I *Heart* Fall

It's already heading into fall here in the Pacific Northwest. The leaves are starting to change, the mornings and nights almost cold, but we have also had beautiful, clear, warm days. We started our fall season off with the best caramel apple EVER!!! It was a huge honeycrisp dipped in top grade caramel. There were 3 of us eating this monster and we still didn't finish it. Of course The Girl only wanted the caramel :)

We went blackberry picking a couple of weeks ago. When we got to our favorite spot, we found out the city had cut back the brambles about 6 feet! Now you had to trip over cut brambles AND fight the spiders for the good berries. The berries were still green and small. With the great weather it didn't take them long to ripen up though. Today was "jam making day".

I dropped The Girl at "school" and got all my shopping done early so I could get the berries put up before I had to pick up the little one. It started off a little rough. My mind just wasn't in the task I was attempting to do. If anybody had been listening they would have thought I was crazy. Talking to myself and running in circles!

I finally pulled it together and got on with it. Berries and sugar everywhere! My food mill is a little small for something like this but it worked out in the long run. I can't stand those huge blackberry seeds sticking in my teeth as I try and eat. Drives me crazy!! And those of you who know me, know how level headed I always am ;)

Ooopps!!! The process is not always pretty but the results are delicious. How I managed to do this, I have no idea. One minute it was a nice slow boil and the next it was lava all over the place. Oh alright, I was texting.....about food......to a girl as weird and geeky about this stuff as I am.....moving on......

I somehow managed to accomplish my mission. Nobody was hurt and the jam is yummy. I love fall, now bring on the soups and homemade bread!!

Glutton

The plan was simple enough. Get together for dinner at our house to open up and consume some lovely older wines. I had a bottle of 1998 Reserve Schramsburg Sparkling and Nina had a 1987 Chateau Clerc Milon. Both needed to be drank before they turned. We were going to do a simple cheese plate for the sparkler and a nice beef tenderloin for the Bordeaux, maybe a sweet and simple port to finish off the meal. Then The Chef got a hold of the menu.....

We had a nice starter of cured meats, lovely cheeses and seasoned almonds brought by Nina and Luke. The sparkling was so, so good! Red apple was the overwhelming smell while I was pouring it but once the air got on a little more of it, it went to yeast with a slight touch of apple. Nice, small bubbles, dry and light. A really fabulous wine! The Girl got her first taste of high end sparkling wine :)

Then it was on to the salad course. Heirloom roma tomatoes, bibb lettuce and a homemade sherry vinegrette. We opened a bottle of 2008 Chaleur Estate from DeLille Cellars. A beautiful white blend.

Next came the sweetbreads. So good with a Calvados cream sauce!! Another first for The Girl, her first taste of sweetbreads. She didn't mind them but didn't care for the cream sauce.

We were so excited to have the Bordeaux! We were a little concerned when the cork looked a little worse for wear when the foil came off. It went through quite a few changes as it was decanting. Ass, barnyard and dark red fruits were all mentioned. It was incredible!!! I am very glad Nina decided to share with us. It went wonderfully with our tenderloin, seared fois gras and lobster tail. But a wine like this goes with anything, right!?

We then started in on a bottle of 2005 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon. Again, YUM! We decided on a bottle of Torii Mor 2005 Port for our "dessert". It was like having a fig in a glass. Nina and I thought it was a little off but the guys thought it was fine.

The graveyard......

It was a good night. Good food, good wines, good friends. After the shameless over-indulgence last night my body needed something decent today. After a nice sweat, all I wanted was a fruit and veggie smoothie! Dinner needed to be quick, easy and somewhat healthy. So I made a quinoa, spinach and feta soup.

I LOVE this soup! And so does The Girl.....

Building....

That's right, I finally broke down and decided to blog. Since everybody has been doing it for ages, I figured I better catch up. It will be a little hard to follow since this blog won't be about any one thing in particular. It will be just what the title says....My Life, My Loves (for you non-Italian speakers out there)  So if pictures of food, wine bottles, plants, places traveled and the cutest 2 year old ever is what you are looking for, YOU HAVE FOUND IT!! Enjoy :)