Fresh Tart

Wellll...I did end up scoring a bratwurst after all! We had dinner at my sister Stacey's last night, and she grilled up some brats and burgers, so when in Rome... It was fantastic, by the way, crusty and spicy, summer in a bun. In a nod to moderation, I actually had half of one, on half a bun, with raw onions and mustard. Alongside a delicious green salad tossed with fresh strawberries, a few bites of my mom's potato salad (her trick - she purchases it at the grocery store, then oomphs it up with lots of minced celery, hard-cooked egg, and onion, as well as a healthy shot of mustard, yum), and strawberry shortcake for dessert, it was a hell of meal and the perfect ending to a long, lovely weekend. And the perfect launch for what promises to be a long, lovely summer, right? Yeah, baby!

Today the sun shines, typical. But back to work and school and chores anyhow, snap, snap! Tonight, for a quick healthy din, I'm planning to grill chicken breasts with a honey-mustard glaze (half honey, half mustard, all easy). Alongside green beans drizzled with toasted walnut oil (good stuff, packed with flavor, a little goes a long way) and crunchy toasted walnuts, maybe a few skewers of grilled cherry tomatoes as well, it should be a colorful, tasty meal. Easy too. I'll check back in later with the details.

Have a good (short!) week, everyone.

OK, back for a moment, this has nothing to do with food (or does it? Hmmm...), but it made me laugh out loud, so I'm pasting it here. It's from The Onion, although I caught it on planetdan. In case you're dragging after the three-day weekend and could use a little laugh - well here you go. The models are perfectly smug, the design mocks the NYTimes Magazine exactly, and the title is fabulously nasty. In case you could use more than one laugh, I highly recommend a quick glance at both planetdan and The Onion. Much better for you than a cup of coffee and way more fun anyhow. Cheers!

Moderate it: it's not traditional (gasp), but it works quite nicely to halve brats lengthwise before grilling them. It cuts cooking time dramatically, plus makes it easy and satisfying to eat half a brat - it lies nicely flat on a bun; top with pickles, onions, sauerkraut, mustard...whatever sounds great. (Please don't tell anyone in Wisconsin that I suggest this, I'll get pummeled.)

Grillin' & chillin', that's the goal for Memorial Day weekend, right? Our lovely sunshine disappeared, but that's OK. The grill still works in the rain! (Although the griller will be tucking her hair into a hat - no steak is worth frizzy hair, even if it is tenderloin, sniff.)

As much as I lurve a grilled bratwurst, covered with raw onions, sauerkraut, and mustard, washed down with an ice cold beer (the Wisconsin t-shirt I'm wearing today does not help that craving and in fact probably put it in my head, ack), I had this plan to keep things on the lighter side this weekend...right. Not that we'll feel deprived, heck no. As I hinted above, Nathan and I picked up a beef tenderloin for tonight - smeared with a little olive oil and lots of minced garlic, herbs, and coarse salt, it should come off the grill with a good crust. A couple of slices over a big spinach salad, simple and delicious.

For dessert? Peaches! They're in the store and tasting great, my fave fruit. Hey, sticking with the theme, I could even grill one - mighty nice with a drizzle of best balsamic and a little honey. Yeah, that sounds like a tasty, lovely plan.

PS If you happen to be grilling brats, enjoy one for me!

Moderate it: beef tenderloin is very special (expensive!) and delicious yet quite lean. It's easy to prepare - perfect on the grill. You can get away with buying smaller portions because there is literally no waste - no gristle, fat, or bone to trim away.

Do you have big Memorial Day plans? Not me, thank goodness. May has been a crazy-busy (fun!) bacchanal and I'm looking forward to a quiet, healthy reprieve. I took a long bike ride yesterday, and followed by the grilled fish and pile of vegetables I prepared last night, it put me in the right mood for a long weekend of dialing things back a bit, taking a deep breath, ahhh... No restaurants, parties, birthdays, travel, illness, entertaining - nothin'. Just a good book, my deck, exercise, flower planting, light meals, perhaps a movie, and a few good nights of sleep. Dang but that sounds nice! (I may very well not pull it off, but at least I'm going to try!)

Tonight I'm back to the wild-caught Key West shrimp I found at Whole Foods. Since it's just John and me, I'm going to boil them in their shells for a little peel-n-eat action. Served alongside a saute of tomatoes, okra, onions, and a little bacon, I'm going for a Southern-ish feel. Southern light, that is - no fry, no biscuits, no pie. Just plenty of yum!

Moderate it: check out this neat article in Health Magazine - beautiful, quick meal ideas based on farmer's market produce. They bill it as a "diet," but I'd call it an outline for healthy, delicious, every-day eating. Nice!

Well, we ended up with an absolutely lovely Memorial Day. I hope you did too! It threatened to be rainy/stormy this morning, but then cleared up nicely. Humid bugger out there, but that's OK, that's what the pool is for, and we opened with a big swim. In fact, we opened with late morning swimming with Dan and Ethan Hatzung from across the street. Ethan, age 3, so adorable in the pool, the little kicks are the sweetest. Then Stace, Coop, Dad, Susanna, and their dog Jake (check out his amazing leaps into the pool, below) arrived and Coop changed into his birthday-present (from us!) rash guard and shark trunks, ready for action. He LOVES swimming, and just like Nathan - and Jake! - once he was in he wasn't much for getting out. But eventually everyone had to climb out...for food.

Oh, hey, I just realized we forgot to make s'mores! Ah, well, we had plenty of other treats. I'm sorry, but nothing beats tortilla chips with guacamole and a cold beer on a hot, sunny day. Damn, friends, that is good stuff. The rest is all just background noise as far as I'm concerned. Tasty background noise, granted. Shrimp tacos with grilled tomatoes, onions, and peppers + guacamole + crumbled feta + chopped cabbage + spicy salsa-mayo alongside spicy roasted potatoes + sour cream = I'll admit, tasty background noise. Black coffee, coconut macaroons (from Byerly's, deadly little mothers), chocolate rugelach (from Crossroads Deli, ditto the deadly little mothers' rave), and fresh strawberries made for a nice ending. To the eating...

After lunch it was time for a digestif game of croquet. Who won? Let's just say her (my) name starts with an S and ends with an E...hmmm... Then back in the pool for Nathan and Cooper, and finally, an end to all the fun, darn. You get tired pretty quickly when you're 1 (or 40), and as the sun sets, it's time to mosey on home for a warm bath, clean jammies, and a good, long dark nap.

Have a good night!

Yay, it's sunny! Yes, we have actual sun on Memorial Day weekend, we Minnesotans are thrilled. We are so by the pool today, first with Andrew, Rishia, and Noah for brunch, then just us, and then later still John and I plan to take (drag) the kids to a county park reserve for a family bike ride. Then back home for turkey/ciabatta sandwiches on the deck. At least that's the plan, who knows how it will actually play out...

Tomorrow, Stace, Coop, Dad, and Susanna are coming over, hopefully to play some croquet and get Cooper Cuteness in the water - and more important, into a teeny tiny swimsuit! - for the first time in '07. I was mighty challenged in trying to come up with something to grill that 1) everyone likes, 2) is relatively healthful, and 3) tastes damn good! I settled on...shrimp tacos. I'll thaw/brine the shrimp first (water seasoned with plenty of salt, crushed garlic, cayenne pepper, and oregano) for a couple of hours. Then skewer them and either brush them with olive oil or give them a spritz of olive oil nonstick spray (good product, use it often for grilling). I'll also do my usual veggie skewers of cherry tomatoes, peppers, and sweet onion (ditto the brush of oil or spritz of nonstick spray) sprinkled with a bit of coarse salt. Soft tortillas wrapped in foil and warmed on the grill. Big, BIG bowl of guacamole. Chopped cabbage. Side of spicy roasted potatoes. So there - not your typical Memorial Day barbecue, but it'll work. Fresh berries with whipped cream, coconut macaroons, and of course s'mores for dessert - rinse the marshmallow off your face by diving into the pool. Ahhh...