Alright Fay, Go the Hell Away!

Day 3: Rains and wind gusts over 50 mph still continue to make life miserable.

Umbrella casualty = 1. Natives are getting restless (meaning me).

No moar!

Thinking of My Friends

This will be an interesting week for some people here in Florida. The "potential" hurricane Fay is set to bear down on my West Coast friends in the next 48 hours, and, well you know how that goes. Those of us that are more seasoned are planning for this to be a real rain-maker, which is good. We need the rain.

It's pretty bad when you wish for a Tropical Depression just to get the rain. Speaking of, why do they call it a Tropical "depression"? Shouldn't it be named something more appropriate like "Tropical Fury" or "Tropical Irritation", or even "Tropical PMS?" There doesn't seem to be anything depressing about it, except the long lines at Home Despot and the non-stop media frenzy.

Still, that doesn't take the edge off. We all know "it ain't over till the fat lady sings" and a "Tropical Pain-in-the-Ass" can turn into a nasty hurricane overnight. To all my friends out there on the West Coast: take care and be safe!

If You Like Pina Coladas

You can thank me later for that juicy little ear-worm I just planted in your right ear. Wrath of Kahn people!

I bought these cute, little popsicle molds from Bad Breath and Beyond last month and I totally thought they would rock with those sippy straws for leakage, but they don’t. But that didn’t stop me from rocking the blender with some fresh fruit. Dole, eat your heart out!

Pina Colada Popsicles (makes 8)

½ can of pineapple chunks with ½ of the juice
½ can of coconut milk
2 very ripe bananas
½ cup to 1 cup Pina Colada drink mixer

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender till smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for 8 hours. Slurp up!

**Note: If you don’t have popsicle molds, Dixie cups will work fine with a wooden popsicle stick inserted. Wait till the mixture is halfway frozen, but soft enough to insert the stick.

The Power of Compost

When moved into this tiny little starter-home over 4 years ago, we had big dreams. The house was on a cul-de-sac, with a big yard and a conservation area behind the property. It was perfect.

Even though the house was only 2 years old at the time, the previous owners left a lot of work for us to do. From painting every interior surface, to French drains, to tiling the whole house & new carpet (we actually had contractors show up for that one!), to resodding the lawn with an irrigation system last year, we’ve pretty much have touched, scrubbed, tilled, and handled every inch of this house. We’ve made it into our little paradise.

When we were settled, the first thing I wanted to do was start a compost pile at the edge of the conservation area. Take a look at this pathetic amaryllis on the bottom left of this photo.

After 2 years of a continuous diet of leaves, cow chips, grass clippings and kitchen scraps, this thing is almost as tall as I am! I’m 5’6”! The compost pile is behind the amaryllis and has turned this thing into a monster. Luckily, I was able to repay my cow chip supplier friend in Deland with big, healthy clumps of amaryllis for her garden.

Grow baby, grow!

Viola!

Well, we finally finished the guest bath! Just as promised, here are some pics of before, after, and during. I'm also putting in a collage of the "during" pics. Now granted, this is the FIRST time I've ever done anything like this ever; however, I'm pretty durned proud of myself! Hubby did help quite a bit; he did the plumbing, demolition, and mitre saw. We have a good system; I do the detail and he does the technical stuff. It took us a week to strip the bathroom down to the floor, scrape the sub-flooring, fix the mildew/mold issue (the previous owners had a leak at one time...nasty!), cut the tiles, do a dry run, set the tiles, grout, baseboards, caulking, new toilet, new vanity, new granite countertop/sink combo, new mirror, and I re-tailored the old shower curtain to be longer and make the room look bigger. WHEW!

Although it wasn't a big area, it was a major PITA, mostly because we didn't know what to expect and what "we would do different". Fortunately, we get to do this all over again this week on the master bath; however, the tiled area is much smaller (toilet, shower, and vanity are in separate areas). We're ready!!

LWOP

I’ve been out sick this week. Only one day from work, but it still was enough to zap most of my energy for the week. What is it with that fine line you draw when calling in sick to work? You don’t want people to think you’re a slacker, but on the other hand, they need you to come into work, but don’t want you there at the same time!

Personally, I don’t want my coworkers even NEAR me if they’re sick. Go home! Don’t come to work with your germs and spread them around (like one of my coworkers did to me). You don’t have to prove how dedicated you are by dragging your wheezing, sneezing, coughing, snotty, mucous-laden arse into the workplace! I’m no martyr by any stretch and will stay home even if I have a bad headache (sinus migraine), because I know I’m not doing anyone any good by being miserable.

Those are what sick days are for! O.k., off soapbox for now…

In other news, the guest bathroom is done and looks wonderful! I will post pics after this weekend when we have all the extra pieces-parts put back together again. Next week, the master bath gets done, which should be easier since it is smaller (go figure).

In other, other news, I made German Potato salad this week and it was divine! The only thing I remember my father knowing how to cook was German Potato salad, and it was always a special treat.

German Potato Salad
(my way)

8 – 10 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into bite sized chunks (I used Yukon Gold)
5-7 strips of bacon, diced into small pieces
1 onion, chopped
½ cup apple cider vinegar
2-3 tablespoons sugar
Salt & Pepper

Cook potatoes in boiling/simmering water till fork tender, drain and return to pot. In a sautee pan, cook bacon over med-high heat till golden brown, add onions. Cook onions with bacon till both are nicely browned, set aside. Mix apple cider with sugar in a microwave safe container and heat, stirring regularly, till sugar is dissolved. Pour cider vinegar mixture, and onion mixture over potatoes, stir gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Just Peachy, or was it a Pear?

I actually got a little time to play in the kitchen this evening and I only had one thing on my mind: Vanilla Pear Cardamom

You see, ever since Ohiomom at Cooking in Cleveland mentioned her Cardamom Pear freezer jam, I've wanted to make it. It just sounded...so good! But life, jobs, and remodels all got into the way.

But being me, I wanted to tweek Ohiomom's recipe a little by adding a scraped vanilla bean into the mix. I was sure the results would be deeply vanilla, with a slight tang, then an exotic spiciness. But I was disappointed. The jam was just too vanilla-y and cardamom-y, and all over just too much "y". I think I've just discovered that I don't like cardamom. Oh, well...I'm sure I'll find somethind to do with 6 half pints!

Back to Wine

We bottled my Lemongrass Mint wine this weekend and it has turned out to be a wonderful surprise. It's a very light, refreshing summer sipper, not hot at all (not too much alcohol). I'm very impressed and think it would be devine with some sort of spicy Thai dish. Each batch of wine I make gets better and better.

Just in case you're wondering, we don't have 500 bottles of wine stacked up in the spare bedroom or anything. So far, the most wine I've gotten from a batch was about 12 to 15 bottles. We do give a lot away, and in fact have to be careful we save some for us!

The Most Amazing Soup!

Have you ever eaten something that was EXACTLY what you’ve been craving? You know the dance; you’re hungry, don’t know what you want. You think of all your options at home or even from a restaurant or takeout. Two hours later, you still haven’t pin-pointed what it is you want. You end up eating something else, but it’s a bit depressing. You might even go through this same cycle for a few days afterwards.

And then, there’s the chance that you are in touch with yourself enough to know what you want, and you eat it. It’s more than just the physical or sensory satisfaction, there’s something else. There’s the spiritual or soulful satisfaction that you are listening to your body and you give it what it wants, or even needs.

Last night (a night of rest), I got back in the kitchen and made the most amazing soup ever! I had a craving for some sort of vegetable soup, and found this gem of course, on the Cooking Forum. I think what really threw this recipe over the edge was that I used 1 ½ pints of my homemade Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce instead of the canned tomato sauce called for in the recipe.
It was sublime.

This is also a really great option for using all those yummy summer veggies that are starting to ripen!

Jamie's Minestrone
Yields: 8 servings
NOTE: This original recipe would make a HUGE amount of soup, so I halved all the ingredients called for and had plenty

INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
5 carrots, sliced
2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 cups water
4 cups tomato sauce (I used homemade pasta sauce)
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can green beans
2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup seashell pasta
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping (I think Gruyere would be amazing!)
1 tablespoon olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add chicken broth, water and tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently. If desired add red wine at this point. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach leaves, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better.

3. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until tender. Drain water and set aside.

4. Once pasta is cooked and soup is heated through place 2 tablespoons cooked pasta into individual serving bowls. Ladle soup on top of pasta and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

E-mail Conversation

Me: So, what do you think about buying a nail gun?

Hubs: I am not a fan of nail guns (I will caveat this prejudice may be a result of witnessing their poor use in home construction, see Hurricane Andrew).

Me: You're funny!

Hubs: Funny as in "ha-ha" or funny "strange"?

Me: Does it matter?

Sweetness, I was only joking

On top of laying tile in a bathroom remodel, I’m still able to throw a fabulous meal together, dust the furniture, bake cookies, iron underwear, and twirl around the house in my stylish shirtdress and conservative sling-back heels. Bling!

HAH!

We still have to eat around here, even if a good portion of the house is in chaos and life is all about waiting for things to dry. Actually, I believe that all major projects shouldn’t begin without a good meal. It helps if you’re not already cranky from hunger.

Believe it or not, hubs is becoming quite adept at using my pressure cooker. I sent him instructions on how to throw this pot-roast together and he did a spot-on job of it. See, we’re all learning new things around here!

3 Envelope Pot Roast

1 pkg. ranch dressing mix - the dry mix
1 pkg. Italian dressing mix - "
1 pkg. brown gravy mix - also dry

Mix them all together in a bowl.

With 2 tablespoons of olive oil, brown pot-roast on all sides on med-high heat. You can brown the meat in your pressure cooker pot and save on making another dirty dish. Take pot roast out of pressure cooker, place on plate, and sprinkle about 1/2 to 2/3 of the dried mix (you are supposed to use the entire amount, but most find that too salty) on both sides of the roast. Place pot roast back in pressure cooker, add 1 cup of water. Put lid on, wait for pressure to come up, and cook per time for your make of PC for a pot roast.

When finished cooking, remove pot-roast and add a slurry of cornstarch and water to the gravy and thicken.

**Note: If you don’t have a pressure cooker, simply follow the same instructions except place pot-roast in a dutch oven with one cup of water. Cook in 300° oven for approximately 90 minutes, or until it reaches your desired tenderness.

This pot-roast was actually VERY good and had a very good flavor. We served it with some good-ole’ fashioned mashed taters, and beans. It came with high reviews from the Cooking Forum. Yum!

Pray the Anger Away

Wanna know what we’re fighting about? The plastic, crapass miter box you can buy at either Home Despot or Lowes. We’re doing the baseboards now and hubs says, “I don’t know how the Amish do it, but my last name isn’t Yoder!” We sweated, cursed, and called it a night when things got ugly. “I wonder how the Amish deal with crap like baseboards?” Hubs replies, “They pray the anger away.”

We deal with it by drinking heavily. Seriously, a miter saw is in the works TODAY. Nothing fancy, schmancy, but mid-to-upper range. I don’t need something that will build a barn.

Divorce in the Making

Remember that bathroom remodel I was talking about earlier? Well, we have all of the supplies, gutted the bathrooms, and then waited for the tile guy to show up.

Well, we waited and waited.

The jerk had the nerve to flake out on us two days in a row and didn't show. Good thing we didn't give him any money! Why is it that contractors feel that if a job isn't big enough, it relieves them of the testicular fortitude to tell you they don't want to do it? Instead, they'll "commit" and flake out without a phone call. This is after you've taken off time from work. The sad part is, this isn't the first time I've had to go through this with a contractor.

GRRRRrrrrrr!

So that means we are DOING IT OURSELVES! Both bathrooms. Should I hire an attorney now? I see many marital spats on the near horizon.

FC, how far are you from Orlando??? :-)

Meet Barry the Turtle!

Meet Barry the Box Turtle! On occasion, I’ve heard some serious scurrying going on under the bushes & plants in the garden (can turtles scurry?). I never thought much of it, as we have quite an assortment of critters in our yard, to include Mr. Burns the garter snake, lizards, birds, squirrels, rabbits and whatever else comes out at night. But the other day, I found this little guy underneath a huge porterweed bush while I was hacking back my over-aggressive Joseph’s Coat.


At first, I started leaving him (her?) some veggies and salad to munch, but I later found out that box turtles are really carnivores (Hmmm…so who’s been eating the veggies I left?). Now I know what’s been happening to my earthworm population! Over the past year, I must have “relocated” close to 100 earthworms to my garden and never can find any when I dig. The soil is perfect for them, moist, lots of organic matter, poop (cow, not mine), leaves. Little monster!

Till then, he’s free to roam around and chill.

Florida Farmer's Market

I’ve had a little time off this week, so I took the time to visit one of our local farmer’s markets. Now, this market is held on WEDNESDAY of all days (why not Saturday when most people have off?), which makes it hard for me to get out there more than a couple of times a year. I’m usually in and out of there by 9 a.m., as it gets to oh…150° after 10 a.m. and I’m a dripping ball of sweat.

This is Barefoot Bill. He NEVER wears shoes. Ever. Even if the temperature outside is icy and frigid, Bill is Barefoot. Hence the name. But, Barefoot Bill sells only what he grows and it’s 100% organic.

I met this lady shucking some yummy looking purple zipper peas. I asked her how to cook them and she said, “First you shuck them. Then you throw them in a big ole’ pot with some fat-back or some salt pork. A ham bone is good and so is bacon. Then you add some water and simmer them for about an hour till the gravy gets good and thick. They’ll be real good ‘bout then.”

And that’s exactly what I did. And they were VERY good. I made a big pan of cornbread and some fried (sautéed) cabbage to go with them. YUM! That’s what we had for lunch.

The rest of the farmers market is a flea market, where you could buy all sorts of things like scary, creepy baby dolls.

Or this kick-ass wine bottle (which I did) for $1.

But basically, I was there for the tomatoes. I made and put up a big batch of Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce. Enjoy!

Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce

8 cups (2 L) coarsely chopped peeled tomatoes -- (about 9-12 tomatoes or 4 lb/2 kg)
1 cup chopped onion -- (250 mL)
3 cloves garlic -- minced
2/3 cup red wine -- (150 mL)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar (5 % strength) -- (75 mL)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil -- (125 mL)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley -- (15 mL)
1 teaspoon pickling salt -- (5 mL)
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (2 mL)
1 6-oz/156 mL) can tomato paste

Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, wine, vinegar, basil, parsley, salt, sugar and tomato paste in a very large non-reactive pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until mixture reaches desired consistency, stirring frequently.

Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process 35 minutes for pin (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars in a BWB.
Yield: "8 cups"

Note: If you don't can or preserve, this sauce is great on it's own right away. It also makes an excellent base for a quick pizza.

Quiche Me, Dahling!

Like Chinese food, I like the IDEA of eating quiche, but I don’t like to make it. I don’t know why that is, but I think it has something to do with the eggs. It just sounds so high-maintenance, like soufflés or custards. Eggy things that need tempering and beating and folding. And then I’m disappointed and always think, this is just an egg dish. I spent all that time and high expectation on an egg dish! Bah!

BUT, (there’s always a but!) sometimes I think all that extra effort is worth it. Like homemade ice-cream or this dish. My Jedi Masters promised it to be good, and deliver they did!

SALMON QUICHE WITH WALNUT CRUMB CRUST
Recipe source: The Cooking Forum (Thanks Annie!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Pastry:
Easy - doesn't require rolling, just press down with fingers and back of a spoon into a 24 cm (9.5 inch) pyrex flan dish or pie plate.

1 - 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup walnuts finely chopped – I used a food processor

Mix these ingredients in a bowl, cutting in butter with two knives until crumbly then press into a pie dish, including up the sides. Bake in pre-heated oven for five minutes. Then remove from oven. Meanwhile mix the following ingredients in a bowl:

Filling:
3 eggs beat till frothy
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup mozzarella cheese (grated)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can salmon (7 3/4 ounces) – Or use some fresh, baked salmon
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Pour the filling ingredients into the pie crust - bake in oven approximately 45 minutes or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean.

**Note: The crust for this was AMAZING; however, I felt the quiche "needed something" like maybe some dill or a sour cream dill sauce.

In Memory of Olive

Read here about Olive, the world's oldest blogger.

So sad, but incredibly inspiring. I am amazed at the stories of other people's lives, especially our elders who have witnessed so much in their time. I think everyone over 80 should have a blog. We need to hear their stories!

Yellow Prism

We finally bottled the Banana Grigio a few weeks ago. I woke up the next morning to see the morning light coming in through the windows. Isn't it pretty?

Holy Guacamole!

I have fruit envy. I get especially jealous around this time of year, and well into the fall, of other people’s fruit trees. I can only imagine what it must be like to have an over abundance of cherries, plums, apples, or even avocadoes. Can you only imagine what it would be like to have too many Haas avocadoes?!! I can hardly process that thought. How can one have TOO many avocadoes? Boggling.

But, you know the grass is always greener. I’m sure there are people in other places who dream of growing citrus, Meyor lemons, papaya, and mango in their back yards. Florida has avocadoes too, but they’re not the same as Haas…not as rich and buttery. I wish I could swap; I don’t even like mangos. Sigh.

Last night hubs and I made fajitas on the grill. I my opinion, no fajita is complete without guacamole. It’s so easy to make, yet it’s a personal thing. Some people like it lumpy, some smooth. Some want it with jalapenos, some not. Some say tomatoes are a no-no, others wouldn’t call it guacamole without it. In all cases, you need slightly soft, fresh avocadoes; they should have a little give when you squeeze them.

Fresh Guacamole

3 ripe Hass avocadoes
3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup minced red onion
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ to 1 fresh lime, squeezed
1 small jalapeno, minced (rib and deseed if you don’t want the heat!)
Salt
Pepper

Cut avocadoes in half, stem to core, and remove the pits. Scoop flesh out with a spoon and mash till lumpy in a bowl. Add tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice (to taste), jalapeno, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well with a spoon; keep refrigerated.

Dig in with some chips!

Gilroy Wuz Here!

Any of you who may be on “low cholesterol” or “low fat” diets turn away right now. I beg you. I will not be held responsible for your health, nor your downfall.

The following recipe combines the holy trinity of artery clogging, heart disease inducing, cardiologist cringing ingredients: butter, cheese, and mayonnaise.

See that? That’s my garage with two sets of toilets, two granite vanity sink toppers, two sets of faucets, some tiling, and one Lowes stock item bathroom vanity cabinet (the other is on back order). Do you know what that means? It’s a REMODEL boys and girls!

Wanna’ know how to wrap the Lowes Specialty Bath and Plumbing guy right around your finger? You bring him a pan of homemade lasagna, garlic bread, and homemade chocolate, chocolate cookies.

He’ll do ANYTHING for you!

Gilroy Garlic Bread
This is another dandy from the Cooking Forum
Supposedly, this won the Gilroy Garlic Festival cooking contest (wherever that is)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temp
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon (generous) dried oregano, crumbled
1 1-pound loaf French bread, halved lengthwise

Thoroughly combine first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Refrigerate. Bring to room temp before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 375*. Spread garlic butter on cut side of bread, wrap each half in foil. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Refrigerate.) Place bread on baking sheet cut side up. Bake 20 minutes. (I baked about 10 minutes, then followed with a few minutes under the broiler) Remove foil from bread.

*Note: the butter spread made quite a bit and I had a lot left over. Save the rest in the refrigerator for future use.

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Cooking in Cleveland! As with all tags, there are rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

A few random things about me:

1. I'm a certified rescue diver.
2. When I was 12, I was attacked by a feral cat that jumped up on my face (think of the egg-hatcher things in the movie Alien) and bit me. I had to get 12 stitches.
3. I have a bad habit of chewing my lips when I'm anxious. I do it almost all the time.
4. I'd rather have cheese than chocolate.
5. I have a birthmark, about the size of a silver dollar, behind my right knee.
6. I'm terrified of clowns.

O.k., I am tagging:

Gina at Lindsay's Luscious
SJ at I Asshole
Sol at Memories in the Baking
That cute guy, FC, at Pure Florida
Dances, at Dances in Garden
Jojo at Goings on at Jojo's

Monday Mumblings

I am so sore this morning! We did about 2 hours of yardwork on Saturday and my hamstrings are really bitching today. At this time of year, it’s all I can do to keep up with the weeds; everything grows so fast! But I must admit it’s worth it. I get so much joy from the garden and all the butterflies. We planted several caterpillar host plants just for them. Sometimes there are so many butterflies flitting around, you have to control yourself from swatting at them.

I started another batch of wine this weekend; a red this time. It’s an oaked cherry wine that is supposedly ready for drinking in 6-8 weeks. We’ll see about that! So far, all I’ve made is fruit wines (my Banana Grigio is w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l), so I’m a little nervous about working on my first red. I’m crossing my fingers cuz that “organic” cherry juice cost me an arm and a leg even with the coupons!

Made more Hippy Muffins, got my hair cut, shopped a little, made dinner yesterday and I’m whipped! I feel like I need another day or two off; good thing Friday’s a holiday!

You Know You're a Floridian If...

Here's a few good ones, courtesy of Vitiamin Sea:

1. Socks are only for bowling.

2. You never use an umbrella because you know the rain will be over in five minutes.

3. A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade.

4. Your winter coat is made of denim.

5. You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.

6. Anything under 70 degrees is chilly.

7. You've driven through Yeehaw Junction.

8. You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.

9. Every other house in your neighborhood had blue roofs in 2004-2006.

10. You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for.

11. You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list. They aren't Hurricane Charley or Hurricane Frances. You know them as Andrew, Charley , Frances , Ivan and Jeanne, Wilma too.

12. You dread love bug season.

13. You know what a snowbird is and when they'll leave.

14. You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average.

15. 'Down South' means Key West .

16. Flip-flops are everyday wear. Shoes are for business meetings and church, but you HAVE worn flip flops to church before.

17. You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.

18. You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls. (arrrgh!)

19. A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.

20. You know the four seasons really are: hurricane season, love bug season, tourist season and summer. (What about Christmas?)

21. You've hosted a hurricane party.

22. You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee , Withlacoochee and Micanopy. (Don't forget Econlockhatchee)

23. You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat, than have a boat yourself.

24. You were 25 when you first met someone who couldn't swim.

25. You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas and New Years.

26. You recognize Miami-Dade as ' Northern Cuba.

And I'll add some of my own...

27. You don't actually PAY to go see a live alligator (same goes for seashell souvenirs).

28. You don't make u-turns on any Florida interstate grass median. They may LOOK solid, but you know better.

29. "Full sun" on any plant growing description really means "Florida shade/partial shade"

Hippy Muffins

Doesn’t that sound like the name of some retro punk band? Or maybe the title for another cool foodie blog? But still, it also conjures up images of a middle-aged, pudgy woman who wears mom jeans, Keds, a size too small sweatshirt, and a bad perm. Go figure.

Anyway, I’m always looking for healthier, convenient options for breakfast and these are PERFECT. Grab and go. Best of all, they actually TASTE good! They have wheat germ, low fat yogurt, nuts, veggies, and only 170 calories per muffin. Eat up you hippies!

Hippy Muffins
Recipe source: Martha Stewart Living (originally titled "Carrot-Zucchini Yogurt Muffins")

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1/3 cup packed, dark-brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1 large zucchini, peeled and grated
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat standard 12-cup muffin tin with the cooking spray. Whisk together flours, pecans, wheat germ, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

In a separate bowl, stir together carrots, zucchini, yogurt, egg yolks, molasses and orange zest. Fold flour mixture into carrot mixture, just until combined. With a whisk or a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites until shiny, stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into carrot mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins, filling to the brims. Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

**I have frozen mine in a gallon sized ziplock bag and grab one for breakfast during the week!

Acting As If

I can really be a strange duck at times. For example, you’ve heard of the concept of projection when it comes to picturing something you want, right? Like, if you want, let’s say to fit into a certain outfit for a special occasion, you should picture yourself wearing that outfit, how it feels, and what you would do in it while you’re working your way towards your goal. I’ve also heard it being called “acting as if”.

When the summer temps start to creep towards triple digits, I “act as if” its fall. I start making fall crafty type things, usually for Halloween, thumb through my Martha Stewart October and November issues (I’ve kept every October and November issue for the past 10 years), and I bake and cook fallish type food. Maybe in some way, I think that by doing this, it’ll get here sooner.

Can I get a quack? Thank you very much!

Now I know most people don’t even want to think about heating up the kitchen in the summer, but it makes me happy. I can dream can’t I?

Harvest Pork Roast

4-5 lb. bone-in pork roast
2 T olive oil
Salt and pepper
½ cup all purpose flour
1 cup apple cider
2 T honey
2 T cider vinegar
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried rosemary (or use 1 T fresh, minced)
½ cup dried raisins
½ cup dried cranberries
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2” chunks

Preheat oven to 325. In an oven-proof dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Season pork roast with salt and pepper. Place pork roast in a large bowl and evenly coat with the flour. Place pork roast in dutch oven and brown on all sides. When browned, take dutch oven off stove. In a measuring cup, mix apple cider, honey, and cider vinegar with a spoon. Pour apple cider mixture into dutch oven, add onions, bay leaf, rosemary, raisins, and cranberries. Place lid on dutch oven and put in the oven to cook for approximately 3 hours (or until done). 1 hour before the roast is finished cooking, add the sweet potatoes to the dutch oven. Cove and cook for the last hour.

Random Thoughts, Or Why Keeping Chocolate On Your Desk Is a Bad Idea

Lisa turned to me and asked, “Can I use your husband?” Sure, no problem. Go right ahead!

On Saturday, dear hubby got to climb on top of 12 different women. He made the painful mistake of returning early to pick me up from a women’s self-defense class I was taking and was used “for practice”. He naively found himself in a room filled with riled, empowered women, ready to stomp, elbow or flip something. Anything.

Poor dear. He never knew what hit him.

I’ve decided that keeping a jar of chocolate on my desk at work, supposedly for my coworkers delight, is a bad idea. It does no good to eat salads for lunch and get up with the chickens in the mornings to walk when I end up snarfing down 8 chocolates throughout the day.

I could have eaten a whole candy bar.

Take Two

I feel kinda bad. I offered to submit a tasty strawberry recipe to Cooking In Cleveland's food blogging event and all I did was give a pictorial for something out of many reader's reach. It was a nice gesture, but kinda over-the-top, soooooo I wanted to make it up.

I'm submitting another recipe for a very simple and bright Strawberry Salad. There's really not much to the salad, per se, but its charm and zing is in the dressing. I think the dressing would be perfect for just about any salad!

Strawberry Salad with Cinnamon Vinaigrette
Recipe source: Southern Living

1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed and quartered
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted (I forgot to add these)
1 avacado, sliced
1 head of lettuce, your choice (I used iceberg, but romaine would be good too)
Cinnamon Vinaigrette

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with half of Cinnamon Vinaigrette, tossing to coat (I omitted and preferred to let guests put their own dressing on). Serve with remaining vinaigrette.

Cinnamon Vinaigrette Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup rasberry vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Combine olive oil and remaining ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. Chill at least 2 hours; shake well before serving.

Kisses Like Strawberry Wine

In honor of Cooking in Cleveland's food blogging event, I'm entering my Strawberry Wine as a submission. Enjoy!

A few people have been asking me about making wine. To catch you up, I taught myself how to make homemade wine a few months ago and it’s been so far “so good”. The thing about making homemade wine is the fact that you won’t know if you’re really any good at it for some time, so this isn’t a hobby for the impatient. That’s perfect for me because I’m impatient as hell!

It doesn’t really take elaborate equipment, but it does take time to make something decent. If you can read and follow a recipe, then you can make wine. I knew before I started that I wanted to make Strawberry Wine. GOOD wine though, not “Grandpa Jaja’s Elderberry Hooch”! I wanted to make wine that would be decent to serve at the dinner table or give as a gift, so I started researching and reading and asking questions.

Most of the ingredients are right at hand, but unfortunately you won’t be able to simply reach into your pantry and whip up a batch of wine without a considerable amount of research and preparation. Once you get the hang of it, it’s no more troublesome than canning or preserving, but with a longer shelf-life. And once you get started, the possibilities are endless!

So, I’m not going to bore you with details regarding the recipe, as most homemade wine ingredients like tannin powder, potassium metabisulfite, and pectic enzyme have to be purchased from a wine hobbyist vendor. But I will give you a pictorial of what it was like and what the end result looks like!

If you’d like to take this further and possibly give Strawberry Wine a try, go to Jack Keller’s website and search for his Strawberry Wine recipe. I used his recipe when I made mine and he’s a very reliable source.

Ok, first, you get a big ol’ cheesecloth bag full of strawberries and you add it to your primary fermentor (a food-grade plastic bucket). You then pour some simmered water with your required amount of sugar over the strawberries, add the rest of the water, other ingredients and wait 24 hours.

Then you use what’s called a hydrometer to test your potential alcohol level. Yeast turns sugar into alcohol, so therefore; the more sugar you add, the higher the alcohol level will be in your wine. Typical table wine is around 12% total alcohol, so you can use your hydrometer to adjust your sugar levels appropriately.

Then you “pitch the yeast”. See the dry yeast on the surface? It’s no different than a packet of bread yeast, but it is NOT bread yeast. You’ll end up with hillbilly hooch if you use bread yeast. Use wine yeast, it’s important!

Then you wait. Primary fermentation can take anywhere from 2 days to 6 months, depending on a whole bunch of factors. Mine took about 4-5 days.

Then you check your potential alcohol level (called a specific gravity) again, and when it’s at the right spot, you pour your wine “must” into a secondary fermentor, which is usually a glass jug. Add an “air lock” to prevent air from oxidizing your young wine and wait again.

Notice how cloudy it is? It takes some time for all the sediment to settle to the bottom or “clear”. Once this is done (anywhere from 2 months to 2 years!), you siphon your wine off the sediment into another glass jug, stabilize it so it won’t referment (more additives), sweeten if need to, and bottle.

See? Isn't it purdy?

Now, the truth is, that glass next to my bottle isn't my Strawberry Wine. For the most part, young wine really doesn't taste what it supposed to and it needs time to age. My lovely Strawberry Wine should be tasty come around Thanksgiving, but from the tiny tastes I made before bottling, it should be a huge hit!

Summertime!

I always tell hubby that nature abhors a vacuum. For example, whenever we lug a large box or something to our storage unit (no basements here), then something else magically appears to take its place. Or like this weekend, I had to dish out $600 for two tires (alignment, labor too, etc.) this weekend for my car, but won $100 on a scratch-off lottery ticket. So I say to Ma’ Nature…where’s my other $500 dollars!!

Update: the ticket didn’t win after all, so I’ll keep waiting.

Anywho, summertime is grill time and we love to grill out on the patio. From steaks to fish, to fruit and veggies, even bacon gets the grill treatment, and I love it! And of course, no grilling event would be the same without cold beverages, preferably the alcoholic kind. I found this nifty and VERY tasty Margarita recipe last year at of all places, the comments section of Stephanie Klein’s website. I can’t remember the name of the lady who posted this recipe, so I just called them Austin Margaritas.

Thank you, whoever you are!

They’re sooooooo easy and you can truly lighten up the calories on this drink by using diet drink products; it tastes exactly the same either way:

Austin Margaritas

1 12 oz. can of frozen Limeade (or use diet Limeade)
1-2 12 oz. bottles of Corona, to taste (or use Corona Lite) **I like 2 bottles
1 12 oz can/bottle of Sprite (or use Sprite Zero)
1 12 oz can of tequila, your choice (just fill up Limeade can for measure)

Mix all ingredients in a pitcher with ice. Salt rims of chilled glasses and enjoy!

Food for Thought

I’m all for locally grown, farm raised produce or organic food; however, one of the lacking aspects of being able to support local farming operations in Florida is availability and location. For example, a local u-pick blueberry place is at least an hour away and charges $4.50 per lb of berries, which you pick. Our local grocery sells locally grown blueberries at $5.00 for 2 pints (which equals approximately 1 ½ lbs.). As much as we would want to support our local farmers, it would cost us more in time and gas to go out of our way. That sucks.

When people think of Florida, they think of a lush, tropical paradise where anything grows. The truth is, not much out of citrus or very exotic tropical fruit grown near Miami is available. Sure, we have “two growing seasons” but even that is limited, especially with the weather getting warmer every season. It’s just too damn hot! Besides that, Florida is just not hip on farmer’s markets or CSAs. Forget apples, pears, plums, peaches (unless you’re near Georgia), asparagus, really any kind of berries, most root veggies as it is ether too hot or too wet for them, cold-loving veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, lettuce mixes. We do get strawberries, sweet corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes, however. And don’t even get me started on “other” aspects of a true farmer’s market, like artisanal cheeses, or breads, or preserves.

I guess my beef is other places make it look so effortless. When we went up to Virginia, we stopped at a local farmer’s market in Charlottesville. We found artisanal cheeses, spring lettuce mixes by the pound, grass-fed beef, free range eggs, more homemade breads and pastries than we could count, and even a man GIVING away unpasteurized, organic goat cheese because the government would not let him sell it! These sort of things are unheard of in Florida, and it makes me sad. Florida needs to get with the program of what a farmer’s market is all about, and I’m not talking about those fancy-schmancy, quasi craft-fair markets either. I’m talking about places like this. I won’t even mention what the farmer’s markets are like in the Pacific Northwest. I’ll start crying.

Just sayin’…

Anticlimatic

Well, the results are in and the Fluer de Sel Caramel wasn't the ice-cream orgasm I thought it would be (I finally found a secluded grocery where the public isn't up to speed), BUT, there's something else that took the trophy. Oh sure, it was caramel-y and chocolate-y and creamy-y in all the right places, but I'm a cinnamon girl at heart.

All you ice-cream divas, listen up! The new Haagen Dazs "Cinnamon Dulce de Leche" is the next Top Model as far as ice-cream is concerned. This stuff is literally crammed with creamy pockets of cinnamon caramel! I actually think the texture was CREAMIER than the Fluer de Sel and I could definitely see this loverliness being pals with a slice of apple pie over the winter holidays. Sigh.

Be still my heart.

To All My Pickle Peeps

O.k., I know pickle season is just over the horizon for all my northern friends, so I wanted to give you heads up on a fan-friggin-tastic pickle recipe. Think of me as your "pickle research department" each season, as we start our canning & preserving months ahead from the rest of the country.

I tried a new recipe from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and it is OMG, delicious! In fact, I loved it so much that I sent hubby back to the cuke people to get more cukes JUST for this recipe! I knew 8 jars weren't going to last us for the rest of the year.

They're lemony and sweet, without being over-cloyingly brine-y. YUM! You must try this recipe this season, plus, they are fabulously beautiful to look at in their jars!

Lemon Cucumber Pickles
Recipe Source: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Makes 6-8 pint jars

14 cups sliced pickling cukes (chip size 1/2 inch thick)
4 red bell peppers, seeded & thinly sliced (I used 3)
2 tsp pickling salt
7-9 bay leaves, divided
1 T whole, black peppercorns
1 tsp allspice
1 1/3 cups white vinegar
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 lemon sliced
6-8 cloves garlic

Prepare jars and lids for canning. Tie one bay leaf, pepper corns, and allspice in a square of cheesecloth, or place inside a metal tea ball like I did. In a large, stainless steel saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, lemon juice and spice bag. Bring to a boil over med-high and boil gently for 7 minutes or until spices have infused in the liquid.

Place 1 lemon slice, 1 clove of garlic, and one bay leaf in each jar. Pack jars with cuke slices and pepper. Ladle hot brine over vegetables, giving 1/2 inch headspace. Process in a BWB for 10 minutes. Let pickles marinate for two weeks before eating. Try not to eat a whole jar in one sitting!

**Note: I always make double the amount of brine required, as it seems I always need more than the recipe calls for.

**Note: You can add Pickle Crisp to make the pickles crisper - 3/4 tsp per jar or 1 1/2 tsp per quart.

Curse That Lindsey!

I have nothing new to say today except curse that **Lindsey over at Lindsey's Luscious! Ever since she mentioned the new Haagen-Dazs Reserve "Fleur De Sel Caramel" ice-cream, I've been obsessed with wanting it! And I can't find it!

I've been to no less than 4 groceries looking for the stuff, and I'm greeted everytime with an empty ice-cream slot. I know the stores carry them; I see the label where it is SUPPOSED to be, but...le sigh. I guess everyone else has discovered it too!

No rest for the wicked or weary!

**Lindsey is really a lovely, talented, person with a good sense of humor. I would never wish anything negative on her!

The Martha Monday Challenge

While surfing around on some of my favorite foodie sites, I happened to come across the food blogging events page at Is My Blog Burning. Now, for those of you who are not familiar with a food blogging event, it is basically a group of people who agree to research a recipe, topic, or category of food, and then write about it by a specific deadline. This usually entails cooking something you’ve chosen (or chosen by someone else), and of course, eating!

This is fairly new to me; however, I guess I’ve been doing this informally on this blog since day one. But I couldn’t possibly turn down Mimi on the Move and her request (challenge?) to whip up something from Martha Stewart herself. So I am totally, like, bring it!

You’re So Farro Away

I’ve been around food…well all my life. My mother used to say that I was born at 11:48 a.m., just in time for lunch. So, when something new crosses my plate, it’s an exciting time for me.

The current issue of Martha Stewart Living is chock-a-block with the usual crafty, homekeeping fare, except something new caught me by surprise. Upon turning to the What’s for Dinner section, I spotted a recipe for Farro and Porcini Risotto. Now, I thought I was pretty hip with new food trends, but farro was something I’ve never heard of. I made a mental note to Google it as soon as possible.

From what I’ve learned, farro has a pretty glorious history as a “grain of the legions”. It was “the original grain from which all others derive” and was once as common as spaghetti is today. But, through the times, it has whittled its popularity down to primarily Italian dishes and the occasional French haute cuisine. The organic food movement has brought renewed interest in farro, and I was extremely curious to try it.
Of course, my regular grocery didn’t carry farro, in fact, no one knew what it was, so off we went to Whole Foods grocery. Even in this organic and raw food mecca, there were only 3 lonely 16 oz. bags of farro to be found. And we looked hard for those 3 bags! Martha’a recipe called for 2 cups of farro, so we purchased two 16 oz. bags…just in case. Next, were the dried porcini mushrooms, which ended costing a small mortgage, but again, we’re talking about Whole Foods grocery. The mushrooms weren’t easy to find either. So far, Martha’s recipe was scoring negative points for convenience and availability.

Once home, I easily made the pesto sauce called for in the recipe. I substituted pecans for walnuts because, well, I don’t like walnuts and we had pecans. I used fresh basil from my garden and parsley purchased from the store. I set the pesto aside and started on the main dish. So farro, so good!

I mixed the farro with some white wine, chicken broth, and the dried porcinis, brought it to a boil and waited. Now, I did notice one important thing missing in this recipe. The Standard Rule of Engagement for any risotto making process is to add warm/hot stock to the risotto while it’s cooking. The pasta needs to absorb the liquid slowly, and adding a cold stock results in hard, undercooked risotto. I figured the farro probably would react in the same way so, I heated up my chicken broth and added half a cup at a time. It worked like a charm. Once the farro had absorbed all the liquid, it was done. I added the pesto and then finished with a few gusty peels of Romano (not parmesan…my preference) cheese.

The farro tasted earthy and nutty, with a splash of green from the basil and parsley. It was chewy and creamy in all the right places. The porcinis added a smokey, woody flavor and the grated cheese gave it a salty depth. This dish is not meant for the light-hearted though; it’s hearty and rustic and would do best with any red meat, game, or harvest vegetables. It’s definitely not springtime fare.

Overall, we enjoyed this dish very much and I probably will make it again if I’m in the mood for something a little exotic. Its biggest fault is the availability and price for the ingredients. Not everyone can go to or even afford specialty markets, but then again, only the best for Martha!

Casa de Pickle

May is a very special time for us here at Just the Right Size. The month of May brings us fresher-than-fresh Kirby cucumbers and the sweetest Florida corn you’ve ever eaten. And every May, hubby and I make our annual trek out to the boonies in order to stock up on both: first for making pickles and the latter for freezing or making corn relish, soups, corn bread, corn pudding…well, you get the picture.

The farm we buy from is only open for the month of May; the rest of the year it is closed. It grows a large proportion of the early cukes for Big Pickle (i.e. Claussen) and they are just as gorgeous as can be. But every May, hubby and I always overestimate the amount of cukes we need and end up to our elbows in cukes or pickles. Usually both.


Last year, I tried to make a highly coveted pickle recipe from one of the Cooking Forum ladies, which called for fermenting the cukes for several days via pouring fresh boiling water over them every day, then proceeding with a brine soaking, then canning. In all, it takes about ten days total (at least it seemed).

Did I mention that May in Florida also brings temperatures in the 90s too? It seems that fermenting pickles in temperatures over 70 degrees is a bad idea. By the third day, I was greeted with a smell that can only be described as rotting cukes and road kill. And since I didn’t feel like turning up the AC to make my house a meat locker (and paying the subsequent electric bill), fermented pickles and sauerkraut will have to wait.

Ahem.

So, this year, we continued our tradition of getting way too many cukes and trying our hand at refrigerator pickles. Only this year, I am trying to copycat Boar’s Head Zesty Bread and Butter Chips. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these pickles! I could easily eat a whole jar in one day! The special ingredient that takes these pickles over the edge is the huge amount of horseradish. So far, we have a dozen quarts and a dozen pints made, but are running out of room (again).

Anyone want some fresh cukes?

Two Words: Shrimp Rangoon

If Asian cooking had a junk food category, I’m pretty sure Rangoon would be right up there with the goold ol' American Krispy Kreme doughnut. What else is there to say about handy, little deep fried pastry pockets filled with cream cheese (and a little meat with seasoning), then dipped into some sort of sweet sauce? Well, anything, really, that’s cooked with cream cheese gets extra points with me, but that’s another topic.

I always eye these when we go out for Chinese food, or really any Asian restaurant that carries them, but I know better. I could eat about a hundred of them, and that’s not a good thing. Either for me or my aerobics instructor.

But Cuisine At Home just HAPPENED to have a nifty little recipe for shrimp Rangoon right on the back cover of issue #69. How convenient. And naughty!

Instead of the traditional crab meat, they subbed for shrimp, which is a plus for the cost factor. Of course they’re fried, but what the heck…2 more hours on the stair master is nothing, right? Right?!

Shrimp Rangoon
Makes 30
Recipe Source: Cuisine at Home, #69

2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 T scallions, chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp sugar
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
2 tsp fresh lime juice
Salt to taste
¾ lb cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, and diced
30 wonton wrappers (you can find these in the freezer section, near the pie pastry)
Peanut oil

Pulse cilantro, scallions, ginger and sugar in a food processor until minced. Add cream cheese, lime juice, and salt; pulse until combined. Transfer to a bowl and stir in shrimp.

Arrange a few wonton wrappers on a work surface. Place 2 tsp of shrimp mixture in the center of each wrapper, moisten edges of wonton with a finger dipped in water, and fold to form a half circle or triangle. Press edges to seal. Set aside, and repeat with remaining wrappers.

Heat 1 inch of the peanut oil in a dutch oven over med-high heat. Fry Rangoon in batches until golden on each side, about 1 minute total. Drain on paper towels. Serve with your choice of Asian dipping sauce (usually a sweet & sour sauce).

Wine a Bit; You'll Feel Better!

Going on vacation is a lot like having a fiery, passionate, love affair. In the beginning, you can’t get enough of each other. Everything is so much more interesting, better, and exciting than what you have back at home. The food is better; the air is cleaner; the birds are singing. Everything is perfect and new. You even have your very own special coffee place and favorite Thai restaurant. But after a while, you start to lose your patience and things don’t look so shiny anymore. You long for the familiar. Your own bed; your routines; things you can count on. When it all boils down, there’s no place like home and family.

Hubs and I just got back from a wonderful, 5 day get away to northern Virginia. Specifically the Virginia wine trail. We’ve wanted to do this for a while, but our schedules, money, work, and the weather all got in the way. In the past 5 days, we’ve had more wine, smelled more flowers, explored more civil war sites, took more pictures, and passed by more southern Baptist churches than you could shake a stick at (or a snake). It was perfect.

We also discovered the Monticello Wine and Food Festival was going on the same time we were up there, so we checked that out too. It wasn’t what we expected though. It was almost as if the prestigious Monticello wine community had to comply with northern Virginia county fair committee venue guidelines. This left us wine snobs paired with "Sho-nuff Barbeque", a 4 person band playing “Le Freak”, and wine glasses sponsored by the Battleship Automotive Group. We had fun though. A vacation makes people more lighthearted. So does a couple of glasses of wine!

The best wine we found, by far, was the Cru from Kluge Estate Vineyards, which was wayyy at the base of the mountains and in the boonies. The Cru is an aperitif (dessert) wine that is first fortified with brandy, and then aged in seasoned whiskey barrels. It sounds harsh, but it is as smooth as butter and simply divine. We loved it so much that we bought 4 bottles of it (albeit small ones) and plan to order more for gifts.

Kluge also had a very lovely dining café that serves yummy things like gourmet cheese plates with truffled olives and crusty bread. We had our lunch on the front patio, surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the sound of migrating Canadian geese. Most of the roads up there were the narrow, snaking-two-lane-white-knuckle types, with no shoulders and a scary, yet beautiful scenery below. It was worth the climb. And if you go to Kluge, further down the road is a winery name Wintergreen Vineyards. You have to go there just for the Raspberry Dessert wine alone.

Plastic Tubes and Pots and Pans

No, I'm not dead. I've been painfully busy (again) lately, but like I mentioned earlier, I have been making wonderful things!

I've been learning how to make wine!

Every few years I recreate myself and dive head first into a new learning venture. Sometimes it pays off (like canning and preserving or making cakes) and sometimes it doesn't (like getting an advanced degree in something I'm not even sure I like...'nuther story!). But any way it goes, I am always amazed at what I am capable of learning and doing for myself, and this time it's a doozy!

A few weeks ago, I started a lovely Strawberry Wine recipe from an amazing home winemaker by the name of Jack Keller. Jack lives in Texas. Everything is big in Texas. Therefore, Jack is big in Texas, and everywhere else home winemakers reach out to learn and gather information. He has quite a reputation in the winemaking industry and is fiercly passionate about wine. I often wonder how Jack can go to work at a "regular" job each week and manage to keep so much under his hat.

But, as hobbies go, sometimes it's better if they stay just that...hobbies. The potential slippery slope to making a living from a hobby is that one day you realize it's WORK. And then it's not so fun.

Anyway, check out his site at the link above. Read his blog too; you'll never know what you'll learn.

Here is my wine when I first made it. It looks like strawberry milk doesn't it?

Here's what it looks like after about a month of fermenting, clearing, and racking. Pretty isn't it?

I'll put it in some pretty bottles in a few weeks with some snappy labels. Snap! After that I started a 3 gallon batch of Banana Wine. Yes, Banana Wine!

It has a slight banana nose (scent), but tastes like a full bodied Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. It's yummy! Stay tuned and we'll see how these turn out. They will need some time to age (anywhere from 3-12 months), so I won't even know if I'm good at this for some time! Patience grasshoppah! Some of you (and you know who you are) might even receive a bottle or two as gifts, but don't hate me if it tastes like rocket fuel!

Cheers!