was just “puttering” around her kitchen, and when I got there, I heard a small roar. I caught her grinding wheat berries for her sourdough bread, and what she said was her new obsession: Turkish Gozleme, a stuffed flatbread. She is always cooking!
Dinner that night back at home took only slightly longer than the previous night. And I was allowed to help this time, prepping potatoes and carrots for oven roasting, making our family’s favorite Orange Thyme Pesto for salmon, and putting together a green salad, again with a light lemon vinaigrette. The treat was the bottle of Chablis that Joe picked up at Boulder Wine Merchant.
On Friday, Joje, Neian, and I walked the paths at Pella Crossing to the heron rookery near the stream to see the nests in the trees. The nestlings are hidden, but the parents make frequent swooping arcs to deliver food. We had hoped to pick up Lilah after school and take her to her favorite little bistro, Cafe Fritz in Hygiene, adjacent to Pella Crossing. But when we picked her up, her flushed face and raspy voice made us realize she needed to go home, have some lemon-and-honey tea, and go right to bed.
While Neian worked on a big pot of chicken soup, Joe cooked up some Boudin Blanc, and I made Red Cabbage and Apples with Sherry Vinegar to accompany. Joe surprised us with another white Burgundy, from one of my favorite producers, Joseph Drouhin.
Joe promised to take me to Cafe Fritz in the morning, before my flight back to PA, so I could see the property and appreciate why Lilah loved it so much—even though she couldn’t come. I understood. It’s an oasis of tranquility, where food nourishes the body and soul with its artistry.
And then I was gone. Joe drove me to the airport, and I didn’t have to eat again until Chicago, where I encountered a very nice small plate of griddled asparagus topped with Parmesan accompanied by a cold glass of chardonnay—but not a true French one.
I’ll miss Lilah, but I will look forward to going to Cafe Fritz with her the next time I land in Colorado.
