Chicks, trucks & salmon bakes

Greenville is in contention for Outside magazine’s title of “Best Town Ever.” If you vote for your favorite “active outdoor town” you can be in the running for a five day vacation grand prize. Voting does require a facebook "like" to vote. You can find Greenville's entry here.

The boys active outdoors at the zoo

 

Temperatures are heating up, we’ve initiated pool season at our house and watermelons are officially back in the diet. Once the boys have had their fill and I tire of the quarter melon taking up space in the fridge, I cut the rest up into chunks, toss it and a few basil leaves into the blender with some lemon juice, and pour the blended result into a pitcher to keep in the fridge. Also freezes well to make popsicles for the boys!

 

Our neighbors’ chicks have hatched, and the boys have already been over twice to see them. Their chicken coop is coming along nicely, and we believe they might have started a neighborhood trend because the neighbors across the alley have built their own chicken coop and we've got one or two more broods on the block...

That's Blue in Lauris's hands, pardon the camera cord

Touch a Truck, the annual free event held in conjunction with the Main Street farmers market is tomorrow, Saturday June the 9^th. Kids will have the opportunity to climb, play on and sit in the driver’s seat of almost 20 different vehicles, including large trucks and heavy equipment from the City of Greenville Police, Fire and Public Works Departments. Head to McBee Avenue off Main Street in downtown Greenville between 8 to noon, although I suggest getting there early to avoid the crowds.
 

Touch a Truck in 2010, Lauris's first of many rides in an excavator bucket

 

We made a foil-baked salmon for dinner, it is a great light meal for these hot summer days. A plus is that it can be prepared earlier in the day and then tossed in the oven when dinnertime rolls around. The recipe is adapted from the one in Williams-Sonoma “Cooking for Yourself,” a gift from my godmother and also something I haven’t done in ages.

Foil-baked salmon with corn and lime, see recipe below

 

Speaking of my godmother (who lives in Toronto), her daughter (my cousin) had her confirmation a few weeks ago. We were lucky to be there and celebrate this meaningful occasion with her, and hopefully I’ll find the time to put it down in writing this next week. Despite having lived overseas and visited over ten countries, this was both boys’ first visit to Canada, eh?



If you look veeeery closely you'll see the CN Tower just a little to the right of center



Foil-baked salmon with corn and lime (serves 2 adults, 2 kids)

Ingredients: 4 heads of corn, corn sliced off
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro (can probably double this easily)
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
salt and ground pepper to taste
4 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½ lime cut into thin slices, the rest into wedges
1.5 pounds of salmon fillets

 1. Preheat oven to 450˚F (230˚C)
2. In a large bowl, combine corn kernels, bell pepper, cilantro, chile, salt and pepper
3. Place a large sheet of aluminum foil on a work surface. It has to be large enough to wrap everything up hobo-style, so use your judgment on size. I put a baking sheet with a rim underneath, just in case.
4. Place corn mixture on foil and dot with half of the butter
5. Place salmon (skin-side down if applicable)on top, squeeze lime juice over and season with salt and pepper. Then top with lime slices and remaining butter
6. Fold two opposing foil sides together and seal well, then fold and seal ends.
7. Bake until salmon flakes with a fork, 20-30 minutes (timing depends on thickness of fillets and packet)
8. Open carefully, allowing for hot steam to escape, transfer to serving dish and enjoy!