Fall is for Wine Tasting (but Wine Tasting is for Any Season)

For the month of September, the wineries in Lodi, CA offered a special deal called the Roadtrip Passport to Lodi. For $15, you purchased this booklet that gave you complimentary wine tasting at 27 wineries and access to numerous winery events, some of which are normally only open to wine club members. I took advantage of the deal and went wine tasting in Lodi three times over the past couple weeks. It was a blast! Here are some of the photos from the trips:

First stamp in the passport!

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Michael David makes my favorite red and white wines

Grapes hanging from an arbor at Borra Vineyards

Went wine tasting with some of the girls from church

Also went wine tasting with my friend Leslie

And ALSO went wine tasting with my friend Kelsey. It was a busy month!

Especially when "all" involves wine ;)

Two Days 'til Autumn!

It will officially be Fall on September 22nd, but I'm already in a very Autumnal mood. This is my very favorite season. Today I thought I'd write down a few things I'm enjoying right now. In no particular order:

1. Starbucks iced coffee with hazelnut syrup. Delicious! And perfect for the pleasantly warm NorCal transition from summer to fall.

2. Essie's Head Mistress nail polish. It looks dark pink here, but it's more of a deep, blue-red with pinkish undertones (kind of a dark cranberry). I love it! I really think it's the perfect shade of red for all year-round. But especially late summer/early fall, and I plan to wear it a lot during the holiday season.

3. Reading for fun. I recently started reading Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell and so far it is excellent! I've ALSO been enjoying all the reading I've done for school so far, so I think I can count it as reading for fun.

4. Wine tasting! I went last Saturday in Lodi with some friends and it was a blast. Lodi, CA has a special Roadtrip Passport to Lodi event that runs from September 1-October 6 and it only costs $15 for the booklet which gives you access to numerous winery events and free tastings at 27 wineries (which works out to to about $0.55 per tasting!). I'm going again on the 29th with some gals from church and I'm sure it will be just as much fun as last Saturday was.

5. Foyle's War. I recently started watching this show on Netflix and it's really good (ok, the first 2 episodes are really good - I haven't watched the rest yet!). Something about Autumn just makes me want to make a cup of tea and delve into all things British.

Volunteering = Free Stuff

This past Saturday, I volunteered as a waiter at a fundraiser banquet for my local Young Life chapter. The event was amazing and raised $56,000! It was fun to volunteer since it gave me the opportunity to hang out with other young adults from my church that I normally only see at church or Bible study. One of the best parts, though, was all the free stuff I got to take home. Since I was one of the last volunteers to leave, I was able to bring home 4 steaks, 4 miniature desserts, 1 bottle of chardonnay, a bunch of tulips, and a dozen wine bottles with the labels already removed! Here are photos of some of the goods:

We served a variety of miniature desserts from Ettore's Bakery and oh. my. goodness. They were all amazing! Out-of-this-world, indescribably amazing. The best things I have ever tasted. For real.

These two types of desserts were my favorite - the lemon meringue tarte and the raspberry & chocolate meringue tarts. There was another type of dessert that looked cheesecake-y so I didn't try it, but I did eat some of the chocolate bark that was on top and it even more amazing than the desserts I did eat. Do you know the scene in Ever After when Margeurite eats chocolate for the first time and declares it "positively sinful"? Well, that's how I felt when I tasted that stuff - sans smarmy disgustingness, of course.

These tulips were centerpieces at the banquet. I brought a bunch home and they're currently sitting on our counter, cheering up the apartment.

The vase is from an antique store in West Virginia. My mom bought it for me as a souvenir when we went there a number of years ago.

More photos of the desserts, after my roommate and I ate two of them and I added a dish of almonds to the plate.

Favorite Wines

Now that spring is in full force, I'm getting excited about sharing wines with friends. Don't get me wrong, I love a glass of good wine year-round, but there's something extra special about enjoying a glass on a friend's porch while we bask in this wonderful California weather. Here are a few of my favorite wines, in no particular order:

I really like Merlot wine - but I'm very picky about it. Which is to say, I really like the Merlot wines that I actually like. I found this one by Bogle to be very enjoyable. My very favorite Merlot that I've had to date is by Lange Twins Winery in Lodi, but I don't know where they sell it so I've only ever had it in a restaurant.

This could very well be my favorite wine, ever. 6th Sense Syrah by Michael David Winery from Lodi, CA is delightful. It's full and velvety and everything good.

I'm not big on white wines, but Seven Heavenly Chards (by Michael David Winery) is great! This chardonnay has a smooth, full, slightly buttery flavor. One of my favorite treats is sitting down with a glass of this wine and a bowl full of fresh popcorn.

This Pinot Noir by Clos du Bois is excellent. Although I definitely prefer the 2008, the 2009 is also quite good and easier to find in stores. The flavor, again, is full (no watery wine for me, thank you very much!) and smooth.

(And yes, I do realize that it's painfully obvious just how inexperienced I am at tasting & describing wines. I know nothing of tannins and I'm scared of saying that wines are "fruity" or "nutty" or "oaky" because, honestly, I'm not 100% sure what those things taste like.)

Power "Green" Smoothie

A few weeks before Christmas, I came across this recipe for a Green Smoothie and I immediately thought, "I need to try that!" So a couple days later, I went in to Target and walked out with a brand new blender. I then gathered my ingredients, modifying the recipe to suit what was easily available to me and could be frozen to keep for a long time.

This smoothie is amazing! I love it. In fact, I think I'm addicted to it. Every morning I don't make it, I feel like something is missing from my life. Here's the recipe I use (all measurements are approximate):

1 cup of water (or minty green tea*)
1 banana
A few handfuls of spinach
1 cup of frozen mixed berries
3 frozen strawberries
2 smallish handfuls of almonds**

Here it is, starting to get blended! In case you're wondering where I get my ingredients, here it is:

Bananas - whatever grocery store is most convenient, because they go bad pretty quickly. Usually when I run out of bananas, I buy a ripe one, a medium ripe one, and an unripe one so I don't have to buy them again for a few days.
Spinach - I buy a huge 3lb bag from Costco and then stick it in my freezer.
Frozen mixed berries & frozen strawberries - Costco
Almonds - Trader Joe's

Sometimes I throw in other random things I have on hand, such as an orange, cranberry juice, or pineapple, and adjust the quantities of the other ingredients accordingly.

So I know those ingredients don't sound good but, trust me, this smoothie tastes sooo good! Every time I tell someone about it, they look at me like I'm crazy for putting spinach and almonds in a smoothie, but my roommate can vouch for the fact that I'm not crazy (at least not when it comes to the taste of this smoothie) and that it is, in fact, delicious.

*I often need the caffeine provided by green tea and I don't mind the metabolic boost, either! Therefore, I use minty green tea instead of water most of the time. I just put some mint tea and green tea bags in a pitcher of water and stick it in my fridge. I let it sit for about 24 hours and then take the bags out and use the tea in my smoothie throughout the week.

**I was reading about the nutritional benefits of spinach and it was mentioned that eating some fat with the spinach helps your body absorb the nutrients better. The almonds also provide some extra protein, which is something I'm always OK with!

A Couple's Thanksgiving

This year we will be spending Thanksgiving day with my family at the beach. I am very excited about this because I love, love LOVE the ocean and being on the beach. Plus I always find holidays that center around cooking a huge meal for 10 hours to end up being rushed and chaotic. But a day with family at the beach? The exact opposite. I think this really is a genius plan - skip the traditional feast to instead focus on simply being. As a family.

We also won't be doing a traditional Thanksgiving meal with the hub's family...just spending a day relaxing and playing with the niece and nephews.

But part of me is really missing the idea of eating all the delicious food (despite my protestations above). So I thought, why not make a mini-feast for the hubs and I to enjoy?

And that is just what I am going to do! However, neither of us likes turkey (thankfully! because there is no way I am tackling that kind of a project - I lose interest in things too easily to try to cook a turkey). So we will be forgoing the bird in exchange for some steaks. Oh yeah. I think we will be winning in the end :)

Here is my menu:

Drinks: White and red wine, sparkling cranberry juice

Vegetable 1: bacon-wrapped green beans

These look so delicious. We both love bacon, so of course we have to find a way to work it in! Also I love how crispy both the beans and bacon get in this recipe.

Vegetable 2: baked sweet potatoes

I might make them this way, or I might simply wrap them in foil and let the yams bake in their own juices - they are very sweet that way on their own and we find we don't even need to add brown sugar or butter.

Side 1: mashed potatoes

with garlic and tons of butter...perfection!

Side 2: Crescent rolls

These look really good! I will probably just cheat and use pillsbury dough ;)

Side 3: jello salad

My Grandma makes this every year - and I almost hate to admit it...but it's one of the things I look forward to the most!

Dessert 1: pecan pie

I'm probably not going to attempt this - I'd hate to risk screwing it up - so I plan on buying one from Marie Callender.

Dessert 2: pumpkin cheesecake

I will be making three mini cheesecakes (I've found two friends who love this as much as I do). So excited for this!!! Pumpkin cheesecake is my favorite of all holiday desserts :)

Writing this post is making me hungry! Only two weeks to go :)

A Wonderful Discovery

My friends, as if the glorious tasty goodness of chocolate covered strawberries, espresso beans, raisins, and pretzels weren't enough....allow me to present, the King of these delectable delights....The Chocolate Covered Potato Chip! I tasted a sample at Trader Joe's and I am hooked. How can you say no to $2.99 of pure bliss? Both sweet and salty all rolled into one delectable package?

Run, don't walk, to your nearest TJ's and procure a package (or three!). Your taste buds will thank me later :)

image of tasty goodness

Sadly, Trader Joe's does not know who I am. I am not being reimbursed for this product endorsement

And The Dad of the Year Award Goes to....

I stumbled upon the website jimspancakes.com purely by accident, but boy am I glad I did! These creations are seriously amazing!!

I tried to pick a favorite, but I couldn't - they are all sweet in their own way. Of course, it will come as no surprise that the Dad is an engineer (civil to be exact) - it would take an engineer's patience and attention to detail to create that 3D dinosaur!

And I was proud of myself for mastering the Mickey Mouse shape ;)

Baking for the Hubs

I am feeling in a baking mood today! And since I happen to have a free morning, I thought I would spend it whipping up some baked goods for the hubs. What should I make?

These cinnamon roll muffins look delicious - and would be an easy morning snack to grab on the run.

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These banana treats would be on the healthier side, and would leave room for me to use up some ingredients I already have on hand - plus it's been hot again lately, so a frozen dessert might not be a bad idea :)

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The hubs likes peanut butter cookies, and adding some chocolate and perhaps a few extra peanuts on top might be a fun take on this classic.

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Or should I whip up some of these awesome chocolate chip cookie bowls? We love us some ice cream, so I know these would be sure to be a hit!

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Ahh, sweet, sweet decisions!

Beer & Burgers at the Cascade Lakes Brewery

Since the racers had a criterium in downtown Bend late Saturday afternoon, we decided to go out to eat afterward at the Cascade Lakes Brewing Company. Nano and I had eaten there the year before with a different group of friends and I had really good memories of how great the buffalo burgers & beers were. Actually, I had a great memory of how one of the beers was, because I only tried one last year, the 20" Brown, and I had purchased a 6-pack that I stretched out until the end of May.

So when we went back to Bend this year, one of my priorities was getting another buffalo burger from this restaurant and getting the taster tray of all their beers so I could purchase a few to take home.

 

One side of the menu listed all the food dishes that were available. Although there was a lot to choose from, everyone in our group ordered a burger, and most of us paid the extra $2 to get the buffalo patty. It was worth it! Buffalo meat is amazing.

I am a woman of very plain tastes, so I always order my burgers "just the meat and the bun." If it comes with vegetables, I get them on the side and eat them separate from the main dish. The buffalo burger was delicious! I highly recommend getting a buffalo burger whenever you can - they can be hard to find and might cost a little more, but they are oh-so-tender and very tasty.

I tend to put a lot of ketchup on my hamburgers and hotdogs! Also, you can't eat fries without some ketchup for dipping!

The flip side of the menu listed all the drinks offered by the brewery. Since I was planning to buy a lot of beer after dinner, I decided to get the taster tray so I could have a clear idea of which beers I like and which I don't.

Since I don't like IPAs, I substituted the Riverside Red. Clockwise from 11 O'Clock, the beers in the tray are Blonde Bombshell, Pine Marten Pale Ale, Rooster Tail Ale, 20" Brown, Monkey Face Porter, and Riverside Red.

These two were my favorite of the bunch - 20" Brown and Rooster Tail Ale. I'm not a fan of really light ales, but I did enjoy the Blonde Bombshell and I thought it would be great on a really hot summer evening. I couldn't detect any distinctive differences between the Pine Marten and Rooster Tail ales, but the Rooster Tail seemed slightly more mellow and less "sharp" to me than the Pine Marten, though it was still quite enjoyable. 20" Brown was just as malty & tasty as I'd remembered and I once again decided to buy it. I'm not a fan of porters, but the Monkey Face Porter was by far the best one I've ever had and I considered buying it, but since I couldn't think of any occasion where I would choose to drink the Monkey Face over any of the others, I decided against it.

I really liked the Riverside Red, the first red beer I'd ever had, but alas! Cascade Lakes Brewing Company does not sell 6-packs of the seasonal brews! Sad face.

 

These were the notes I made to myself while tasting the beers. As you can see, I am quite the beer connoisseur - not! The numbers next to the beers indicate how many I intended to purchase. A 6-pack costs $7, and since my beer budget was $50, I planned to purchase seven 6-packs (which would have come to $49). However, when I got to the counter, I saw that a case was $25, so for only $50, I was able to get a total of eight 6-packs instead of just seven.

The taster tray came with this nifty little information sheet on the various beers. It was nice to be able to taste the beers and try to distinguish their characteristics, then read about them to see if I was right.

I brought two of those bad boys home - enough to last for a year with some to share! I asked if they could mix & match the cases for me, and sure enough, they could! So I got three 6-packs of the 20" Brown (still a favorite), two of the Rooster Tail Ale, two of the Pine Marten Ale, and one of the Blonde Bombshell. Cheers!

(In case I didn't make it clear, I highly recommend visiting this restaurant if you're ever in Bend. Here is a link to their website.)