Weekend Notes—A Family Fourth
Man. I packed up a couple air mattresses, ran an extra load of laundry and it hardly looks like we had guests up in here. This fourth—like fourths of years past—my family stayed over for a long weekend visit. Beyond giggling, feasting and teasing my brother for accidentally using olive oil as shampoo, here are my vacation highlights:
Peach Salsa
Let’s be honest—the real gastronomic star of the weekend was the grilled pork tenderloin recipe my mom supplied, but the peach salsa I made started a few hey-don’t-finish-that! squabbles ‘round lunch time. Here’s how it’s done, courtesy of my PA pal, Megan.
2 peaches—skinned, pitted and roughly chopped
¼ cup chopped bell pepper
2-4 tablespoons red grapefruit juice
4 teaspoons cilantro
2 medium green onions chopped
Dash of salt
Combine all in a food processor and give it a quick whirl.
Saugatuck Star Boat Cruise
Yes, yes and yes again. This 90-minute lazy cruise was so relaxing my body just about melted onto the deck. Our captain narrated the history of Saugatuck as we floated through the Kalamazoo River, out to Lake Michigan and back—all with tall bevs in hand. Sip, sip, ahh.
White Pine Trail
It’s Tour de France season, which means my dad is nursing a steady high of cycling spectating and yellow-jersey fantasizing. We biked almost every day of vacation along paths by the apartment, but took the bikes out on Saturday to explore the White Pine Trail. We were both happy with the smooth, flat, scenic and mostly shaded ride—especially my dad who kept me in near-sprint mode for two hours.
Millennium Park Kayaking
You just can’t beat $8/hour for an hour of tandem kayaking. We rented a few boats and paddled (and raced—Ben and I won!) around Lake Leota for a while. Afterward we threw a football and Frisbee around, played some hearts (Ben and I lost!), and took a really chilly dip.
Fulton Street Farmers Market
Drooool, Michigan strawberries are out of this universe right now. We picked up an extra carton of berries, fresh potatoes and asparagus for dinner in. The Fulton Street market is a great grocery spot, but also one of those do-what-the-locals-do activities I was happy to show off.
Peach Salsa
Let’s be honest—the real gastronomic star of the weekend was the grilled pork tenderloin recipe my mom supplied, but the peach salsa I made started a few hey-don’t-finish-that! squabbles ‘round lunch time. Here’s how it’s done, courtesy of my PA pal, Megan.
 |
| Lake Michigan sand dunes as seen from our cruise |
¼ cup chopped bell pepper
2-4 tablespoons red grapefruit juice
4 teaspoons cilantro
2 medium green onions chopped
Dash of salt
Combine all in a food processor and give it a quick whirl.
Saugatuck Star Boat Cruise
Yes, yes and yes again. This 90-minute lazy cruise was so relaxing my body just about melted onto the deck. Our captain narrated the history of Saugatuck as we floated through the Kalamazoo River, out to Lake Michigan and back—all with tall bevs in hand. Sip, sip, ahh.
White Pine Trail
It’s Tour de France season, which means my dad is nursing a steady high of cycling spectating and yellow-jersey fantasizing. We biked almost every day of vacation along paths by the apartment, but took the bikes out on Saturday to explore the White Pine Trail. We were both happy with the smooth, flat, scenic and mostly shaded ride—especially my dad who kept me in near-sprint mode for two hours.
Millennium Park Kayaking
You just can’t beat $8/hour for an hour of tandem kayaking. We rented a few boats and paddled (and raced—Ben and I won!) around Lake Leota for a while. Afterward we threw a football and Frisbee around, played some hearts (Ben and I lost!), and took a really chilly dip.
Fulton Street Farmers Market
Drooool, Michigan strawberries are out of this universe right now. We picked up an extra carton of berries, fresh potatoes and asparagus for dinner in. The Fulton Street market is a great grocery spot, but also one of those do-what-the-locals-do activities I was happy to show off.