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...

Due to receiving one of the most enormous cabbages I've ever seen in this week's CSA veggie share (albeit not quite as large as the one in the pic), I made an unlikely summer soup yesterday - er, cabbage soup. Studded with potatoes, with a hint of bacon-smokiness, served with a sprinkle of gruyere cheese, pretty hearty fare (even though light on the cals, and somewhat diuretic, thank you, cabbage). But somehow it all worked, and tasted great, and I have leftovers for days. And days. More days than I'll want to eat cabbage soup. In August. Good thing it freezes so well. I can far too easily imagine some chilly damp day, only short months away, where I'll be damn glad for a bowl of cabbage soup to warm my bones.

Back to summer: I shockingly didn't eat anything tomato yesterday - I'm currently all-tomato, all-the-time. 'Tis the season, yesss! Tonight, I'm thinking a simple herb frittata, with some lovely chopped garden tomatoes thrown in, finished with a dab of creme fraiche, alongside a few more of those lovely fingerling (thumbling, toeling) potatoes. Pass the salt. (Because cabbage soup is diuretic - see how that works?)

What to do with my second giant summer squash, also in this week's veggie share? There were two - one I skewered and grilled with bell peppers and red onions (below). This second one, hmmm... If you, like I, are faced with an abundance of summer squash, check out this link to more recipes than I could ever think of. The fried squash puffs look delicious for a party - squash fritters, as it were. Anything frittered is fine by me, and potentially moderate if enjoyed in the low single digits. I've even been tempted in summers past to experiment with squash bread - basically golden-hued zucchini bread - but in the end haven't given it a go. I could even imagine going savory with the concept, a cocktail muffin, a la the spinach-feta cocktail muffins I made up last summer (pictured). I may mess around a bit, stay tuned...

Moderate it: cabbage and summer squash have very few calories. Sauteed in a bit of olive oil, and finished with fresh herbs, salt, and pepper, and even a squeeze of fresh lemon, both make delicious, nutritious sides (or mains).