Wine About It

November 22, 2016November 22, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ 5 Comments

We spent most of the day wandering from winery to winery. Downtown Walla Walla is basically one after the other, the only problem is deciding which ones to skip. You could easily wine taste for days just downtown.

We started the trip with a list of wineries we haven’t been to so we could try some new wines. Some were great, some too expensive and a few just amazing.

K Vitners, also known as Charles Smith has very good wine, especially their Syrah’s.

We headed to the airport to try a few new ones and revisit an old favorite.

Of course we had to pop into Sleight of Hands since we are members.

And luckily two of the wineries we are always hoping to visit but are always closed were open.

Va Piano was a great experience. Not only did they have playmates for the girls,

we met the winemaker. He gave us a taste of his Rose out of the barrel and although it wont be ready for months is was already delicious, all of his wines were five star.

We got to visit the cellar and witness the aftermath of a wedding proposal.

Hard to follow that but we still tried. Dusted Valley had some above decent wines and a large lot for the girls to run around.

We have done some pretty good damage in the wine department.

Keeping Busy

June 20, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Kaili has two more weeks at her school and then she is out for summer. I finished her Kinder paperwork which I have been procrastinating on. She is up to date with her school vaccinations but she still needs to have a doctor fill out a medical record and apparently they want the same done with her dentist.Two things that are easy to want to push aside, but I finally made appointments to get it done.

We have been watching a lot of soccer with the Copa America going on. Kaili picked out a new shirt to wear for our viewing pleasure.

How do you like that garden back there? We have been eating a lot of sweet tomatoes, plenty of zucchini and we have six baby artichokes on the way.

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I have been taking Averi to the park in the mornings without K so I can focus on playing one on one with her. She is not as adventurous as her sister was but slowly she is starting to test her fear.

Can you believe she is going to be two in less than a month? Ya, me either. She looks up to her sister, has to do whatever it is Kaili is doing, eating, watching you name it. It’s what I always wanted with siblings but it’s also very draining.

The girls were invited to a birthday party out in Ramona last weekend. The land you can have out there is attractive to me but then again you are out in Ramona which isn’t attractive at all, to me.

We try to stop at a winery or two when we are out there. This time we tried one that had recently opened. It had a great outside area, live music and luckily some decent wine. The girls spent most of their time chasing the dog around. The little winery Chihuahua was the hit until she stole Averi’s chocolate chip cookie and booked it across the lot. Averi was more stunned than upset and I was more worried about the tiny dog eating a whole cookie, but the owners weren’t phased. Must happen often.

See Food

May 23, 2016May 23, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

Catalina offshore is a local seafood market. We were told about it by a neighbor and watched it make its debut on a travel channel show. I don’t know why it took us so long to make our appearance.

We strolled in early on a Saturday morning side swiping the local chefs and fishermen. A cook behind an enormous stock pot was handing out bowls of piping hot bouillabaisse while we waited for our order. We came for mussels but left with a side of snapper. I love a whole roasted fish, if it’s one the specials at a good restaurant, chances are that will be my choice. But scaling and cleaning a whole fish and then worrying about cooking it has intimated me. But standing in front of this array of fish, I decided this was my time to tackle the snapper.

First up, mussels. We had an amazing dish at a local seafood restaurant a few weeks back.The Mr and I love our shellfish and after 10 years I think we agreed that those mussels were indeed some of the best. I needed to replicate this dish! After intense recipe research I chose a favorite blogger of mine and used this recipe. They turned out better than I imagined, the mussels were the plumpest and juiciest I have ever had and the coconut curry broth was drinkable, like pour in a glass and cheers!

Then there was the Snapper. Since I hooked it on a whim, I really had no idea what I was going to do. I chose to keep it simple and let the fish shine. I grabbed some lemon, herbs and salt. I wrapped it in foil and roasted it, at the end I let it sunbathe under the broiler for a minute.

We delightfully dug in.

Along side we enjoyed caprese and grilled artichokes with an aioli, never forgetting the crusty bread.

It was some good eating!

Bolognese + Garlic Cream Sauce

April 13, 2016April 13, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

You know what marriage is? it’s bumping into the same person in your kitchen day after day and not killing them. Also known as true love.

The other night I made a recipe that I got over a year ago with a wine shipment. Dunham cellars in Walla Walla, one of our favorites in town. Most of the recipes we received from them looked good, but this one I knew I was going to make, I just needed an excuse.

The recipe read like it was a Bolognese meets Alfredo sauce, where is the fault in that? My first step after reading a recipe, any recipe is to pick it apart. Most of the time I will counter it with multiple other “similar” recipes and come up with my own ending.

The results were pretty fantastic. Sausage and garlic can do no wrong, just make sure you get an Italian sausage in casing that has fennel, otherwise you’re wasting your time with this dish. I am not sure what my final measurements were so I will give you the original recipe. Do as you wish but don’t leave out the sausage or the red peppers, trust me.

Oh, and for some reason the original recipe is named “Tagliatelle Bolognese”. I am not sure if the person who submitted this recipe couldn’t find Tagliatelle and just grabbed the nearest fettuccine and “forgot” to tell us, or they just didn’t know. But the two are different. With that, it really won’t matter what you use, although if you can find fresh Tagliatelle than by all means use that. I couldn’t, well I didn’t want to drive down to Little Italy, so I used fresh Fettuccine that I found at Sprouts.

Happy cooking!

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Ingredients

Meat sauce

3 oz. ground beef (crumbled into ½” pieces)
• 3 oz. Italian sausage (crumbled into ½” pieces)
• 1/8 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
• 12 oz. Plum tomatoes (seeded, drained, chopped)
• 1 Tablespoon parsley, minced
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic, minced
• 3 Tablespoons roasted red pepper (cut into ¼” strips)
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb. Fettuccine
• Parmesan, finely shredded
• Fresh parsley, chopped

Garlic Cream sauce

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cube butter
• 1 pint whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:
Meat sauce: Preheat 12” sauté pan over medium high heat. Sprinkle salt over the bottom of the pan to aid in browning and prevent meat from sticking. Add ground
beef and sausage a little at a time. Meat should sizzle and smoke. Let meat brown on one side then stir. Cook to medium rare and drain off excess fat. Add all other
ingredients except olive oil. Simmer uncovered about 30 minutes until thickened. Stir in olive oil and set aside.

Cream sauce: Heat butter in a heavy gauge sauce pan until melted. Add minced garlic and simmer on low heat for 5 to 8 minutes. Add cream, salt and pepper. Let
simmer for 45 minutes until reduced in volume by 10%, stirring often.

Heat meat sauce, then add the cream sauce and heat until it bubbles and reduces. Cook pasta, drain and add to the sauce, thoroughly coating noodles. SERVE IMMEDIATELY. Garnish with shredded parmesan and parsley.

*recipe from Dunham Cellars

Easter in Ramona

March 21, 2016 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Our old neighbors are now living out in Ramona. They have so much land, so much space, perfect for an Easter egg hunt. So the girls got their baskets and we loaded up the truck.

Their house has quite the views, hawks soar above the citrus trees and squirrels dart across the path to their pool.

If you squint you can see some of our favorite wineries.

The kids had a lot of fun hunting eggs, well I should say Kaili had fun. Averi just wanted to chase the cat and explore.

There was quite a spread for lunch, homemade quiche to fried chicken sliders and delicious fresh squeezed OJ from their trees. I made this lemon cake. I was overly cautious to keep an eye on it but somehow I overcooked it by a few minutes, but I would still recommend the recipe. I am going to try another recipe this week to compare and because I need a another piece of lemon cake in my life.

Once we were able to drag the kids away from their playground we headed down the road to Kohill winery. We are new members and had a wine pickup but also, you can’t go to Ramona without hitting a winery, i am pretty sure it’s illegal.

The girls snacked because they don’t eat their actual meals and then they chased each other around the tasting room while we decided what wines to take home.

It was a good practice run for Easter, now we get to do it all over again next week but without getting in the car.

Big Plan Fail

December 28, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 1 Comment

I had big blogging plans for this trip but…..

I have so much to tell you. We will start with wine and dogs.

Elegante Cellars and the dog with no name…because I forgot it.

Dunham Cellars and the other dog with no name….because wine.

Shane and I took the kids out to the airport for some wine tasting on Tuesday. No not the actual airport but right past the Walla Walla airport houses over 20 wineries. I googled it for you. We hit a handful of them but the one we were looking forward to all day was Dunham cellars. We were lucky enough to meet JoAnne Dunham thanks to Wags. They became fast friends when he was in town for a motivational speech. She met us at the winery and gave us a first class tasting and we became wine members without hesitation.

Christmas eve was full of cheer. Most of the family came, food was inhaled and gifts were tore open. It was nice to catch up with people I haven’t seen in years and might not see again for a few more. We recovered Christmas morning by sitting on our asses as Jesus intended it.

Friday was Shane’s birthday and we had just a few more wineries we wanted to visit. We packed up the kids and headed out to the other side of Walla Walla Soon after our first stop I realized I forgot Averi’s bottles. I packed everything for the kids, e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g for a day out except a fucking bottle.

Another one of Shane’s high school friends just moved his tasting room from the airport to downtown. He let us know that he was there at Kontos Cellars pouring, so we dropped the kids off with grandma and hit the town. (thank you!) We were lucky enough to meet back up with Chris and his wife later that evening for a fun few hours. Then this happened….

The next morning JoAnne wasn’t at home, apparently the police called around 2 in the morning. Shane’s grandma ( who lives not far down the road) had run to the neighbors claiming she had been assaulted and there were strange people in her house. Once Gordon and JoAnne showed up it was obvious that no one was ever there and that her mind was playing some wacky ass tricks on her. Turns out there was SO MUCH more to Gma’s story. Ladies were talking about her in her bedroom and every time she got close to the door they ran away, a naked couple had performed a play in her front room under a teepee made with her comforter and then they were laying on her floor “doing their thing”. Her clothes were scattered all throughout her yard, some were nicely folded in the washing machine topped with Ramen noodles and she was convinced her dog had been drugged and his hair was falling out so she lathered him up with hand lotion. There is so much more but I can’t write all night.

The next morning JoAnne and her sister Kellie took Gma to the ER and spent most of the day waiting for tests. Hours and hours later the results were and it turns out she has a bladder infection. YOU GUYS a urinary tract infection in older women can cause paranoia and hallucinations. Now, not to say age or maybe even dementia isn’t playing a small part but here….read it for yourselves. The ER doctor sent her home with antibiotics and a sitter for the night.

We all hoped that would do the trick but come Sunday night we couldn’t reach her by phone. Convinced someone had to check on her, Shane and JoAnne headed over. Oh man…she had barricaded both the front and back door to keep the people out, broken a lamp so they would cut their feet and told Shane that his “wife’s husband” is the one doing this. It’s crazy ass shit that I can’t wrap my head around. I am truly amazed that a bladder infection can mess with your mind in such a way.

This is a PSA for the elderly. IF you have a loved one who may be going senile or straight mad, take them in for tests. Could be as simple as a urinary tract infection. Question is, does it go away with antibiotics?

Date Night

July 31, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 3 Comments

I am way behind on my writing. We have been busy the past few weeks and when I did have free time I couldn’t find the motivation to put pen to paper.

Shane and I were given the opportunity to have a date night last week. I have been waiting to try a new restaurant so it took me no time to decide what to do.

Richard Blais, Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars winner just opened a new restaurant in Little Italy and it just so happens to be across the street from a new winery. We have been to San Diego Cellars a couple of times but its been during my pregnancy so I have been eager to try their wines.

We spent an hour at SD cellars while waiting for our reservations. Conversations flow easily with Todd, the winemaker and he was filling us in on his future wine making endeavors.

Dinner time rolled around and I walked into Juniper and Ivy like a kid waking up on Christmas morning. I had been waiting for this day for almost a year, to say I was excited is an understatement. We started with a nice bottle of Italian wine to pair with the Kurobuta pork meatball and bone marrow with crispy oysters to start.

I had never had bone marrow before and I was pleasantly surprised. The meatball, topped with a mole sauce was also good.

For our main dishes, Shane tried the pork porterhouse which the waitress claims to have made grown men cry. I wouldn’t go that far but it was pretty darn good. I went with the white bass in a Veracruz sauce served over mashed black eye peas. I wasn’t thrilled with my decision, turns out I don’t love mashed peas but the fish was perfect.

We couldn’t leave without trying a dessert so we easily agreed on the Yodel. A devils cake rolled up in a white chocolate ganache, covered in dark chocolate along some hazelnut brittle and deliciously dressed in hot chocolate. We indulged and every bite was delicious.

It was a great night and I would recommend you try both San Diego cellars and Juniper and Ivy if you are in San Diego, they live up to the hype.
It was so nice to get out of the house with my husband and have time just the two of us, talking, dining, drinking. I didn’t worry about the kids, I didn’t feel guilty being out, I was just happy.

Summer Bucket List

July 4, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 2 Comments

Seven more days and I am going start thinking about checking off a summer bucket list. First things first of course, I’ll have to make sure I can walk around upright and poop without crying. I have been reminded that holding a pillow on the incision helps ease the pain, it’s also good when sneezing, just in case you are being cut open anytime soon.

Do you have a bucket list for this summer or the rest of the year? I have a whole truckload of ideas, Shane thinks I am overzealous, we’ll see.

I saw this on Babble.

A few of those aren’t much of a bucket list, more like life, and I can assure you I am not doing any sort of Triathlon, mini or not.

I am going to see how many tasting rooms I can get the baby into before Winter rolls around.

I am desperate for a bowl of good Gazpacho so I need a fool proof recipe for that.

I would like to get my backside some sun so it can catch up with my frontside.

Our newly refurbished home is begging for some wall art.

I want to take Kaili to the zoo so she can hang with her peeps.

I will find a babysitter who wants to and can handle two kids. One that I can trust enough so I can actually leave the house.

I would like to go on a date with my husband while said babysitter watches the kids.

And maybe, maybe if the stars align, I will get to see Dave Matthews for our 8th anniversary. Or get to see the ponies run at Del Mar, or maybe both?

What is on your bucket list?

A Week in Photos

April 7, 2014 ~ Girlmom ~ 5 Comments

We spent part of the week in Orange County. Kaili was right at home amongst the animals at Zoomars in San Juan Capistrano.

Working up to her first rodeo.

Coloring and cartoons at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

Chocolate yum, get it!

A day at the wineries.

Winery dogs are the best part.

Bon Appetit.

Would You Like Some Wine With Your Pumpkins?

October 28, 2013October 28, 2013 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Friday,we hit Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center. I was wrong to think it wouldn’t be overly crowded on a Friday, wrong I tell ya. We started with the petting zoo, Kaili was slow to warm up to the animals but I ended up having to bribe her out of there with a pony ride.