By Summer with a toddler and a pregnancy. If last summer was idyllic — porch dinners, smoker running, leisurely farmers market mornings — this summer is strategic. Tommy requires constant supervision. He climbs everything. He runs toward the street. He befriends Gerald II the groundhog with a fearlessness that concerns both parents and the groundhog. Megan is five months pregnant and she can't chase him the way she could before. I chase. I chase constantly. I chase between feedings and diaper changes and brewery shifts. I am a head brewer who sprints through his backyard after a toddler. This is the job. All jobs are this job now.
Fourth of July at our house. Tommy ran through the sprinkler. Megan sat on the porch with her belly and a glass of lemonade. Tom grilled. Patrick brought Jameson and baby-sized Packers gear (the collection continues). The backyard was full. The baby in Megan's belly is already part of the celebration. She's here. Ellie. Helen Margaret. Present before she's born.
Made smoked ribs and a corn salad and a watermelon salad and the potato salad. Tommy ate ribs with his hands. He gnawed on a rib bone with the focus of a tiny caveman. Tom watched and said, "That's my grandson." Claim staked. Tom has never been prouder of anything than Tommy gnawing a rib bone.
Megan is from a small Irish-Catholic Milwaukee-suburban family. The small Sunday-dinners at her small parents’ house rotate with the small Sunday-dinners at Jake’s parents’ house. The small in-laws on both sides have been the small welcoming-presence. The small two-family-network is the small extended-support the small newlywed-life rests on.
The small future-kid-conversations have begun. Megan teaches small fourth-grade at a small public school in Wauwatosa. The small adoption-vs-biological conversation is in the small early-discussion stage. The small five-year-plan includes the small kid-or-kids in some form. The small kitchen is the small place where the small future is being practiced.
The small Lakefront Brewery shift-work continues to be the small steady-paycheck. The small forty-hour-week brewery-floor job pays the small twenty-two-an-hour rate that the small Milwaukee-blue-collar-economy supports. The small benefits are the small union-decent. The small ten-year-tenure-target is the small career-anchor.
Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.
The small Lakefront Brewery shift-work continues to be the small steady-paycheck. The small forty-hour-week brewery-floor job pays the small twenty-two-an-hour rate that the small Milwaukee-blue-collar-economy supports. The small benefits are the small union-decent. The small ten-year-tenure-target is the small career-anchor.
The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.
Megan is from a small Irish-Catholic Milwaukee-suburban family. The small Sunday-dinners at her small parents’ house rotate with the small Sunday-dinners at Jake’s parents’ house. The small in-laws on both sides have been the small welcoming-presence. The small two-family-network is the small extended-support the small newlywed-life rests on.
The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.
The small future-kid-conversations have begun. Megan teaches small fourth-grade at a small public school in Wauwatosa. The small adoption-vs-biological conversation is in the small early-discussion stage. The small five-year-plan includes the small kid-or-kids in some form. The small kitchen is the small place where the small future is being practiced.
The ribs and the corn salad and the watermelon salad all showed up that Fourth of July — but it was the fajita sauce sitting next to the cutting board that became the secret weapon of the afternoon. When you’re running a smoker and chasing a toddler and keeping half an eye on your pregnant wife on the porch, you need something you can throw together fast that still tastes like you meant it. This sauce is exactly that. It’s smoky and bright and it works on everything — ribs, grilled corn, whatever Tommy didn’t gnaw to the bone first.
Fajita Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the base. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, and soy sauce until loosely emulsified.
- Add the spices. Stir in the minced garlic, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, cayenne, salt, pepper, and honey. Whisk until fully combined and smooth.
- Taste and adjust. Give it a taste — add more lime for brightness, more cayenne for heat, or more honey to balance the acid. The sauce should feel bold but rounded.
- Warm it (optional). For a more developed flavor, heat the sauce in a small saucepan over medium-low for 3—5 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not boil. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Finish and serve. Stir in fresh cilantro if using. Serve immediately as a marinade, drizzle, or dipping sauce alongside grilled meats, corn, or anything coming off the smoker.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 75 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 4g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 280mg