Reader Ashley was right… The sound that had me panicking in the middle of the night? Fermenting beer!

Ben and his friend have brewed a batch of beer every week for 3 weeks, and they’re all currently fermenting in my living room. (yayyy…)

While the yeast is eating the sugar in the beer, aka fermenting, it has to stay in a warm dark place. The hearth of our fireplace seems to fit the bill.

The noise that’s so loud I heard it all the way from our bedroom last night, was the carbon dioxide made from the yeast, bubbling out the top! I could not for the life of me figure out what the heck it was!!!!

Once I did, I couldn’t help but giggle. It seriously sounds hilarious. Right?!

Ohhh anyways… Beer for all in 3-6 weeks. We’ll be overrun by it.  

In other news, Ben and I headed over to my parent’s house for our weekly Sunday lunch this afternoon. Maid Rites!

My Mom’s Maid Rite recipe is the best, and this time she added worcestershire sauce into the mix for an extra punch of flavor.

It was dynamite!!! Her secret is to use 80/20 beef. Yeah, it’s higher in fat, but sometimes you need it for a really good loose-meat sandwich.

Super-crunchy roasted potatoes on the side, 

and a wee slice of blueberry pie for dessert.

This was an Archer Farms (Target) pie and at first I was a bit angry at the double crust. Too many calories I thought. One bite and my opinion totally changed. Soft and chewy – totally worth it! Great blueberry flavor too. Go Target!

The afternoon only got better. It seriously felt like summer today! Kind of humid (we had a crazy thunderstorm last night!) sun peeking in and out of the clouds, and warm.

WARM!

Ben and I hit the streets around 3:00 to take an hour-long walk. It was perfect out. Just the slightest breeze and cozy temps. It was hard to come back in!

We had grillin’ plans for dinner though.  

New York Strips!

Ben’s specialty is steaks, and he had picked up a few of these super-tender cuts when they were on sale for $2.99 last weekend when I was gone.

We were saving them for a day just like today!

Seriously 2 minutes on each side, and they were done. Cooked to perfection!!!

When you have a really good cut of meat, Ben’s secret to a stellar steak is simple seasonings and high heat. He marinated our steaks in olive oil, garlic salt and pepper for a few hours, before quickly searing on both sides. THEY WERE SO GOOD. Tender and juicy!

Served with steamed broccoli dusted with parmesan cheese.

On our walk we discussed all the fun things we wanted to do this summer. Tons of walks, fishing, running, festivals and grilling, grilling, grilling. This is just the tip of the iceburg!

Well there’s still another hour of daylight left, and the sun is just beginning to set on our back porch. Think I’m going to go enjoy the weather for just a bit longer before turning in.

Hope you had a great weekend!!!

ps: Ben and I saw Limitless yesterday – awesome!!!!!!! A really fun movie!

~~~~~

What parts of summer are you most excited for?

For me it’s Farmer’s Markets, grilling, back decks, cold beers and hot nights. Iowa stays super hot ’til really late in the summer, so you can sit outside all night in just a t-shirt. Random fact, but I just love that!

Oh, also, sweet corn – whee!