The Fourth.

Any day that has enough room for several adventures is a notable achievement. Typically, I don't do much for the Fourth, this probably coming from my immigrant upbringing, so when a couple friends suggested to come over and BBQ, I jumped all over the idea. You see, my girlfriends are incredibly creative and cook wonders and this always inspires my own creative cooking process. Brazilian music from 88.5 (40 years of Jazz!) set the mood and with a big mug of good coffee at hand, I got to chopping all of the fresh produce from our CSA in WI. We had picked up organic beef and both spicy Italian and apple chicken sausages at Trader Joe's for grilling-- that was D's job (as I neither remember how, nor wish to be in charge of cooking meat). I whipped together some garlic and fresh rosemary olive oil and spread it on top of young red potatoes and beets, which were roasted in the oven until soft and crispy. Wild Rice from the Red Lake Nation was mixed with sauteed young onions, peas, and sliced portobellos. Rachel brought a fantastically tasty multi-colored pasta salad with a simple vinagrette and Beth contributed the largest amount of fresh fruit I have ever seen, in the coolest dish I've ever seen, a giant palm tree, whose center was filled with creamy vanilla yogurt and brown sugar. Dessert was equally to die for, Rachel having yet again outdone herself in the baking arena by bringing Peanut Butter Tart Bars and Lime Bars with Pistachio-Graham Cracker crust. We played the wish to nap away by challenging ourselves to a game of Mindquest, which was probably more hilariously frustrating and non-sensical than entertaining.

The Minnesota summer has become hot and muggy, but in the evenings, the humidity is like a blanket keeping you warm in the cool summer breezes. At 9:30pm, with dusk just starting to set in, we walked down several blocks to the lake and spread out a king-sized comfy quilt on the grass to await the show. Paul shot prolonged exposures of various illegal firework activity leading up to the main event, and Beth pulled out homemade caramel corn, which was so addictive that I had to work hard to restrain myself from eating the entire batch (recipe below). There was a big crowd, the outline of hundred of black heads and lawnchairs visible in the shadows right up to the reflective edge of the water.
When I was wee, I used to watch the fireworks most summers out on White Bear beach with my grandparents staring into the sky. Watching the colors explode above the water was just as magical a sight this year as it was when I was small. There's something about laying on the grass with your friends on a warm summer night that can't be beat. Thanks guys.


Beth's Caramel Corn (Yum!)
Old Dutch Puffcorn
1/2 lb Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
Heat oven to 250. Pour corn in a roasting pan. Boil the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup for 2 minutes. Take off heat. Add 1 tsp of baking soda. Pour over corn-stir. Bake 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Pour on wax paper. Separate into kernels while still hot.

Above skirt by Boden, an classy and sporty clothing line out of England.