Beyond this, Speaker Romanoff is a highly skilled, intelligent, knowledgeable, and passionate candidate for the office of the U.S. Senate. You can read more of his background at andrewromanoff.com. I think you will be glad you did.

—Beth Williamson, Boulder

This is the case with Flagstaff House Restaurant in Boulder. Established in 1971, Flagstaff House has won the coveted Wine Spectator “Grand Award” for every year since 1983 after being the first Colorado restaurant to do so. The 2010 award was announced this week.

In this case, the trick isn’t up the sleeve, but down in the cellar. One of only about 100 restaurants worldwide to gain this award and with a 20,000-bottle wine cellar, it is quite clear that this old dog is deserving of the accolades it has received in this area.

As if this were not enough, online reservation hub Opentable.com releases a list of the 50 Best American Cuisine Restaurants annually. Flagstaff House Restaurant was the only restaurant in Colorado to achieve this distinction, and its sister restaurant achieved the award, in Hawaii, after only one year of service.

An old dog, sure, but when it comes down to the food, the wine and the service, the Flagstaff House Restaurant is full of life and tricks that rival the best of the new cats in the nation.

Originally known as the Boulder Community Orchestra and then the Niwot Timberline Symphony, the local group has been renamed and is now being relocated.

But why the constant change?

After branching off from the Boulder Philharmonic ensemble, the local musicians found a home in Boulder Valley schools. They also adopted a less rigorous schedule than their professionally-bound counterpart. But the after-school programs of the talented Boulder Valley students caused the orchestra (then called Timberline Symphony) to play second fiddle. With locations that changed like Colorado weather and last-minute cancellations, confusion was strong among audiences and musicians alike. Seeking a more permanent place to lay their instrument cases, the Timberline Symphony relocated to Niwot High School, incorporating the city into their name to show their love. The orchestra seemed to be the end of a long, rootless journey.

However, the group found themselves wandering once again due to rising rates from the St. Vrain Valley Schools District. With dwindling hopes, they set out in search of yet another home, and found the First Presbyterian Church of Boulder, which gave the orchestra more freedom with rehearsals and concerts. Keeping with the sweet notes of change, they also changed their name to the Boulder Symphony Orchestra. Led by the young, talented conductor Devin Patrick Hughes, the group has once again found harmony with the city where they began.

Is it happily every after? Check them out at timberlinesymphony.org.

Andrew Romanoff has a demonstrated history of being able to “work across the aisle” and will bring that same level of leadership to the Senate. He was chosen by his peers to serve as Speaker of the House from 2005 to 2009. And his leadership earned national recognition, including Governing magazine’s top honor as Public Official of the Year.

Romanoff refuses to take PAC money and participate in the “pay to play” activity that is rampant in Washington. He will be a senator for the people, not special interests. Romanoff deserves your vote.

—Kaye Fissinger, Longmont

So, for Yellow Scene’s 2010 Green Issue, we opted to go 100 percent waste free, putting our carbon footprint where our mouths are. From a local filmmaker who’s looking to put himself out of business to local green experts’ tips for your home and office, our eco-minded issue is as green as they come (minus the electricity used to keep our computers chugging). Also, check out YS associate editor Lacy Boggs’ “Ho Hos at Home,” in which she makes processed foods from scratch, and a sneak peak of Spring Leaf, Boulder’s zero-energy model home.

Everybody’s Water—A sprinkler repair man isn’t the first person you’d think of to be a champion of saving water, but this filmmaker defies all the stereotypes.

Ho Hos at Home—Is an organic toaster pastry really that much different—or better—than a regular Pop-Tart? It was a question I started to ask when I saw a recipe for homemade Pop-Tarts. Maybe that was the answer: homemade treats instead of fabricated and chemicalized food. But would it even come close to the real thing? We decided to find out.

Eating Your Greens—The eco-revolution is changing the way we dine out, and Boulder County restaurants are on the forefront of the revolution.

Home Sweet Net-Zero-Energy Home—Spring Leaf is a net-zero energy infill housing project that is like no other in the county and probably even in the country.

The Green Thang— These days, it’s hard to know what’s truly green and what’s been “greenwashed” to seem greener than it really is. It makes shopping with a conscience challenging to say the least. Luckily, we’ve been able to find a few products that are both super-cool and truly eco-friendly that would be great as gifts or just additions to your greenie lifestyle.

Growing Green Kids — Saving the world is hard work. But your kids can learn a greener way of life before they even learn to say “carbon emissions.” If you play your cards right and teach them the right lessons in the right way, sustainability will become second nature to them.

Greenovators — Once upon a time, merely recycling your pop cans and newspapers put you into an elite class of people who were going to save the planet, not to mention the whales. There was a time when simply not littering made you ecologically superior. Those days are long gone.

Farm Fresh — A new generation of Boulder County residents is returning to the area’s farming roots, and they are a whole new breed of farmer.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea — The must sublime scene in the Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove is not the dramatic and heart-wrenching footage that the film leads up to with every frame. It’s a scene in which the filmmakers and their team of elite activists infiltrate the hills around Taiji, Japan, at night to place an entire movie studio’s worth of specialized hidden cameras to secretly record the slaughter of hundreds of dolphins the following day. Out in the bay, the animals spend their last night in an area hemmed in by nets to prevent their escape. From high atop one of the hills, a cameraman uses a high-tech thermal imaging camera of the sort used by the military to look down on the water. The dolphins can be seen as slim gray forms just below the surface of the water, swimming in a clockwise circle, like a swirl of commas.

The Defender of Food — For me, the revolution started in January of 2007 when I read a feature article in The New York Times Magazine called “Unhappy Meals.”

He’s usually not one to sashay around in his high plastic heels. Petersen typically spends his time directing movies and making bold declarations about water conservation. Outside a coffee shop in Louisville, he revealed this glitter-free façade. Turns out the director/lawn-irrigator has a self-described cynicism about the very business he owns, which includes an idea to “tear our your lawn.”

Ironic? Sure. Crazy? Don’t think so.

Years in the sprinkler-repair and installation business have led outdoor-loving Petersen to a conclusion that could ruin his business: maintaining that turf and landscapes are a major threat to water and energy conservation. While this issue is only one blade in the ever-growing lawn of environmental conservation, it is an important one and one Petersen has waxed neurotic about in his unique brand of eco-cinema. Turf is the largest crop in America, and if Petersen had his way, the pesky household chore known as lawn mowing would be nothing more than a forgotten pastime.

While this idea would not only make him a hero among teenagers everywhere, it has logic behind it. With his first-hand knowledge of the energy and water it takes to keep our lawns and landscapes green and thriving, the local filmmaker has a point: It is hard to justify maintaining this pretty problem.

“It’s not just water,” he said. “It’s the enormous amount of energy that we pour into this little postage stamp (or big postage stamp).”

It’s easy to see—from his unique films to his website—this Boulderite hopes to spread the message faster than relationship updates on Facebook. “What are (we) doing?” he asks, and not just hypothetically.

This is where a seemingly crushed childhood dream comes in to play. Literally. After being voted “most likely to be a filmmaker” in high school, Mark Petersen’s dreams fell away as he grew older. However, these sparks were rekindled by a last-minute acting performance five years ago, eventually leading to the first of three water-conservation films.

With what Petersen explains as his “relief,” his latest film More or Less won the Green Industry Award from Rain Bird’s Intelligent Use of Water Film Competition. This film, which includes a hunchbacked irrigator sporting flippers and scuba gear, a somewhat hairy drag queen, and a homeowner best described as “piggish,” was created from his frustration of the lifestyles of many Americans today.

“The beginning of More or Less,” he explains, “is basically modeled after people I have met. This is how they live and this is how they think. They literally own their own parks and water them seven days a week.”

There is motivation behind the futuristic, glitzy costumes. Petersen wanted the wise words spoken by the boa-wrapped drag queen to be received: “It may be your lawn, but it’s everybody’s water.” Using quirky characters and bizarre scenes allow Petersen to share “the essence of the film” without seeming “teachy.”

But Petersen is far from finished with his creation. He has already shown it in a school and hopes to earn the approval of many more youngsters. His first viewing with this age group (his wife’s children) went better than he expected, keeping their wandering minds focused and earning an “OK” rating (a prestigious accomplishment for the “know-all” age). More or Less is also being shown in the Bug Theater in August, and he hopes to have it shown in the Denver Arts and Humanities center for a (slightly) older audience.

Aside from his ability to pull off fake eyelashes, what else makes this lawn irrigator/ environmentalist different from others?

It could be his boldness. Petersen often puts his job at stake, persuading his clients to remove their thirsty turf. He admits he was nervous to say anything at first, but came to a realization. To make a difference, he says, it is going to take people who are willing to say “You know what? Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this anymore.”

So how can us home-owning, lawn-loving Americans can do our part in water conservation? Petersen had some interesting advice. Should we choose to keep our neatly trimmed patches, the most important thing people can do is make sure sprinkler heads are set “correctly”. Or for those green to irrigating terms, “level in the ground.”

“This is the No. 1 thing that’s missing all across the board, and if I made a film showing [how to set sprinkler heads], it would start to change some things” Petersen explained. For those interested, the finished movie will be shown for free on his website, waterketch.com. Trickling down from this is his idea to tighten regulations in Colorado through enforced codes, similar to those in the electricity/plumbing world.

Peterson recognizes that these changes are a process, and require a new train of thought. Hinting at his artistic side (or maybe budding poetry skills), Petersen described life as a story, in which we are the writers in need of sharper editing skills.

“My attitude is its time for a new story, because this story isn’t going to work,” he said. “No one saw the end of the story and we are really starting to see the ramifications of it.” The stories in Petersen’s films, while they were his inspiration, wouldn’t have been complete without his wife Eeris Kallil’s assistance in storytelling and editing, as well as the help of everyone involved in the film.

“It was a collaborative process.” He claims. “The story for the environment needs to be the same.”

Think again.

While recently re-popularized, “slow” and “locavore” were how our forefathers and foremothers survived. Whether that meant buying and trading food and services with neighbors or producing all the food a single family needed, people consumed locally and, prior to the industrial revolution, they ate mostly organically. The farm-to-table, locavore, organic mentality is actually a regression, shunning technological advancements like genetic modification and chemical fertilization in favor of a cleaner, simpler method of farming.

Yes, the chefs at Boulder’s Black Cat and Denver’s Fruition are indeed kicking it old school.
In recent years, there has obviously been a general increase in sensibility about food consumption and production. And we’ve seen the result in grocery stores, farmer’s markets and restaurants from Oregon to North Carolina.

It’s especially true locally. Many Boulder County chefs are working hard to develop their vision based on responsible ingredients and practices. Here are some of the many restaurants that support a conscious, green agenda:

Black Cat
Black Cat Bistro in Boulder is one of the most impressive examples of the development of the farm-to-table trend. Chef Eric Skokan has created an organic farm to supply his restaurant with locally grown ingredients (he recently featured a Salad of Lettuces that Survived the Frost on the menu). Considering that he and a team of organic gardeners harvest a daily lot of produce for the restaurant, it is clear that he is extraordinarily committed to producing and serving conscious, high quality food. Even more revealing of his dedication to the ingredients is the fact that he participates in the Boulder Farmers’ Market and community supported agriculture shares, selling the produce that the Black Cat Farm produces.

Lucile’s Creole Cafe
Lucile’s Creole Cafe, with its four locations, has recently jumped on the green food wagon by buying its own farm as well. The Lucile’s farm, which goes by the name Rich Organics Farm, appears as a part of their continued investment in the quality and consciousness of their food and the environment. When in season, potatoes, spinach, jalapeños and much more will find their way to your plate.

Terroir
Terroir Restaurant in Longmont has also illustrated its green agenda by using a number of local, organic farms and dairies to provide the produce for their restaurant. While this is a large part of the vision of the restaurant, they have expanded the concept to more than just the conscious sourcing of their food. The restaurant composts all suitable waste to Second Start Community Garden, recycles all fryer oil into biodiesel and recycles all glass, plastic, and paper products.

Many people believe that the reduction of carbon emissions is relegated to the realm of using public transport and energy production, but it is clear that the food world can aid in this reduction. And chefs have caught on to this idea. More and more restaurants are shifting to local and organic options when possible. Some even go so far as to start their own farms so as to maintain ultimate control over the methods used to produce the foods that they ultimately serve to awaiting customers.

It is clear that Colorado has been blessed with a number of tremendously conscious, green outlets for the aware eater. However, these three restaurants are but three of hundreds of restaurants throughout Colorado making an effort to be greener. Within Boulder County, there is the Eat Local Guide online at eatlocalguide.com/bouldercounty; it is a great resource that provides a guide and directory to eating consciously both in the home and outside.

ReDirect Guide
Maybe the most important thing you can have in your green arsenal, this directory is like an old-school phone book and a local green-living resource guide all wrapped up into one. Whether you pick up one of their totally free paper guides or use the website, be assured you’ll find businesses and products that have been verified as green. Plus, you’ll be supporting local businesses, which is one of the most responsible things you can do as a consumer. redirectguide.com

English Re-Treads
As a hardcore vegetarian, Heather English needed a handbag that was durable and fashionable—but not made from leather. The answer struck her as she was tubing down Boulder Creek: why not make handbags from recycled inner tubes? The line combines classic shapes with nearly indestructible rubber collected from local truck stops. englishretreads.com

Save The Sea Eco-Friendly Swimwear
Fashion-forward Yoox.com has launched a collection of sustainable swimwear on their website created exclusively for them by British designer Katharine Hamnett. The collection includes ’50s-style swimsuits, bikinis, cover-ups, towels and totes all made from sustainable fabrics and a portion of the price goes to help farmers in West Africa through the Fashioning a Better Future project. Yoox.com

ECOlunchette Kit
Plastic sandwich bags and paper napkins are becoming so passé—which is great for the Earth and for Earthlings’ wallets. The ECOlunchbox line of products includes beautiful cloth lunch bags with matching cloth napkins and stainless steel containers in a bento box style as well as sporks made from renewable bamboo. Everything is 100 percent plastic-free, waste free, lead-free, BPA-free, PVC-free and vinyl-free. Toss the brown bag and “brown bag it” in style—whether you’re four or 40. Available at Ellie’s Eco Home Store in Boulder. Ecolunchboxes.com

SOLIO Classic Solar Charger
Coloradans live an active, outdoorsy lifestyle, and we don’t want to be tied down by a power cord. Enter the Solio Classic solar charger. This little beauty can charge more than 3,200 devices including phones, cameras, MP3 players and GPS units all with the power of the sun. Unfurl the three blades, set it someplace sunny, and get on with your adventurous life. Solio.com

Soapnuts
Toss the Tide. The movement is on to find greener, more natural cleaning products for all aspects of our home, and soapnuts are the dried fruit of the Sapindus Mukorossi which contain natural surfactants perfect for washing clothes. Organically grown, pesticide and chemical free, totally biodegradable, naturally antimicrobial and low-sudsing, these are nature’s miracle fruit and a wonderful alternative to traditional detergents. Laundrytree.com

Colorado Organic Cookbook (Cooking Seasonally, Eating Locally)
One of the keys to eating more locally starts with eating seasonally. That means no tomatoes or strawberries in January, but more specifically it means eating what’s available now, while it’s at its freshest. The recipes in this cookbook are from eight of Colorado’s top chefs, using produce from eight local farms from across the state and they illustrate how farmers and chefs are interconnected in an organic lifestyle. seasonalandlocal.com

Pastry
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk

1 additional large egg (to brush on pastry)

Cinnamon Filling (enough for 9 tarts)
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling

Jam Filling
3/4 cup (8 ounces) jam
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water

Alternate fillings: 9 tablespoons chocolate chips, 9 tablespoons Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut paste or 9 tablespoons of a delight of your choice, such as salted caramel or a nut paste

To make cinnamon filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

To make jam filling: Mix the jam with the cornstarch/water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. Use to fill the pastry tarts.

Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. If you’ve used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk the first egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.

Divide the dough in half (approximately 8 1/4 ounces each), shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. You can roll this out immediately (see Warm Kitchen note below) or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9" x 13" pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.

Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.

Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.

Charming tip from King Arthur: Sprinkle the dough trimmings with cinnamon-sugar; these have nothing to do with your toaster pastries, but it’s a shame to discard them, and they make a wonderful snack. While the tarts are chilling, bake these trimmings for 13 to 15 minutes, till they’re golden brown.

Bake the tarts: Remove the tarts form the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack.

Cheese Straws
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon half-and-half (I used cream, because I had it on hand; suspect milk would work just as well)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and red pepper in five 5-second pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the half-and-half and process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds.

3. On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an 8- by 10-inch rectangle that is 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife (or a pizza or pastry wheel; both worked great), cut the dough into thin 8-inch strips, each 1/4- to 1/3-inch wide (dipping the knife in flour after every few inches ensures a clean cut). Then cut each strip into approximate 1-inch squares. Gently transfer the squares to an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving at least 1/4-inch between them. You can also transfer the dough first, and then cut into squares. The dough may sag or may break occasionally in the transfer, but don’t be concerned — just do your best.

4. Bake the crackers on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are barely browned. Remove from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a rack to cool.

5. Serve at room temperature. Cheese crackers will keep in the refrigerator, in a sealed container, for two days.

Homemade Ho Hos
Recipe from Gale Gand

Cake:

* 5 eggs
* 2 yolks
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 cup clarified butter, warm

Filling:

* 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
* 1 cup butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Glaze:

* 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
* 2 ounces cocoa butter or 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* Equipment: 2 half sheet pans with sides

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the Cake: Butter the jelly roll pan and line it with parchment paper; then butter the paper to assure release.

Bring a saucepan of water to a simmer.

In the bowl from a standing mixer, combine the eggs, yolks, sugar, vanilla in a bowl and whisk briefly. Set the bowl over the simmering water and stir until warm and the sugar looks dissolved. Attach the bowl to the standing mixer fitted with a whisk, and whip until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking powder 3 times.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and, while folding the egg mixture, sift in the flour mixture, little by little, until incorporated. Drizzle in the clarified butter, while folding the batter.

Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pans dividing equally and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake until lightly browned and it starts to pull away from the edges of the pan, about 14 to 16 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and let sit in the pan for 1 minute. Run a knife along the edge to release the cake then flip it out onto parchment paper. Brush the paper (the one you lined the pan with) with water and let soak for 2 minutes. Peel it off the cake. Trim dry edges from the cake. Let cool covered with plastic wrap.

To make the Filling: In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the sugar and butter and mix on low speed until well blended; then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream for spreading consistency, if needed.

Spread the sponge cakes with a thin layer of the filling, leaving a 1/4-inch space at the far edge. Roll the cake tightly on the long side until you have rolled a 1 1/2-inch thick log. Cut the log off from the remaining sheet of cake and place seam side-down. Repeat with remaining cake. Chill the logs for 30 minutes; then cut into 2 1/2-inch sections.

To make the Glaze: Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. One at a time, gently drop the cake rolls into the hot chocolate. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place on the cookie sheet and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.