Randomness

What a great Thanksgiving break this has been! I'm super blessed to have a job that allows me time off to do stuff. I always have big plans: like, this long weekend, I'm going to...1. Clean a closet. 2. Organize the office. 3. Burn pictures onto CD's and label them. 4. Spend extra time at the gym. 5. Read. 6. Make phone calls that I've been meaning to make. Etc, etc, etc. But somehow, those things never seem to happen. Oh, I may get one thing knocked off the list, but honestly, that's just by luck/chance.This particular long weekend, I got a little of this and a little of that done, but nothing much to speak of, at least nothing that was on a list. BUT! I cooked (which you know I love), got a little shopping done, had a thoroughly enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, met old PA friends in Sanford for breakfast before their trek home, and just relaxed.  Tonight, Jack is working the tree lot for the Knights at church, and I'm facebooking, Pinteresting, and generally wasting time. So, as I devour other people's blog posts, I figured I'd better tend to mine as well. Here are a few tidbits from my scattered brain: things I snapped pics of to post, and never got "a round tuit". 

This is my all-time-favorite-nighttime-snack-ever. Sure, it may look like "just" popcorn, but I've even got Jack hooked on it, and he's not much of a popcorn eater. My sis Sara taught me about this years ago, and last year when I found out how bad-for-you packaged microwave popcorn is, I switched to micro air popped, and never looked back. I pop a nice portion in my Presto Power Pop, and lightly spray it with GREAT VALUE brand (it's honestly the best tasting) butter spray, then sprinkle with popcorn salt, garlic powder and a smidge of parmesan cheese (the "soap powder" kind). Yummo! 

When Ann & Dave came to FL earlier this month, I made pumpkin (I KNOW! I'll stop, I promise) chocolate chip cookies with cream cheese icing, recipe courtesy of my friend (and new mom!), Kristyn, from her mom. I've gotta ask if I can share the recipe...

Ok. This was just funny... A sweet friend at work "donated" a number of bottles of wine to me a few months back, and Jack & I have enjoyed a few of them already. So while Jack was in ND, Deb and I decided to pop one of these babies open...a half bottle of Chateau Suduiraut, French Sauternes, 1990; a white, sweet, dessert wine. Oh, yeah...this little fella goes for $45, can't wait!...Uhhh, see the cork floating in the bottle? I couldn't seem to get it out with my fancy-shmansy corkscrew, so I pounded it into the bottle, creating a spray of wine that hit me directly in the eye. We laughed for five minutes! (and this wasn't the first time I'd gotten hit in the eye by a bottle of bubbly; I went to the ER 20+ years ago after being attacked by a champagne cork!) Bottom line: the wine was truly horrid (wasn't stored on its side), and we laughed the whole time I took these pictures. (we laugh all the time anyway)

Sooooo, tomorrow we're all back at it. Happy Monday, everyone! It's almost Christmas!

Penne a' la VODKA!

I've gotten this great idea to expand my horizons ever more regarding my love of wine. Publix features three wines every month, with suggested foods for each one, so I thought, "Hey! We'll try a new wine with it's complimentary dish every Sunday!" Brilliant...until the first Sunday I planned to do it started with a wine tasting and ended with a nap. So, Sunday's food & wine combo became Monday night's dinner. And boy, was it good! I watched Pioneer Woman on Saturday, and she made her vodka sauce with lots of cream and butter, which we don't do anymore. So this is the slimmed down version from Eating Well, and it's fab! 

The alcohol cooks out of the sauce, so no worries about getting silly from dinner. Let's let the wine do that! Afer sauteeing the onion and garlic, add the vodka and let it reduce by half, then add the crushed tomatoes, fat free half & half, worchestershire and crushed red pepper. (if I forgot anything, it's in the recipe)

Rather than capicola or pancetta, I added thin strips of super lean, paper thin ham, then stirred in lots of fresh basil. It would be just as wonderful with no meat!

This is the wine I chose for tonight, Italian Chianti. It goes well with various meats, pizza or tomato-based sauces. I liked it more than Jack, but he stoically finished his glass ; ) It has a strong finish that we're not really used to, but was still very enjoyable. Again (like Debbie!), I've (almost) never met a wine I didn't like!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/penne_with_vodka_sauce_capicola.html

Happy Grape Day!

 This new wine (to me) was purchased on Melissa's advice, and very good advice it was! The zin was getting a bit heavy, so a switch back to Pinot sounded nice, maybe since the days are getting warmer. This is just what the doctor ordered in a Pinot; smooth with lots of berry notes. It's kinda weird that a grape can give berry flavors! It's produced in (northern) Italy ~ Publix, $8.99. Recommend!

Dinner tonight was a fast salad, one of Lindsay's favorites:

I added cooked chicken to make it a "meal".

The Dressing:

1/4 cup lime juice

1 Tbls honey

1 finely chopped jalapeno, seeded

3 Tbls snipped fresh cilantro

1/4 tsp salt

The Salad:

1 bag baby spinach

4-6 ears fresh corn, husked & cleaned, cut off cob

grape tomatoes

3/4 cup cucumber, seeded & chopped

1 cup chopped chicken (optional)

fresh black pepper

Whisk together lime juice and honey until well combined; stir in jalapeno, cilantro, salt.

Add to salad mixture and serve immediately.

Cool and fresh!

Got my travel docs today!!! 20 days (not 22; my counting was off!)

And Today's Selection IS....

It occurred to me that I haven't put my favorite, cheap (inexpensive) wine on the blog yet! This Sutter Home is (to me) slightly rich (but not heavy), with a medium plum color and a nose of berry (and according to their site, black pepper) The tannin is subtle, making it smooth, yet with a slight bite. Hey, how do ya like that?! Maybe I'm gettin' the hang of this. I buy it a Publix, and it's usually on sale for anywhere from 2/$9 to 2/$12. My kinda price. They don't carry a very large supply, so it's frequently out; when I see it, I grab it. 

 

My friend, red Zin.

As a footnote : ) I got another shot in the heel today. According to Dr. Lynch, I wasn't supposed to be going to Power Hour. Crap. So until take-off, I ride the blasted bike and do some weight machines. Oh well, it's for a good cause. Departure: 29 DAYS!!! And the tour director's name is Terry. That can only be a good thing. I think.

No Whining Here!

I'm thinkin' this is gonna be my favorite new Vineyard. Is it because it has such a cute name? Maybe. Ok, probably. This Cupcake Vineyard Red Velvet was an impulse buy at the register the other night. Jack and I hit World Market to use my $10 off $30 purchase (alcohol excluded. Dang.), and of course ended up spending $55. *sigh* (please tell me you do this as well) Me and my coupons cost us a fortune. Anyhow, the label promised a heady nose of chocolate & blackberries, with a creamy mocha finish. Did it deliver? YES, IT DID! It really is smooth and lightly sweet, with a lovely ruby color. And you know by now I don't like sweet anymore, but this is different; wonderful aroma and just plain good. (I'm not getting any better at this "wine describing" stuff, am I?) This was the first time I had seen "Red Velvet" ~World Market, $9 on sale for $8. Even better : )

Bonus! This was tonight's dinner:

Oh. My. Gosh. It was fabulous. I've included the link (my girl, Ree), and I didn't change much of anything (I have a tendency to do that). I used light sour cream, fat free half and half, and the new olive oil mayo in the dressing. The corn is cut right off the cob (fresh, not cooked) and really "made" the salad. I usually use reduced-fat feta, but I forgot to pick it up at the store and Jack ran up to Publix for it last minute, so he got full-fat. There are so many flavors going on, reduced-fat would have been fine, but it was GOOD.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/print-recipe/134176/#size3x5

Ahhhh. Happy Wednesday!

Table for One, Please.

If I didn't have to cook for someone, I honestly don't think I'd cook. Brandy hit me where I live this weekend when she said, "Momma, you only cook this fantastic food so you can show off your amazing, crazy mad cooking skillz on your blog!" (ok, those weren't her exact words, I added a few) But she's pretty much right (darn those meddling kids!). Tonight, however, I felt like making a nice dinner for myself, since Jack's working late. I stopped by Publix after the gym and picked up a fresh piece of salmon and some veggies, plus the ingredients to make the shortbread and scones for Friday's royal nuptials. So this is what I had for dinner.

This little Kodak takes the craziest pictures. Doesn't it look like the salmon is superimposed on the plate?! (could be the Chardonnay) The salmon is topped with Newman's medium peach salsa, to which I'm now addicted, and fresh cilantro. Super combo.

So the wine I chose needed to be white. I drank up all of the Cupcake Chardonnay last week, and my "guests" this weekend hit the Pinot Grigio and Riesling. When Lindsay looked in the back fridge Friday, she said, "Mom, what's this Chardonnay doing in the fridge?" because I usually don't drink it. (she needs to read my blog to know that I'm trying different things) I let her know it was leftover from the wine tasting and would be in there for awhile. Well, it's "awhile". It was very tasty with the salmon! I was going to start tonight with something new: testing the "nose" of the wine, etc, but I'll start that next week (maybe). So, this is Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Chardonnay, very reasonably priced at about $12 for a 1.5 liter bottle. I really like Woodbridge Pinot Noir, it was my "go to" red before I discovered Sutter Home Red Zin. Salute!

Nirvana a/k/a The Wine's All Here! (and the house is empty)

Just in time for the weekend! And you know me...."Aren't the bottles pretty?!"


Anyway, the house is quiet, and my great white shrimper (and son & sidekicks) are out for the evening. Please, Lord, allow the additional $61.94, $10, $14.40 & $35.59 spent this week, bring home a nice catch. (I am totally serious. Those are the receipts on the desk for incidentals for tonight's excursion) Last night I said, "Seriously, I really would rather spend the $6-8 at Publix for shrimp when I need it." (usually, once or twice a year for a party dish, since Jack doesn't eat seafood. Again, serious.) He looked me dead in the eye and said, "Really? You can't put a price on an night at home by yourself, can you?" Darn it!!! How'd he figure THAT out?! I thought I was being so sly! But now that I think about it, I guess there were little hints that led him there... Monday: "Hon, are you going shrimping on Friday?" Tuesday: "Hey hon, have you heard anything about shrimping?" Wednesday: "Did you hear from Todd?" Thursday: "Please call Todd and see what's going on for tomorrow!" He's catchin' on. ; ) Now, to break the silence - with popcorn & a wine opener! Happy Friday!

Say Eeet Like 'Zis With Meee...

I'm so excited to post this French Cabernet! You can tell we reaallly enjoyed the bottle, at least Jeff and I did, this was our "ONE"! Here's what I learned about this wine: it's a French country wine, with tastes of raspberries and cherries; the winery is Romanet; I gave it a "5" (on a scale of 1-5); I'm sharing a case! Smoooothh!!! Sadly, this wine is not available in any store (wow, I sound like a commercial), it has to be ordered through PRP, and when it's gone, it's gone. That's ok, we'll just have to try something new!
This vintner has a large European following, so I'll have to stop in a variety of establishments to see if I can find it while I'm there! ; )  And btw, countdown to take-off: 57 days!

One I Actually Didn't Like...

I was starting to think that I really never have met a wine I didn't like, till this one. (and that Lucky Duck one) Ehhh, it's ok; fairly light, which was nice, but not too much actual flavor. (by the way, these were BOGO at Publix this week. I know, I'm cheap) I'd just read that it doesn't matter if wine is stopped with a real cork, synthetic cork or screw top, as long as air can't get in the bottle. Since this one was a screw top, I thought I'd give it a try, to either prove or disprove the old "only Boone's Farm kinda wines have a screw top" theory. So, I guess I didn't really help the cause in defense of finer wines using screw tops, but I didn't really care for it. Will I finish the bottle? Sure, after my good stash is gone. No offense, Santa Rita, it's just my opinion.

Now, on to the FOOT. What is with exercise, injuries, and getting older?! I just got back into a groove, and as usual, I catch an injury. When I did aerobics years back, I suffered a stress fracture in my foot; later, lots of walking gave me plantar fasciitis. But now, the injuries are weirder and more frequent: last spring, knee swelling ended my extremely short running "career" (shut up, Brian). In the fall, an abdominal strain took me out for a few months. And now, a blast from my past, my old friend plantar fasciitis, has come back for a visit (and I just hit a four-mile goal!). So, while I take a break on walking for now (it doesn't hurt during Power Hour, thank goodness),  ice it, and wear this redonkulous looking thing to bed to keep my foot flexed and stretched, I'll just fuss a bit to make me feel better. There. Thanks for listening.

(Please DO NOT enlarge this picture. 47-year-old feet are less offensive in small doses. And are those CANKLES?!) 

Yay, it's Wednesday!

There's no better way to get over hump day!
This wonderful wine, according to the bottle, is called Gnarly Head due to the old, untrellised vines that bear the fruit. Although these vines produce fewer grape clusters, the small berries yield concentrated fruit flavors. (ok, so I copied off the label) Anywho, it's super rich and fruity, and kinda spicy. I've been trying to get Jack to try reds rather than his standard pick of Riesling or Moscato (strictly a sweet wine guy), so he gave this one a shot. He picked up immediately on the oak scents ("smells like burned wood", which smells pretty much the same to me), but it definitely wasn't sweet enough. He said, "Ehhh, it's ok, I'll drink it." I thought maybe the plum, vanilla and licorice flavor layers (label again) would win him over, but no luck. Leaves more for me. I love it! : )

14.5% alcohol. Red zin packs a punch!

                                                                            

Welcome back, Wine Wednesday!

Thanks to some wine-lovings gal pals, I'm expanding my limited horizons. What started as a misunderstanding via text message, has gotten me to try some fantastic wines that I probably wouldn't have chosen on my own.

The convo went on for many more messages, and neither of us understood the gist till she said "ok, I got you two bottles". Oooh, now I get it! I thought she wanted my help in choosing, but she was picking me up a few! (Do you see how we confused each other, though?!) Gotta love technology.
I picked this Chardonnay up on one of last month's visits, and it is wonderful! Maybe since I read the label first, whatever it says stays in my head, and as I taste it, I'm thinking "This does have vanilla and carmel undertones!" Sheesh, the power of suggestion. (I bet I'd be easily hypnotized)

It really was lovely, and I look forward to enjoying it again when I'm in a "white" mood.

On another note: Yay, me! FOUR MILES! It took a "good hour" (is that a Dutch saying?), but I'm creeping towards my 5 mile goal. It may even be the one and only time I do it, so keep your fingers crossed. Really.

Wine Wednesday

It made me very sad to recycle this bottle, but only because it was empty. Some of my wine choices (like this one) are made on the packaging & labeling of the bottle ("Oooh, this one's pretty!" "This one has an elephant on it, hahaha!"), with the majority being made on price. I guess that gives way to the truth that I am NOT a wine connoisseur, but an oenophile (love that word!). I'll probably blog ALOT about wine; I love it. So does Becky. And Doris. And Laurie. (my attraction must be due to the company I keep) I go through phases with wine; a few years ago, the sweeter it was, the better, and only white. (I had a weird experience and two day headache from red wine years back, so I swore it off. For awhile.) But the more I read about the health benefits of reds, I thought "For medicinal purposes, let's give this another try." And now I'm a red junkie. Cabernet is not one of my top picks, but I haven't really ever met a wine I didn't like! (I take that back, there's a bottle of Lucky Duck Malbec sitting on the counter that is really pretty nasty. I hope it's no one's favorite.) Foodies Cabernet was wonderful: smooth, not too heavy and chocked full of berry flavor, just like the label said! Keep in mind that the terms I use to describe wine are my little terms, I'm afraid they have nothing to do with actual descriptive words used by a true wine aficionado. Bottom line: Happy Wednesday. Now, on to a new bottle...