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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.