vino wino

FYI - This is not a resolution.  Just so we are clear.  However this post is a declaration of a goal. 

It is my goal to visit 5 wineries in the coming year.  That is my goal, but I don't know how practical that will but so fine print reads: "or at lease purchase and taste wine from 5 wineries that I would have liked to visit in the SE region of the United States but due to financial restrictions could only afford to buy a couple bottles of wine."

It is also my goal to attend 3 wine tastings, not counting the tastings at the wineries. 

I've picked out the wineries I'm interesting in visiting.  3 in Florida and 2 in Georgia (we plan on vacationing in Georgia in April).  The wineries are:

Lakeridge Winery

Keel and Curley

Chateau Elan Winery

Habersham Winery

Schnebly Winery

I've listed these in likely hood of visitation.  Let's just say that I will most probably be ordering wine from the last two. 

As far as tastings are concerned, these will be done locally and maybe with groups of friends.  Hopefully with groups of friends, I think that would be really fun.  Ooh, I would also like to throw a couple of wine tasting parties. 

So yes, the vino is a new obsession, and not for intoxication purposes.  For instance, I just tried a wine that had the obvious "hey I contain alcohol" and I'm about to pour it down the drain.  I've even allowed it to breath and open up.  Still not good.  This is a good place for a wine review using my very unorthodox terms and young palette. 

First wine review by Julie Ford...how exciting (for me and nobody else I'm sure).

Brand: the Little Penguin - Shiraz
Price: $5 (2 for $10)
Year: 2009
I know, I'm such a sucker for a cute label and name and I'm such a nubie that I'll buy a $5 wine and then expect good things.  First impression: burn.  I felt like I was sniffing everclear liquor.  The taste was not bad, there was a fruitiness that wasn't bad, but then the alcohol burn on the back end.  This is what I mean by the "i contain alcohol" statement.  This just hit me with alcohol burn.  I opened and let it breath for over an hour.  Still burn, a little less and I tasted other nice fruit flavors.  But then burn.  Maybe this wine just needs some time on the shelf to mellow out, maybe in another year I'll try the 2009 again.  I still have another bottle of a white (can't remember which).  Here's hopping it doesn't scream alcohol too. 

Welcome to 2011

Sitting here and thinking about what to write about for my first post in 2011.  Do I reflect on 2010?  Do I write about my wishes for 2011?  Do I list out a bunch of resolutions for 2011?  So much pressure to write a thought provoking insightful post on the first day of the year.  This might be more pressure than I can handle as I've only had 4 hours of sleep.  

So I'm going to share what I've been thinking about all day.  The future.  My plans and hopes for the future. 

I'll start with family and friends.  I think my biggest hope for the coming year is to make more time for family and friends.  Although it's hard when I think of how busy we are with Nugget.  But, with every challenge there is a solution.  I also hope to work on myself as it relates to family and friends.  Try not to be as quick to judge and put up shields.  I had a reason and I had circumstances that brought me to this point.  Mainly it was a form of preventing hurt and protecting myself.  This has resulted in people not know who I am.  They know who I want them to know.  The parts of me I want to people to know.  It's not about lying, it's about keeping my shields up.  Aside from that I hope to be able to build loving, supportive, and compassionate relationships that I've avoided up to now. 

I've also thought a lot today about things I like to do.  Photography.  Mead making.  Cooking.  Reading.  Knitting.  How do I work these things into my life while not taking away from anything else.  For instance, how do I make it out to the Photography club meeting without taking about from Nugget's bedtime (which I've missed twice since he has been born).  This is when I have to ask myself, "is it really going to hurt Nuggy to miss 1, 2, even 3 bedtimes in a month"?  Really?  As much as it pains me to say...it's not going to hurt him.  It may hurt me, but not him.  And to knit, brew up some mead or cook doesn't take time away from Nuggy especially when he is playing within eyesight.  Now that he plays a lot more one his own.

I've also been thinking a lot about money today.  Who wants to think about these things on the first day of the year?  Nobody, but I did.  Without going too much into is personal subject, my hope is to have a sizable savings by this time next year.  

Okay enough with this retrospective introspective gobblely gook and on to the fun of 2010.  Making plans for 2 vacations this year.  1 for sure, 2nd is a possibility.  Really looking forward to these.  Also looking forward to finishing my family cookbook.  Also excited about Nuggy's first birthday and all that this year has to bring as it relates to him.   

And one final note.  I look forward to sharing the year to come here.  I hope we can start conversations.  I hope we can get to know each other through this meeting place. 

my future's so bright...

Happy 2011

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That's my chili

Brrrr it's cold outside.  Let's warm up with a big ol' pot of chili.  I've been trying to find a chili recipe for years that me and my family likes (except my mom, she doesn't like anything but meat in her chili).  Okay, I finally developed one myself.  Boy does it have everything in it and it sure is yummy!



yep...that's corn



That’s My Chili

  

Ingredients:

1	Red bell pepper - chopped
1	Sweet onion - chopped
2lb	Chili meat
1	Can each: Light and Dark Red Kidney beans – drained and rinsed
1	Can corn – drained and rinsed
3	Cans diced tomatoes (one can being fire roasted)
1	Package chili seasoning
1	Can beef broth
1	Can water
½ Tbsp	Paprika
1 Tsp	Each: chili powder, onion flakes, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes
½ Tsp	Each: oregano and thyme
	Olive oil

Directions:

1.  Brown meat in large Dutch oven, drain fat and remove meat from pot

2.  Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to pot and sweat onion and bell pepper until translucent.

3.  Add remaining ingredients to pot. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer.  Cover, simmer for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat medium-low to low and cook for 3-4 hours.  You don't want it to be boiling during cook time but just below simmer.

You're probably wondering about the corn.  I like corn and I like corn in chili.  I think it give little hits of sweet that is refreshing against the spice from the rest of the chili.  Remember, it's always better the next day.  I've made enough here that I'll be freezing at least 2 servings worth for those cold nights when I don't have time to cook chili but want some. 

EDIT: my recipes are always changing to my taste.  I made it again yesterday and added 1 can of tomato sauce and another package of chili seasoning mix.  I also didn't used the addition spices, just the 2 packages of mix. 

walk before you crawl

Turn back now if you think this is about Nuggy.  It's not.  It's about me.  Be forewarned. 

Bottles.  Labels.  Carboys.  Tastings.  Corks.  See how I walk before I crawl.  The first jug of mead hasn’t even finished its primary fermentation and I already have dreams of a brand of mead that I can take to tastings and competitions and even sell.  Oh and then I’ll start a meadery…see how I get.   I’m already designing a label and thinking of names and slogans.  It’s all laid out in my head.  Why? I’ve wanted to own my own company for a long long time.  I think I’m just predestined to be a small business owner.  My first grand plan was to open a gourmet dog cookie shop.  I know, you don’t have to say anything.  Next was to own a small yarn shop.  Then I did have a small business.  “1,000 Petals” is my yarn/fiber dying company.  This has fallen to the wayside since becoming pregnant and having a baby.  Although I did love the creative process of color combos it was so time consuming to produce such a small inventory.  I’ve also had numerous ideas along the way, too many to name or even remember.  

Now…Mead.  Out of all the different forms of wine I’ve tried mead is my favorite.  Well, this and Ice Wine.  Side note: Mead is a wine made primarily from honey, water, and yeast.  From my initial research I believe that the upstart $$ for this hobby is fairly inexpensive.  As a matter of fact what should be the first 4 bottles cost under $20 to produce.  Can’t beat that.  I’ve already found a local raw honey producer.  Now, a bit of practicality, this will probably never be anything more than a hobby which is perfectly satisfying to me.  I think some bottles of mead made by hand will make nice gifts.   But does it really hurt to dream and plan for something that might happen.  And to be honest, if I really want this to happen I will make it happen.  So here are some of my big business ideas. 

I want this to be fun.  Thus the name: Bad Ass Hive Mead.  Slogan: “My honey can kick your honey’s ass”.  I’m hoping a friend of mine can come up with some art for this idea.  He does some really cool robot type stuff and I think it would be interesting to see what he could do with this idea. 

Aside from the fun design and conceptual stuff, I have some experimenting to do.  Mead, like wine, can be dry or sweet depending on several variances.  One of these variances is the type of yeast.  First experiment will be with 4 different yeast.  I’m also going to experiment with fruits, making the mead a “Melomel”.  Melomel is defined as mead fermented with fruit added to the honey during primary fermentation. 

Now, most people know that I’m pretty impatient.  You didn’t really think I could wait a year before having the first glass of mead.  Thank god for short or quick meads.  These can be ready in a matter of a few weeks.  They are not going to be anything special or spectacular, I know this.  But they will be homemead.  Get it…homemead instead of homemade? 

need a topic

Oh how the days fly by.  Nuggy is within days of being 8 months old.  8 months.  It's hard to believe.  He has become such a character.  If I didn't know any better I would think he was trying to come up with ways to get in trouble.  You can see it in his eyes. 

see what i mean



Wow, so many things have been going one around here that I'm having a hard time organizing my thoughts.  Let's see, we got our family pics taken. 

Aren't we cute!

Let's see, what else has happened?  Oh...floor in the kitchen is finished.  Yay!  I'm so proud of how much we've (mainly Paul) have done in this house.  I'll have to get pics later. 

Ummm, I think the newest in new is the mead.  If you've known me for any period of time, you know that I always have some sort of new hobby, or better yet new obsession.  Now it's mead, also known as honey wine.  It's a wine made from fermenting honey.  Yummy!  I'm starting with a small scale experiment with 1 gallon of 3 different varieties. 



we have fermentation

I would also like to make some melomel which is honey mead with fruit.  Plans are to make a pomegranate, pear, and raspberry melomel.  Paul also is going to make his beer from a beer kit I got for him a few years ago.  I don't like beer but I'm looking forward to at least tasting it.  My hope is that I'll have lots of mead to go around for gifts next year. 

I'll right I can't think of anything else right now. I really need to post more often so that this doesn't happen again. 

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that boogie eludes me

As a parent my biggest arch nemeses so far has been the boogie. The ever present and super regenerative boogie. It’s like it has some sort of magic power over me. My new mom nails are too short to dig it out. If I go after it with a q-tip it just gets smashed to the wall of his nose only to perk back up and laugh at me. Or if I get really aggressive with it and declare war, it is only to the detriment of my son who makes this snorking noise that makes it seem like he just can’t breathe at all. And then the ultimate boogie slap in the face is if I do get it, another one appears in its place with super sticky abilities. It’s all just a huge boogie blot against me. I have a feeling me and the boogie will be doing battles for years to come. Damn you boogie!!!

And worst boogie offense of all...it shows up in pictures.  See the evidence below.

Drats

Now for a pic with lots of cute factor but no boogie.

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title: can't think of a title

You ever read a blog and think the writer has everything together? They seem to have a firm grasp on perfection. I certainly have and I am fascinated by these people. Who are they? What is their day like? What photo editing program are they using? I hate not knowing things. So I start the search. I’ll read every blog post just in case that hidden in their writing is the secret button or feature they used to get those bold pics. Or maybe they will post some secret time strategy that allows them to accomplish everything they want and still raise seemingly happy healthy children and have the best marriage ever. Maybe a book they read and all of sudden it all fell into place.

Well, lets just say I’ve never had this grasp on perfection. I apparently have slippery hands and will probably never have this grasp on perfection. So until I find the magic button or read the magic words, you are stuck with me. Just me and my words. Just me and my pics. Just me and my thought. Course, I do like my words, my pics, and my thoughts.

Don’t know really where I was going with that. Just thoughts.
 
In other news, Paul, James, and I went to the Winter Haven and Lakeland Saturday markets.  Both are geared towards organic grown produce and plants.  On to the days scores.  Tomatoes, an onion, purple and red bell peppers, spices, cukes, and plumes (not pictured).  I've already used the cukes and onion and made bread and butter pickles using the Alton Brown B and B recipe (I doubled the recipe).  I plan on using the plumes to make baby food. and the tomatoes I think I'll be using for stuffed tomatoes.  The peppers will be fired roasted and frozen for future use.  Love me some fire roasted bell peppers. 
 

 
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