Vacation Elation

Why do vacations ever have to end? Torture, I tell you. Pure torture. Goodbye, Loon Lake. Goodbye summer. Goodbye, white pants.

The boys of summer.

The Hubs, JJ Attack and I just spent a glorious week at Loon Lake north of Spokane, WA with our very best friends and a bunch of kids - ours, theirs, their nieces and nephew and friends'. Four families in total shared one huge house, food, beer and laughs. 

Blueberry cereal bar kiss. Yum!

This was our first vacation as a "family". JJ Attack did really well on the six hour drive, which I was completely dreading. I sure wouldn't want to be strapped down for six hours, but he was a champ. Our little angel slept most of the way, then woke up with a smile and either "read" his books, made his dad laugh or pondered life through the glaze on the window. The Hubs and I had quality time to chat, which was long overdue. Funny how an eleven month old monopolizes most of your brain capacity.   

It didn't take long for JJ Attack to monopolize the baby's play toy once we got there. Um, pretty sure he exceeded the weight limit on that toy.

Can you say, "Baby Huey?"

Actually, all the kids shared pretty well. We brought JJ Attack's blocks, books and a little football and soccer ball. The blocks were a huge hit with everyone. And the little football, well, let's just say that a few Coors Lights and the Dads were channeling Drew Brees. That is, of course, until the next day when their 30s kicked in. Not so limber anymore are ya?

Whipped cream pie facials.

One of my favorite nights was our "keep the kids busy" field games night. We organized the five kids, plus a dad or two, into playing a bunch of games that we all played back in the day, including jelly bean whipped cream pie eating contest, the egg toss and Izzy Dizzy. Ten turns around the bat later and everyone was on the floor in tears. Rumor has it that one of the moms peed a little she was laughing so hard. I say that's a successful evening.

The Hubs, JJ Attack and I even got the chance to do a little hiking.

Nighty night, little prince.

There was a nature conservation area just down the road from the cabin. Perfect! We meandered the trails for about an hour before realizing we probably on private property. No worries. The people in the area were incredibly nice. One lady actually said, "You can walk here with you little baby whenever you like." Love it! I'm pretty sure we wouldn't get that same reception in T-town.

Well, as always this good thing had to come to an end too. Now that we're home, we're back in the swing of things, but I think the vacation gave The Hubs a little bit more get up an go. My amazingly crazy man spent all of Saturday on the ground learning how to change the oil in our cars.

Nuts and bolts.

And he was successful! My beautiful, enginnerd husband actually got down, crawled under my zero clearance Santa Fe and after a few grunts and groans actually changed the oil. I couldn't believe it. I am a very proud wife!

The Wicked Wizard of the Driveway.

With a pumpkin spice latte raised high, I say cheers to summer. This Autumn is going to be busy, but we're relaxed and ready to go.  

Frostbite Fever

You open up your freezer to get even with the heat that's blasting your house, and you stumble upon...

Ack! Freezerburn blueberry monster, dun, dun duuuu. But wait, don't toss those berries just yet. Try this instead.

Blueberry & Peach Tea

Muddle blueberries and peaches together in a seperate container from tea or use an emersion/hand blender. Strain pulp to remove excess skin and seeds.

 Not proper straining technique.

Combine mash and tea, and you're good to go. Garnish with a few blueberries and a sprig of mint.

Phat Compounds

Being a spoiled little girl certainly had its privileges. Minimal supervision. Lots of toys. But most importantly, my Grandmother fed me well. Very well. Every day I started out with breakfast-in-couch, while I watched my cartoons. When asked what I wanted to eat my first and only response was "cinnamon toast," ah glorious cinnamon toast.

Cinnamon Sugar Compound Butter
Click on picture to link to Recipes page.

Poor Grandma must have made two tons of cinnamon toast for me over my extended 18-year stay at her house. Everyday, she would lug out her giant tub of margarine from the fridge, go cupboard diving through 65 years of dormant spices for the cinnamon and top it all off with a perfectly sprinkled dusting of snowy powdered sugar. Had she known about compound butter she'd have at least five more years worth of morning solitaire under her belt.

Compound butter is nothing more than butter mixed with seasoning to make it more flavorful and then chilled for slicing. You've probably seen it hanging out on top of your steak or contrarily as sweet, honey butter on scones and muffins.

Why should you like compound butters?

It's easy;
You'll look cool; and
Versatility abounds.

Easy as 1-2-3. Start with room temperature butter (1). Don't microwave! Mix in your ingredients of choice (2), place in a covered container and put it back in the fridge (3). Many people use small food processors to mix compounds thoroughly, but if your ingredients are pre-chopped hand mixing will do just fine.

For more sophisticated palettes, cut off a slice of butter from a log you've chilled in rolled plastic wrap and place on top of warm steak, chicken or fish. The ease of this finishing adornment aside, plates will look professional and classy and you will look stylish and chic. This finishing touch takes seconds, but will impress all night long.

Efficient and versatile, compound butter can be used as the fat in a saute or in baked goods, as a pasta dressing, to finish sauces, as a spread and, as mentioned, a garnish.

Compound butters are limited mostly by the imagination, but there are a few simple guidelines to follow for success. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before you mix and avoid melting the butter. Start with an unsalted butter and season to your preference. Salted butter takes away the control and who wants unruly butter. Try to eat your creation within a week or freeze it up to a month. Although acid, like lemon juice, will help preserve it.

Summer Zucchini and Tomato Gratin

Next time you're at the farmer's market try to find a stand without tomatoes and zucchini. It's impossible, because the red and green vitamin monsters are in full bloom right now. Take advantage of fresh, clean flavor-packed brilliance and make this recipe tonight!

Summer Zucchini and Tomato Gratin is the best of both worlds - fresh healthy vegetables with perfectly seasoned bread and butter!

Summer Zucchini and Tomato Gratin
Serves: 4
Serving size: ½ cup
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
· 1 tablespoon butter
· 1 tablespoon olive oil
· 1 medium yellow or white onion
· 2 cloves garlic
· Salt and pepper
· 2 young zucchini
· 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
· 2 tablespoons parsley
· 1 tablespoon basil
· 2 tablespoons butter, melted
· 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
· ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Over medium heat, melt butter and olive oil together. Cut off the ends of the onion and discard the papery layers of skin. Quarter the onion lengthways and cut into ¼” slices. Add onion to the pan and sweat until translucent, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle in two pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper into the pan. While onion is cooking, smash garlic with the flat side on your knife and discard paper. Dice garlic finely and add to pan. Cook through, about 2 minutes. Watch the heat. Garlic burns before you know it and then it’s gross and your husband makes that fake smile face.

Cut off the ends of the zucchini and quarter lengthways, like the onion. Cut into a large dice, about the size of a gumball. Cut tomatoes in half. The tomatoes and zucchini should roughly be the same size. Chop parsley and basil together. In a medium mixing bowl, combine zucchini, tomato, herbs and onion-garlic mixture. Take a taste of the mixture and make sure you have enough seasoning and enough herbs. If not, add some.

In a separate bowl, combine butter, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. The consistency should resemble gravel more than sand. Yummy, huh?

Pour the vegetable mixture into the greased casserole dish and top with the bread crumbs. Make sure the crumbs cover the top of the vegetables, but don’t flatten the crumbs. Leave some peaks and valleys. Bake for 35 minutes or until bread crumbs are toasty brown. Remove from oven and let the gratin rest for a few minutes before serving to thicken up sauce.