Hi friends! Long time no talk. Happy 4th of July weekend! My parents, younger brother, and sister flew into San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon from New Jersey, and we've been having a lot of fun together ever since. We spent the afternoon that they arrived walking around Fisherman's Wharf, checking out shops, having a bite to eat, and sipping Irish coffees from the famous Buena Vista. Since my hubby and I just moved to the Bay Area a couple of months ago, this is the first time that my family has visited us here. It's been fun showing them around our new area and having them at our new home. Though my brother and sister have met Harley before when visiting, this is the first time that my parents have met her. Harley is such a character and big part of my little family, so it's ... [Read More]
wine
Homemade Winemaking: The Basics
Happy Sunday! Guess what yesterday was in my house? That's right, our merlot has been sitting pretty for about a month, and yesterday was the day we rented a corker and bottled the wine. This is my first batch of homemade wine and I learned a lot throughout the whole process, so I thought it'd be fun to talk about what's involved in making wine at home. The first step is buying all of the supplies and figuring out what type of wine you'll make. There are a good amount of things you'll need - from yeast and cleaning powders to a hydrometer, wine thief and oak chips - but we luckily found a fermentation store that easily provided everything we needed. As far as the type of wine to make, we decided to just buy grapes already crushed since this was our first go-around, and chose ... [Read More]
Memorial Day Weekend Napa Valley Wine Tasting {Crane Family Vineyards, Stag’s Leap, St. Clement Vineyards & Rutherford Hills Winery}
Today I'm recapping my glorious Memorial Day Sunday -- which we spent wine tasting all day in Napa Valley. My hubby and I started off the day at Crane Family Vineyards, a small winery we recently discovered at Trader Joe's and simply had to visit first and foremost because our last name is Crane. To taste there, you have to call and schedule an appointment beforehand, so I made it our first stop so that we'd be sure to make it on time. The winery is in an unassuming residential area, and as soon as we pulled up and saw the gorgeous view and quaint winery, I knew that I'd like it. When we arrived, the owner Tom greeted us and we quickly found out that he and his parents lived in New Jersey before moving to California. Jersey people unite! Our experience at Crane Family Vineyards ... [Read More]
Just Call Me Robert Mondavi
Hi friends! Today's topic: wine. Why? Because my hubby and I recently picked up a fun new hobby... winemaking!! That's right, besides drinking wine, I'm now making it as well. I've certainly spent some time at wineries, from getting married at one in New Jersey... ...to visiting an underground winery in Missouri.... ...from many day trips to the little California wine region of Temecula.... ...to touring Sicilian wineries with a native restauranteur as our guide... ...from picking grapes at a tiny awesome winery, to stomping grapes at a festival in Julian, CA... ....to making our way up the California coast and visiting Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Napa, and Sonoma area wineries... ...and now living in the Bay Area within a few miles of some ... [Read More]
Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto Balls
When I think back to my time studying abroad in Italy, a lot of mouthwatering food comes to mind - including rice balls. Though a lot of the time they contained ham or some other kind of meat, here and there I was able to find vegetarian ones. They were gooey, rich, and delicious, and I'm not sure that I've eaten them since my time in Sicily. That's why when I came across risotto cakes in my newest cookbook, Essential Vegetarian, I knew I had to try the recipe. Rice balls are typically deep fried. While they taste scrumptious, anything submerged in a bath of oil isn't exactly waistline friendly. That's why I tweaked the recipe and used less oil. When I decided to make them last night for dinner, I failed to realize that this recipe takes a good amount of prep time. After cooking the ... [Read More]
An Afternoon of Wine Tasting
Yesterday afternoon my hubby and I headed up to Temecula, the wine region closest to us in San Diego. I've been to Temecula a few times this year while Adam was deployed, but we haven't been up there together since last year, when we spent a night there over Thanksgiving weekend. I had a Groupon deal at one winery, and we had free tickets for a tasting and bottle at another, so we thought it was a perfect, cheap chance to take a break from our normal weekend hustle & bustle and do some wine drinking and relaxing. It was a beautiful day outside, and the wineries looked so pretty all decked out for the holidays. The best part was that we hung out at a winery that was showing the NY Giants game - getting to drink wine while watching my team play (and kick some major ass!)? Pretty ... [Read More]