TheQueen

Friday, March 14 - Flowers and Vegetables

Earlier this week we found a surprise near Onyx. Here, in a canyon off of Kelso Creek Road, the hills re painted with orange and blue and yellow. The air quality was terrible, but the colors were bright enough to shine through. We hiked across a field dotted with goatheads and many small flowers to the hillside resplendent with poppies.

Saturday, March 8 - Flowers and Vegetables

We went wildflower hunting in the Rademacher Hills yesterday, and found little more than phacelias and some small yellow flowers. It's early yet, but indications are that this will be an OK year, not great. In Death Valley the yellow flowers are blooming in some places, but the sometimes-luxurious bloom in the southern reaches of the valley are barren.

Wednesday, February 20 - Back in the Kitchen

After 2-1/2 months on the road, I find that I don't always remember which switch to flip to turn on the lights, but I'm still OK with running the food processor! B and I have decided to enjoy more vegetarian meals. We shop at the Friday Farmer's Market and then put together our menus. This week we had Moosewood's Spinch and Ricotta Pie, sans crust, and very good Squash and Potato Enchiladas. Making enchiladas is always a production, but these are worth it. The following recipe from Didi Emmons' Vegetarian Planet, with my adaptations. I snapped a picture of the book with our handy new webcam.

I bought this cookbook at a Jamba Juice in Bakersfield on a swim meet trip. I read the salad dressing recipes and fell in love - especially with the Carmelized Balsamic Vinaigrette, although Miso Dressing runs a close second. It also has my very favorite potato soup, Potage Bon Femme.

November 25 - Vegan Highlights

We enjoyed a bountiful if non-traditional Thanksgiving, and did a spot or two of entertaining on the days following. Jo and Ja joined us for Thanksgiving dinner. Friends D & G and L joined us for Friday night's meal. And Saturday we hosted lunch for 10. I got to try a lot of new things.

Wednesday, November 6 - Bottling Wine, Rabbits, and Recovery from the Weekend

Saturday last was the day for the three intrepid winemakers' annual bottling party.  This is the 2nd annual of these, and this year there is an apprentice -- next year there will be four winemakers!  The day starts early, and the first task is washing the wine bottles.  This is done with pressure hoses and the bottles are carefully sterilized.

October 31, Still Cooking

While we haven't been doing many destination hikes this month, we have been keeping our feet in gear walking in the local hills and working out in the gym.  And I'm still on a cooking binge.

September 26 - Cooking as Therapy

What's your stress response? Do you take a fast walk or a hard run? meditate? book a massage? I cook.

Son A left for Japan last Wednesday. His flight out of LA pulled out of the gate on time, and then waited ... and waited ... and waited. Upshot is that he missed his military flight to Japan. He ended up going in a day late on a commercial flight. He called when he arrived (that would be Friday morning our time), and I haven't heard a thing since. So, I'm cooking. In fact, I cooked the whole time he was here on leave, but what I cooked was pretty much up to A, so a lot of repeats and comfort food.

August 25, Yakima Valley, Rattlesnake Hills Wine Trail

Today we sampled wines at four wineries in the Rattlesnake Hills.  They were chosen by B, based on description in the wine trail brochure.

Hyatt Vineyards, high atop the ridge, is an impressive site with manicured grounds, a well-appointed tasting room and, from outside, views of both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams.  We were able to taste “house” and reserve wines side by side.  The reserve merlot is especially nice, although the house merlot also has its charms.  This was a nice tasting in a nice atmosphere, and the prices are astoundingly low.  Unfortunately the inter-state shipping laws are such that Hyatt does not ship to California.  You’d have to deal through a wine broker or online wine store.

Our next stop was Paradisos del Sol, a small winery with an eclectic list.  We tasted their list of six, beginning with a dry rose, proceeding to Lemberger reds and finally to a pair of sweet wines -- angelica and late harvest riesling.  Each of three pairs of wines was served with food matched to the wine – with recipes, too!  Our hostess Barbara, winemaker Paul’s wife and partner in the business, described each wine for us and entertained us with her commentary.  If all wineries ran their tasting rooms this way, they’d sell a lot more wine from their tasting rooms!

For our picnic spot, we selected Silver Lake, again high on the ridge. We again paired a “house” and reserve tasting.  The wines were good, the merlot being the best.  The tasting room staff was poorly trained; they didn’t give you vintage year when pouring (and it wasn’t published on the notes, either), despite being repeatedly asked, and didn’t have a lot of knowledge about winery operations or history.  Replies to questions were off hand and lacking detail.  This is a corporate outfit, and clearly not a lot of attention is going to the tasting room.  There is a café here, but it may only operate on weekend.  There were ads for a salmon dinner on Sunday’s between 1 and 4 p.m. We did picnic here on the grounds, where there is a small shaded terrace and any number of picnic tables with umbrellas to make shade.

Our last stop for the day was Portteus Vineyards, touted for specializing in red wines – and indeed, their tasting list included 16 different red wines.  One can taste the first eight for free, and the other eight could be tasted for a flat $5 fee, and some single wines from the list for $1 a taste: unless you were a case buyer, which meant you could taste the first 12 wines for free.  The list was all over the place; no way to pair “house” and reserve tastings. And the place was lively, with large groups of people coming and going all the time, and always too many people for the limited tasting facility.  I guess you could say the variety provides something for everyone, but we left feeling confused rather than satisfied.

August 12-14 Anderson Valley

We stayed here at the Anderson Valley Inn, a place out of time, tucked up on a shady hillside in Philo, CA.  Mein host, Bob, is a most genial innkeeper, and his wife Lydia and mother Clover are also good company.  The rooms are nicely done, and the grounds offer benches and nooks for sitting and relaxing.  The price is also right. If you’re looking for television, internet, and coffee in your room, this is not the place for you.  But, that said, there’s espresso and internet service just 5 miles down the road in Boonville, as well as good beer from the Boonville Brewery.  I like the amber ale, and B. likes the hoppy ale.   Dinner at the Highpockety Ox ("A Civilized Saloon"), accompanied by said beer, hit the spot on our first night. For more info on the Inn and the area, visit Anderson Valley Inn.

Bob recommended a couple of hikes, among them the Hendy Woods trail (posted separately) and a jaunt down to the shore at Elk.  He also recommended some wineries.  Top on his list is Esterlina, and of course Navarro is immensely popular.

So we walked (could hardly really call it hiking) in the mornings, returned to our room at the Inn to clean up, and then tasted in the afternoons.  The first day we started with Esterlina (call for an appointment) where we were instructed to tell them that Bob from the Anderson Valley Inn sent us.  We were treated to a personal tasting on the deck high above the Anderson Valley, pinot noir grapes flourishing in the vineyard below the deck.  The owner’s wife, Doris Sterling, poured for us, and she proved to be a font of knowledge. We really enjoyed her stories and she had the answers to all our questions. The Sterling family (Esterlina is the Latin for Sterling) has been growing grapes for several generations, and making wine here for 10 years.  The business employs the whole family.  One son does marketing, another the viticulture, and a third is the winemaker.  The wines were uniformly well made, and the setting was superb. The family also runs a Dry Creek winery, Everett Ridge, and owns a variety of vineyards.  For more info, see Esterlina Vineyards.

From there we descended the hill, where we made stops at Handley Cellars (looking for the gewurtztraminer I remembered from a long-ago dinner) and at Roederer for some bubbly.  Here our sommelier, Rett, promised to let us know how the estate pinot is shaping, once he concludes his experiment with multi-day decanting.

Next morning, we drove over to the coast to Elk.  Immediately we spotted the trail to the beach. As we strolled beach-ward, the fog began to roll in.  Whilst on the beach, two fellows wheeling a kayak on a bicycle-wheeled carrier offered us a hidden cave tour. We demurred; they unloaded the kayak and paddled off. Back on the bluff top, we elected to stroll through the town.  Elk? Greenwood? The signs all seemed to say Greenwood.  Mystery solved – we spotted a book in a local shop that told us this is the town with two names.  I wasn’t, however, curious enough to buy the book, so I still don’t know why the town has two names.

Back in the Anderson Valley, having enjoyed the drive on the Philo-Greenwood Road both ways, we stopped briefly at Navarro to taste and order Deep End Pinot futures, and then at Husch, where we much enjoyed that family winery’s offerings.