Great Gatsby! Date night for John and me, we're headin' to the Guthrie for dinner at Cue and to check out the new digs' inaugural production. Sheesh, I kinda sorta bobbed my hair yesterday, perhaps I'll have to don a nod to something flapperesque. Hmmm... Given my decidedly un-deco wardrobe, I'm not quite sure what that could be. Ah, perhaps cooler in concept than in reality, as so many of my ideas turn out to be. The curse of the demi-creative... Not to mention, the idea of an almost-40, 5'11" wanna-be flapper makes me laugh out loud, and not in a good way. Eeek!

It's hot and sticky out there today and you know what? I don't like it! Nature has worked its magic and slowly reset my internal seasonal clock - I am now readying for fall, I can feel it. Whether it's shorter days, a few teasing breaths of cooler air, the sweet scent of fall, or all of the above, somehow over this last week a switch has been flipped...jeans, socks, sweaters, crackling fires, and braised foods all sound, if not amazing, at least interesting. As much as I bitch about the length of our winters, it turns out I am indeed a four-season girl.

So it turned out to be just fine that when Nathan and I set out to hit a few tennis balls, we couldn't find an open court! Lots of high school-looking girls getting ready for school next week...

As an official nod to the end of my summer, I finally got my hair colored and cut today. I was pretty desperate to be rid of my overly-blonde, over-grown mess of a head of hair. Nisa worked her usual magic and I walked out with much shorter (three inches!), smoother, shinier, browner hair, ahhhhh, relief.

Despite my autumnal mood, we're having a pretty summery din - steaks on the grill, pasta with broccolini, and yes, more tomatoes. Can't get enough tomatoes! And we'll eat them on the deck, even if it's a bit hot out there, because that is one summer sensual pleasure I will seriously miss. The last outdoor meal of the season - whenever it is, it's coming soon...shiiiiit...

Happy 40th Birthday Susie!

Yes, today is Suz's big day and in perfectly fitting form, it is a gorgeous, sunny day. And as cool - and warm - as she is! Obviously (for any of you who regularly read this blog, or her blog, and/or listen to our podcast, Feminine Hijinx) Suz is beautiful, talented, fun, funny, and a little - delightfully - naughty. And that's all grrrrreat! But her best qualities are her genuine warmth, intelligence, and kindness. She's an amazing mother, and wife (I know Cory would agree), and generous, fabulous friend. (And she's a great cook and food-lover! Not that I wouldn't love her if she weren't, but you know, it doesn't hurt, ha...) So here's to Suz! Happy, Happy Birthday my dear!

As my Gamma Phi Beta sorority sisters used to shout:
Drink Beer! Drink Beer! Drink Beer, goddamnit, Drink Beer!
If you can't Drink Beer like a Gamma Phi can,
then you shouldn't have a goddamn beer in your hand!
Drink Beer!

Suz doesn't drink much of anything, but you know, it's a cheer for my friend. And a classy one at that, huh? NICE!

(Damn, I'm going to miss the countdown to Suz's 40th birthday - I've been cashing in! Trip to NYC, the Scion xB, a soon-to-arrive puppy, this past Friday's Which Witch shenanigans, and an open-house this evening... Summer and Susie's birthday will soon be over, nooooooooo!)

Got tired of the green, decided to go for something a little richer and fall-ish, so voila, the debut of my new, chocolatey color scheme...

Nathan and John had lunch with my dad today, downtown, at Mill City Pizza, the pizza place in US Bank Plaza, where both John and my dad have their offices (although in different towers). John raves about Mill City's pizza and has been wanting to take Nathan - aka Mr. Pizza - for quite awhile. So before school starts, they finally made the trip, plus ran into Pa David as a bonus, and then made their way to the Body Worlds exhibit at the Science Musuem of Minnesota. When they get home, mighty hungry I'd guess, I'll be ready for them with...

...a seemingly rich but actually quite healthy chicken gumbo, in honor of New Orleans on this Hurricane Katrina anniversary. Get well soon, New Orleans. Sigh.

And after dinner, on a happier note, we're heading to Susie's for dessert at her birthday open house. Rumor has it that Suz's amazing-baker-friend Rosemarie has baked a coconut cake, among other tasties - woo hoo! In the name of moderation, I'll attempt a small-ish sort of piece...

Well, I'm sorry to say that I clearly missed greatness last night at Susan & Louis Ainsworth's dinner for Genie & Joe Dixon, Debbie & Stu Williams, Ana Scofield & Rudy Maxa, Annamarie & Karl Rigelman, and my Johnny. I fell asleep before John got home (beer + sun + Stephanie = one tired momma), so only got the details this a.m. (I'm using the word "details" pretty loosely; Stu filled in most of the specifics since that's not, um, John's forte). The highlights...ratatouille, shrimp, bruschetta, and a pear, gorgonzola, portobello, and rosemary pizza for appetizers. Main course of lamb with a red pepper coulis. Dessert cheeses including Shropeshire blue, a goat milk brie, and brie d'Affinois. Of course, plenty (!) of fabulous wine including a 1971 Ch. Rayne-Vigne sauterne (rrrrrrar!) as well as 1990 Diamond Creek Gravely Meadow, Red Rock Terrace, and Volcanic Hill, en magnum. Beautiful setting (Sue & Lou's newly remodeled home, which John said is both stunning and comfortable, good combo), great conversation, amazing food and wine; in sum, John had a relaxing, charmed, late-summer evening..and I missed the whole damn thing. Damn! When is the next? I'm THERE.

Tonight, nothing nearly that lovely, I'm rather sad to say. I had a boatload of carrots in the cooler from my CSA veggie share so made a pretty and tasty carrot soup (recipe in comments, below). With a ripe garden tomato salad and a tuna sandwich on rye, it all made a light, simple summer din.

The sun's supposed to shine tomorrow, my friends. In this last week of summer, I'm hoping for long swims with my boy, as well as after-dinner walks (before he has homework each night), shooting some baskets, maybe hitting a few tennis balls together. Summer's last hurrah! And I'm the only one who will miss it - Nathan's favorite season is winter, the darker the better. A Minnesotan, that one, yes he is.

What a day - boating on the St. Croix river with Baseball Moms Beth, Jennifer, Sonja, and Suzanne. Plenty of sunshine, breathtaking scenery, hardly another soul on the river, great tunes, more beverages than we could possibly drink, a variety of tasties, and lots and lots of chat. Ahhhhh, so relaxing and decadent. Everyone kept saying, I feel so guilty! Laugh, shrug, sip...and I was saying?

John went without me to the Ainsworth's this evening, for what I'm sure will be an incredible meal, with incredible wine, and the great company of Stu The Wine Genius Williams and his wife Debbie, as well as Rudy Maxa and Ana Scofield. I can't wait to hear the details!

Nathan and I? Well, we had...Pizza Hut pizza, Nathan's very favorite, which he's been wanting for months. Sigh. So I gave in, I didn't feel much like cooking after such a tough day, you know, out on the water and all. So now we're stuffed, and ready for showers, and jammies, and a good night's sleep. Good night to you too!

The kid is back in town - woo hoo! Cooper Doo, I've missed you! In the month since I've seen him his hair has gotten even redder and he's gotten quite strong. And he's busy! Squirm, wiggle, kick, grab, squirm, smile, frown, wiggle. He's still the sweetest, happily sitting on Daddy Bowen's lap while we ate our dinner of roasted chicken, grilled fresh corn, and a salad of green beans, tomatoes, cukes, basil, and fresh mozzarella. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

Gorgeous day by the pool, and evening on the deck, most definitely to be savored because fall is right around the corner. You can see it in the muted green leaves and deeper afternoon shade, and smell it in the evening air. Sigh. One week left before school starts - is that possible? We finally got Nathan's teacher assignment so we can make our school supply run this week. Wow. My head's not in it, I've got to switch gears here.

It sure has been an incredible summer.

A fun, food-filled, chicksville weekend ahead, my friends. Tonight...well, I can't talk about tonight - sorry Suz! Not yet anyhow. Kim and I are treating our dear friend Susie to a little pre-birthday celebration this evening and all I'll say is that we'll eat something. And drink something. Zip it! Enough on that. For now. Tomorrow night...Stacey and Cooper! Ohhh, I can't wait to see my adorable little nephew, it's been way too long. Cooper Cuteness Coopst! And Sunday, out on the St. Croix with a few of the Baseball Moms, hosted by the generous Beth Collins. More food, more drinks, more chat, more FUN! I'll be shrieking and snacking my way through the entire weekend, just the way I like it. Looks like the sun may come out, little swim, little grill, maybe a bike ride, a few nice walks (my foot is finally feeling better), I'm itchin' to get outside after days of rain. Yeah, baby, bring it on! Details - and recipes! - to follow...

Bon nuit!

Home now, can quickly say that Kim and I treated Suz to a total WT 70s dinner, at Kim's house, playing Susie's favorite childhood game, Which Witch (which - ! - Kim and Brian found on eBay). Surrounded by balloons and streamers, while chowing down on potato chips, home-made Sloppy Joes, and mac & cheese, as well as coconut and sprinkle cupcakes for dessert. Singin' along and chair-dancing to 70s hits off XM Radio. BLAST!

Words to sleep on:
"The happiest moments my heart knows are those in which it is pouring forth its affections to a few esteemed characters." Thomas Jefferson
"The beauty of enmity is insecurity; the beauty of friendship is in security." Robert Frost

I'm all for pouring forth affections. Screw insecurity! Boring as hell. Thanks for not being boring, girlfriends! You're The Best. Oh, yawn! It's late. With that, again, bon nuit.

Oooh, a dark, dreary day. Perfect for hangin' at the hacienda with a good book (A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin) and not much else. Which is fine, little on the tired side today, feels goooood to hole up at home and keep things cozy and simple. I'm planning omelets for dinner...little green pepper, onion, fresh tomato, sprinkle of cheddar. Buttered toast. Glass of wine. Is that John I hear callling my name, or is it my actual bed? I do believe it's my bed! I'll be there soon, baby, I'll be there soon...

Crispy oven-roasted chicken drummies tonight, with fresh corn, rice (I know, two grains, but my family lurves grains), sliced garden tomatoes with salt and pepper, and kale sauteed with a bit of bacon (that one is for myself, I'm the only kale fan in this household - their loss! So yummy and nutritious!).

And for dessert...hijinxing with my minxes! Woo hoo! It's been almost an entire month since we've been able to podcast, and I Can't Wait! My mood's not the same when I can't gossip wildly, talk trash - and laugh! - with my girls about life's little (and not so little) irritations (because while it takes us around 45 minutes to tape the podcast, we usually sit and chat for, oh, about three hours... I know Cory's rolling his eyes reading that, since he's often sitting around waiting for us to button it - hi Coreman! You're awesome!). Baseball might be over, but August is even busier and we haven't been able to get it together for weeks. No longer - look out world!

My Johnny, headin' to the beach, totally relaxed, loving his vacation...he had a particularly great time in EH this year. He stayed longer than Nathan and I did, didn't come back until late Saturday night, and those extra days worked their magic. He hasn't had a week-long vacation in, well, years, maybe since we went to Africa with my family. Almost four years ago! Back to reality yesterday...

Stacey and Cooper are back from vaca too, after three weeks at my parents' place at Sun West Ranch, south of Bozeman, MT. I can't wait to see Cooper and the two teeth he sprouted while away!

Yep, we're all winding our summer down, sigh. The Minnesota State Fair - aka The Great Minnesota Get-Together - opens on Thursday, always the summer's last hurrah. Andrew Zimmern will be out there in all his glory, I'll definitely be linking to his blog, Chow & Again, for the duration! And perhaps John and I will take a trip out ourselves, eat a Pronto Pup among twenty other naughty things. Stay tuned...

Today, Nathan and I are going to earn our planned crispy shrimp-foccacia sandwich dinner: first, we'll bake the bread. Second, I'm forcing him to go on a bike ride with me (he's anti-bike these days). Third, we're both going to finish unpacking from EH (there are little remnants lying around...pair of shoes here, bag of toys there, beach bag here, comic books there). If I'm really motivated, maybe I'll challenge him to a desk-cleaning contest, oooh, his vs. mine. Both are complete disasters, ack. THEN we'll fry shrimp and stuff it into warm foccacia, along with cool, crunchy cabbage, raw onions, and a smear of spicy mayo. NICE, huh? Again, stay tuned...

Oh my! That foccacia is so good it's obscene! Yikes! I've not made home-made foccacia before and perhaps I never should again... Nah,it's waaaay too good to give up! Nathan and I baked it together, a very easy bread since it doesn't even require kneading. You just have to start early in the day because there are basically three risings - first of the biga, which is a fermented starter of yeast, water, and flour. Then, the dough itself. And last, the shaped loaf in the pan. And oh, is it worth the all-day prep! (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

Obviously, we've sampled the foccacia before preparing the shrimp for the sandwiches. Don't worry, we left plenty (John might not agree, but it was the most restrained we could be with a warm loaf of fresh-baked bread in front of us!).

Deadly little mothers, those sandwiches. We made smallish ones, thankfully, with four pieces of shrimp each, and that is plenty, definitely. At least for Nathan and me. Again on the deck, that's my favorite combination, food + the great outdoors. Everything tastes better outside!

I'm definitely in a gratin groove this summer. Bounty of the perfect ingredients, I guess. To me, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, and a bit of mozzarella, baked together until tender, juicy, and melty, is sublime. Doesn't have to be heavy and caloric, at all; in fact, I think a summer gratin is best when the hand adding cheese and oil is quite light, allowing the unbeatable flavors of perfectly in-season vegetables to shine.

I've previously posted recipes for a tomato zucchini tart and zucchini parmigiana. Tonight's version is the simplest of all - no bread crumbs, I didn't even add herbs. Just veggies, baby, layered with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of cheese, bit of salt and pepper. A hearty, healthy meal when paired with grilled bread, plus a big salad - my basil, arugula, and frisee combined with CSA veggie-share mixed greens, green beans, and cherry tomatoes. Eaten on the deck, while sipping a glass of bubbly...oh, yes, life is gooooood.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Nathan's Flap Jacks for breakfast, so named because the recipe came into our repetoire via the cooking class Nathan took in July. He won't much eat them, but that's OK. He's very proud of how thoroughly I've embraced the recipe, so he happily lays claim to it. It's a toss up (ha), because I love pretty much any pancake, but I think crepey, eggy, paper-thin flap jacks, smokin' hot out of the pan, topped with a little pat of butter (and honestly, nothing else, although fruit and a drizzle of syrup are also nice touches) are the KILL. (Recipe posted in comments, below.) With a steaming cup of coffee - Happy Sunny Sunday!

Big, BIG ol' salad for dinner tonight, so much good stuff, oooooh... With a bit of spicy beef left (yes, even after several burritos each, Nathan and I still have not quite polished it off!) plus tomatoes, corn, cukes, greens, and onions from my CSA veggie share, I think I'll make a taco-ish sort of salad. Perhaps garnished with a few crispy potatoes instead of tortilla chips... Yeah, that's the plan. NICE!

Lovely party hosted by Suzanne and Mike Burnett today, a going-away soiree for Kris and Tyler Nelson, and their sons Nick and Andy. Nathan and Nick have played baseball together for years, with their dads coaching together. They're not moving far, still within the Twin Cities, but it's far enough for new schools, new baseball team... Everyone is sad to see them go... Best wishes to the Nelsons!

Stuffed! I am stuffed like the burrito I happily ate for lunch while watching Spanglish on cable. I vaguely recall negative reaction to the film when it came out. Hmmm...I thought it was terrific and especially enjoyed the sensual, sexy food scene set in chef Adam Sandler's faux French Laundry kitchen. Who wouldn't want to watch Paz Vega eat baby lamb chops with her hands? My goodness she's a beautiful woman.

Afterward I went for a swim, but got pretty darn chilled - it's gorgeously sunny, but cool, and breezy, a very September feel, sigh. I came in and took my first warm bath in months. Which felt great as I sank into the warm suds, but somehow wasn't relaxing, hmmm, why, why? Oh dear! Because the smell of the lavender bath salts reminded me of...winter! Gasp! How very unsettling. Enough of that, I was out of that bath in the blink of an eye and back into summer clothes, with a spritz of summer perfume, bare feet, sipping a delightfully cold beer. I'm not ready to say good-bye to summer, not yet...

Check out my fabulous $.25 purchase from amazon.com! Inspired by the delicious dinner my father-in-law prepared while we were in EH last week (see below), I googled Perla Meyers' Seasonal Kitchen, copyright 1973, and happily found a gently used copy. What a book, talk about ahead of its time! No one in my life was cooking this way in 1973, and I'm lucky to have many fabulous cooks in my life.

Well, as you can see, I can now post pictures. Hallelujah! I've spent an obnoxious amount of time on it, the details of which I won't bore you with, other than to say the fix was to give up on Explorer and download a new browser called Mozilla Firefox. I've gone back to previous posts and plugged in a few of the many cool pics from the trip, including the one here, of our friends Maud and Bartley's daughters, Catherine and Natalie, who not only helped prepare linguine with white clam sauce and a gorgeous avocado, tomato, onion, and romaine salad at the Levy's (especially Natalie, who makes a serious sous chef), but also helped prepare the dreamy sunset dinner that they and their parents hosted on Saturday night (see below), played with and watched over the younger kids, and hung with everyone being their cool, smart, fun selves. Great to see them, as always.

Still coming down from the trip, it definitely takes me awhile to switch gears. As in still doing laundry, still putting things away... A cloudy, rainy day today should make it easier to wrap up my chores. Right?

Nothing like a light, delicious lunch before tackling chores. I picked up some good, fresh pita yesterday at Bylery's - not the gritty pockets, but the soft, thick version you find in Greek restaurants. A loaf (piece) of that, rubbed on both sides with a bit of olive oil, toasted while topped with chopped tomaotes, crumbled feta, and thin slices of raw onion... One of my very favorite sandwiches. Top off the warm, salty goodness with a bit of cool, tangy yogurt, and you'll be glad, mmm. And for a small dessert, a perfectly ripe purple fig, quartered, topped with a bit more of the yogurt, sprinkle of chopped almonds, and a drizzle of honey. With a cup of tea, it can't be beat (I know, I always say that. And I always mean it!).

My Cuisine at Home magazine arrived today, a gem of a publication recommended to me by my aunt Marge. Nathan and I paged through it together and tagged several recipes we want to try, including an apple tarte tatin, shrimp po' boys, foccacia muffaletta sandwiches, and linguine with lemon and cream, which we actually prepared a small portion of this afternoon to sample (Nathan's a BIG fettucine alfredo fan). Oh my. Rich and fabulous, bad combination, eek. Luckily we had only a few bites each, but that did me in for dinner! (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

Okaaaay, it didn't quite end there. You see, John's not eating with me tonight (sniff, sniff!), and on such nights, to get through, I like to take advantage of eating things that I love but that he despises. So I had tagged a recipe for sausage with white beans (he hates both, sigh)...thought I'd skip it after my linguine snack...but did get a bit hungry later so decided to go forth. And boy oh boy oh boy am I glad that I did. First of all, I'll have a smashing lunch for tomorrow (I'll pair it with a hearty pile of chopped arugula). And then, of course, I had more than a couple of unbelievable mouthfuls tonight. Spicy sausage paired with creamy, slightly crisped white beans...a tapa from Tapas, A Taste of Spain in America, by Jose Andres (recipe posted in comments, below). Lovely book. One of these nights I'll gather some friends for a night of Spanish wine and assorted tapas, including the sausage and white beans, as well as sauteed artichokes with ham, chicken with garlic, oven-roasted potatoes and oyster mushrooms, and green beans with tomatoes and pearl onions. Hello? How amazing does that all sound? Rarrr...

I can't post pictures - happens too often with Blogger and it is soooo irritating! I took some cool ones (I think) of family, friends, and food while in EH... Damn! I've been messing around with that all day instead of writing a new post. (That and unpacking, doing laundry, and running errands...) But here I am, arrived home yesterday, safe and sound, absolutely no problem maneuvering through La Guardia. In fact, the only nerve-wracking part of the trip was our cab-ride here from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, in a barely held-together minivan driven by a kinda crazy Russian, gesticulating at other drivers while yelling stewpid! stewpid! I was very glad to be in the house, drinking a cold glass of water, looking out over the pool, and experiencing that most wonderful of feelings - home, home, it is good to be home. Home!

Last night, an over-easy egg, piece of toast, half-glass of wine, a peach that had seen better days, and into bed. Just like that. Today, after a run to the store, I made egg salad with anchovies (inspired by my brother-in-law Tom, who made the same for us in EH, although here is eating a mound o'guacamole at the beach, mmm...) to have on hand for a quick sandwich or salad with tomatoes. And for dinner tonight, grilled eggplant and polenta, topped with a tomato-anchovy sauce. (Recipes posted in comments, below.) Light but filling. Hit the spot. After all my not! moderate indulgences in EH, it's time for this girl to depuff, to pare things down, to get back to (delicious!) fruit and veggies. Bit more water, bit (!) less wine. Are you, like I, absolutely starving on the first day back from vacation? As I try to cut back, my body is like some spoiled brat screaming, noooooo! I don't want to! Sigh...

A last day in paradise topped off with a vacation-finale feasty feast, oh yeaaaaaah. Courtesy of my foodie father-in-law John. We opened with either a crab cake or shrimp toast first course (we got to choose ahead; I chose shrimp toast), followed by a main of crispy veal scallops topped with cucumbers, and finished with molten chocolate cake with a scoop of melty vanilla ice cream. Ah, what a meal, my friends. Nathan sat next to me and when he first tasted his shrimp toast, he leaned his head on my shoulder and said, Oh. My. Gosh. Gone in sixty seconds. Such a treat to have a variation on two of my own faves this summer, veal and cooked cucumbers. But the two together, topped with fresh dill...sublime. Bartley, Maud, Catherine, Natalie, Allegra, Cameron, Dot, John, Jamie, John, Nathan, and myself, grateful for electricity in the dining room (it's mysteriously disappearing one room at a time throughout the rest of the house), lovely wine, a beautiful day, and extraordinary food.

With that, time to run upstairs and pack, and sleep, and prepare to make my way back home to the Minneapple tomorrow. Wish us luck in navigating airport security... (Recipes posted in comments, below.)

I'm here! Although not there...I'm in East Hampton (EH), New York, aka Paradise, visiting my in-laws, Dot and John. (My) John's bro Tom and his kids are here too, we're all shacked up together in the Levy's beautiful, classic, shingled EH house, big front porch, shimmering pool, hydrangeas of every color, towering trees... What can I say? It is absolutely stunning out here. And not to be too nauseating, but the weather is also, well, perfect. Ditto the views, the eats, the peeps. Gag, I know. Warm days, cool nights, it's rough...

The basic groove: open with a little pool action in the morning, followed by a nice lunch (usually standing in the kitchen, everyone fending for themselves from an assortment of tasties home-made, Citarella-made, or local farmer-made; yes, a less famous face of the Hamptons is the lush, rolling farmland, cranking out some of the best produce on Earth). Then, to the beach, of course! White sand, crashing waves, balmy breezes, golden sunshine, and more Chanel-encased fake breasts than you can shake a stick at. Or would want to shake a stick at. Or something. Back here to the hacienda for quick showers, clean cotton, cold drinks, and dinner for the crowd courtesy of my father-in-law John. When he cooks, everybody listens. Or, as in last night, courtesy of great cooks - and friends! - Bartley and Maud, and their daughters Catherine and Natalie, who treated us (John, Nathan, Tom, Cam, Allegra, friends Matthew and Caryn, David and Barbara, et moi) to a glowy, dreamy, sunset-into-candlelight-feast on their Sag Harbor deck... Grilled salmon, fresh Hamptons' corn (the best), tomato-onion salad, foccacia bread (from Espresso in Sag Harbor, home of amazing bread and sandwiches), home-made strawberry shortcake, all washed down with copious amounts of chilled rose... I can't say what a treat it is for me to tuck into the offerings of great cooks, in the midst of family, and friends, and tunes (via Maud and John's warring iPods), in one of the most beautiful places in the world... Love it, love it, lurve it.

Tonight, a casual (probably take-out, which out here = fab-u-lous) dinner on Georgica Beach, Maud's famous guacamole, cold beer, around a Bartley Bonfire, with s'mores for dessert. Sigh. Tomorrow, my father-in-law takes over his kitchen and we will feast here, around the huge, old dining room table at which I'm now writing, and at the end of the evening, we'll all stumble up the stairs and into our soft beds, stuffed, buzzing, yawning, and giggling. Not necessarily a pretty picture, but sensual - epicurean! - and fabulously indulgent. Would I have it any other way? Hey, moderation in all things, including moderation, particularly when on vacation in the Hamptons. And you can quote me on that.

Your chesnock is my ku cai, baby. Or toi. Ajo. Knoblauch. Aglio. Or garlic! Yes, garlic, in any language, heavenly, healthy, aphrodisiac garlic. I'll admit, I despise garlic kisses (blech, John gets so irritated with me when I make him something super-garlicky for dinner and then complain about the, uh, fragrance), but I eat and cook with garlic all the time anyhow. As in tonight, a what's-in-the-fridge sort of dinner: pasta el pesto (leftover basil-garlic puree), zucchini parmigiana (big ol' zucchini from my CSA veggie share), and a simple cucumber- tomato salad (ditto the big ol' cucumber, along with loads of ripe tomatoes from my pots).

NICE dinner! I especially love that zucchini parmigiana, it's quick, easy, and sooooo delicious! Yep, my garlic and I are heading to bed soon, rarrr...

Nathan and I met my lovely aunt Mary for lunch today, at Beaujo's Wine Bar. Mary and I had the Greek sandwich for the third time in a row - it's that good. There's something about the bread, which is perfectly crusty and yet not too heavy. The filling of olive spread, feta, cucumbers, tomato, spicy peppers, and onions doesn't hurt either, especially since the sandwich is warm, so everything ends up salty-crunchy-melty-delicious. Nathan had a burger, which he loved, as well as some very rich mocha torte sort of thing. And a cup of (decaf) coffee - my boy lurves coffee, since he was a toddler, so once in awhile I let him indulge.

Back here for a swim and dinner prep. I had a hankering for something Mexican-ish so I made a Rick Bayless-inspired potato-cheese filling, with homemade tortillas and guacamole. Rick's recipe is actually a chorizo sausage-potato filling (recipe posted in comments, below), which I would happily devour, but John's not a sausage lover. So I instead sauteed a bit of crispy, spicy ground beef to accompany the potatoes and it worked quite nicely. Ole! (A tart, fresh-lime, on-the-rocks margarita would have been KILL, but, eh, I kinda ran out of energy. An ice-cold beer sufficed just fine, yeah, baby...)

Baseball Moms, woo hoo! We took the summer off because, well, we were all busy with baseball! But now baseball is (thankfully) done...so it was time to get together at local hangout McCoy's and have some beer with our chat, on a chair instead of bleachers (ouch but those bleachers hurt the bum). First Monday of the month, we're back on! As always, great fun.

I managed to completely talk my way through a scheduled dinner with John - not a shocker to those of you who know me, ha. He finally gave up on me and picked up take-out from Big Bowl - his fav, their take on a tenderloin steak. Luckily he's not a bit irritated with me (my sweetie!) and we're both home now, ready to call it a night. A night!

Lookin' pretty smart, huh, huh? Well I feel smart in my new purple (!) glasses. In fact, I bet you'll notice the quality of my writing improving dramatically now that I've got them. Stay tuned for the fabulousness...

And for grilled pork tenderloin, marinated with basil and garlic (per yesterday's almost-pesto) and topped with lots of chopped, ripe tomatoes and sweet onion. Served with couscous and kale. That's the dinner plan, so far at least. For now, my smart glasses are going to accompany my smart ass out to the pool... Splash!

I surprised John and Nathan with the deliciousness of the crusty grilled pork tenderloin. Neither of them are pork chop fans, despite my best efforts. But the tenderloin? Gone in a flash, baby, with happy stomachs all-round. Nathan even said, you can make this again (why thank you, ha). Ah ha, a keeper! (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

It's a stunning evening. I would love to go for a walk but my dumb foot is still hurting and swollen. Irritating! Didn't matter so much when it was 95 degrees at sunset, but on a night like tonight, I'm regretful. Oh well. I swam a bunch of laps, that will have to suffice. Perhaps (perhaps!) I'll curl up with my book instead...

Here's to a good week, my friends!

It's going to be a Very Veggie weekend. Just look at this stuff! How fabulously obscene is that eggplant? When I pulled it out of the box from my CSA veggie share, I laughed loudly enough to distract John from his very serious phone call and make him smile. No joke even needed what with that thing in my hands! It's already peeled, sliced, salted, and draining in a colander. After about an hour or so, I'll rinse it, squeeze out the excess moisture, and brown it in olive oil. Topped with sauteed garlic and fresh tomatoes, it will make a fantastic meatless dinner tonight (recipe posted in comments, below). Alongside pasta with pesto - I also got a big bunch of basil, so I'll puree it with olive oil and garlic. I don't add cheese to the puree so that I can use it as a marinade for meat and fish as well as a sauce for pasta and vegetables. When I toss it with hot pasta, then I add the cheese. Works like a charm.

The fried eggplant is incredible. Piled on a couple of thin slices of stale baguette, it made a yummy little late-afternoon snack. Now it's time for a long, warm, post-swim shower, followed by padding back out here to finish making din...

John, A, and I had a lovely dinner together, pasta in chicken noodle soup for A, pasta with pesto and eggplant for John and me. Mmmm.... Man it was nice to not go to a baseball game today. A real Saturday, reading, swimming, cooking, listening to tunes. NICE!

Queen of Tarts! That's me, baby, I love a good tart. Takes one to know one, I guess, ha.

Why am I inside baking on a gorgeous, sunny day? I don't know...felt like it, I guess. And I wanted to make a dent in the abundance of produce piling up around here! So I've baked two tarts (rich and flaky sour cream crust recipe yields two crusts), one savory, one sweet. The savory is a cabbage tart - yes, a cabbage tart. It's lovely and delicious, tender cabbage, garlic, onion, parmesan, a bit of creme fraiche, with a pinch of nutmeg. The sweet is Nathan's Favorite Peach-Blueberry Tart. I made a small one a few weeks ago, with crust scraps from a tomato zucchini tart, and he's been asking for another ever since. Not particularly good timing, since he's away all weekend - but I'll make sure there will be several pieces left for him by Sunday night. The Tinsk! (Recipes posted in comments, below.)

I dropped off a slice of the cabbage tart at Suz's when I popped over to pick up more copies of the incredible photos that Cory took at Nathan's game on Wednesday. One was of Isabel, hitting the ball, which made a perfect team gift for her mom, Team Mom Kristi. There are several amazing pics of Nathan too, so fun. Yay, Cory! His beautiful photos have made gift-giving pretty easy this past year...

My minxes - who I'm sorry to say did not win the FM 107 Undiscovered Divas contest, booooooo (what are you gonna do, throw me out of the game like an over-zealous umpire? I think not! BOOOOOOOO!!!) - and their minxettes are coming to swim this afternoon. It's another beautiful, sunny day (just like it is all over the country, ha), a very good day to decompress a bit from our collectively stressful week by cracking an ice-cold beer, munching some poolside tortilla chips with guahhhhcamole, and talking it all to death. That's what sister-women do, lemons to lemonade, with lots of cackling and shrieking in the process, heh, heh, heh. Oh, how I love my lovely, naughty, hilarious, good-hearted-yet-slightly-evil friends! We're almost-40 bitches, in the very best sense of the word. Look out!

After having a burger for lunch AND dinner yesterday (YUCK! Baseball craziness, that's how it goes...), I am making a SALAD for dinner tonight. My body wants vegetables in any form - greens, cabbage, onions, avocado, herbs, beets, all of it. With berries for dessert. We have lots of leftover chicken, that will probably go in as well. Perhaps some homemade croutons, sprinkle of parm, make a meal out of it. Cool and crunchy, mmm...

It's over and...we won! The Laukka-Rempfer Floridians won the Little League Minors championship game tonight. Congratulations Tommy, Nick, TJ, Josh, Owen, Josh, Matthew, Isabel, Gabe, Mitchell, Neal, Taylor, Baye, and Nathan! Coaches Tommy, Tyler, Mike, and Brian! Team Mom Kristi and Stats-taker Jessica! A team effort in many ways, it really is. Obviously with the kids on the field, but behind the scenes it's families volunteering their time to coach, organize, serve on the board, run the concessions, and sit at the games, rain or roasting shine. It's very cool. And quite hot, as it were.

Ahhhh, an unbelievable win, what a season. I just about fell out of the stands at that last out, I really did. Wow. Somehow, some way this somewhat mismatched group of little guys (and a girl!) found a way to pull together, make very few errors, hit the crap out of the ball, steal bases, and pitch like nobody's business. The odds were not in our favor these last couple of games (to say the least!). Two of our coaches got tossed from the tournament for arguing with the ump. Tommy, the rock of the team, fell off his bike over the weekend and badly hurt his wrist. Despite that, he pitched a beautiful game on Sunday, and played a mean catcher today, throwing out two players at second base for the last two outs of the game. Josh (whose two little brothers were playing in the AAA championship on the field next to us; they won also!) started us off pitching (and made both catches at second to end the game) and stoic Nick closed us out. Wham!

Kim and Suz came to the game, with Vivian and Emily. Cory was there too, snapping pics, I can't wait to see what he shot! Of course Nathan's grandparents were there, they hardly miss a game. And John and A were there as well, like everyone, caught up in the nervousness, eek. Big, BIG crowd at the field tonight (and hopefully good revenues for the concessions!). All told, a pretty incredible experience. And I am so damn GLAD that it is over, OMG, I couldn't take another stressball game. I'm not cut out for this at ALL, I was sweating bricks the whole time, staring at my feet, ack. A little post-game celebration at DQ and now it's all done...