Bite Of Minnesota: Healthy Vacation Grilling

By Crystal Grobe

Last year, my husband and I discovered this amazing vacation spot north of Duluth called Breezy Point Cabins on Lake Superior. The trip was so relaxing that we couldn't help but reserve it again for this year. It's funny how easily something can become a tradition because we've already booked it for 2018 too.

These cozy renovated cabins are located right on the rocky shoreline of Lake Superior, making for a unique experience. It's almost like having the ocean in your backyard, but it's not the ocean, it's Lake Superior, which is just as fantastic in it's own right. Plus, you don't even need to leave Minnesota to get that "ocean" breeze.

While most of our vacations are filled with dining out, this one is reserved for relaxing so we make a lot our meals at the cabin, keeping it simple with things like pizza, breakfast sandwiches, and snack plates for lunch. We only had one semi-complicated meal and it turned out to be the best one AND it was made using our outdoor wood fire.

Ryan started the fire while I prepped ingredients in the kitchen. The veggies (zucchini, onions, peppers, and mushrooms) were chopped into large pieces and tossed in basil olive oil and Northwoods seasoning mix from Penzeys Spices while the shrimp marinated in a little chopped garlic, fresh herbs, and basil oil. For a salad, I bought a prepared garbanzo bean salad from the Duluth co-op and added arugula microgreens, chopped tomatoes, basil olive oil and salt and pepper.

At first we were going to skewer everything and cook it over the fire but Breezy Point added these fantastic grill grates that fit right over the fire pit so we didn't have to worry about losing 1/4 of our food.

Once the fire was ready to go, we threw on the grill grate and started cooking. The veggies went on first, followed by the shrimp, turning the pieces with tongs after a few minutes. Just before the shrimp was done, I squeezed a large wedge of lemon over the top and dinner was served. Another relaxing night of vacation watching the moon rise and the waves crash into the rocks. And, since our dinner was pretty healthy, we had room for s'mores.