The problem with people knowing I occasionally write about food and wine is that they think I know quite a bit on the subject. To be honest, I really only know about the food and wine I either like or have worked with. Which up until now, has not been French wine. If I’m going to be fully honest here, I am slightly intimidated by French wines – the appellations (a defined regional area), the Crus (still trying to grasp that one) the pronunciations (I butcher anything longer than a 2 cent word in my native tongue, my pronunciation of French is abysmal despite 3 years of French), the fact that French wines are among some of the most respected and most expensive wines in the world – I have at best, a rudimentary knowledge of French wines. I know just a little bit about Bourdeaux and Burgundies, that only French winemakers in a particular region produce true Champagne and that Cotes-du-Rhone and Chateneauf-du-Pape are regions for wine in France, but beyond that, I don’t know much about French wines. Continue reading
Eating at Chang’s.
I was lucky enough to score a last-minute invite to Peter Chang’s China Grill Second Anniversary Party held last evening.
Success
One of my favorite blogs is The Water Witch’s Daughter, written by SuziCate. When I saw she was doing guest posts around the blogosphere promoting her new book, Stepping into the Wilderness, I immediately asked if she’d do a guest post here. Suzi’s blog never fails to inspire me – and this post is no exception.
“Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” ~Lou Holtz
You are extraordinary. You are gifted with talents which make you unique.
Stop the struggle against yourself. Believe in yourself. Let your talents guide you to a life of fulfillment.
Don’t allow your talents to lay wasted upon the ground.
Be courageous. Hone your craft. Release it to the Universe.
Success doesn’t mean your song has to hit the top ten charts. Success is singing your love song to the one who deserves to hear it. Success is not a best seller. Success is when your words touch someone’s life in a positive way. Success is not a masterpiece. Success is the resonance between the creation of the artist and the viewer. Success is simply giving what you have your best shot.
Use the gifts you were given to satisfy your soul. Use these gifts to bring joy to others.
Choose happiness. Spread cheer along your path of life.
Be who you are. Make your life count.
Signs of spring.
Despite the fact that there is still little piles of snow tucked away here & there, spring is on it’s way. My allergies tell me so.
As does the tulip magnolia across the street in Jennifer’s back yard.
The tulip magnolia has exactly 2 buds that have cracked open at the top of the tree. If you look very closely, you can see it.
The cherry tree has the beginnings of blossoms.
As does the one next door.
And in Brian’s back yard, the maples are turning red.
Snowcation.
Here’s a few shots of what early March was looking like in my yard on Tuesday.
And Wednesday morning we woke up to this:
Lots of heavy white stuff.
About this much of it:
Okay, so the owl isn’t a good indication of how much snow we got, but I thought it looked cute with it’s little snow cap.
Needless to say, schools were closed and because of the weight of the snow, there were many downed tree branches and power lines. Our beloved pink dogwood in the front yard lost a few limbs – mostly smaller ones at the top – we were lucky there. We lost a huge limb off a tulip popular in the back yard, the oak lost some limbs and there are still roads closed around town due to downed trees. We have a gas stove and hot water heater, so we had coffee, hot showers and hot food. We didn’t have heat, but as the temperature hovered above freezing and we don’t keep our house terribly warm anyway, that wasn’t too awful. Wednesday night after dinner, the three of us climbed into our bed upstairs with books & flashlights and curled up for the night.
I have to say, I immensely enjoyed the snow day. Already, spring and the busy schedule that seems to be our norm for that time of year has kicked in. This unexpected holiday was the last big hunk of time the three of us are going to have together for at least a month, if not more. The rest of March is about to be insanely busy for me – I have lots of exciting projects that I will be talking about over the next few months. A day unplugged where I had no excuse to not sit curled up with a book and my family was pretty delightful. As I was waking up to Day 2 No Power wondering if I could do another day, the power came back on, we were able to run the dishwasher we had spent all day Wednesday regretting we forgot to run before going to bed Tuesday night, I popped the lemon cheesecake buns I had ready to go into the oven and we enjoyed another day unplugged, for while we had power, we had no cable or internet. We worked some more on our 1000 piece puzzle that is taking over the dining room table, we watched some movies. It was a nice farewell to winter, a most welcome chance to catch our breathe before we hit the ground running for the next few weeks and months…..
Wines I drank.
This weekend while picking up some shifts at l’etoile, I participated in some staff wine tasting. One of the things I enjoy about keeping a toe dipped in that world is staying up on current fine food & wine trends. It had been a while since I had rolled out my wine knowledge and I think I surprised some of my co-workers with how deftly I was able to describe the wines we were tasting. There was a French Sauvignon Blanc made in the New Zealand style – by far my preferred style of the variety, one I drink by the gallon during warm weather months. I call it the adult lemonade of summer. There was a Beaujolais that had a strong vegetable note – the first thing that sprung to mind when I tasted it was that I wanted a cheese plate to accompany it. Lastly was a Bordeaux, a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend, light on the palate with heavy tannins and fruity finish.
I always seem to surprise people with how much I know about wine. I don’t come across as someone who can navigate my way through a wine list. When “In the Kitchen” folded publication last year, it was suggested I continue to write about wine here and I meant to do that, but just haven’t. To be completely honest, I have long been on a quest to find the best wine for under $10 that I can. Because while I love wine and am not opposed to springing for a more expensive bottle now and again, I am inherently cheap. I can and will try that $3 bottle and unless it’s horribly undrinkable, I will drink it because dammit, I paid for that.
This of course led to another fantastic idea which is that I make a regular feature on here of wines I drink – good and bad, cheap and not so cheap. I have at least one friend who almost always takes a shot of the label I am serving her so that she remembers to grab it next time she’s looking for something good to drink. I’ve run into friends in the wine aisle of the grocery store who have asked me to please point out what it was they had last time they were at my house. I have had long talks with the owner of a local wine shop who agrees with me that you can find some very nice wines for not a lot of money. So, after promising last year to write more here about wine, I’m going to do so. Beginning now.
This was a glass of Trump Viognier I enjoyed after my Saturday evening shift. I noticed that at a certain angle, there was a rainbow in the glass. Which by no means is an apt description of the wine. Viognier is a grape that Virginia does well (so well it’s the official state grape), but I don’t think this is most stellar example of it. Trump’s Viognier is floral and slightly sweet, not as well balanced as other versions out there. I had been wanting to try some of the Trump wines just out of curiosity, but I can’t find anyone who wants to go to the winery with me. It seems no one I know wants to part with their money in order to give Donald Trump yet more money. At $19 a bottle, it’s not entirely out of the price range for what I would splurge on for a bottle of wine, but I didn’t find it splurge worthy.
I’ve been on a bit of whites kick here lately. I think it’s part of my fondly moving time forward, like switching the Calendar to March when there are still 5 days of February left. I realize I did the same thing the end of winter last year as well. This is a Spanish Sauvignon Blanc made in the New Zealand style. I got this particular bottle at Whole Foods, but Reids carries it as well. I think it runs about $7.99/bottle. It’s the perfect combination of dry, citrusy crisp, fruity that I adore in New Zealand style Sav Blancs. And the price is right. Oh, and I can run to Reid’s to grab a bottle. What’s not to like about it?
I’m not entirely drinking whites however. I find I like a glass of white and then switch it up to a red. I’ll admit I bought Estratos, a Spanish red because I thought it was a Syrah and it was in the cheap section at Whole Foods. I ran in there the other day for a few things (the essentials – milk, toilet paper & peanut butter, at least two of those being things that WholePaycheck has the best prices on) and grabbed a few bottles of wine while I was at it. I was sure I’d had it somewhere and liked it. Turns out, it’s not a syrah, it’s a blend, with 80% being Monastrell, a varietal from the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Monastrell is a varietal I wasn’t familiar with, which proceeded to send me on a mission to learn more about it in order to tell you about it. What I’ve learned? It’s a grape that is mostly blended. It’s described as ‘meaty’ and ‘herbal’, high in tannins as well as alcohol. With the case of this particular wine, I tasted the alcohol content, which is an indicator of a a poorly balanced wine. In fact, that was the overwhelming note of the wine – the alcohol. It had a slightly fruity finish, but the that first note held on for quite some time. I tried it with a few different foods and nothing seemed to temper it. I’ve read that this is a varietal that ages well – this particular bottle is a 2009 and while I could see where it could use a few more years to mellow, I’m not convinced this particular wine is worth giving up space in my ‘cellar’ to see if it goes age well. I’d rather move on.
Guest Shots.
One of the badges the girls in my Girl Scout troop said they wanted to earn this year was the Digital Photography badge. We got to it this past week with some help from the lovely photographers behind Beyond The Flavor, Sarah and Andrea. After a brief introduction by our guests in which they shared some of their photos and gave the girls some tips on photography, the girls spent the rest of the meeting taking pictures. They warmed up with a few shots of our surroundings – which happens to be the library at their school as well as the adjacent science lab.
The girls were encouraged to not use their zoom function, but to get as close to their subject as possible. As a result, there were a number of ear shots.
It would appear that headbands & ponytails with pearl earrings is a common look among my girls. Something I hadn’t noticed before.
They didn’t limit themselves to ears though.
Another tip Sarah & Andrea gave the girls was to try different angles and perspectives.
Which they clearly embraced.
After warming up, the girls were given the first of a few assignments. These are some of their texture shots.
Their next exercise was a portrait of someone.
The girls were encouraged to try for some candid shots.
Then came the self portraits.
Lastly, the girls were to snap three pictures that told a story. Lauren & Alayna teamed up for a fabulous Goldilocks and the Three Bears narrative that used Alayna’s flair for drama but I don’t have those photos. You’ll just have to take my word on the awesomeness of it. What I do have however, is this photo of a Pokemon character that lives in the library and has become our unofficial mascot this year.
I had every intention of capturing the ‘behind the scenes’ of our meeting, but as one of the girls had a snafu with her camera, I handed her mine, which she figured out how to use in about the time it took me to hand it to her. Kids seem to have no fear in picking up things like cameras and iphones and immediately figuring them out, while us grown ups take forever to get the hang of them. Or maybe that’s just me. Anyway, only the first two shots in this post were taken by me, the rest by various members of my girl scout troop. I love their creativity, don’t you? The self portraits just slay me. I watched Hannah set hers up with her violin. So stinking cute.
Thank you again Sarah & Andrea for taking time out of your busy schedules to share some of your knowledge with my girls. And thanks to the parents of the girls in my troop for sharing your girls and their photos with us. I love seeing the world through their eyes.
My latest idea.
I am excellent at ideas. And here’s my latest one.
A pickle subscription.
Here’s how I envision it working:
One. Customers preorder the quantity and type of pickle(s) you prefer in the spring. You would pay a small deposit and the balance would be due when you receive your pickles at the appropriate point of the season. Love my bread & butter pickles or want to have pickled okra and green beans for your Bloody Marys but don’t want to make them yourself? Did I hook your toddler on my pickled peaches? Then this is for you.
Two. Pickle of the month club. Every month, a different pickle is mailed out to subscribers. I’m thinking this would make an excellent gift. Not sure what to buy your parents or fussy Aunt Sue? How about a pickle of the month club subscription! The monthly package wouldn’t just be pickles, there would be recipes or menu suggestions (what to serve with your watermelon rind pickles or a pickled peach pound cake recipe), perhaps another homemade treat as well.
While I’ve looked into what it would take to make this a legal enterprise (a two day class offered by the state for starters), I haven’t crunched numbers on this one too hard. I hear quite a bit I should sell my pickles and I’ve come up with this as a way to do that but not extend myself too much financially or end up with too much stock on my hands. There’s still quite a bit of work to do to flesh this idea out, but this idea has been in the back of my head since last summer. Just last night, I could picture my little catalog of pickles that would go out, with pictures and descriptions of pickles. I’m thinking very seriously about doing a test run to a limited group this spring, with the idea that I’d be fully legal and ready to offer Pickle of the Month club by the holiday season this year.
So, tell me friends, what do you think? Would you be interesting in obtaining some of my tasty pickled treats, when you read the pickle of the month club idea did you immediately think that would be a perfect gift for certain hard to shop for members of your holiday gift list? More importantly, do you want to be part of the initial group? If so, make sure I have your email address.
Pickled Peach Pound Cake.
I am frequently asked what I do with all the pickles I make. Some we eat. Some are shared as gifts with friends and family. And some get used for things like pound cake. Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Pickled peaches have essentially the same texture as canned peaches, but as they are infused with ginger, cinnamon, sugar and vinegar, they have a bit of a spice & tang. Which is precisely why I thought they would pair beautifully with the rich, buttery sweetness of pound cake. And they do.
Not that most of you have pickled peaches on hand, nor will peaches even be in season for pickling anytime soon. But in case you, like myself, are sort of over February to the point that you’ve turned the calendar hanging on the wall in the kitchen over to March already, then you are probably starting to think about peach season and pickling said peaches and the possibilities of enjoying those pickles in various ways all year through. Because really, nothing says February like a pickled peach pound cake.
Go big or go home.
I come from a game-loving family that as you might guess, is also slightly competitive. We play to win and we don’t always lose well. On a beach trip 30 years ago, I beat my cousin Bob in one miniature golf game, a loss that he has yet to let go of, even though the entire trip after that became a nonstop rematch where he trounced me every time, at every last putt putt course in Ocean City, MD. There are pictures from my wedding of us visibly arguing about that game. It is the one time I’ve ever beaten him at a game and he will never ever get over it.
There was a beach trip with my extended family a few years ago where Pat discovered that I came from a game playing family. “How did I not know this about you? How do you come from this family and you hate to play games?” he asked. “Give it a few days and you’ll see” I answered. By the end of the week, my cousins had announced they would never again play poker with Pat – who managed to take most of their cash in a completely annoying idiot savant way. “Wait, I won?” he was quoted as saying when he laid the cards down on the winning hand in question. There may have been tears involved. He did indeed figure out by the end of the week why I don’t play games, especially with my family.
This means of course, that Edie comes by her competitiveness honestly. Once, during one of our marathon power outages that lasted days on end, the neighborhood gang started a monopoly tournament. The big boys taught Edie to play, I’m sure thinking they could easily win, only to realize that she was incredibly cut throat and serious as a heart attack about beating them at their own game, which she did of course. She has since been banned from their monopoly games and they are steadily realizing that it’s not just monopoly she plays to win at, it’s every game. She might think beating them at Madden Football was a fluke, but they don’t.
A few weeks ago, The Civility School announced a “Messiest Room Around” Contest on their Facebook page. Given my lax housekeeping skills combined with my hands free parenting philosophy of letting my daughter express herself in her space, I thought for sure this was a contest we stood a chance of winning. However, when I mentioned it to my daughter, she quickly dismissed it. After all, the prize was a credit with the school or a $100 gift certificate to Amazon. I snapped some shots of her art supply dump in the sun room – which this time of year is too cold to be used for anything but storage. It’s February, getting very close to the annual deep cleaning of that room, so it was in prime condition to win a messy contest. However, once my girl saw the shots as well as the rest of the competition being posted, she mumbled to herself, “I can do better than that” and so she set out to make her room look like this:
Not that it was a great deal of work – 20 minutes, one loud crash with a very mama sounding “I’m okay!” and she was ready for me to capture it and submit it. In it to win it she was. And win it she did. Saturday morning the winner was announced, which is when Pat realized I posted the above photo on the Internet. Go big or go home I say, so if a photo of our house is going to be plastered on the Internet, might as well make it the entire web, right? (Although I am holding back on pinning it. We’ll see if it shows up on there.)
I do have to follow that shot up however, with the announcement that after trashing her room, she then proceeded to clean it and has kept it neat ever since (and I will get around to shooting photo of it and posting that one as well, really). Because she’s kept it clean, I’m going to let her choose her prize. While I’m disappointed she won’t be choosing a credit for the Civility School, I do take comfort in the knowledge that she has fairly impeccable manners – knowing her, she’d have herself a job lined up as a T.A. by the end of a modern manners course there because that’s just how she is. In it to win it as politely as possible.
Chicken Wire & Paper Flowers 