Roger's Birthday and Summer Is Winding Down

My young-looking, dear husband, Roger, turned . . .

. . . oh, so hard to believe . . .

72 on August 27.

That's not 27 on August 72

(well, I guess that wouldn't work,

but, no, I didn't invert the number)!

Yikes!

Where did the years go?

We will celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary next December.

Yikes!

I am so very lucky to have Roger for my sweetheart 

and we are so blessed!

On the day of his birthday was the Branch Annual Picnic at Jay and Janice Ence's cabin,

so we celebrated his birthday there.

I love this good man!

As we arrived, the entire branch, neighbors and friends (over 100 people attended)

sang Happy Birthday to Roger!

Janice and Jay open up their beautiful summer home in Pine Valley

 for a fun Branch and Friends Party every year.

They always have barbecued meats, baked beans and corn on the cob, and everyone brings something delicious -

 salads, desserts, side dishes.

 It's so fun to catch up with everyone near summer's end.

It has been a great summer, in and out of town.

Roger has played golf early every Monday morning when we're in town with some fun cronies, 

not only at Sunbrook, 

but at some other fun golf courses in the area.

Sand Hollow Golf Course 

We have had some passing-through company, including some of our kids and friends.

Jack, Fiona, Jeff, Mindy, Charlie and Addie Lind

Maddy and Londyn Young

 

We have had a few occasions to dress-up.

(Our sweet daughter, Stacy, gave me her cute kimono,

saying that I will probably wear it more. 

What a thoughtful daughter!)

And I have experimented with a few recipes with the summer harvest.

I don't have pics of all,

but here are a few:

I have kind of challenged myself to come home from grocery shopping with new ingredients 

I haven't used in my cooking before. 

Here I tried fresh fig, banana and walnut muffins.

I made this potato salad with new potatoes and a yummy aioli recipe.

Roger and I grill salmon almost every Sunday, 

and I have tried several different ways to do it .

We both really enjoyed this.

Sesame Ginger Salmon.

Here is the recipe:

I marinated the salmon filets overnight in this - 

Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp. sesame oil, 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger, 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, 4 finely chopped onions.

I put the salmon in a large zip lock bag and poured the marinade over.

I made a Honey Ginger Glaze with:

2 Tbsp. honey, 1 tsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 1/2 tsp. Siracha, or whatever hot sauce you like, 1/2 tsp. of grated, fresh ginger, 1/2 tsp. of sesame seeds.

Roger grilled the drained salmon outside on the grill,

then slathered the filets with the honey ginger glaze while cooking and poured the rest on it after it was done.

I know that these are pretty common ingredients and when you read through the recipe, 

you'll think you have made variations of this 100 times, but combined in this way, 

we thought the salmon was outstanding.

Then a real "find" was this next one.

We had purchased a large, sweet honey dew melon while up north.

We ate a little bit of it, then I wondered how just the two of us were going to eat the rest of it.

My kids know that I can't throw good food away, 

so I got on the internet and found this jewel.

It made a lot, and we had it several times and practically licked the bowl every time.

Honey Dew Cucumber Gazpacho, garnished with Mint Almond and Feta Pesto:

Soup:

1/4 cup chopped shallot or onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 Tbsp. EV olive oil, 1/4 cup white wine, 1 honey dew melon (about 3 1/2 cups), 1 large or 2 small cucumbers (2 cups), 1 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice, a little heat, whether a jalapeno or cayenne-based seasoning or hot sauce

Instructions: mince and saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add the wine and reduce to a syrup and set aside to cool. Cut the melon in half, scoop out the seeds and cut up the flesh. Add to food processor. Peel the cucumber, cut in half horizontally and scoop out the seeds and cut into 1 inch chunks. Add to food processor. Add the "heat" you want, add the lemon juice and puree the soup until smooth.

Mint Almond and Feta Pesto:

1/4 cups fresh mint, 1 Tbsp. Feta cheese, 1 Tbsp. raw almonds, 3 1/2 Tbsp. EV olive oil, 1/2 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. minced garlic, pinch of sea salt

Whirl these all up in the food processor. 

I didn't necessarily use the exact amounts of these ingredients. I would just taste, then add more lemon juice, cheese, etc.

Chill soup and garnish with the pesto at room temperature.

I broiled a cut-up baguette brushed with olive oil, then we ate some of the pesto spread on the  crunchy slices of baguette.

I think this is our new favorite soup!

Well, as you all know who know me, I hate the heat,

 but I think we have managed to enjoy a pretty great summer, 

in spite of it!

Now, on to fall!