JK Carriere 2004 Provocateur Pinot Noir

 

Archery Summit 2004 Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir Looney Vineyard

 

Lafazanis St George 2005 -

Regional Dry Red Wine of the Peloponnese

Greek wine, under $10- discovered at our tasting at Renaissance Wines

Great table wine

 

“The past cannot be changed. The future is still in your power.”
   
  Hugh White (1773 - 1840), American Politician

 

Another good quote for getting over downfalls and moving on.

This fall Carl is taking a class through Parks and Rec called "Munchkin Sports." It gives really little kids an overview to a variety of sports in a non-competitive program. They are covering sports that Carl has shown an interest in - basketball, soccer and baseball. The problem is the class is first thing in the morning and my son takes a bit to wake up in the morning. The first week he cried through all but the very end of the class and then cried because he didn't want it to be over. The second class he cried for about the first 2/3 of the class and then had fun the last part. Last week it was about half and half. Last week for a day or two before class we talked about going to Chuck E Cheese or Build A Bear Workshop if he didn't cry in sports class and did what coach said. So after class last week Carl wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese. I stood firm and said that he had to be cooperative through the whole class. I did let him know that I thought he did much better that week, and I would help remind him on the day of class, so he would remember to cooperate all through class. I also emphasized that this was a one time thing - we weren't going to CEC every week, that I expect him to cooperate in class from then on. So I reminded him this week the morning of class. He did great - and he was laughing all through class, even in the beginning. It was amazing to see the difference. Carl and I talked about it later and he said class was more fun when he did what coach said.

 

He then chose Chuck E Cheese as his reward. I asked if he wanted to go there for lunch with just mommy or wait until dinner and bring daddy. He opted for dinner, so I called Rich at work and let him know the plans for the evening.

 

I then thought it would be fun to go to the Women's Show that was in town this weekend. So, after lunch, I went to Thriftway to pick up a few groceries I needed and the discount coupons. We dropped off the groceries and went to the show. Carl fell asleep in the car on the way there, so I laid down his stroller seat and he slept through most of the show. It was so fun - the booths had lots of fun products in them. There were beauty and clothing boothes, nutrition and wellness booths, financial and self improvement booths, toys/children booths and wine and food booths. I got lots of literature and cards in the first part. In the food section I more that made up the cost of admission and parking. Between the take home samples (many of which were full size products) and coupons from products I use already, I made a haul.

 

Carl woke up toward the end, so I rewalked some of the food booths to get him some juice and things to eat. We then met Tina Yothers and her family. Carl and her daughter had whatever meaningful conversations that toddlers have. I think Carl was telling her about sports class and Chuck E Cheese. He told everyone about it that day. Tina is working with Nutrasystems right now. She looks great. Since I had some too big pants on (I have got to go through my clothes) I was able to show my weight loss too. She laughed and said her mom is doing the same thing.  I then asked if she had gotten to see much of Portland. She mentioned some places, I then suggested a place near where they were going today. Hopefully they will enjoy it.

 

I bought three things while I was at the show. Franz bakery was selling bread loafs and cookies packages for $1, with all of the money going to a charity (I can't remember what). I also bought a personalized CD for Carl of Wiggles songs. It was great - plus I got to meet the head of publicity for the Wiggles. The company that makes the CDs is Just Me Music. At the show they had personalized Veggietales, Wiggles and Barney. They are adding Elmo later in the year. The CD wasn't cheap, but I think it is worth it.

 

Here are some of the websites:

 

I want to go next year - it was fun!

 

So we then went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner. I had a coupon for 50 free tokens with a pizza. Fifty tokens are a lot of tokens. Especially when your kid only wants to run around on the free climbing structures. Oh well, he had fun. We will see if the good attitude in sports class will last now.

 

 

 

My weight loss is back on track - I was down 3 lbs at my weigh-in. I lost what I gained last week, plus .2 (2 tenths) of a pound. At the meeting we talked about food colors and the nutrients associated with those foods. It was an interesting way to think about variety in eating.

 

I then got home expecting to find my husband and son in the garage. My son like to "work" on the RC cars in the garage. He fastens zip-ties to the bumper. Anyway no, they are in the family room, husband is asleep on the sofa, one of Carl's videos is on menu and Carl is playing on the computer on the internet. In addition our cats April and Cab are nowhere to be found.  I was only gone an hour...

 

So I wake husband up and he tries to act like nothing is wrong and he knows what is going on. Hah. I start searching the house for the cats, Carl close behind "helping.'" As he usually scares the cats into hiding worse, plus he was underfoot, I take him downstairs and get out Candyland. Rich had no say in it and obligingly plays two games of Candyland with Carl.

 

I then set out in search of the cats. After searching through the house and garage, I open the front door. April comes tearing in and runs up to my room/cat's room. Oh boy, Cab - who is a skittish scardy cat is outside. After searching plants around the yard, under the deck (yuck) and under the cars, I went back inside to get some tuna. As I get outside I shine the light near the water meter - sure enough there is a big fat white cat trying to hide under it (he isn't the sharpest claw on the paw). I get him back inside, he gets a treat of tuna and all is right with the pets again.

 

I am still not pleased with my husband. 

 

I found a quote that fit my entry yesterday - about my husbands pursuit of higher education:

 

Education is not the taming or domestication of the soul's raw passions -- not suppressing them or excising them, which would deprive the soul of its energy -- but forming and informing them as art.

 

          -- -- Allen Bloom

 

Things have been changing in our home. My husband has started graduate school - working on a PhD in physics. So besides homework that I can't even begin to fathom, he has to figure out a research project, fund and perform the research and write a dissertation. So we are having to plan our time together a little more.

 

We went wine tasting Sunday at Renaissance Wine Shop. They were featuring low cost wine finds, which can lead to some good discoveries. Carl was pretty patient through this, but I think he likes going out to Yamhill more, there are little treats to eat and we run around with him a bit after tasting. We got him a cookie at Starbucks to eat while we were tasting, so he was pretty happy.
http://www.renaissancewines.com/

 

I feel bad for my son with my husband's busy schedule. We have been telling him that daddy has started school and that is why he is gone more and busy and can't play. My husband still spends time with him, it is just very limited. In a week or so we plan on taking him to the university and showing him the lab. I am hoping that will help him understand. My husband did bring him into the house (from husbands domain - the garage) and I think my son was a little hurt by that.

 

Tonight they are doing a father/son dinner (I have belly dancing class - ok I will now wait for you to get up off the floor when you stop laughing). I hope they don't just come home and watch TV.

 

My husband is so happy in the program. It is great to see him doing something he loves so much.

 

So my new big chore is getting family time in - and making sure it is quality time.

2.5 cup fat free chicken broth
1 cup brown rice
2 Tablespoons Paula's No-Fat Roasted Garlic Dressing
2 green onions

Lemon Flaxseed Oil
salt

Chop onions. In saucepan combine broth, rice, dressing and onions. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 until rice is tender.

Serving size - 1/2 cup.

Top with 1-2 teaspoons of flaxseed oil after serving. Salt as needed.

I made this last night, serving it with pork tenderloin. I topped it with a sauce made with broth and deglazing the meat pan. It was very good.

WW points without oil - 2

 

http://www.sweetadelaide.com/ (dressing)
http://www.spectrumorganics.com/ (flaxseed oil)

Carl decided to publish his top five CDs. They are the highest requested/played in this household:

 

5. Peter, Paul and Mommy (favorite songs: Marvelous Toy and Going to the Zoo)

4. School House Rock (Requested as: Skoosa Wok) - Multiplication Rock

3. Kenny Loggins Return to Pooh Corner (Requested as Hushabye don't you cry, for the first song All the Pretty Little Ponies)

2. Drew's Famous 57 Greatest Kids Songs (Requested as If Your Happy and You Know It)

1. Baby Genius Favorite Children's Songs (3 CD set) (Also known as Bingo - this case is going everywhere with us right now)

New Seasons, a local grocery chain, hosts periodic wine and cheese tastings at their various stores. Their newspaper ads usually have some useful information on the pairings which I save (ok I saved last years and this years.) Here is the article from this year and a chart from last year. Plus this way I know where they are and may remember the ideas better from typing them in!

  

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How to Pair Wine and Cheese

 

Wine and cheese go hand-in-hand. having essentially developed together over the centuries as ways to combat spoilage from bountiful harvests. Some people are afraid to experiment with these two diverse foods, afraid of breaking rules. In reality, there are no rules, only what you like and what you don't. Some of our favorite pairings might seem unorthodox, such as a fine sharp cheddar with champagne, but are splendid matches to us nevertheless.

 

Not Sure Where to Start?

· Wine and cheese from the same region usually pair splendidly. Often the two styles developed together.

· White wines pair best with full-flavored cheese and soft styles.

· Red wines pair best with mild cheese and hard, aged styles.

· Tart or high-acid cheeses go well with high-acid wines.

· The more pungent the cheese, the sweeter the wine you should pair with it.

· Go for the contrast, like a rich, creamy cheese with a crisp clean wine.

· Strong cheeses go great with fortified and dessert wines.

· Sparkling wines pairs great with salty, creamy cheese like blue and aged cheddars.

· Experimentation is the best way to learn!

  

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My idea of heaven is to sit in a favorite restaurant with cheese and a glass of wine.

-- Wendy Wasserstein, American Playwright

(though I have a feeling a lot of other people have said this too!)

 

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Since I plug New Seasons a lot, I thought I would give another plug. PCC Markets in Seattle hold a special place in my heart. The wine steward there introduced my cousin to L'Ecole No. 41, who introduced it to me. (Plus my cousin has been with the company for many many years.) I was checking out the website and they have some great wine newsletters.

 

 

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Here are some more websites with wine and cheese pairing ideas:

This came in a weekly e-newsletter:

 

Quote of the Week:  "Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that we become rich."
- Sarah Bernhardt
 
Question:  Are you being stingy or generous when it comes to "spending yourself?" What could you do this week to become more generous in the way that you share yourself with others and the world?
 

Affirmation:  "It feels wonderful to generously share myself with others. As I do so, I feel excited and energized! What's even better is that it comes back to me, ten-fold."
 

Copyright 2006, Carole L. Billingham, MCC  All rights reserved.

Speaker, Author and Spiritual and Business Coach, Carole L. Billingham, MCC
Inspires high achievers to create a life of balance, passion and purpose
and invites you to be among them!

Contact Carole at:

WisdomCoach
P. O. Box 3186
Estes Park, CO 80517
303-403-4003
Toll free: 1-800-442-9480
carole@wisdomcoach.com
www.wisdomcoach.com

Snoqualmie Vineyards 2001 Cabernet Merlot (70% Cab, 30% Merlot)

One thing we notice here was the initial "nose" improved dramatically as the bottle aired.

 

L'Ecole No. 41 2004 Recess Red (35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 25% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, 1% Carmenere)

I found Recess Red at New Seasons a couple of weeks ago. We had a friend over, so we opened it. The wine was great - I had a little bit. I will buy this one again.

 

The L'Ecole winery is very special to me. My cousin Lori introduced it to me, it reminds me of the vacations in Seattle staying at her house in Magnolia. It was always a relaxing time. I miss it. When Rich and I got engaged she gave us a bottle of Merlot. We were planning to drink it our first night married at our house, but we had to wait as I was very pregnant at that time. We ended up drinking it our first new years eve married.

 

Rockblock 2004 Syrah Carpenter Hill Vineyard 

This is a great great bottle of wine. We bought this during one of the "wine weekends" in Yamhill County. It was only offered to Case Buyers and their guests.

 

Husband and I found ourselves with an impromptu baby-free dinner on Monday, so I opened this bottle as a treat to ourselves. I had cooked tacos for dinner, very spicy tacos. The big bold fruity flavor worked well with the spicy meal. I think next time I may make a little more elegant dish to accompany the meal, but it was an impromtu baby-free meal (kid fell asleep at Grandmas, she said she would give him dinner).

 

JK Carriere 2004 Provocateur Pinot Noir

We just opened this last night - Rich had a glass with dinner. I am back to being good (trying to make up for last weeks weigh in).

 

I found a cool website in my wine and meal pairing search:

I had never heard of this Public Television show. I will be searching for it now...

 

This was not a good weekly weigh in. I gained. Boy did I gain. Granted I did not gain back ALL of the weight I have lost, but it was discouraging. I gained 2.8 lbs.

 

What is discouraging is that this was 4 weeks worth of weight loss regained in ONE week. It is so discouraging.

 

Technically I was not off program last week. I didn't weigh and measure as well as I should, but estimating is one of the things the program teaches. The things I did wrong:

1. Ate most of my weekly points (I can't do this and loose weight)

2. Didn't get enough moderate activity in (I think I need to get one point of moderate activity in each day)

3. Ate after noon of my weigh in day. (I tend to do better if I stop eating at noon and stop drinking at 2)

 

None of these are really part of the plan, but they are things that I know about my body and what it now takes for me to loose weight. I just need to follow them and not be tempted by -- cheese (it was the downfall this last week.)

Thanks to my husband and mother my son has learned two statements/actions:

 

"Woman, make me a sammich!" This is my husband's favorite lunchtime line, imitating Cotton on "King of the Hill." I don't know if this line is ever actually spoken by Cotton, but my husband thinks it is funny and of course had to quote it to his coworkers when I was working there and brought lunch in. My son started repeating this phrase over the weekend. Great.

 

Mom bought  my son a cute board game called Snails Pace Race, basically you take turns rolling the dice and move all the snails. The players don't win or loose, the snails do. Anyway my son now blows on his dice and then says, "Baby need new shoes." Thanks mom.

Energy rightly applied can accomplish anything.

- Nellie Bly, Investigative Journalist (1864 - 1922)

We opened two bottles of wine this week, one higher end and one lower cost.

 

The high end wine was:

Archery Summit 2003 Pinot Noir Premier Cuvee

 

This week I was shopping at New Seasons (the new one by my house!) and checked out their wine section. They had a sale on Snoqualmie Vineyards Cabernet Merlot, which we often buy when we eat at Red Lobster. I thought it would be good to have some table wine on hand. So I picked up some bottles (for a lot less than we pay at Red Lobster - oh well restaurants charge a mark up.)

 

Snoqualmie Vineyards 2001 Cabernet Merlot

It was about $7 on sale. It is a smooth wine. I would recommend letting it breath a little. The finish was a bit green when first opened, but mellowed after breathing. I really enjoy it with shellfish.

 

I guess the added activity is working. I was down 1.2 lbs this week. This brings my total weight loss to 43.6 lbs. My goal is a 50 lbs weight loss.

 

Since Carl is feeling better I hope to add back our walking activities - plus keep the new ones in the day.

 

 

We have a nice crop of Tomatillos this year - in looking for ideas I found these three. I have tried none of them yet.

 

Tomatillo-Chile Sauce

 

  35 MINUTES
  10 minutes to make
  25 minutes to cook
  Recipe from "How To Make Sauces & Gravies" (Boston Common Press). Use your All-Clad saucier.
  
   1/2 pound fresh tomatillos, husked and washed
  1-2 fresh jalapeno or Serrano chilies, stemmed (and seeded for a milder sauce)
  2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
   1/2 small onion, chopped
  1 small garlic clove, chopped
  1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
   1/2 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
  Salt
  
  Place tomatillos and chilies in saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until barely tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to food processor or blender. Add cilantro, onion and garlic and pulse to coarse puree.
  Heat oil in medium skillet until shimmering. Add puree all at once and cook, stirring often, over medium-high heat, until mixture darkens and thickens, about 5 minutes. Add broth and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt to taste. (Sauce can be refrigerated in airtight container for 2 days). Makes about 1 cup or 4 servings. Serve this tart, fragrant sauce with seafood, grilled beef, pork, or even chicken.
  Per serving: 39 calories; 2 g fat (0.3 g saturated fat; 46 percent calories from fat); 4 g carbohydrates; 0 mg cholesterol; 84 mg sodium; 1 g protein; 1 g fiber.

 

WW note - according to the above info the sauce is 1 point per serving

 

from:
http://info.detnews.com/recipes/details.cfm?id=2497

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Rosita's Tomatillo-Chile Sauce for Mexican Dishes
Make approx. 2 1/2 cups

 

10 to 12 fresh picked garden tomatillos
3 large chile peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded. Follow Safe Handling Instructions
1 jalapeno pepper, roasted. Follow Safe Handling Instructions
4 cloves of garlic from the garden, halved
1 cup chicken stock
1 chicken bullion cube
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh garden cilantro leaves only (No stems)
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Peel husks off tomatillos and rinse well. In a medium stainless steel saucepan, cover tomatillos with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Drain, leaving tomatillos in saucepan. Add chiles, garlic, and chicken stock. Simmer covered for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. Pour mixture into a blender or food processor. Add the fresh cilantro and puree. Adjust salt and pepper. Store covered in a bowl or jar. Use this sauce with your family favorite Mexican dishes.

 

from

http://www.yankeeharvest.com/recipes/recipe21.html
(this is a cute little website/shop)

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Tomatillo Chile Sauce a.k.a. Green Salsa

INGREDIENTS:
-1pound (11 medium) fresh tomatillos, husked and washed OR two 13 ounce cans tomatillos, drained
-Fresh hot green chilis to taste (roughly 3 chiles serranos or 2 chilis jalapenos) stemmed
-5 or 6 sprigs fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
-1 large clove garlic
-1 small onion chopped
-1 tbsp lard or olive oil or vegetable oil
-2 cups any poultry or meat broth
-salt, about 1/2 tsp

 

PREPARATION:
1. The tomatillos. Boil the fresh tomatillos and chiles in salted water to cover until tender, 10-15 minutes: drain. Simply drain canned tomatillos.
2. The puree. Place the tomatillos and chiles (raw ones if using canned tomatillos) in a blender or food processor, along with coriander, onion and garlic: if using a blender, stir well. Process until smooth, but retaining a little texture.
3. The sauce heat the lard or olive oil/veg. oil in a medium to large skillet over medium high. When hot enough to make a drop of the puree sizzle, pour it in all at once and stir constantly for 4-5 minutes, until darker and thicker. Add the broth, let it return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.

 

from:

 

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For some reason Weight Watchers doesn't acknowledge the existence of tomatillos. They list Chipotle Green Tomatillo. Chipotle is usually a roasted and dried Jalapeno. Oh well.  More as I find out more...

 

I found a nice WW friendly food blog
http://diettips.blogspot.com/

 

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Ok I checked http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/index.html

Tomatillos appear to be a 0 pointer vegetable, similiar to a tomato.
With any of these recipes I would use fat-free chicken broth, a healthy oil if any (according to the Weight Watchers site:olive, canola, flaxseed, safflower and sunflower; http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=22561) and it should be a 1 or 0 point sauce.

We had some big excitement lately. I had dropped my 96 year old grandma off at the beauty parlor and went back to wait at my mom's house. The teenage neighbor came over as soon as I got there - a bird had gotten into the house, she was the only one home and needed help getting it out.

 

By this point the poor little guy was pretty tired out. It wasn't as big as the girl made it sound, but it wasn't a tiny Hummingbird either. We had the front door open, but it kept trying the windows nearby. So after a bit of figuring, we started taking the screens off the lower windows (the only ones that would open). At one point the poor bird fell on the girl, which freaked her a bit. It then went over to the one window that still had a screen and clung to the screen. I slowly loosened the screen and tipped it and the bird flew out the window.

 

This is now quite the topic of conversation with my three year old. He kept telling me about it. He then told Mee Mee (his greatgrandma) and everyone at the beauty parlor about it. He then told the girls mom about it. It is definately a good topic.

 

We figured out that the bird was a flicker. Here is a picture:

 

There are three wines we drank this week. Well, I only had one of them, Rich and visitors had them all.

 

Shea Wine Cellars 2004 East Hill Pinot Noir - This was the wine that we bought when we picked up our futures. It was the only one we didn't buy futures on, and it was the one we liked the best when bottled. http://sheawinecellars.com/

 

Archery Summit 2003 Red Hills Estate Pinot Noir  - We got this through the wine club. http://www.archerysummit.com/

 

Stoller 2003 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir - this was the wine that we only purchased initially because I wanted to get it. Then when we opened it Rich adored it - so we went back and bought more. http://www.stollervineyards.com/ Rich took a bottle of this to his poker game last night - too funny.

 

They are all great wines and I would recommend them all. Stoller is about half the price of Archery Summit, Shea was about $5 more than the Stoller.