A roundup of some of my favorite things this week in the categories of wine, food, travel, and lifestyle. The Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maize on Sauvie Island It was a perfect fall day yesterday and I’m trying to take in all the good weather I can before the you-know-what wet stuff starts and doesn’t…
Food and Recipes
5 things to do in Bordeaux (besides visiting wineries)
When my husband and I visited France on our two-week honeymoon we spent a couple days in Paris, a day in Champagne, and the remaining time split between Burgundy and Bordeaux. When anybody in country asked us about our travels the responses were unanimously, “Oh, you must like wine.” Yes, oh yes we do. But…
Uses for leftover smoked beef brisket – Smoked Beef Brisket Chili (recipe and wine pairing)
An incredible use for leftover smoked brisket — Smoked Beef Brisket Chili! This recipe may be worth even smoking a brisket for, just to use the meat in this (controversial) chili with the leftover brisket. This chili has not only won us several competitions, but we’ve had several readers email us to tell us this recipe has won…
Friday Favorites – bubbles, harvest, and getting my hands dirty all for the love of wine
A weekly roundup of my favorite things from the week, in the categories of wine, food, travel and lifestyle. WINE Bubbles! Last Friday I participated in a twitter tasting of sparkling wines from the Franciacorta DOCG in the larger Lombardy region of northern Italy. Produced in the traditional Champagne method, these sparkling wines undergo secondary…
Friday Favorites — Bordeaux Travel Edition
I returned from Bordeaux this week, so naturally this weeks favorites are all about some of my favorite things from the trip, and as always in the categories of wine, food, travel, and lifestyle. Wine For many the word Bordeaux conjures up images of the famous great growth wines of Bordeaux. Wines that are…
Live from Bordeaux
I am spending this week traveling through Bordeaux, and while I have limited time to write about my experiences while I am here I did want to give a quick preview of what I’ve been up to. Touring an Oyster Farm Oyster tasting at Eric Larrarté in the village of Le Canon in the…
Friday Favorites — Oregon day tripping and weekend bubbles
A roundup of some of my favorite things this week in the categories of wine, food, travel, and lifestyle. It has been a very slow week here on the blog, but an incredibly busy one for me and Vindulge. I’m sorry I missed last week’s Friday post. To make it up I’ve extended this weeks…
Friday Favorites — food, friends, and an award winning recipe
A weekly roundup of some of my favorite things this week in the categories of wine, food, travel, and lifestyle. This was indeed a week full of “favorites”. Well, my absolute favorite part of the week was getting to spend it with some good friends who were visiting from California with their toddler who is…
A hidden gem in Murcia, Spain – Monastrell
Arriving into Murcia, Spain, last month I wasn’t sure what to expect. What had been written about the region in the past didn’t shed much positive light on the wines, especially Monastrell — the regions signature varietal. I had recently become fond of a particular rosé from the region, and at the least I figured…
Friday Favorites — exploring and tasting Oregon
A weekly roundup of some of my favorite things this week in the categories of wine, food, travel, and lifestyle. This week has been a juggling act of unpacking, taking care of the tots, and working, while trying to also spend some QT with my visiting mom and getting the kids out to explore their…
Friday Favorites – Oregon homecoming
A weekly roundup of some of my favorite things this week in the categories of wine, food, travel, and lifestyle. I have officially been back in Oregon one full week now, and what a week it’s been. Our movers ended up being, oh, 5 days late, which left us with an empty house and a…
Friday Favorites – Sunday Travel Edition
I had hoped to be able to post this on Friday, but due to several snafus I was unable to post anything — no internet, and more importantly no way to download my pictures onto my computer. I have since temporarily resolved those issues and wanted to share a quick blurb about life on the…
Friday Favorites – On the road again…
I apologize for missing last week’s Friday Favorites post. I was en route back to the US after spending a week in the Murcia region of Spain (you can see a preview of that trip here). The week since I returned has been a juggling act balancing work, kids, and packing up our house in…
A Preview of Murcia, Spain
I spent last week in Spain visiting the region of Murcia, specifically the wine appellations, or Denominación de Origens (DO), of Yecla, Jumilla, and Bullas. Along with 7 other US bloggers we had the opportunity to explore this up and coming region, visit several wineries, and taste the local food (including loads of delicious queso…
Friday Favorites – Celebrating a big announcement, and a special Oregon-themed giveaway!
This is a special edition of Friday Favorites here on the blog. Instead of listing out all of my favorite discoveries of the week like I usually do, this news encompasses all four Friday Favorite themes. Plus I have a special giveaway to go with this week’s announcement! This past weekend my husband and I announced…
Visiting I Comelli Winery and Agriturismo in Friuli — discovering Ramandolo and warm hospitality
The region of Friuli–Venezia Giulia (Friuli for short) in northeast Italy is a special place leaving those who have visited a longing to return. In a series of back and forth emails I had on the region with writer Elaine Brown from Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews she wrote, “In Friuli I felt this deep calm…
A Crustacean Vacation in Maine
I started this post almost two years ago and never published it. With summer on the horizon I thought this might still be useful to families as they begin to make travel plans… Or if you’re like me, you really don’t “plan” at all, and instead rely on last minute recommendations on the fly, then…
Friday Favorites – new and improved pulled pork and a wine for humid New England weather
A roundup of some of my favorite things this week in the categories of wine, food, travel, and lifestyle. Food The Ultimate Pulled Pork Sandwiches, and updated blog pics My husband’s favorite thing to smoke is pork butt. It was one of the first things he ever tried after he bought his smoker, and remains…
Championship BBQ Secrets for Real Smoked Food — Book Review
In our house, both my husband and I cook. He’s the outdoor cook and loves to grill and smoke (food that is), and I love to do almost everything else. So when I was sent a cookbook to review on all smoked food recipes I couldn’t think of a better person to review the technical…
Friday Favorites – the ultimate Mother’s Day menu, memories of The Cure, and a Giveaway!
A roundup of some of my favorite things from the past week in the categories of wine, food, travel and lifestyle. Since this past weekend was Mother’s Day, many of the items that topped the list this week are, naturally, a result of a memorable weekend. LIFESTYLE My weekend began with my husband presenting me…
For Mother’s Day – My Mama’s Basic Red Chile Sauce
My mother loves to cook. More than this she loves cooking for people. She will intentionally make enough of any dish for an army, just so she can bring some to co-workers or friends the next day. It is how she expresses her love to people. She has no secrets in her kitchen, and is…
Friday Favorites — Sweet Moscato, Ribs, Nemo, and Toddler Mishaps
First of all I need to point out the elephant in the room – my pictures this week. My least favorite moment of this week was when my toddlers decided to make my Canon EOS Rebel XTi their new toy (i.e. they broke it). I think my kids are mind readers and knew I was…
Wine and food are a great match for Ribera del Duero
I was first introduced to the wines of Ribera del Duero several years ago while vacationing in the Adirondack Mountains in Lake Placid, New York. My husband and I were still just discovering our love for wines made from Tempranillo, and one stood out on the menu of the restaurant we were dining at. I…
The Beginning of a Friuli Experience
After my brief time in Croatia I headed to a region in Northeast Italy I had never been before — Friuli–Venezia Giulia (Friuli for short). Friuli’s tourist board describes this land best in this description: Alps and the Adriatic symbolize the two extremes of a multi-faceted and changing landscape, Italian, Slavic and Germanic cultures meet…