I should ask more often

My Hubby loves to cook and he is excellent and creative at it. I do it more often though because I'm more organized and it is how I unload after work.

But dinners like this makes me think I should have him cook more often! This was for Sunday dinner and I asked him to whip up something. I told him he's got prawns to work with - our own version of Iron Chef. He made prawns and pancetta soft tacos with red and yellow peppers. It was excellent! He threw in some of our homemade chipotle. Another fantastic meal! My Hubby blesses my socks off.

so romantic!

My Hubby came home from work Monday night, surprisingly chipper. He got home before I did and I was greeted with a big smile and a proud declaration: "I am so romantic! I made plans for a date night!" And he waved a piece of paper in front of me.

There it was - two tickets to a showing of "White Christmas" at the Crest Theatre (an old-fashioned style theater in Sacramento). I was so touched! And this is totally lame but both of us knew I would be even more blessed: he got it a groupon for it - two tickets for just $11!!! And he made sure I knew that. I'd like to think I am just a very conservative spender but to my Hubby's standards, I can be a tightwad. Anyway, I was just thrilled! We are both Christmas nuts - the traditional type, not necessarily the consumer-mentality holiday observers. This is just awesome and I cannot wait!!! Hubby has been heaping lots and lots of love on me. I thank the Lord for blessing me with this man.

hearty barley soup

Last Monday we made another 6 lbs of chipotle sausage. There was about a 1/2 lb that we didn't put in the casings - just because of how the sausage stuffer works. So I decided to make some soup with the bulk sausage.

I chopped up whatever veggies we had in the fridge: zucchini, red and yellow pepper, tomatoes and some canned corn. We also had some leftover roast chicken from Sunday. I cooked the sausage first, added the shredded chicken and then added the veggies and barley along with some tomato sauce. I simmered everything for a while. I also made a batch of corn bread to go with the soup.

Tonight we're having the last of it! I've had to add more tomato sauce whenever we reheated it because it got too thick. This is the third time we're having it for dinner and it's one of those things that tastes even better as leftovers! It's started to rain again so perfect for soup. We had a long day of brewing and now it's time to relax.

biscuits, sausage & gravy

Today is rainy, windy and grey and the thought of homemade biscuits, sausage and gravy got me out of bed!!! I used our homemade breakfast sausage and made the gravy with whole milk and a couple of tablespoons of flour to thicken it up. Fresh ground pepper is key and a bit of a heavy hand with the salt.

I need to practice making biscuits. These were alright. These are dangerous to keep making - I love warm biscuits with butter and preserves. And I still had some homemade strawberry ones! The eggs of course are from our chickens. Which are sadly now down to two hens...we lost one earlier this week. She went quick - a respiratory issue of sorts. She was sick for barely two days.

A great Saturday breakfast though!

first time: popovers!

Hubby and I are avid Triple D fans and we are always trying out recipes from the show. The latest are these cheesy popovers from a restaurant in Texas I think (great name: Foreign and Domestic). The ingredients are basic (eggs, milk, flour, cheese, black pepper). The key is to have the muffin tin hot and the milk warmed to the right temp. I made only a half batch (9 muffins). I think I may have stirred it too much - it was too light and hollow inside. Still fabulous but I'll try a lighter hand next time. The popovers were paired with my super-easy orange/rosemary roast chicken and a quick spring salad.

I should mention that we also smoked a couple of tri-tips and made 5 lbs each of Italian sausage and breakfast sausage. It was a very productive culinary Sunday!

cheers from the past!

I have been enjoying watching back episodes of The Office while on the treadmill. I'm now in the middle of Season 2 and thought I needed a break from all the office dysfunction. So I started browsing Netflix and to my heart's great delight, I saw Cheers on the instant queue list! Wow! Jackpot!

I became a Cheers fan back in college. And I became obsessed with it. I just loved the camaraderie and the community. And the humor! I didn't realize I hadn't seen the pilot episode and it was awesome. It was just pure joy watching it. I laughed great, big, belly-laughs. I loved the Coach's innocence and Carla's toughness. I was never a fan of Sam's womanizing and I loved Rebecca Howe more than I did Diane (she annoyed the crap out of me). But the chemistry in that cast was just amazing. I was so jazzed watching it I ended up doing the fastest sprint I ever did on that treadmill! I felt like I could just fly!

And I loved the theme song and it was even more poignant as my Hubby and I are in the middle of opening our own brewpub. I feel so humbled. I am so excited at the possibility of living out my own Cheers season in life! The Lord is so good.

I pray our own place would be so welcoming to others. Where everybody knows your name. Which is going to be hilarious because Hubby has a hard time remembering people's names.

lost a precious chicken

After 10 days in quarantine, we lost one of our hens this morning. Poor thing got worms and then just never recovered her appetite. She was still warm when I picked her up this morning. I was very sad but The Lord now has one very sweet chicken roaming His grounds!

august got too busy

I am bummed to see that I managed only one post in August. We got totally caught up in starting our new business...pursuing our dream of opening a microbrewery! Huge, huge undertaking - exciting and scary but it is all worth it given that my Hubby and I are partnering in everything. It is taking up a lot of energy and time and money and we are trusting that the Lord will continue to guide us with wisdom, faith and courage. We have the support of family and friends and it is an amazing blessing. I'm sure there will be more posts on this adventure but for now I will keep it real.


This is the bowl of table grapes we harvested earlier in August. They were good but could be better and bigger. Our focus has been on our wine grapes but these table grapes are more mature and make a beautiful wrap for our arbor. Somehow I would need to add caretaking for the table grapes to my list of gardening priorities.

my new local hangout

I can't really call this my hangout yet because I've managed to make it there only three times so far.  But I'd love to make this my hangout.  I've always enjoyed going to a coffee shop to do my Bible study and journaling.  Harkens back to my college student days I think.  But I get so busy on my Fridays off and I forget to go.  The last time I was there I had to take this picture because of the yahtzee game...Hubby and I play that when we're just chilling and need to give our brains a rest.  That's our default game when the weather is cool enough to hang out on our patio.  Anyway, this local coffee shop is very simple but serves great coffee.  And the people are great!  I wish them the very best.  In the world full of Starbucks (of which I have to admit I am a fan) I do still cheer for the mom and  pop coffee shops.

homemade pizza

The picture doesn't do it justice but I made homemade pizza for dinner last night: crust from scratch, the Italian sausage and pancetta we made a few weeks ago and leftover pasta sauce from last night using our homegrown tomatoes. Next time it'll really be bonafide homemade when I make the mozarella myself. Hard to do that on a weeknight. This pizza was so loaded we had to eat it with a fork and knife. Beautifully paired with my Hubby's blue-ribbon award winning Scottish ale at the state fair.

super cute project

I still need to post about a beautiful vacation that Hubby and I took earlier this month where I got the idea for this project. We did a winery tour and saw bird houses with corks for roofing and siding! How cute is that! Went to Joann's yesterday for Cars fabric to make birthday gifts for my nephew's 3rd birthday and they had $2.00 bird houses for sale. Sweet! We're in the middle of a heat wave this weekend so I had some rare downtime to just chill. I hope to finish at least one this weekend. Cutting the corks takes a lot longer than I anticipated. But this is a good use for the pile of wine corks I've been collecting. I've already made a trivet which ended up being too fancy so it's hanging in the kitchen.

the garden flourishes...selectively

The celebrity tomatoes are prolific this year: firm, sweet fruit. I made myself a pancetta, spinach and tomato sandwich the other day. Bacon cannot hold a candle next to pancetta. But the latter would be too savory for pancakes so the bacon lives:-) We are also enjoying some table grapes. Although the grapes are small we are thankful to even taste them before the birds finished them off. We put netting over the wine grapes so those should make it to full maturity.We're waiting for more tomatillos to come in, a few zukes and a few other tomatoes. The chickens have increased their egg-laying so our little pseudo farm life is truly idyllic!

an impressive dinner!

I am way behind on my blogging...lots of photos waiting for narratives. I thought I should follow up with whatever became of those hanging pancettas.

Hubby treated me to a wonderful dinner of homemade linguini with the homemade pancetta. It was divine! That was the first time I ever had homemade pasta and I was simply blessed watching my Hubby make it. Needless to say we used our own eggs to make the pasta. And we were so proud of our pancetta. It was as good as we had hoped and all the waiting while it cured was worth it. He also made some stuffed portabella to go with it. It was truly a gourmet meal. He outdid himself. He ended up cooking most of that week - he was so inspired by his own efforts and creation!

fantastic pancetta!

Hubby and I had a treat for breakfast this morning: our very own pancetta! The picture shows the pancetta drying in our wine fridge:-) My idea I am proud to say. We needed a controlled environment and protection from flies. We had to empty a couple of shelves to hang these cured pork bellies. We can't wait to make pasta and pizza using pancetta - they are just packed with flavor and these have more meat than fat. Woo hoo! Success!

Hubby rocks!!!

Wednesday night I had to work late and what does Hubby do? He gets a haircut, buys fixings for a fabulous salmon and pasta dinner, empties the dishwasher and cleans the kitchen!!!! Wow! I was totally blessed. We were able to sit down, enjoy a leisurely dinner and promptly tackle our latest endeavor: sausage-making:-)

This a Chipotle Peppercorn Romano sausage. Originally called just chipotle sausage, Hubby thought we should add peppercorn so people wouldn't be surprised by the really coarsely ground peppercorns. This one has got some good heat! It also had a cup of Romano cheese - nice touch.

I'm showing the whole set up so you can see the red stool I had to use so I can reach the grinder properly. I did the grinding and Hubby did the stuffing and that statement just sounds terrible:-) It was hard work but we enjoyed it thoroughly.

We are really loving making all this homemade stuff. The clean up was incredible! Causing Hubby to comment: "this is why we have grocery stores."

The next night? We're tackling three different sausages: Bratwurst, Spicy Italian and one we made up: Savory Cranberry. Time to bless folks with great sausages!!!

full weekend!

Hubby finally got to brew yesterday, after three weekends in a row that we had to cancel because the weather was too too hot for brewing. He was so excited, he kept telling me all morning: "I'm so excited!" This was also a good opportunity for him to apply some new things he learned while at a brewing school a couple of weeks ago. His nephew and girlfriend came over to help so we had a good time visiting. A couple of neighbors stopped by. We served some pulled BBQ pork which Hubby had smoked last week and I finished off on the stove simmering in BBQ sauce for 3 hours. We ended up brewing two batches so it was a very productive day.

We hung out at a neighbor's house for dinner, enjoying some really good steaks and corn on the cob while trying out her new patio furniture. It was a beautiful evening. Hubby had a chance to serve, fixing our neighbor's sagging gate. Took him 10 minutes and now it is no longer scraping the sidewalk.

Sunday was a blessed time at church. God spoke His Word faithfully and we were encouraged to break up our hardened hearts, for God's seed to grow and bear fruit (Mark 4). It was convicting, enlightening and inspiring.

The most special time was when we drove through midtown, trying to find possible retail places for our brewpub. This is probably the most real we've gotten about our dream of opening a brewpub. It was exciting and sobering at the same time. The Lord's will be done.

When we got home we took a few minutes to bring over some homemade chocolate chip cookies to our new neighbors. They moved in a week ago and we've tried twice already to come over but they weren't home. I told Hubby I'm eating the cookies if we failed our third attempt! But we finally got to meet them and they seemed like good people. We were happy to welcome them to our court.

For lunch we tried our first ever pastrami. The flavor was good but we didn't use the right cut of beef. Still excellent for a first attempt. Afterwards we worked on putting netting over our grapevines to protect them from the birds. The vines are laden heavy with fruit...it should be a good harvest! Hubby made me another post for the hummingbird feeder while I trimmed the roses and planted some annuals. I was bummed to do the latter because I had tried to grow some annuals from seed. But the seedlings aren't thriving and my flower baskets are looking thin. I had to post this picture of us sharing a bomber of Namaste...a great beer for a summer day. Light and fruity.

To end the day Hubby's decided to smoke some jalapenos for our first ever chipotle! We really are impressing lots of people with all our homemade stuff:-) It IS superfun and something we both enjoy. And we get to share with others which blesses us tremendously.

four fantastic years!

Hubby and I are celebrating four blessed years of being married! It feels like it should be longer...it is hard to recall life before this wonderful man came into my life! He has made my life richer in every way. He brings laughter to my heart - lots and lots of laughter. And every day we seem to find more and more things to share together.

This year we exchanged funny cards. He got me my bouquet of roses and very expensive tickets to see Neil Diamond!!! Woo hoo! I framed his brewing course certificate and got him a Bruery oak-aged ale. We had a fun dinner at our favorite sushi place. We lingered longer and had a relaxing meal. We got to rejoice with our sushi chef's recent engagement. A beautiful blessed day all around! I love you, Hubby!

hubby responds to my s.o.s.

It was an insane day at work. It's the end of the fiscal year so I'm having to wrap up a lot of things and also prepare for the next fiscal year. I spent no more than 20 minutes at my desk because I had new copiers delivered and installed this morning and then a full afternoon of training. The old copiers got de-installed too and there were other fires that needed to be put out.

I emailed my Hubby that it was going to be a margarita night. My brain was just mush and I needed to chill. He stopped at the store, got some frozen strawberries and tequila (we were out!) but we've already got a mix at home.

We went over each other's day while enjoying these delicious drinks. My Hubby rocks! (I should mention he gave me my beautiful bouquet of long stemmed red roses early for our anniversary - that would be its own post).

Friday night plans

This is definitely a first! Our charcuterie venture starts tonight with this pickling spice for the pastrami. Hubby exclaims a quotable: "We're going to smoke the crap out of these tomorrow." He took out chicken breasts, pork chops and a pork roast to smoke tomorrow, in addition to brining the beef tonight for the pastrami.

Tomorrow was originally scheduled as a brewing day but the temperature is supposed to hit 103 degrees - horrible forecast for brewing. So we plan on smoking all sorts of meat and then hanging out at our neighbor's pool to cool off. The pork roast should be ready to share.

We are bidding on ebay for a meat grinder and sausage stuffer. The sausage casing came in the mail earlier today. We are going full bore on this hobby! Sweet!

almost a dozen!

Our four chickens are getting along well. We were victorious last night - watched them go back to their coop for the night without any treats! Woo hoo! They took their own sweet time but that meant we just got to chill longer outside. Thankfully it had cooled down some so it was a beautiful night.

The girls delivered three eggs today. We're eating some for breakfast tomorrow so I don't think I'll see a full dozen. Oh well. Hubby says to skip having eggs for breakfast but that is just unfathomable to me.

first remodel!

Hubby and I already had to remodel the Chicken Condo:-) The girls aren't delivering the amount of eggs we need for us and to share so we need to get them roommates. Therefore, the need for expansion. We extended the run and installed a less intrusive and more space-saving water source. The remodel was nowhere near the perfection we usually aim for but it's functional for now. We plan to get the roommates by mid-week so Velma and Daphne have a few days to live it up!

We were really pleased with finding almost an exact match for the stain. I should share though that we discovered these chickens are hardly skittish and love people! There were practically next to us while we built the run. One of them was dumb enough to peck the foam brush I was using to apply the stain! She stabbed at it so fast I didn't have time to react and shoo her away! Hubby had to wipe off her beak which is now slightly orange.

Hubby lamented that we seem to be stuck with dumb pets. Our girls (a dog and two chickens) really love people! I think they're smart in their own way...I hope!

a promising harvest

Hubby and I are excited about our little vineyard of 21 wine grapevines! They've got a lot of fruit this year. We credit that to the maturity of the vines and our confident pruning this season. Tomorrow the project is to put netting around the vines to protect them from the birds. Last year we harvested prematurely, in reaction to the blasted birds getting to the grapes! Unfortunately, we yielded less fruit that were nowhere near the ripeness needed for pressing. We still made our first batch of wine, enjoyed the process though we have prepared ourselves for a crappy bottle! We ended up with 14 bottles and they look very cool:-) The color and smell are right but the taste is very acidic and lacking oakiness. It is also very thin. We are hoping that it would improve some after some aging. But the 2012 vintage should be way better!

next stop: charcuterie!

It goes without saying that with the new pellet smoker, we would soon venture into the world of charcuterie! Our chosen first stab at it is pastrami. Hubby has ordered all the necessary ingredients and Costco has provided the huge hunk of beef. We both love pastrami and it seems easy enough. Let's hope it turns out well so we can share with others. We love pastrami but 5 lbs might make us not love it as much at the end. We'll start the brine in a couple of days, in time to smoke it next weekend.

worth the wait

My Hubby has been raving about his famous stuffed artichokes but in the 5+ years I've known him, I've never tasted it! He's been promising to make some for me and he finally delivered! And it was worth the wait.

He made the stuffing the night before: Italian sausage, portabella, mushrooms, red pepper, scallions and all sorts of seasonings. We had bought two huge artichokes and last night, he stuffed each one chock-ful of the stuffing, adding bread crumbs, grated Italian cheese including my homemade mozzarella and drizzled both with olive oil. He then steamed them for over an hour.

The picture says it all. Like all bonafide chefs, he wasn't quite satisfied with it - he felt like the artichokes needed to steam longer. I finished all of mine! It was everything he said it would be!

last night's culinary collaboration

We are back to beautiful weather so that means we are also back to having dinner outside on the patio. It is incredible to have such a place to relax and chill after spending a whole day inside, in a cubicle no less.

Hubby and I went grocery shopping and to our great delight found Chilean sea bass at a great price. That's his favorite fish and this is only the 2nd time we've bought it. So he was in charge of cooking the fish and I made the side dish. Hubby broiled the fish with his secret seasoning. I made whole wheat spaghetti with zucchini, yellow squash, capers, garlic and shrimp. After rinsing the pasta in tap water and draining it, I mixed in some EVOO and sprinkled some truffle salt. Then I spooned the shrimp and veggies on top, which I had finished with some white wine sauce. It was an excellent dinner all around!

in remembrance of our dear Tony

This is the first bloom I've cut from the hydrangea that Tony gave us last year. It is beautiful. I didn't know him for very long but my husband loves him dearly. He was a great friend. And I'm glad we have a living remembrance of him. Enjoy heaven, Tony! We'll see you there soon enough!

in rest and quietness

I recently got convicted by this verse from Isaiah 30:15: "In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength but you will have none of it." Ouch!

Today is the day the Lord has made indeed. It's a beautiful day to repent and rest. I've had some quiet time outside and a bit of garden work. I cut some colorful roses outside while Hubby chills on the patio. The last couple of days have given quiet moments of repentance, with the Lord speaking through His Word and His pastor. Today I feel a different kind of strength!

a beautiful creation

Hubby and I have been adding things here and there to our backyard. Thankfully the weather continues to be mild enough for us to do most of our living outside!

Yesterday, while buying treats for our chickies, we found several bird feeders on clearance. We both liked this copper windmill one. At the store Hubby tells me he'll reuse some old oak stakes we have as a hanging post for the feeder. I had no clue what stakes to which he was referring.

When we got home I started to prepare lunch for my visiting family while Hubby puttered around in the backyard, setting up the treats for the girls, etc. Next thing I know he comes up with the post he had put together for the feeder and it is amazing!!! He had reused the stakes we originally used for the grapevines. He asked me to come outside so I can tell him where to put the post.

We placed it where we can view it from the kitchen, my spot at the dining table and the TV room. Within a few hours, the small birds that chirp all day have discovered it and have made it their hangout. I love the rustic look of it. It is simple but yet so beautiful! Our backyard is really becoming our peaceful retreat. We also put up a feeder for the hummingbirds. We have yet to see them drink from it but it looks awesome too.

The best part of our little backyard paradise is that Hubby and I both love it and are drawn to it. It is truly our breath of fresh air. Hubby has his own special seat where he has a view of a big part of the backyard. It really is relaxing and he craves the peacefulness. He's had heavy burdens lately and I am so proud and thankful of the choices and decisions he's making. He so desires to do the right thing and what is best for us. I really am blessed to be his wife and share in all of the Lord's blessings with him.

precious children

My brother, his wife, son and daughter visited us for the day yesterday and it was a very fun, memorable day. We were truly blessed. They loved our chickens and braved feeding them treats from their little hands. They oooh'd and aaah'd over them, called them "chickies" and were just all over them.

They also loved on Scooby and my 4-year old niece is pictured here telling Scoob a story:-) My niece is really tiny and Scoob seemed to tower over her, making her nervous. But the crate provided enough security, hence the storytelling.

We played with water guns outside, with my nephew making up all sorts of "international foul" rules. We went scootering - with my nephew on his razr, my niece on her Disney princess bike and me on my old 10-speed. While enjoying riding in circles around our court, my nephew notices a kite flying at the other end of our street! I rushed to gather the kids quickly and ran into the house to grab my kite!!!

For the next hour or so we ran and ran and flew my kite! It was awesome! Nephew really got going on it and got the kite to fly way above the houses where the wind was strong and steady. Hubby came out to join us and gave us the best tip: no need to run around so much! Once the kite catches wind, just let the string out slowly and it will continue to climb. Wow! It was exhilarating! The pull was too strong for my little girl but Nephew was able to manage it. It was a beautiful moment.

Interspersed in between has my Hubby playing catch with our niece while nephew and I flew the kite. We sure burned a lot of calories that afternoon, which was good since we had some homemade mac and cheese, hotdogs and sausage for lunch earlier that day.

We also played Uno and played fetch with Scoob in the backyard. My brother and his family live in the big city so I love the opportunity to show the kids a different way of life. For the next visit our plan is to make homemade pizza!

jealous

I forgot I had taken a picture of this beautiful hydrangea bush from our weekend on the coast. The B&B where we stayed had an enclosed atrium garden and it was perfect for growing hydrangeas. I don't have great shady spots in my garden so it's very tough to grow these. The one from Tony is flourishing well. I hope to transplant it soon!

great breakfast for Sunday!

The girls delivered one more this morning:-) Of course our dilemma right now is that we don't know if it's both hens laying. We now have two eggs and we plan on having them for breakfast tomorrow. My Hubby is humoring me today. My nephew and niece are visiting today and I want them to see the egg in the nesting box!

the girls are home!

We picked up our egg layers Wednesday night at a rural town about 20 miles from our home. The seller had about 40 Rhode Island Reds and had just collected about a dozen large brown eggs. Very, very encouraging!

So we picked our two, paid $10 each and took them home in Scooby's old crate. We appropriately named them Velma and Daphne:-) Got their bedding all set up and both their feeders. Less than 24 hours later, we got our first egg! Woo hoo!!!

resting in Him

I wish I had taken a picture of this pine tree Hubby and I saw earlier. It had brown pine cones that sat on the end of the branches...a balancing art of sorts. We saw the most beautiful evergreens. I expressed to Hubby how incredibly varied the Lord's creation is!!!

I've got worship music playing softly on my iPad and this is a picture of my feet as I lounge in the sitting room. Bright picture windows letting in the coastal sunlight. Can't see the beach but it's only a few hundred feet away. It is relatively quiet...just the ticking of the clock, the soft music and rumble of cars down Highway 1.

beautiful coastal sights

Today is our first full day in Mendocino/Fort Bragg. While Hubby naps some, I'm taking some time to do a bit of writing.

My husband is truly a sweetheart and days like this I need to remember often. He endured the trek through the Mendocino Botanical Gardens, where we marveled at various colors of rhododendrons and then another mile down to see the Point Cabrillo lighthouse. Every step felt like knives stabbing him in the back but he wanted to enjoy all this beautiful creation with me. I know it truly was painful for him, even more so because he wanted to do more.

We had a more enjoyable lunch at North Coast Brewpub and Grill. Dinner there last night was a bit of a disappointment. I think when it comes to brewpubs, sitting at the bar makes a big difference. The bartender Paul was super-friendly and bid us "God bless you" on our way out - a first at a brew pub! We enjoyed some tennis on TV and Hubby had some good brews. Hence the nap.

I am enjoying some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and coffee in the front room of this old Victorian. Time for some Good Word from the Lord.

a very productive Saturday

Hubby had a great time at the brew fest last night...raved and raved about it! I was glad - he needed the night out with the guys. I had a chance to hang out earlier that day with my girlfriend so my tank was good. Coffee and lots of talking - always a good combo.

Saturday morning started with a good walk with my Scooby girl and then really good quiet time. I'm trying to memorize verses again. It's been awhile but it is a very worthwhile discipline. Very filling!

We went to another brew fest by the river. This time just Hubby and I and we appreciate the quality time. We played our usual games of yatzee. But the park was just jammed pack with people. We lasted barely an hour. But we got to eat really, really good nachos and Hubby paid for it dearly with his tummy.

When we got back home, it was only 2:30 - perfect for a nap! After we rested some, we tackled another backyard project: The Chicken Coop! We had put it together last weekend but needed to clear the area where we needed to place it. That meant moving some rocks and plants. And here's the finished product! I am hoping to get chickens by next weekend.

easy Friday night

I haven't had a Friday night like this in years! I am hanging out at Starbucks at a mall having finished a yummy dinner at Panda Express (my fave - the orange chicken plus mixed veggies and Beijing beef, which I shouldn't have had). I walked the mall some, trying to burn off some of my dinner. I dropped off my Hubby and a couple of his friends at a local brew fest. I'm the designated driver and getting the rare chance of personal quality time while Hubby enjoys himself too.

It's a beautiful warm spring day. I just may need to find me a table outside. It is cool enough inside the cafe that I may need to put on my jacket and that doesn't seem right!

Now I am outside and the temp is perfect! Lots of bird noises and a few people milling around. We've got a big weekend planned: another brew fest tomorrow by the river, wine country on Sunday and then the coast for some much needed refreshment, esp for my Hubby. The Lord is so generous with us.

a blur

This month's been a blur. April ended very sadly for our home. My Hubby's best friend of 25 years died after a tragic motorcycle accident. It is very surreal since we didn't find out until 2 months later. We had plans on visiting him in the summer and it's very hard to believe our dear Tony is gone.

This hydrangea was a gift from him, the first time he visited our home. I don't have a whole lot of partial shade in my garden so it's been very difficult to grow hydrangeas and I love them! I am happy to see this little bush thriving on our porch, especially given its newfound meaning. I plan on transferring it to a better pot.

Tony, we look forward to seeing you later in the most beautiful Garden with the best and first Gardener ever!

success!

I am happy to report that my first ever cheese is a success! After 8+ weeks of aging it, we finally got to try our farmhouse cheddar. It is 2 lbs, made out of 2 gallons of pasteurized whole milk. We even got to wax it and everything.

It is softer than what we expected but the taste is fantastic for a first attempt. It had a hint of acidity in the beginning but ends well with a creamy texture. I actually like sharper cheddars but my Hubby likes the milder flavor. It held enough so I could cut it and tasted great on just a piece of bread. My Hubby was very impressed and that means a lot. My comment? "At least it's not gross." The tough self-critic. Really though, it's pretty good cheese.

We had some with our turkey burgers for dinner. The cheese went well with the 2007 Williamson Malbec.

Time to schedule some more cheese making!

smoked pork loin

Hubby's been making lots of dinners lately, courtesy of his new pellet smoker and a brand new Weber Genesis grill! One of these days I'll talk about the creative financing of these new toys.

His basic dry rub is fairly simple: seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder. The meat was juicy and tender. We paired it with leftover shrimp fried rice I had made earlier in the week and my easy salad: greens, red pepper slivers and a light raspberry walnut dressing. The weather has been so beautiful - we've been taking advantage of it by having our dinners outside and enjoying the sight of our garden.

roses, roses, roses!

One of my dreams come true! I always wanted to have a garden with several rose bushes and now I have over a dozen! This first one is the most special. My Hubby gave me this for Valentine's Day and it was one of the first bushes that got planted in our new home. I was pretty aggressive in trimming the rose bushes this year and it paid off - I've got beautiful blooms especially with this variegated one. I should find out the name of it.

This next one is still a young bush - not even two feet tall but the blooms are enormous!

And the last photo are the first bouquet for the season. Aren't they just lovely???

gazpacho for the first time

I am enjoying a beautiful weekend in historic downtown Grass Valley for a women's retreat. We have an inspiring speaker, whom the Lord has chosen to bring a timely word for us women. I am eating well from the banquet God has laid out for us.

As for worldly treats, a group of us went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant, which appears to be the taste of choice in this small town. I ordered the gazpacho, which I had never had and it was pretty good. I didn't expect it to be chilled but it was very tasty. I cannot wait to make it a home for my Hubby, whom I miss a lot. I've already got a ton to share with him. The thing about this gazpacho...the shrimp was really, really small! Jumbo shrimp will make it off the hook:-) And I forgot to tell them to leave off the avocado. Not a fan and I hate to waste it since it's such a near-delicacy.

The restaurant also served a very complicated oil and vinegar dip for their bread. Had lots of spices in it...I'll have to think about that one so I can recreate it.

I think I'll make it my goal to eat something new every chance I get this weekend. That might be a stretch given the small town but we'll see. I want to eat well!

I miss you Honey! I can say that since he really is the only one who knows about my blog and reads it (I think!).

smoked "Indonesian" teriyaki salmon

Hubby has gone crazy practically smoking something every night using his new pellet grill. The masterpiece tonight is a smoked salmon and he used an Indonesian sauce called kecap manis as the base for his version of teriyaki. Doesn't it look awesome??? A couple of nights we didn't eat until 8 pm because he was smoking something! But every single one has been worth the wait. Our latest book is on charcuterie...we'll be trying our hand in making sausages, pancetta, and bacon!

We had a preview of this smoked salmon and it was fantastic! Hubby served it with some grilled corn on the cob - our first of the season. And I do have to mention he bought Stove Top stuffing...he had a craving for it! All this gourmet stuff and we made it real by eating it with stuffing. We ate outside on our patio, enjoying the beautiful weather, a lovely bottle of Williamson pinot noir and just sweet, sweet company. The Lord is good to us.

great news...we can raise chickens!

Just found out via the City ordinance that we can raise chickens in our backyard!!! Hubby and I are super-excited about this. I eat eggs everyday and he eats them 3-4 times a week. We thought we couldn't do this. I saw an article about folks protesting against their City about not being allowed to raise backyard chickens. Finally occurred to me to Google it and voila! Our City allows it!!! Woo hoo!

lovely Easter weekend

We had a glorious Easter weekend. My sister visited me on Friday and we just did some shopping, catching up and eating a great lunch. On Saturday we got her to help us with our current backyard project: replacing the bark in the flower beds with river rock/gravel. It was back-breaking work. I had her rake in the old bark, to ease her into yard work.

Hubby and I have been hard at work doing some DIY patio decorating. It’s not quite renovation since our house is new. We’ve set-up the new sitting area and got huge planters for some flowery shrubs: azalea, hibiscus and camellia. They look awesome. I will post pix later. On Saturday we actually got to enjoy the fire pit again while my Sweetness worked on smoking yet another brisket for Easter lunch.

My in-laws came for lunch after the respective Easter services. The picture below is one of 2 tulip bouquets I had gotten from Whole Foods. I can’t wait to cut flowers from my own yard! My roses have got a ton of buds. I’ve got 7 hanging flower baskets and I’ve planted seeds in them (poppies, snapdragon, alyssum) and two have freesia bulbs. I am resisting buying annuals this year, choosing instead to grow them from seeds. The wait is testing my patience.

The weather was beautiful enough to enjoy our Easter meal outside. The food was just outstanding! Hubby and I enjoy hosting and yesterday was great. I made potatoes au gratin and two different beer breads (multi-grain with brown ale beer and wheat with IPA). I thought they turned out well.

wonderful Wednesday

My Sweetness was the brightest part of this bleak week. Bleak primarily because of challenges at work.

I got one of my favorite texts from my hubby: he's at the grocery store buying stuff to make dinner. Immediately my load lightened. He smoked and then grilled a steak, along with some sweet potatoes, orange peppers and bread. It took a while to cook but I didn't mind. I chilled on our new patio furniture and my Sweetheart built me a fire. It was awesome! I felt totally pampered.

Along with the great dinner and the roaring fire was a beautiful bouquet of a dozen long stem red roses. I am blessed with a husband who gets me flowers regularly. He really spoiled me that night.

To keep this real I will tell you that he overcooked the bread. Would be more appropriate to call it a huge crouton:-)