Sip Quips

The bounty of harvest is definitely upon us. My husband and I  had a laborious Labor Day weekend, pressing our Pinot Noir grapes and starting the primary fermentation (there will also be a secondary fermentation because we are attempting to make a sparkling wine). Now the juice is happily bubbling away, converting all of its sugars into alcohol and CO2.

On top of our wine harvest, we also just picked up this weeks veggie share, and holy cow – are we talking bountiful. Romaine, peppers, tomatoes (regular, heirloom, candy-sweet Sungolds – yum!), eggplant, apples, Concord grapes, basil, raspberries, arugula, carrots, kale, chard, and fresh garbanzo beans.

While I love farmer’s markets, and still think that they are a wonderful way to get your hands on delicious, fresh, local produce, taking part in a veggie share has opened my eyes to vegetables I would have walked right past in a farmer’s market. Take fresh garbanzo bean for instance. I’m so accustomed to getting my garbanzo beans from a can, or rehydrating dried beans I had never considered the natural state of the garbanzo.

They come in these pretty shells that make the most delightful pop when you shell them, and they are absolutely delicious when given a quick blanch in pasta water and tossed with olive oil, garlic, and a bevy of fresh herbs. How is it that I have made it this far in life without knowing where a garbanzo bean comes from? I guess we are that far removed from our food in America.

Off the soapbox now, I would suggest that you get yourself to a farmer’s market pronto and take advantage of all of the beautiful produce available right now. Maybe even have a little fun with your food and try something you’ve never tried before – who knows, it might just be delicious.

We have recently moved, and sadly I had to leave my beautiful custom wine cellar in the process. Moving is always a hassle, but packing and moving some twenty cases of wine from a custom built cellar into a house with little in the way of storage has proven to be quite a headache. Fortunately packing wine is rather easy – throw all the bottles into case boxes and try your best to keep an organization system in the process. Once we moved into our new house we realized that the interior closet that we had intended to use for wine storage didn’t stay nearly as cool as we thought it did, it was upward of 80 degrees on the hottest days. So what now?

For us the answer was easy, rather than sacrifice our wine to the heat we turned to Craigslist. Call it good fortune, or call it the current state of the economy causing people to liquidate their luxury goods, either way I was impressed by the sheer volume of well priced wine coolers currently available. Working with a fairly modest budget, we found a functionally perfect, cosmetically slightly imperfect wine cooler that stores about 250 bottles for $350 dollars. One heckuva deal if you ask me, and a small investment to assure that our wine stay in pristine collection.

By the way, for you collectors out there, it seems that now is a good time to troll Craigslist in search of great deals. That turn in the economy is causing some folks to clear out there wine cellars to get some extra cash. Couldn’t afford that 2000 Bordeaux on it’s release? You might be surprised at what people are asking for some great bottles right now. Woe is me that my wine budget went to purchasing a wine cellar, rather than snatching up a few killer deals. I guess since the cellar is pretty well stocked right now there wouldn’t even be room for the new bottles.

So the move is complete, the cellar installed in the garage, the glassware cleaned and put away, the kitchen up and fully functional….now, on to the rest of the house. But really, who needs pictures hung in a bedroom? As long as you can cook a great meal and find a bottle of wine to pair with it, you’re set if you ask me. Oh, and don’t forget to clear up a place to sit down and eat it. Now, you’re set!

We just got back from a week in the Midwest at a family reunion (my family) which was a sheer delight. I got to catch up with cousins that I haven’t seen in ages, and in honor of my grandmother, the cook and matriarch of the family, we shared many a meal together. 

It was fun to see how my grandma’s recipes had evolved overtime, and how the basics of her Midwestern cooking had translated into new family traditions. The one thing that was sorely missing were Grandma’s pies – oh how that woman could bake. I don’t think any of us wanted to beg the comparison of our attempts at mimicry to Grandma’s stellar baking skills. 

We all, about 40 of us, arrived at different hours over the course of the day on Friday and said our hellos. But the moment the food hit the table the hugs became closer, the stories were told and retold, and the belly laughs resonated over the Lake of the Ozarks. Funny how food does that to family. A few secret recipes never fails to bring a family together. 

My sister, the organizer, compiled a collection of all of Grandma’s recipes in a book aptly titled ‘Great Meal Mom,’ which was how my grandpa closed every meal. It’s heirlooms like this that are truly valuable, heirlooms that provide a way to reconnect with the past and help to build new memories for the future. As valuable as heirloom tomatoes seeds are to farmers, heirloom recipes are to me. Great meals, warm memories, and the love of a family. Amazing how all of that’s within a list of ingredients, isn’t it?

There is something genius about a picnic. You think about food differently when you plan a picnic. Menu planning requires that you assemble all the ingredients. think of all the steps, and take every dish to its logical conclusion, so that all that is left is a little hand waving and dinner is served.

While, yes, it is a bit of work to get ready to picnic, the genius of it is that you front load all of the work. All of your prep is complete (or, at least most of the way complete) before you even leave for your dinner destination. It’s al fresco dinning at its best – the food is simple and fresh, and clean-up is a snap. 

Tonight, I am meeting my husband for a little sunset picnic at a winery. One of those things that was incredibly romantic a year or two ago, but now days is a fun family outing (be sure to pack the Cheerios!!). On the menu for this evening – grilled salmon, shaved summer squash salad with carrots, radicchio, fennel, basil, and parsley in a lemony vinaigrette, and radishes with cheese and chives as an app while the salmon is cooking. So far the salad is assembled, dressing made, fish cleaned, and radishes cut and slathered with cheese. We have a beautiful collection of fruit, so I’m thinking I might throw some plums, and apricots in foil pouches to toss on the coals for a yummy dessert. 

As for the wine – why a rosé, of course! Fortunately, the winery that we’ll be heading to has plenty of delicious rosé (from Pinot Noir, perfect with the salmon!). That way we don’t have to be tacky, and sneak wine into a winery. I know I’ve extolled the virtues of rosé before, but you really can’t beat it for a picnic. It starts off nice and cold, but still retains good flavor as it warms up, so you don’t have to worry about the temp of the wine, it’s going to be tasty at any temperature. (Disclaimer – if it’s 90° outside, you’ll need to throw your wine on ice – reds to! No wine is tasty when hot.) Aah… summertime – delicious!