Wonderful Weekend in Waverly

On an invitation from our friends Kim and Birdie and joined by Mike, Anita and Patti Mayonnaise, Sharon and I made it to Waverly, MN to spend a weekend and fight cabin fever.

That last things we did well, if the goal was not to spend time indoors, we did a pretty good job, as the pictures at the right will attest.

Upon arrival, we (and by we I mean Kim) used a chainsaw to cut a pretty perfect rectangle in the frozen lake. We then jumped from the very hot sauna to the lake.

If this was not enough to get your blood flowing, one of or trips was used to do some quick Yoga poses in knee-deep snow (in the picture we are doing a semi-successful warrior one).

This was my first time in a bathing suit while outdoors in December and all and all I have to say that it was not nearly as bad as I thought it'd be.

The water was definitely cold, but we were able to stay there for 20 to 30 seconds at a time (all three times). More surprising was that getting outside from the very hot sauna was no shock at all. We were told our bodies were steaming :-)

If that wasn't a good serving a outdoors, the next day Kim treated me to a ride in their snowmobile. You need to understand, I was born in Spain. Winters in Madrid get down to 30 degrees at the coldest of the day and while you see some snow (more so recently), there is nothing like Minnesota.

We rode over the lake an then through some trails. At one point we crossed a cocker spaniel who was able to run along with us for a pretty good stretch. Later on, we saw a whole family of deer. We really could not have planned a better ending for the trip.

My only mistake was getting as many clothes and I got on. Fearing being cold, I put on my winter running clothes, then some other layers and finished off with the thick coat and pants you see in the picture. It might have been 12 to 15 degrees and we may have reached up to 40 MPH, but I was definitely warm.

But this is a food blog. So let me tell you what we ate. Two things I remember from that weekend. The morning after jumping in the lake we went to Waverly Cafe for breakfast and I had my first serving ever of stuffed hash-browns. I am sorry to say I forgot to take a picture, even though I had my iPhone on the table ready to do so. They were beautifully cooked. Crispy and golden on the outside and soft and gooey with cheese, ham and bacon on the inside.

My favorite, though, was dinner the first night. Following all kinds of appetizers (including a brie loaded with a cranberry salsa that Patti Mayonnaise made), Kim treated us to a green curry that they learn how to make in a trip some years ago. Particularly interesting was the green curry itself, which Kim made from scratch and that had the perfect amount of heat.

The chicken, often overcooked was perfectly tender and juicy. The veggies had the nice crunch you want to add texture to the dish. The sauce was sweet and spicy but still allowed all the flavors from the coconut mild and the green-ness of the green curry to come through. To top it off, hot peppers and Thai basil. What a treat!

Thanks, Kim and Birdie for a wonderful weekend all around.