Winter Wonders

December - I love it just as much as the rest of the seasons here, though I didn't think that I would when I first arrived from sunny Southern California. Rain and cold!? Scarves and gloves!? Ick.

However, the rains bring those magical fungi out of the ground - in many colors and shapes - and a few tasty ones as well. This morning we had a fresh golden chantrelle omelet and homemade biscuits. Yum! After that I went for a walk in the misty rain and came back with a handful of unusual mushroom specimens to gander at. (don't worry, we don't experiment with the myriad of samples I see popping up around the trees.)

The garden is mostly turning to compost with the exception of the beets, kale and celery. A few hearty herb plants are hanging on valiantly to be featured in my winter soups. The artichoke plants that do their late fall dramatic die-back are shining with big serrated green leaves - always a surprise when they bounce back every year.

The house is awash in the aromas of baking granola. If you are a relative of mine, chances are this is what you are getting for Christmas. My hubby says I've perfected the recipe and he LOVES it - and so do I. So, I figured that I would share the love. I'll include the recipe in this post. Enjoy.

Amber’s Granola

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

½ cup sliced almonds

½ cup raw sunflower seeds

½ cup raw pumpkin seeds

½ cup pecans

1/3-cup coconut oil

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup honey

1/8 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Grated peel of ½ an orange

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans and grated orange peel in a large bowl.

In small saucepan, gently heat coconut oil, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon and salt. Whisk together until warm. Pour mixture over dry ingredients. Use a wooden spatula to fold mixture until evenly coated.

Spread mixture into even layer on a rimmed baking sheet.  (Or divide onto two baking sheets)

Bake, stirring every 6 minutes until granola is light golden brown – about 15 – 20 minutes. Remove and let cool completely before transferring to airtight container.

Can be stored at room temperature for one week.

Women and wine ...

A nice gathering - so glad that Barb encouraged me to attend.

I feel so blessed to be considered a peer among these wine industry folk that are at this event enjoying the fruits of Marimar Torres' labor: Barb Gustafson of Paul Mathew Vineyards, Judy Davis of Davis Family Vineyards, Lynn Berglund of Joseph Swan Vineyards, Zina Bower of Woodenhead Winery, Tobe Sheldon of Sheldon Wines and more!
We all enjoyed a beautiful succession of thoughtfully paired foods with the Torres Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
I can't say much more, it was something I hadn't dreamed of 15 years ago when I sat underneath a grapevine in a strip mall in Southern California and wished so hard that I could be delivered into Sonoma County's wine country. Pinch me.

Please reference February 12, 2010 on this blog

 then click below:

Why I live here ...

Too many tomatoes?

Every October I am plagued with a Catholic-like guilt regarding my Roma tomatoes. "OMG - they're all ripe at the same time, hordes of them just dripping off the plant like an overloaded Christmas Tree. What to do!?"

It's amazing what only two plants can produce - and I say to myself: "'cause ya know, you only planted two plants cause they're only good for sauce - and what if you only planted one and it didn't make it? Then you'd have to go  a year without sauce!!"

So, ... the ripening time always comes at the same time as the grape harvest - leaving my husband and I little time to spend in a steamy spotless kitchen with soup pots and glass jars taking over all available counter space.

One year, when I was just pretending that the tomatoes weren't there, I just couldn't handle the guilt - they were so perfect that year! They were all evenly red and ripe and pretty - just begging to move on to the next level of being - alongside some Angel Hair and Italian Basil, coated in extra virgin olive oil.

Anyway, I ignored them. So much so that they even grew noses to try and get my attention.

One day, the husband just couldn't take it anymore, so in between pressloads of grapes, he picks as many Roma tomatoes as he can fit our largest stock pot - all the way to the top baby! No roasting, cutting, seeding, peeling - only a quick stem removal before joining half a bottle of red wine for a very long jacuzzi session. Hours later, we have tomato sauce - reduced and cooled overnight.

Well, in his haste, we didn't discuss canning so without any jars, we just packaged the cooled sauce into gallon-size ziplocs and filled the freezer. ... and put the extra bags in 2 other freezers elsewhere. Hmm.... we're still working on those bags .... chipping away literally.

The next year, I saw a post from a friend about an offer to help with excess tomatoes by turning them into a stellar bloody mary mix and canning it. Well, why the hell not? Brilliant! No wasted tomatoes - just wasted consumers after enough vodka is added. The tomatoes yielded 14 pints of excellent juice with horseradish and spices.

And now? This year I've contracted the same friend to turn this year's bounty into jars of Marinara - something I will enjoy having readily available in the cupboard instead of the freezer. A three day process  - so worth the investment in saving my little darling Romas and making them proud.

Salute!

Oh I hope so.
Let's see. June of 2011 was my last post. Then Facebook came and distracted me all to hell. After that my husband and I began a sales trip marathon that lasted from January 2012 to June 2012. It was not easy but it was successful and that's what mattered. Throw in a month-long trip to Europe as well - visiting Italy, Germany, France and Switzerland. Fun, fun, fun.

Now we are home (yeah, home!) and moving swiftly into the beginning of Harvest. Very soon we will have a parade of visitors from all over - folks helping with winemaking, etc.

I love all of the wonderful people that come in and out of our lives, break bread, sip wine, admire the natural beauty of this place and create memories. But I still dream of someday having an entire month alone at home with my husband just doing domestic type stuff and enjoying each other's company.  Sounds kinda boring to most I imagine, but I'm ready for it. That's a different beginning.

Then there is this election thing just prior to the Mayan calendar thing. And I'm hoping that that will be an entirely different beginning altogether.

-Peace out