Spring Eats

As evidenced by our lack of posting lately, life has been a wee bit on the crazy side lately.  I finally had 3 hours to myself last night and got caught up on a few things.  I've got 3 updates ready to post.  I'll start by catching us up through May.
The month of May proved to be quite chilly this year.  We had our heat turned on most of the month but the sun came out enough to put smoothie season in to full gear:

The classic M&M smoothie: almond milk, frozen blueberries, frozen banana, old fashioned oats, p.b. & spinach.  If you come for a visit during the summer, we'll most likely make this for you for breakfast. 

Mikey went on the annual fishing trip with his dad to Bowens Lodge in mid-May.  Sounds like they had a couple days of great fishing and lots of good eats and drinks.  The best perk for me is the fresh walleye that he brings home.  I challenged Mikey to cook the walleye in any fashion other than deep frying.  Don't get me wrong- I love me some fish & chips!  However, I knew we'd be having 2-3 meals of fish over a few days and wanted a healthier option. 
So, he got to work researching all of his favorite food websites/magazines and came up with Fish (Walleye) Tacos.  The walleye was marinated in olive oil, cilantro and hot peppers.  He grilled the fish indirectly over hot coals which gave the fish a nice crunch on the outside while still maintaining a juicy, flaky inside.

I forgot to mention that while the fish was marinating, Mikey made homemade avocado creme.  He also pickled some red onions earlier in the day.
Taco assembly started with corn tortillas that were filled with walleye, avo creme, pickled red onions and then topped with a mixture of chipotle & mango key lime salsas. 

It was phenomenal!  Hooray for a non-fried walleye dish that had Mikey (and of course, me) drooling!  

The next weekend in May was Memorial Day weekend.  We had a couple fun festivities with friends planned.  I never want to arrive at a party empty handed, so I spent some lovely time in the kitchen baking up desserts.  Twas the season for rhubarb and there is no better pairing with rhubarb than strawberries.  My favorite strawberry rhubarb desserts are crisps, cobblers or pies.  I'm most comfortable with making crisps and so I got busy.  Besides, what's not to love about a brown sugar and butter topping?!

I started with an oat crumb base, then layered on the rhubarb, strawberries and topping.

Popped in the oven for 40 minute and done:

While the crisp cooled in my insulated potluck casserole carrier (sounds so Minnesotan, doesn't it?!) , we headed up to my co-workers cabin.  I've been bugging Dennis (my co-worker) all year about getting an invite to his annual wood fired pizza party at his cabin on Bassett Lake.  We were in for a real treat!  As we arrived, a couple guys who had been hanging out by the keg all afternoon swooped the rhubarb crisp out of my hands and dove in.  I've never seen people be so excited for rhubarb. 
Once we got settled, it was pizza making time.  Dennis and Pamela made five 5-gallon buckets of dough and had virtually every pizza topping you could imagine. Here they are at the assembly station:

We were ecstatic about making our very own wood fired pizzas.  Mikey started out by rolling out a chunk of dough and par baking the crust.  Next we added the toppings and finished cooking them in the oven.  Here is a shot of Mikey in action:

He was in love!  Dennis and his son actually built the oven after taking a class at the Grand Marais North House Folk School.  
You can imagine that that got Mikey's wheels rolling as he is dying to make one for our house some day.
Look at those coals!!

 This was, hands down, the best pizza we've every had!  Must re-create this experience at home some day.  We also spent some time wandering around the lake property.  There were people fishing, kids playing games, and lots of adults mingling.  Dennis and Pamela have plans to build a sauna next year and they also have a garden going.  The place was pretty much what we've always dreamed of: 2 bedroom cabin, flushable toilet (my favorite feature), wood fired brick oven, sauna, garden, canoe, dock, boat and a garage- all without pretentiousness.  Heavenly!!  We were beaming the entire time... pure fun!

The next day, we had another party to go to.  Nikki and Henry invited us over for memorial day/ house warming festivities.  Since Mikey worked earlier in the day, that meant I was in charge of making food to bring with.  We all know what that means- we'll bring dessert! 
Triple layer mint s'more brownies:

Layer 1: Brownie
Layer 2: York peppermint patties
Layer 3: Brownie
Topped with marshmallows and quickly browned for the s'more effect.  I can't take credit for this recipe.  One of my favorite bloggers, Jenna, created this.

That catches us up through May.  Hope you are enjoying some good eats lately too!