Summertime!

I love the summer! There is more to do with the kids outside and there are some great foods available like fresh fruits, corn and copper river salmon! There is nothing better on a warm summer night then sitting outside eating fresh grilled salmon and great glass of Riesling. Take last Saturday night for example. We went to a bbq at a friend's house. Giant copper river salmon on the grill, cheese and crackers, veggie tray and lots of wine and beer. Kids running around. I brought a pasta salad (see recipe below) and the perfect summer fruit (in my opinion) = watermelon.

A blog I follow called Family.Friendly.Food. had some great recipes for Copper River Salmon last week. The author is a local mom who also loves to cook. Check it out. Here is a link: http://www.familyfriendlyfood.com/

What Karina has been eating and I've been cooking:

In the heat, Karina has been eating a lot of berries and cantelope. She really loved the nectarine I gave her at breakfast this morning. For dinner we have been grilling quite a bit, especially with our new grill :) I made turkey burgers last week (ground turkey, grated red onion, garlic, palmful of whole wheat breadcrumbs, 3 Tbsp of flaxseed meal, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper). I made a few too many, so I used the leftovers to make enchiladas last night and they were spectacular! I chopped up the leftover burgers and tossed them into a sauce I made. The sauce included 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 2 small can diced mild chiles, palmful of chili powder, tsp of cumin, tsp coriander, salt and pepper to taste, 2 Tbsp minced garlic, 1 diced red onion, 1/2 cup pureed canned pumpkin, 1/2 can of tomato paste, olive oil and 1/4 cup of chicken stock. Cook in saucepan until heated through. Spoon mixture into whole wheat tortillas, roll and top with extra sauce, shredded cheddar and colby jack cheeses. Cook for about 30-45 min at 425 (covered for first 15min). I served it with black beans and avocado, which Karina has decided she doesn't like this week :)


Pasta salad
Roasted Asparagus
Asparagus - chopped (about 5-6 handfuls after chopped)
Shallot - minced (1)
Garlic - minced (1tsp)
Salt - to taste
Pepper- to taste
Lemon zest - (1 lemon)
Olive oil

Whole wheat pasta (1 3/4 boxes of rotini)

Cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes, about 1 1/2 cups diced)

Vinagrette
Lemon juice (two lemons)
Lemon zest (one lemon)
White balsamic vinegar (about 1/4 cup)
salt and pepper (to taste)
fresh rosemary (2 springs chopped)
fresh thyme (4 sprigs)
garlic (1 tsp minced)
Olive oil (to taste)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Clean and chop asparagus. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest, garlic and shallots and roast for about 12-15 minutes. While oven is preheating, boil water for pasta. Cook pasta until just a little past al dente. While waiting for water to boil, chop tomatoes and put aside. While pasta is cooking and asparagus is roasting, mix all the ingredients for vinagrette, except olive oil. While whisking ingredients, pour in enough olive oil that you don't lose the sharpness of the lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. Once you have drained pasta, pour it into a large bowl. Add roasted asparagus and tomatoes. Then pour in the vinagrette and toss. Chill in the fridge until serving.

Its been way too long...

So, its been way too long since I posted, but I'm a mom and things don't always happen when you want them to, right? :) Anyway, now that summer seems to be here in Seattle (and we have a new backyard!), I have been trying to find ways to grill instead of cook. So recently my go to meals have included:

Grilled flank steak (good deal right now at Costco!) that I marinated in soy sauce (1/4 cup), bbq sauce (1/2 cup), garlic (1.4 Tbsp) and honey (to taste) with a corn, black bean and avocado salad. Soooo good! For the salad I just used canned corn (hadn't gone to the store to buy the good ears of corn out now), canned black beans and some avocado and lightly dressed with lime juice, salt and pepper. Karina loved it!!!! She usually doesn't want to eat meat on its own, but also loved this steak! Then S'mores for dessert :)

Grilled salmon (copper river season!) (cover with pesto and enclose in foil), mussels (cook with chicken broth or veggie broth, white balsamic vinegar, shallots, butter and garlic, then toss in fresh basil before serving), good bakery bread and caprese pasta salad (make some whole wheat pasta, after toss with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella).

This past weekend we drove out to Harstene Island, WA off of the Olympic Peninsula and drove the through Grapeview, WA and by the Stretch Island Fruit Co. They are the ones who make these great fruit leathers that are 100% fruit (no sugar added) that Karina absolutely loves! I thought it was funny as she was eating one as we drove by it and didn't even know they were there :) That has been a great portable snack. She also has her snack cup, usually filled with whole grain goldfish and craisins or shredded wheat and craisins. I also have started buying some oatmeal raisin granola bars that she really likes. So easy when we are on the run. Why does it feel like you are always on the run when you have a 19 month old! ?


When we are at home, she loooooooooves her apple sauce and smoothies. I also have found a great timesaver for lunches! I went to Whole Foods the other day, which I don't often do because it is across town (although soon I hear the new one will open on Interbay) and bought some organic frozen brown rice, to check it out. Karina loves brown rice, so this helps make lunch so easy. We come back from our morning activity and I put the rice with some frozen peas or edamame in the microwave for a minute and a half and poof = lunch! If she is starving because we were out way past her breaking point, I give her some ham or turkey lunch meat to snack on while I put the rice and veggies in the microwave. Sooooo easy! I tried the rice too. Its pretty good.

Happy grilling and happy eating!