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 loves strawberry 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 Vie Lamb Brrrrger. Both lurve lamb, 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 cake with 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.)

Have you read Fast Food Nation or seen the movie (loosely based on the book)? John and I watched the 'vie a couple of nights ago and dang, friends, I'm having a hard time shaking off some of those images. Which is the point, of course. And wouldn't you know we'd had burgers for dinner that very night? Uh, one wouldn't want to eat a burger then watch that movie, oh no. The feedlot and slaughter-house scenes are not just deeply sad but truly nauseating; I'm still queasy. I've mentioned the book The Omnivore's Dilemma before (I highly recommend it), and this movie of course brought it to mind again. Mass industrial food production is a seriously flawed process, man, it's depressing as hell. We are so far removed from the sources of the foods we eat - I'm not judging, I'm lulled into complacency too - we've become comfortable with it all being invisible to us. But deadly E. coli and dangerous salmonella poisonings sure get our attention, and reveal the deep cracks in the system. I look forward to more and more access to locally and sustainably grown foods - CSA (community supported agriculture) shares (like the LaFinca one I buy for the summer) are one way. Shopping farmer's markets are another. Just being aware is important. Sure, movies like Fast Food Nation can come off preachy (and this movie does; the book is supposed to be riveting), but I'll tell you what - it's important to understand the reality of our industrial food production system, even if you don't want to see it. It's nothing less than the food we eat and feed our families.

(Note: I'm not becoming a vegetarian, but meat has been repulsive to me since I watched it - it really had an impact on me. And fast food (which I don't eat much anyhow)? Let's just say that my stomach lurched at the sight of a McDonald's today, no lie. Whew. Despite all that - and because of it - I highly recommend the book or movie.)

Um, why am I up at 12:00 a.m. posting to my blog? Well...blame it on my neighbors. Tonight was the last "neighborhood women's association meeting" (code for "wine and chat") of the season (we'll reassemble in September), always a very fun time (thank you to hostess Lisa, who put on a gorgeous party, even without electricity! Talk about a good sport!). And a good time to taste a variety of homemade treats! I tried my best - I did! - to indulge in just wine (you gotta pick and choose your vices when you're a, er, moderate epicurean or whatever), but I couldn't help sneaking a few tastes of guaaahcamole, which was damn near calling my name. My neighbor Katie brought it, in all its smooth, spicy-creamy, green glory, and divulged a little secret - Frontera Guacamole Mix (which I've seen at Byerly's in the Mexican food section). It's damn goooooood, A+, go for it.

And after chatting with my neighbor Lindsay about all things food (including her recent trip to Napa and a recipe for black bean burgers that I hope to snag from her), I had to dig in to the amazing chewy, salty chocolate cookies that she brought - The. Kill. Chocolate + Salt = Perfection, which Lindsay knows - she had improved on a chocolate cookie recipe, by adding salt, to make them so killer. I'll try to get that recipe too. Yeah, baby!

In summary... Yesterday = Cooper Cuteness + my stepdaughter's middle school graduation (gorgeous) + baking Ranger Cookies for Nathan and Coop (yum). Today = ungodly, hot wind + more work on my screened porch + a decadent little swim, all to myself. Tomorrow = Friday Morning Coffee with Suz + Hijinxing with my Minxes!!! Holy Hell, what a nice end to the week, huh?

Last week of school, this week, and then the crazy party we call summer begins. More baseball, lots of entertaining, visits from and trips to stay with family and friends, and driving, driving, driving for various sports and camps. I got a bit of a headache working on my calendar last night, ack. As usual, it will fly by, and next thing you know I'll be bitching about the cold and putting up the Christmas tree. Slow down! Slow. Down. I'll definitely try to slow it all down, savor my summer (even the rainy days, of which we've had plenty lately), having Nathan home during the day, swimming, beach, biking, al fresco dining, and the bounty of fresh veggies and herbs that is about to begin.

And picnics! Like the one John and I snuck in on Saturday. I packed a quick little lunch - chicken-avocado sandwiches, trail mix (I just threw together peanuts, raisins, and coconut), pickles, and cold beer - and we loaded up our bikes and rode around Hyland Lake Park Reserve in Bloomington. Little hillier than we were looking for, but lovely and fun nonetheless, especially when we were done biking and sat down to our mini-feast! I get so excited about eating on my own deck or porch, I forget what a blast it is to pack a picnic and head for a gorgeous park. Definitely a goal to do that more often this summer, and drag the kids along to boot, heh, heh. I want them to have some fun Eating-Outdoors Memories like I have - roast beef sandwiches and lemon bars at my stepmom's brother's polo matches...my dad's freshly-caught trout, corn-meal dredged and fried right on the shore, made into killer sandwiches with bacon and fire-toasted bread (tasting mighty fine after a long horseback ride)...my grandma's roadside bologna-n-butter sandwiches, with potato chips, fresh peaches, and my very favorite crunchy-coconutty Ranger cookies (my grandparents didn't stop for fast food on road trips). Man, good stuff, all of it. Summer '07. Time to make some memories... (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

Bloggin' on the porch on a lovely Saturday morning...ahhh...doesn't get much nicer than this. All my hard work is paying off and I'm actually starting to enjoy the spaces I've endeavored to clean up and beautify. NICE! I still have a chair to spray-paint, hopefully today, and other bits and pieces of things to do, but I'm nearing the end. And chillin'...yeah, baby!

I had such a nice day yesterday, too. Opened with Friday Morning Coffee with Suz - really, is there a better way to start one's day? - who in a twist on our usual routine, picked me up and we headed over to the Edina Art Fair. We did some serious wallet damage (ouch!) buying gifts for others and, uh, ourselves. Namely, necklace-type gifts. Suz didn't buy the one she's modeling here - it was WAY expensive, thus the look of longing on her face - but she did get a gorgeous one. And so did I! Some woman wanted to damn near buy it off my neck and Suz was like, step back, lady! Gotta love friends who will defend one's shopping turf - take that, beyotch, ha! And don't mess with Suz's dimples! After a yummy lunch at D'Amico and Sons (with all the rest of the women shopping at the Art Fair, ha), she dropped me off and was on her way.

Then last night was Baseball Moms, woo hoo! And a baseball game, to which I and co-Jiffy mom Nancy showed up a bit, er, late. I was totally busted by a "where WERE you?" from Nathan, but he had lots of fans there to support him, including Stace and Cooper Cuteness. Who had to don his adorable rain jacket because shortly after I arrived the skies opened and it POURED, sending everyone scattering for shelter. The rain did quit, and the game did proceed, and when it was done John and I headed over to Beaujo's Wine Bar for a late snack/dinner. After a lovely salad, and bowl of asparagus soup, it was time for beddy-bye, bye, bye. Nice way to end the week - and nice way to start the weekend, huh? Sparkly-necklace-shopping with Suz, beer and chat with the Baseball Moms, and a late evening meal with my husband? Sheesh!

It's supposed to rain, rain, rain today but I'll enjoy this window of sunshine while we have it. You enjoy your Saturday as well! Perhaps I'll grill me some pork ribs tonight, hmmmm, stay tuned...

Update: well dang, those ribs were mighty, mighty fine. Fall-off-the-bone tender, crisped up with BBQ sauce on the grill, we devoured them in oh, about 3 minutes. Luckily, they are no work whatsoever. I popped them in the oven and let them slow-bake while John and I went to a movie. A few hours later, a quick pass on the grill, and time to Dig In, yum. I forced portion control on us all by buying only a pound - by the time the bones are out, no one could eat too terribly much, which is a good thing. A few ribs go a looong way calorie-wise. And I just made a simple green salad as a side. As fabulous as slaw and biscuits would be - Lawdy! - it's nice to let the ribs be the star. Plus, there's that damn moderation thing...