Fresh Tart

Ouch. Tough exercising outside today, what with the high heat, thick haze, and an air-quality alert (uh, yuck). I could feel it, absolutely, even though I got out there in the morning. Sucking wind and pouring sweat, not a lovely sight, ha. But I was due, after my steaks-and-strawberry-shortcake sojourn. Yeah. Back to reality. Dang. Hey, it made for a lovely, refreshing (MUCH-needed) shower! I find my pleasures where I can. (A few stolen bites of the fresh peach with leftover whipped cream I made for Nathan today didn't suck either...)

Like tonight - I didn't have enough steak leftover to eat outright, so I sauteed lots of onion, pepper, garlic, and tomatoes with cumin and chili powder, tossed in the steak (very thinly sliced), and used the resulting spicy veggie-steak combo to make quesadillas. Flour tortillas, a bit of jack cheese, spritz of non-stick olive oil spray, toast until crisp, serve with lots of spicy salsa tempered with a few cool avocado slices. Fast, healthy, tasty - my favorite Triumvirate of Traits. Gooood stuff.

Gooood night.

What can I say? Another lovely summer day. Sometimes Minnesota sneaks up on you and is a damn nice place to live. Sun, sun, and more sun! Visits (and jumps into the pool) with our neighbors the Hatzungs, and Nathan's friend Emmett (who spent the night last night after the close of our baseball season), and Stacey Pooh and Cooper too - all good. At some point I whipped over to Byerly's for, yes, more great steaks...and this time I didn't over-grill them - yay! - so they were juicy pink-n-prrrrfect. We ate 'em on the deck, with nothing more than a big salad. When you've got perfect steaks, it's worth keeping the rest simple.

And for dessert? 'Cuz you've got to have dessert to honor such a gorgeous day...strawberry shortcake, oh my. Everyone lovesstrawberry shortcake, including The Coopster! No secret recipe here - Pillsbury (frozen) Buttermilk Biscuits, hot out of the oven and filled with lots of fresh strawberries sweetened with a pinch of sugar, and lots and lots and LOTS of freshly whipped and sweetened cream. Summer Heaven...

Back to La Belle Vie, woo hoo! Man I love that place, love putting on 4-inch heels (that make me no less than 6'3", no lie, good thing I like being a giant), dressing up a bit (sometimes it's just time for a bit of cleavage, even if it's, uh, rather minor), and hanging in the chic bar, eating fabulous (fab-u-lous!) food, drinking lovely wine... Love. It. Especially while eating lamb burgers - again - I couldn't help but raving to John about how much each of our dads would love the La La La Belle VieLamb Brrrrger. Both lurvelamb, so both would mightily appreciate this seriously lamb-y, tender-tasty smokin' hot sandwich, topped with a spicy pepper (more heat, hoooey!), with plenty of cool-n-creamy yogurt sauce, in a toasted buttery-crisp bun. Dang. Dang. Dang. It's obscene, that thing, really. There are few things that I just need to close my eyes to eat and that friggin' burger is one of them, I can't stop thinking about it. Rarrr...

Well, perhaps I could stop thinking about it to appreciate my new necklace, the one I bought at the Edina Art Fair... The one Suz fought off the pushy-bitch-shopper for... The one that I get multiple compliments on when I don it (gotta love a piece that always garners the 'pliments...) Hey, if you, like I, aren't to-the-manor-born, then buy the (perhaps fake) jewels yourself! In moderation, of course. Yeah, baby!

Have a sunny weekend!

Veggie heaven, oh yeah. Today was my second pick-up of vegetables from my La Finca CSA veggie share. A bounty of leafy greens, more than we could ever eat in just salads, so I got busy cookin'...

First I made a gorgeously jade green spinach soup, with a hint of curry and cream. Hot or cold, with crispy croutons afloat in the silky smooth greenness - absolutely delicious.

Next, stir-fried bok choy, really simple. Heat a little oil in a wok, toss in some thinly sliced garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, the roughly chopped and rinsed bok choy, a few tablespoons of Lawry's Teriyaki Sauce with Pineapple (I love this stuff). Toss, toss, let the juices and sauce reduce until quite thick and bok choy is tender-crisp, toss, toss, season with a bit of salt (if needed), done. Quite tasty.

And then, kale polenta. Yep, kale polenta, I made it up on a whim and it's amazing. Creamy smooth polenta studded with tender-chewy kale. Nice combo. Top it off with freshly grated Parmesan for extra yumminess.

So! Along with a bag of mixed greens, a big bunch of arugula, and a bunch of red-leaf lettuce, pleeeenty of veggie variety to get us through the weekend. Love it, love it. To me, this is what summer is all about... (Recipes posted in comments, below.)

As all moms do, I'm always trying to sneak healthier versions of Nathan's favs into his diet. He wanted a burger for lunch today, so I talked him into thin slices of steak (much leaner, and a much more modest serving than a burger), sauteed and served on a whole-grain bun with ketchup and pickles. Alongside a fresh peach, not a bad lunch at all. Plus - the key! - he loved it. Ditto the pizza he wanted tonight. I pitched grilled "calzones" of a sort - whole-grain pita, split and filled with tomato sauce, cheese, and a few pepperonis, coated with a quick spritz of nonstick olive oil spray, and grilled (on the grill) until crisp and melty. Alongside a pile of fresh strawberries, another winner - yesss! I made them for myself and John as well, but filled ours with lots of green pepper and onion slices. Yummy, filling, and quick - important on this night, the last night of the regular baseball season. Wowzers it flew by! Some tournament play over the weekend and then dang, we're all done. Sniff.

I had such a nice Father's Day it could have been Mother's Day! Romantically floating in the pool, pretty much all damn day. So yes, John's dream day, especially when Nathan joined us too. Lots of chatting, good tunes, insane amounts of sun, and eventually a dry off and dinner on the patio at Bacio. Their version of crispy fried shrimps is quite delicious - with just the thinnest dusting of Parmesan and flour, they come to the table searingly hot and crisp, served alongside a cool, creamy homemade tartar sauce as well as a zingy-with-horseradish cocktail sauce. Mmmm...

Today? I am TOAST, no more sun for me for at least a few days, ack. Instead, I'm in full-on driving mode as of this morning - let the camps begin! Golf league and basketball so far today, with a baseball game later this evening. Dinner plans are obvious - leftover steak (yum) and a big salad with the first load of my LaFinca CSA veggies. Mixed greens including lots o'arugula, radishes, scallions, and fresh dill from a pot on my deck. Crumble of feta, few sizzling slices of steak, and it's all good.

The weather gods smiled (grinned!) upon us yesterday and There Was Sun. Lots of sun, in fact. So let's hear a big woo hoo for the weather gods, yeah! Wow, a gorgeous day, perfect for chillin' in the pool with Rudy& Ana and Stu & Debbie and (several, ahem) glasses of cold wine. It was so perfect, in fact, that I damn near forgot to make dinner! Three o'clock became almost-7:00 in what felt like 20 minutes.

So we emerged from the water and changed for dinner and made our way to the kitchen to snack on mini spinach-feta muffins, tasty with - yep - a glass of wine. (Recipe posted in comments, below.) And to scope out Rudy & Ana's pics from their recent trip to Italy's Amalfi Coast, the potential site of our next group trip. Paradise, man, we'd rent the home that Rudy & Ana just stayed in, on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean. With a pool that is filled with sea water, pumped up the side of the cliff. Glorious, glorious, I hope we can make it work, I've never been to Italy, nor the Mediterranean, and that trip would be a very nice introduction, don't you think?

So, back to Minnesota, ha. Dinner was simple - panzanella (bread salad) with roasted green beans and tomatoes, crispy prosciutto, shaved Parmesan, and a garlicky-capery dressing. And steaks, baby. Gorgeous New York strips that I stunningly stupidly overgrilled by a few (several) minutes, uuuuuugh, I'm still kicking myself. They were such nice steaks that they were tasty anyhow, but with every bite I couldn't help thinking about how fabulous they would have been if I'd had one less glass of wine before dinner. Yeah. Ah, well, lesson learned.

And for dessert, we moved out onto the screen porch - where Debbie had graciously lit candles in my many pain-in-the-ass-but-pretty lanterns, sorry Deb! And thanks! - for round two of my Grandma Meyer's Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with whipped cream and strawberries (I had baked the cake in two 9" round pans on Thursday, served one half to Polly and Charlie on Friday, and the other half last night). Uff. We were all happily stuffed, and buzzy, and a little sunburned, which is a very good way to end an evening, I think. John and I were so happy and grateful to share a beautiful summer's day with such lovely friends. From Napa to Minneapolis to perhaps the Amalfi Coast (I hope, I hope!), we sure do have a blast together.

(PS, the spinach-feta muffins make a delicious breakfast. Think I'll have me another!)

And oh, Happy Father's Day!!! Especially to my own dad, of course, father of three daughters and a son, and grandfather to two boys. Hey, the count is even! Three girls and three boys! Niiiice...

Swimmin' & swimmin' & swimmin' some more. Splash! Wow, what a hot streak, days in a row of sunshiney hotness and we're taking every advantage. We had my nephew Cooper Cuteness (aka Triple T, or Teeny Tiny Turducken) in the pool on Wednesday, and Cooper and Stacey and Etta in the pool on Thursday, and my friend Polly and her son Charlie in the pool today. Splash! NICE! Nathan's getting positively blonde and I'm getting downright tan (which is not my favorite thing to be, but it's happening anyhow). Somewhere in there I DID offer food, namely to Polly and Charlie who were here for lunch. Hot dogs and salad and my Grandma Meyer's uber-moist and sweet sour cream chocolate cakewith berries and whipped cream (recipe posted in comments, below). And then, yep, back into the pool... Splash!

And tomorrow? If we're lucky and the sunshine holds, Napa Pals Stu the Wine Genius & his wife Debbie and Rudy Maxa & Ana Scofield here for MORE swimming. And wine. And snacks and big steaks and all sorts of tasties. Splash! Yeah, baby!

And Father's Day? Yep, more pool time, this time with Johnny, whose Father's Day desire is to plant himself poolside, with his music, and a book, for the entire afternoon. I think we can oblige... Splash!

Smokin' out there, hooeeey! That's Minnesota for you (us), from mid-60s one week to mid-90s the next, with nary a lovely 70s in between. Sigh. So I'll forgive you (me) for complaining that one week you're freezing your butt off and the next yer sweatin' like a frizzy-haired pig. Or something. Damn!

Good for the veggies, though. I could technically have a baby arugula and frisee salad for lunch (with a simple vinaigrette, lots of freshly ground pepper, and a few fat shaves of Parm) - we'll see. I may hold out for greens from my first La Finca CSA veggie share pick up of the season, later this week. Can't wait!

I guess the heat is appropriate to mark the first day of summer - Nathan is officially done with 5th grade! I'm excited to have more time with him, I love hangin' with my boy. This week is nice and low-key, before the sports (driving) begin. Our plan is to snag some time at the pool, get a few projects done around here, maybe see a movie or two, have some friends over, get some exercise. You know, summer-y stuff!

We kicked off summer break with a lovely dinner at Dad & Susanna's last night, with my sister Etta (in from NYC), Stace & the Coopster, and Nathan & John. Burgers (not the fast-food variety, but elk burgers, given to Dad & Sus by their hunter-friend Ron), roasted veggies, pommes frites, and cake (mmmm, caaaake, Stace made it, white cake with chocolate icing and raspberries, rarrr), after which Nathan announced he'd had the perfect day. School's out, pizza for lunch, and burgers for dinner. That's my boy, measuring his days on the Scale of Tasties!

Hey, I'm back, quick report on the rather feast-y day we just spent. First, we earned our feast by running steps over by Minnehaha Creek - tough work on a hot day, we were pretty sweaty when we were done. Then an impulse stop by Turtle Bread in Linden Hills for a quick lunch. Icy cold gazpacho with fresh crusty bread, now that is a hot-day's lunch. In fact it was so good, we bought lots more gazpacho to take home, and a loaf of bread, and of course an oatmeal raisin cookie, and some honey-toasted peanuts to boot. Then, after some serious swimming (including with John, who snuck in a long lunch to get some time at the pool with us), we headed over to Byerly's and picked up trout fillets for the grill. So...nice healthy feast, eh? Grilled trout, gazpacho, fresh bread, sauteed broccoli (from the fridge), and ripe peaches - oh yes, peaches are officially good, woo hoo! (Buy organic if possible, "regular" peaches are very high in pesticide residue...)

I also whipped up a batch of tender turkey meatballs for the freezer - quick protein for busy nights. (In a toasted whole-wheat pita, with a little olive spread and arugula? Or crumbled onto a corn tortilla with salsa and avocado? Don't even get me started...)

Nice ways to kick off a healthy summer vaca - man, I love me some summer.

Oooh, it's a hot one out there today, definitely a day for hangin' by the pool. Just John and me, since my stepdaughter left for a trip today, and Nathan's spending the afternoon with his dad's family. So...a little sun, a late-afternoon shower, a simple, light dinner of grilled shrimps with spicy braised green beans, a 6 pm baseball game, and we're all gooood. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)