Wild Wednesday coming up! That means a visit from my nephew, Cooper Cuteness, yay! Cooper brightens our week, bigtime, especially since he says "n" for "l" at the beginning of words - that means he nuvs (loves) his new dog Nevi (Levi). Beyond cute. (Of course I haven't talked to him for a week, which means he could by now be saying "l" perfectly well. That's how it goes with a two-year old; one day you're Aunt Settie, the next you're a perfectly pronounced Ste-pha-nie, just nike that.)

Simple is the name of the food game on Wednesdays. Tonight the plan is steaks on the grill with a stir-fry of bokchoy, broccoli, and scallions (that's what remains of my veggie share; reload tomorrow) with a good amount of garlic, Thai curry paste, and chopped fresh basil for some interest and heat. (I'm all about the heat lately, outside and in my food. My aunt Mary got me addicted to the most unlikely-named spicy pickle this past weekend - Norwegian Dills, one of the Gedney State Fair versions. If you, like I, crave salty heat at about, oh, 4 pm, these are your pickle, crazy good.)

Hopefully I'll score some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Monday's fried walleye became yesterday's fish taco - a little chopped cabbage and red onion, slice of avocado, in a small French Meadow sprouted grain tortilla. Delicious. Leftover steak makes a damn good taco as well, and is always good stir-fried with a few peppers, onions, and mushrooms, eaten warm over salad.

On an unrelated note, check out (and chuckle about) this article describing the calorie-shock New Yorkers are experiencing as chain restaurants implement a new law requiring they post menu item calorie counts right next to the prices. Ouch. Maybe it's because I'm a woman who gains weight by merely glancing at unhealthy foods (therefore this blog!), and probably more likely because I cook and therefore know what really goes into making items like muffins, scones, and platter-sized pieces of nut-encrusted fried meats (although I also maintain it doesn't take thinking very hard about it to realize they're loaded with calories), but none of the counts in the article particularly shocked me. I know how I feel after eating food like that (ill). See what you think - do Minnesotans need calorie counts on their menus? I have a sneaking suspicion that it's not the calorie counts alone that freak people out - it's being seen eating the burger that everyone can plainly see is more than 1,200 calories. If shame encourages people to make healthier choices - or skip the chain restaurants altogether and cook their own food - then it works for me? Hmmm...

Moderate it: a small piece of protein (beef, chicken, fish, pork, tofu, lamb, etc.) + lots of fresh veggies (salad, stir-fry, roasted, grilled, etc.) + small amount of grain (whole-grain bread, couscous, rice, corn, pasta, etc.) = healthy dinner in 30 minutes. Of course my kids eat small amounts of fresh veggies + lots of grain, despite my best efforts to encourage otherwise; I try to think about it as a palate-training process, not completed until adulthood... A vegolescence, as it were... Right.)

When we do beach in Minnesota, it's at a lake, of course. Or even better, it's on a lake, in a boat, with a cooler full of snacks & supplies, good tunes, and enough engine oomph to pull the water ski- and intertube-inclined of the group. Ahhh, warm sun, cool breeze, cold beer, beautiful views. That's summer, baby, and I'll take it.

Or more accurately, I took it, yesterday, at Green Lake with my aunt Mary & uncle Bruce. Nathan and I drove out to their lovely farm, near Kerkhoven, Saturday evening. I'm not usually one for the drive, but we took a new route (to avoid - big surprise - road construction) and given the recent rains and the angle of the late-afternoon sun, the scene was breathtaking. The effect was lush rolling hills covered with silver-y green fields literally sparkling in the breeze, I'm not kidding. I've never seen anything like it (and I've done a lot of driving west of Minneapolis). Less than 30 minutes into our drive I felt completely away and relaxed, ahhhh.

We arrived at The Farm in time for dinner, with my aunt Marge and uncle Jim joining us as well. I had picked up a few cheeses, acacia honey, dried fruit, and crostini at France 44 before we left, so we enjoyed that on the porch before our dinner: salad with peaches, greens, and almonds, followed by grilled steaks, farmer's market new potatoes, and grilled corn on the cob brushed with hoisin-orange butter (yum, recipe is here). Basically, the perfect summer dinner, followed by the perfect summer dessert surprise...DQ Dilly Bars! Man, I hadn't had a Dilly Bar in so long, it tasted great, just like when I was a kid. Nathan was thrilled; Marge and I scored free Dilly Bars (message on the stick, natch, under the ice cream; for the Willmar DQ, however, so I left mine with Mary!).

Yesterday morning we were up - lazily - for coffee, pancakes, berries, and sausage on the deck, over-looking the countryside, so beautiful. Mary made delicious sandwiches on fresh bread, Bruce loaded up the boat trailer, and we took off for Spicer, the put-in for Green Lake. After a quick stop to check out my cousin Michael and his wife Amanda's beautiful new home, by 1:30 pm we were cruising, eating sandwiches, and stopping to chat with my cousin Kim (she lives on Green Lake and came down to the dock to say hi). After a bit Nathan jumped in the lake and tried to get up on skis, then moved on to wake-riding on the tube. By 5:00 pm we were heading back to shore to grab dinner at Melvyn's - fried walleye for me, of course, most certainly not caught in Green Lake but completely of the lake anyhow (my Grandpa Meyer fished Green Lake almost exclusively).

And then we headed home...Mary & Bruce back to The Farm, Nathan and I back to the city. In a little more than 24 hours, back in our own beds.

So here we are. A little browner, a lot more rested, ready for the week. Thank you Green Lake! And of course, thank you Mary & Bruce! (I'm thinking more fried walleye for dinner, I'm needing more than one piece this summer; plus, as I like to do post-trip, I can stretch out the idyll for just a bit longer... With a crisp white, and a big veggie share salad, I should welcome myself - and John, who was in NYC for the weekend - home quite nicely.)

Moderate it: let's face it, walleye fans - with its light and flaky texture, walleye must be fried to achieve greatness. I prefer mine dredged in a bit of flour and fried in butter, the way my Grandma Meyer made it. The key to keeping the meal moderate is to serve fried walleye alongside something a bit tart and crisp - as in, a simple salad of greens, radishes, scallions, dressed lightly in a lemon/olive oil vinaigrette. Enjoy.)