Why I Love August

There are lots of reasons why I love August: fireflies, gardens in full bloom, summer vacation and the farmer's market. Bayfield has a farmer's market every Saturday from 8:45 to Noon and it has become a Saturday ritual for me. I grab my tote bag and whatever kid is awake and we head down the hill. Yesterday was tomato heaven, I bought every shape, size and color I could get my hands on. Sliced tomato with Maldon sea salt and good balsamic vinegar tastes like August and I look forward to my first bite every year.

Henry's Table

I took these pictures of Henry last night. He has always preferred sitting on chairs, he takes the whole Cavalier King Charles thing very seriously. A year ago, I had to board all the dogs at a kennel and when I asked if they could put a chair in the kennel for Henry— they looked at me like I was crazy. He had to rough it with an elevated platform, they told me he handled his reduced circumstances admirably.

I bought him when he was a little over a year from a breeder in Southern Wisconsin, who would choose a 'dog of the day' and serve them breakfast and dinner at her table. He staked his claim at our dinner table from the beginning and we went along with it. Henry is a 'finished' champion show dog and expects treatment in line with his special status. Plus he knows how to roll his tongue— not sure if that contributed to his success in the show ring but it's a good party trick.

Sunday at Stockton

There is nothing like a Sunday spent on Lake Superior. It's quiet, beautiful and restorative. Well, as quiet as a boat full of Doughertys can be. We went to the north end of Stockton and spent the afternoon sitting on the rocks, watching the kids swim and jump off the boat. It was as good as a summer afternoon can get.

When we bought the boat nine years ago, Charlie was in diapers, Sadie was 4 years old and I was pregnant with Meg. Leaving the dock meant vigilant monitoring of the kids whereabouts and the constant zipping and unzipping of life jackets. On this trip,  I sat up in the flybridge with Ted on the way over, reading a magazine. Time moves fast and you have to be ready for the ride. While I miss having little people around, I really enjoyed chatting with Ted and the kids and getting caught up on my backlog of New Yorkers.

The kids love to jump off the top of the boat, that is Charlie in mid-air. I haven't taken the plunge yet, I am not fond of heights or jumping into thin air. I sat on shore and documented their amazing feats of bravery.

I grabbed some leftovers for lunch and made a salad on the way over. Grilled chicken thighs, spinach, red peppers and avocados with fresh lime juice and Tajin- delicious but the chips and Oreos were a bigger hit. That's the way it goes when your target lunch audience is 14 years old and younger. However, Zeus the dog, loved the salad.

As we headed home, I thought about all the miles we have traveled together— Isle Royale, the Slate Islands, Loon Harbor, Grand Marais, Thunder Bay and the Apostle Islands. What a gift to have memories of safe harbors, northern lights, wild blueberries, sandy beaches, thunder rocks and saunas as part of our family story. Moving to Bayfield has had it's ups and downs but I wouldn't change one single footstep of our journey. I know our kid's compasses will always point north to Bayfield and that makes me happy.

Spicy Grilled Chicken And Sassy Watermelon Salad

I sound like a broken record but I love Tajin Classico Seasoning and I am constantly thinking up new ways to use it. Granted, grilled chicken isn't terribly inventive but is definitely delicious. I prefer to grill chicken thighs, they have enough skin to get crispy and are less likely to dry out. I put the Tajin under the skin and sprinkled more on top of the chicken for good measure. Put the chicken, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 4 hours (the salt helps to dehydrate the skin and make it nice and crispy after it's grilled). I always grill my chicken skin side up first because the fat in the skin will render and baste the chicken. Cook for about 20 minutes in a 300 degree grill, flipping occasionally.

In the battle of the barbecue sauces, I am on the side with a BBQ glaze with lots of vinegar. A sweet and tangy caramelized glaze on spicy chicken thighs is a party in your mouth. Brush the glaze on the chicken about 5 minutes before you pull them off the grill, you want it to be caramelized but not burnt.

Spicy BBQ Glaze

1/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark) 4 tbsp ketchup 4 tbsp chili sauce 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp cider vinegar 2 tsp Frank's Hot Sauce 2 tbsp Tajin Classico Seasoning 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.

Watermelon and feta is a match made in heaven and it's even more heavenly when I use Sassy Nanny Buttin' Heads Feta. It has just enough salt to complement the summery sweet watermelon. Even Sadie, my pickiest eater, loves this salad.

Sassy Watermelon Salad

4 - 5 cups arugula 2 cups watermelon, rind removed and cubed 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped 1 cup Sassy Nanny goat feta, crumbled

Dressing

1/4 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed 1/4 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed 2 tbsp shallots, minced 1 tbsp honey 1/2 cup olive oil 1 - 2 tsp Tajin Classico Seasoning

Mix all dressing ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Dress the assembled salad and dinner is served!

Jack's Big Birthday

Okay, I am a little behind in my bloggery— summer is a demanding taskmaster and leaves me little time for sitting at my computer. Jack's birthday was the end of June and it was a big one. He turned 18. He was born eleven days before our first anniversary and has literally been with us every step of the way over the past eighteen years. He was the first of so many things: grandchild, nephew and son. My youngest brother, Michael, started kindergarten as an uncle and his birth showed me the path I was meant to travel- motherhood. Those were sweet days, we were young, newly married and freshly minted parents. It is hard to believe he is getting ready to travel his own path now, independent of us.

We had a little 'surprise' get together for Jack at Bob and Kelly's shop and arrived home to find a plate of freshly made strawberry jam and biscuits from Julie. The amazing thing about that plate of biscuits (other than the fact that it was a lovely and thoughtful gesture from Julie) was that George didn't eat them. I am not sure what she said to him but it worked. She must have super hero dog training skills.

Lately, I can not get enough steamed edamame with olive oil, Maldon sea salt and chopped mint on them. It is the first completely healthy meal that I would (and do) choose to eat time and time again. We started with a huge bowl of them on the deck while I grilled the steaks. The dogs love the shells, they need to watch their waistlines as well.

Andy's had a whole beef rib roast on sale and I knew it would be a huge hit for dinner. There is definitely an art to cutting steaks from a whole rib roast and I don't have it. The steaks weren't totally mangled but they weren't pretty. If anyone noticed, they kept it to themselves. I cut a bunch of herbs from the garden, chopped garlic and mixed it all together with olive oil and sea salt. The steaks looked a little less mangled and a little more artisanal. The finished product was perfect— tender, medium rare and flavorful.

Jack was headed out with his friends and the cake portion of the evening was over before I knew it. Rest assured, he had a piece of pie (from the Candy Shoppe) on the 'You Are Special Today' plate— I just forgot to take his picture. I was distracted by this 6 foot 2 inch man who is getting ready to start a new chapter in his life and wondering where the years have gone. Talk about bittersweet— I am so proud of the man he has become but miss the little boy he was. The minute I held that ten pound baby in my arms, I fell head over heels in love. He was special from the beginning and has brought immense amounts of love, joy and pride into our lives. It's impossible to sum up what the past eighteen years have meant to me, suffice it to say, 'I love you right up to the moon- and back'.

Nicoise In A Jar On Long Island

The phone rang at 9 am and I knew it was Renee. We talk nearly every morning and our conversations always revolve around food—Good Thyme food, dinner food or food we want to eat. One of the remarkable things about our friendship is our penchant for cooking the same thing at the same time— we are definitely psychic food sisters.  She was watching the Today show and saw Martha Stewart making Nicoise Salad in Mason jars and thought it would be the perfect beach meal. Oddly enough, I dreamt about canned Italian tuna (I really love it) the night before she called. I knew we were on to something.

I always have Cento tuna in olive oil, kalamata olives, fingerling potatoes and eggs from Spirit Creek Farm on hand. I needed to pick up spinach, green beans and a few tomatoes— I was on a tight time schedule and needed to throw dinner together quickly. The boat was leaving the harbor at 5:30, sharp. Remember what I mentioned about salads in the Emmylou post? They are the only meal I can make and still be on time (relatively speaking). Dinner on Long Island was looking better and better by the minute. I made a simple vinaigrette, assembled the lovely little jars, loaded up a cooler and headed out to another beautiful summer night on the lake.

There were a ton of kids out there, from 6 to 17 years old. They herded up and swam, staged chicken fights and played on the beach— what an amazing childhood they will carry forward. It is almost unbelievable to me, the perfection of an evening on Long Island.  Regardless of my frame of mind when I am leaving the mainland, I always return refreshed and deeply grateful. What a gift to have a reset button that involves water, sand, good friends and food right outside my door.

Nicoise Salad In A Jar

Four 3.5 ounce cans of Cento tuna in olive oil 4 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced 2 tomatoes, chopped 8 - 12 fingerling potatoes, boiled 3/4 cup pitted kalamata olives 1 cup green beans, steamed until tender firm 1/4 cup salt cured capers, rinsed 2 cups spinach, washed and dried

Vinaigrette

2 tbsp shallot, finely minced 2 tbsp Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp salt (more to taste) 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper 1/2 tsp fresh thyme 1/4 tsp fresh rosemary 1/2 tsp fresh chives 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1 cup good olive oil

While the potatoes and green beans are still warm, toss them with olive oil, Maldon sea salt and preserved lemon (you can substitute lemon zest).

Combine all ingredients for vinaigrette, except for olive oil, in a blender or food processor until combined. Slowly add olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Taste for salt and pepper and set aside.

Toss each salad ingredient with salad dressing (except spinach) and set aside. Don't use too much dressing, you want the salad components to be lightly dressed.

Layer the salad ingredients as follows: spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, eggs, spinach, tuna and olives in a Mason jar.

Summer, Meghan & A Lemonade Stand

Meg and Summer decided to have a lemonade stand outside of Kelly & Crew yesterday. I am not sure who hatched the plan but Kelly was on top of it— sandwich board, balloons and all. Meg was super excited to have the stand downtown. She had a lemonade stand at the end of our driveway a month ago and our neighbor, Martha, was her one and only customer. Going to Kelly's was the 'big time' as far as she was concerned.

The Candy Shoppe was the recipient of most of the proceeds, I think they each had two ice cream cones over the course of the afternoon. When I stopped by, there a sign on the table saying they were at the Candy Shoppe and would return soon. I heard them laughing a half a block a way, ice cream in hand and gigantic grins on their faces. They also raised 10.00 for the animal shelter— talk about two girls after my own heart.

The Land

I really don't know where to start this blog post, the Land and I have a checkered past. I grew up in Minneapolis and was absolutely, positively a city girl. The closest I got to the great outdoors was going to Lake Vermillion every summer and staying in a cabin with my family.We fished, swam and went to the dump at dusk to watch the bears. It all changed the year I turned thirteen. My parents bought 90 acres in Frederic Wisconsin and I had a fierce learning curve in outdoor survival skills (okay, maybe not survival skills but it seemed pretty intense to my thirteen year old self).

We have always referred to it as the 'Land', I honestly have no idea why we gave it such a nondescript title. For a long time, there was just a pole barn, an RV, a trampoline and 90 acres of farm fields and woods. The house is a relatively new addition, within the last 5 years or so, but we still call it the Land. My Mom would pack a picnic and my siblings in the station wagon and we would drive an hour and a half for lunch. Ironically, I have done the same thing with my kids—except we would drive four hours each way to spend a day and a half in Bayfield (I never had my act together enough to pack a lunch). As an adult and parent, I know what it feels like to want to get out of Dodge. As a kid, it seemed like a long way to go for lunch.

Even in the throes of teenaged angst, I enjoyed our afternoon outings. It was novel to be sitting in a field, listening to the cicadas, surrounded by tall grass and clover. I brought my friend, Lee, along for the ride one year and she sneezed the entire time. Evidently, she had horrid allergies and her adventure in rural Wisconsin exacerbated them. We still laugh about it and wonder if she ever went outside of city limits after her lunch with us. The Land holds many of our family stories— the time we found a fawn, the hawk dive bombing our dog, Murphy, deer hunting and alternative uses for mayo jars, well drilling and fracking, Red Freddie, bucket rides and Naturally Northern raspberries.

My Dad was a pharmaceutical salesman for many years and Southern California was part of his territory. He saw how large-scale raspberry farming was done out west, pesticides and all, and we never ate a commercially grown raspberry after that. After a tremendous amount of work and planning, he now has a thriving company, Naturally Northern, selling pesticide, herbicide and insecticide free raspberries in Minneapolis. He said when he first bought the Land, there were no birds or predatory insects because it was farmed commercially with all sorts of chemicals. He has not used anything except fertilizer for years and it shows— there are dragonflies and birds everywhere, wildflowers in the fields and the raspberry field is filled with bees.

Will and I took off on a photo safari the morning before we left. I had forgotten how beautiful it is up there. Walking through the woods, on paths I haven't step foot on for years, was a revelation. The seeds of my love for Lake Superior and Bayfield were sown amidst the moaning and groaning of my adolescence about having to go to the Land.  As an adult, I am grateful for the weekends spent in Frederic and not at Southdale with my friends or in my room wishing I could marry Simon Le Bon.

When Will and I returned, the girls and Nana were in the midst of a cookie baking adventure. Nana's cookies are legendary around our house and the girls love to help her. Sadie copied down a few recipes while the cookies were baking. She is following in her Nana's footsteps—she is a great baker.

I have been blessed to be part of a family who have always marched to the beat of their own drummer. It is a legacy that I want to pass on to my kids— have the courage to live your life with abandon and stay the course when the waters get rough. What more can you ask for?