C'est Darci: Summertime and the livin' is easy

Grilled steak & sweet onions, steamed jasmine rice and seared Bok choy

Grilled pork blade steaks & beef chuck steaks with Korean BBQ glaze

Summer to me means light foods, juicy, grilled, flavorful, uncomplicated and fast. Taking advantage of our sunny warmth means seasonal foods that optimize your time outside, taste great and don't weigh you down. This describes my favorite way to eat during the lazy days of summer!
Here are a few of this Ulin family's fav's;

Grilled Albacore Tuna w/sweet chili sauce & green beans w/Tzaziki sauce

One of our friends came over to dinner with a few pounds of fresh Albacore Tuna to share. I marinated it for 10 minutes prior to grilling with some Korean BBQ sauce. The sauce is a new favorite in our house as it's a less sweet version of Teriyaki but with the tang, the saltiness and a little smokiness. It's super versatile, available at our Sequim Safeway and many others, try it soon!

Steamed new potatoes, zucchini and green beans

Grilled Albore with Korean BBQ Sauce

So we tried the grilled tuna with more of the Korean BBQ sauce and the Sweet Chili Sauce from Trader Joes and our unanimous favorite was the Sweet Chili sauce! It paired nicely with the grilled, heavier oiled nature of the tuna. My son's friend was over for dinner that night and hadn't eaten fish in over 5 years, tried it and had 3 helpings...just sayin'!

son Alan & friends taking ice cream break in Carlsborg

Escaping the afternoon heat at our favorite ice cream hangout; The Old Post Office and Sweet Shop in Carlsborg, WA. It's just outside of Sequim, down from Alan's elementary school and serves Snoqualmie ice cream. Lisa, she and her husband are the new owners, is eager to give great service, fresh baked items, gift items along with coffee and ice cream. Did I mention they make their own waffle cones?! We try to limit our visits to once a week:)

sizzling peppered bacon bits

So any recipe that starts with bacon is off to a good start in my book! This one was a twist on the classic BLT sandwich by dicing the bacon and tomatoes, dressing them and putting them on the lettuce and fresh Pane D'Amore Sourdough bread.

BLT salad fixings

The dressing was a mix of buttermilk Ranch dressing, mayo, Dijon mustard, a dash of garlic powder mixed in with the diced tomatoes and cooled cooked bacon bits.

some assembly required

Now THAT's a BLT salad sandwich!

The contents were much easier to eat all diced up rather than sliding around inside the bread and having to chase them around to get all the ingredients in each bite. The results were DEVOURED in minutes by my son, his posse of friends and yours truly! YUM!

oven roasted chicken, Havarti, fresh tomato on Pane D'Amore Sourdough

Our Sunny Farms deli offers many great choices for lunches on the run. Our new favorite is their nitrate free, oven roasted chicken! Paired with fresh tomato and thinly cut onion slices, Havarti cheese and fabulous sourdough-that is something to crow about! My husband, 2 of his clients, my son and I all enjoyed these for lunch one hot summer day!

Oven roasted potatoes w/sea salt, pepper, olive oil and crushed garlic

Greek Salad

Light and easy side dishes like the steamed veggies earlier in the blog post, roasted veggies, grilled veggies or fresh salads are ALL options during the summer months! My main focus is to honor the ingredients by keeping them in their purest forms, not overworking them. This is when seasonal items shine and make our meals flavorful, nutrient rich and easy!

King Salmon fillets w/fresh ground pepper, ginger, sesame oil, garlic, red onion & butter

The grillin' villain strikes often during the summer! We fillet our fish and leave the skin on the salmon. Grill on a medium high grill, skin side down for about 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. When done, the meat will begin to flake, the juices run clear and the meat will be opaque. I check to see if the most interior portions are still slightly translucent and remove carefully using a friend, this is a 2 person transferal process. One person takes a spatula to loosen the fillet off the grill, places 2 of the largest spatulas underneath the fillet and the friend hovers nearby with a large platter ready to catch the lifted fish. With any luck, the whole fillet comes off. Last night the fillet pictures below was too long and came off in two pieces. We just arranged them back on the platter like puzzle pieces fitting back together!

Salmon & organic chicken sausages right off the grill

We enjoy eating light side dishes in the summer, especially with heavier fish like Tuna and Salmon. We're often more hungry at dinner, when the heat subsides and want to eat less caloric options but with tons of flavor and no guilt!

Salmon, sausage & butter lettuce, cucumber & tomato salad

This was our dinner last night. We had plenty of time to watch the golf tournament, play cards, have a glass of wine and visit. It was a perfect summer meal with family sharing a meal together!